Bill won second place at the 2nd Annual Edgewood Ward Chili Cook off! Finally vindication for all of those years that he would enter his chile verde in the squadron’s chili cook off and would be disqualified because it wasn’t traditional chili. Good job, Bill!
The state question of New Mexico is Red or Green? I have been told by a good friend that hails from New Mexico that the answer is always green. So armed with that knowledge, we bought a bushel of green chilies and had them roasted. We froze some and ate some the same night. Chile Rellano, anyone? Chilies come mild, medium hot and hot. As gringos, we went with mild and we are glad we did. A chile pepper in New Mexico is a lot different than anywhere else. The canned stuff is tame. We had quesadillas for lunch yesterday with green chilies. They were so good, but sometimes I would get a bite of one of the “mild” chilies and have to a take a bite of just the tortilla to ease the burning. Tonight is our ward’s 2nd annual chili cook off. Bill made Chile Verde. We will see if it’s good enough. We have both always loved Mexican food and are now learning about the intricate nature of New Mexican food. So if you are ever in New Mexico and someone asks, red or green? Always say green. You won’t be disappointed.
A little over a year ago, our beloved beagle, Eddie, passed away. It was a hard time for all of us. He was part of our lives for 13 years. Billy’s first word was Eddie. We knew we wouldn’t want to get another dog anytime soon, so Bill told Billy he could get some fish when we moved to New Mexico. This helped Billy to be somewhat excited about moving with the anticipation of getting fish. So finally on Saturday, we got some fish. They are neon fish and are pretty cool. This is our first venture into the fish world. I always wanted fish when I was little, but my dad always said no. It was fun looking for things to “decorate” the tank. The tank is in the boys’ room so they really love that. I know one of the fish is named Dorothy after Elmo’s goldfish, but I am not sure about the others. I heard something about Big Bird, Elmo and Ernie. I guess it’s an ode to Sesame Street, a favorite show here in Dunowland. So far the fish are great. They are low maintenance and we like to watch them explore their new home. Long live, fish!
It’s back to back birthdays in the Dunow household. Last Friday, we celebrated Baden’s big day and now it’s Bill’s turn. He spent the first part of his morning on a plane coming home from Spokane, Washington after being gone for about three weeks. He really wanted a nap for his birthday so he got one. I don’t know how restful it was because the boys are so excited he is home. I never know what to get Bill because he seems to just buy it if he wants it. He claims that he has always known what he was getting for his birthday. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I think he was surprised this year. It started off with his favorite hand cream from Duluth Trading Company. This is manly hand cream and I accidentally threw his jar away before we moved. I also got him some Anti Monkey Butt Powder. I mean who doesn’t want that for their birthday? The big present is a glider ride with Sundance Aviation in Moriarty, New Mexico. He wasn’t expecting that and he is looking forward to taking flight. We had pizza for dinner and I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Baden did some manuvering and made it to the cake before it had cooled and did some damage, but it was still edible. I think overall Bill has had a good day. I think the best part is just having him home. Happy birthday, Bill. We love you.
Both of the boys really like to help in the kitchen. Any time they can pull their chairs up to the counter to help out, they are happy campers. Tonight, we made pizza bears or Mickey Mouse Pizza as Billy called them. The recipe is super easy and fun. It makes for an easy dinner. I served the pizza with grapes which the boys love. The grapes went first then the pizza. Billy’s style was to pick it up just like a slice of pizza. Baden liked to pick off the pepperoni and olives and then eat the pizza. We had a lot of fun.
Pizza Biscuit Bears
1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
12 slices pepperoni
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
12 slices ripe olives
1 tablespoon chopped green pepper
1 jar (12 ounces) sliced pimientos, drained
1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce, warmed
Separate biscuits; place six biscuits 3 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut each remaining biscuit into six pieces; roll each into balls. Attach two balls to each whole biscuit for ears; pinch dough to seal.
Decorate each bear with pepperoni slice on each ear, mozzarella cheese for fur, olive slices for eyes, green pepper for nose and two pimiento strips for mouth. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce. Serves: 6
**The boys like pepperoni and olives so that is all we used, but you could use just about anything that you like on a pizza. It’s just a fun dinner to make with the kids.
Today was Billy’s first day of school. This is the real deal. He is in kindergarten! He woke up right at 7:00 am and was ready to start the day. Bebe made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast. Then we got ready for the day. He was a little apprehensive about riding the bus and told me he didn’t want too, but then a few minutes later he told me we have to go or we will miss the bus. The bus came and he jumped out of the car onto the bus. I didn’t even get a hug. Then he was off. I have to admit as I was driving back down to our house from the bus stop the tears started flowing. Baden was compassionate and gave me his Buzz Lightyear to comfort me. All day all I could think about was Billy. I wondered what he was doing and how he was. Then at 3:55, he jumped off the bus and gave me a huge hug. He was so excited and had a great day. He liked eating school lunch. He got to play on the playground. He played in the house that is in his classroom. He traced his hand and made a picture. He made two new friends, but isn’t quite sure of their names. 🙂 He was excited to show me the folders in his back pack and the worksheets he had done. I was so nervous for him. I had butterflies in my stomach all day. He told me I have school tomorrow and I am going to ride the bus! I hope this day is one of many more to come.
Baden is two! We celebrated with a family party with Bebe and Grandpa coming out from Oklahoma to help celebrate. Bill wasn’t able to be here as he is in Washington State, so that was a bummer. Thank goodness for pictures and video. Baden has been going around all day saying “two” and trying to hold his fingers up to show his age. He loved opening his presents and got some fun new toys. He had an Elmo’s World birthday cake which he loved and he even blew out his candles. Baden is a blessing to our family and we love him so much. He makes us laugh and we love his hugs and kisses. Happy Birthday, Baden!
We took a summer junt up to Utah to celebrate the 24th of July and to attend a family reunion. We also went camping at Dalton Springs in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. When we lived in Maryland, we camped at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There are showers, hot water and flush toilets. Here in the west, no flush toilets. There is a nice building with a pit toilet inside. I have Crohn’s disease so toilets are a major part of my life. Because Bill cares so much for me, he got me my very own privacy tent and travel potty. I have an aversion to pit toilets. I am afraid I might fall in or something might come out, so having my own outhouse was great. We were able to take showers at Bill’s mom’s house which was nice. It’s only five miles down the mountain to her house. We had family eating dinner with us every night and Bill’s sister, Melanie and her kids stayed with us for the majority of the week. It was a lot of fun. We had a strange encounter with a deer or I should say Bill did. There was a doe that seemed to hang out at the campground. We would see her every day. One morning she came up while we were eating breakfast and just stood there. Then later in the afternoon she got brave and tried to eat a cookie off of the table. The same afternoon while Bill was in the hammock he looked up and saw whiskers. Yep, it was the deer sniffing him. Sorry no pictures on that one. Couldn’t grab the camera fast enough, but it really did happen. We enjoyed the 24th of July parade. The kids loved it because they get candy and other fun treats. The family reunion was great and was capped off with Grandpa Hurst singing some songs to the delight of all in attendance. We are enjoying being so close to our families and look forward to making many more memories.
Billy starts Kindergarten on Monday. This is a big day. I have been talking it up so that he will get excited. Some days he is and others not so much. We don’t live too far from the school and we pass by it on our way to the store. I always take this opportunity to point out the school and how nice it is, etc… Billy will be riding the bus to school. We live just over a mile so they offer bus transportation. At first, I wasn’t sure about this but I think it will be a good idea for him to ride the bus. When he went to preschool, I would walk him to his class. It never failed at the beginning of the year, he would hold onto me and not want to to go into the classroom. Now that he will be riding the bus, he can’t do that. Well he can, but he won’t have anybody to hold onto. Today, I mentioned that he would be riding the bus and showed him the bus stop. He said, “Mommy, I will ride the bus to school and then when I get there I want you to pick me up.” I guess he is planning his escape already.
On June 29th, we headed to New Mexico. It was a good trip and gave me an idea what it will be like for the trips back and forth to my parents’ house. It was exciting to finally be in New Mexico after so many months of anticipation. We got to the base and promptly went to Sonic – my favorite. 🙂 We saw our house after only seeing pictures and well I can’t say I was excited at first, but it has grown on me. The views are great. We live in a small town. It has a Super WalMart, a Smith’s grocery store and a Walgreen’s. There is also a McDonald’s & a Dairy Queen. Not much, but we like it. We went to our new ward and the people are awesome. We got a great reception and we are looking forward to getting to know the people in our ward better. I think we are going to like it here.
