Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! We have had a jam packed weekend. I was actually off on Friday...I ended up spending some time working anyway, but my Dad and I were able to get a bike ride in too. It felt good to spend some time in the sunshine. It has been so nice here lately, but with work and school I don't take advantage of it enough. We'll hopefully get another bike ride in this week.

On Saturday, Gabe, Katie, and Caleb flew in and we immediately headed up to an Easter egg hunt in Scottsdale. One of our family friends, Diane Rogers, has a sister who hosts a big hunt/party every year. Diane invited us this year figuring that Paisley would enjoy it. I think Paisley and Caleb both enjoyed themselves....what they didn't enjoy was the Easter Bunny. Both of them wanted nothing to do with it :)  I think the adults enjoyed it as well. They had an amazing spread of food and drinks. Some of the desserts took someone a lot of time...you'll see what I mean when I show you the pictures.

Yesterday was also Marie's 18th birthday. For her gift, we let her pick out something at the mall since she is really into shopping right now. I took her to the mall and after trying on several outfits, she chose a really cute skirt, tank top, and necklace. She was looked very fashionable in her new outfit today. After shopping, we met up with George at our house for pizza and a movie. She also spent the night at our house for the first time. Happy 18th, Marie!! You've grown up into a lovely young ADULT!

Today, we woke up and joined everyone at church. AND.....the rest of the day was spent eating. I'm not kidding. We went to brunch with George's family at the Sheraton in downtown Phoenix. There were eleven of us at the brunch and I think we all left stuffed. The brunch included a buffet with everything from shrimp and crab to filet mignon to breakfast food. After brunch, we went to my parents' for dinner and another Easter egg hunt for Paisley and Caleb. After yesterday, they were old pros at hunting for eggs. As usual, my mom made a great dinner, but George and I had to limit our intake because we were so stuffed from the brunch. We did save some room for meringues (my favorite)!! We ended the weekend with some swimming. My dad heated up the hot tub a little bit for all of us....Paisley and Caleb had a blast "swimming" :)

I have some pictures to share, but I will have to wait to upload them until they stream to my computer from my phone. I will try to post those tomorrow! I hope you all had a great Easter as well!

Landscaping

I never posted the picture of our house from last weekend. This isn't the best picture, but if you look closely, you can see our new hanging planters, wreath, and flag. George has been obsessed with the lawn lately too. We're enjoying the pretty spring colors before it gets super hot and dry this summer!

This week we are also getting our backyard landscaped. We have been wanting to do the backyard since we moved in in August so we are very excited to have a new space to hang-out in with friends and family. We are using the same landscaper that did Brian and Terrisa'a backyard a couple of months ago.

On Friday night we went to Outback for dinner and then to to the movies. We saw "Olympus Has Fallen"...it is about a hostage situation at the White House. I recommend it for people who like action movies. I thought it was really good. On Saturday, I was at school in the morning (I am in a Business to Business Marketing class right now). After school, we went to Paisley's 2nd birthday party. She was in heaven with her little friends there to play with her...AND all of the presents, of course! It was soo funny because everytime she got clothing, she would hold it up to herself and smile for a picture. Haha, I guess she knows the drill!

My mom made the cutest Minnie Mouse cupcakes for the party. And Paisley was wearing the most adorable little outfit that Hannah and Jeremiah bought her for Christmas.

 Adorable, huh?!

Paisley and her little friends :)

On Sunday, George had to work, but I went with my parents, Emily, Hannah, and Grandma Clark to church then to visit some old neighbors from Rochester. The Armbrusters are staying in West Phoenix for the month. They come out for spring training and to get out of the cold Rochester weather. We had a nice dinner and visit with them!

Cupcake

Here is the video of Paisley refusing to eat her cupcake. 

Front Porch

Great day! George and I typically sleep in on the weekends, but this morning I woke up at 7am. I am always glad when I wake up early on the weekend because it makes the weekend seem much longer. I started off the day with some errands (grocery shopping, car wash) and a bit of cleaning. When I got home, George was out front doing some yard work. Today was the most gorgeous, spring day so we were inspired to spruce up the front porch a bit. We hit up Tia Rosa's (one of our favorite Mexican restaurants) for an early lunch, and then headed to Lowes.

We bought a flag (and light for the flag) and some hanging planters. The porch is looking great and we are ready for spring!

The final results picture hasn't downloaded yet so I will have to add that later. Here is George working on the hanging planters...

You can see me in the background reading instructions for a wreath that I am starting to work on.

Also, I had to share a couple of pictures from Paisley's birthday on Thursday. She is now a two year old :) On her birthday, we all went out for pizza and then went back home for a cupcake. My mom picked up this cookie monster cupcake. She loved it when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her, but she was terrified of the cupcake itself. She refused to take a bite. I think it freaked her out because she sees Cookie Monster "alive" on TV. I will try to post the video of her refusing to eat it.

Tonight, Brian and Terrisa hosted a BBQ at their house. It was all of the Warren siblings and the Hobson siblings. Then, I headed to a "Ladies Night In" that a women on my street hosted. It was nice to meet a lot of the neighbors. There have been a couple other get-togethers, but we always seem to be out of town. It is nice to finally know some more people on our street!

Pot Pie

Over the weekend, half of the family went to Palm Springs (Brian, Terrisa, Mom, Dad, and Hannah) to watch the tennis tournament. Emily, George, and I watched Paisley. She was sooo full of energy all weekend and I have to hand it to Emily...she had no problem keeping up! Quick funny story -- I woke up early for school on Saturday morning. I shut the door to our bedroom and started getting ready. Out of no where, George heard a knock at our door. Guess who it was??....PAISLEY! She climbed out of her crib for the first time. She was so proud of herself (full of smiles and giggles). It made us wonder how long it took her to figure that out. She is so little and it would have been a difficult climb for her.

On Sunday, Paisley had a birthday party to attend so Emily and I took her. She did not want to get off of the swings! We had to bribe her to finally get her off.

Tonight, I made a Chicken Pot Pie for dinner. It is one of George's favorites so I make it fairly often. It also makes great leftovers for lunches. Here is the recipe! It is very delicious and very, very easy.

Chicken Pot Pie IX

Rated: Submitted By: Robbie Rice Photo By: tahoegirl Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Servings: 8

"A delicious chicken pot pie made from scratch with carrots, peas, and celery for a comfort food classic."

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed 1 cup sliced carrots 1 cup frozen green peas 1/2 cup sliced celery 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 2/3 cup milk 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2.	In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3.	In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4.	Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Another Weekend Recap

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was a restful weekend for me, which I welcomed with open arms. On Saturday, we went to see Hannah try on some prom dresses. It was fun to "judge" the dresses. Although we weren't very good judges because we could only narrow it down to four. The rest of the family gave their opinions on Sunday. I should have taken some pictures for you all to give your input! She looked gorgeous in all of them so I'll be anxious to see what her final decision is. Of course, I will have some pictures of the final decision when prom rolls around (in April, I think). 

On Friday night, my Dad's friend from childhood, Paul, and his wife, Laurie, came up from Tucson. My Dad and Paul grew up on the same street in Rochester (both of their moms still live there). Paul came up to present my Dad with a plaque. I can't remember the name of it but basically my Dad, Paul, and their other friend Vinnie make football picks each year and whoever has the winning picks, get the plaque. My Dad won this year. 

Grandma Warren- does it seem like just yesterday that they were playing hockey in front of your house?! 

 A record of the winners throughout the years. I think it went back to the early 1980s...

I am looking forward to this weekend because George and I get to have Paisley for a couple of nights. Brian and Terrisa are going on a anniversary cruise (5 years). My parents will be watching her for most of the time, but we will have her for the weekend because they are going to Palm Springs for a tennis tournament. I am also going with my friend, Marie, for her first wedding dress appointment....I love watching people try on wedding dresses! 

Back to school on Wednesday night, but spring break is next week....not too shabby!

Goodnight!