What is Heaven?

A couple months ago, us and a couple of friends of ours were all discussing what our Heaven Foods would be.....what two things would we have in Heaven to eat for eternity. What are yours?

Dingman's was the "White Cake" from the D-Bar restaurant in Denver. And bless her heart, she vowed to bring it up to us to try, even though they only made the cake in the summer time. She called them up and got to speak to the head chef, Keegan Gerhard (on the Food Network and Discovery). He was so shocked and I'm sure ammused that his cake was someone's Heaven Food, he quickly agreed to make it special and have it ready for us!

The result!

The inside is filled with white chocolate, vanilla bean flecks and raspberries!

And she's in HEAVAN!!! Thanks Ding for the cake!

Did someone say they wanted CHILI???

Ben and I had an amazing recipe for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili from a friend. We had a bunch of dinners we were going to in the next several days, so we thought we'd make a big batch.......I'm sorry a GINORMOUS batch of it!
It was so big that we had to go get Ben's 5-gallon beer making kettle to put all the ingredients in!

Ben working hard at stirring

Here's a sneak peak of the pot-o-love!

And for those of you wanting to try this recipe, here it is:

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili:
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 large onion - diced
4 sweet potatoes - cubed
4 small carrots - sliced
1 red bell pepper - chopped
2 cans of black beans (15 oz)
2 cans diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 cup vegetable broth
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

add meat if desired (chicken is great)

Cook all in a big pot and grub!!!!

Lisa's Trifecta Weekend

I had a goal one weekend to complete 3 wintertime sports....something we did all the time in Alaska. Did I do it? Click the picture to find out!

Trifecta Weekend

Winter Hike up in Estes Park with V & Z

On a nice day this winter, we headed up to Estes Park for a fun hike with Vanessa and Zander.

Amazing thing in this picture, is Vanessa is 3 people here - herself, carrying Zander, and carrying Baby Boy #2

Zander trying to get his feet right on the snow and ice

A great view of Longs Peak

Loved the back of Zanders hat :)

Ben and Zander getting in some movie watching time together

Love how they look at the movie, then to each other, then back.... :)

Dingman's Birthday

Back when I went to college for my first two years at CSU, I had this awesome roommie, Melissa. I also had this awesome drum corps friend Sara (known as Dingman) who I felt it was my responsibility to make these two awesome girls meet. And whammo - they became best friends!!! :)
Fortunately, when I moved back here to CO, I have been in touch with them because they are a BLAST! One example was for Dingman's birthday - we went to my favorite Cuba Cuba restaurant, then off to Salsa lessons!
Dingman and Melissa

Ben and I

Didn't like the teacher so well at the Salsa lesson, but we all had a ton of fun!

Thanks for the invite Ding!

Aspen Ski Trip

We headed to Aspen for a weekend full of birthday fun, skiing, hot tubbing and hanging with friends. Our friend Landon wanted to celebrate his birthday in Aspen by renting a condo next to the slopes......so we decided that we should probably go, even though it was ROUGH choice, but as friends it was the least we could do for him ;) Haha, we had a blast with 8 of us tearing up a little place they call......Asssssssspen! ("Where the beer flows like wine")

Click on the photo below to see the pictures!

Aspen, CO Ski Trip

Lunar Eclipse

Did anyone stay up late enough to catch the total lunar eclipse last month?

I DID! It was awesome! Unfortunately, I didn't have a tripod :( But this is the best I could do!

Quick Trip to Taos

On a whim, Ben and I wanted to drive down to Taos for some exploring and some skiing. Since the drive was only 5 hours, it wasn't even twice as long as going to Aspen or Vail. So within about 4 days of deciding.....we were off! Luckily, our friend Sara Dingman and her roommate were up for some out-of-state fun as well. So, we packed up and ended up having a THRILLING trip with awesome CROWDLESS skiing and amazing food! Click on the picture below to view our photos!

Taos Ski Trip

Kayla's 4th Birthday

January 2nd brought my niece Kayla's 4th birthday!

My sister had set up her birthday at Jumpin, an indoor jumping castle area for kids, big and little :)

"This is my cake!"

So excited with all her friends around!

Meanwhile, her brother Wyatt was playing with Uncle Ben

and getting some cuddle time in

YUM CAKE!

"So Wyatt, how much cake do you think you can drive in to ya?"

Christmas in Costa Rica

This year, for the 4th time in a row, our plans to go to Argentina fell through again! So instead, we decided to go to Costa Rica after hearing so many great things from many friends and family. It was just the two of us, and SO NICE! Relive the vacation with us by clicking on the photo below.

Costa Rica 2010

Pre-Christmas Christmas's

Since Ben and I were going away for Christmas and New Years, we had a few get togethers before we left to celebrate.

First stop, up to the Block's to help decorate their tree for their 1st Christmas in their house! Zander was very curious about the process :)

Ben working his amazing tree lighting skills

Zander working his I'm so cute skills :)

The finished product! (minus the gorgeous ribbon Vanessa added later)

The Blocks

Next weekend, they came down to our house to have a celebration with us and with our friends Seth and Whitney from the Springs.

Right after this next picture, we took a group picture on the couch - which as we were taking the timed photo, the couch BROKE!!! I'm hoping to get that photo posted here if I can find it!

Seth and Whitney - post celebration, in the PJ's ready for bed! Thanks for coming up guys! We miss you!
The very next day, my parents came down from Nebraska and my sister and her family came down from Ault for a Family Christmas. My sister and I attempted to show Kayla how fun Twister was! (Definitely not as flexible as I used to be to pull this game off!)


Kayla played Santa and handed out all the presents

Kayla was so excited to get princess stuff and barbies! Reminds me NOTHING of her mom, and totally of ME!!!! (She's actually wearing the dress my sister and I wore when we were her age!)
My dad, constantly trying to video everything - as they were heading to see my grandma in Iowa right after this. This way, she could see us all at Christmas!

Ty is a big Longhorns fan, so my parents got the whole family their own hats! :)