Sweet stuff!

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all the above together.
Roll into a little flattened ball and place on cookie sheet
bake about 6 minutes (don't burn the bottoms like I did with the first batch!)
Let them cool on the cookie sheet until they are firm enough to move to a rack.

Try not to eat them all in one sitting.

Enjoy the sweetness with no glutens!

I was told the dough is delicious.

I never eat raw dough myself.

Collecting

Collecting things...

I love cigar boxes...I can't resist when I see one I like! When I was in Minnesota, Carissa gave me two of these - the third one I bought at a thrift store. heh heh...now I have other people collecting for me too.

I love the fascinating designs...

The cedar-y smell,

The stamps that look like money! The details are endlessly fascinating to me.

Also collecting baby smiles! Little Wyatt has been sick, but now he's feeling better.

Having fun playing with his toys...

chortling and singing...

...making his grandma feel special.

What do you collect?

Last day of my Minnesota trip

Shop...Fly...Home

Just for fun, on my last day there, we went thrift store shopping. Carissa knew of several stores close by, and Mike was home so we didn't have to take any children who didn't want to shop. It was really fun, and although we didn't buy much, it was a fun way to spend the morning, looking at things and being together. I didn't get any photos, although I'm sure I had my camera along. for lunch we went to Wendy's and I have a new favorite thrifty lunch menu item: Chicken Caesar Wrap (.99). Yummy. Eventually it was time to head to the airport. Lots of hugs, goodbyes, I love yous, I'll miss yous, come again soons...sigh.

This is what Minneapolis looks like from the airport. There were no lines for the security screening. I really didn't know where to go or what to do, because there was no one in front of me! OK, I figured it out, but it was still very strange.

Remind me to pack lighter next time -- my bag was to plump to fit in the overhead bin (without some force) and almost to heavy to lift up over my head to put it in!

This was the most beautiful flight I've ever taken. My photos just don't do it justice, but the clouds were so beautiful, and so varied.

They were changing all the time. Sometimes you could see the farms below, and sometimes nothing but miles of clouds.

I think the above looks like the frozen tundra..

The Rocky Mountains! The sun was just keeping ahead of us, lighting one side of the mountains beautifully, and casting long long shadows on the other side.

I don't now what peak this is, but it's not Mt. Rainier.

We flew in from the North, and I saw a beautiful view of the City of Seattle. I could see the Space Needle and all the skyscrapers, Puget Sound, marinas, it was enchanting.

My plane actually arrived early. It was nice to sleep in my own bed, but I am glad to have all these photos to remind me of my wonderful visit.

My Minnesota Trip - day 3

Apple Orchard visit and Barn Dance...

Never a dull moment! This morning we headed to the Jacobsen's Apple Farm. What a beautiful drive!

I never saw any apple trees, but they had a beautiful farm and apple processing setup we could look at. Here, the apples are being sorted, first by machine, then by humans. their shop was filled with apple desserts, apple decorations, apple syrups, anything and everything apple you can imagine. It was sunny and pretty, but the beginning of a very windy 24 hours or so.

Lovely large trees out front. These three are almost always willing to pose for grandma. Carissa bought some apples and we got a couple dozen donuts to enjoy on the ride home. We also spotted a garage sale we had to check out on the way home.

We went to a children's clothing resale store too. We found these cool cowboy boots for Solomon to wear to the barn dance. He was delighted with them. We headed out to the barn dance and potluck dinner in the late afternoon. The wind is still blowing....

Here's the cute barn in the middle of a nice neighborhood, all set up for dancing and eating. Most of the boys played football out in front until it got too dark.

There was a fiddle player, the bearded guy played a guitar. A third fellow had a microphone and called out the dance moves. they played for hours, with just one short little break.

The people at the barn dance were all home-school families. Everyone had such a great time.

Carissa and Mike even got out there and danced! I was so happy to sit with the baby in my lap and watch and visit with the other observers. Everyone was so tired at the end of the evening, but happy to have spent such a great evening with other families.

This was my last evening in Minnesota, and I can't imagine a better way to spend it.

My Minnesota Trip - Day Two

Day two - we are all up before the sun comes up! It promises to be another sunny day and we have things to do! First thing, we go to the Minneapolis Zoo. (or was it Minnesota Zoo?). Carissa said the last time they were there it was so cold they couldn't even stay very long.

The zoo has this fabulous playground for the kids. Giant Spider web!

Mosquitoes are this big in Minnesota! Luckily the wind blew most of them away from us.

Jonah came along to help entertain the younger kids. Boys will be boys!

...the baby just enjoyed riding in the stroller and seeing everything from her comfy vantage point...

Getting wild with the lions...

Tough guys!

As we were packing up and leaving the zoo, I admit I gave them permission to make a funny face! They exceeded my expectations. (I think they've been practicing!)

Hunger attack - to McD's for sustenance. Jonah went in and got all the food for us. And served it up with a smile!

We still had time when we got home to take a little walk to the nearby park. Such a lovely day with blue skies and golden trees.

...and the icing on the cake of our great day was ordering JET'S PIZZA. That is my favorite from an earlier visit this year. I've been dreaming about this pizza for months and I finally got it.

It exceeded my expectations too. Can you see the thick crust, the cheesy toppings, the crispy edges? ummmmm.

On my visit, the morning alway started out with a cup of coffee and a couple of hands of GO FISH! When I was visiting 5 months ago, Jonathan (3) couldn't really manage his own hand in Go Fish. This time, he was totally in control of his own hand. Fun.

I don't seem to have any photos of Tirzah in this day, but I assure you she was there. I think she may have been sneakily ducking my lens. Also she is a young lady and not climbing around on spider webs and giant mosquitoes!

My trip to Minnesota - Day 1

Heading to Sea-Tac on Wednesday morning...dreary, rainy, gray gray gray...

This is my SECOND visit to Minnesota this year! Definitely a record. But, maybe one to be broken again, who knows??? My flight was great. With a window seat, I watched the world underneath me all the way. You really can see the curve of the earth. It is amazing to see how much unpopulated area there is between Seattle and St. Paul. I heard the weather would be beautiful in Minnesota. It was in the 80's when I arrived. I also arrived during rush hour - five-ish. So we went to the MALL OF AMERICA before heading on home. The Mall of America is an amazing place! In addition to all the wonderful stores there, it was like a trip to an amusement park!

First, we went to the AMERICAN GIRL store. The girls understand it is just like a trip to a museum or art gallery -- just to LOOK and dream. It was so much fun for ME...I have a special interest in American Girl dolls myself and picked up a catalog for "fashion ideas" for sewing doll clothes.

These dollies get to sit with the girls in the cafe, see how their little chairs hang onto the edge of the table? I heard that Taliah is going to have TEA in the American Girl Restaurant for her next birthday!

This roller coaster is in the middle of the mall! See how high it is? It continues around a tight short track up and down and upside down...probably about 40 seconds, but trust me it's an exciting 40 seconds!!! No, I didn't do that.

We all got excited to see this! A store just for peeps. I can imagine all the wonders that will be in there!

...and LEGO LAND! there is an area the kids can just play and build... and the store filled with many many wonders...

...including this gigantic WOODY from Toy Story... It was really fun walking around with the kids and Carissa, getting reacquainted, just having some fun together. I can see how wonderful a big mall like this would be in the long cold winter months in Minnesota.

When we got home, it was fun to see the big boys and Michael. So much visiting. It was so nice to see everyone again and the only one who had changed much was the baby.

A hugs and cuddles kind of evening.

New Electronics...need comfort food...

Our new computer arrived via Fed-Ex yesterday. This morning, first thing, Phil had it out of the box, and up and running in many hours. Notice we have two computer set-ups...the one on the right is our OLD computer, still set up for Phil's magazine work. Its nice to have all the old dust cleared away from under and behind everything! The new one seems to work fine - a few new things to figure out...like why couldn't I write this "above" the picture???

After all the stress and excitement of new electronics...we needed comfort food!

CHILI!

thick and spicy!

I made a recipe I got from Ree Drumond, Pioneer Woman website. www.thepioneerwoman.com She actually put hers on top of fritos in a little bag and ate them out of the bag! But I just served mine in a bowl with Jiffy Mix cornbread on the side. It was delicious, thick and with just the right level of spiciness - grated cheese on top. I spent quite a bit of time visiting this blog today.

I actually forgot to take a photo until later, so this picture isn't as fresh and delicious looking as my original chili.