We added another recipe to our gluten-free favorites tonight. Just sharing.
Rocky Road Bars
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup gf all-purpose flour (I used the feather-lite mix)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini marshmellows
1 cup chopped walnuts (I think next time I would half this)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8 inch square pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 sides, butter the paper.
2. In medium saucepan, place butter and cocoa. Heat over low stirring constantly until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, egg, flour, milk and vanilla until combined.
3. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean - 25 to 30 min. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle top evenly with marshmellows, walnuts and chocolate chips. Return to oven for 3 to 5 min til marshmellow is golden brown.
4. Place on a wire rack to cool to room temp, about 1 hour. Use paper overhang to lift from pan. Cut into 12 bars. Store at room temp in an airtight container. Bars will keep up to 5 days.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Fun way to cool down
We have spent quite a bit of time at this place this summer. It is a free park that has a mile long biking/walking trail, this splash park and a playground park. The kids love coming here.
Roller Skating
One of the prizes they won through the summer reading program was a free trip to the roller skating arena. They had lots of fun and were pretty wore out after a few hours! This was their first time on rollerskates and took a little bit for them to adjust as they are used to rollerblades and its a little different technique, but after 15 minutes or so, they were flying around with everyone else!
Fun with Friends
This was a Sunday that we switched kids with friends for the afternoon... Kylee went to play with her friend, and Kevin came here to play with Devon.
This project took alot of thinking and time to build... they wanted to catch a bird pretty bad :) So they hooked this contraption up to the bird feeder. They tell me that when a bird comes to eat, they will pull on the rope which will flip the net over the bird, allowing them to grab him for a pet. Love kids imaginations!!
Baking some chocolate chip cookies.
This project took alot of thinking and time to build... they wanted to catch a bird pretty bad :) So they hooked this contraption up to the bird feeder. They tell me that when a bird comes to eat, they will pull on the rope which will flip the net over the bird, allowing them to grab him for a pet. Love kids imaginations!!
Baking some chocolate chip cookies.
Two French Braids!!
Kylee is so happy that she has enough hair now for 2 french braids :) She just had to have me take a picture.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
When it rains, it pours!!
Here is our first rain in Texas, and when it comes, it sure comes! The kids had a blast in it... because it was so warm, they put on their swim suits and took out all my buckets and filled water from bucket to bucket. They played for a couple of hours in it!
This is an intersection after only a few hours of rain!
Our back yard... more water than grass!
This is an intersection after only a few hours of rain!
Our back yard... more water than grass!
Homeschool - 30 points #4
And the forth and final 30 points of the school year earned them a trip to Pump It Up Bounce place.
Homeschool - 30 Points Prize #3
The third time the kids got 30 homeschool points, we took a day off school and went to Chuck E Cheeses.
Squeals of delight! He hit the jackpot!!
Squeals of delight! He hit the jackpot!!
Lost Sammy and found him again... after 1 month!
We were a pretty sad household for a bit. Sammy got out of the gate in the middle of the night. When we discovered it in the morning, I drove around slowly for about 4 hours with 2 crying kids through all the neighborhoods with the windows down. The kids would call and call him out the window, but no success. I called the humane society every 3 or 4 days, put posters up, called all the 'found dog' phone numbers that we could find around the area and on craigslist, for about 3 weeks, still no success. We had pretty much given up, and were talking about getting another dog, and what kind we would get.
One night I was searching online for a new puppy, and on a whim, decided to google search found beagle in the city we lived in. To my amazement an add came up on a website something like lostandfoundpets.com The description was just like sammy, and he was found about a mile from our house. I couldn't believe it! So I emailed them pictures of Sammy and called them the next morning.
After a month and a few days, we had found him!! The lady had found him in the middle of a 5 lane busy road in the middle of the night 2 weeks prior. She said he had a collar on him, which he didn't have his on when he left us, so we think someone else had found him for that first 2 weeks, but he must have gotten away from them too, or they let him go. The lady that found him also told us that he had cried most nights and she thought he was going to die from depression. Crazy thing is that she was calling the humane society every few days for 2 weeks looking for the owners! They didn't put 2 and 2 together for us :(
He sure isn't depressed now! That day sure was a happy day in our house, for both the dog and the family :) Sure glad I decided to do that google search!!
The kids wanted their notes attached to the poster. Kylees says Dear Sammy, I really like you. We are missing you. Devons is pretty readable if you click on the picture.
The happy reunion!!
Sammy making himself to home shortly after the chaos calmed down.
One night I was searching online for a new puppy, and on a whim, decided to google search found beagle in the city we lived in. To my amazement an add came up on a website something like lostandfoundpets.com The description was just like sammy, and he was found about a mile from our house. I couldn't believe it! So I emailed them pictures of Sammy and called them the next morning.
After a month and a few days, we had found him!! The lady had found him in the middle of a 5 lane busy road in the middle of the night 2 weeks prior. She said he had a collar on him, which he didn't have his on when he left us, so we think someone else had found him for that first 2 weeks, but he must have gotten away from them too, or they let him go. The lady that found him also told us that he had cried most nights and she thought he was going to die from depression. Crazy thing is that she was calling the humane society every few days for 2 weeks looking for the owners! They didn't put 2 and 2 together for us :(
He sure isn't depressed now! That day sure was a happy day in our house, for both the dog and the family :) Sure glad I decided to do that google search!!
The kids wanted their notes attached to the poster. Kylees says Dear Sammy, I really like you. We are missing you. Devons is pretty readable if you click on the picture.
The happy reunion!!
Sammy making himself to home shortly after the chaos calmed down.
Pool Party
More fun times! Pools here are around 90 degrees with no heater! Believe it or not, it still feels cool on hot days.
Friday, August 5, 2011
A fun Tea Party
When the workers were at our place, Lydia saw Kylees tea party set, and decided that they would have a tea party with the kids. So cute!
Our "friends" that lived in our yard
Yes, not so happy to say it, but we did have trantulas living in the yard we lived in when we first came to Texas... scary!! But so far, none have ventured into the house, and none at our new house so thats the good news. Some of you may hear my screams if one ever does :) I did get a geico in my bath with me once, and that caused some screaming for a bit too :) Sure not used to these southern creatures yet.
But for some entertainment (I am sure we can find something better for entertainment I know!) Scott and the kids have been tying a June bug or cricket or whatever they could find onto a piece of thread and dangling it above the trantulas home (a dime sized hole in the ground, which is dug out bigger underneath) The trantula will quickly come out and grab the bug and take it in his home. Once, Scott yanked the spider right out with the thread and put him in a bucket and brought him in the house for a bit to watch him.
This is a walking stick that Devon found in our back yard
But for some entertainment (I am sure we can find something better for entertainment I know!) Scott and the kids have been tying a June bug or cricket or whatever they could find onto a piece of thread and dangling it above the trantulas home (a dime sized hole in the ground, which is dug out bigger underneath) The trantula will quickly come out and grab the bug and take it in his home. Once, Scott yanked the spider right out with the thread and put him in a bucket and brought him in the house for a bit to watch him.
This is a walking stick that Devon found in our back yard
Puzzle of Canada
I hardly know where to start to get this blog updated, but it is on my "to do" list to get caught up when the kids start school, which is coming way too soon!
But will start with this one, just cuz we are in Canada right now :) The kids wanted me to take a picture of this (about 3 months ago!) and put it on the blog "because we know Grandma Baxter would want to see it" so here it is :)
But will start with this one, just cuz we are in Canada right now :) The kids wanted me to take a picture of this (about 3 months ago!) and put it on the blog "because we know Grandma Baxter would want to see it" so here it is :)
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