The Classic Rice Krispy Treat

We LOVE Rice Krispy treats at our house! When their is a pan of these made, you better grab one while you can 'cause they're not gonna last long! I did manage to make them last a couple days so the kids could take a couple for school snack. In my opinion, the homemade Krispy treats are much better than the store bought ones. The packaged ones taste SO much sweeter to me and just not as fresh. Maybe that's just me. Don't get me wrong, my kids would eat packaged or homemade. They don't care. They just love this classic snack, as do I! Get the step by step recipe below.


1. You will need 3 Tbsp. margarine or butter(I like butter), 1 (10 1/2 oz.) pkg. mini marshmallows and 6 cups of Rice Krispy's cereal.(whichever brand you want)


2. Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and mixture is smooth.


3. Remove pan from heat. Add the cereal; mix until well coated.


4. Press mixture firmly into a 13x9 pan that has been lightly greased with butter.(I find it helps to rub a little of the butter on my clean hands when I press these down so my hands don't stick)Cool completely; cut into squares.

Our Trip To The Fire Station

Earlier this week, Ivy and I got to visit our local fire station with some friends of ours. I was anxious to see how she would react to seeing these big fire trucks in person! She was a little reluctant at first, but warmed up to it.However, she was not having any part of putting on the boots and the big helmet, but a couple of the boys decided they would try it. The kids also got to get inside of the ladder truck and look around. We also saw all the ins and outs of the pumper truck. The firemen were nice enough to pull the ladder truck out of the garage and put the big ole ladder up. That thing was up there. I think one of the firemen said it would let out to 10 stories high! We got an extra treat as one of the firemen climbed the ladder to the top! OH,that made me so nervous! I didn't even know the man, but I was so nervous for him I could barely watch! He made it just fine.
The kids also got a coloring book, sticker and a fireman hat to take home. It was a fun trip!

Ivy sitting in the ladder truck!

Hot Car Crayons

Recently my daughter and I tried a project that I pinned a while back called Hot Car Crayons. She had a good time helping make these and she LOVES coloring with her new heart crayons!
A cute and fun project! See the step by step instructions below.


1.First, make sure it's a nice, hot day out. (Which we have plenty of here in AL!) Have a silicone muffin or ice cube mold set out for your crayons. Get out your crayons and peel off the wrappers. (I read that Crayola crayons worked best for this so that is what we used. We do have an abundance of crayons!)


2. Break the crayons into small pieces that will fit into the molds. You can put the same color in each mold or mix up the colors, which is what I did.

3. Take your crayon filled mold out to your car and set it on the dash board. I put a paper towel underneath in case it melted over the sides. I left mine out for a couple hours, but it may not take that long. Just check it.


4. When the crayons have all melted, bring them inside to set up and get hard. You can just leave them out on the counter to do this or speed up the process by putting the mold in the freezer for a little while.


5. Pop the crayons out of the mold and start coloring! Both of my girls really like to color with the heart crayons! I'm on the lookout for other fun shapes we can make!

Easy Soft Pretzels

For an after school snack last week, I tried these Easy Soft Pretzels and they are delicious! They do take a little time to prepare, but nowhere near as long as homemade soft pretzels(those are sooo good, but this is a simple alternative.) Our whole family loved the pretzels and asked to have them again real soon!! I'll have to make sure I have Pillsbury breadsticks on hand because that's really all you need to make these........and an egg white. The egg white brushed on top before they bake really gives them that shiny crust on top! We made a traditional salted pretzel and also cinnamon sugar.The step by step recipe is below.


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take one can of Pillsbury bread sticks and separate dough into twelve pieces. Roll one piece of dough into a 22 inch long rope. (Yes. I did actually get out the tape measure for the first one, but after that I just eyeballed it.)


2. Twist each rope of dough into a pretzel shape. Place dough on a baking stone or a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Beat one egg white and brush on tops of pretzel dough. Bake for about 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.


3. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter and brush butter over pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, dip into cinnamon sugar, or make whatever variety of pretzel you like. Yield: 12 pretzels

Happy Birthday!!!

On Saturday, we celebrated our son's 12th birthday!!! --Wow! Still can't believe he is 12 yrs. old! That means he will be a teenager next year!-- He celebrated at home with family and some of his friends from church and school. They all had a fun time playing Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures, visiting, and eating grilled hotdogs,chips, cake and ice cream!

This year I made Trent a three layer Funfetti cake with homemade buttercream icing! He really liked it and we are still enjoying the leftovers! It was a great day for Trent! Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Blowing out 12 candles!


Opening his presents!

Second Day of School 2011

I've taken a little break from blog land, but today I'm back with the kids.....umm....second day of school picture. In all the excitement of the first day of school, I forgot to take their picture yesterday. That's okay! The "newness" of the new school year hasn't worn off just yet!

Both of them reported great first days back! Laci enjoyed her new teacher in 3rd grade and Trent had a good day in 7th grade with all six of his classes! I'm looking forward to a productive school year in 2011-2012!

This is the "new shoe shot." Laci REALLY wanted me to take this. I guess so she could show off her new Nikes for school and her brother could flash his new Jordans. I sure hope these last the whole school year!