Busted Ankle!

Aaron recently busted his ankle while trail running. It involved a trip to the ER to make sure it wasn't broken (thankfully, it wasn't) and it turned all those beautiful colors. Luckily, it's healing well- and he's running again!


Actually, the weather has been very springlike- wiiiiiindy and warm. It's been great trail running weather, as long as we're willing to be buffeted around and covered in dust when we get home...

Swinging on the Porch

Alanna loves, loves, loves to swing ("wing"). When we go to the park, she will happily swing the entire time Rhys is running around. We finally got our swing hung up, and it's her favorite activity outside (when she's not digging in the dirt and getting filthy with her brother). The day wasn't as cold as it might seem since she's wearing mittens. Actually, Alanna is developing a definite sense of style and accessories, so mittens, sunglasses and a hat are part of her typical outfits. She recently added a scarf, and we found a princess hat (bucket had with Disney princesses on it), so when we leave the house she's all decked out. What a girl...

Spring Hiking

We went hiking in Water Canyon a couple of weeks ago. In drought conditions like ours, however, Water Canyon is totally dry, even in early April! We still enjoyed getting out, as we always do. And the kids are getting to be better hikers, too!

Pizza and Fries?

 Rhys so loves the wraps we've been eating, that just about anything can be wrapped in a tortilla and he'll be happy. We had homemade pizza (no cheese for me) and baked fries one night for dinner, and Rhys asked for a tortilla so he could make a wrap. And he ate it!

Nourish the Whole Self

I completed a web workshop in March/April called Nourish the Whole Self. It focused on a 30 day vegan cleanse and included lots of information about health, food choices, personal peace and relationships, and recipes. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although many participants decided to talk about their experiences on their blogs, I decided not to as it was more of a personal experience for me. I found out I am totally willing to go vegan, and I think Aaron would be willing to join in most of the time, but it's hard to keep the kids fed without cheese. And we like honey. I also found out I like eggs more than I thought I did, but as long as I have one every once in a while, I seem to fulfill that craving. We are functioning now mostly vegetarian with some dairy (cheese and a little yogurt and cottage cheese), a few eggs, and a little fish. We learned that Rhys loooves to eat wraps when he can choose what veggies he wants in them, and (I can't believe I didn't know this before) both kids eat better when I chop everything very small. There are some who claim that veganism is one of the healthiest things a person can do and the idea of meat and high amounts of protein are an out-dated notion. After the 30 days I am able to say I agree with that point of view, although we've gone the more moderate route with vegetarianism. I felt really good as a vegan.

One of my new favorite recipes is a Green Smoothie. I make one in the morning for breakfast and either Aaron drinks the leftover pint or I drink it as a snack in the afternoon.

Green Smoothie


Yield: One blender full yields about one quart plus one pint of smoothie.

Fill your blender jar three-quarters full with washed, torn green leaves (spinach, kale, swiss chard, or I've even added broccoli leaves or collards). Add a peeled banana on top, and a handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen), or half an apple, or pineapple, or an orange, or whatever other fruit you feel like. Fill the blender about 1/3 to 1/2  full with liquid- my favorite is almond milk, though juice is also tasty. In order to save money, I often do half of the liquid water and the other half almond milk or juice. Blend. Blend very well for a smooth smoothie.

I like mine on the thinner side so it's easier to drink (rather than of the thickness that would coat your upper lip). I've read others prefer having the fruit mostly of frozen varieties and less liquid so that it's more like a green milk-shake in thickness (and temperature).

I've been trying to get this kids into these smoothies, but with mixed results. Sometimes they'll drink some, and other times they won't even try. Maybe someday they'll like them!

I took a picture of a batch I made last week, but it was rather unappetizing- the kale and frozen blueberries resulted in a dark brown slurry-like smoothie that could turn the stomach. It tasted fine to me, but as I said, I like these green smoothies.

Amaryllis

Our amaryllis bloomed a few weeks ago. It was so nice to have some growing color in the living room! This was a new bulb, so it was quite prolific- it put up two flower stalks. Hopefully I can get it to do the same thing next year.

Rhys has asked several times since if a growing thing we find in the yard or at someone else's house is going to turn into an amaryllis. He was evidently quite impressed with ours!

Skiing in March

We finally managed to go cross country skiing in March. We decided to drive nearly to Taos and then head into the mountains in order to find enough snow. We lucked out, too: it snowed about 4 inches the night before! We had a gorgeous day and fantastic conditions. We were alone on the trail until we made it back to the trailhead, and it was marvelous.

Daddy and Alanna pose for a self-portrait...

Rhys and Mommy are ready to go...

Aaron and I only made one poor decision. We underestimated how far we went and deiced to bushwhack back to the car following a fence... and we regretted it after a while. The kids were grumpy and tired and hungry, and we were trudging along... and we had to keep going... We even had to hike down a short hill at the end because it was unskiable.

Rhys and Mommy get ready to hike downhill...

All of the gear bundled for the hike...

We still thought it was a great day, and the way the dry winter went, we were so happy to have gotten out in the snow this spring!