Green Chile Mania!

So I found out in the newspaper that a local Albertson's was going to be roasting fresh Hatch Green Chile here in Las Vegas today. Just before 11:00 am me, Cole and Chance headed over to grab a bag. When I pulled up there was a decently long line but I thought, okay, maybe an hour. Oh boy was I wrong. Four hours later I left with my 30 lb sack of freshly roasted green chile! And it was worth every second! Charlie came half way through with a buddy to pick up Cole (who had really been a perfect angel...thank goodness!) That left just me and Chance who took a nap on me pretty much the rest of the time. All in all it was actually kind of fun. They were BBQ'ing so I was able to buy a delicious tri-tip sandwich covered in green chile for lunch and they gave out free water, popcicles and other treats while we all waited in line. They had shade set up and chairs lined the wall so we all had somewhere to sit. I was lucky to sit next to a super nice lady that had previously lived in Las Cruces, NM so we chatted about all the places to eat and things we missed about Cruces. After I left with my 30 lbs in tow I headed up to my moms to pick her and the kids up and then met my sister at my house where we filled 70 ziplock bags full of green chile. Awe, I can see visions of breakfast burritos, green chile chicken casserole, green chile pinwheels and green chile cheeseburgers dancing through my mind...
Fresh roasted Hatch Green Chile


Chiles roasting in the rotisserie.

Yummy Chile Rellenos that I will challenge myself to make since I have so much green chile!

Horseback Riding Lessons

Kadee had her second horseback riding lesson. She got to ride a new horse, Rudy, and met her instructor Susan. She got to brush Rudy and help Susan get him ready to ride then they headed into the ring for her lesson. She practiced "steering" the horse and got to do some fun tricks like "Around the World" where she did a 360 in the saddle. She also got to do some horse yoga. She had a blast as usual.

He Cracks Me Up!

Chance has started laughing. He is such a sweet baby. He just coos and smiles all day long. Love him so much!

Red Rock Canyon and Ribs!

While my brother Rick was in town I decided to take the afternoon off and take my family on a tour of Red Rock Canyon. I had never been and figured it would be fun to all pile in the Excursion and wander out there. Charlie had to work and I left the kiddos at the Babysitters because we were going to hit Red Rock Hotel and Casino after our trip through the Canyon. Myself along with my parents, Rick and my sister and her hubby all piled into the Excursion (this is why I love my gas guzzler!) and headed west. It was a very hot and bright day! We stopped at the lookout and I made everyone get out of the car, because that's what tourists do. We snapped a couple pics, loaded back into the car and off we went.

We headed to Red Rock Casino where we all put a couple of bucks in the slots. I ended up winning about $5.00, but it didn't matter we had an absolute blast playing the Deal or No Deal slot machine. I kept getting bonuses and had to pick the briefcases. I had my whole family behind me cheering me on just like I was on the show. I forgot to mention that it was a penny slot so I absolutely refused to take the bankers deals and went for the gusto every time. On our way out of the casino we all got a whiff of the BBQ restaurant. WOW! Usually I can't smell too well but this was not the case with this joint. I am telling you I still smelled that scrumptous scent for days after. I think the smell lingered with all of us because after making it back to our side of town we decided to go to Lucille's BBQ at the District for dinner. Yummmmy!

Family Visits

Charlie's sister Cindy and her family came to visit us for a few days. It was a very busy couple of days but we had a great time. We always enjoy their company and Kadence always loves playing with Ari. We went swimming, BBQ'd, went shopping and ate at lots of yummy places like my favorite, BJ's and Don Antonio's. We were sad to see them go and only wish they lived a little closer :(

Ari and Chance.

Kadee Bug's Kindergarten Graduation

Well this year sure flew by. I cannot believe my baby girl is already graduating from Kindergarten. We attended her graduation on Friday morning and then her class had a pizza party at Chuck E. Cheese right after. Unfortunately, some of her friends, Jhovea and Dominic are moving and she will not see them next year :( (Kadee and Jhovea)

We will also miss her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Thorton. What a sweet lady. Kadence loved her! We could not have asked for a better "first" teacher for KD.

Kadee posing with her flowers from Daddy!

Congrats bug, you have grown up so much in just one year.

(Kadee on the first day of Kindergarten, August 2008)

You absolutely amaze me how much you have learned. You whizzed through Deputy Words and were one of the first to finish, only missing moving up one week...pretty impressive! I loved all of the projects you made like your snow girl, your family project and the wonderful mother's day present with lots of Hershey Kisses! I can't believe that you read me your bedtime stories now and that you are able to write letters to your friends and family. I loved spending the mornings on the way to the babysitters first counting to one hundred, then counting by 5s and 10s and then singing your money song! It was a great year...watch out 1st grade, here we come!

What a Wonderful Surprise

So Thursday morning I am sitting at my desk working hard and I hear my cell phone ring. I answer it right away because it is a really annoying ring, but unfortunately the only one I can hear (I am going deaf). I looked down at the caller ID to see who it was and low and behold it was my big brother Rick. I was a little surprised, we don't talk nearly as much as we should so I was curious to see what he was calling about. Our conversation went a little like this:

Me: Hello There!
Rick: Hi!
Me: What are you doing?
Rick: Driving to Vegas...
Me: Shut Up!
Rick: What?!?
Me: You are not driving to Vegas.
Rick: Yes I am, I am just outside of Salt Lake.
Me: Are you kidding me?!?
Rick: No. I had vacation time left, Cindy (his wife) couldn't get away so she told me to get in the car and go see my family...so I did!

From there we started formulating our plans. This was too good of a surprise to spoil. I told him to call me when he was close and I would make sure my parents and sister were together so he could surprise them later that night. I called my parents and sister and made plans for them to be at my house at about 7:30 for a BIG surprise. They were curious but they agreed! Sure enough, just before eight I got a call from Rick, I gave him directions to the house and waited for the knock on the door. When he walked in the look on my parents and sisters' faces was priceless. What a great surprise! I am glad I decided to keep it and not let the cat out of the bag!

Everyone waiting for the "Big" Surprise.

The grand entrance.

Can't really see it in the picture but my mom is crying her eyes out she was so excited!

I Love This Kid's Hair!

Chance has the best hair. Everyone jokes and asks me if I put styling products in it...which I do not. It is great though, right after he gets out of the bath I brush it and he has just enough wave in it to make it stand on end! Oh my, my little brown haired, blue-eyed little guy...so handsome!

The Kids Cook Dinner

On our way home from horseback riding I called Charlie to see if he was done golfing. "Yeah," he said, "I am stopping at Albertson's to get some stuff so the kids can make dinner tonight." Charlie decided to share one of his favorite kid friendly recipes with the kids...French Bread Pizzas. He bought a loaf of Albertson's yummy french bread, some marinara sauce, some mozzarella cheese and some pepperonis. After a long day swimming we pulled the kids out at about 6:00 pm to make us dinner! Charlie set up the table with plates of bread, bowls of sauce and cheese and measuring cups for the kids. They sat down and dug right in. Charlie helped them out a little bit for the most part they did all of the work. We popped the pizzas in the oven for a few minutes and then they were done. They were a hit! The kids loved them and so did mommy and daddy. What a great idea Charlie...I just wish you would have shared earlier!Cole getting ready to make pizzas.

Charlie showing Cole how to spread out the sauce.

A good chef always samples his product.

Kadee giving it a shot.

The kids' finished pizzas.

Mommy and Daddy's heading into the oven.

Horse Play

Kadence loves horses. I try to take her to as many horse shows, rodeos and barrel racing events I can because she loves to see these amazing creatures. She has been bugging me about horseback riding lessons so I thought I would look around to see what I could find. Yeah...horseback riding lessons are EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE! Just when I thought there was no chance in you know what, one of my co-workers found out about a program that might make it possible after all. Horses for Heroes is a program where military, law enforcement and fire fighter families can take lessons at a beyond reasonable price. Clarice called to check it out and set us up an appointment for Saturday to go meet the owner and take a tour of the ranch! What a neat set up. There were cows and goats and sheep and lots and lots of horses. Ms. Syd went over the program and gave us a great tour. We got to go in the goat pen and pet all of the goats. One goat, also know as the Mayor, kept trying to eat the paper out of our hands and I had to swat him away once after he took a bit of my purse. We got to pet all of the horses and tour the barn which was full of saddles and tack. Then Ms. Syd took the kids over to find a helmet so they could ride a horse!Ms. Syd took out Lady, a pretty dapple gray horse for the kids to ride. They started out by brushing Lady and then Ms. Syd saddled her up. The kids all got a turn to ride her around the ranch. Kadence jumped right on and wore a huge smile the whole time. Cole was great on the horse, his posture was perfect and he rode like a champ! After the rides were over the kids had to brush her again before Ms. Syd put her away.What a great morning. We signed up for orientation on Tuesday night so Kadee can start her lessons.