Easter Sunday 2012

It was a blessed Easter for sure! I got to spend the whole weekend with my family and loved every minute of it. The tradition around here is new Sunday outfits to wear to church, Easter baskets..no matter how old you get to be, and an egg hunt. The weather this year was beautiful and Mom had a yummy meal for us to enjoy. Her banana pudding this year was magnificient as always!

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Easter Fun Begins

Easter is my favorite holiday. I know that may seem strange to some but I love the bright colors, time with family, Easter baskets, and of course the reason for the season. To kick off this year's festivities we had a little Easter Egg Decorating Party at our house for a group of Ashlyn's friends. Some of the kids had not dyed Easter eggs in years. Tim and I enjoyed hanging out with such outstanding peeps.

I was really pleased with my latest cake pops.. chicks and eggs. The gang requested cake pops and I tried to make some that were Easter perfect. Everyone seemed to love them.

Thanks to Pinterest.. I made my own Bunny Bait with popcorn, pretzels, Rice Chex cereal, M & Ms, and melted white chocolate.

The Man Who Came to Dinner: Hey Maggie!

Tim, Ashlyn (Maggie), Me

Maggie and Banjo

Last week we were entertained and delighted by the latest play by the NHS students, The Man Who Came to Dinner. Ashlyn had a starring role as Maggie! She was a tough but adorable cookie! Madison looked beautiful even with gray hair. Cory made us laugh as Banjo and Katelyn in the mummy case was a hoot! Way to go Eagles... you really are amazing!

My Fabulous and Talented Children!

Madison & Ash

My Boys Hit the Slopes

Spring Break is not just for beaches and Disney. Tim and Austin went to Colorado for a father/son trip and spent the week skiing and snowboarding. I have the best guys in my life. I am so blessed!

Spring Break 2012

I look forward every year to Spring Break! It must be a teacher thing, but I feel the need to get away somewhere warm and just have fun. Ashlyn and I always take this trip together. Sometimes others join us, but we make this a ritual each year. This Spring Break was spent in the most magical place on earth, Disney World! We are huge Disney fans and have visited the Magic Kingdom more times than I can count. Each time creates memories and lots of laughter. This year was no different. We had Ashlyn's good pal, Emilee join us. We saw just about every character and visited all the parks during our week. We ate at some fun restaurants and took time for shopping. Thanks Disney for another great week!

Love Was in the Air

 
Valentine's Day was another winner with the Elliott bunch! Tim took the day off and we spent the day together in Branson. We may have been the youngest couple at Cracker Barrel, but the fried chicken was delicious no matter how old you are! Getting all of us together for dinner that night was the best. Having a little Chinese food with the whole family reminded me how very blessed I really am. I am loved and I am so thankful!

Ashlyn made these yummy chocolate chip cookies for Cory. Thank goodness there were plenty for us also.

We love our Austin!

A heart shaped ring for Ash to show our love for her!

We thought the new Tervis bottle would be perfect for Mom.

Ashlyn's very creative gift for Cory.

Cory's most adorable gift for Ash complete with a map and clues!

February Festivities

Just when you think winter is almost over, we finally get some snow! Today we had our first snow day of the season. It really is a nice break from the regular routine to have an unexpected day off. Enjoy the hot chocolate and movie time everyone.

In other news... tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I heart this special day! To get things rolling in the red and pink direction.. I made cake pops for my 9th grade ladies at church. Ashlyn did jump in and help with the decorating and I think they turned out very festive.

Also, by special request, I made a batch of my gooey cookies. I don't know what they are really called but they are addictive. I made this bunch lemon and they were sinfully yummy.

Gooey Cookies

One box of any flavor cake mix

One package of cream cheese

One egg yolk

One tsp of vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together until you form a ball of dough. Roll into small balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. You want the outside to be baked until lightly brown or firm. The inside should be gooey. I like to shake powdered sugar on the top of the cooling cookies. So easy and so delicious!