Summer Fun!!

We have enjoyed our second summer here in Colorado with lots of bright sunshine and warm, but not too hot days with an abundance of afternoon thunderstorms that come and go very quickly. We've tried to do a lot of outdoor activities knowing that once fall arrives the weather will cool down and we'll be spending more days indoors baking and sipping hot coco.
Here's a few pictures from our summer happenings:


Bella enjoying a ride at our small town fair

Cutest cowgirl ever enjoying the Rodeo
Celebrating 5 years of marriage in Vail

Our little beauty in Vail

Boating on Evergreen Lake

Beach time at Bear Creek Lake

Another Colorado sunset over the Rockies

It's Been a Long Time

So, we've been pretty busy over here and I haven't given my blog much attention, but we're still around and Bella is as fun as ever!

Happy Easter!!

Our first Easter here in Colorado turned out to be a rainy day, but we still enjoyed our time together with our little family. Rejoice for He is risen!

More of the Things She Says III

I've done a couple posts in the past about Bella's talking, but now I can't even keep up with the things she says and ideas she comes up with. Here's a brief list of some of my favorites:

"Did you buy it at Target or WalMart?" - I'm asked this whenever I show Bella one of my new purchases. Yes, I'm a frequent WalMart shopper, isn't everyone in CO?

"It's a Roxy shirt" - Said when she got dressed and saw the Roxy logo on her shirt and when she saw the logo on a shirt at the store. She's DEFINITELY my daughter!

"He's sick like grandpa. He'll go to the hospital, then he'll go to heaven" - Said when she saw a man in a wheelchair who appeared very ill.


"What are we doing today?" and "Where are we going today?" and "Will we see our friends today?" - Bella LOVES action and plans and getting out of the house (on most days).

"Can we go to a store today? Kohl's maybe?" - Again, she's my girl! She loves to shop!

"I can put it on my Birthday (or Christmas) list." - Said when we're at a store and she sees something she likes. She rarely ever asks me to buy something at that very moment, just asks for it to be a possible future gift.

"Is it on sale today?" - Said as she is looking at an item she really likes. She looks for a price tag. For some reason she thinks if there's a price tag on it, then it's on sale. Yes, I know, she's learned to be a bargain shopper like me:)

"Good Morning, It's a bright sunny day!!!" - Said in her most cheerful voice EVERY morning when she wakes up and comes to greet us in our room. Of course it helps me wake up with a smile on my face even when it's the crack of dawn:)

"It's OK baby, mommy's here. Oh baby, it's alright." - Said to her baby doll when she's playing dolls. There's so many cute little things she says and does with her baby, she's like a mini-mommy!

"2 ones?" - Our little negotiator, Bella, will sometimes ask for 2 when I've said, " you can have one _________." (insert: treat, snack, book, show, toy for the car, etc.)

"______ is my favorite in the whole world." Insert type of cereal, snack, fruit, book, movie, game, person, etc. - This one cracks me up because she'll say this with such meaning and cheerfulness even if it is about something that seems so simple to us.

"What's this word?" - Isabella not only loves to read books, she really wants to know the words and what they mean if it's a word she's not familiar with. I can tell her the title of a book one time, usually a library book, and she will not forget the title. The same thing goes for characters in the book. It's amazing!

"Read this part" or "You skipped some words, Mom" or "Read the part about the tooth" - If it's getting late I try to get through the bedtime reading a little quicker by skipping a sentence here and there, especially now that most of Bella's books have a lot more words and pages, but Bella notices. Even if it's a book that she's heard all the way through only one time before, like her library books....Crazy! I'm telling you, this girl notices EVERYTHING!

Italian Cookin'

When David and I met I hardly could do more than pasta and marinara (from a jar) in the kitchen. After receiving some great wedding gifts, I was excited to use the new kitchen gear and try to become a real domestic wife, after all I married an Italian man. So, I started trying recipes from our cookbooks, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" is our favorite. I learned how to make marinara from scratch with my homegrown tomatos, crepe manicotti, polenta lasagna, calzones and more. While I mostly cook low-fat, low-sodium, less red-meat meals, quick/easy recipes, I have become more adventurous since we now have a larger kitchen, thus more work space than we had in our little cottage in CA. I really get a sense of satisfaction when I can think up what to cook, execute the plan in a fair amount of time, then get positive feedback from David. Here's tonight's dinner that was a hit in our house:

Stromboli with sauted garlic, onion, spinach, and sundried tomato chicken sausage!



The Recipe (I mostly made it up based on the ingredients I had on hand).

1 package of pizza dough (I used a tube of crescent roll b/c that's what I had and wanted to use it up) You could also use homemade pizza dough and if you're lucky to live near a Trader Joes, I highly recommend their pizza dough balls.
1cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely (or more depending on your taste buds...we love garlic!)
1 1/2 cup spinach (I use frozen spinach that I defrost in a colander under warm water, then press the water out with a paper towel)
2 chicken sausage links, sliced thinly (we love the sundried tomato flavored chicken sausage that I've only found at our SuperTarget)
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup cheese grated (I use a combo of mozzarella, cheddar, and fresh parmesan and go light on the cheese, you could always use more if you prefer)
1/4 cup milk
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Saute the onions in olive oil for a few minutes, then add spinach and saute until onion is transclucent or carmelized (whichever you prefer). Add garlic last and saute for just a minute (it's very easy to over cook garlic and you lose the rich flavor). Saute the sausage in with the onions and spinach or in a separate pan. Roll out the dough and place on a sheet of parchment paper on cookie sheet pan. Spread just a thin layer of marinara (you don't want to use too much sauce in the stromboli so that it doesn't get soggy) over the dough, then layer the spinach and onion mixture, the sausage, then the cheese. Fold the dough over to form a pouch over the ingredients. Brush a thin layer of milk over the outside of the dough pouch and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes at 400 Degrees. Serve with a side of marinara sauce for dipping and Enjoy! It's great because the stromboli itself covers all the food groups, that's why I served it with apple slices rather than a salad or more veggies:)

CA Trip

We were able to visit my mom in CA with David 2 weeks ago. It was the first time I'd been back since my dad's funeral so I expected it to be somewhat of an emotional trip for me. Bella was really looking forward to the trip, especially Disneyland. We talked about Grandpa being in Heaven again before we left for CA because I knew Bella would ask about him once we got there and she saw his chair and other stuff. She's an amazing little girl and understands so much that sometimes I underestimate her. On about the 4th day there, my mom was walking with her walker while Bella and I were eating breakfast and Bella noticed my mom getting teary eyed when she walked by my dad's recliner chair. Bella first asked "why is Grandma sad?" I told her that Grandma misses Grandpa. Then Bella said, "Grandpa was sick, he went to the hospital, now he's in heaven."

Overall it was a tiring trip for me filled with emotional times, worrying about my mom, sinus problems for me, Bella caught a cold, but of course we still enjoyed our time with family and friends.

Bella LOVING "It's A Small World" ride at D-Land!

Striking a pose!

My Favorite pic.!

Bella, Connor, and Phoebe together after riding the Winnie the Pooh ride.


And now. . . . . Home Sweet Home:)

Bella Ballerina

Bella is still enjoying ballet class and practices her moves anytime she's in front of a mirror. Her dance teacher just had a baby so we have a couple weeks without class, but I'm sure she'll pick it right back up again when we go back.

Here's a few pics of our little ballerina:

Bella practicing her bow

Learning the bow

Bella following right along with her teacher

Bella's holding a bean bag. Sometimes they put it on their heads and

walk on tippy toes across the room...very cute!

Bella and her classmates

Auntie Annie's Visit to CO

A couple of weeks ago, David's sister, Anne came to visit us for a few days. We loved having her here, Isabella especially loved special the attention Auntie Annie gave her. Not that I don't give her attention, believe me she gets a lot of it. Auntie Annie also babysat one night so David and I could go out to a movie and it was so much fun for us to go on a much needed date. We were able to show her around town and a few touristy attractions. Bella is still talking about Auntie Annie's visit. We'll be making our way to Boston this spring or summer to visit Anne and the rest of the family for sure!

Here's a few pics from our adventures:

Bella rock climbing at Garden of the gods, one of our favorite places to take people who visit us here. If you come to visit there's a pretty good chance we'll take you there too.

David and I in one of the rock formations

I love this pic and it's one that I actually took, usually David takes the good pics.

Auntie Annie, Bella and I

Go Bella!

Our Little Valentine Girl

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hope your day is filled with sweet love!

Life is Precious

I recently came across a family's blog whose story has really touched me. You can visit their blog to read the full story: The Whitt Family

The short story is that their 2 year old daughter, named Tuesday, just passed away yesterday, after a short battle with cancer. Tuesday is survived by her twin sister, brothers, and parents. This is just so very touching and really reminds me how precious life is and how tragedy can strike anybody at anytime. While I am still grieving the recent loss of my father, I just could not even begin to imagine the pain of mourning the loss of a young child, let alone my own. It has really made me think about really reaching out and doing anything I can to help this family while they grieve. It also has made me realize that I need to cherish every moment I possibly can with Isabella. We need to cherish life and do our best to honor our families and not take things for granted.

It turns out this family lives very close to us and they have sent out an open invitation to Tuesday's Celebration of Life service next Saturday. I am planning on going, and if you live in the area, I encourage you to go as well. For now, we are praying for God's comfort and for Him to give the Whitt family strength to get through each day.