Sweet Sixteen. . .

The day came. .

and went.

Amazing what 15 years of growth to the baby picture above has turned into!!

Of course, there were gifts. .

and a little sister that was more than happy to help him see what they were!

 A beautiful, breathless day spent at the lake with his dad and some of his buddies. .

boating. .skiing. .wakeboarding. .

kneeboarding. .tubing. .

snacking. .swimming. .

and burying people in the sand. .

You know. .everything that goes along with a day at the lake!

Tristan is very fond of the huge chocolate chip cookies that are all decorated up with icing. Because we don't live down the street from a large grocery store or bakery (an hour away. .to be exact) those cookies can be hard to come by at the right time. I've figured out that they can be duplicated at home fairly easily.

 I made a rectangle this time, but have also used my round pizza stones. I bought a large tube of chocolate chip cookie dough (we DO have that in our stores) and cut it into rounds, smashing them together with my fingers.

                                    

Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Another 1/2 tube of dough would have made it a little thicker, which would have been more consistent with the store boughten ones. Or you can easily just make a smaller cookie. It really started out as a true rectangle. .but someone kept coming by and thieving dough off the corner before I could get it in the oven! That ever happen at your house?? I used the whipped buttercream frosting I posted about the other day to decorate it. YUM!

A cake decorator I am NOT. .and as I was messing around with different tips. .I ended up with the two blue lines. .not even sure WHAT I was doing. .then I had to decide what I could make them into. The best I could come up with was putting an eyeball on their tops. .and a green star that looked like a stocking cap. .and gave them a wake board (or whatever). The guys didn't say much. .just gave me crossways looks like I'd gone crazy. My defense was that it was LATE at night!!

Anywho. .

The countdown is on for our vacation. .and we couldn't be more ready. .

BUT. .

we must first survive the annual County Fair this week. .

and a half dozen other obstacles between now and then. .

It's hot. .and we need rain. .

but the kids are still growing. .the flowers are still blooming. .the garden is producing. .

and life marches on!!

We ARE so blessed!!

Have a superb week!