A Very Snowy Friday

You may have heard on the news about the storm hitting the Denver area... well, they're not lying.  This is what we woke up to, but it's bound to get much worse, as the snow will continue to fall all day and all night tonight.

Here's Maddox, all bundled up, to enjoy the fresh snow!

Denver Art Museum

On Thursdays, Maddox attends a homeschool enrichment program (which he LOVES), so the big boys and I get to enjoy a field trip each week.  Last Thursday, we went to the Denver Art Museum.  We've been there before, but both of them asked if we could go back... who am I to deny a request to visit a museum?

Here's a fun sculpture found just outside the museum:

 As you can see, my boys got a little "swept away".  :)

A Day at Breck

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here in the mountains, so we took advantage of it and headed to the slopes.  Here are my handsome snowboarders!

Maddox and I weren't in that picture because he and I were busy over on a different mountain... my little guy skied with me down the mountain all day without a harness of any kind!  All of that practicing in the yard has paid off... he's officially a skier now! Here he is with Dad on the lift...

And here is a little video of him showin' us his stuff!  I'm there on the right in the bright blue coat - this was my first time skiing without poles and it went very well.  Maddox and I had a blast together!  He was even daring enough to go through the trees several times.  Such fun!  The video is small, but you can click on the "full screen" button in the lower right corner of the window.

Well, it's a good thing we had such a good time, because it all came to a screeching halt - LITERALLY - when we had to endure 4 hours of traffic to get back home.  No kidding.  Apparently, there were some X games or something in Aspen, and combined with all the regular skiers like us trying to get home, it made for one very crowded roadway.  Oh well... we had a beautiful day together.

Rice Pudding

Tonight was Michael's choice for dessert... and as I stated last week, he chose Rice Pudding!  I have never made it, nor have I ever tried it, but it turned out to be a very tasty success... and simple to make!

I suppose I am posting a lot of articles on cooking.  I'm not sure if anyone really WANTS my recipes, but with 4 men in my house, cooking is a major part of who I am.  And this blog is all about giving you a little taste (pun intended) of our life... so enjoy!  :)

Rice Pudding

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil.  Add rice and stir.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

In another saucepan [I'm not sure why it didn't indicate you could use the same pan?], combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy - 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk and beaten egg.  Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.  Serve warm sprinkled with cinnamon (optional).

Corn Meal Lessons

Homeschooling allows for such creativity.  Maddox is not particularly fond of writing his letters with a pencil on paper all the time.  So sometimes, we improvise.

Today, we let our grain mill help us out a bit.  Nothing like fresh corn meal in which to write your letters!

He loves the variety, and I just love that he's learning to spell and read.  I told him to write "fox"... and I got his "that was too easy" look!

Nuts, Anyone?

Here's another yummy recipe for you!  Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Almonds.... Mmmmmm!
They remind us of what you get on street corners... and this recipe lasted us about a week.  Perfect for taking in your purse for a little snack - for us, it was our fuel for ski days!

Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Almonds

5 cups whole almonds
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites lightly until just frothy.  Add vanilla and melted butter and stir.  Add almonds and stir until well coated.  In a separate small bowl, mix the white sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Add to the nuts and stir until coated.  Pour into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

Momma's Legos!

Well, Lego has gone and done it... they have finally created something for GIRLS!  And yes, I was all over it. I purchased a couple sets of their new line, and I am not lying when I tell you that my boys were just as interested in it as I was!  ...of course, they were trying to cook up a Lego ladybug in the little kitchen and then posing Lego Mom and Lego Dad in a spiff because she tried to serve it to him.

Let me give you a little tour... For starters, here is the adorable little kitchen.  There's even silverware in those little drawers!  Don't pay any attention to that pan that takes up all four burners on the stove.  Lego has their own proportions.  Like that blender over there... it's the size of the little people's whole torso.  But I don't care.  It's doggone cute.

Next is the living room where the Lego people perpetually watch what appears to be American Idol.  That little purple chair even swivels... and we all know that purple furniture is ultra hip.

Upstairs... oh, wait... there are no stairs.  Well, ABOVE the bottom floor, you'll find a cute little bathroom with real shower doors...

And a bedroom with a dressing table, bed, and nightstand.  I guess all three Lego family members share this one bed... they're a tight-knit group.

Outside is where you'll find Lego Dad... cooking up a chicken leg the size of his head with a spatula the length of his body.  Oh, and there's Lego Sister mowing the Lego grass.

Where's Lego Mom?  Well, after cleaning her enormous 1.2 square foot house, she's exhausted.  She's resting up on the sun deck under her pink umbrella.  Oh wait... she's forgotten something.

 Ahhhhh, that's better!