Colorado Adventure

We went to Durango, CO and met up with my parents. First day in Colorado we went to Mesa Verde National Park. To start the day, Mike showed Benjamin the proper way to eat a waffle.

 On our drive we stopped off at a scenic overlook. 

Here is my classic shot of Mike taking pictures. Benjamin also got a chance to take pictures. He managed to get a hold of my camera and took a picture of every single hiker on the way back up from seeing the Spruce Tree village. I think I deleted 50 pictures of people's waistlines.

Benjamin had a fun time visiting with Nonna and Abuelo. He thought Abuelo was the best for taking him up and down some of the stairs.

Here's a nice picture with my parents. Mom hung out with me and Benjamin while Mike and dad went on a tour of one of the bigger cliff villages. We watched chipmunks scurry across the parking lot looking for crumbs.

The next day we took it easy in Durango and went for a Sunday stroll along the Animas River.

We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and Benjamin got a hold of my camera again and took this lovely picture of me!

The following day, we boarded the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train. This was the highlight of the trip for Benjamin.

In Silverton, we picked up a little choo-choo-train and here he is showing it off to our conductor.

Abuelo spent some time with Benjamin teaching him about cameras. He finally became so exhausted with the train rocking back and forth that fell asleep with camera in hand.

Outside the train station, Benjamin discovered a huge pumpkin that fascinated him.

Our final day we spent lunch in Ridgeway at the True Grit Cafe, surrounded by John Wayne memorabilia. Then we went to Ouray to walk Main Street and visit the gift shops. It was a pleasant trip!

Breakfast

 Benjamin had his first yerba mate this morning. There's a little bit of Argentine in this boy. Yeah!!!

His waffle ended up with butter, syrup, biscoff and red plum jam. I remember we used to eat our waffles with our hands when we were little. Sticky fun mess this morning!

Zucchini Bread

I'm not afraid of zucchini bread any more, or zucchini. I didn't like the stuff growing up, but I finally developed a taste for it. Well, here's my first zucchini bread and I think it turned out pretty yum.

Zucchini Bread

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 C canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

2 C grated zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together dry ingredients in medium bowl and set aside. In large bowl, blend together wet ingredients. Blend the zucchini in well. Scrape into greased loaf pan. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

This recipe also called for 1 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts. I omitted them because occasionally I share treats with those that have nut allergies. Since the nuts were ground, I imagine the purpose is to soak up some of the excess moisture from the zucchini. However, even though I love adding nuts to my food, I found that I like how it turned out without the nuts.

Also, I was on my way out the door after the bread finished baking so I had to remove the loaf from the pan without letting it cool properly. As a result, the bottom stuck to the pan. I scraped it in to a bowl and Benjamin and I enjoyed the little treat as we drove to our destination.

Cars Tied Quilt

A big thanks to Donna and Holly for helping me get this put together! Benjamin loves his "comfy" quilt.

Oh, Benjamin!!!

Our little guy loves being his dad's helper outside. After moving dirt all morning last weekend, Benjamin got to cool off in the water sprinklers.

Usually it's Mike that's in this position on the bed with his tablet. Benjamin likes to copy his dad!

Oh, Benjamin! Disciplining has begun and here he is in the corner. Right now he thinks it's a little game, gives a little smirk to his dad before saying 'sorry'. After dinner tonight he asked if he could go to the corner again. I think we're dealing with a clever little boy. We're in for some T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!

Peach Strudel

 What to do with all those left over peaches and you want something a little different then peach cobbler again? I found this simple, yet fancy-looking peach strudel recipe. It was a great dessert after an evening of eating out with friends. I liked that it wasn't too sweet.

Peach Strudel

1 egg 

1 T water

6 medium ripe peaches, sliced thin or diced

1/3 C brown sugar

1 T flour 

1/4 C chopped pecans (optional)

1 tsp vanilla 

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still chilled 

2 T raw sugar

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the peaches, brown sugar, flour, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg  in a large bowl.

Unfold the pastry sheet on parchment paper. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14x12-inch rectangle. Spoon the peach mixture lengthwise down the center of the pastry. You may have extra peaches. Cut slits 1 inch apart from the 2 sides of the pastry rectangle to within 1/2 inch of the peach mixture. Starting at one end, fold the pastry strips over the peach mixture, alternating sides, to cover the peach mixture. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the raw sugar. Place the pastry onto a baking sheet (if you unfolded the pastry on the parchment paper, the transfer to the baking sheet will be easier). 

Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let the pastry cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

 

I had left over peaches from the strudel, so the next day I made up some of my mom's apple crisp topping and added it to the peaches. I baked it for 25 minutes and had a yummy snack to share with the hubby.

Lawn Mowing

Benjamin followed his dad the entire time while mowing the lawn yesterday. We're hoping he'll still enjoy doing it when he's promoted to the big lawn mower.

Ka-Chow!!!

Look who's a fan of Lightning McQueen. Ka-chow!!! Mike missed Benjamin so much while we were gone on our little trip that he got a fun toy car for Benjamin. Ya...we're spoiling him, but we're having fun doing it! Here's his first ride.

Nonna's Visit

Mom rode back with me from Holbrook to Utah to keep us company on the drive home. We had a fun visit having her with us. We took her to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. We were lucky to have a nice cool morning on the day of our visit.

We did some shopping for Argentine goods. One of the items we found were alfajores. Benjamin liked the meringue coated ones so much he licked the wrapper.

Nonna loved spoiling Benjamin as much as he loved being spoiled. He looks adorable in the had Nonna got him.

 

Holbrook Trip

The first weekend of July Benjamin and I followed my brother to Arizona for our Grandmother's funeral. For Benjamin, it was a fun trip seeing lots of cousins. On the way, my brother got a flat and while he changed the tire all the kids climbed into my car. We were stuffed but safer that way. 

We also had the opportunity to stop by the grave site of one of our ancestors, Levi Savage, Jr.

One of Benjamin's favorite things to do was look at all the cars parked at the Wigwam Motel. Abuelo helped him climb in so he could take the wheel.

 He also loved watching the trains go by from the back window in Abuelo and Nonna's hotel room.

 Our last day, we had dinner with family and Benjamin enjoyed climbing onto his cousin's dirt bike. I think Benjamin will be very happy to go back someday.

Remembering Grandma

My Grandmother passed away today and I've been looking over some pictures. The one above is from her 100th birthday party (the last time I saw her) with about half of her great-grand-children. Benjamin was not born yet. I love the smile on her face! She was always happy to be surrounded by her family. In one of her letter to me, she told me how she loves all of her grandchildren and they are all very special to her.

Here is one of my favorite memories. Donna and I went with Grandma to the temple. This was probably Grandma's favorite place to spend her time. She's been a great example to us all!

Random Events Since My Last Post

A lot has happened since my last post, so here are a few of the things we've done since. One picture that is not included, which I want to get posted, is Benjamin's birthday cake. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Drew is showing Benjamin how to use his iPad.

 Mike and Drew bonding over a soccer game.

We discovered that Benjamin loves chicken noodle soup.

Benjamin is comfortable with pony rides now at Thanksgiving Point. I was nervous he was going to throw a fit, but we managed to get off without startling the pony.

 

Fun with the cousins and the origami armada, courtesy of Josh and Max.

Benjamin loves raspberries and was happy to have the whole container to himself (I did take it away after he ate plenty).

Picnic with the cousins. We had a great time!

Benjamin and Drew hanging out at the aquarium parking lot waiting for the locksmith. Only second time I've ever locked myself out of something. Glad we had an enjoyable time at the aquarium and that Drew was easy going about it all.

 It's been a while since I've taken a sleeping picture and I love this one.

 How did the chair get there? and...I thought we skipped the climbing stage.

 Benjamin loves his scooter.

 Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I love this time of year!

 Stroopwafel!

Benjamin loves cars and it's a fight to get him out of the car when he's managed to climb in the driver's seat.

Playing with the sand and dinosaurs at Thanksgiving Point.