Yummy Recipe

I recently discovered a new recipe (thanks to the Neal fam) that we LOVE!!! They are easy and way more healthy than the store bought ones I think!! I have been trying to make more things from scratch and I am going to be doing more baking this week (I am going to try making bread). It should be very interesting. I am excited to try! I am also very thankful that my children and my wonderful husband allow me to try new things and give me honest feedback.
Here is the recipe:



Home Made Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups quick oats (I use rolled and they turn out fine)
*For some reason- yet to be known- they didn't stick together this time- I think the butter was too soft (a little melted)
1/2 cup rice krispies (I use puffed wheat)
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients (I use my hands to mix) and press into an 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 18-20 min. When pulled out, score top to form bars. Let cool completely and then cut into bars.

I double this recipe and they last us about a week. The kids love them. I am going to be adventurous soon and attempt peanut butter ones and other variations. I'll try to remember to let you know how it goes!

An Evening of "Firsts"

My brave little man
Didn't effect him that much!
having to cut his shirt off to get it over the cast
Caleb's lips and chin
the good looking one
The morning after- looks like he got in a fight!
Ian's x-ray- smooshed bone is at top of wrist where it looks wide
Special breakfast that I made this morning for my hurtin' boys



Well, as you can tell from the pictures, we had a very busy Friday evening. We started out playing outside- Matt mowing, I'm weeding, Caleb riding his bike and Ian and Riley are playing together. Well, Caleb rode through a puddle and when he turned quickly, the tires skidded out from under him and he went face first into the driveway. His lip started swelling immediately, and there was a ton of blood and we were unsure what damage there was. We all came inside, got the bleeding to stop and tried to reduce the swelling. I called the on-call nurses and they called back and told us unless he showed signs of a concussion or if his teeth went through the outside of his lip. Fortunately they didn't, but the inside is pretty messed up. Well, while I am on the phone with the nurse, all of a sudden Ian starts screaming and Riley is yelling for help. Matt takes off running as the nurse asks me is everyone is ok. I told her my husband was checking and she told us to call back if we needed to. Well, all we can get out of Ian is that his arm is hurting. Matt told me then that he thought that it might be broken. Once we got him down stairs we saw it was swelling and he was not calming down, so we decided to take him to the ER. In between getting him downstairs and heading to the ER, we found out that he was climbing the ladder to the bunk beds and slipped, fell backwards and tried to catch himself. So he landed pretty hard on his wrist. All the way to the ER he is crying and I cannot comfort him, I can't hold his hand since the one that is broken is the only one I can reach. I was fighting not crying, just because there was nothing I could do. But I am so thankful that we are close to an amazing ER! Not kidding- once we got there we were in and out with in a hour. They were so nice and the x-ray tech let Ian see his x-rays and even got to take print outs home with us. The kind of break he has is common for his age- since the bones are still soft, they just squished down. It still hurts but there is less healing time and it heals well. So we are so thankful for that. He will have to wear the splint/cast for 4 weeks and then we will see from there. He is pretty sad that he can't play baseball, but I am just thankful it wasn't more serious. Caleb is still playing- in fact we are leaving for a game right now!

Little Miss

I had the opportunity to get some shots of Riley one Saturday. I think it was the weekend before we returned to school. Matt had taken one of the boys to practice and Riley was standing by the wondow watching them leave. She was playing,dancing and just enjoying her moment. I got caught near the end taking pictures, and was asked to stop. :) Here are the photos I got. There are a few that the heater is blowing her hair and it looks so neat. She is growing so fast- 3 going on 16.

Fun Visit!

We had a WONDERFUL visit from the Noel Family as they were traveling to Kentucky. We are so blessed that we are a stopping point for them and we get to see them fairly often (although not often enough in my opinion!). They came in Saturday afternoon and spent the night. The kids had a blast and enjoyed every moment of their stay. Matt and I did too! We were able to catch up and just enjoy all the discussions and laughs. We got to meet "ears", errrr, Bella and give she and Jakie some scratching lovin! We so enjoyed our time and we miss them already! We know they enjoyed their time with family, but we cannot wait for the next trip our way! Miss you guys!!

Over our spring break we had the opportunity to have a blast- these pictures were when they were playing with play doh. My kids love to create and they had a blast with the monster parts and with the molds. I had found 2 kits at Target that had a bunch of molds, toys and fun stuff, so we splurged and replaced our almost non-existent set. I love watching them make things and share with each other!