Easy Pasta Salad

It's hard to make soup in my crock pot now that the weather has warmed up - but I still need some easy grab and ready meals as we seem to be in and out of the house with little time for a sit down dinner these days.  This one is again from the Pioneer Woman  - minus the onions and fresh basil. 

Here it is:

12 oz pasta (any kind - I always use whole wheat)

8 slices of bacon (what isn't good with bacon?!)

1/2 c of mayo (I use light)

1/2 c of milk (I used 2%)

4 TB white vinegar

1/2 t salt

Dash of sugar (you could probably omit this if you want)

10 oz grape tomatoes halved

1/2 lb cheddar cheese, cut in small cubes

3 green onions (if you want them)

Salt/pepper to taste

Fresh basil (or dried if you don't have it on hand)

**Cook the pasta, drain and rinse in cool water.  Set aside and let cool.  Cut bacon in small pieces and cook in skillet (or be lazy and buy the pre-cooked and heat it in the microwave like me!).  Mix the dressing:  mayo, milk, vinegar, salt, and sugar.  Assemble the salad - pasta, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, onions and toss with the dressing.  Add basil last.  You can eat right away or chill - it lasts a couple days in the fridge:)  We added avocados too - I recommend that too:)

Eat up!

Almost a Ninja

We spent the better part of yesterday at the TKD studio watching M- test and advance to the next belt level.  Of course he did awesome- crisp forms and 3 board breaking techniques including one that involved flying over 4 kids (always makes me nervous).  Here he is with his Master and now he is a red/black belt.  Next test is for black belt!  Will be well deserved as M- has been patient and set back a few times with our moving around.  The kids also put on a demo team performance which was set to music - I am working on uploading a video, but no promises. 

F.U.N.

Cool Dudes

I tried to think of some great acronym for F.U.N.  but I'm not that creative at the moment.... at any rate our great friends visited these past weeks on their way from Boulder to  Phoenix and back.  What F.U.N.!  So awesome to reconnect with our Medford friends (who are now only 6 hours away from us)!  The boys mostly spent the days having F.U.N. doing basketball and Minecraft.   I so enjoyed catch up time, mango and pink margaritas (on separate days of course), a walk on the Bosque, and many laughs with my friend.  The husbands were patient with our loudness and laughter and singing (Tricia tends to break out in song frequently and I can't help but join in ) and even joined in a rowdy game of Scattergories.   I sum it up as F.U.N! 

Mango Moms

Weekend Re-Cap

Why are the weekends never relaxing?  Oh how I long for a weekend where I sit with my feet up in the sun sipping my mint mojitos....Well, I did get around to the mint mojito part while chatting with my friends on the phone on the lounge chair at the end of the day Sunday, but the rest of the weekend was far from relaxing.

Saturday morning, I drove M- to TKD while the other two headed to a grape class at the nursery and drove to the top of the mountain to scout out a hike for venturing.  M- and I did some quick shopping (boys are much easier to shop with than girls) as he outgrew most of his spring/summer clothes.  We then headed to the flag football double header - which was a disaster.  In short, M- walked off the field at half-time and quit the team as this time he was the subject of the verbal bullying (see football fiasco post if you want the back story).  I made a" little" scene on the way out and a bigger one on the phone to the owners after we made it home.  SO glad to be done with this lousy organization and grateful for my son and his character:)  

After we returned M- and Dad spent the afternoon assembling the basketball hoop - we have promised this since the move and just got around to getting it!  Saturday night we relaxed with the epic film.... "Sharknado"!  Not kidding - hilariously stupid.  Ian Ziering and Tara Reid - need I say more?!  I have not laughed so hard for a while.  Did you know sharks can rain down from the sky and eat you?!  

Sunday - Yardwork and a few games of H-O-R-S-E.  We have SO much yard work - this will be our life for the next few years until we get it under control.  Nice to be outside, but arrrrr overwhelming!

Heading off into another busy week, but we have friends arriving at the end so that will be FUN!

When the husband's away....

None of us like it when Daddy is off travelling - especially as frequently as he has been lately.  So, we try to have some fun when he is away.  Yesterday was gorgeous and warm, so E- and I took a short hike on the Bosque - along the Rio Grande with the dog.  M- had some fun at the park with homeschool p.e. and extra playtime afterwards with some who stuck around to play tag:)  

M- then persuaded his sister to head outside for some sword play - Gifford of course has to be right in the mix.

And then we spent the night watching "Frozen" - with some ice cream of course!  Super cute movie - go watch it.  Enjoy your weekend - ours is busy again!

Sunrise/Sunset

Don't these photos just make you smile?  The sun rising and setting in the west is a sight to behold. The vastness of the western sky just makes it bigger and better.  It is a beautiful thing to take time out of the day and enjoy the colors of nature:)  Enjoy yours!

Green things I like for St. Paddy's Day!

I thought it would be fun to snap a few shots of my favorite green things around the house and outside today.  What's your favorite green stuff?  Let me know in the comments and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Little green frogs in the pond - super cute

Green Chiles - of course!

My fave green water bottle (goes everywhere with me)

Trader Joes Green and Peppermint tea

Mint - for my mint mojitos!

Green Cacti plants

Green cupcakes (I made these today for some festive fun)

My forest green Forest Service sweater - If I am home, I am wearing this (so warm)

My  green tennis shoes and green crocs - pretty much my only footwear

Green Fiestaware - made in the USA is extra happiness