May Family Picture

Fab Friday

After dropping Brad off and running two errands, we still made it to the lake just after 10 AM! :) I am getting the hang of these combining fun and errand running thing. :)

The kids loved playing in the really squishy sand and Lorelei kept going deeper and deeper into the lake. Going to make sure to bring her floatie next time so she can practice her swimming. Makin was on a big don't-take-my-picture kick as well as don't-rub-in-my-sunscreen kick. :)



That evening we attempted our grill Friday and then found out we were out of gas for the grill...thankful for indoor grills! :) Then when Brad and I attempted a fun date night (yes we have been slacking and mostly just watching a movie as we are always exhausted!...but hoping we will start having more fun ones to post about!) having drinks with our feet in the kiddie pool a storm came up with strong wind and some lightening...so inside we went. We did have fun using a list of "30 questions to ask each other on a date even if you're already married" I saw on Pinterest.

Love kicking off our weekend! :)

Kiddie Pool Time!

Super-Yummy Granola Bars

Since the kiddos seem to be hungry 24/7 and end up eating snacks on the go many days of the week, I decided to take a look at making our own granola bars. (Store bought are expensive, prepackaged and I don't even like them!) The first recipe I tried a couple of months ago was so good we have not tried another one. Just wanted to share!





Homemade Chewy Granola Bars (from cooks.com)
1 c. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. quick cooking oats

1/2 c. sunflower nuts
1/2 c. raisins
1/3 c. wheat germ

1 c. chocolate chips

(1/2 c. coconut and 2 tbsp. sesame seeds are also in recipe, but I can't vouch for that since dont use those)

Grease 13 x 9 inch pan. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, corn syrup, butter and vanilla; blend well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press mixture evenly into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely and cut into bars. Store tightly covered.


I did half of them mixed with very few leftover toffee bits and broken up pretzels for Brad this time. I always cut up the pan and put them in snack size baggies so they are easy to grab-and-go. Then I usually freeze half of them until we use up the first half. :) Will let you know if we ever get around to trying some others!

Popsicle Stick Puzzles

The first of many, MANY Pinterest influences you will see coming up. This was, obviously, one of the easiest ideas I read that I could do right away. My brain takes too much time to make lists and make sure to go shop for many of the other amazing projects I have seen. But man, cannot wait to do so many! Its amazing.

Anyway, as you can see, we have our own home-made puzzles! I just taped the sticks together on the back, and then drew a picture for Lorelei to color. She got a bit tired so I did color in part of the sky and stem, but the main part of the flower was all her. Once she gets used to the wood/marker combo, I think she will do them all on her own. And cannot wait to see how they look when she draws her own picture! She was very excited and definitely going to make more soon. Loving the fact that I can slip these into my purse to have along anywhere!

Biggest Fans

Aubrey is doing Tball/baseball this spring, so we decided it would be fun to go and see her play one of her games. All of us were very excited and had such a great time. Lorelei would yell ,"Go Aubrey!" (along with Morgan and Makin too of course) each time she was up to bat or running to home plate. They let each girl get a chance to bat so we got to see her a couple of times. They kept busy the rest of the time playing with their own softball. They sure loved being cheerleaders too! :) Oh and super-cute Aubrey story? She got to choose her own number, and chose 95. Know why? 'Cause its Lightning McQueen's number of course. :)



After the game they all went out and attempted to run the bases as Aubrey was leading them...but they seemed to think it was much faster just to cut through the field instead. :) As we were leaving Lorelei gave a big contented sigh followed with, "That was fun."

Party Prep

Already!?!?!

Sorry! I got this great idea from a free pamphlet at Hobby Lobby so we have made our first birthday party purchase already...never too early. ;) Already super-excited!