Punky Brewster is Alive and Well

This is what happens when Carlie dresses herself. She got a new umbrella and had been asking everyday if it was raining, and of course it was not. So this particular day she insisted it was raining (it was not raining at all) and went outside to test the new umbrella out.

Capellini Pomodoro

Here is one of my favorite, simple pastas. Oh so fresh and light and YUMMY!

Capellini Pomodoro
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 pounds Roma tomatoes – diced
1 ounce fresh basil leaves – minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-oz Parmesan cheese

12-oz angel hair pasta
¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp pepper

Chop vegetables. Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water. Set aside when it is done (follow package instructions). Heat olive oil and add garlic in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook it until it turns white. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and pepper and heat through, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Tomatoes should not lose their shape. Remove from heat. Transfer hot cooked pasta to a large bowl. Toss pasta gently with tomato mixture, basil, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and top individual portions with remaining Parmesan.

The Reluctant Models

My cousin Rob's amazing wife, Amanda is a professional photographer. When I was in Utah she took my kids on a little photoshoot. My kids behaved horribly - they would NOT cooperate. They had NO interest in getting their pictures taken. Carlie had a MAJOR nasty meltdown and Berkeley kept running away and he fell down and scraped up his head. I CAN NOT believe she was able to get such BEAUTIFUL pictures of my kids - she is TALENTED! Click here to go to Amanda Stephan's photography website to see how amazing her pictures are when people cooperate! :)

My Big, F.A.T. Family Reunion

Back in July/August we attended Corey's family reunion in Island Park, Idaho. What a great time we had. It was called The F.A.T. Family Reunion: F was for the Froebe family, A for the Aldridge family, & T for the Tingey family. We stayed in some big cabins all next to each other. We went to Yellowstone on Friday & Sunday. This was my first time visiting Yellowstone and I loved it! My favorite part was knowing we were on top of a massive Super volcano that could obliterate us at any moment! I know I am a big, FAT science nerd! I always say - "Embrace your inner nerd!" We saw a baby black bear, some bison, elk, caribou, bald eagles, deer, & some squirrels. We also visited Old Faithful & Mammoth Hot Springs, & various other landmarks. On Saturday we spent the day at Island Park Reservoir. We got NO sleep due to sleeping in the same room as our kids, late night game playing (the best was Psychiatrist), & working on Corey's slide show of his grandparents life. Carlie's favorite part was throwing rocks in the water and buying stuff at the grandma store with her FAT bucks. Berkeley just loved being outside and running around. You can tell from some of the pics that he had a LOT of bruises and cuts all over his body due to him thinking he could run downhill. My favorite part was Yellowstone, getting to know some of Corey's cousins that I didn't know very well, & Corey's family history moment (he made me cry seeing how much he loved his grandparents - he cried too - I have only seen him cry a hand full of times in our almost 13 years together). Corey's favorite part was he got to see ME after not seeing me for 3 weeks! Even though I was dead tired and slept for two days when we got home it was worth it!