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.

You've taught him well Aunt Becky.....

You've taught him well........

Happy National Talk like a Pirate Day

From the Spillman Family

Oh how he loves a photo.....

No....not really, but he does it for me.

Happy 1st Birthday.....

Today all of us celebrated 1 year at the Edge Church. We had service followed by a picnic complete with a bouncy house, snow cones, popcorn and lemonade for the kids. For the adults they had a chili cook off, and there was some pretty stiff competition. But in the end Eric's Whiskey Sirloin Chili WON!! He won bragging rights for having the best chili out of 14 others WAHOO!! Good Job!! (it was pretty awesome, i had to admit, even if he weren't my husband i would have voted for it) They also had a tattoo booth, Rohan and i both got new "ink" I am actually kind of happy i got it where i did. I have been debating on getting a 1/2 sleeve tattoo for a while, and this "tattoo" helped me decide.

It was a great time, we met some new friends and got to reconnect with some old ones. As i took pictures today, i was amazed at the number of people we can call friend, that we have met at this church. We are blessed!! Happy Birthday EDGE!!

A couple videos from today

Critters.....

We live by a park, which is next to a field, which is next to a highway. We have a ton of animals that come into our yard, which are the bain of Eric's existence, if he were superman these animals would be his kryptonite. Not only have they destroyed the yard, they seem to be immune to all types of traps. We triied almost everyhthing this summer, if we can't get rid of them, I fully expect Eric to go caddy shack on them next. We also get a ton of creepy things, snakes, rodents, bugs. Today as we were cleaning up toys from the backyard i heard Eric yelp followed by

"UGH SNAKE"

he was actually very calm, which shows he has gotten better as a father. By not freaking out (as he normally would have) he was able to get the snake a good distance away from all of us. Now, upon inspection of the snake, he really wasn't anything to be afraid of, but we are trying to teach the boys that all snakes could be dangerous and we don't want them messing with them. We all kind of woo'd and ahh'd over him and i got a couple shots of him (from a distance) as he curled around trying to make himself invisible. I think he's kinda cute. (he looks a lot bigger in the picture than he was)

And then there are the bugs we have. Yesterday morning Eric went outside to leave for work but came back in and said

"Sam, there's a walking stick by the front door"

I grabbed the boys and headed up he was all kinds of cool hanging out on the side of the house.

Goodbye summer.....

This is always bitter sweet, I look forward to Fall (my favorite season) i look forward to cozy sweaters and flowing scarves, leaves turning from their vibrant green to a muted yellow and the smell of Fall, the smell that tells you Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner. But i will miss the hot days of the summer, which were extra special this year as i got to spend them with my guys, days of the refreshing pool followed by cool summer nights filled with chatting with friends.

But as of today we have ended summer in the Spillman home. My house smells of simmering cider (thanks to a wonderful candle i bought yesterday) and beef roast, we picked up all of the summer toys in the yard and started the pool draining. I am looking forward to the fall weather......But i will miss those summer days.

The day the world stopped turning.....

I was at work at Sprint......we had turned on the TV and were watching when my boss came in and started yelling at us for watching TV. He hadn't heard yet. We watched as the 2nd plane hit. Terry one of the girl's i worked with assured me that the towers would not fall, they were built to withstand anything. Not long after she said it they fell. Life that day stopped, it was a haze, we were all but closed on the phones, because no one was calling in. We as a country were glued to our TV's, watching the unexplainable. I will never forget as i watched members of congress sing our national anthem. This day has become what the JFK assassination, and the challenger explosion was for our parents.

My children will never know the pain we suffered as a nation at the hands of a few, but they will know what happened that day, we must never forget.

Out with the old......

It's amazing how some fresh paint can make a room feel brand new......We painted the master bathroom on Monday, and i have to say Eric did a great job, I love it!!

Congrats guys....

I would like to introduce you to Alan and Amanda Ferrin. They got hitched this past Sunday and the wedding was beautiful, it was a perfect Colorado fall themed wedding, i think the only thing that would have made it 100% legit, is if it had snowed. The bride was gorgeous and the groom, well he was probably the calmest groom i have ever seen!! Congratulations again guys!

My Champagne and chocolate

Sam, Amanda and Bria (we met in Middle school)

Sam and Bria 09-05-10

6 Years.....

This past Saturday Eric and i celebrated 6 years of being married. We didn't do anything special, just enjoyed each other and the boys, ran some errands, and just hung out. We did treat ourselves to Olive Garden take out, it was GOOOOOOD!! It was a good day (except for 1 store incident that kinda drove me nuts) we got to spend it together having fun as a family. I got Eric his season 2 & 3 of the A-Team, and some True Blood (which is a fruit version of what the Vampires drink in the show True Blood) it's OK, very sweet though. And Eric got me my SIMS game, and a new tattoo. As i look back on the 7 years that Eric and i have been together, I know that i made the right choice when i decided to marry him. He is every thing i need him to be, he keeps me grounded, and reminds me that things aren't always what the seem, he loves me for who i am, not what i try to be. I love being married and i love being married to him, i am so glad i get to call him HUSBAND!!

I Love you MONKEY!!