Lost in Grass

We had some excitement at our house tonight. Dallin lost his first tooth. He has been worrying that he would lose it in his sleep then swallow it and die. Luckily that didn't happen. Instead he was wrestling with his dad on the grass and it popped out.

(Why didn't any of my teeth ever just "pop" out. I remember dental floss and slamming doors, but not one just fell out of my mouth. How would it be?)

Well, obviously it is very traumatic for your tooth to just fall out. Dallin came in screaming and crying. My first thought was the someone was badly hurt. When he finally calmed down enough to tell me what was wrong, I found out he was just upset because he lost his tooth in the grass and now the tooth fairy wouldn't come. Luckily, his wonderful mom came up with the great idea of writing the tooth fairy a note, which he did. Now that tooth fairy has to not only find a tooth in the grass, but she also has to round up a dollar, too, something hard to come by in the age of debit cards.

By the way, Josie thinks that she might be missing a tooth, too.

Our Town

We took a fun little hike to the top of a rock that overlooks our town yesterday. In case anyone is wondering what our town looks like, this is a shot of the downtown. Pretty big, huh? Anyway, now you can kind of picture things when I talk about where we live.

This other shot is a rare picture of Reece smiling. It doesn't happen very often. (She smiles a lot, just not for pictures.)

Memorial Weekend

Mom, Dad, and Grandma Joan came to visit for Memorial Weekend. It was exciting to have our first visitors since we moved here. We went to Castlewood Canyon for a short hike. Even Reece hiked this time. We had a great time all weekend and we were sad to see them go. Only one more month until our trip to Utah! Horray!

GirLee Girls Featured on Craft Blog

Hey, check out this blog www.everydaybeautiful.typepad.com! Our GirLee Girl shop was recommended. I just started using some new fabrics in my shop, so check out the new merchandise!

Recipe Recommendations - Pesto Week

I have been trying a few new recipes each week and I thought that I would share the goods ones with everyone. Here are my recommendations for this week:

Easy Tortelli Pesto Soup (really easy, found at http://www.kraftfoods.com/)

2 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth
1 pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated three cheese tortellini (I used Buitoni found ususally by the lunchables at Wal-Mart.)
2 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pesto (Buitoni also)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (I used grated and it tasted great.)

Bring broth to boil in large pan. Add pasta; cook 5-7 minutes adding tomatoes during the last minute. Remove from heat. Add pesto and cheese.

5 servings, 1 cup each
calories 290
fat 15 g

Great served with breadsticks!

Creamy Pesto-Chicken Casserole (easy, found in my Better Crocker Cookbook)

2 cups (6 oz.) uncooked radiatore pasta
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, chopped and drained
1/3 cup pesto
1/4 cup fat-free skim milk
1 container (10 oz.) refrigerated reduced-fat Alfredo sauce (I used the Bertolli Garlic Alfredo bottled sauce and loved it.)
2 pkgs. (6 oz. each) refrigerated grilled chicken breast strips, chopped *
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350. Spray 8X8X2 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta 9 minutes as directed on package. Return to saucepan. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese. Spoon into baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes. Spinkle with cheese.

4 servings, 1 1/2 cup each
calories 510
fat 26 g

*If you don't want to buy the already cooked chicken, you are not alone. While it is easy, it is also pricey. I just used chopped boneless skinless chicken breasts that I cooked in a little olive oil and seasoned with garlic salt, italian seasoning, and pepper. I don't know the amounts, because I just sprinkle as I cook.

I loved both recipes and would definitely make them again. I will tell you right now that pesto is around $5.50 for a container, but if you can make two meals with it and still have some left over it is worth it.

Mother's Day

The kids made a cake for me this morning from a recipe that I found on http://www.kraftfoods.com/. I bet you can't even tell which one is their masterpiece. They are amazing chefs. It tasted nasty, but not because of anything they did wrong. I bought a strawberry flavored angel food cake and it tasted like perfume. We just scraped off the pudding and strawberries and threw that cake away. Much better!

Here is our annual Mother's Day picture.

Two exciting pieces of information from today:

1. Dallin has his first loose tooth! I can't believe my baby boy has a loose tooth!

2. I have old, bumpy feet! Never something that a mom wants to find out on Mother's Day. (Dallin informed me during sacrament.)

Dallin said, "Josie looks so beautiful! She looks just like Aunt Candice!"