Herb Chicken Tortellini Salad

This is a yummy recipe I like to make in the summer. Todd and I love it... the kids like it a little. Sometimes ya just have to make something for the adults and let the kids learn to like it... right? Give it a try.

Herb Chicken Tortellini Salad
1 (9 oz) package Buitoni (or any brand) refrigerated Herb Chicken Tortellini prepared according to pkg. directions then chilled
1 (10 oz) bag ready-to-use spinach torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
1 (6 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts drained and sliced
1 cup sliced ripe olives drained
1/3 cup roasted red peppers drained and chopped
1 cup Caesar salad dressing
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine pasta, spinach, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, olives and roasted peppers in medium bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Pre-Birthday Bash at Casablanca

Two of my beautiful sisters, Kayce and Carol, took me on a fun overnight trip to Casablanca hotel in Mesquite to celebrate my upcoming 40th birthday. Yikes! 40! What sweet, sweet women these sisters are and so very generous and kind. It was a total blast. The drive down there seemed to take no time at all with our talking and giggling.

Then on top of the talking and laughing we got to see a truck bed full of deer heads with antlers. Of course, we had to speed up and slow down numerous times to get a shot of this truck full of interesting cargo. We're not sure what the driver thought of us silly girls but we sure had a good laugh. Once we got to the hotel, we spent all our time out by the pool and talked... and talked.... and talked. Then we took some time out from talking to eat... and eat... and eat. We found this yummy, yummy restaurant at the hotel. Can't even begin to describe the steak we had there... it was heavenly! Got a picture of Kayce even licking her plate she liked it so much. Love ya Kayce for being such a good sport and just being you!


So, here's the picture of the truck full of deer heads.



Hot Momma!



Sweet, sweet Carol and the birthday gal trying to hide her double chin! :-)




Hot Momma that is also so sweet with the birthday gal.




We were there the middle of the week so not to many people poolside, but there was a duck. Walked around like he owned the place!


Here's proof that Kayce licked her plate... the meal was seriously that good! I'm drooling just thinking about it. Yummmmmmmm... Steak Ramono!


I LOVE this picture. We were able to stop by Ali's house on our way home and enjoyed oohing and aaahing over cute little baby Katy and adorable Seth. Oh, we also enjoyed chatting with our lovely sister Ali even though she was a party pooper and didn't come with us to Casablanca. Just 'cause she has a newborn baby, come on! :-)


Look at Ali with two babies on her knees. Can you all believe it? Isn't it a sweet sight to see? We love you Ali! (oldest sister)

Tori's Violin Concert

Tori was interested in learning violin as part of the 6th grade orchestra program through her school. I love that she is so interested in trying new things and feel as a parent I need to provide her opportunities to develop her talents and help her to learn what interests her. So, she was signed up for violin. She loved it for about the first four months and then got tired of having to get up early to orchestra practice before school. Tori's always been my night owl so I knew this would be a problem and a learning experience for her. This learning experience meant she could not quit until the end of the year. I wanted her to follow through with her committment to her orchestra. So, she stuck it out for the year and just had her concert last week. She was wonderful! The orchestra leader was so sweet and allowed all the parents on the stage for the final song to video our children and take many, many pictures.

Here's just a few pictures of talented Tori.

She really had fun at this concert. It's to bad she doesn't want to continue beacause of course I think she was the most talented of all the violinists!


Sweet Tori .


A little clearer picture of sweet Tori.

It's so important as parents to give our children opportunities to learn and grow both inside and outside the home. I may complain about how busy life is running these kids to and from their practices and games but I firmly believe this is an important part of a child's development. Todd and I enjoyed doing this with and for Spencer, letting him participate in soccer, basketball, baseball, and choir and we enjoy doing this for Evan and Tori. Life is good! :-)

Spencer is 21!

My baby boy is 21! I really can't beleive it... I'm going to sound just like an old Mom.... I remember his birth just like it was yesterday! Seriously. I can remember the sounds, smells, feel, everything about it. It's just hard to believe it's been 21 years since he was born.

He's such a handsome young man and I'm very proud of him. It was so fun to spend time with him and spend time with him enjoying his favorite all-you-can-eat shrimp place. Here's some cute pictures of the little party and my handsome son.


Spencer opening one of his presents. Actually his only present that didn't come in an envelope. At his age, it really is best to just give him money... he seems to like that best... really who doesn't prefer money?


Spencer with his cute brother and sister. They really miss having him around.


Evan took a couple pictures using my cell phone camera of Spencer enjoying his shrimp. Spencer enjoyed posing as usual.


I just love my family. I love that Mom and Dad were able to come to lunch and just love my kids and husband. It was really fun to have them all together. It would have been my dream to spend all day with Spencer and the family but Spencer, being the grown-up 21 year old he is, couldn't wait to finish up the celebration with his dorky Mom and family. He was anxious to get to work and spending time with friends. Happy Birthday to Spencer! We love you!

Mother's Day Brunch 2008

We had a wonderful time on Saturday at our annual Mother's Day Brunch held at Thanksgiving Point. This year our numbers increased from three to four with Carol attending. Maybe someday we'll get all the sisters there, including our one sister-in-law, which would increase our numbers to nine! Wouldn't that be a hoot to have Mom and all the sisters together? It's so much fun because it's a BUFFET of delicious food, meaning unlimited eating to go with unlimited talking. You know how we get when there's food and just the Clawson women... talk, talk, talk.

The food is amazing at this brunch. There's breakfast items like bacon, ham, eggs benedict, fruits, croiscants and then there's lots of yummy salads, cold shrimp with cocktail sauce, all sorts of fruit, cheeses, breads and then there's dessert. Dessert! I can't even begin to describe... all sorts of cakes, yummy eclairs, puddings, and chocolate covered strawberries. Yummy! This year I actually brought a plastic baggy ... seriously I did... and took home four chocolate covered strawberries to the family. I don't know how many things Kayce managed to sneak. It was awesome! Here's some great pictures of our experience.


Carol, Marcy, and Kayce after we're done eating. I've cropped out the table piled with empty plates. :-)


Kayce and Mom... Mom deserved this yummy brunch. She's a wonderful Mom and an amazing woman.


Carol and Marcy


Kayce and her yummy, yummy plate of food. This plate was the winner of the most good looking plate of food AND the most delicious.


Here's that award winning plate of food up close and personal. (drool, slobber)


Kayce told me she would be really, really mad if I showed anyone this picture. Since no one visits my blog, I think I'm safe. he he


After eating so much that we were in pain, we decided to go for a walk and found these amazing blossoms at Thanksgiving Point. The pictures I've taken don't do justice to how beautiful the blossoms were, especially with the amazing mountains in the background.


A geeky picture of me and Kayce. (Don't you love my double chin?)


Glammer shot of Kayce enjoying the blossoms.


Glammer shot of Marcy. Kayce just had to guess where to point and shoot the camera. :-) She did pretty dang good, considering all things.


Thought I would try capturing the beauty of the blossoms with my little digital camera. What do you think?


They smelled amazing also. Can you smell the beautiful blossoms?




The tulips were a little droopy but still very beautiful. Well, once again I have to say how fun it was at our annual Mother's Day Brunch. Hope all the Clawson sisters can get together next year!

Baseball Season

It's that time of year for our family: baseball and softball season. A time when our family goes crazy, busy with baseball and softball practice and games. Now you'll notice I'm seperating baseball from softball, something I wouldn't have done before having both a boy and a girl into this sport. I didn't know there was a difference but apparently boys play baseball and girls play softball and it's a distinct difference I'm told. Not something I've really noticed because I've been hit by both a baseball and softball while at the games (a whole different subject for a later time) and they BOTH hurt so, to me, they are the same game but, as I said, it's NOT.

Anyway, back to the crazy season for our family and just a heads up to my siblings who have kids. Baseball/softball season means practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and games ALL day Saturday. On days that Todd is home from work things go fairly smooth with Todd taking Evan to practice or game and me taking Tori to practice or game or the other way around. Days that Todd is at work I'm running across our city all night long and dinner is something that's choked down either before or after practice.

I don't mean to complain because I really do love Evan and Tori being involved and away from the tv, computer, and video games (and I loved it when Spencer played also). It's really neat to see the enjoyment they get from the team comraderie and improving their skills. On top of it all it's been fun for me, a Mom who never played sports or understood sports as a young woman, to understanding the basics of a game like knowing what the top or bottom of a inning means. That's a big deal!

New Office

So, I've mentioned that I have a new job at the college working as the Student Success & Retention Coordinator. Love it! It's been a great job and I still have a lot to learn. Here's a picture of my new office that I wanted to share with you all. It's so nice to have a window again and even better it's got a view of Utah lake and the mountains.



Even though I'm in a new position, I promised my previous supervisor that I would finish up coordinating student travel to a conference in Maryland. So I traveled to Maryland April 9-12. While there I had the opportunity to eat crab legs in Delaware and watch a Phillies game in Philadelphia! Crazy, crazy trip. On top of driving all over the East (a three hour drive from Maryland to Philly) I dealt with a student going to the emergency room, a bus crash that was transporting our students and faculty, and students sleeping in so they missed their presentation. Needless to say I was very, very happy to be home with my wonderful husband and children. Todd was just amazing to be at home with the kids and is wonderful.

Here's a picture of me at the Phillies game! :-)