Not So Holiday Cookies

Emery's birthday party is tonight.  So, we baked and decorated sugar cookies yesterday to add to the kid's goodie bags.

Em had her own batch to decorate.

She liked the tie dye effect...or "Jerry Garcia style" according to David.

These are the cookies we are giving to the kids.  This is my first time using royal icing.  I prefer icing that has a little more taste to it but since I needed them to dry hard, I gave it a go.  I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to baking and I realized I have a lot to learn about royal icing.  Like making sure it is thick enough so the icing actually stays on the cookie.  Like waiting for the outline to dry before you add more so that the colors don't bleed.  Like adding a little flavoring so that your mouth can handle the super sweetness.  I'm glad we made about 30 cookies because I had to use 10-15 for practice.  These are the ones that ended up half way decent.



Oh well, they are three.  What are they going to care as long it's edible and it's called a cookie.

Sleepy Boys

Funny Story

David bought this World Map Puzzle for Emery this past week. Almost every night while I'm cooking dinner, they get on the floor and work the puzzle together. The whole time they put it together, David teaches her about the different parts of the world and where they are etc.

Yesterday morning, while I was getting her dressed for school, she showed me the puzzle box. She pointed at North America and said, "Mommy this is America!" "Very good!" I said. Then she said, "Mommy look! Myope!" "Myope?" I asked. Then I looked where she was pointing and giggled. "Oh you mean Europe," I said. "Yes, Myope!" she said proudly.

Get it? Europe...Your-ope

She really thought this through. Her brain impresses me everyday.

This Winter's First Snow

It was just a light dusting, but still beautiful to wake up to this morning.
Then fear struck me all of a sudden. "What if school is closed!" It wasn't. Thank goodness. Yet another reason to add to the list of why snow is not exactly my favorite thing. Later on this winter, when I'm tired of the white stuff, I'll tell you about that list.

The Menu

Happy thankful day of eating food!

Papa and Mema came to town and we had a such a feast.

For brunch, Papa made homemade sawmill gravy with biscuits and eggs.

For dinner, we all had a hand in cooking turkey, Mema's famous dressing, mashed potatoes, asparagus casserole, corn casserole, rolls and cranberry sauce...which turned out to be Em's favorite.
For dessert, I couldn't choose so I made two.

Chocolate Pecan Pie made from scratch...

and Ozark Apple Bread Pudding...which was David's favorite of the day.

Hope every one's Thanksgiving was a full and fattening as mine! Yum!

Go Gators!

They're BAAaaack!

The other day, Henry was going nuts out in the back yard. It was a fairly windy fall day and leaves were being blown around the yard. But I couldn't understand why he was barking so much. There was nothing out there but the leaves. Fed up with the noise, I finally stalked outside and yelled, "Henry! Hush! It's just a lea-....or it's a giant TARANTULA!" Cue me running back inside screaming like a little girl. Remember when we had a tarantula on our porch around this time last year? Don't worry I didn't kill this one. I didn't want to get close enough. (I used extreme zoom to take the pic below) He just crawled across the yard, up the 20 foot rock wall, and out of our lives. Thank goodness.

My Guys Are Famous!

They both made the paper this weekend!

Asher's birth announcement:

(It's amazing how much he has changed in just 3 short weeks.)

David made the front page for the Bass Pro Marathon:

(He's in the red shirt)

And who could blame the papers for wanting to feature my boys? Look how cute they are.

Balloons Over Branson Creek

There was a hot air balloon festival in our neighborhood this weekend. There was food, live music, bounce house for the kids, and tethered hot air balloon rides. It was so cool to see especially since it was right down the street. What a blast!

Brother and Sister

I keep saying how much Emery and Asher look alike. Here are their pictures of their first ride home from the hospital.

Can you guess which one is which?

Asher is in the first pic. Emery is in the second.

Take Cover!

Hurricane Emery is passing through!

No need to worry. It's just our regular Saturday morning storm.

Still Swimmin'...

It's September 25th and the pool is still open!

It's 67 degrees outside but the water is a warm 85.

It's A Sad Day For Flip Flops

My favorite pair of flip flops broke last night. :(

I have had these flip flops for over 4 years.

They may not look like much but they are heat molded flip flops that match the contours of my feet exactly. Which means they are #1 when it comes to comfort and support.

And though I have 2 more pair just like them, these were my first and I just seem to always gravitate back to them. I almost shed a tear for them last night...until Emery saw my reaction when they broke and almost started crying herself. To which I quickly changed my tune to a nonchalant, no worries facade though my heart was breaking inside.

Goodbye Montrail Molokini Flip Flops color Coral. You will be missed. RIP XOXO

In no way do I receive payment from Montrail for promoting their shoes....though I gladly would. They are just a great product and I love them so much. In fact, I paid $50 for these bad boys to tell you guys how awesome they are.

Chopped!

I chopped off about 10 inches of hair today. It is my "something easier for when the baby comes" haircut and I love it. I think I lost a pound of hair!

Posh Puppies

When did my boys get too good for the ground? It's the same inside. They either lay on the couch, chair, or in their beds in our room. Heaven forbid they actually lay on the floor! What do we think they are...DOGS?!

Mmmm Donuts...

From left to right we have:

Chocolate covered chocolate cake, Chocolate covered glaze, Old fashioned glazed, Chocolate drizzled cherry cake, Red velvet with cream cheese frosting, and original glaze...which didn't quite make it home. ;) Shoot, it was hard enough to only take one bite of the cherry. YUM!

I'm pregnant, don't judge me.

Hotdog Uglies

I know, it has been a long time since I have posted a recipe. I haven't been experimenting as much with my cooking but lately I have been on the look out for yummy, easy recipes that I can whip up quickly. "Whatever's easiest" will be the motto for the coming months. I found this gem on PW's website. It is the perfect recipe for kids...and husbands.

Take a can of biscuits and roll out each one so that it is flat. Then press into a muffin pan sprayed with pam.

Cut a few hot dogs lengthwise, then chop. Sprinkle them into the bottom of the biscuit cups.

Take a can of your favorite kind of chili and spoon a heaping tablespoon over the hot dogs.

Sprinkle shredded cheese over top. Pinch up the sides and fold down so that the biscuit is sealed.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your husband and your kids will love you forever.

And if you use paper plates, the only thing you'll have to wash when your done is the muffin tin, the rolling pin, a knife, and a cheese grater.

Here's the recipe

Some one else is a fan of Em's new room.

Actually, I think he is waiting for his best girl to get home from school.

Our annual trip to Colorado

Ahhhh, another fun filled summer at the cabin. Sadly, David had a busy week at work and couldn't make it this year. But we tried real hard to have fun without him.

We played with dogs.

And helped Papa Tee with mountain chores.

(side note: Pregnancy and tractors don't mix. Way too much bouncing going on.)

One of Emery's favorite things about the cabin was the rope swing. Talk about dare devil! Don't worry, this was like day 5. We started out nice and easy at first. But then she kept saying, "Again!" and "Faster!"

Number two on the list of favorite cabin activities would have to be rowing the boat....while singing "Row Row Row Your Boat" of course.

And what would a summer at the cabin be without a "papoose bath?"...aka a swim in the lake.

I should mention that this water is REALLY cold. The lake is fed by snow run-off. Though, the kids swim in it as if the water were 85 degrees.

Cousin Charly on the zipline!

Papa Tee and Nana's pool....same temperature as the lake. Brrrrrrr.

The lake is also great for trout fishing. Here is Em's cousin Deven with the 20 incher he caught and cleaned all by himself!

Like most of us who have learned the "you catch it, you clean it" rule the hard way, Dev isn't too eager to catch any more fist just yet.

Em wasn't a huge fan of the fish once it was out of the water.

As always, we were sad to leave. Although, not seeing Daddy for a week made coming home a lot easier.