When You Are Frozen In Your House This Is The Soup You Want!!

Creamy Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

chicken breasts 2-3
7 c water
1 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped onion
2 Tbs vegetable oil\or evoo
1 c sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tbs chicken bouillon granules
3\4 t pepper (white pepper if you have it)
1\2 t salt
1\2 c margarine
3\4 c flour
4 c milk
3\4 c cooking white wine

cook rice according to package directions. place chicken in water and bring to a boil. simmer until chicken is no longer pink. meanwhile in a large pot cook celery, onion and mushrooms until tender. add rice, broth from chicken, bouillon, pepper and salt. simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. melt margarine in medium saucepan. stir in the flour until smooth. whisk in milk and cook till bubbly and thick. add some broth mixture to the milk mixture and continue to whisk. then add all the milk mixture to the broth mixture. add the chicken and white wine. cook for 15 mins.

Heaven in a bowl I promise :)

Crested Butte

Our friends the Fox's come to Co frequently to vacation in Crested Butte

Usually we manage to squeeze in a dinner or a couple of days hanging out at our place.

This year we were able to go up to C.B. with them.
Knowing that it was going to be a super fast trip we debated about whether or not it was worth going.
It the end we decided that a little time with them was better than none and we packed everyone up and headed out.
And we were SO glad that we did!
We had such a fantastic time.

It was great to hang out with them and catch up.
We have been friends since before there were any little Hahl's and little Fox's running around.
It only takes a few minutes together to remember how much we love being with them.
They are such great people.
I feel honored to be able to call them my friends :)

(Emma and I at the start of the trip)

The main event was a fourwheeling trip up to Tin Cup.
Riding Tin Cup was on Larry's bucket list so he was really excited to be able to check it off.
Personally I had no idea what I was getting into.


( Everyone pretending to be blown off the top. See the elevation sign - I have never ridden to that elevation before)

Usually when we ride we do short little trails and as a family we can't go out all at the same time.
I was expecting a similar ride this time.
I was completely wrong.


(Some random dog decided to pose with us)
Everyone loaded up, I rode with Lily and since Larry's atv is larger and he has mad skills he rode with Bella and Brooke.
And Brendan headed out on the little atv.
We rode, and we rode and we rode some more.
By the time we were done we rode around 32 miles.

(our F.B.F.F.'s Hunter, Emma, Matt and Caleb)
Part of it was on an actual dirt road and the rest was up rocky switchbacks.
And on some of the switchbacks the shoulder was very narrow.
It was a little bit scary.

(one of the mountain top views)
After we reached the top of the mountain we continued on another couple of miles to some property Matt's brother owns.
The trail to it was terrifying.
I was pretty certain I was going to roll the atv and die.
Larry kept telling me that I was going to be fine.
It looked worse than it was yadda yadda yadda.

(the other side of the mountain)
And while it was scary, and I DID almost run off the trail, in the end I made it!
When we got to to the property it was so windy.
Larry actually leaned into the wind trying to fall forward and the wind held him up.
It was crazy!
(The town church in Tin Cup. So quaint)
What a great ride!
The memories the kids are going to have from that trip!

So thanks Fox's for letting us hang.
We are looking forward to next year's vacation with ya all!

my alarm clock is possessed!!

seriously.

i am not even kidding.

i think it needs an exorcist.

do they have exorcist's for inanimate objects??

here is what is going on.

yesterday morning, the alarm went off and i started getting ready for church.

after being up for an HOUR, i went downstairs and discovered that it was a hour earlier than what the alarm said.

i figured that lily had somehow messed with it and changed the time.

last night, we went to bed.

larry asked me if i changed the time back, which i did.

it went off this morning.

i got ready, came downstairs only to find that once again

IT'S AN HOUR EARLIER THAN WHAT MY ALARM CLOCK SAYS!!

what the heck is going on??

why.... why.....why does it keep changing itself!!

so much for the ultra cool alarm clock that larry was so excited to give me.

i don't care if it tells me what the temperature is outside.

and talks to me in this really cool voice.

it's dead to me.

LOST - the final installment

The show that has captivated us for the last 6 years has come to an end.
But how do you celebrate the ending of something that you have invested so much time into??
Why throw a little party that's how!

Die Hard LOST fans only!

Once you pass through the hatch the fun begins!

The infamous smoke monster paid us a visit.
I was worried that he didn't get his invitation.

Charlie's last message.
Oh the tears I shed when that message was delivered!

Our Dharma issued beverages


Lots of tropical food!
(some of the food items are missing)

The LOST cake

Beach, Crashed Airplane, Jungle and Temple

It even had a golden center to represent the "light" of the island

You can't have a party without guests.

And I just have to say that we have the best friends ever!

All our favorite LOST characters attended!

Crazy Rousseau

Kate frantically punching in the magic numbers.

Keeping everything in balance

Sawyer

(kendria insisted on being sawyer! i didn't make her!)

I don't think we really settled on an identity

Jack

(I really, really wanted to draw on Jack's tattoos but didn't have time)

Shannon and Jacob

(I think Drew intended to be someone else, but he looks just like Jacob)

Sun was in attendance as well but missed her photo opp.

Thanks so much guys for celebrating the end with us!

And for going along with our crazy themed party.

As for the finale.

I don't think I can even begin to sum up my feelings.

For me, it was extremely emotional.

So much so that days later when I would think of it I would get a little teary.

I didn't love the way it ended.

In fact, at first I was really mad; and sad.

But what I did love about it was that in the end they were all together.

They were all happy.

And the finale reminded me how much I had grown to love all the characters.

If I had to sum it all up I would say that it was about finding yourself, redemption and faith.

I have a lot more to say about the show and my philosophy but let's be honest;

Who is really going to read all that??

So I will sign off with a thanks.

Thanks for 6 years of gripping, soul searching tv.

I shed some serious tears throughout this series.

And I loved every single minute of it!

Except for killing Jin and Sun

That was a sucker punch

lil's new do

WELL~ Isn't that special!

wonder how long that's going to take to grow

end of the season

the 2009-2010 Colorado Children's Chorale season is officially over.

when we started this adventure late last summer we really didn't know what to expect.

bella and her school/chorale friend, we carpooled every week

couldn't have done it without these guys!

we knew it would be a huge time commitment

bells and i outside Boettcher Hall
spring concert

we knew Bella would love every second of it



performing Small Miracles at the Colorado Heights University

and we hoped that she would do well
Brendan and Bells
he really was a proud big brother on this day


in the end, all of these things were realized.
and now, we are ready for the summer break!

Happy Birthday Brooke!! (April 8)

Every year when it's time to celebrate birthday's I am amazed at how fast the kids are growing.
The time between when I was holding them as infants and today is like a whirlwind, yet it seems like only yesterday.
This year Brooke turned 6
Her birthday fell on a Thursday and we were packed with Achievement Days and Scouts.
So on her actual birthday we had a simple family party of pizza and homemade cake.
Then I took her to Target to spend some birthday money

Here is the delicious chocolate cake with cheesecake pudding for filling.
It was heavenly

A couple of weeks after her birthday we had a skating party

It was so much fun

At the beginning many of the kids couldn't skate

But by the end they were all doing really well

The birthday girl with her second birthday cake

It was a little chaotic but I would recommend a skating party to everyone

The kids absolutely had a ball!

Hope your birthday was great Brooke!

We love you so much!