Colorado Friends

Some of our friends from Colorado came for a visit.  We enjoyed pizza, bowling and peeps smores.  What a fun evening!

Happy 5th Birthday Carly!

My niece Carly turned 6!  What a cute princess!  

 4 generations picture

Caden and Aunt Jess played 4 pics 1 word

Great Grandpa Vis with Allyson and Carly

The birthday girl getting kisses from mom and dad.

I had to get from behind the camera

No Bake Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I came across this recipe that looks delish!  We will be trying these out soon!

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups creamy peanut butter, divided

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, divided

4 cups (roughly ½-inch pieces), broken small pretzel twists, divided

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided

Directions:

LINE 13 x 9-inch baking pan with foil leaving an overhang on two sides. Lightly spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

BEAT 1 1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Stir in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 cups pretzel pieces and 1/2 cup morsels. Press evenly into prepared baking pan. Smooth top with spatula.

MICROWAVE remaining 1 1/2 cups morsels and 3/4 cup peanut butter in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 45 seconds; STIR. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread chocolate layer evenly over powdered sugar mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining pretzel pieces, pressing down lightly. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; peel off foil. Cut into 60 pieces. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Easter Weekend

We went to a fun Easter egg hunt at the nursing home where Grandma  Mary used to work.  She was asked to sing Jesus Loves Me.  

Then there were games for each age level. Caden participated and won.  Allyson didn't want to play.  

 Caden is happy with his chocolate bunny prize.

Grandma Mary with the kids and the Easter bunny.

Grandma Mary showed the kids how to make bunny cars.  They all had fun with it.  The boys got a little crazy - maybe it was all the sugar and frosting.  

Easter gifts...personalized chocolate eggs and bug catchers.

Grandma and Caden sharing his egg.  

Beauty in the Winter

The kids and I got bundled up and took some photos outside this morning.  There was some white frost on the trees.  Along with the white snow, it was pretty bright, but we managed to get some fun pictures.  

Cake Decorating

Eli and Carly spent the night and for fun on Saturday, we baked and frosted/decorated mini 3 tier cakes.  

Each kid had their own cake to frost and decorate as they choose.  They picked blue frosting. 

 concentrating on the frosting

The finished products

We got a good picture of the kids and their cakes...

 Then the fun started.  They could eat them however they choose.  Dig in!

Eagles

For the past couple days, everytime I drive to and from work, there are a bunch of eagles in the same field.  

This picture gives you an idea of just how beautiful this scene was.  

edit:  The eagles were there for about 2 1/2 weeks, then moved on to warmer weather.  

To Honor and Trust 

Bridal Veil Island book 3

by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

This story is based in Georgia in 1913.  Callie Deboyer is a tutor for the Bridgeport family that spends their winters at Bridal Veil Georgia vacation establishment.  Bridal Veil is for wealthy families.  There are many staff that see that all the needs of the guests are met, along with many recreational activities to do on the island.  

The Bridgeport family has 3 children vacationing with them this year.  While getting the Bridgeport son to his tennis and golf lessons, Callie meets 2 gentlemen.  1 is rather straightforward and tries to impress Callie.  The other man is more impressive to Callie with his sincere personality and kindness.  Callie comes to have feelings for 1 of the men.  

Throughout her time on Bridal Veil Island, Callie is struggling with where God is leading her life.  Her parents are missionaries in Africa and encouraging her to join them.  Callie also has received an offer from a school in Chicago to teach.  She also doesn't want to leave the Bridgeport family - as they are like family to her.   

As time moves on, word comes from the Bridgeport family staff at home that there is terrible flooding and they need to get there to take care of things.  As the family is preparing to leave the island, one of the girls gets hurt and has to spend time in the hospital.  Things don't look good for her recovery, and the family's trip home is delayed.  This delay gives Callie a more clear picture of what God has planned for her life and where He is leading her.  

I love that these books are set in the 1900's but as I read them, I feel that the story could be taking place today.  I love the story and the characters in the book.  

Although this is the 3rd book in the series, I didn't feel like I jumped in at the end - I feel like each book has its own characters and story, with the main setting (Bridal Veil Island) as the common theme.  

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Homework - take 2

Some random homework photos...

 Caden doing xtra math on the computer

Allyson reading

Homework

The kids were doing their homeowork assignments and had to write sentences using their spelling words.  This was the end result.  

 Allyson we struggling with being focused on the task, and was ready to be done - taking a long time to get the sentences completed.  Note the 5th sentence - I love the teachers comment when it came back home - "Really?  I don't think so"  

This was Caden's completed assignment.