and on we go to Wisconsin

After a wonderful nights sleep at Shayne & Anna's we hit the road again for Wisconsin and Darnyl's house. When we go to WI we went to the mall to let the boys run, do a little shopping and wait to meet up with Aunt Connie & Jackie.

We found this train set in Barnes & Noble and it occupied the boys for quite awhile.

Once we met up with Aunt Connie & Jackie (Larry you're still not off the hook for skipping out on us) :) we went to a park nearby to let the kids play and hang out. Prestyn LOVED Jackies dog.

We then went to Denny's for dinner. Here's my beautiful cousin Jackie.

Jackie & I

Aunt Connie (do I sense a new FB profile here??)

And our whole crew. Darnyl and Saedira met up with us for dinner...so of course I had to ask Darnyl to take our picture.

Thank you so much Aunt Connie & Jackie for making the trip to see us. It was so great to catch up & get to spend time with both of you! HUGS & LOVE!!

Hitt'n the road

We hit the road this morning for our big vacation to MN and WI. We actually managed to get out of town around 7:30 am and stopped in Bismarck for a few essentials. We drove as far as Fargo and stopped at the mall there for lunch and a little mall walking to wear the boys out for the rest of the drive.

It was so nice to arrive at Shayne and Anna's place. The boys both just hit the ground running and had a blast playing on this little landing. :)

Harvest Time!

Harvest time back home & we were able to get in on a little bit of the action. Cayden had fun helping daddy haul bales and then he got to ride in the combine too!

Checking out the crop with daddy!

So pretty!

Our trip to the farm!

While we were back home we got to spend some time with our good friends Bill, Trisha, Alexa and Joel. We always have such a fun time hanging out with them, and the time just flies by (too fast). Cayden and Alexa have been buddies since they were babies and it's always fun to get them together and of course I always have to get their picture! They are goofballs.
On the way to the farm we stopped to see our friends Matt, Melinda, Addison and Aydan. Prestyn wasn't too sure about sharing toys with Aydan, but they were sure cute together. Cayden and Addison had a blast playing together & once again we had a great time catching up with some fabulous friends.

On the way there we also stopped in at my sisters. Auntie had to get some baby snuggles with Anthony! He's getting so big, he's smiling and is simply adorable!

Justyn hadn't met Anthony yet, so he had fun snuggling him too & even put him to sleep! :) gotta love that!

Prestyn feeds himself (kinda)

Of course since P was getting his picture taken C wanted in on the action! He's such a cute little poser!
Prestyn attempting to feed himself! This was his first real attempt.

I think he's got it (and what a wonderful mess)

My hand is so much easier mama, and it fun to squish!!

ranch-style steak kabobs

Another new recipe. I've been trying out some new recipes, and this one has been sitting in my stack of "try-it" recipes, so I had to "blog-it". They were actually quite good. Next trial will be chicken kabobs! :) Fun!

Ranch-style steak kabobs:
4 new potatoes - cut in half (I use whole potatoes & cut them to size)
1/4 cup Kraft Ranch Dressing divided (I used hidden valley - made at home)
1 lb bonesless beef sirloin steak, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch-think slices (I think I'd cut a little thinner - simply because I don't like ANY pink in my meat when cooked)
8 cherry tomatoes
bamboo skewers (soaked in water fro 30 minutes prior to grilling)

1)Heat grill to med-high heat. Cook potatoes in boiling water 12-14 minutes or until tender. Drain - cool slightly
2)Reserve 1/2 of dressing. Thread meat accordian style, onto 4 skewers (I used more), alternating between potatoes, and tomatoes. Brush with remaining dressing.
3)Grill 10-12 minutes (we did longer) or until meat is done, brush with reserved dressing last 2 minutes.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes and Cream Cheese Frosting

I've had a couple requests for the recipe I used for Prestyn's first birthday party cake. So here it is:

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes:
13.5 oz (about 3 cups) All purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter - softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used regular 2% milk)
1) Preaheat oven to 350
2) Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir with a whisk. Place sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl and beat with mixer at medium speed until light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add floud mix & buttermilk to sugar mix, beginning and ending with flour mix.
3) Spoon batter into 5 (5 3/4 x 3 3/4 in) loaf pans (For Prestyn's dino cake I used 2 lg bread pans & 2 round cakes - so it was 2 of this recipe). Make sure to coat pans with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 mins on wire rack. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese at room temperature
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter at room temperature
3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Place the cream cheese & butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the confectioners sugar, a bit at a time, blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Add Vanilla, then increase mixer speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more.
2) Use at once to frost the cake of your choice.


Enjoy the recipes & feel free to link me to your blog about what you make with the recipes! I think they are my new all time favorites!