She can be taught!!

I learned today how to set the automatic timer on my camera.

The happiness of a child........

Is always worth it!!

Christmas......

Eric and i agreed that this year we would make a cake for Jesus, after all it is his birthday (as disputed as this may be, we do observe his birthday on Dec. 25th) the boys get birthdays, they understand that they are important and mean something. So we made Jesus a birthday cake. The boys walked around calling it "Jesus Cake" all day. It was spice cake with cream cheese frosting, and it was awesome!! Before we enjoyed "Jesus Cake" we opened our gifts, because we also believe that as kids, they should get the enjoyment of Santa too. After all your only a kid once, and in my opinion, Santa is a big part of being a kid. This year, instead of falling victim to the retail nightmare, Eric and i set a gift amount limit for the boys. They each got the same amount to open. The best gifts "from Santa" were Epic Mickey The video game for Aragorn (which he had been asking for, for weeks) and play dough for Roahn. From Grandpa Spillman Aragorn got a camera and Rohan got a batman castle (which has been a HUGE hit) they also got a marshmallow gun. I was not as thrilled with this gift as the boys were (it shoots little marshmallows) but i see the joy in a cool no harm toy gun. G-Dean got the boys 250 balls, they are the ones you find in ball pits (or used to) all over. She got a stern look from me, and asked "Where and i going to put those?" she smiled as only a grandmother can and said "Not my problem" Eric got some new PJ bottoms, and some books, i got a new cross and a bunch of crosses for my new collection. T-Bri joined us this year too, and from her i got the most AWESOME softest blanket you could ever imagine (seriously if they made clothes out of this material, you'd never wear anything else) after Presents we had some wonderful breakfast burritos and then Jesus cake. It was a really good day, we played marbles, the boys played with their new toys. I am starting to like Christmas more and more as i get older, and now that i have kids of my own.

On Dec 23rd we started a new tradition. We took the boys out to see Christmas lights in our neighborhood. We all got some hot cocoa and a special dinner at Sonic and then headed off. The boys LOVED it, they had such a blast ooooing and ahhhhing. We drove around for about 1 hour admiring the lights and enjoying Christmas Music as a family. It was a great time.

I wish...I wish.....

The boys sprinkled some oats and glitter for Santa and his Reindeer Christmas Eve. The oats lure the reindeer, and the sparkle helps Santa see where his going.

TSO....

I have been so excited to sit down and tell you about our date night last night. But I had to wait till the boys were down. As you may recall Eric got me tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for my birthday. Which by the way I have to give total credit to my good friend Sara in New York for. She e-mailed Eric for my birthday and told him that she and I had talked, and I had told her I would love to go, she sent him the link for tickets and everything. That was a very cool thing for her to do. So, after 2 LONG months of waiting the night finally arrived. I had been planning what I would wear for weeks, I ironed Eric’s shirt and Pants (is it sad that your Iron has dust on it from lack of use) we took a couple pictures to commemorate the night, left the boys in T-Bri’s trusted hands and headed out for dinner and the show. We wanted to eat at Texas roadhouse but the wait was atrocious. So we settled on Joe’s Crab Shack, which if you are a seafood LOVER (not liker) I recommend you go, it’s a tad pricey, so you really have to like seafood. But the food is awesome. Eric and I both enjoyed a yummy adult drink and just talked as we ate. It was so weird to not be interrupted every 2 minutes, which of course made me miss my boys (T-Bra got about 8 texts last night from me). After dinner we headed to the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver. We have never been for a major event like this though, and we were both shocked at the traffic to just get into parking the traffic was so backed up it was on the highway (I have new respect for ANYONE that has to deal with the highway down there on a game day) We finally got a parking spot and headed in, the previous show had run over, so our show was now running late, we stood outside for about 10 mines waiting to get into the building, but once inside we were good to go. We got to our seats and the show started almost immediately. It was then I came the realization that even though I was beyond excited to see this show, I only knew 1 song by them!! I have to tell you I was very pleasantly surprised. It is an 80’s hair band in a rock arena with a classical twist. Eric loves those old hair bands, and give him some arena rock, and he’s HEAVEN. So it was a great show for both of us. I will definitely drop the hint for years to come, that this was a GREAT idea, and I will be happy to do it again.

Lunar Eclipse......

Last night we had Lunar Eclipse. The boys are to young still to appreciate it, so we let them sleep, but Eric and i stayed up late to see it. It was very cool. I tried to get some pictures, but taking a picture in pitch black isn't an ideal photo op.

Interesting fact: This eclipse was the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern Winter Solstice (Southern Summer Solstice) since 1638, and only the second in the Common Era.

Come see......

Eric left for work this morning and called me "Hey there's a lizard behind your car, he'll probably be gone when i leave but,.....oh wait nope he's staying.....you should go check him out" So the boys and i run out to see him and look what we saw.

Yearly Check ups......

We took the boys for their 5 & 3 year check ups today, and they did really good. Aragorn is 44 inches tall (a little over 3 feet) and weighs 56 pounds. Rohan is 37 inches (just over 3 feet) and weighs 31 pounds. Aragorn did his hearing and vision tests which he passed with flying colors. Dr. Erin was impressed that Rohan is already 100% potty trained, as he's not even 3 yet!! She did say that we could work on putting a little weight on him. Aragorn is meeting all the things he should be at 5, he surprised Dr. Erin by knowing his full address. Rohan did have to get 1 shot, just a booster, and Aragorn got off the hook for shots until he goes to School. We took the boys to red robin as a treat. Can't believe my boys are getting so big, seems like last week, i was snuggling them to sleep.

Christmas Tree

We put our tree up last week, and i think it came out pretty cute. We didn't do any bulb ornaments this year except for my big ones that were gifts. I did put up all the fun ones though, the ones Eric and i have got every year we've been married, and the ones i got for Aragorn when he was a baby, i have some very cool Disney ones that Becky gave me, and the boys and I made some apple Cinnamon ornaments. It could use a few more, but I am sure it will be full in a few years time. I can't wait for the boys to bring home their 1st school made ornaments. Rohan got the honor this year of putting the star on top.

This is a Video of our tree, it's a total flashing one this year, so i can't get a really good picture of it lit up. So i thought I'd do a short video. I thought it was kinda funny, i wanted some background music and the song that came on is "Ho, Ho, Ho" by Alvin and the Chipmunk's. Enjoy.

My View

This is the view from my desk sometimes......Such goofballs

Becky and Strut on their way to her company Christmas Party.........i LOVE LOVE LOVE her dress!!

Oh baby baby......

I attended the baby shower of a very good friend this weekend, and i was able to take lots of pictures :-) Nichelle is the daughter of a lady i worked with at NEXTEL Lorna. I actually became friends with Lorna first, and now i am friends with her, her daughter and her sister. It's amazing how people are brought into your life. Lorna and i actually didn't even like each other when we first met. But after working together for almost 10 years, and getting to know each other better, we are great friends. Nichelle will be having a little girl in February and she has decided to name her Brooklynn (which i love). I had a great time at the shower, there was SO much love in that room. Brooklynn will certainly be a stylish little girl, she got some great outfits. I made her a tutu (my 1st baby one) and i can't wait to see her in it.

Doing what we do

Just hagning out with my guys........

Turkey day!!

Sorry this is so late.....i have no excuse :-)

We had a GREAT Turkey day. In fact one of the best i can remember. G-ma Barbara came over with our friend Martin, and T-Bria was able to share the day with us too. Eric worked his tail off in the kitchen all morning, even though i have to say we did good as a team. He cooked as i cleaned up behind him (this plan although seemingly simple was in fact genius) it left us with only the really BIG dishes, and the plates we used to eat dinner to wash. The boys did great begging for turkey all morning, and then begging for pumpkin pie all through turkey. We played marbles at the end of the night, where Martin proceded to kick our butts. Aragorn and Rohan even got in on the action. They love to cheer and laugh with us. And it always makes me smile to see them enjoy the things i have liked doing since i was a kid.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Hope you all end your day fat & Happy

Love,

The Spillman Family

Gotta let the Artist through.......

Aragorns Party

What an amazing adventure having a child has been. We celebrated Aragorn turning 5 yesterday and it was GREAT!! We had a Star wars themed party complete with light sabers and Darth Vader. We all dressed in our best Star Wars gear (ok honestly i had to buy a shirt, as i didn't have one). We had a great time celebrating with family and friends. Lunch was as always a kids paradise, hot dogs, chips & CAKE!! Eric made a great star wars cake, that Aragorn got to keep all the figures off of. He got Toy story 3 & a Buzz Light year action figure from grandpa Spillman, and grandma Dean gave him a savings account that will grow until he's 18, at which point he can decide if he wants to take the money out, or keep it in. (we hope by them, he'll have enough for a down payment on a car) she also got him a pretty cool star wars space ship. He also got a great star wars hat from his friends Dylon & Braden. From the Wagner family (who traveled over 45 mins to be with us) he got some great where's waldo and i spy books. Our friend of the family Martin got him bubbles (which was after all the BEST gift) Auntie Bri got him the most awesome helmet and a PURPLE light Saber, she also got him the pads and helmet for his big gift from mom and dad A new BIKE!! A neon orange big boy bike. All in all he had a great time. All the kids got blow up light sabers that after cake and pinata time, they got to pummel each other with!! Best idea EVER!! We had a great time. Thanks to everyone that come out, and celebrated and to those of you who wished him happy birthday.

Happy Birthday!!

Today was Aragorn's 5th Birthday. For his special dinner we took him to his favorite resturant and enjoyed a nice family dinner. I love how he's the only one not looking at the camera!

Finally.....

We have had some ridicules weather in Denver this Oct and Nov. It is very weird to not have snow by my birthday, but almost unbelevable to not have any snow by Halloween, much less still have 70 degree weather. But yesterday we finally got snow. I had to go out in it last night, which was not the most fun, but this morning, it was beautiful. This is the view we had this morning.

Card Day........

Did you mail your cards today? Here was the stack i sent out.

Halloween......

As i have mentioned before Halloween is my favorite "holiday" but this year i just could not get into it. I tried everything, from decorating to carving pumpkins with the boys. Nothing seemed to work. But i pushed through, and it didn't turn out to bad.

Eric took the boys out this year while i stayed home and passed out candy. We had a mild drama issue with Rohan's costume (which is kinda shocking) 1st he picked the batman costume then out of nowhere the Thursday before Halloween he wanted to be a Pirate, and was adamant about it. So we broke down and got the pirate costume, he was the cutest pirate EVER!! Aragorn all along was a transformer, Optimus Prime to be exact. I have determined there is almost nothing worse then trying to keep your kids calm ALL day when they know what awaits when the sun goes down. We spent all day Sunday telling the boys "No not yet" FINALLY the time arrived to get costumes on. The boys got dressed in the layers i demanded. Skimpy costumes + Colorado weather = layers. It's a running joke of this state "You know you live in Colorado when you choose your costume around a snow suit" we got lucky this year and it wasn't TO bad, the boys got away with pants and a long sleeve t-shirt under their costumes. So off they went for trick or treating, and about 45 mins later they came back. Apparently it wasn't as awesome as they thought it would be. It did get A LOT cooler as the sun set, and they boys got tired fast. But they still got a pretty good haul. I on the other hand ended up with more than enough candy left over, we only had about 25 kids come to our door. Sunday just isn't a good day for Halloween. I think a lot of people did trick or treat stuff on Saturday. Oh well........more for me!! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!

Nobody sends......

Nobody sends cards anymore. I LOVE getting cards i blame my mom and Becky for this......
I love keeping them, i love having something to hold that i can read again and again. I love letters too, but that's a different post. I like how the Internet has freed us in so many ways, but hate how it has made us so lazy. I used to write letters to people, actually hand write them. Pages full. I did this no problem. Now, i can't write the shopping list without my hand hurting. The Internet and computers have made it possible to stay in touch with people, i otherwise might not. So i give it that due credit. But as far as a well thought out card, one you picked out because when you read it you thought of some one in your life it fits, that thrill is few and far between. I try to send cards, i used to send them all the time, randomly just because. But i haven't done it in a while. So i say let's make 11-10-10 National greeting card to a friend day. Between now and then, buy a card for at least 1 person (it can't be a bday card, that's cheating) and send it. You can do more than i person if you want. But at least 1. Imagine how much you'll make some smile, just buy sending them a little piece of paper. Pass it on, who knows how many cards you'll get, or send :-)

~Cheers,
Sam

The birthday post......

So today Oct 27th 1978 i entered this world. And, from what i understand (and as per the rest of my life) it was a production. 1st of all, i took forever to get here. My mom and dad had tried for a while with no luck, and had almost given up and then BAHM!! Mom's pregnancy went well, aside from the weight she gained, she didn't have any issues. But a smooth pregnancy doesn't always mean an easy delivery. I was born via c-section at 3lbs 1oz at 7:58 PM. I was born at St. Luke's Hospital but immediately rushed the children's hospital, and put into an incubator, because i was obviously small. I think the funniest story i have heard about my birth is when my father came in gun in holster (he was a security guard) and went to touch me through the incubator, the nurse looked at him and wanted to say something, and then saw the gun and thought better of it. I can just imagine that scene, not that my father would have done anything, but i don't think the nurse wanted to get between him and his 1st born daughter. Everything about me was fine, though, except my size. I stayed at the hospital, and i was

1 oz under 4 lbs when i went home, only because my doctor was on staff and said i could go home. YAY Dr Gary.

I turned 32 today, and although this isn't a HUGE birthday, it's still another year over. I had a great day today first thing this morning i vowed to do NO housework, i hung out with the boys, (i did do the dishes, because they were bugging me) but i didn't do anything else. Eric got me tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in Dec. and Bria got me my SIMS 3 game. My mom gave me an awesome gift that really helps me out, my boys colored me great cards, my friends showed me love by sending me happy bday messages, and i had Taco Bell (YUM!!) for dinner. I enjoyed my day today, it wasn't anything exciting, or extraordinary, but it was another day with my guys, my family and friends, and that's what matters. Here's to another year of fun, adventure and memories..........

~Cheers,

Samantha

Scary......

Halloween is around the corner which is always bitter-sweet for me. I LOVE Halloween LOVE IT!! It has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. Christmas is trying to edge in at #1 but I think that’s cause I have kids now, Christmas takes on a whole new meaning. Anyway, Halloween however although my favorite is also my most disliked and here’s why……I HATE anything scary, dead, pretending to be dead, painted, moving slow, all of it.

When I was 7 I own tickets from the radio show for it being my birthday, these tickets were to a haunted house. So my mom and I go, and I got so freaked out, we had to be ESCOTED from the building (I still blame the fact they had a guy dressed as a priest walking with you, that creped me out). Then there was the time on homecoming night in high school my date and friend and her date decided to go to haunted house (dresses and all, um Duh?) so we go, no big deal until I go through this tunnel as I am crawling out, this kid at the haunted house almost pelts me in the head with his toy gun, thankfully my date saw it and grabbed the gun. So, although not scary still a bad experience. Then there was the time when Eric and I went. It was right after we had gotten married and we went to an outdoor corn maze/haunted house. The haunted house was at the beginning, and then you went into the actual maze part. We went with friends and I was excited I thought I had finally outgrown my fear. Until we went in. It was bad from the get go, there were people EVERY where, above you, crawling out from the bottom of the corn, jumping at you (ugh just thinking about it) so needless to say I was FREAKED out, I went into panic mode and stopped, just stopped at 25 years old, I’m standing in the middle of a corn maze frozen. The kid that was messing with me got to see angry Eric because he wouldn’t let go, he was really in my face. I also do not do scary movies, I avoid them like the plague. I WANT to watch them, but I have learned to just let that want go. I will watch a movie and be fine, that day, maybe even the next. But the 3rd day it kicks in, and usually messes with me for the whole day I recently saw an article that listed the top 10 zombie movies, I have only seen 1 of them and it has stuck with me for over a year. It was a very disturbing and intriguing moving, and still gives me the creeps. I think it’s funny that of all the things I share with my father, this is one of them. My mom, can watch a scary movie till the cows come home, but my father will shoot 10 feet straight up in the air at the end of Carrie. I probably would too if I ever saw it.

This is just something I was thinking about………

Last day.....

We enjoyed our last day at the park last Monday. It was warm enough to not need a jacket, but still a nip in the air. This week we should be getting high 50's at BEST.......Ah i LOVE Fall!!

How to train your dragon......

Dreamworks finally released "How to train your dragon" a couple weeks ago, and we got it for the boys. At Walmart they had a cardboard cut out that made it look like the kids were riding Toothless the dragon.....

Mickey Mouse

Eric and I at Dylon's birthday party today

Rocking the big boy booster.....

Aragorn had to be upgraded to the big boy booster today. He was getting to big for the 5 point harness............Doesn't he look all grown up?

Birthday DAY

We had so much fun today, almost to much. The boys (and mom and dad) were invited to 2 birthday parties on the same day. We were lucky to be able to share the day our friend Dylon, and our friend Henry, who both turned 3. 1st was Dylon's party which was great his was Mickey Mouse themed, so the boys loved it. Trista outdid herself once again, she had great games for the kids, and wonderful food. Her cake was great, a giant Mickey Mouse head!! Dylon made out like a bandit (but i mean really, who can resist that charm?) and the boys got some pretty cool take home gifts themselves. I love going to Trista's parties, no matter what type it is, she always inspires me somehow. We had a great time celebrating with everyone (and i got my baby fix in with Miss Lyla)
Then we headed off to Henry's party. His was a construction theme, held at a park, with cones and caution tape and everything. It was a lot of fun. The boys got to eat cake out of a dump truck!! Kim did a great job, it came out really cute. And they got to play on the playground. Henry got some pretty cool loot, which included a kids computer, they boys were all to ready to play with it too. We had a really good time seeing Henry and Kim again, and meeting all of their family.

Maybe?

Tonight the boys are going to bed and I have the following conversation:

“Mom is Ms. Lilly coming over tomorrow?”

“No Aragorn, tomorrow she stays with her mom”

“GRANDAMA come?” Rohan Squeals

“No baby, Grandma isn’t coming tomorrow, remember we have birthday parties tomorrow”

“Maybe, maybe she come” he says, very sure

“No baby not tomorrow”

He walks away, but stops at his door and smiles at me

“Maybe”

I smile as I turn off the lights and head downstairs. He sure does love her.

Bullies.....

I was bullied, i think most of us were, i think at some point in our lives regardless of reason, we were picked on. Brianna and i were talking a couple of weeks ago about bulling and it brought up some memories. I was picked on for the same reason as my friends, i wore glasses, i didn't always have the coolest clothes, flat out, I was geeky. And now at 31 (yes mom i am technically still 31) i can look back and say "oh sweetie......if you only knew"

I will never forget my bully. Her nickname was Yoda (i seriously think they called her this because she was the wise one?) i am not sure anymore what her real name was, and it doesn't matter. Yoda, was the one i was afraid of. I honestly do not know what i ever did to upset her, but she came after me with a vengeance. I was picked on relentlessly throughout middle school. It started in 6th grade, and followed me into High School. I was called names, i was picked on, tripped had stuff thrown at me, and for 2 weeks straight i was "jumped" after school. I will never forget the pain on my mom's face when we attended my science fair, and my bullies were so bold as to make fun of me in front of her. I ignored them as i had learned to do, but she was hearing things for the 1st time. My bullying wasn't as bad as some of the stories i am hearing now. But 15 years ago, it was bad enough.

Bullying has been going on for a long time. And it's getting worse. It used to be that once you left school for the day you could breathe a sigh of relief. You were home, you were safe. Now, it's in your face every time you open your eyes. From calling on your home phone to your cell phone, to txting, to IMing, to e-mail, Facebook, Myspace, BLOGGING!! All of these things can be used as a means to bully and harass. And it's driving more and more kids to a brink they have never before experienced. I have read about 5 different stories in the last 2 weeks, where kids have committed suicide as a result of extreme bullying. This is 5 kids to many. Bullying is NOT part of life and growing up.

I am one of many right now, that is asking for bullying to stop. Parents need to open their eyes and see how their child is being treated.....Or how they are treating other kids. Take the action that needs to be taken to protect your kids.

And to those of you being bullied, being picked on, and being beat up after school. THIS is not the best you will ever have. Stay strong, and speak up tell someone about it. Let them know it's happening. Don't think your alone, find your voice. Don't think ending your life is the best choice you can make. Living well is the best revenge. Do it for a long long time.

~Sam

Weekend

This weekend was very nice. Yesterday the boys and I did a couple errands and hung out while Eric worked. We had some friends over Saturday night, so I made a roast that I cooked to perfection, even had a lil pink right in the middle for me. Gravy was a pain though, I put all my stuff into the blender, blend it, go to take it out of the bottom, and the whole bottom of the container stuck, I had 450 degree gravy EVERYWHERE, on my FRESHLY cleaned floor ( I swear I am never cleaning it again, ever) all over the counter, the dishwasher, ugh such a mess. But we fixed it, and it was great. We played some bump it, and totally killed the new kid. We also tried a new drink i saw on the food network. Vodka Mojitos. AWESOME!! And cheap, except for the Mint, you probably have all the stuff you need all the time……the simple syrup is sweet enough that it covers the vodka (which is why it's awesome) I used bottled lime juice, and it was still very tasty.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/vodka-mojito-recipe/index.html

So after playing bump-it last night, we decided to take a lil trip to the wizard’s chest and get some new ones ;-) not to get rid of what we have, but to add to them, give people more choices. I was kinda disappointed with the selection, but I bought what they had. Of course now, I have to get bags to put them in.

Then we went to country buffet because Aragorn LOVES that place, and we all enjoyed a nice lunch together. It was pretty cool, when we walked in, there was nothing but a sea of green BTU’s. Eric said he talked to one of the guys and he said they go there about once a month. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but by the time we got settled they had left. I was very amazed though at how people treated them. They moved aside, or gave up their place in line. There was one guy that was thanking all of them, individually. It was pretty cool. Otherwise not to much here. Hung around. Eric watched star wars with the boys tonight, I got pictures!!! So awesome……….

Road Trip.....

This is how Rohan rocks the road trip

You're My Best Friend - Don Williams

This is one of the songs played at Avis's service.......I have always loved this song.......

RIP Avis......

Eric's grandmother Avis left us 09-14-10. We attended her memorial service this past weekend held in Ellsworth, KS. I have waited until today to blog about her death, because i honestly didn't know Avis very well. I had only met her 3 or 4 times myself, and it's really hard to get to know someone in only a few visits. But this weekend, i saw what kind of women she was, simply by the people that attended her service. Based on what people said about her, she was a wonderful women who like so many of us struggled. She suffered from depression, I learned this weekend, that took a toll on her family. But, even through this sickness, she did the best she could, as we all try to do. She was a great cook, having the best fried chicken ever. She loved to read. She cleaned incessantly. She will be missed greatly.

I am sad that i didn't get to know her better, that i didn't take that step to get to know her better. I would have loved to talk to her about her life, where she grew up, how she lived, how she met Irvin.....everything. I love to hear old stories from people that were there, it makes it extra special when they are family. I guess the lesson in this is, talk to your family, learn all you can, soak it in, write it down.

RIP Avis.....you will be missed

And although this was a very sad occasion, i did get a great picture of four generations of Spillman men. And one of Father, Son and Grandson.

Wednesday Dinner

I like to watch the Foodnetwork, so much so that i have no idea what else is even on TV. We watch Disney and Foodnetwork that's it. Which for me, is great. I like to get new ideas and see how my favorite chefs make my favorite meals. Last Wednesday Brianna came over for dinner and i shared 2 new recipes i had seen on Giada and Ina Garten. I was not impressed with either recipe and i probably won't make them again. But it was fun giving new things a try. I will post pictures and the recipe in case you want to give it a shot. I think the salad would have been better with a diffrent citrus fruit (MAYBE and orange) and i wasn't crazy about the sandwich, it was to big to eat as a sandwich, and very messy to eat with fork and knife. Giada diffentily made it look better on her show.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
4 ripe Hass avocados
2 large red grapefruits
Directions
Place the mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

Before serving, cut the avocados in 1/2, remove the seeds, and carefully peel off the skin. Cut each half into 4 thick slices. Toss the avocado slices in the vinaigrette to prevent them from turning brown. Use a large, sharp knife to slice the peel off the grapefruits (be sure to remove all the white pith), then cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments.

Arrange the avocado slices around the edge of a large platter. Arrange the grapefruit segments in the center. Spoon the vinaigrette on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.



Grilled Chicken and Avocado Napoleons

Ingredients
2 (9 by 10-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into 12 (3 by 5-inch) rectangles
4 (4-ounce) boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt
Olive oil, for drizzling
3 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 large avocado, thinly sliced into 8 pieces
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Directions
Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.


Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheets. Using the tines of a fork, prick the top of the pastry all over. Cover the pastry with parchment paper and place another baking sheet on top. Bake for 25 minutes until golden. Remove the top baking sheets and parchment paper. Set aside to cool.


Preheat a grill pan or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the chicken with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool.


In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and cayenne pepper.


To assemble the Napoleons: Place 4 pieces pastry on a work surface. Slice each chicken breast diagonally into 6 (1/4-inch thick) slices. Place 3 chicken breast slices on each piece of pastry. Place 1/4 cup of spinach and 1 avocado slice on top. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture on the underside of another 4 pieces of pastry to create the middle layer of each Napoleon. Place on top. Repeat the layering. Each Napoleon should be completed with a piece of pastry as its top.