Lake Bound!!!

Nothing gets between a dog and his lake.  At least not our dog.

Yes, Petey gets his own raft and has to be with all of us while we are swimming

He loves a good boat ride or a slow ride on the jet ski

Petey gets some unknown source of energy while we are at the lake.  He has to be in the water constantly.  And don't you dare think about pulling that boat away from the pier without him in it!  One year he chased some ducks way past the buoy...but he came back.  He's a champ.

Granny's lake cottage has been in her family for 82 years.  Her father went in with two other men and then eventually bought them out.  She can remember when there were no motor boats on the lake and when someone finally did get one, when it would go by, the kids would all run out to take a look at it.  Now there are cottages all over the lake and boats as well.  The cottage hasn't changed much since she was little.  They added a porch, a kitchen, and a bath house.  It's perfect and when we come, it's a tight squeeze, but that's what makes it fun.  It's one of the only few cottages at the lake that haven't been torn down and turned into a larger vacation home.  Hopefully I'll be able to share some of her stories during our ten day stay!!

Adam at the lake when he was maybe 7??

I've been going to the lake since I met Adam.  My first year there was in 2003.  Soon we were married and we took Petey there for the first time in 2006.  Taking Petey to the lake is the equivalent to taking your children to Disney World. 

It's tradition that every year he fails to listen to us and runs off and does what he wants.  One year he trekked it down quite a ways.  Adam just had knee surgery and so it was up to dad and I to go after him.  But usually he just goes a couple of piers down to say hey to everybody. 

This will be Aubrie's third year at the lake. 

Here's my diva on her first year.  She really didn't care too much for the water.  She just leaned back in her floaty and laid still. 

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Aubrie.  She looks like she's threatening to punch somebody.  It's her "mob boss" picture.  I love her rolls and her double chin.  :)

We love watching the fireworks at the lake.  They synchronize them to music and the reflection plays off the water.  It is so peaceful and beautiful.  We hope that maybe Aubrie can stay awake long enough to see the fireworks.  We'll have to see.  Last year, (her second year) it was hard to keep her out of the water once she warmed up to it.  We thought she would like playing in the shallow in, but she absolutely hated it. 

Aubrie with Grandma

Loving the lake life.  She enjoyed pretending to drive Gaga's boat.  Great Grandpa was named Gaga by Aubrie.  She's pretty smitten with him. 

Checking out the pier...

I hope I can still blog everyday while I'm there, but if I can't, my apologies.  :)  I've got my recipe cards packed and we have a menu planned.  I've spent the whole day cleaning out the cars, packing, laundry, mowing the lawn, and of course, cleaning the house in case we have any showings while we are gone.  Luckily Adam made it home early from his training and was able to help.  His parents have also been helpful by keeping my little angels busy so I can get work done.  We are excited about a week with family and we'll even get to see our friends Nick Otis and Ashlie, the future Mrs. Otis. 

Happy 4th of July weekend, everybody!  We're outta here!!!!

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Got Pinched.

I got pinched today.  We took the Tahoe in for a routine oil change and "check up" before our road trip to Indiana and got the dreaded "we have a few recommendations" call.  We knew it was coming.  She (yes, our Tahoe is a she.  In fact, her name is Babette.) just rolled 100k miles.  We've been taking good care of her.  But today, it was everything.  Things were leaking, cracked, and we needed tires.  We got hit with a wowsa of a bill.  :(

After some crying in the parking lot and talking things over with the two men I love the most, Adam and Dad, I dried my tears and sulked my way home.  Adam's family is in town and we are all preparing to head up to Indiana to spend a week at the lake.  Luckily they watched the girls (actually, the girls entertained them!) and I got to go workout and run errands ALL BY MYSELF!!!  Weeeee! 

I'm so blessed to have family and friends that helped pick me up and encouraged me today.  We're just having some growing pains.  Our family is growing.  Our house is not.  Our cars are not.  And this is just a rough time to be growing.  We're going to make it.  And I hope everyone else out there that is feeling a pinch in this nasty economy knows that they are going to make it, too.  If not, I have a long list of family and friends that you can call and they will make you feel like a million bucks!

Nothing makes you feel better than doing something for someone else.  I made a coconut cream pie for my neighbor, Tony.  He's such a great guy.  He's getting married this September and he's been so helpful.  I hope he likes this pie as much as I do.  It was hard to make it and give it away. 

Coconut Cream Pie

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks slightly beaten

2 Tbsp margarine

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup flaked coconut

In a pot on the stove, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk the milk and yolks together and gradually add to mixture.  Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until thick and boiling.  Let it boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat.  Stir in butter, vanilla, and coconut.  Pour into pie shell and set aside. 

Meringue

Beat the 4 egg whites in a clear glass bowl.  Add 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar.  White running the beaters, slowly add 1/2 a cup of sugar, little by little.  Beat until stiff and glossy.  You should be able to make little peaks with the beaters.  Heap onto pie and spread around.  Make sure it touches the crust.  Use the back of the spoon to make little peaks.  Sprinkle top with a few coconut flakes and bake at 400 for 10 minutes. 

Pie Dough

this is my Grandma Margaret's (Gigi) recipe

2 cups of flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup of shortening

Mix in a bowl the flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly.  Add enough COLD water to moisten.  (6-8 Tbsp).  The mixture should form into a sticky dough.  Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll the dough out with a rolling pin.  Put dough in pie plate and but something like pinto beans in the bottom to keep from bubbling.  Bake dough at 475 for 8-10 minutes.  Remove beans after about 5 minutes.  Now it is ready to fill with filling.

This is enough dough for two cream pies or one pie with a bottom and top crust.  If you have leftover dough, roll it out and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and cut into squares and you have dough cookies!  (Bake for about 8-10 minutes)

Enjoy!  Love to all!

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We've got a blowout!

Here is my sweet little Emilie all cleaned up and ready for bed.

Do you see anything WRONG with that picture??  hmmm???  Look a little closer and see if anything sticks out.


Here...I'll zoom in for you.

There it is!  :)  We have a blowout!  We were just about to read a book when I looked down to see her fat piggy looking back at me.  Adam said on the phone that it's as big as his thumb.  I mean, I know she's long and her feet are huge, but wow!  These jammies got maxed out pretty quickly!!!  I examined it closer and the hole isn't even at the seam.  Maybe she chewed through it?  She went through a feet chewing phase...

And of course, big sister wanted in on the picture, too.  Which is very rare.  Sorry the photos are so fuzzy. I took them with my phone. 

It was another fun day in our house.  No showings or attempts to take Emilie to a nursery.  Just a trip to the downtown library for story time and a surprise lunch with Tia, Adam's sister Amanda.  She works at the downtown library.  We enjoyed our sandwiches by the fountain and threw some pennies in for good luck.  (I'll plug the library again)  If you haven't been to the downtown library for story time, please check it out.  The puppets, songs, and stories are so much fun for the kids.  Aubrie's favorite is Cedric the Dragon.  When he popped out today, she stood up and said (in her Wynonna Judd grunting voice)  RAWR DRAGON!!!!  Sometimes she sounds like the Judds when she gets excited. 

Nothing exciting is happening in the kitchen.  We're still working on leftover turkey burgers and vegetable casserole.  I was going to make a coconut cream pie tonight for our neighbor that helped us take down the apple tree, but when I got out my ingredients, I realized I don't have enough flour for the pie dough.  I'll just send Petey to the store...I wish.  So I guess you have a pie recipe and pictures to look forward to tomorrow.

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Cream of Tartar incident 2011

Ever since Aubrie was Emilie's age, she's been getting into my kitchen drawers...all four of them. 

Proof - Aubrie at 9 months

my drawers are so fun, she read books in them...

She once again got into my spice drawer and used all the spices like blocks.  Then she took a few in the other room where baby sister was hanging out and playing toys.  I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and went in and took a picture of them playing so sweetly together.  I suddenly remembered I needed to respond to an email and so I got on my computer and was typing away.  Then Aubrie came in saying "Uh oh mommy" and she was holding an empty cream of tartar canister.  In the living room was a small hill of white powder and baby sister's dress was all covered with white powder. 

before the cream of tartar incident of 2011

Did Aubrie dump it on her?  Did Emilie do it?  Why today?  These have never been opened by Aubrie?  Is it poisonous?????

So I quickly cleaned up Emilie and off to wikipedia I went to look up cream of tartar.  Did you know...

It is a byproduct of wine making?  It crystallises in wine casks during the fermentation of grape juice and then filtered through two layers of cheesecloth.  The crude form, known as beeswing is purified to produce the white powder we know as cream of tartar????

Very interesting.  I use it in my meringues for pies and  when I make snicker doodle cookies. 

I had another hilarious attempt at working out today.  Right now the score is
Emilie - 4
YMCA playland - 0
She hates when I leave her.  She was better in the church nursery this last Sunday.  She lasted 25 minutes and got nasty the last 15 minutes.  Today I got to work out for 12 minutes.  I worked up a little sweat.  So I came home and put the girls down for a nap and was sulking about not getting to work out.  I plopped down on the floor with my weights (cans of baked beans) and was about to find my usual exercise tv workout on demand when the phone rang. 

Somebody wants to see the house.  At 4.  (It was 3:15).  "No Way, make it 5".  (The girls were napping and the house was a mess.  Ironing board was out.  Laundry piles sorted in the living room.  Oy.)

They agreed to five and I got up and worked SO HARD.  5 o'clock came so fast.  Emilie woke up in the middle of my cleaning rant and I had to carry her around in one arm.  Then I thought, hey, I'll put her in the backpack carrying harness thing.  YEAH RIGHT.  That girl is heavy and her long arms were reaching out and grabbing everything, I couldn't get anything done.  Aubrie just napped the afternoon away.  It was 5 til 5 and I had to just take the vacuum straight into her room and wake her up.  ROAR.  She didn't like that.  So I had to get her a snack to calm her down and sit her next to baby sister in the high chair where she was having a melt down because....do you remember?  She HATES when I run the vacuum.  Poor baby.  I had no choice, I had to let her cry.  I was putting the vacuum away and all I had left was to dust off the mantle and piano when the realtor was at the door.  I met her at the door (with Petey jumping and shoving me into the glass door) and told her I needed 3 minutes to get out the door and I grabbed my kids and dog and went out through the garage.  WHEW.  I was SWEATING.  I got the hardest workout I could have gotten all week. 

I hate selling our house.  Aubrie misses her toys and the house has to look like two clean people and no dogs and no children live here.
Yeah right.

Leftovers and laundry tonight. 
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MAN blog

This is a MAN blog because I'm going to brag about doing MAN WORK.  :)

We've been working hard to pay off the Equinox early and finally did it this past month!  Yay us!  But then of course, the first month that it's "ours", a headlamp goes out.  Which is usually no biggy.  I've changed many on our Tahoe and on Amanda's car.  So I just went out and got the replacement bulb and set out to do it after I brought home the groceries.  Unfortunately, when I glanced under the hood, it didn't look like all the other head lamps.  So I had to get out the manual and check out what to do. 

You would have thought my CHEVROLET equinox was put together by the folks at Volkswagen!  I had to use a wrench and undo SEVEN screws!  Then pop out 4 pins.  You practically have to remove the front radiator and bumper just to get to the light!  To make matters worse, one of the screws would not budge and Adam had to come out and help me.  We used every tool we could think of and spray that sucker with WD-40 and after 40 minutes, it finally un-screwed. 

As a tribute to my dad, I worked with grease in a white shirt.  We make mom proud.  :)

Roy Walker would be proud.  He's taught me so much about cars and how to take care of my rides.  I remember when I had my permit and I was with dad hauling cattle to our pasture in Arizona.  He wasn't feeling good and was sipping 7-up in the passenger side and I was driving the truck with a trailer.  We blew a tire and I had to change the tire.  He was bent over, coaching me.  Poor dad.  We got it done.  :)

Adam is off to Washington D.C. to become a pimp.  haha.  No, he's doing a training course to get his PMP.  Project Management Professional Certification. 

We had a pretty good rainy day here.  The girls are fun to watch together.  Here is a picture of them on our bed as we are getting ready to go to church.  They sure are growing up fast.  The other day Aubrie reached out and patted Emilie on the rear and said "hey baby sister". 



watching Elmo together

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Bye Bye Apple Tree

Our apple tree has been a dying for awhile now.  Since it is time for brush pick up and our house is for sale, we thought we would go ahead and chop it down and put it in the brush pile.  Unfortunately Adam only had a hand saw and a hatchet.  He worked on it awhile and then had me go ask our neighbor if he had a chain saw.  Luckily he did, but the blades were pretty dull so it still ended up being quite a chore.  But we got it down.  Poor apple tree.  I've made many pies with it and when my mom was here we made a ton of applesauce.  We were sad to see it go.

he worked hard!

Tonight we had turkey burgers.  Back in the day when we had applesauce stocked up, I looked for a bunch of recipes that used apples or applesauce and came across this one.  I don't remember where I found it, but it's been a keeper.  Aubrie really loves it.  And tonight Emilie had some too.  The turkey is so moist!

Apple Maple Turkey Burgers

with Maple Dijon sauce

1-2 lbs ground turkey

1/4 cup bacon bits

1/2 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Add all ingredients together in a large bowl.  You can add less applesauce if you are working with under 2 lbs of turkey.  If you feel like the raw turkey mixture is a little runny, you will want to put foil on your grill and then the turkey patties to prevent them from falling through the cracks.  Once the turkey is mostly cooked, you can take it off the foil and put it directly on the grill for grill marks.



Maple Dijon Sauce

1/4 cup mayo

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp syrup

I like to put my buns on the grill to be toasted.  You can fry extra bacon to garnish the burgers with.  I usually just have lettuce and red onion on ours.  It is delicious!

We also had sweet potato fries.  The first time I had these were at Candice Burtner's house.  She made them with coconut oil.  I found some coconut oil at Whole Foods and I just chop up the sweet potatoes, put them on a foil lined cookie sheet, and coat with some coconut oil.  I bake them at 425 for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake a little bit more.  Mine got a little crispy tonight.  I love dipping mine in BBQ sauce.  MMMMM.  The girls liked these as well. 

Here are a couple of pictures of little Emilie yesterday when we got back from the Y.  Aubrie won't sit still for a picture.  She'll say "cheese mommy" and look away.  That's why her photo is so blurry.  Love to all!

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Good as new!

Adam had knee surgery 3 years ago at Vanderbilt.  He tore his ACL and meniscus.  They brought him back (and paid him) to test his knees today and see how he is doing.  He got an MRI, had to do some other tests like jumping and balancing, and he had to wear sleeves over both knees so they wouldn't know which one was his "bad knee".  He seemed to do pretty good.  At least he thought.  We'll get results later.  But what we can't believe is they are going to bring him back again in 8 years.  We didn't realize he got the lifetime warranty.  haha. 

It was another laundry day.  I also cleaned out Adam's closet while he was gone.  I do this about once a year.  I straighten out his closet and bag up things he hasn't worn lately.  I keep the bag for a couple weeks and see if he can notice what is missing (which he has never) and then I give it to goodwill. 

Since Adam came home early from his doctor's appointments, we waited until the girls got up and went to the Y to go swimming.  It was beautiful today.  There was a nice breeze and the water was very chilly.  Aubrie's lips turned blue.  I dropped her and Adam off and Emilie and I picked up some dinner and met them back at the pool.  Luckily the lifeguards blow their whistles and she HAS TO get out for ten minutes and we warmed her up and fed her.  Emilie didn't go in the water today because it was so nice out and the water was way too cold.  I didn't get in either.  But the girls wore their matching swimsuits. 

I don't know what got in to me yesterday, but I forgot to post a picture of the cookies I made.  I guess I was so excited to be posting a cookie recipe. 

Mmmmmm!  Delicious!

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Cookies!!!

Well, here it is!  I love baking cookies and this is my first post with a cookie recipe.  It's not my best, but it is a good one.  When I was little, my dad changed my name to Cookie Oven.  I started baking cookies by myself and I didn't always do exactly what the recipe said or I wouldn't add the correct ingredients or forget an ingredient and my family went through some hard but supportive times with my baking.

Five In One Oatmeal Cookies

 My mom got this recipe from her high school friend, Judy Frank.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups Quick Oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts

Additionals: 
1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins
3 or 4 Tbsp peanut butter

Beat the margarine, shortening, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add remaining ingredients.  You can add any of the additionals to this recipe.  I like to add raisins and coconut to mine.  I've never tried it with peanut butter. 

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

There is a lot going on in the Mark house.

Petey got a haircut
He's ready for the lake

Emilie wanted to give a shout out to the Fighting Irish with hopes that they are all working hard and gearing up for a good preseason.  She knows they are spending their summer working hard in the weight room and reading their playbooks.  She said she predicts more success this season than last.  (Not hard to accomplish)

Notre Dame's got it this year, guys

I wonder if they're going to run a wildcat offense

Aubrie had a play date with her friend from school, Teague.  He's such a cutie.  His eyes are so blue and he is so sweet and she has so much fun with him.  She loves switching it up and playing with cars, trains, and lawn mowers.  I, of course, enjoyed having some adult conversation with Teague's mom, Marcie.  We took a couple of photos, and I'll share hers instead of mine because she's a photographer and hers are just better.  :)

 You can check out her website at http://www.marciekindred.com/.  She's an awesome photographer.

Aren't they sweet??  I think so.  I forwarded this picture on to dear old dad at work and my phone rang immediately afterwards.  "I don't like that picture" he said.  I asked why and he said, "I don't like her hanging all over a boy."  I told him not to take it that way, she is only two and they are just buddies.  He said, "no, not like that.  I mean, when she is twenty something and I'm at her wedding and she's got some man holding her close, I will only be able to see her as the Aubrie in THIS picture.  Not a grown up, but as my little two year old princess..."

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Francis Fix-It

That's what Adam thinks my blog title should be.  You see, I bought this double jogging stroller online (used) and it's been a pain in my rear ever since.  The front wheel shakes and wobbles.  The first time I pushed the girls in it, it was fine for about 30 yards and then all of the sudden it starting wobbling and Emilie spat out her pacifier and did a deep belly laugh.  It WAS funny, but not for long. 

Poor Katie has gone with me to the zoo and her official job is to walk beside me and straighten out the wheel when it locks, pick up any hats and toys that are thrown out of the side of the stroller, or help me turn the stroller because it won't and I'm holding both kids instead of them riding in the stroller.  Figures.  That's when you know you've got a good friend.  She just smiles and goes with the flow and keeps coming back for more zoo trips.  She's in for a treat now!!

I took it apart, added more washers to it, tightened the nut...everything.  The neighbors could see Adam and I out on the street, after the girls went down, pushing it.  I would be IN IT.  Adam would be running and pushing it, turning it side to side, stopping suddenly, and purposely hitting bumps.  We were a sight. 

Finally I called the company.  I told them I bought is second hand and it was a piece of junk.  So they sent me new parts to the front wheel.  New bearings, nuts, washers, and a spacer.  Ah ha!  A spacer!  So I got it in the mail and put it together after dinner and just like that, it works like brand new. 

I also fixed Aubrie's headband that she snapped in half.  It had pretty pink flowers on it and I ripped them off and hot glued them on a plain pink headband she never wears.  Ta Da! 

No cooking happened at our house.  We had plenty of leftovers!  Petey went to the vet and it was a rainy, lazy day. 

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Bonefish inspired meal

Hello all!   I don't know if any of you have been to my favorite seafood restaurant, Bonefish Grill, but it is delicious.  I start off with some bang bang shrimp and then usually get wild kate's alaskan something or any type of fish with the lemon butter sauce.  MMMMM.  The good thing about Bonefish Grill is that if you go to their website, they post a small collection of their recipes and this lemon butter sauce is one of them!!  Check it out.

 http://www.bonefishgrill.com/behind-the-scenes/recipes/lemon-butter-sauce/

I used cod tonight and decided to do a panko breaded cod.  Here is how I made the breading...

Breaded Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce

1 cup of bread crumbs
zest from one lemon
handful of parsley flakes
olive oil

Really pat the cod dry with paper towels and then brush cod with very little olive oil and then dip them in breading mixture and place on greased cookie sheet or foil lined cookie sheet.
Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes

When it came out, I drizzled it with lemon butter sauce and TA DA!!!  Yumm!!  I cut up the lemon and used a couple of slices to squeeze on mine because I like a strong lemony taste.

To go on the side, I made a vegetable dish out of a magazine Adam got me for my stocking this past Christmas. 

Cheese and Vegetable Rice Casserole

Better Homes and Garden's One-Pan Recipes Magazine

1 - 16 oz package of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, thawed

4 cups of cooked rice

1 - 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 12 oz jar roasted sweet peppers, drained and chopped

1 - cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

2 - 4 oz cans diced green chile peppers

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8oz)

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup seasoned fine dry bread crumbs

2  Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Grease a 13 x 9.  In large bowl, stir together mixed veggies, cooked rice, beans, peppers, corn, and chile peppers.  Stir in 1 cup of the cheese and broth.  Transfer mix to the baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.  In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and melted butter.  Sprinkle over vegetable mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 for for 35 to 40 minutes or until mixture is heated through and crumbs are golden.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Makes 6 servings.  (The magazine says 6 servings, but it's more like 12 in our house.  I think you could easily add chicken breast to this recipe and make it a full meal)



there is a homemade cheddar biscuit in there, but we'll get to that some other time.  :)



Adam and I both feel wrecked tonight.  He's gone back to working out and getting up at 5 and I started getting up at 6:30 when he gets out of the shower so that I can go downstairs and visit with him before he leaves for work and then I can grab a shower before the girls are up...sometimes.  I guess getting back into the swing of things is dragging us down.

The girls and I went to the library for story time.  If any of you live in Davidson County, you have to try it out at the Main Library on 7th and Church St.  (My sister-in-law works there.) :)  Their schedule is online and they have story time with puppets and singing and then you can go across the hallway and do a craft.  It's on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Check it out and get a library card! 

Love to all!!

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She's here!!

 I'm proud to announce that the Burtner family had another little girl today.  Miss Grace Alexandria was born 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long.


Grace Alexandria Burtner



big brother Max





Big sister Reese



Congratulations Burtner Family!!!

Today was one of those days where I had a lot of laundry to do and I thought I would clean the whole house while I was at it.  The only problem is that Emilie HATES the vacuum being run.  HATES!  She screams and turns red and won't stop until it's off.  I REALLY needed to vacuum downstairs (cheerio spill that was mashed into the carpet) and I had no choice.  So I picked her up and held her in one hand like a football and vacuumed with the other.  She loved it.  She just rested on my hip, looking like a flying super baby and just sucked on her paci while I vacuumed the ENTIRE house.  And as you expert vacuumers out there know, it takes two hands.  I was using a leg to move the cord out of the way and had to stop the vacuum to move furniture and objects out of the way.  Let's just say it took forever and I was sweating when I got finished. 

It was a busy day full of leftovers and running errands with the girls.  I ran into several good citizens who helped me today.  One person carried my large bag of dog food out to the car for me and another man helped me get my bag out of the cart because I had Aubrie in the other hand.  It's encouraging and ever so helpful when there are people out there willing to lend me a helping hand.  It really makes my heart smile.  Thank you strangers.

Aubrie wore her hat all day today.  And today was the first time she asked me to take her picture, but it had to be with Pete. 

I must say, it turned out pretty cute.  :)

Emilie got new pajamas today.  She can't wear long sleeves any more because she pulls her arm out and then gets mad because it is stuck.  So I found the most appropriate pajamas today at Target.  They say Daddy's Little Wild Child.  So appropriate for her.  She just wrestles you the whole time you hold her.  Here she is modeling...

After I snapped the picture, she dove to her right and started looking over the side of the chair, so I grabbed her leg

Aaaand she committed.  I told you she's wild!  Cannot sit still!!

Love to all!

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Cinnamon Rolls for Dad

"Happy Daddy Day"  is what Aubrie calls today.  She kept saying happy birthday daddy and singing the birthday song, but we got her straightened out. 

Adam started out the day with his favorite breakfast treat.  Homemade cinnamon rolls.  Mmmmm.   My family has these rolls every Christmas morning and Adam was hooked once he had them his first Christmas in TX.  My mom makes 60 minute rolls and it's the same recipe for 60 minute rolls, but you just roll it out and add the goodies to make them cinnamon rolls.  So you'll see below a recipe for 60 minute rolls (which are delicious if you want a homemade dinner roll) and then you'll see the recipe for how to make them into cinnamon rolls. 

60 Minute Rolls

This recipe is from my Aunt June and Aunt Brenda's sister-in-law, Jessie Kimper.  Jessie is a rancher's daughter in NM.

2 packages of yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 1/2 cup warm milk

3 Tbsp margarine

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cup flour

In large glass bowl, dissolve the yeast with the water.  Add the sugar (it helps activate the yeast) and stir around with a medal spoon.  You will see it start to bubble, which means the yeast is activating.  Put the milk in the microwave with the butter and warm it up, but be careful to not let it boil.  You just want the butter to melt.  Add it to the yeast.  Add the salt and flour and stir with a spoon.  Cover with a towel and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Then remove the towel and sprinkle the dough with flour. *Here is where the recipe changes for cinnamon rolls* Remove the dough in tennis ball size pieces and roll them up and put them in a greased 13x9 pan.  Once all the rolls are in the pan, cover it again with a towel and let it sit for another 15 minutes.  Finally cook them in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  When they come out, take a stick of butter and rub the tops to make them all shiny and buttery.  YUM YUM!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

mom altered Jessie's recipe to make these cinnamon rolls

Make the 60 minute rolls above.  Once the dough has sit for 15 minutes, remove the dough and roll it out into a large rectangle on the counter.  Next add the following ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

raisins

chopped nuts

sprinkle with cinnamon

Now take the top of the rectangle and roll it until you have one giant roll.  Next cut off 1 inch sections and place them in a greased 13x9 pan.  Cover with a towel and let rise for 15 minutes.  Stick them in the oven and cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. 

For the Frosting, you mix:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

ENJOY!!!!

We had a pretty good Father's day at our house.  Of course, I spent church in the nursery because right now Emilie will NOT be having me leave her in any nursery.  We even got to church early to get the girls settled in.  Aubrie cried when I left her, but I did good getting Emilie settled and playing with a toy and I snuck out.  I was in the sanctuary for one hymn and then I got called back into the nursery.  Separation anxiety is about to cause some claustrophobic anxiety in mommy. 

After church we went out to eat and then I asked for a photo shoot when we got home.  Here are the results:



girls are laughing but dad is complaining it is too bright




so let's add Petey to the mix!!!




Petey gets bored while Aubrie plays in the dirt (she thinks I can't see her)




this is the best even though the girls aren't looking




Aubrie switched up sides, but this was the last picture we took because as you can see, Petey saw a person walking up the street and he no longer cared about the photo shoot for dad.

Love to all!



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