A Little of This; A Little of That

Life continues to march on!!

We're into the final stretch of junior high basketball!

The boys hated it to begin with. .but as I told them would happen. .

they continue to practice and improve. .and both have really enjoyed it.

Tristan even said he would probably try high school BB next year!!  They didn't play pee wee ball, so have found themselves at a little disadvantage because of it. .but they are learning quickly and making big improvements.

We were so glad for the moisture. .and have enjoyed a little rain yesterday. .and have hope of some more moisture tomorrow in the way of rain or snow.  Right now, we'll take it any way it will come!

The pond has thawed out and the gold fish are visible again!

The older boys went to a leadership conference on Saturday in western Kansas.  Grant came home complaining of not feeling well and went right to bed. .where he stayed for the next 2 days. He is upright today and feeling better.  Tristan enjoyed the forum. .but mostly I heard about this hot girl with the most "amazing" blue eyes you've ever seen. .Dear Lord. .Please help this mama!!

Camille was sick at the end of the week with tons of snot that precipitated breathing treatments and an ear infection.  She is also on the mend. .and slept in her own bed last night. .all by herself. .for the whole night!! Yeeeees!

Devin's cooking group met last night and we enjoyed making surprise muffins (which may have been a little tricky for 7 kids under the age of 10 with only 1 coach) but they turned out great!! Even surprising me a little, after the start we had (that necessitated me showing them not once, but twice, the difference between the Tablespoon and the Teaspoon--after they dumped it in the bowl.  No wonder they rose a mile high!! The surprise (other than that they turned out. .not burnt. .and tasting quite good) was a small pocket of jelly in the center. .OOOOhhhh. .TRICKY! It certainly impressed the kids. .expressed by the looks of amazement on their faces when they peered in the oven!! Next we made the Peanut butter cups (featured on Our Best Bites blog a few weeks ago).

Only. .

We changed it up a little. .and put our base into mini muffin cups (decorated for Valentines Day) instead of a pan. Then we spooned a bit (or a bunch, depending on which kid you were) of melted chocolate on the top of the cups. Those were delicious. .and I highly recommend the recipe to anyone!! I intended to take some pictures of the kids working. .but my brain was frazzled. .and by the time I got home from my council meeting last night. .there wasn't ONE left ANYWHERE to take a picture of!! However, mark my words. .it's a priceless feeling to send kids home with chocolate on their face, flour and sugar on their clothes, and that sense of pride in their hearts!!

Jeremy has been a very busy boy. .cruising the internet to scout out the perfect place for our vacation this summer!! We have confirmed our reservations in a lovely lakeside home on Grand Lake in Oklahoma for July.  Last year, he was sure that a long 3-4 day weekend was enough. .and I had to talk him into the 4 days. This year he wanted to know whether I wanted to stay 10 days or 2 weeks. .SERIOUSLY! I told him no more than a week. .I have flowers that will need some major water by then!!

So, now we'll be dreamin' of the fun in the sun!!

I have been busy looking through my mountain of seed and plant catalogs. It's soon time to be starting some veggie seeds. .and I must be ready!  I have made lists and checked them twice and hope to order things this week.  Of particular fun will be to do the plantings around the pond. I can hardly wait!!  I am really trying to plant more native flowers that will attract the birds and butterflies. Wish me luck! I have also started the daunting process of updating and editing my family's cookbook.  My mom put the book together years ago with all of her best recipes.  As all of us started having papers fall out of the book regularly with our favorite recipes on them, we decided to put together an accumulation of our families favorites too!  We have LOVED it, and have already updated it once.  Hopefully this will be the last update for a long time.  We are up to nearly 100 pages of the best food you will find. .and I love fixing the food from each cook in the family!! I always think of that person when I fix it for my family!!

Here's a new recipe that we have been fixing at our house. .in fact that is what Cami is working on in our cooking picture above! Try some out for Super Bowl Sunday!!

Zesty Ranch Pretzels

½ cup melted butter

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp seasoned salt

16 oz pkg (or about 8 cups) mini pretzels

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients except pretzels. Toss mixture with pretzels and place in a roaster pan or large baking sheet. Bake 1 hour at 250, stirring every 15 minutes. If you don't like spicy. .just leave out the pepper. .they'll still be gone in no time!

Think Spring!! It will be here soon!