June- The Month of Many Firsts

It seems like this month we have a lot of firsts in our household...meaning the first time these things have taken place:

*We were gone for 2 nights and 3 days from our wildflowers.

*The wildflowers spent the night at Grammy Patty and Papo Larry's house.

*Parker slept in his crib converted into a big boy bed.

*Parker fell/rolled out of his big boy bed at 1:30 in the morning.

*Parker peddeled his trike

*Madison peddeled her trike

*Parker said the word "helocopter"

*Parker pulled a dresser over on himself....yes I about fainted when I seen this big dresser with my tiny little guy trapped under it!! He was ok, just freaked out.
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Faces only a mother could love......(after a long day of playing in the dirt)

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Last week I served Mexican Stuffed Shells for supper. It was a hit!! Even the wildflowers ate them!! So here is the recipe in the hopes that your wildflowers will like them as well!! Enjoy

15 uncooked jumbo pasta shells(I ended up using more than this)

1 pound lean ground turkey/hamburger

1 can enchilada sauce

½ tsp dried minced onion( I did not have any)

¼ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp dried oregano(I did not have any)

¼ tsp ground cumin

½ cup fat-free refried beans

1 cup shredded Cheddar

Cook pasta; drain. In a nonstick skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in enchilada sauce and seasonings; set aside. Place a rounded teaspoonful of refried beans in each pasta shell; then fill with turkey mixture. Place in an 11x7 inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and bake 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Makes 5 servings

I serve them with spanish rice, sour cream and salsa.

My Moms Night Out

So for 24 hours this weekend I had some girls time!! It started by driving to Denver yesterday afternoon around 1:00 and meeting with my girlfriend, Amber, from high school. It had been 2 years since I had last seen her. She expecting her first child in August and let me tell you folks, she looked sooo cute!! Her is a pic she sent me last week....

We had a wonderful visit, though we probably could have talked all night long!! It's funny when you have those friends that you go so long without seeing, but once you do get together it's like you've never been apart!! She was a large part of my childhood and teenage years and we have a lot of wonderful memories together!!

After leaving her house, I drove to a hotel where my girlfriend Amy from my college years was staying.

She was in town for a meeting. She is going to be a surrogate mom.....how selfless is that!! She just wants to be able to help a family have a child! Such a wonderful thing!! Anywho, I picked her up and we headed to downtown Denver. We ate a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory....and YES we had partook in some cheesecake....YUMMYYY!!! Come to find out the Denver PRIDE Festival was going on, so needless to say there were some sites to be seen!! We had a wonderful time catching up. She is another one of those friends that no matter how long it is since we have been together....we just pick right up where we left off. We didn't actually go to college together, we worked at a diner called The WillyBurger while I was attending Barclay College in Haviland, KS. We hit it off and have been friends for like 14 years now. These are our kids last summer....

We got to stay at an Embassy Suites and it was great!!

After she left for the airport this morning, I stopped by my sister and brother in law, Amy and Dane's new house!! The just moved in on Thursday. It was wonderful!! Such a beautiful house!! So much room and closet space and all the things that I would want in a house really! They are very excited to have their own house and now just want a new baby so share it with. Hopefully that will happen for them very soon!! Amy treated me to a delicious breakfast and some girly chit chat....thanks girl!!

So I had a wonderful weekend, but I did miss the wildflowers and their dad very much!! When I walked up the sidewalk, Madison ran to me and said "Momma, your home!!" That made my heart smile : )

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing here in Colorado.......we are doing all of the usual summer things that make summer SOOOO great..like riding our bikes....

Playing in the pool......

Playing in the dirt and eating popcicles...

Hanging out with our neighbor Elizabeth...or as Madison calls her "Wivabef"

Hope you are all having your share of summer fun!!!

One Century Completed

Matthew's great Aunt Evelyn passed away this last weekend. December we celebrated her 100th Birthday!! Evelyn was quite a lady. She was SPUNKY!! As you can see she dressed fairly hip! If she had a collared shirt on, the collar was usually turned up! She wore her turquoise jewelry and usually a conch0 belt when she dressed up. In 1951 she, along with her sister and brother in law started the Juniper Valley Restaurant where I have worked off and on for 15 years. Matthew can recall when he worked there as a child that if he and the other dishwashers were getting too loud, a ball of biscuit dough would come flying in their direction from Evelyn to get them to shut up. She met her husband while he was out in Colorado being treated for tuberculosis. She took care of him for 20 years until he passed away. Evelyn's maiden name was Parker and that is where my son gets his name. She lived by herself on the ranch up until 2 months ago. She was the last of her siblings and that is a sad thing. She loved seeing my children and she especially had a soft spot for Parker. She will be missed.
Here she is at her birthday party this last December with Cousin Steph and Uncle Jimmy.

Escape to Aspen

Matthew and I have just returned from a wonderful weekend away!! Away meaning from the wildflowers. We have never been away from them for 2 nights and 3 days before, so it was a real treat. Mattthew had a service call in Aspen so we decided to make it a weekend, just the two of us. He had to go and check out some mattresses for a company that a customer had purchased. The company mentioned that this was a VIP call, so we were hoping that it was someone like Goldie Hawn or Kevin Costner who both have ranches in Aspen. Unfortunately, when the service call sheet was faxed to us, the name was no one we knew. After a 3 and 1/2 hour beautiful scenic ride over Independence Pass and thru Twin Lakes....

we arrived at the customers home. Upon arriving we knew that we were dealing with someone VERY wealthy. There were a crew of about 40 people working on this massive house. After meeting the lady that owned the property, we learned and observed the following: the house was 17,000 sq ft that had taken 7 years to build, had a indoor/outdoor pool, spa, theater room, 8 bedrooms that she had spent $40,000 on mattress for, putting greens, workout facility, 2 kitchens, panoramic view of snowcapped mountains, the house sat on 800 acres in the Aspen area, silk carpet, massive sliding glass wall that allowed you to have indoor/outdoor living, and a separate wing for the "mannie". I could go on!!! It was amazing!! We left the property completely in awe!! And, I had left the memory card for our camera in the computer at home, so we couldn't take any pictures.

I had to buy a throw away camera for the remainder of the trip.

Friday night we stayed at these cute cabins called Lauberge D'Aspen right in downtown Aspen. Now I had never been to Aspen before so it was a real treat to go there!!

The cabins were super cute!

That night we had delicious Mexican food at Su Casa Mexican Restaurant. We split fajitas and it was plenty!! Of course we then hit the Paradise Bakery for some sweets later on. You could definitely eat your way thru Aspen and do nothing else!! The little town sits right at the base of Aspen Mountain. You can see all of the ski runs cut out thru the trees...

Saturday we ate at a cute little cafe outside and had breakfast. Did some shopping and walking around town. Drove around looking at the massive and expensive houses. Even a 3 bed 2 bath downtown was 3 million!! We were hoping to see some celebs walking around, but I think they only come out in the winter! We did see lots of fancy shops including.....

also Gucci, Fendi, and Ralph Lauren. Oh to be loaded!!!

Anyway, that afternoon we headed over to Snowmass to the Chili and Brew Fest! Now, that totally doesn't appeal to me, but The Neville Brothers were to be in concert, so it was a must see! The festival was held on the side of the ski resort and it was really fun. There were all sorts of micro brewers and chili makers there and you were able to sample all of the goods. The concert was amazing. The Nevilles can really entertain!! That night we went to see the Indiana Jones movie. It was fun.

We really had a great time together this weekend. Aspen is a beautiful place. It is very expensive, but so much fun. We hadn't had a chance to get away before like that and it was really great have some time to ourselves. My parents were great to watch the kids and they acted like they really enjoyed their time with them. Looking forward to our next escape.......hopefully it will come sooner than 3 years!!