Redneck Sledding

As mentioned in the last post... we took advantage of the snow in OK and went sledding! Brian claims he has only seen a white Christmas about 3 times in his life, including this year, so-everyone was pumped! (Obviously we get A LOT of snow in CO, so it wasn't as big of a deal for us anymore) Since we left on our journey straight from the airport- we didn't have a chance to go back home and load up all of our snow gear to bring with us. (Tulsa wasn't forecasted to get snow when we packed... so we didn't bring anything appropriate for the snowy conditions with us). Kind of crazy since we, of all people, are so prepared for snow and sledding! Instead we scraped up and put together anything we could that would qualify as 'waterproof'. Don't we look good!?

We went sledding 2 days while we were out there... the 'traditional' sledding:

AND....... the 'Redneck' sledding.... where you hook the sled up to a 4-wheeler and ride around the yard! I thought it might be something just Brians family had come up with but we definitely saw a few other people around town doing the same thing!

Brian said it wasn't as much fun doing it with all girls because we didn't really want to participate in the 'course maintanence'.

We also built a ramp to fly off of... so fun!!

Christmas in Oklahoma

We spent a fantastic Christmas with Brian's family in Broken Arrow this year, despite all the trouble it took to get there! Our flight was cancelled on Christmas Eve due to snow in OK (of all places!) and we had to drive instead- for the second year in a row!

We got a late start driving on Thursday afternoon and ended up having to stop and stay the night in Wichita, KS due to road closures in OK. We had our first Christmas Eve dinner as a married couple at the ONLY place open in Salina, KS... Russel's Diner. Straight from 1975. Since Oklahoma never gets snow... no one knows what to do!! They barely plowed the roads, everything shuts down, and you can not find a road condition report to save your life. (Trust me... we checked/called everything!)

Brian (to the Hwy State Patroler): Is Hwy 412 open this morning?

Hwy Patroler (in the most redneck voice you can imagine): Sir, it is slick and hazardous. You should not be driving!

Brian: I understand...but, is the Hwy OPEN?

Hwy Patroler: Sir, it is slick and hazardous.

(Repeat about 2 more times before we eventually hang up)

Luckily, the skies were clear and the roads weren't too bad, and we made it to Broken Arrow on Christmas afternoon.

We spent most of the week just hanging out at Brians parents house...opening presents, sledding (which deserves a post all its own), getting addicted to LOST, and playing with our nephew, Ethan. Here are some pics of our Christmas in Oklahoma!

Sweet baby Ethan!!

Playing Rock Band

The entire Beam family! (and Brent)

The Shawnees

If you can't tell... we spent a lot of time around the baby!

All the kids with Mimi and Papa

Christmas Party

My company nixed our big Christmas party this year in lieu of smaller team lunches.  Brian's company, however, went ALL OUT.  Ballroom at the downtown Hyatt...incredible decorations...steak dinner for 1000 people... it was over the top!  For the entertainment: top 10 American Idol finalist Kristy Lee performed a few songs (she was amazing)... 'Dancing with the Stars' pro dancers Mark Ballas and Chelsea Hightower performed a few ballroom dances (also amazing)... they had a four star general speak.... and an incredible cover band that played the rest of the night.  I don't have too many pictures- here are just a few!

Obsessed

I am obsessed with my niece and nephew!

My brother, sister-in-law, and baby niece Lorraine were in town last Friday on their way up to Montana to spend Christmas with my family (we'll be in Tulsa with Brian's family this year). She is 8 months old and SO FUN and interactive right now! Always smiling and playing... I can't get enough of her! I wish we got to see them more often! Here are some fun pics and videos I took.

 

Wearing the hat and obnoxious flower I got for her

I'm pretty sure this is right before she swallowed a corner of that cardboard... oops!

She LOVED the kitty cats and would get so excited every time they came near her

I have the best video of her laughing and going crazy for the kitty cats but blogger won't let me upload it. You can see it HERE

We get to see our nephew, Ethan, while we're in Tulsa. He's 3 months old and we haven't seen him since he was born (and this little)!

I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures to post when we get back!

Ready for Christmas

We are ready for Christmas at our house!

The Christmas lights have been put up....

(I should've gotten one where they were all lit up!)

We got our first Christmas tree and set it up this weekend (it smells amazing!)...

The house is decorated....Christmas cards are in the mail....And I have over 75% of my Christmas shopping done!  We are hoping to now just hang out and enjoy everything before heading to Tulsa to spend Christmas with Brian's family.

Tortilla Soup

I am usually not a fan of leftovers.  Actually, I hate them about 90% of the time.  Turkey and Thanksgiving leftovers usually fall in the "not a fan of the next day" category but I got this idea from my favorite crafy girls.  I copied their idea for tortilla soup using leftover turkey, but here is the recipe I used instead.  We thought it turned out awesome!

Ingredients:
2 soaked and seeded ancho chilies (found in the produce section, you have to soak them in water ~1 hr to re-hydrate)
2-4 tomatoes, depending on size
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
2-3 Tbsp oil (extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil...whatever you have)
4 corn tortillas (plus 2-3 more for garnish)
6-8 cups chicken broth
1 lb cooked, shredded chicken (or turkey) (*if using chicken, I just buy a cooked rotisserie chicken and pull apart)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (plus more for garnish)
salt
shredded cheese (we like pepper jack or monterey jack)
sliced avocado
lime juice

1.  Puree the seeded, soaked ancho chilies, tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

2.  Fry in oil for a few minutes

3.  Add 6-8 cups chicken broth, 4 corn tortillas (cut into pieces), shredded chicken/turkey, and cilantro

4.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until thick (the longer the better!).  Add salt to taste

5.  While soup is simmering, cut extra corn tortillas into thin strips.  Heat a small skillet with vegetable oil on high.  Fry strips for a few minutes (until crispy).  Set aside on a paper towel and use for topping.

6.  Serve soup with crisp tortilla strips, cheese, avocado, cilantro and lime juice

*I also added in some left over corn we had and it was great!

Thankful

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for these:

Being married to this amazing guy

My family - including a new sweet sister-in-law

The cutest babies EVER...my niece and nephew!!

A new big, amazing family

The best friends I could have ever asked for!