Yummmmm...

Summer sure has been great... for many reasons! One reason is that I have been able to enjoy some baking. I am quite the avid blog stalker- and of those blogs that I frequent I like to check out the after dinner num-nums section. I have found some yummy things to try- mainly to take to different get teogethers here and there, while sometimes Josh would bring them to his squad too :)


Awhile back I found a recipe for a rainbow cake that I tried a couple of times- both a success. I wanted to make something festive for Memorial Day, so I tweaked it a bit and just did Red, White and Blue... it turned out super cool. I didn't follow the exact recipe this time (the healthy version), not for any particular reason- just because! I just use Non-Dairy Whipped Topping (in town here you can actually buy it in pint containers from Fry's) instead of the recipe she gives on the original. Basically, I followed that the first time so I knew how to put the colors in the pan and then have made up my own version since!

I did make one of the rainbow cakes too... :)






Okay, I can't remember the exact order that I made these goodies, but another one I tried was a Hostess Cupcake . Don't hate me, but I didn't take a single picture during the process of making these. They were a little involved, but SO good. I brought them over to a friend's house and they seemed to be a hit (PS. they did look just like a Hostess Cupcake)!

For the 4th I made a couple of different treats to take to our friend's BBQ they were having. I made one of our usual Christmas cookies- Homemade Oreos (with Red, White and Blue frosting of course) and Oreo Truffles. There was a bit of an underlying Oreo theme apparently.


The recipe for the Oreos is pretty easy: 2 boxes of Devil's Food cake mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup shortening. Mix ingredients well, dough will be stiff. Roll into balls, making all balls same size. Balls can be any size from 1 1/2" to 3", depending on how big you want your cookies. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes for small cookies, 15 or more for large. Watch carefully, do not overbake. Cookies will be soft and puffed up when done, then flatten as they cool. When cool, put two cookies together (top of the cookie will become the outsides) with any frosting desired *cream cheese frosting is especially good*




The Oreo Truffles were very tasty- very dangerous.



I was in the mood for oatmeal cookies one day (mind you- I'm not eating a whole lot of these goodies... I know... torture), so I made some :)

If you were wondering, this is what the two knuckle heads were doing while I was baking. The two bigger knuckle heads were out enjoying the pool!!

Fun. That's all it is. I enjoy "thrill" of finding a new recipe and giving it a try. I enjoy sharing it with people. I enjoy eating one and saying that's enough. I just like it. I hope to keep it up... probably not as much as I was this summer, but hopefully some!

Enjoy any of these for yourself, if you'd like!

What We've Up to This Summer

Okay... so, summer is almost over. GASP. I go back to school for teacher meetings on Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday. Before I go into all the oh-my-gosh I go back to school woes, let us talk about how awesome this summer has been! Like I said in our last post, Josh has been working swings for the majority of the summer. That made for lots of fun time together.

We started the summer off by driving to Cedar City for Joseph (Josh's brother) and Dulce's wedding. They got married up in Brian Head, which is a beautiful ski resort near Cedar City. That was so sure a fun time- and the wedding was beautiful! It was fun to see all of our niece and nephews and to see the fam :)

Cute married couple!
Us after the wedding, right before we hit the hay... thus we look sleepy

My parents had planned to come visit us again this summer, but sadly the night before they were going to fly in my grandma in Washington was not doing well (she's doing better now), so my dad felt that he needed to be there with her and his family, but still wanted my mom to come here and visit. SO, she came for a week while Dad was in Washington with his mom and family. It was decided then that they would come out again because Dad really wanted to come, so before Mom left we had already "penciled" in when they would come again! While Mom was here we got some good shopping in, yummy eating, and lots of game playing! It was a great trip! The three of us hanging out at the game we went to.

Joshua and I celebrated 5 years of wonderful marriage in June. We planned a little "stay-cation" at a beautiful resort in Scottsdale. We had such a fun time swimming in the pools, floating down the lazy river, and going to yummy dinner. Can't wait for all the many, many more anniversaries we have in store for us. Such a fun day to celebrate our love! On our way to the pool(s)!

My parents DID come again in July. They were here for a week and it was so fun. We did some good shopping (yes, that's a staple when they're here), went to a Diamondbacks game, lots of yummy food, ride alongs, working in my new classroom- you know... basically a great time!

At the Diamondbacks game with my parents!

In between all of these fun things, Josh and I have just been enjoying our time together. Relaxed by the pool lots of times, played with the dogs in the pool many times, lots of impromptu dinner and movie dates. It's been so fun spending time with Joshua and we really know how to have a great time together- even doing nothing some days!!

This is one way we can get Gus in the pool ;)

Playing with the dogs in the pool!

We are so blessed to have jobs that allow us to have time spent together like this in the summer. We've both really enjoyed hanging out and look forward to see how the Lord helps us find time for each other with a whole new schedule (for both of us- Graves for Joshua and school for me).

We ARE alive... I promise

It's quite obvious that I've slacked in this area of my life! I still get on here and blog stalk my friends and such, but the actual act of sitting here and updating on us... well that was out of the question apparently.

Things are pretty much the same for us, but different (awesome sentence, I know).

Josh at work one day

The handsome hubby is still patrolling the streets of Glendale and loving it. He is currently working his last week of this schedule (swings: 2pm-12am) before switching to his new schedule, which will be... drum roll please... bbbdddddddddddddd... GRAVES (8pm-6am). How do I feel about this you may be asking... well the answer would be: I HAVE NO IDEA. Am I excited, am I worried... I just don't know what to expect. Will I have a zombie of a husband due to lack of sleep? Will we get to actually "see" each other more than we did with the last schedule? Will I be able to keep myself (and the dogs) quiet while he's sleeping? Will I be able to sleep during the night by myself? We're hopeful. That's all we can be. There was really NO choice in the matter, so this is something we will HAVE to make work for us. I know that the Lord will help us, because He knows how hard the swing shift was for us to get used to (we did NOT get to see each other much at all- a lot like two ships passing in the night), and He helped us through it. Lots of tears and prayers, but isn't that how we learn (at least for me that's how it works)?

My old "classroom" all packed up

As far as life for the beautiful wifey goes... I will no longer be working in Gilbert as a Special Education teacher. I got a job again as a first grade teacher in Phoenix. Such an answer to prayer. The drive each way (45 min.) was getting to me, to us. That's a lot of time in the car! So, a 15 minute drive is much better- YAY. Another really fun thing about this job is that I will be working with a good friend. Her husband works with mine and we have all really gotten to know each other. It's been awesome! Kim knew that I was looking for a job. Her school was hiring and she put a good word in for me! Without all the nitty gritty details, let's just say God sure layed out the path for this job. I will be sad to not be working with the gals in Gilbert, but we'll still get together, and there's always facebook ;)

I'll stop there on the little update, but I will do a couple of more fun ones that tell about some of the fun things we've been up to since um... October (insert embarrassed face ;) )