Sunday, January 27, 2008

Happy Birthday Nico!



We had a little family birthday party for Nico while we were down in the Springs for the holidays. We had all the cousins over for a movie and some popcorn. Then we had a Hot Wheels cake and Nico got to open Presents. Jamie and I bought him a Hot Wheels bike that he totally loved and had to pack up and bring to the Springs. Too bad there was too much snow for him to try riding it.

Christmas!

Christmas was wonderful, yet stressfull this year. We packed up the car the friday before Christmas and drove 5 hours to Colorado Springs. This drive normally takes 2 hours, but we hit Denver traffic and it was a holiday weekend. I will never do that again! Once we arrived at Ben and Lisa's house we found out we forgot the bags with all our kids clothes. So, Christian and Nico wore the same clothes for 5 days or borrowed stuff from their cousins-it sure make laundry very easy when we got back home. Then Christmas morning Jamie and I realized we left the digital camera at Mom and Dad's! We were staying with Teri and Todd and they said they would make us a copy of their photos-thanks T and T! Also, Jamie forgot to pack my Christmas presents. Not that big of a deal, but he felt awful about it. Well, all in all we had fun, but I'm still convinced had we left saturday morning instead of friday night we could have had a smoother trip-poor Jamie already feels bad about making us leave early, but I just can't forget that horrible drive!

When we got home we stayed for about 4 days and headed back to the Springs for some more family fun. I got to unwrap my Christmas presents from Jamie and the kids got to give us their Christmas presents they had made at school-which we had also forgot to pack! It was a Christmas we will never forget!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Happy Birthday to Jamie, He turned 31 and looks better than ever! I love getting older with him. He makes life so much fun and worth every minute!

We had a birthday party for Jamie the weekend of his birthday. His parents, sisters Teri, Lisa and their families came up to visit. We had a pasta bar-one of Jamie's very favorite foods, including a Green with Envy sauce that his sister Teri makes and the Olive Garden Alfredo sauce that I finally found a good recipe to. Jamie got a new skate helmet, a Joseph Smith book, gift card to download music and I framed all his law certificates and diplomas so he could put them up at work! Happy Birthday Jamie!!!!

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

The second week in December we got a bunch of snow. Nico and his friend Autumn tha lives across the street took advantage and went sledding on the street. We got so much snow I ended up shoveling our walk twice in one very snowy day!






Ward Christmas Party

At our ward Christmas Party Santa came and Christian and Nico got to ask for what they wanted for Christmas

Nico asked for a Ben 10 Omnitrix Watch. Very easy. He could have asked for one more thing, but he couldn't decide.

Christian also asked for a Ben 10 Omnitrix Watch and a Nintendo Game Cube. Santa was taking his time with all the kids, so we actually waited 45 minutes to visit with Santa!

Visit to Colorado

My sister Elisa and her family came to visit us in Fort Collins for Thanksgiving. We had a great turkey dinner, went to downtown Denver, rode the free buses, went down to the baseball stadium and of course, stopped at the Cheese Cake Factory for very expensive cheese cake. Hope you enjoy the photos:




Thanksgiving



So I didn't post anything for the holidays. But that is about to change. I finally got a hold of my digital camera and took some stuff off. Here are some photos of thanksgiving:

We had a little kid table. Summer got to sit with all the adults-she probably liked that better!


Elisa and I cooked our first turkey ever-way delicious. Jamie got to carve our first turkey-we were all so proud of ourselves. Next year we are doing this again and no parents allowed. We love my mom, but we have to say OUR thanksgiving dinner was WAY better. It could be that we probably added a bazillion calories to each meal, never the less, it was sooooo good.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Sistas....

I have two sisters who I Love and completely feel lucky to have in my life. My youngest sister Elli sent me the nicest thank you card this week. Not only was it the nicest thank you card I ever recieved, but it was on PHOTO paper with really cute fonts and classy colors. She is amazing! She just had a brand new baby and is struggling with the sleeping through the night thing. I don't envy her at all. I think most of us have been there with our first and don't wish it upon anyone. Hang in there Elli, it will all be like a dream soon.

I also have this super funny sister, Elisa. She makes me laugh and always tells me how it is. So, in response to her blog, I will post reasons for which I love my sisters so much!

Elisa
1. She calls me for no reason at all, just because she's bored or waiting for food at the drive thru.
2. She makes me laugh, even when it's not a laughing matter, she finds something funny to say.
3. She's not affraid to say what is on her mind. Even if it's gross or nasty-it's very fun!
4. She will always tell me if I have bad breath or if I stink-can't beat her honesty.
5. She is the world greatest shopper because she actually buys stuff, unlike me who likes to put everything in her cart and then leave.
6. She's a great mom-she's not affraid to also tell her kids what she thinks-if I could only repeat some of what goes on in the background when we are on the phone-way HILARIOUS!!!!
7. She likes to have fun and laugh. No matter what she's doing she's willing to let it all go and have a party-literally.
8. She loves to spend time in the sun-she has to or we couldn't be friends!
9. She's patient with me, specially when I change my mind over and over again about EVERYTHING.
10. She has an amazing family that I love. Her kids are like my kids and I would just die if anything ever happened to one of them-I keep telling her to will her kids to me, but I don't live in Utah-does it really matter?
11. I could go on forever, but I think the most important thing to me about her is that she is my best friend, or "best buddy" as the Townsend household says. What would I ever do without my "buddy"?

Elli
1. She is tough to crack-if we make her laugh, we've accomplished a great deal!
2. She and I have great phone conversations where we let it all out! We can vent like there is no tomorrow and then feel great!
3. She is wicked smart and very dedicated. She works harder than anyone I know.
4. She also likes to spend time in the sun. I remember the time she came back from a summer of selling alarms and we thought she was Dewayne's sister-she was so dark we hardly recognized her!
5. She is determined to get her baby on a baby wise schedule and is very persistent-no matter how long or hard that baby cries-she always wins! (she is going to be an amazing mom)
6. She cracks me up because no matter what kind of advise you give her, she will always take it with a grain of salt and then do what she wants-you can't make her do ANYTHING!
7. She has great taste in clothes and shoes. I only wish we wore the same size shoe, she really does have some really cute shoes.
8. She is a great person to talk to. She gives great advice and like Elisa, isn't affraid to say what's on her mind. She may be a little more sensitive to your feelings, but she's honest and I love it.
9. She is an amazing photographer-I hope she never starts to do it seriously or I wont be able to afford her services. She has such an artistica ability that completely amazes me.
10. She has big hands like me-we are one and the same!
11. I love that she is a mom now. We have so much more in common! I feel like I'm getting to know her all over again and I love it. She is beautiful inside and out and is wise beyond her years. She is also my best friend. What would I ever do without my little sister? My life would definately not be complete!!!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas:

1 package of California Chiles (they should be in the hispanic food section at wal-mart and cost about $1.74 a package)
2-3 chicken breast
Garlic to taste
3-4 C. Water
1 Package of corn tortillas
Queso Fresco (found in the refrigerated section next to the cream cheese or sour cream)
Mexican Sour Cream (this is different than regular sour cream also found with the Queso Fresco)

Crock pot the chicken in its juices until it shredds (about 4 hours).
When ready to eat prepare Enchilada Sauce:
Cut off stems from Chiles and take out seeds. Put them all in a blender and add water 1 CUP AT A TIME and blend. Add Garlic ( I use about 1 tablespoon). Water should be added until you have a good consistency. Heather said to use 1 cup, but it was WAY too thick for me, so I ended up adding 4 more cups of water.

Pour half of enchilada sauce in crock pot with chicken for the last hour of cooking. Fry the corn tortillas in oil to soften (usually about 5 seconds on each side). Set them aside. When all are fried, dip them in the remaining enchilada sauce and roll the chicken mixture inside with a bit of Queso Fresco. I put them all in a 9X12 pyrex and place them in the oven at 300 until we're ready to eat. When you serve them I add the Mexican sour cream on top and serve them with a side of refried beens. It is very DELISIOSO!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

What's for Diner Tonight?

I have had the hardest time coming up with diner ideas. I have recently been on a Mexican food kick and love to cook deep fried or really super fresh salsa. Thanks to my friend Heather Godinez, my sister and I have found new ways to make Mexican food and it is very AUTHENTIC! I love the chicken enchiladas and have not yet tried the tostadas, but heard from Elisa that they are superb. If anybody has great Mexican food ideas, I would love them.

I started diner tonight at 3 pm in the crock pot and the chicken is still raw. What a blessing! I called Jamie and he's picking up Mexican food from Cafe Mexcali. I love that place. They have the best White Habanero sauce ever! So, I may not get my chicken enchiladas I was planning on (by the way, the enchilada sauce is made from scratch and is unbelievably delicious!!!), but I do get to endulge in something almost as good-NO CLEAN UP!!!

We had a great Christmas and I haven't done any posting. We spent the holidays with Jamie's family in Colorado Springs and got to see Steve, Keri, Steven James, KT and Brett from California. It was so great to see them. They gave us California fever and we are now planning a trip to LA to visit them in the spring. I love having family in California because you get a chance to visit!