100 Miles

100 miles is not a great distance...especially when you think about the average distance food travels to get to our dinner table, a whopping 1,500-2,500 miles. The 100 Mile Challenge is a show that has been running on Planet Green for the last few weeks. Six families from Canada signed up to only eat food that has traveled 100 miles or less, from farm to table, for 100 days. The families were inspired by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, the authors of Plenty, a memoir about the authors experience of the 100 mile diet for one year.
We have also been inspired by the show and the book as well and hope that next summer we can do our own 100 mile challenge. We have been searching the web finding locally grown food. We have found many resources for just about everything we will need...of course, there are a few items (salt, for one) that we have not been able to find. Besides discovering locally grown food within 100 miles, I am hoping that we will also discover a new way of eating and a healthier understanding of where food comes from. We are planning on growing some of our food in our garden, joining a CSA, and hopefully getting some chickens. I have also been researching foraging for food in Colorado. The possibilities of new tastes are very exciting.

Blake's 1st Art Show

Blake has been in an art class over the last few months...she has been painting and discovering shapes and how to mix colors. Art class is something she absolutely loves to do. She now spends hours and hours coloring and cutting at home. It has been so much fun to see her creativity start to really come out and just watching her discover a love for painting and creating.

Finalized

On Friday we had our court date to finalize Brecken's adoption. We had to get all dressed up and go to the county courthouse for a judge to look over our files. Andy's mom came to visit on Thursday so we got to have both the Grandmas at court with us! We even got to go to a fancy restaurant to celebrate after. It is just so crazy and so big that the final step in completing the adoption is done. Brecken has blessed our family in so many ways. She brings joy to our lives. I can't believe that this time last year we were still waiting to bring her home...and now everything is finalized. Brecken's adoption was an amazing journey and we could not imagine our family without her. Love you Brecken Hope.

Halloween 2009

Stuck at the house, enjoying watching the snow falling, and getting ready to go out and play.

Granola

Here is another recipe that I have been working on for a while. There are a lot of granola recipes that add tons of oil and butter and tons and tons of sugar. If I am going to actually enjoy my granola, it needs to taste good, but it also needs to be healthy. I don't want to be dumping candy coated oats and nuts on to my vanilla yogurt each morning. This recipe is fairly healthy but is still good enough to eat by its self.

Brit's Granola
4 cups Oats
Nuts and seeds of your choice - I used a cup each of raw sunflower seeds and raw whole almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut
4 T. real maple suryp
6 T. organic, no sugar added apple sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste
Dried fruit

Preheat your over to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Combine both the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Bake the granola on two foil lined cooking sheets for 16-20 minutes until golden brown. Allow it to fully cool before taking it off the cookie sheet. Add your dried fruit and store in a large ziplock bag or container. Enjoy!

St. Mary's Glacier

This weekend was absolutly beautiful in Colorado. We had seventy degree weather and sunshine so we decided to spend sometime outside. We have gone up to St. Mary's Glacier for the last four years. At the top of the glacier there is a beautiful little lake and there is always someone skiing or snow boarding the glacier. Here are some pictures from our hike: