Taco Pasta

I made this for dinner the other night, it was quick and easy and everyone liked it, so I thought I would share it.

Brown about a pound of hamburger, drain, and add taco seasoning. If you don't have taco seasoning, (I didn't) use chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and corriander in quantities that sound good to you. I use a lot because I like my food really flavorful. Add a big can of diced tomatoes, I think it is 32 oz. I also tossed in a bit of salsa, about a 1/2 cup. I don't know if that small amount made a difference or not. Simmer while you cook the noodles.

Cook a bag of egg noodles.

Chop up a couple avacodoes, and get a bag of shredded cheese and a tub of sour cream ready.

When the noodles are done, top them with the hamburger tomato mixture, then top that with cheese, avacodo, and sour cream.

Yummy!

Sea World

So here are the long awaited pictures of Sea World. I know the 3 people that read my blog were on the edge of their seats, waiting for these. I forgot that I hadn't posted them, then found them in another folder today. So there you go.


We had a great time at Sea World. The first day we got there, Friday, it was so dead. Compared to the crazy packed-ness of Disney, it was very nice. Saturday it go much busier, but still nothing compared to Disney. We fed the sea lions, and that was so much fun. Expensive, but fun. They charge you $6 for 4 tiny fish that go very quickly. And there are nasty birds everywhere that will try to snatch it mid air or even right from your hands. My mom got pecked by one while she was holding the fish, so I was a little scared to let Ava do it. I just helped her and we got the fish out of her hands as quick as possible. I could have watched the sea lions all day. They are so entertaining and cute.

Of course, we saw Shamu. Corrine was so cute; every time she sees pictures of Shame now she says "splash". When we first sat down, we sat in the designated "soak" section. We figured, how wet can you get? But then before the show, they showed video of just how bad it can get. We moved. It was a little chilly that day with a slight breeze, and we didn't want to be miserable all wet. Plus I know Ava would have screamed bloody murder and Corrine wouldn't have liked it either. After keeping an eye on where whe had been sitting, we were glad we moved. Those people really got soaked!


They had bat rays, they look like sting rays but they don't sting. They were fun to pet. They would come up and nudge your hands, looking for food.

They had an exporation pool, the little kiddos liked that.

The pink flamingos were really pretty. Stinky, but pretty. Why do we always call them PINK flamingos? Have you ever seen one in a different color?

And Michaela got to fulfill a lifelong dream of touching a dolphin. We went to see how much it would be for her to interact with one more, and it was a lot of dough. We told the girls that the next time we are there (hopefully in a year or two) if they have saved up half the cost, we would pay the other half for them to swim with them. As it was, we bought 3 packs of fish and fed them.

They were so cute; I had never been that close to one before.

This was a highlight for everyone.

Under a beautiful trellis at Sea World.

They had one of these thingys there, I think it is a tram. It was short, but beautiful and fun. We couldn't all fit in one car, so we split up. This is a picture of my car, looking at Jason, the baby,my mom and Michaela. Ava, Payden, and I were on another one.

Here's lookin' at ya!

Ahhh, Spring!

I wish we had more of a spring, but even the few wonderful days we get are nice. Ava and Corrine have loved spending their time outside. Corrine wakes up and almost the first thing she asks for is to go outside. Which makes all the yucky weather we have been having this week even worse; Corrine got a taste of the outdoors and hasn't gotten to go outside almost all week. Then it will be to hot and full of bees later. We will enjoy our nice days for as long as they last!

Easter 2010

Easter was fun this year, except it was a little cold. And we had waaaay to much white stuff on the ground. Here is a picture of the girls, Michaela had given Payden a make over, don't know why it is blurry.

We had a nice dinner, stuffed ourselves full.

The girls helped out with the preparation, and Jason got a really good picture of us all. Thanks hon.

This was darling. We had taken the girls to two egg hunts on Saturday, and Corrine got the hang of finding eggs and putting them in her basket. The girls had all gotten these little bouncy balls shaped like eggs, and they were all over the floor. As we were getting ready to go out back for our own egg hunt, I was telling Corrine what we were going to do. She said ok, and then starting picking up all the bouncy balls and putting them into her basket. She kept saying, "another one. Oh, another one!"

Here is us in our new Easter finery. General conference fell on Easter Sunday this year, so we didn't get to wear them until the next week.

We had a great time dying Easter eggs. Let the creativity flow.

Corrine got really excited, whenever she dropped an egg into the cup she would gasp and get this shocked and excited look on her face. So cute.

For our neighborhood egg hunt, it really was a hunt to find them in the snow. It was also cold and windy, so nobody stayed long. Michaela was the only on of her friends to hunt for eggs, I am glad she isn't trying to rush growing up. And she got candy, they didn't!

Poor Corrine, is there an egg in there?

Ava's a Dancing Star!

Ava has had a hard time with dance this year, she doesn't seem to like it as much as she did last year. She often doesn't want to go, and asks "how much longer" when we are there. And getting her to practice is a nightmare. I would have just quit taking her if we hadn't already signed up for her to compete, and I thought she should finish it, plus we paid for it already! And I was so worried that she would get up for her solos and throw a fit or refuse to dance or something. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much she liked performing! She loves to get her makeup done, so that helps, plus she loves the limelight, apparently. She had a ball dancing for the judges!


Here she is with her friend Riley. They dance on the same team. Ava dances on a team, and then did two solos. She did a team dance last year, but this was the first year for solos.

Here is her team backstage, waiting to go on.

Here she is after her solo. She was so proud, "I did it!"

I am thinking I will try a few other things for her, find something that she gets really excited about all year, not just at the end, like dance. But I am so glad that she will remember this experience as positive, and that she had so much fun. She can't wait to dance in Lagoon for Nationals. I will post some videos of her dancing as well. So cute!

Luv

Last night for FHE, one of the parts of the lesson involved us going around the house to see what we could find that would help us in our fight against evil. We were learning about the stripling warriors and how we are also in a war, a war against evil. Well, we got the things we would all expect; scriptures, pictures of family and temple, Ensign, etc. But what Ava brought really touched me. She went and found a piece of paper, on which she drew a heart and wrote "luv".

She was so right.

This is what life is about...

A toddler, warm and chubby, soft and close, cuddleing in bed when she wakes up from her nap.

Her head tucked under your neck, her sweet lips whispering about the ice cream cone she saw on the pages of a book on the floor.

Wispy hair tickeling your nose, arms burrowing deeper into the covers for warmth.

And knowing that this fleeting moment won't last forever, soaking it into memory with all your senses so you never forget it.