There's a 6 Year Old in the House

It has finally happened, my baby grew up. Logan turned 6 on the 30th. He didn't ask for a party, which I am so thankful for. (We have been to so many birthday parties in the last few months and I am beginning to really hate Chuck-e-cheese.) We've decided to only have parties with friends for really special ages. However, we still celebrate with the family and this year we decided to take Logan to a place called Amazing Jakes.

The boys had a blast! There was miniature golf....

Bumper cars...

Go Karts...


Rides....



An arcade, laser tag, and food of course with the best tasting oatmeal cookies(and I don't even like them, but scarfed them here!)

We also had a few birthday presents and chocolate cake(his choice, not mine) and ice cream!

All in all, I think it was a success.

Dinner done right

I found this super easy(and delicious to boot) recipe called Salsa Verde Tostadas. It was a hit. Even Logan and Ben ate them up. I'm always on the lookout for new, good recipes so I decided to share the love.

Salsa Verde Tostadas

4 flour tortillas
1 c shredded mexican blend cheese
2 1/2 c cooked, shredded chicken or pork (i used chicken)
1 c green salsa(salsa verde) plus more for serving
1/4 c plus 2 tbs chopped cilantro(i left this out, i don't love cilantro)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Toppings: lettuce, tomateos, sour cream, avocado, olives, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the tortillas on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the tortillas, bake until golden brown, about 8 mins.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the chicken (or pork), salsa verde, cilantro, beans, and cumin. Spoon mixture evenly over the tortillas and bake until heated through about 8 mins.

Top warm tosadas with lettuce, tomat, and sour cream and other toppings as desired. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Enjoy.

Really make it and tell me what you think!

And, if you have any new, great recipes you love, send 'em on over.

Someone's Three!

Three years ago today a little toe head came a flyin' out of my body(sorry to be so graphic), literally. We were so excited to have a 7 lb 14 oz, healthy little brother in our family. Logan seemed so little while he held the tiny addition. Now here it is three years, and many pounds later and that little toe head is still as blonde as can be but an even more important part of the family.

Ben has been asking and asking to go to Chuck-E-Cheeses. I've told him over and over again not until his birthday. So we finally took him there today, and boy, what a treat! You'd think I'd given him the world.

Someone asked me today if he really understood that it was his birthday, and my answer was a very quick "YES!" I told him we were going to the gym this morning, he said, "Nooooooo!" I don't know why he doesn't like the gym, I think maybe it's because Logan doesn't come with him now that he is in school. I told him sorry but we were going. He responded by saying, "NOOOOOOO, it's my birthday." Smarty pants, I know.

The day was pretty uneventful, the usual stuff, errands, cleaning, etc, etc. Then we went to Subway(our weekly date) and then picked up the boys from school. We went to the park like we do almost everyday. But today was especially gorgeous. If you notice in the pictures Ben's face got pretty banged up there, he plays hard man.


After we got home we waited for Wes and then headed over to Chuck-E-Cheese. Ben didn't like the guy dressed up like a mouse, but what little kids does. We stayed until we ran out of tokens then headed home for cake and presents.

Ben got some awesome gifts (special thanks to gramma, and papas for sending goodies via mail). After he played with the loot we shuffled the kids into bed for one last birthday kiss.

We are grateful to have this little boy in our lives. He's been a handful lately(hard to believe, I know) but can't imagine life without him in it. Thanks Benny O. for being ours!

Halloween-Star Wars Style

We had a great Halloween this year. The week started out rainy, but it all dried out and it ended up being a perfect day for trick-or-treating. The boys have been waiting and waiting for the day when I would finally let them wear their costumes without saying, "Oh no, don't do that your gonna ruin your costume!"

Classic Ben above

Clone Trooper and Darth Vader

We met up with our friends who just so happened to be Star Wars characters as well!

Clone Trooper, Commander Cody, and Darth Vader II

Darth Vader vs Master Yoda

This is Ben and his BFF Aiden, it was hilarious they kept hitting each other and crying, then they would go back for more.

The whole cast!

Hope your Halloween was as Boo-rific as ours!

L&B

Here is a brief highlight of what are boys have been up to:

Benjamin- now knows how to spell his full name. Before he used to say, "B-e-n, that spells Ben." Now he can tell you all 8 letters in his name. He talks like crazy and understands so much. We are amazed at what comes out of this child's mouth. On Friday he said to me as I was making dinner, "Mom, there's a shark in here. I'll save you." He ran upstairs grabbed his "gun"(really a star wars light saber), ran down stars and began shooting the shark. "I'm shooting him in his tail mom, now I shooting his chest. I'm shooting his arm mom." Then from the background I hear, "Ben shark's don't have arms"-can you guess who said this? Yeah, Logan. So I said, "Sharks don't have arms, what do they have(fully expecting him to say fins)"

He looked at me for a sec really thinking and said, "Wings?"

Here he is with his gun

We signed Logan up for Fall Ball(t-ball), he is loving it. He looks so cute in his baseball cap, and has quite the arm. He has another Logan on his team so he is called "Rusty" as is Rusty Staub the famous pro ball player. Here are a few pics of his game Saturday

Logan is doing awesome. He is finally starting to adjust to kindergarten. Remember kindergarten in Texas is full day. He has lots of friends and got all checks marks on his first report card. He is reading like a champ, and understands math really well, I'm amazed. He loves Star Wars and cannot wait for Halloween to be here so he can finally run around in his clone trooper costume. He lost a tooth in June is is about ready to loose another.

And that's a wrap!

The Tyler Half

(pre-race jitters, driving to the starting point)

Well, I did it again, as crazy as it may seem. I ran another 13.1 miles.
A while ago I befriended a girl at the gym. We met while we ran on the treadmill. Occasionally I would catch her looking at my speed and distant, and if we're all being honest here, I sometimes checked out what she was running. Finally one day she said, "Thanks for being my silent running buddy. I wanted to stop then you showed up and helped me finish."


Since then we have become running friends. I ran my first half and subsequently she entered and ran in her first, and second and lots of other races. It had been a year and half since I ran my first half and she motivated me to do it again. I remember the day, we talked about it and I came home with the determination to do it again. I called up a friend and said, "hey wanna run a half marathon with me?" She said yes and the rest is history. We began training a few weeks later in the middle of the summer. The only way to escape the heat was to get up at 5 am and beat it, those were hard days. It all paid off yesterday!

Throughout the course of training several other girls joined in the running fun. We had so much fun going on our long Saturday runs and stopping off for a smoothie afterwards. However, due to pneumonia and several other leg injuries, not to mention crazy schedules some of our devoted running buddies couldn't run in the race.



(miles 8 or 9, giving some of my fans, aka Log and Ben a "high five", check out the guy behind me, don't know exactly what he's smiling about, also his shoes. I read about them in this book, crazy to see)


So those who could saddled up for a trip east to Tyler Texas. (Have you even ever heard of it?) We had a great time, we went to Olive Garden and pounded pasta the night before, then woke up early for what looked like perfect running weather(and it was!!).


(mile 10, Wes drove passed me in the car, I was walking. He said, "don't quit now only 3 miles left. Then I pointed to the water, "just getting a drink sweetie" I replied. I haven't mastered the art of drinking and running at the same time.)

It was a HARD run, hills up the wazoo. They killed me and my time, but I finished and can put it down in the record books(my journal of course). Thanks for all who ran with me, motivated me, supported me, and cheered me on(either personally or mentally its all the same). I loved it and can't wait to do it again!

(the finish, check out the medal, s! Don't know if you can tell by our faces but we are glad to be done!)

My neighbor called today and asked me if I won. That you might all get a good laugh out of that one, clearly he doesn't understand the word elite!

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