My favorite field trip...

Spring is in the air here in Denver, so it was time for an outdoor adventure! My favorite place to go is the Denver Zoo (or any zoo for that matter!). I love walking around and looking at all the animals; each one is so unique and fascinating. I wonder why a buffalo’s head is so big, a giraffe’s neck is so long, and how an elephant can be so big when it only eats hay and fruit?

We packed a picnic, picked up Maxwell and Zailah, and off we went!

We really lucked out with the weather, and it turned out to be such a great day. We were having so much fun, but my favorite part had to be this super cute interactive "jump station" where you could jump and see what animal you are equivalent to...

I was a penguin, jumping 5 ft.

(not bad for being in a skirt and flip flops...)

Maxwell was a flea, jumping 4 ft...

And Nate destroyed us all; he was a grasshopper, jumping 9 ft.

We had so much fun at the zoo that day. Maxwell had fun learning cool facts about the different animals, and Zailah just enjoyed the ride! I love being an auntie, and more importantly, I love living close enough to enjoy adventures like these with my nieces and nephew.

A Proud Teacher...

April is annual Quarters for Kids Month, so it's really got me thinking about things. Quarters for Kids is a program raising money for the homeless children in Denver; it's the difference between starting the day with a good breakfast or going to school hungry. Here are the facts that really made me passionate about this program...

1. $0.25 is the cost to provide breakfast for a youth staying a local homeless shelter.
2. The average age of a homeless person in Colorado is nine.
3. Colorado has the highest rate of childhood homelessness in the country.

I'm a teacher, so naturally I shared this passion with my fifth grade students, and they were equally excited to help. They went into their piggy banks, scrounged around the house, and donated the money they earned from doing chores! My class raised $154.25. The best thing about this program is that 100% of all the money raised goes directly to help feed these children.

I'm proud of my kids, and they are proud of themselves. They learned that doing a small act (donating quarters) can collectively make a huge difference. I'm so grateful that I got to be apart of that lesson...

Below are pictures of homeless children, and the bug is in me again. I need to do something... whether that is locally or over seas. I need to find time in my life for the little ones who need to be taught, played with, or simply held.

Uhhh, don't go here...

Colfax is a gold mine for holes in the wall, so Nate and I decided to venture up north. We were both feeling like Mexican food, so we decided on La Cueva (Spanish for 'the cave')...

I pretty much base the value of a Mexican restaurant off of their chips and salsa. So right away, I knew this wasn't gonna be the best experience. I got the chicken enchiladas, and Nate got the chicken tacos. Both dishes were good, but not the type of good where you let out an "Mmmmmm" unconsciously.

The atmosphere was cute, and definitely a good hole in the wall experience. We love experiencing these tiny, no-name restaurants, and we definitely appreciate them for what they are! There's just some we won't be recommending to our friends :)

Big Plans...

I have completed two classes for my masters, and my next class doesn't start until May 16th!!! That gives me six entire weeks to do whatever I want. I'm not sure you entirely understand what this means for me. I don't have to read textbooks, write any papers, or create another curriculum. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Ha! Okay, you caught me, you caught me. I know exactly what I'm going to do with myself.

I've got big plans for the next six weeks...

Read the rest of this...

Make this (or at least attempt)...

Run in this...

Bake and eat this...

Sew this (in different fabrics)...

Play with my favorite people...

And I will blog about all of it because I'll have so much time to spare :)

Date Night...

Date night is being done a little differently around here. My masters is unique in the sense that I have class on the weekends (Friday nights and Saturdays from 8-5). Cooking is out of the question on Friday nights when I have class, so we've come up with an alternative plan.

I ride the light rail downtown to and from school, so Nate picks me up at the Colorado Station around 9 so that we can get some dinner before everything closes. Typically, Wahoo's is the restaurant of choice. I know what you're thinking... "Ooo, gross! Fish tacos?!" Don't worry everyone, they have a delicious chicken sandwich that has become as vital to my stomach as blood is to the body!

I'm grateful for a lot of things, but this post recognizes only three of them. I'm grateful for the opportunity to go to school, I'm grateful for date nights with Nate, and I'm grateful for the chicken sandwich at Wahoo's!

I feel so domesticated...

Last night I made Sweet and Sour Chicken... FROM SCRATCH!!! That's right people, I'm moving up in the world. It was edible, but it wasn't easy. Let me paint a picture for you...

• I put on my fancy new apron.
• I put my hair in a ponytail.
• My face had a permanent disgusted expression which lasted the entire duration that it took me to handle the chicken (I loathe touching raw meat), and cut it into "chunks" (any recipe that calls for chunks makes me a little nervous). Nate handles all the raw meat in this relationship, but this recipe called for an early head-start before he made it to my house :(
• Cornstarch and egg yolk got EVERYWHERE. On the walls, floor, and everywhere in between.
• I fried the chicken for a little minute, standing as far away from the stove as possible (I didn't want anything to splash on my new apron!).
• My one dollar spatula melted in the pan while I was frying the chicken.
• My two dollar pan SUCKS, and as I looked up into my apartment, it looked like a brisk morning, driving in the high country, so foggy you can't see the exit signs to your right!
• The fire alarm went off (which is not un-natural when I cook, but usually Nate opens the doors and waves a towel at the alarm until it stops), but what's a girl to do when she's by herself?
• There's more, but you just had to have been there...

When I was done, I didn't just desire to thoroughly wash my hands, I wanted to shower! I laughed out loud a few times, it was comical. The best part? I had everything cleaned, table was set, and I freshened myself up before my guests (Nate, Maxi, and Lauren Brea) arrived. No one had a clue of the cooking adventure I had just had.

I rated this recipe a 4, and Nate rated it a 4.2 (out of 5) which means it makes it into my book for a future meal. I feel so domesticated :)

Sidenote: You can find the recipe here.

Oh the memories...

My family loves playing games! When I was a kid, we didn't have cable, but we did have tons of board games. I love the memories I have of my siblings and I playing games together.

Twenty years later, we still love games. Currently our favorite game is Rummy, but this weekend we decided to take a break from it and play a few others. We started the night with Catch Phrase, and the girls got destroyed by the boys. I won't say who lost it for the girls, but your options to chose from are Mom, Brook, Maxi, and me (cough-mom-cough).

Then we moved onto an old family favorite... SCUM! In our family, there is scum and double scum. Back in the day, scum and double scum had to go out in the backyard and pick up the dog poop. After the dog era, your ending spot in the game evolved into a ranking of first to pick out of the candy (there would be good kinds, and bad kinds).

This weekend's choices ranged from Reeces Minis and Skittles Blenders (good choices) to a Moon Pie and Cotton Candy (uh, no comment) with an assortment in between. We played, laughed, and had a good time!

You might be wondering why Maxi is sitting on a stool that is so short, she can barely see the cards at the table? Yea, double scum has to sit on the stool...

I love my family.

Sidenote: As double scum, I learned that the cotton candy isn't as bad as I thought it would be.