Florida part 1

Whew! . . . Thanksgiving is over already!
(now it's CHRISTMAS TIME!!)
Before I post pics of  Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some pics of our Florida trip.
This was one of the most exciting parts of our trip.
The kids had never flown before (Jake did when he was a baby) so they were pretty nervous.  Once we got up in the air, they were fine.

When we got to our resort, the kids swam for a while in the water park.

We all enjoyed the palm trees that were everywhere.

Our resort was lovely.

Caroline managed to catch a gecko, which she brought in the tub to play with. (can you see it on her finger??)

There it is!!

Luke and Caleb enjoyed "making cookies" on the iphone cookie app.  (sooo cute!!)

We went to bed in anticipation of going to Disney's Animal Kingdom the next day.

To be continued . . .

A *Magical* Celebration

Well, I am 40 now.

Look where I got to celebrate!

Is this not the most magical place ever???

Stay tuned for LOTS more pictures, my friends.

Someone's Turning the Big 4-0

You'll have to excuse me for the next few days . . . I will be busy blowing out all my candles.
:)

Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars

I saw these at ALDI and thought Caroline and I would give them a try. (normally, I do not like dessert mixes, but they are so easy to make with kids)
Oh yum! (I was pleasantly surprised!)

They are sooo easy to make and they are sooo delicious! (if you like pumpkin pie, you will love these!)

They have a gingerbread crust, which is actually my favorite part.

Make sure you cook them long enough and then refrigerate them or they will be very runny.

Enjoy!!

My Go-To Fast Food

Once in a while, I find myself in a situation where I have not eaten anything for a long while and I have not thought ahead enough to pack something for myself to eat and I start getting "the shakes". (just happened today)I needed protein pronto.

So I stopped at my favorite little place on the planet (Starbucks, or Bigbucks, as my kids like to call it) and got myself one of these. . .

source

It is a Chicken Santa Fe Panini and I LOVE it!

It's "Natural chicken breast with sour cream green chili spread, bell pepper and pepper jack cheese on flatbread."  Soooo good.  And if you don't give in to the temptation of buying a pumpkin spice oo-la-latte, you won't spend any more money than you would have at McDonald's. (this sandwich is sooo much better than anything you would ever get at MickeyD's, just sayin')

With 27 grams of protein and just the right amount of 'kick', I am hooked. 

p.s. this sandwich may not always be posted on the drive-thru sign . . . just ask for it 

Anyone Up For A Nerf War??

Watch out!!

There's a war going on here.

A Nerf war, that is.

A very serious Nerf war.

A very fun Nerf war.

John set up the back yard with obstacles and places to hide. (aka the "war zone")
Jake and some friends played "capture the flag" with Nerf guns.
What a blast!
And it was free!!!
What could be better??

Anyone else up for a Nerf war??

A Weekend with Friends

Last weekend, I faced my fear of driving long distances by myself on busy highways in the dark and I went to Ohio to see a few of my college friends.  (It took me 8 hours to get there and 6 to get home . . . lots of construction.) I was proud of myself and I was so glad I went.

We laughed.
We played cards.
We shopped.
We ate out.
We drank coffee.
We stayed up late.
We slept in.
We ate killer brownies.
We talked.


I left Ohio feeling very blessed to have these girls in my life.

"Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief."

- Joseph Addison