giggleface studios

Wacky Weather and Chilly Chili

There was some crazy weather this morning on the way to taking the kids to school! On the East side of the street the sky was blue and clear with the sun just coming up. On the West side there were dark gray clouds, gusty winds and rain! It definitely made for a most impressive and interesting drive! In the middle of all this chaos, there was the most bright and vivid FULL rainbow! You could see from end to end. I snapped a quick picture of the rainbow out the car window, but this picture doesn't do it justice in any way. It was totally awesome and incredible!

This week is supposed to quite cold and blustery (only the 50's) and to help keep toasty and warm I thought for dinner I would serve...Chili for a chilly night! This is one of my most favorite quick chili recipes. I found it on the back of the shredded cheese package and it has been made many times.

There are only a few ingredients to make this chili, but don't let that scare you! It is hearty and totally satisfying...and...my kids snarfed it up (that counts for something.)

Cheese-Topped Turkey Chili

1 Lb. Turkey

1 (1.25oz.) Package Taco Seasoning Mix  

* OR If you have leftover taco meat and not sure you can stomach one more taco...put it in the chili!

2 (14.5 oz.) Cans Chicken Broth

15 oz. Southwest Corn & Peppers, Drained

15 oz. Great Northern Beans, Drained

1 Cup Broken Tortilla Chips (or leftover taco shells)

1 1/2 Cups Colby Jack, Shredded

Brown turkey in a large saucepan over med-high until thourghly cooked. Stir in seasoning mix, broth, corn, beans, and chips. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. Top with shredded cheese.

There is nothing more perfect than eating a warm bowl of chili and a hot baked potato, while the wind is blowing and the leaves are swirling around outside the window!

A Perfect Sunday Drive to Echo Lake

Oh my how time flies, I just realized it's been almost two weeks since my last post! I have been so busy helping out with school functions, embroidering my Hocuspocusville blocks (like a madwoman), reading an awesome book (The Happiness Project...more on this in the future), and celebrating birthdays, that I simply lost track of the days!

This Sunday we decided to get away to the mountains to relax and see the changing colors of the Aspens. It's only a short 1 hour winding drive to Echo Lake. What a perfect and beautiful day it was! The weather was crisp, the Aspens were breathtaking, and the family time was awesome!

We pulled off to the side of the road mulitple times to take pictures and stand in awe of the magnificant colors! On one of the pull-offs we found this small forest of Aspens. The kids really wanted to go explore and guess what we found?

A teepee!

It felt a little magical, and reminded me of the stick houses in Where the Wild Things Are.

Echo Lake was stunning and the suns rays made the water sparkle like a thousand beautiful things!

There were plenty of large rocks to climb and jump on...

and we even stumbled upon a cairn that someone built!

Look at how incredible this lichen is taken with my super-macro lens!

All of that jumping and climbing made the kids hungry, and so we found a spot to eat our picnic. I spread the blanket on the table and within one second of the food hitting the table we were surrounded by birds (at least 4-5 large Jays)! I noticed while we were exploring there weren't any birds chirpping in the trees...could it be they were watching us high above, waitning for this moment? Oh, and this is how my daughter chose to eat her lunch...not a very effective approach!

This Steller's Jay is pretty steller I must say!

This smaller Gray Jay was not shy at all, in fact he was very curious and hopped up at the end of the table and watched us eat! My son left the table and decided he wanted to eat his lunch on a large rock near by, and while his back was turned...

Mr. Gray Jay decided to help himself to his lunch (not once but twice). He took a large hunk of bread and flew up into the tree. We were all shocked at his braverey, and watched him try to grab more with his mouth still full from the first attack!

Picnic's are great because they give you an excuse to pack wonderful mouth-watering sandwiches and desserts...you know, like this Hostess Green Lantern GLO-Ball! Nothing could be finer than coconut & marshmallow covered chocolate cake with a creamy filling right? This is sooo wrong and bad for you, thank goodness it is reserved only for those special family occasions :)

It was such a perfect day with perfect weather, but I have to make a small confession here...one of the reasons we decided to take a Sunday drive in the mountains, was because we just bought this shiny new VW GLI! Now, This might not be exciting to you, but for eight long years I have been driving a "well-loved" 1998 Nissan Quest mini-van and finally convinced Honey we needed a more reliable car for the winter season. So this is what we came home with...and I am so in love! It's such a smooth, sporty ride and best of all, it has plaid seats! All the kids are grown now and out of booster/car seats, so you know what that means...I am finally mini-van free! Now that's perfect!

My Morning Cruise

Last Summer, the kids and I would go for a daily morning bike ride around the lake/park next to our house. We have started this wonderful routine again! We like to go early (around 8 A.M) when things are still crisp and cool, the park is empty and quiet, and all the wildlife is out. It's such a great way to start the day! I love my little blue cruiser...It's nothing fancy, in fact it's just a cheap $80 Walmart  knock-off. There is only one speed (leg power) and one brake (pushing back on the pedals), but I gussied it up a bit by adding a brown seat, rolled leather pack, bell, and a basket!

No bike is complete without a basket! I had a heck of a time trying to find a good basket...after much shopping I finally found one at Hobby Lobby on sale for $3. You can't beat that...the ones at the stores are waaaay more expensive. I just wired this to my handlebars in a few places. This baby isn't come off for anything! I love the size of my basket too, it's perfect for holding my camera, water bottle, and of course my Bird Identification books. I would really like to add some BLING to my basket, but I'm not sure what...a bow perhaps...any suggestions?

There are so many different birds at the lake, especially in the early mornings. I came upon this mottled goose preening his feathers. Doesn't he look perturbed...like he's saying 'Hooow Rude?' Makes me giggle, hehe!

He actually was very friendly and waddled over to me, accompanied by his mate (I really have no idea if they are male or female.) Look at that wonderful brown vest he's wearing, and that gray speckled patch on his eye! He really is quite remarkable, because there is not another like him around the lake. He is a one-of-a-kind! His beak and legs were this great orangey-yellow...so bright.

There is a pod (four total) of American White Pelicans that have been visiting the lake recently. They are so large and magnificent! Today there were only the two swimming around side by side. I sat and watched them for some time and found that they dive simultaneously, rounding up fish!

So cool! Their large wings are like hinges, and when they dive they swivel up in the air, revealing the black feathers underneath.

Pelicans are not really people friendly like the geese are. They are kind of skittish and swim away quickly when approached. I did happen to get a close up of one before he turned and swam out to the middle of the lake. I don't think they liked me taking pictures of them...I have had this problem once before with Pelicans!

Check out this Great Blue Heron wading near the grasses! They are so graceful and can stand so still for the longest time. Honey said he saw three of them this morning when he went for his really early morning walk (5 A.M). Unfortunately, by the time we got there, there was only one and he didn't stick around for very long!

Lastly, I found this sweet scene...Mama with all of her ducks in a row! If only I could be this content and organized. The ducklings were so cute and fuzzy, and so happy to be basking in the warm morning sun.

I really missed our morning Summer bike rides. They really set the mood for the day, and it's the one 'chore' my kids don't whine about! I can't wait to see what I will find tomorrow.

Note to Self: Get All Your Ducks In A Row

But, I Still Love You!

As with almost everything I do, I am always one step behind...Happy Mother's Day! I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing day. The kids gave this wonderful little bag o' goodies that they each hand-picked for me! I don't think you can go wrong with any of these things can you? Dark Chocolate, Worry Dolls (these are not the itty-bitty ones you usually see...these are big...for those bigger worries in your life), and a lovely Red Garnet Jewelry set.

Along with the gifts are those wonderful handmade cards!

I had to laugh a bit to Honey that in each card there were some key words like: When I am bad, When you are mad at me, When you yell at me, But I still love you, no matter what...Whew, I'm so glad they don't dwell on the screaming lunatic mother that I am, heh heh! At least they all ended with You're the best and You rock!

*As a side note I don't remember seeing any of these phrases in Honey's Father's Day cards....hmmmm!

To finish out the day, I went on a nice long bike ride with the kids. The weather was perfect and the bike trails were busy, but we managed to find this secluded pond off the path. There were some Cormorants sitting on this log right in the middle of the pond sun-bathing. It's always so cool to see them stretch out their large wings and sit as still as a statue. Every once in a while you will see them disappear down in the water and come up clear on the other side of the pond, black heads poking out of the water. They are quite funny to watch!

The kids spotted these two Pelicans way over on the other side of the pond. I tried to get a good picture of them with my zoom, but they were kind of snooty...and I swear they knew I was trying to take a picture of them. They were not cooperating at all! They didn't stick around very long an took off. They are massive birds. Their shadow was incredible to see as they flew overhead!

On the way out, I rode right past this little guy (Snowy Egret) hiding in the bushes. I had to back up and get a quick shot of him...he also didn't want to be bothered and flew to the other side of the pond!

I COULDN'T ASK FOR A MORE PERFECT DAY OR A MORE PERFECT FAMILY!

(This is me yelling...who says yelling has to be all mad and bad)?