Strawberry Cheesecake Yummyness

 Yes, another cupcake post.  Preston chose Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes this week.  Yum, yum, YUM!!!  The cake part has real vanilla bean in it.  Very tasty.  They are also filled with strawberry jam.  Add that with the cream cheese frosting and crumbles of brown sugar/graham cracker crust on top and this makes for one scrumptious cupcake.

Yum!!!

Last week was Trenton's turn to choose the cupcake.  I have to say, this was my absolute favorite so far.  It's a good thing we gave so many away, or I would barely be squeezing into my pants this week.

Andes mint cupcakes.  

Trenton made them all on his own too.  All I did was pipe the frosting on top.  He did amazing!

Here is the link.  They will not disappoint.

Independence Day

We had a very fun and busy 4th of July.

 Trent and Trenton started their day super early and went to put American flags up in the yards of those who participated in the scout fundraiser.  They were up-and-at-em at 5:30 that morning.  After getting all the flags up, Trent headed over to the church to start flipping pancakes for our ward breakfast.  I got the kids up and ready, loaded their decorated bikes and selves into the car, then we went over to the church too, to scarf down a yummy pancake breakfast.  Afterward, all the kids hopped on their bikes and rode around in the parade.  There was also a fire engine there for the perusal of all.  The best though was at the end when they opened up the fire hose and everyone got to run and play in the water.  My kids were all drenched from head to toe!  They loved it!

 After the breakfast, we headed home to gear up for some fun at the pool.  I didn't get any photos while at the pool, but after about 4 hours there, Buds was exhausted.

Next up was the Rapids game.  Had to get a photo of Trenton next to Trenton St. :)  Jilly was in a kissy mood at the game.  Buds always loves to cuddle up to grandpa.

 We ended up getting to go down onto the field for the fireworks.  We've only ever gone to the Rockies games to see the fireworks on the 4th of July, but this year we decided to check out a soccer game instead.  The fireworks after the Rapids game were every bit as good as the ones at Coors Field.

 Jilly was fascinated for the first couple of minutes, then she decided she had seen enough.  She was a good sport though, especially with the long day we had.  After the game, we ended up sitting in the parking lot for close to an hour, just waiting to exit.  We got home around midnight.  I wish I had taken a picture of all the kids in the backseat.  They were out like lights.  It was wonderful being able to spend so much time with our family for the holiday.  And we never complain when Trent has a day off.  And boy are we ever thankful to all of those who fought, and still fight for our freedom.  We are so blessed to live in a country where we have so many freedoms.

Family Pictures

My mom's ward had a service auction a couple of months ago for their YW camp fundraiser.  There is a photographer in my mom's ward that auctioned off several time slots for photo shoots.  My mom ended up snagging one of them.  This was the most painless photo shoot I have ever been to.  This lady was awesome.  We were in and out of there in 20-25 minutes, and my kids loved her.  Here are just a few of the shots she took.

 All of us... and I am happy to say that my brother was very good about looking and smiling at the camera.  (I just have to give him a hard time because he's my little brother.)  ;)

 Preston's smile in all of these pictures cracks me up.  I love it!

 Just the boys.

 The whole family again.  We got just a few minutes where it stopped raining long enough we could head outside.

All the kiddos.

 My sweet hubby and I.

My bro and my mama.

It has been so long since we've had any family pictures taken.  The last time we did was when Buds was just barely 2.  It was high time!

Goin' Walkin'

My baby girl has been taking a few steps here and there over the last month.  Not many, just two or three at a time, then she would drop back to her knees and crawl.  There was one time where she took ten steps, but she had some serious motivation because I was holding her bottle out for her.  (She loves that thing!)  She has a little pink princess car that she likes to push around.  And she would much rather push a stroller than sit in it, so I knew this whole walking business was bound to start at any time.  Yesterday she finally started walking as much as she would crawl.

Last night we all went outside to burn off that last bit of energy before it was bedtime.  We brought Jilly's little car out for her, and she was practically running up and down the sidewalk with it, then she just let go and started walking all on her own.  She isn't walking 100% of the time yet, but today she has been walking more than yesterday.  I bet by the time Trent gets back from Scout camp with the boys, she'll have some new tricks to show her dada.  :)

A Week's Worth of Stuff :)

Last week was a busy one for us.  Nothing unusual with it it being the end of the school year. 

Colson received a couple of awards at the end of the school year for being an outstanding student.

We went to his 5th grade continuation.  Looking sharp!

I can't believe he's going to be a 6th grader next year!

Walking up to the podium to receive his "diploma".

Shaking hands with the principal and teachers.

My boy is so big!

The class of of 2019.

The big exit.

I'll have two kids in middle school next year.  When did I get so old?!

Lovin' my sweet boy.

With teacher, Mrs. Christy, who is absolutely amazing!

With best buds, Jared and Mac.

The same day, Vivi had her picnic lunch at the park with her class.  The grandmas were so nice to go to this with her since Trent and I were at Colson's continuation.

Loving the park.

Vivi on her last day of school with her teacher, Mrs. Johnson.  Colson had her for a 1st grade teacher as well.  We're hoping we can keep the trend going and that Preston will have her when he is in first grade.  We love her to pieces!

Here is our cupcake for the week.  Colson chose molten chocolate cupcakes.  Super yummy!

We have had some gorgeous sunsets this past week.  Even more beautiful than normal.

Jilly had her first ride in the hummer.  She laughed the whole time.  :)

T had some fun borrowing the neighbor girl's purple scooter.  He cracks me up to no end.

Trent turns 37 tomorrow.  He is such a good dad, he is spending his birthday waking up at 5:00 am to head off to scout camp with Trenton.  Since he and T are going to be gone, and since most of the rest of the family are going to be out of town this week, we celebrated last week.  We also celebrated Father's Day.

Blowing out the candles.  It came as a shock to me when they put the number 37 on the cake.  I could have sworn he was only turning 36.  How did I miss a year?  My mom made a super yummy tiramisu dessert, Trent's favorite.

After the BBQ/birthday/Father's Day celebrations, we all went to the park where we played on the playground, swung on the swings, rode scooters and long boards, took Ziggy for walks, and played lots of tennis.  (I couldn't believe how sore my arm was the next day!)  Jilly is getting so close to walking!  She could totally do it if she wanted to, but honestly, I think it is too slow for her.  She crawls at lightning speeds.  She'll take a few steps, then drop to her hands and knees and cruise around like a greyhound chasing after a rabbit.  I'm sure once she has figured out how to run, she'll give up crawling for good.  :)

We are so ecstatic that school is finally out for all the kids.  We have already been to the pool several times, had movie nights, lazed around reading books, had water fights with the hose, and have spent hours playing outside riding bikes and scooters and such.  Our summer is off to a great start and we are enjoying so much being able to spend time together.

Quote of the Day

As we were sitting in sacrament meeting at church today, Preston climbed up into Trent's lap with a sad little look on his face.  He lightly rubbed his hand along Trent's tie and said, "Dad, it's Father's Day, and I didn't even get you a new tie."  Love that boy. 

Sharing the Love/Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. Ever.

When I married Trent, I married into the yummiest chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.  It's so yummy, I have shared the recipe with dozens and dozens of people over the last 14 years of our marriage.  There have been several people though that swear I have left out a "secret ingredient".  (I promise, I haven't!)  They always say they don't taste the same when they make them.  I still stand by the fact that nothing ever tastes as good when you make it yourself.  Anyway, for those that have asked for step-by-step instructions, here they are!  :)

I always start with the sugars.  (Oh, btw, the pictures I have are of a quadruple batch, so the bowl looks REALLY full.)  The recipe calls for 1 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. granulated sugar.

Also put in 1 c. shortening.

Then you're going to mix the sugars and shortening together really well.  If it looks like this above, it's not quite done.

Once it looks nice and creamy, it's ready.  Sometimes I'll go do a load of laundry while it mixes away.  Seriously.

Then you're going to mix in 2 eggs,

and 2 tsp. of vanilla.  Let that mix for another minute or two.

Then mix in 1 tsp. of baking soda,

and 1 tsp. salt.  I let my mixer keep running as I add the ingredients.  You're going to let all of that mix in really well.

I scrape down the sides several times through the whole process.

Next, add in 2 1/4 c. flour.  I don't let it mix for too long once I get the flour in.

Once you're all done, it should look like this.  YUM!

Then stir in (by hand) 1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips.  Now is the time to grab a spoon and dig in!  That's what we do at least.

Then load up your cookie scoop.  I think my cookie scoop is 1.5 inches.

Here they are, ready for the oven.  Bake them at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes.  (My oven cooks pretty hot, so I only put mine in for 8 1/2 minutes.)

Voila!  A tray full of yummy, scrumptious chocolate chip cookies.

Now all you have to do is pour yourself a nice cold glass of milk and enjoy!