Bunny Cyclops

We made the cutest craft last week at Little Sprout Creationscraft day. This one used panty hose filled with dirt with grass seed in it. And, we created (or I attempted to create) a bunny. But, now the grass is growing it pushed one of the bunny's eye off and the other is hanging by a string! Lance and I laugh at this little creature a lot. ;)

Easter Traditions

Along with church and celebrating the real, true reason for Easter, we also had to do all the kid-centered, traditional things too. Lilah had a basket when she got up from her nap, filled with many of her favorite things. A headband, a bracelet, bubbles, a book, paints, and candy. And I couldn't help but get her first My Little Pony - it's pink and so cute and girly (like her). She was super excited about all her little trinkets.
We then spent the afternoon at my grandparents' house, where she stole the show. As usual. She put on quite the performance - she sang, danced, talked a lot, giggled, and played and entertained all of us. She is really so fun and loves to be the center of attention for sure.
She went on her very own Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny (granny) went crazy with candy at my grandparents' house. She came home with enough candy for 5 grandkids. It was special though because next year she'll have to share with her new little cousin (well, probably not yet since he or she will only be about 5 months old). So, I take that back. We'll have another Easter with my side of the family where it's ALL about Lilah and she'll work on the sharing part with the Wileys (she's one of 5 grandkids).
All in all, a busy day, but a truly blessed one as well!

Happy Day to Grampsy!

April 23rd would have been my dad (grampsy's) 59th birthday. We have decided that in his memory we would have one of his favorite treats every year - a cherry flavored dilly bar. And, they are delicious, which is a plus. :)
This year Lilah even got to participate and she seemed to know even before we told her what was going on. She sang, "Happy Day..." (aka: Happy Birthday) on the way to Dairy Queen. We asked her if she wanted to have a treat to celebrate grampsy's birthday (the answer was of course yes).
We sang Happy Birthday and ate our dilly bars (well...Lance and I did, Lilah opted for our sugar cookies since the dilly bar was so cold).
Happy Birthday to my sweet daddy...we miss you and look forward to seeing you again on day!

Eggs

Not that much fun with a toddler I have to admit. We colored eggs together yesterday and it was fun until we ran out of eggs. Then Lilah errupted in tears because there were no more eggs to throw (literally) in the cups of dye. Daddy did some sort of magic to distract her thankfully, but she was still so confused on why after coloring the eggs we had to leave them alone. I guess it doesn't seem that fun when you just put them in some colored water and then...done. Now you get to look at the eggs. What fun is that?
Anyhow, check that off the list of Easter festivities. :)

Easter at Qwest Field...It's ALL About Jesus

Seriously awesome are the two words I would describe our Easter morning as. Over 17,500 people worshipping Jesus and celebrating his resurrection. It was amazing. Even with the rain and clouds, people came to sing and rejoice in the name of Jesus. Here are some pictures with granny, Uncle Erik and the Mann family.

Roasted Red Peppers with Quinoa

Oh my gosh, yum! I made these stuffed red peppers for my little date night with Julie and Samson last night. No meat, but so super delicious, and easy. I even think you could put in more or other veggies. I did sprinkle a little cheese on top, which even made it more delicious. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Peppers with QuinoaIngredients
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped carrots
7 bell peppers (1 cored, seeded and chopped; tops removed and reserved from remaining 6 then cored and seeded)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 pound baby spinach
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and cooked according to package directions ( Learn to Cook: Quinoa)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews
Method
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until transparent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes more. Add carrots and chopped peppers, cook until just softened, then add parsley and spinach (in batches, if needed). Let spinach wilt then stir in cinnamon, cumin and cooked quinoa and toss gently to combine. Add salt, pepper and cashews and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Set aside to let filling cool until just warm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with oil then set aside.

Divide quinoa mixture evenly among remaining 6 bell peppers, gently packing it down and making sure to fully fill each pepper. Top each pepper with its reserved top then arrange them upright in prepared pan. Cover snugly with foil and bake, checking halfway through, until peppers are tender and juicy and filling is hot throughout, about 1 hour. Transfer to plates and serve.

Easter Cookie Baking

I think honestly I've never really had Lilah help me make cookies. I feel sort of bad about it, but I always do things like that when she's napping. And...I know now why. Trying to make cookies...sugar cookies....is very hard with a toddler helping. Especially a toddler that wants to help with everything and wants to do it all by herself. :)
She helped me cut out the shapes for our Easter sugar cookies (and helped wipe a lot of the flour onto the floor). And when we were done with the dough she still wanted to "help", but without any dough that's hard.
She then made the ultimate mess with icing the cookies. Which for me is very difficult. I am controlling and I clean as I cook and bake so at the end there's little mess to take care of. With Lilah I had to just wait and let her do her thing. She loved putting the icing on the cookies and loved using all the colors. She just didn't want it to end. When we had all the cookies iced, she wanted to still play and instead put more icing on the table.
Anyhow, she loved it and it was a good afternoon project for a little girl getting over a sickness. Next time: chocolate chip cookies though.