superstitions hike

so, i posted some of these on my photography site yesterday... to see the whole post go here.

sunday afternoon we went hiking... because the desert is alive and beautiful and we wanted to roll around in it!

i'm going to post a few here for your viewing pleasure.








this now replaces our other family portrait favorite from finn's second camping trip!

hope you have a great week!

homemade goodness

just call me julia child from now on out...

my first bout with homemade baby food. it's really, really important to me that we only feed finn organic food. i'm still doing mostly organic myself- since he's nursing (i don't plan on ever switching back -i'm now organic-fied.) those lil jars can add up, both financially & in our recycle bin. so, i'll buy them when on sale & supplement with homemade. it's a bit of a process but incredibly gratifying.

my aunt dawn gave us an organic baby food cook book! thanks dawn! & it's got some great recipes.

i started out with a washing station. i use a fruit & vegetable cleaner & rub em a little.
then peel. cut into small pieces. place in skillet, with water barely covering it. bring to a boil for 5 minutes then simmer for about 10 more. then dump em into the blender or fancy schmancy baby puree machine. make sure it's nice & blended.
then pore in your container. wala. the finished product.
finn & i were jamming to some music. our lovely set-up since the robbers took all of our stereo's. i got these awesome little speakers at amazing green planet in louisville.
i bought some of his veggies frozen when on sale.
& then some come from the farmer's market. i just made some sweet potato last week & it was sooooo good.
we aren't giving him much of the broccoli since i read after the fact that it can be hard on lil tummies.
finn munchin away on a mango stick while i was cooking.


he is obsessive about these mango sticks.
.... about to try the gourmet food! he's so excited.

first bite of peas & he's not sold.
second bite, eh... still not sure.
hehe.
i like the applesauce!
gawww. maybe not.


yum. yum. i was hesitant to enter this world of solids, breastfeeding is just so darn convenient but it's truly enjoyable watching his reactions to food. he's a really good eater & not picky at all. he'd prefer fruit- but he gets that from me. i could live off fruit alone.

since then i've started making our bread- we bought a bread machine months ago & i've lovingly stared at it. on friday i got that puppy out & fired it up. wheat bread. & it was pretty good. goodbye high fructose corn syrup. i hate you.

i also made an alfredo chicken lasagna, with homemade alfredo sauce. our friend jill's recipe. she made it for us when finn was born & i salivate thinking about how amazing it was. & mine was pretty good but a little dry. that was an intimidating process!

& then to top it off i made a homemade ice cream cake (which was delicious) for a friend's barbecue! i'm on a roll! hurry... invite us over for dinner so you can benefit from this weird behavior :) just kidding. we owe so many of our friends a meal- it's not even funny.

i like caring more about the food we eat. it feels responsible knowing where it came from & how it was grown or raised. our world has become more about convenience & being affordable than the experience. i really want to watch food inc. but i'm cautious because i love me some hamburgers & chicken. we've given up hamburgers for the most part & eat veggie burgers, but the chicken & ground turkey. oh sloppy joes, how i'd miss you.

anyone else have some good recipes for me to botch !?!

take me out to the ball game.

2 friday's ago finn experienced his first baseball game. i was dragged against my will. i am not a baseball fan, but have gone occasionally if coerced & given a suduko puzzle to keep me occupied. but i must say- this game delivered. big time. our good friend rachel was in town & marissa & darren also joined the festivities.

we went to the angel's stadium.

we bought scalper tickets out front- because it was nearly sold out. everyone else had the same idea. it was the only in town game & a fabulous day. our $16 got us in to "the party" on the patio. we get off the elevator & when asked if we're with the party we say, yep. & there it is... free food: veggie burgers or brats, sodas & cookies. YUM! this is my kind of game. beer wasn't free, but still it's hard to complain. i totally ate $16 worth of food! finn had puffs & strawberries. he loved em!

this was a major bonding experience for the boys. bryan played freshmen year in highschool. here's dada explaining the game.

intently watching. one of the guys- totally stole it from being hit over the fence. i'll admit that was exciting.
look at our boy... he kept that hat on for 5 seconds. but it was cute.
darren blowing bubbles...
me & rach & finn!
we tailgated afterwards. here's marissa tempting finn with more puffs & rachel blowing some bubbles, but it was uphill & finn wasn't budging.

i love this one that rachel snagged!

well, hell may freeze over. i enjoyed a baseball game. i said it. i admit it. & i'm pretty sure it'll never happen again :)

love this!

Not sure when you stop thinking dandelions are beautiful, but figures it's somewhere around the time you get a job & can afford lawn chemicals
brian andreas

that was my daily quote from storypeople.com. finn & i went for a walk today because it's beautiful & because if we're inside i feel obligated to do some work & he was too fussy for that at the moment. our walk lasted 5 minutes before i turned around to get the camera. we walked straight back to this yard & i plopped him down. it was too freaken appropriate. i've seen some neighbors painstakingly spraying to avoid having this grow in their yard. i think they're nuts- this is such a beautiful thing to wake up to everyday. (now- i don't know if they're native or not & that could change my argument completely.) but for now. let's just giggle together at how adorable my son is.

my favorite from our session.

exploring flowers...


okay, mom. i think i'm done. come get me.

i hope you have a wonderful st.patricks day. i'm off to work at rei :)

dinner with grandpa.

way back in november we went out to eat with ron's dad, great grand-dad paris -i love him. he is the funniest! he made some comment about me eating all the food at the buffet so he'd need to go first. it's now our running joke and i am sorry for anyone that gets knocked over in our mad dash to get there first.

ron & evelyn!
the handsome gabe.

our evie.
tehee. in elf form!
she loves him...
soo much! muah cousin finn!
he's got my duck!

mmmmm. food.
gabe loving on aunt lissa.
i'm getting there! i'm getting there! soon ya'll will have current posts!