A Sunny Day at Washington Park

Today was a wonderfully sunny and warm day! :)  The high was 78 and it was in the 70s all day...amazing!  60s and 70s are the perfect weather for me, I can handle 80s, but any higher than that and I'm just as miserable as when it is cold.  I like to be comfortable.  As I've mentioned in a previous post, my friend Wemi and her family are moving to Sacramento tomorrow morning and we were supposed to meet them at the Children's Museum tonight for a free night...but it was closed. :(  Apparently the free night is next Tuesday night, not this one, so the museum was already closed.  Wemi got there first and called me, so we ended up not getting together to hang out.  However, her husband's family is still here in the Denver area, so I'll be able to see her (hopefully) next time they are in town to visit.  

After the Children's Museum plans fell through and I had picked up John from work at the library, we decided to take advantage of the really nice weather (since you definitely can't expect the weather to be the same from day to day here in Denver) and we took Johnny to Washington Park.  The last time we were at Washington Park was way back in September when we first moved to Denver - we went there on Labor Day weekend for a picnic lunch.  There were a billion people at the park today because it was so nice.  

Johnny loved playing on the playground equipment, especially going down the slide over and over and over again.  He is at the stage where he can climb up and go down the slide by himself now, so he usually has a really big blast being independent and going down the slide. :)  After he tired of the slide, he decided he was going to play in the sand, which was fine until he started throwing sand.  With all the kids in the same general vicinity, we obviously wanted him to cease that activity and when he wouldn't we were forced to end our playground play and walk back to the car.  He had a tantrum for a few minutes until we walked by the lake in the middle of the park...then he threw a new tantrum because we wouldn't let him go and climb into the lake.  *sigh*  Eventually we got him into the car and he calmed down, but we all enjoyed our time outside at the park today!  

A few other tidbits of info:
*Johnny has been very proud of himself lately because he has gotten really good at climbing up and down our three flights of stairs at our apartment while holding onto the rail. 
*He loves to tell us "no" all the time now when we ask him questions, but he tries to make it seem like he considered it.  He'll say "ummm....no" in a really adorable voice. 
*A certain someone is a big time cuddle bug.  I love him so much! :)

Now for some pictures:
 

Hope you all had a wonderful day too and I wish you all very spring weather this week! :)

A New Panini Recipe!

Last week we tried a new panini recipe and it was delicious! :)  Our only suggestion would be that the sandwich is just as good without the artichoke hearts (we tried it both ways) - if you leave them out you'll save on money (canned artichoke hearts are expensive) and calories (artichoke hearts are packed with calories).  At the very least I would half the amount of artichoke hearts, because they can be slightly overwhelming, but still delicious. :)

 Monterey Artichoke Paninis

 (makes 2 sandwiches)

4 slices sourdough or multigrain bread (french bread cut thin works well)

4 slices Monterey Jack cheese (3/4 oz each)

1/2 cup water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, & halved

1/2 cup fresh baby spinach

4 slices tomato

1 T butter, softened

1. On two slices of bread, layer a slice of cheese, artichokes, spinach, two slices of tomato, and remaining cheese.

2. Top with remaining bread.

3. Spread butter on outsides of sandwiches (could also do olive oil - healthier)

4. Cook on a panini maker or indoor grill until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. 

5. Enjoy!

***Click here to see the recipe source***

Looooonnnnnnggggg Day

Yesterday Johnny was watching Big Big World on PBS and some of the characters were playing hide-and-seek.  I had never played the game with Johnny before, thinking he might be too young to understand the concept.  But shortly after watching the scene in his show, he ran around the living room while covering his eyes, counted to five, and then threw his arms up in the air and shouted "ta da!", as if to say he found himself in hide-and-seek.  He then broke down into giggles.  It was really adorable and showed me that he understood the concept a bit more than I gave him credit.  A prime example of how great he is at entertaining himself.  I love my silly little boy. :)

Today was a long day.  Parts of it were good and other parts exhausting.  Since John has been busy with school and work this past week and then we had a major snowstorm on his day off, things have been very busy and I haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping.  So, I had to get up early this morning and go grocery shopping at Safeway, Whole Foods, and Target.  That took up the morning and when I got home I had to unload the groceries and put them away.  After that was done we had to get on the road to drive up into the mountains for a birthday party.  

The birthday party was for my friend Wemi's son Elias's first birthday.  He is such a cutie! :)  It was sort of a going away party too, since they are moving to Sacramento on Wednesday.  I'm bummed that they are moving, but I'm happy for her too because she is moving back to her home and her family.  I know what it feels like to want to move back to your home.  They live with her in-laws up in the mountains, about an hour from us.  It was actually really beautiful once you get up into the mountains (though the mountains and forests in the northwest are a lot more beautiful), but it was also snowing.  They also lived at the top of a very steep windy dirt road that was filled with mud and snow.  Oh, and it was only wide enough for one vehicle with a sheer drop down a cliff and no guard rails.  And even with 4 Wheel Drive we were sliding all over the place on the way back down the driveway to head home.  We were both pretty freaked out afterward, but thanks be to God! we made it home safely.  I have no idea how they manage to drive up and down that every day.  Wemi's father-in-law even had to drive in reverse for half a mile down the driveway because he was coming up it when we were heading down it - I have no idea how he did it!  They have a really beautiful cabin and an amazing view of the mountains and even Pike's Peak way off in the distance, so I can understand why they moved there when they retired.

The party itself was a lot of fun, even though Johnny was grumpy for parts of it (not much of a nap).  There were toys and friends to play with, lunch, cake, presents, a Cookie Monster piñata filled with candy, and in general lots of fun!  :)  Johnny was obsessed with the Cookie Monster piñata while everyone else was making a mad dash for the candy.  He could have cared less about the candy - silly kid!  Thanks Wemi for inviting us to Elias's birthday party; we had a lovely afternoon.  We will see Wemi, her husband Cory, and her adorable little boys Isaiah and Elias on Tuesday night for the Family Free Night at the Children's Museum.  It should be fun to see them before they leave for Sacramento on Wednesday, though we'll miss them when they are gone. :) 

Johnny in his new coat (bought it in 4T on the clearance rack for $8 at Babies 'R Us - sweet!)

Johnny fell asleep in the middle of eating chips yesterday after eating lunch at Panera Bread (yum!) while we were running a few errands

What a cutie!

Coloring with his new fancy twistable crayons yesterday

At the bottom of the scary driveway today (and some random house)

Wemi was showing Johnny how to turn the firetruck into a transformer :)

Daddy & Johnny playing with the transformer

Elias, the birthday boy! Cutie :)

Isaiah was showing Johnny how to play with the toy :)

This is what happens when balloons get loose in a cabin with very high ceilings

All of the kids playing (excluding the super cute newborn who was sleeping)

The boys were all very focused on playing

Wemi, husband Cory, Isaiah, & birthday boy Elias with cake

He went and randomly sat with a lady at the party during present-opening - she was amused :)

Poor cookie monster didn't know what was coming for him...

Pure sugar-induced chaos :)

mmmmm...sugar

Isaiah was giving his brother Elias a hug for his birthday - super adorable!

Johnny was concerned only with Cookie Monster for the remainder of the party

Now I'm off to bed to get some sleep.  Tomorrow should be another busy day.  It is also Palm Sunday - hope everyone has a blessed Palm Sunday tomorrow! :)

Flashback Friday: Nerds in Chicago

I am participating in another Flashback Friday this week.  If you would like to participate in or visit the host of this awesome weekly event, please go on over to Christopher and Tia. :)

Christopher & Tia's theme this week wasn't set, but it was centered around a picture of them as a young couple before marriage or kids, so I decided to do a post in this general area. :) 

This photo was taken in June 2005, a week before our high school graduation.  We were in Chicago at Millennium Park with our Knowledge Bowl team.  Yes, we were (ahem, still are) nerds.  John was the captain of the team and we were both on a team of six Varsity and the entire team amounted to between eight and ten including the Junior Varsity.  We were in Chicago for Quiz Bowl Nationals (our school was part of Knowledge Bowl, which operates differently than Quiz Bowl).  I was one of only two girls on the team; the other being Katherine. In state only six of us participated in the competition but the rest of the team (the team had a Varsity, a Junior Varsity, and some that floated between the two since we had a really small team in comparison to other schools) also joined us for support.  For Nationals though, since it was not part of our league, our entire team took turns playing rounds.  Our high school was a small school with a really small team, but we got first in Districts, first in Regionals - both for 2A schools and for the entire competition (against really large schools in eastern WA as well as small schools), and we even won first at the WA State competition for 2A schools (they don't have a competition that mixes school sizes at the state level).  This was the first year that our tiny school had done well in many many many years.  We beat out other private schools that had a much larger group of students to choose from and a lot more funding for their teams.  We were proud of ourselves that we were on top of it all our senior year and it was a very small team who met once or twice a week for an hour after school to practice.  There are days when I miss Knowledge Bowl - we had some good times. :)   

And just in case you think I might have been one of those nerds who can't throw a ball or run in a straight line or something, I grew up playing almost every single sport: basketball, football (the only girl on a team of boys 1st grade until middle school), softball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, etc.  Basketball was my all time favorite and I miss it a lot; I'm thinking of joining a local basketball team at the YMCA or something.  I think that would be fun and help me get back into pre-baby shape...or at the very least some sort of shape that involves muscles. Hee hee. :)

I digress.  So, we were in Chicago for a national competition.  We were invited because of how awesome we had done at the state level.  Because we weren't a "sports" team (technically we were a sports team under certain by-laws of our school and a bunch of other confusing stuff) our principal chose to deem us going to nationals as something that shouldn't be at least partially funded by the school.  Even though us going to nationals reflected really good on our school academically.  Even though they paid for all sports championships in full.  But that is an argument I don't really want to get into on here... In the end, we received our invitation to the tournament in May and had roughly three weeks to try and figure out if we could each afford to go.  Luckily all of us had wonderful parents who decided that they were proud of us and would pay for our trip to Chicago for the weekend.  Our two coaches (also our AP teachers and mentors) went along with us and ended up getting another recently retired male teacher from our school to come and be the Chaperone in the boys' room.  

We arrived in Chicago Friday afternoon in early June and were immediately hit with the humidity.  Please, when the voice in your head reads the word "humidity" do it with as much venom as humanly possible, because it is one of the most vile and evil things I have ever experienced.  It was truly awful.  Growing up in the northwest, many of us were unaccustomed to humidity to the degree that we experienced in Chicago.  The air felt heavy, we sweated like we never had before, and we essentially felt dirty and out of energy every day we were there.  It felt like every breath I took weighed me down with lead balls.  It was very uncomfortable and miserable.  

On Saturday we participated in the tournament - one school among hundreds.  We were at a great disadvantage because the other schools were part of the Quiz Bowl league while we were from the Knowledge Bowl league - doesn't seem like it should be that big of a difference, but it is when you're used to a different format.  For example, in Knowledge Bowl (what we were used to) you have a panel of four team members and anybody can ring in at any time and then your entire team can converse and the captain relays the answer in a certain amount of time.  In Quiz Bowl, you still have a panel of four team members, but you are basically participating as an individual.  You ring in only if you yourself knows the answer, because you can't converse with your team and only you can answer.  It is a really unfortunate method that doesn't really do much in the way of unifying a team.  We ended up fairing reasonably well against many of the other schools, even with our disadvantage, but didn't get into any of the finals.  

That was actually fine with us, because we all wanted to go and see Chicago.  We were participating in the nationals as an opportunity; if we made it to finals, that was great (we definitely put forth valiant effort), but if we didn't make it to finals, we weren't going to be disappointed either since we had other things we could do and see.  And in all honesty, the place where the tournament took place was crowded with very little air conditioning and we were all about ready to pass out from the humidity and heat, so it was nice to escape.  

We spent that evening eating at a Chicago Pizza place, visited the Hancock Tower (amazing view - at the top of one of the highest buildings in Chicago down by the waterfront, at night, looking down at all the twinkling lights and cars), and walked around in various parts of the city.  We ended up getting back super late that night but had plans to go and see the waterfront area the next morning before we left for the airport.

The next morning, my aunt (mom's sister), uncle, and three wonderful cousins drove five hours from their home in another part of Illinois to visit us.  They came with us to the waterfront area.  They treated us to Bubba Gump's for lunch - which was really delicious.  Then I spent time walking around with them, since I hadn't seen them for four years.  On the way back to the hotel to get our luggage, my aunt offered to have me ride with them in their van rather than have me ride the El back, but their car ended up not starting.  Rather than be late for my flight, my aunt gave me farewell hugs and got me a cab so I could get to my hotel while my uncle called AAA.  

This resulted in a rather interesting (read: scary) adventure with a cab driver who spoke only the words "yes" and "no" in English and had no idea where he was supposed to take me.  This was not evident to me until he started driving to another part of the city than where the hotel was located.  His native tongue was Swahili, and wouldn't you know it? I didn't speak Swahili.  However, he did speak a smidgen of Spanish, and as it happens I had just finished three years of Spanish (which basically equates to me being able to order something on a Spanish menu and perhaps ask for directions).  We managed to struggle through our both very feeble Spanish vocabularies and a quick stop to ask another cab driver later...we finally arrived at the hotel.  I was shocked that I ever made it back to my team.

I had another stressful encounter with a TSA agent at the airport...my wonderful aunt had sent me home with some graduation gifts.  One of which was a solid metal or silver or something engraved diploma holder.  Which coincidentally ends up looking like a pipe bomb on an X-ray machine.  Since we had all only brought carry-on bags, I had it with me when I went through security.  I was promptly stopped and my bag was torn open and I was questioned about the diploma holder.  The guy didn't seem to believe me at first that it was merely a diploma holder.  But after opening it up and pointing out that I was merely an 18 year old girl with a graduation gift, he finally let me put it back in my backpack and move on.  It is always a good day when you are confused with a terrorist. 

The entire trip was a memorable one, for many reasons.  One of the biggest reasons was that this was the first trip I took with John that wasn't inside of WA, and to date, is still the farthest trip we've taken together.  We had been dating for a long while when we were on that trip and we enjoyed going to Chicago together.  It was even more awesome because we were there for our accomplishments together in Knowledge Bowl.  We have taken many many trips together since then, and most importantly we are sharing adventures in marriage and parenthood.  But we always remember this trip fondly.  :)  And look how young we looked in that picture!  Roughly 5 years and a 2 1/2 year old toddler later, it is reasonable to expect we won't look that young anymore...but, dang. :)    

Soda Pop Chops

We like pork chops in this house.  Our favorite way to eat pork chops is with dry ranch dressing mix on it and baked in the oven, but we have some other recipes we use too.  One recipe that we also like is Soda Pop Chops - John's family used to make this when he was growing up and I started making it once we were married as well.  We don't make this recipe as much as we used to because it does require a little bit more clean-up afterward but it does make for some nice juicy and flavorful pork chops.  Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do! :)

Soda Pop Chops

 (yield: 4 chops)

1 cup ketchup

1 cup cola (we almost always use root beer, but Dr. Pepper works as well, and even Coke)

1/4 c brown sugar

4 pork chops

Place chops in prepared pan (we use glass casserole dish).

Mix ketchup and cola together (easiest if you just do it in the measuring cup).

Pour mixture over pork chops.

Sprinkle brown sugar over top.

Bake at 350*F for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!   

We're Back!

We arrived in Denver safe and with most of our sanity intact last night after a very very long day in the car.  Just in case you don't know: I hate Wyoming.  We had a wonderful week back home visiting family and friends. :)  Our trip definitely wasn't long enough and we didn't get a chance to see everyone we wanted to see nor do everything we wanted to do while we were there, but we're hoping to go home for a few weeks this summer.  Thanks to all who were able to spend time with us and for those who were understanding when we ran out of time to see others.  We love you all! :)

Did I mention that I hate Wyoming?  Why in the heck does it have to comprise a good chunk of the drive from Colorado to Washington?  Ugh.

We took a lot of pictures on our trip (this shouldn't be a surprise to anybody) - below are some of our favorites from the trip.  I have some pictures on my new cell phone too that I want to post on here, and as soon as I figure out how to get them on to my computer, I will do that. :)

***

Johnny playing with his new magnetic dinosaur book in the car ride up to WA:

Waiting for daddy to bring us lunch from a natural market/deli in Bozeman, MT:

He got angry and frustrated when I took his hood off:
 

I was trying to give him kisses: 

Someone likes to be silly:

Mommy loves it when the Terrible Two smiles:

Sleeping on the last stretch to WA through MT:

I love the northwest - trees and impressive mountains and lakes and rivers and big smog-free skies (pretty much the opposite of the Denver area):

Talking on his alligator phone:

Running around at a rest area in MT outside of Missoula:

Just happy to be out of the car:

He was sad because his daddy went to the bathroom and mommy wouldn't let him go in the germy bathroom to play:

Daddy's back - now he's happy:

No trip is complete without daddy throwing the little one in the air until he giggles:

Trees! Trees! Trees! Trees! Trees! Trees!  Please invite some of your tree friends to Denver!:

Watching a movie in the car and using my seat as a footrest:

As soon as we got to Grandma & Papa's house, Johnny ran over and started playing with his castle and Papa:

Johnny and his new friend Carson - the first time they met each other they were both having grumpy days, but it got better the next time (the picture below is from the grumpy time):

Johnny and Papa walking through the parking lot to our belated birthday dinner:

Nap time with Papa:

Taking a walk and enjoying the wonderful weather with mommy and daddy:

He was laughing like a maniac and this is what my camera captured:

Are you looking at me?:

Johnny on St. Patrick's Day:

Playing with Star Wars figurines at our favorite ice cream place - The Scoop!:

Does somebody look like he's had enough of mommy and her darn camera?:

Taking a walk and enjoying the weather near The Scoop:

It's been a while since Johnny has seen a tree - I blame Denver - what a travesty!:

I love trees :) :

Johnny loves trees too!:

I'm proud of my little tree hugger:

Save our trees!:

John's wonderful aunt Dora gave Johnny a Blue's Clues toy - Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, & Paprika:

Apparently it is too much effort to hold one's head up while playing:

A great picture of Johnny, John, and John's grandpa Dale (Johnny happens to share a birthday with his great-grandpa):

Johnny was telling lots of stories (including hand movements) to his grandma (my mom):

A good family friend Eileen and Johnny - he got very excited as soon as he saw her (they have had a special bond since he was a newborn that I think is quite adorable):

Playing with his great-grandpa Joe (my grandpa) and a balloon:

Taking a picture with mommy wasn't exciting enough to warrant him even paying attention:

Eating a banana (I think the 3rd of that day - he is a banana fiend) with his great-grandma Pat (my grandma):

Uncle Joseph and Johnny being silly together:

Johnny conquered Mt. Joseph:

At a rest area in Wyoming on the way home (I HATE WYOMING):

***

Things we loved about our trip:

• Family & Friends! :)
• Not driving all in one day on the way to WA
• Belated birthday presents - John got an espresso maker and I got a bunch of craft supplies!
• Lunch with my friend Christina :)
• Dinner with our friends Stephanie and Holton and their adorable little girl Chloe (who I got to hold!) at Tomato Street (our favorite!)
• Mass at St. Anne's - we still consider this to be our home parish :)
• A Family Dinner for our belated birthdays and my cousin Jeremy's birthday
• Shopping with my mom on two different days :)
• Spring!!!!!!! 
• No snow
• Going to the movie "Remember Me" with my mom - SADDEST MOVIE EVER
• St. Patrick's Day!
• Eating corned beef and cabbage at my parents' house - yummy!
• Getting to watch a televised GU basketball game and seeing them win :)
• Trying Caruso's for the first time with my mom and having a great BLT
• Learning to use the sewing machine my grandma gave me with my grandma's tutorial
• Bruchi's chicken cheesesteaks and fries
• Coffee with my friend Courtney
• Getting a new phone - I love it!
• Going to the movie "Avatar" in 3D with John (our first date with just us two in over six months - since before we moved to Denver)
• Ice cream, paninis, and conversations with my cousin at The Scoop! :)
• Dinner with my grandparents at a local Mexican restaurant 
• Catching up with my old professors at GU and going to the Flannery Lecture with my friend Christina and listening to a Theologian speak (I'm so so so looking forward to going to grad school and getting to do these things again!!!)
•  Lunch at the Olive Garden with John's cousin Zac and his girlfriend Lydia - tried the unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks for the first time and loved it! 
• Visiting John's grandpa Dale and his aunt Dora :)
• Taking walks in the nice weather
• Trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially hugging them and taking pictures of them! :)
• Shopping at Learning Is Fun and getting some cool educational toys for Johnny (they need one in Denver!)
• Johnny playing with Carson, my brother's girlfriend Angy's nephew 
• Coffee & knitting with my friend Anisha at Rocket Bakery :)
• Coffee, conversation and book recommendations with my best friend Katherine :) 
• Johnny getting hugs and a stuffed dinosaur from his godmother Katherine
• Finding Johnny's lost walrus mitten from our last trip to Spokane outside (thanks Katherine!)
• Introducing Johnny to Blue's Clues from tapes and a toy that John's aunt Dora gave him (we don't have cable so Johnny has only really ever watched shows on PBS)
• Hanging out with family and having a BBQ our last day home
• An awesome sale on scrapbook paper at JoAnn's
• Going to a Fred Meyer (they don't have them in Denver) and taking advantage of amazing sales on yarn, seeds, and CFL light bulbs! 
• Johnny getting more and more comfortable with talking to people and using sentences (example: "How are you?" to his godmother Katherine) 

Things we didn't like so much about our trip:

•  Not finding time to get coffee at Thomas Hammer while we were in town
• Only getting to be home for a week 
• Johnny getting a fever from his molars and a subsequent heat rash from the fever; he's now peeling after recovering from the rash
• Having to cancel plans with some people we really wanted to see because of limited time and Johnny not feeling well
• Having to leave
• Packing and now having to unpack
• Driving 1100 miles each way - 2200 miles total
• That we have to wait 4 months until we go home again
• Not getting a chance to go to Station of the Cross or spend more time at St. Anne's
• Coming home to warnings of snow tomorrow in Denver - blech.
• Not remembering where the food co-op was in Bozeman that we liked
• John having to spend a lot of time reading material for his classes that started today (who assigns 2 books and a bunch of articles to read BEFORE the class even starts?!) and not getting to go visit his friends at his old work place
• That our trip didn't coincide with Easter :(
•  Having to say goodbye and Johnny crying when we were about to get into the car to leave

 ***

Even though we were only home for a week, we tried to spend as much time as possible with family and friends.  We loved seeing everyone and those that we didn't get a chance to see will definitely be a priority the next time we are back home this summer! :)  We love you all and we are so very grateful that you all contributed to making this trip a wonderful one filled with family, friends, laughter, relaxation, and fun!!

Now I'm off to unpack, do laundry, and get ready to go to the grocery store once John gets home from his first day of classes... At least it is sunny and warm outside today. :) Hope everyone is having a great day!