Warning for Sensitive Viewers

This last weekend the weather was beautiful - if a little on the chilly side in the morning. For those that live along the Wasatch Front you know that this kind of weather has been hard to come by this spring so we wanted to take full advantage of it while we could. We decided to go on a family bike ride. We went seven miles down the Jordan River Parkway to a park where Abbie could play. Needless to say in my pregnant state I had to adapt a little to create the "Sexy Biker Mama" look you see displayed ....


We had an absolute blast. Russ and I absolutely love biking and Abbie is getting used to it - but she loves the park at the end.

This was one of the few Saturdays where we didn't have other obligations so we made the most of it by spending the later afternoon with Russ's family at the zoo. It was as close to a perfect day as you can get when you share the zoo with the other hundreds of people who decided it was also a perfect day.

Six Months......and Painting

This blog post is in answer to a request from Jen to see a picture of me pregnant. I don't normally like to take pictures of me when I am looking my best - so taking pictures of me pregnant has an almost repulsive quality. Yet, in the back of my mind there is something about the need to have these things recorded for the baby when she is born that helps me to override my aversion and go forward.

Here I am six months pregnant with Gray baby two. I also got a new hairstyle a few weeks ago that I am actually enjoying (although you can't see it well in the picture.) It is the shortest I've ever had my hair so it was a big deal for a haircutting baby like myself.Russ says I have the Ebert problem of not being able to smile normally in pictures - as this picture clearly illustrates.


Now because I felt especially vulnerable posting this picture for all the world to see - I felt I needed to post something of Russ's for everyone to see- his latest painting. (This is not just so Russ can be embarrassed like me, but mostly because I think my husband is a talented artist who doesn't show off enough.)

This is a painting he did by request for his dad's friend and business partner Jess to give to his sister as a birthday present. It is of a family story about his father who taking his sister children for a ride on the tractor. This painting was especially challenging for Russ as he didn't have any photos to look at but I think it turned out amazingly well. I was told that Jess's sister cried when she saw the painting so I think we can safely say it was well received.

Twinkle, Twinkle....

Abbie's favorite song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She sings it as she wanders around the house, sits in the car, has her diaper changed. It is a near constant. This in and of it self is unusual because while Russ has a wonderful voice - neither of us sing a lot, loudly, or ever - except church. In addition to the singing, Abbie has become obsessed with the idea of "silly." We got a book from the library that asks if animals make certain sounds - always the wrong ones - and she LOVES the book. Yesterday as we were on our way to pick Russ up for a picnic in the park, Abbie began her usual version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". However, this time she sang, "Twinkle Twinkle little park.....no that's silly." (Our standard line in the animal book.) She found herself so funny that she kept saying it over and over again - encouraged of course by my loud and continuous laughter.

Its All Happening at the Zoo!

We really haven't had too much to tell lately. Last week was my last week of teaching before summer break and so I've spent most of this week catching up on some things I let slide and starting a deep spring cleaning. I absolutely have LOVED teaching this last year. I love that I get to use that part of my brain. It has been so rewarding as I've had different students tell me that they didn't think they would like my class and ended up enjoying it quite a bit. That all said - I'm ready for summer break! (Because having a baby is such a break!)

Unfortunately summer is not yet ready for me.

It has been freezing this week. Yet, in our naive optimism Russ took Tuesday morning off work and we went to the zoo. For the record, the weather looked great from the inside - and even at our house it was not too cold. Unfortunately, up at Hogle Zoo there was a wonderful crisp (to put it mildly) wind. None of us were dressed for it. Abbie of course didn't notice as she ran from exhibit to exhibit. Russ and I were quite grateful though for all the indoor monkey houses. (This first picture is Abbie at the monkey house. You can't see it well, but the monkey is right by the glass and Abbie has her hand touching right where he is.)

This time Abbie's favorite exhibit was watching the elephants eat their dinner. Every time the elephant would lift its trunk up to take a bite she would just start giggling. Russ had never been to the zoo with Abbie and he thoroughly enjoyed watching how excited and giggly she got with each of the different animals. The advantage of going on such a cold day was that almost all of the animals were quite active - which Abbie enjoyed even more. So even though it wasn't ideal- it was SO nice to spend the day as a family.

Yum-O

So if you've ever lived with me you know that I LOVE food! I think we all enjoy food but, I always seem to have comments made about me about my....exuberance...when it comes to culinary delights. Sadly, I never really cooked until I started staying home with Abbie.
So along those lines...I've found a new - and yummy recipe I am way too excited about. Probably because it is super easy, yummy, and cheap. I made this as a fancy alternative to grilled cheese on the spur of the moment and it was a BIG hit.

Chicken Pesto Panini's

Bread (Any kind will work but we bought some artisan bread at Costco - YUM!)
Chopped Chicken Breast
Pesto Sauce
Mozzarella cheese

So basically you put it all together, brush the outside with olive oil and put it on a panini press. Pretty basic but we don't have a panini press and didn't have Pesto sauce.

Here is where it gets easy. We discovered that you can use a George Foreman grill as a panini press. Roughly 2 and a half minutes for a sandwich. Second, we didn't have pesto sauce at the time so I made it - again super easy with stuff you probably have at your house.

Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil (Yeah right. I used 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil and it worked fine. Probably wouldn't work on a pasta but for sandwiches it was great.)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

You are supposed to mix it in a food processor, which I did the first time, but after that mixing it in a bowl worked fine and was less messy. Overall making the sauce and sandwiches took less than ten minutes!