Guest Blogger

So my sisters in law Callie and Jessie started this meal project and blog. They are cooking the same meal 3 times a week and posting how it went, how different it was, and taster ratings. They invited me to join the challenge. I decided I didn't have much to lose so I accepted.

So to all my roommates, who never saw me cook anything more difficult than oatmeal for breakfast, here is evidence that I have progressed in my cooking... or evidence that nothing has changed. You be the judge!

The recipes so far have challenged my cooking experience and made me try new things. So if you are bored of trying to plan meals for your family or are looking for a challenge join us. Callie does a great job of posting the meals for the week on Sunday.

Here is a picture of the Butternut Squash Risotto that I made tonight:


Impressed? So was I! You can check out the blog HERE.

Goin' to Jackson

We took a little family trip this weekend to Jackson. It ended up being a lot of fun just hanging out together. The dynamics of our family right now (two little kids and only two adults) didn't allow us to hit the slopes but we still kept busy!

A picture with the antler arches is a must.

Hanging out in the condo before dinner.

We got to have dinner with Kellie and Layne. That is always a treat. We love that they live so close so we can see them every now and then. We were too busy catching up to document the outing with pictures.

Swimming in the Rec Center. This is what every town needs. Indoor kiddie pools, hot tubs, waterslides... need I say more. Luke loved the water slides the most.


We did go up to the slopes to see if we could go tubing... Luke was too short so we hung out for a bit watching others enjoy the sun and snow.

Luke liked playing around in the little snow castle that was built up there.


And Noah was just happy to be along for the ride.

It was a perfect way to spend our Valentine's weekend... with my 3 sweethearts.

Guilty Pleasures

On Monday as I was eating my lunch after the boys were down for a nap I was contemplating whether to have water to drink or make myself a new pitcher of Crystal Light. I decided that we all need a guilty pleasure or two. Something that we should probably do without and would "technically" be better without yet we continue on with the habit/behavior. I think they help us stay sane. Here are a few of my latest...

1: Crystal Light (pineapple orange, cherry pomgranate is also pretty good )- I could drink gallons of it, I honestly have to pace myself
2: An extra 5 minutes in a hot shower - This is also because Ryan convinced me to splurge on a nice big shower head... totally worth the money
3: Cookies - Noah doesn't digest lactose well, so I have to stay away from any dairy. Oatmeal cookies have become my new comfort food. I pretty much always have some type of cookie dough in the fridge.
4: Gray's Anatomy - I am not a big day-time TV watcher but I do enjoy a good hour of hot hospital drama once a week.

So here's to those little things that help us take a little time out and treat ourselves.

Holiday Recap

Well it has been several weeks since the "holiday season" and I am finally getting around to posting about it. I don't want to make the post 1000 years long so I will cruise through the recap.

Christmas Morning: Doesn't get much better than this!


Rasmussen Family Christmas 2010 (don't ask how long it took to get a halfway decent picture)


Luke wasn't having any of the brotherly love photo shoot. Noah was just one more thing between him and some new cars.


Post Christmas trip to Utah: Carrying on the Benson tradition of a Temple Square visit in the frigid weather (Notice all the red noses)


Luke and Madison exploring their musical talents...


New Year's fun: being towed by the 4-wheeler in the back yard.


Mom and Noah's version of New Years fun = lounging around inside the warm house


Visit from Angie and Madison: who needs a 4-wheeler when you have a runner who is just about as fast!


Luke's new favorite past time: Lining up his favorite cars and pretending to count them.
(Notice the favored spot of Mater, his favorite character in cars)


I was trying to take a picture of Noah but Luke had to help me and so this is about the best we got wrestling for the camera and both saying "Cheeeeese Noah".


One of my New Years Resolutions is to post more often so I am not always catching up... we will see how that goes!

Hurdles

I used to be a "hurdler". I ran track for many years but I think that my favorite race to run is the 100 meter hurdles. (4x100 and 4x400 are close seconds) The 100 meter hurdles is a rush. You get into the blocks and look down the track all you can see are seemingly endless waves of hurdles. In your mind you know that there are only 10 of them but it looks like a little tunnel that won't ever end as you place your feet in the blocks. You know from past experience that the race will end and in fact be much shorter than it looks. Your adrenaline is pumping and muscles are tense waiting for the gun to go off. BANG!! You are off running as fast as you can. It takes all your concentration to count steps, hurdle, try to run faster and if you are lucky keep track of your opponents out of the corner of your eye. Before you know it the race is over, you are out of breath and you have this major rush of endorphins as you look back over the race you just ran. And strangely there is an urge to do this crazy thing all over again.

Around Thanksgiving time I was looking at the calendar for the upcoming month and it gave me the feeling of getting into the blocks for a 100 meter race. I could see all that I needed to get accomplished... parties, decorations, shopping, doctor's appointments, end of year stuff, etc. It looked like an endless sea of events. But I knew that at the end... Christmas afternoon... I will feel that rush of endorphins (and maybe a little exhaustion) as I look back over the "Christmas Season".

So if we have been absent from our cyberspace community, we are running our 100 meter hurdles as fast as we can.

In the spirit of hurdles here are 10 pictures of our latest escapades as a little family...

Luke learning to show love to his brother.

Playing in the snow

Noah is always ready to smile for someone!

Ok maybe not always ready... He looks a little scared for his life.

Luke's favorite past time is pushing this dump truck around with all his precious stuff... you know... cars, elmo, more cars, stuffed elephant and more cars.

Just hanging out looking for a good time.

Fun Thanksgiving with half of the Rasmussens.

Luke and Ryan hunting for the perfect Christmas Tree

Found it!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

No news is good news

My little sister is exacting a bit of blog revenge. No, we are not pregnant, unless Annalyn is now playing Wheel of Fortune with someone else. We are having a hard enough time with the two we currently have. Luke and Noah are both neglected enough at this point. The other day I walked in from work and Luke gave me the "Oh look who decided to show up" face. He gets it from his mother.

Big News

It's true, Annalyn is pregnant! What can I say, my boys can swim. We are trying to see how close together we can get our kids.