first time in the woods in over a year and a really good meal

yesterday chris and i took max for a short hike in at Raccoon State Park - in the wild flower preserve. it was max's first trip to the woods, his first real experience in the Kelty carrier and my first time in the woods in over a year! while i was pregnant with max i was just not able to catch my breath most of the time so that meant that hiking was just not very enjoyable... so last night we kinda make an impromptu decision to pack up max and "the max pack" and drive to a nearby hiking spot for a short hike at dusk. max loved it! and so did i!

here are some photos:
i also made a spectacular dinner on saturday. i was inspired by an italian cooking show on PBS she featured a calamari salad that just sounded so good and a pasta dish with a simple pesto sauce. the pesto sauce was really easy and sounded soooo good so i made it that night.

ingredients:
a few bunches of fresh basil
about two cups or a little less of almonds
olive oil
garlic
red pepper flakes
really ripe cherry tomatoes - i used most of a large container of these from Costco, two small containers would be perfect.
in the food processor, you blend the almonds and most of the basil until it's a crumbly/pasty consistency, then you add garlic and red pepper flakes, olive oil and the cherry tomatoes, blend until it turns this nice light pink color then add the rest of the basil. meanwhile, cook your favorite pasta. once the pasta had been drained, drizzle with olive oil, then toss with the pesto and some Parmesan cheese and serve. oh was this good! no photo of this one this time... we were starved and it was 9 pm and we didn't have much to eat all day... i served this along side chicken breast that i just quickly cooked in a skillet with some seasoning. all very tasty.