Dining Out

We went to Brian's Dining Out a couple weeks ago.
These guys are all branching Armor like Brian.

Brian with his friend Robby

All the seniors

I had taken the kids down to Brian's parents so we got to have a kid-free night and sleep-in the next day, which is very rare! Thanks so much! :)

Spring Break

Brian had a week off from classes so we were able to catch up on lots of fun family time. We went to the mall one day and the kids got to ride a few rides (this is pretty much their favorite thing in the world!) Well, almost... we headed over to Fun Unleashed, which IS their favorite!
Yummy pizza lunch... we love this place!
We play with them on the slides and things but it's great because we can also sit and talk while the run all around (and above us!)

Evan figured out how to climb up this... and the next day climbed up our stairs at home!

We rented lots of movies, Brian went skiing, went out to eat a few times, played lots, and had a great break together!

We had a candlelight pizza picnic on the floor. The kids thought it was so special.

After Evan was in bed, we popped popcorn and watched a movie with Natalie and Blake.

Such fun family traditions! :)

I love my kitchen.

I love to try new recipes and although Brian would probably sometimes prefer a little less creativity, the kids are generally pretty good kitchen helpers and tasters. :)

I tried this Garlic Focaccia this week. It was SO good!

I mixed it my bread machine and baked it on my bar pan... the kids and I practically ate the entire thing before Daddy came home. If you don't have a bread machine you could google some recipes but this one is fabulous if you do: Click this link for recipe.We had a Birthday party at MOPS so I made this cake... so many people asked how I did it so I thought I'd put it on here... I taped two pieces of paper together to make the size of the cake. Then I roughly drew the letters on the paper, cut them out, laid them on the cake and used a knife to trace/cut the letters. Then transferred to the covered cutting board. It helps to do a "crumb coat" (lightly frost with diluted frosting) and then freeze before frosting the whole thing. And last.... Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies!

A student's mom gave me this recipe in Germany when I was teaching. I'd never tried them but we did this week and they were delicious! I have lots of gluten-free friends so this would be great for you and your kids. Enjoy!

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Combine all together and bake at 300 for 8-10 minutes.

I know these aren't the most nutritious recipes (we actually do eat quite healthy!) but they were the "keepers" of the week so just had to share... Enjoy! :)

Soccer and Grandma

Natalie did Soccer Shots-- an intro to soccer for preschool-aged kids. She had a lot of fun with it although I think she had more natural talent for gymnastics. We'll see! :) Her coach was great-- learned all their names the first week!

After the last week, we went out to Pizza Hut with our neighbors, who's son Nathan was in the class too. Lots of fun! Grandma G was visiting us and got to see Natalie play too.

"I want to play in the snow too!"

Still no walking... but lots of standing and cruising!

Going on a "car trip" on the couch. Look how much they packed.

Being the Mommy... am I on the phone all the time? :)

My Mom came for two short weekends (with a visit to my sister in Indiana in between). Always great to have her here!

She let us sleep in and got up with the kids... Thanks! When I came down, they'd traced Natalie's body and had paper taped to to the wall measuring everyone's height. Fun memories with Grandma! :)

Sweet Retreat, Snow and SuperBowl

We went with our LifeGroup to a Weekend to Remember over Valentine's Day... which is a marriage conference put on my FamilyLife. It was so great!! They have them in almost every city and we would highly recommend it if you get the chance... it'll change your marriage! :) Go to www.familylife.com for more info and also to sign up for marriage emails and resources.Out to lunch on Saturday with our group. Sat night is "Date Night"

It was in Hershey, PA and there were Hershey kisses EVERYWHERE! Besides edible ones all over, they were on the walls, in the bathroom...

...and even on our sheets! :)

We had a great time together.... thanks to Brian's parents for watching the kids for us! We appreciate it!

We didn't get as much as some places but we did get our share of "February Fury" snow.

Making Valentine's with the kid's feet.

We had the guys from Monday Night Football over to watch the SuperBowl. Lots of fun, lots of food. And I have to mention that I ended up being the winner of our Pro Pick'em contest! Guess Brian's taught me well!

My football cake... next time I'll look at a real one to get it a little more accurate! Oh well. :)

More to come...

Evan's First Birthday!

Evan turned 1 on February 6th. All 3 kids were really sick with RSV so we had to cancel the plans of our neighbors coming over for pizza and cake. We tried to make the best of it! :)

The turtle cake I made... turned out pretty cute actually. Trying to eat pizza... I think they each had about 3 bites.
The birthday boy ate some...

"Can I just go to bed?"

"Happy Birthday to You!"

He did eat some of it...but you can tell he didn't feel well.

Blake didn't eat ANY cake... I've never seen him ever pass up a dessert. Definitely sickie! :)

Opening presents... some books, new spoons and a musical turtle (hence the turtle cake). The video isn't uploading... I'll keep trying.

Ready to go to bed--they were all asleep by 7pm!

Happy One Year Birthday, Evan! We love you!

Visit to Chris and Michelle's House

Nathan, Natalie and Blake

Evan and Mommy

Enjoying his dinner!

We went to visit Brian's brother and family for the weekend. It's nice being so close, even if for a short time. We had a wonderful time and the kids played so well together. Thanks for all the yummy meals and good talks. We had a blast!!

Lily trying to get Evan's food.

Adam and Allie

Natalie and Allie... cute cousins!

Blake carried that movie the whole weekend.

Daddy and Natalie-- what a wonderful weekend! :)

Back home... cooking day!

As well as cooking up some ground beef and chicken for recipes and a few meals to freeze, we tried some new things. We made homemade oatmeal packets that were easy and turned out great and some homemade granola which we're loving on yogurt. (Click the links for the recipes.)

I tried to make homemade hot pockets since Brian loves them for lunches after classes but they did not turn out well-way too doughy. We often make tortilla pizzas so I decided to make up a bunch up to freeze and it works great! Brian can just pull out a couple and broil for a few minutes. Easy! (Just assemble sauce and cheese and whatever toppings on a tortilla. Freeze individually on cookie sheets and then stack on top of each other in a ziplock bag and keep in the freezer.)

I'd love to hear your quick kitchen tips that work for you! :)