Salad of the Week

Curried Quinoa Chicken Salad

Mix the following:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup cooked, diced chicken breast

1 mango chopped

2 green onions sliced

1/2 cup toasted pecans

1/4 chopped cilantro

Mix the dressing:

2 tbsp curry powder

1/4 rice vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

Stir the two together! Very yummy, especially if you love cilantro, so flavorful! Quinoa is a protein, so you can eat this as a side dish or a meal. We had it as a meal, along with homemade tortilla chips (slice 2 tortillas, spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, oregano, pepper, etc., toast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes not 12 like me.), we dipped our chips in hummus as well.

The original recipe called for dried apricots, not mango, it also asked for walnuts not pecans. Devin did eat this salad in small doses, with no cilantro bits. Jasmine did not enjoy it, but didn't really try much.

The 4 year olds, Sam and Devin!

Devin and Samantha are not even a month apart by birthday and according to the below picture, almost the exact same height, too. I'm sure however, that Devin weighs 10 more pounds than her; if he sat on her he would crush her! Although Jasmine and Samantha played so well together, when Jasmine wasn't around (which sometimes happened being the sneaky mother I am), the 4 year olds had a chance to play together and they liked it! They especially had fun Irish dancing together; well after all they are the perfect height for each other!

On days like today, I need to remind mysefl...

... they actually do get along!

It's the girl's turn! Jasmine and Samantha.

As soon as Jasmine arrived in Samantha's bedroom, the two were almost inseperable. They must have played in there for an hour and my sister actually started to miss her little girl because she wasn't used to so much downtime with her being kept busy by others. (She'll get over that feeling, very quickly... at least, I did). Jasmine taught Sam all sorts of new games and ideas and Sam took to them all easily as they are very much the same... not only both tiny, but smart, creative and imaginative as well. Below you will see them posing in many shots, as well as getting their toenails painted by Gramma Shadbolt, hanging upside down at gymnastics (Jasmine actually tried hanging from her knees at one point, but we found out that wasn't allowed - oops), playing bingo, dancing their Irish jigs and sporting their green pride and more. I'm not sure who will miss Jasmine more, Samantha... or her mom, ha, ha!

Da' Boys! Devin and his cousin, Hayden!

Here you will get just a glimpse of two very active boys... they got along well MOST of the time ;) They were good sports, humoring Jasmine by participating in her fairy/leprechaun/dragon play and they even let gramma paint their toenails (albeit was just clear sparkly polish). They both loved the gymnastics class and had fun balancing, swinging, jumping and all things boys love. Devin even taught Hayden how to be a walrus with his french fries, sorry James! I told you, you didn't wan't Devin to teach Hayden all that he knows.

Great Group Shots!

What a cute family! Seriously, could these kids BE any cuter? Just picture Chandler from Friends saying that. My mom bought all the grandkids matching shirts in Belize, so here are 2/3 of the kids in their new shirts. The second picture is my favorite, Uncle Jamie was making the kids bust a gut in laughter, priceless moment caught on camera. After that you will see pictures of the kids posing on the bouncer; it was the only time they were still on that thing. Then we've got St. Patty's day celebration pictures, all dressed up like leprechauns to find the hidden treasure. Zoo and park pictures follow that with the last one being taken out in a field while on a geocache hunt! Even though kids were coughing and snotting like crazy, we still managed to fill our week with lots of fun - great troopers!