lemon brownies

found a new recipe and decided to try it out.

i love finding delicious deserts to make for dinner... and for breakfast.

because my parents taught me never to skip breakfast ;)

::Lemon Brownies::

found on pinterest [source of all wisdom and wonder]

Brownies

3/4 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick softened unsalted butter

2 eggs

juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1T)

zest from 1/2 lemon (about 1tsp)

Combine the flour, sugar and salt

 in a large bowl.

 Mix in the softened butter.

In another bowl whisk the eggs with 

the lemon juice and zest.

Add to the larger bowl and mix well.

 Pour into prepared 8X8 brownie pan.

 Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

You can double the recipe and bake in a

 9X13 pan for 30 minutes.

Remove and let cool, then glaze.

Glaze

1/2 C powdered sugar

1 T lemon juice

additional lemon zest

stir together and spread over brownies

ENJOY! 

[you're welcome in advance. these are sooo good]

sledding

 kate,

sometimes we feel guilty about the winter activities you're missing out on.
usually that guilt goes away when we think about our wonderful spring/summer/autumn weather and the fact that you get to swim 8 months of the year.
but still, it was great to have the chance to take you sledding while we were in utah for ashley's wedding.
i think your dad and i enjoyed it just as much as you did.


happy winter kiddo!

teaching me to ride

bud the scooter-

it has been decided that because i am no longer packing heat [aka pregnant],
it's time we become well acquainted.

and so a few nights ago when jank came home from work at 530 pm instead of the usual 630/7ish
[ugh i hate his schedule]
we packed up the kiddos and headed to the nearest empty parking lot.

and there it was decreed that i love you.
you're quite fun to drive little bud.
although i still hesitate to go faster than 30 mph.
and i don't dare go more than 10 mph when kate is with me.
[and isn't kate's helmet the funniest?! we like to call her the bobble head]

and this is what happens when you have a kid who declares 'i have to poop!' and you are no where near a bathroom.
thank heavens for the toddler potty and the plastic sacks i keep stashed in my trunk for moments just like this.
pretty sure this picture will make me laugh for years to come.

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a much appreciated deviation from regular life

SoCal-

you stole my heart.
i think we found our dream location to live.
but doesn't everyone say that abut southern california??

we had a blast this weekend visiting my parents who were vacationing in newport beach.
so glad we had an excuse to get out of yuma for a few days.
we spent saturday wandering balboa island and sunday we played hard at sea world in san diego.
the greenness was a sight for sore eyes after the last few months of desert living.
it was so nice just to be together as a family- a much needed break!

more pics and videos to come.

i miss the mall. i know that sounds more than a little pathetic. i don't care.

[more from MN]

MOA-

it had been too long!
almost 14 months since i last walked your long halls and partook of your dizzying vastness.
and now you have a h&m.
oh, i've missed you so.

yuma has no mall.
well, maybe you could consider the target, old navy, best buy and movie theater a 'mall'.
but i don't.
there isn't a crepe stand.
there isn't mini donuts.
there most certainly isn't a carousel.
and the thing i miss most- gads and gads of people.
i love getting lost in a crowd.
[why do i live in yuma??? oh yeah, loan repayment. gotta keep reminding myself]

MOA, i think the next time i see you might be in another 14 months.
i'll be missing you.
until then, thanks for the yummy treats and awesome shopping.

.

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reason #9823 why i love my imac

jank's trying to decide if he can branch out from baseball caps, hence the abundance of fedoras

dear photo booth:

you're not always flattering but you're always entertaining.
thank you.


ps. we're going camping for the long weekend [heaven help me]. my idea of 'roughing-it' is a cabin with heat/ac and a bed. this weekend is purely for jancer- i must really love him.

gregory peck's a stud, even with his grandpa pants

dear naptime,

you're still my favorite- the quiet, the freedom, the peace.

oh it is wonderful.

the post-naptime moments are magical too.

and they are quickly becoming my favorites because that's when kate likes to snuggle with me.

a few days ago i was watching roman holiday during naptime.
when kate woke up from her nap she brought me her little bubble container.
i blew bubbles for a long time while we finished the movie.
[who knew a toddler would like a b+w film?]
she didn't talk much, just watched the movie and the bubbles.
her body was still warm from sleeping and she was snuggled in really close to me.
the whole time i sat there thinking-
my life is pretty much perfect right now.




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matchy matchy

katers-

striped shirts w/ v neck cardigans 

it has come to my attention that we dress alike.

this is completely my fault.

i do all your shopping and i basically just buy whatever i'd want to wear.

so we're twinners the majority of the time.

i don't even notice until we've left the apartment and someone says-

'oh how cute, you guys look alike'

gag.

i never wanted to be that person.

the person who wears mommie-daughter outfits.

oh well.

i say we rock it out for as long as we can

because soon you'll have an opinion about your clothes.

i'm not going to lie- 

i'm dreading that day.

ps. pic taken @ the red iguana [yeah for restaurants that live up to the hype]. i told jank i've quit living like a student, so we're dining out more. not the most financially sound idea....

pps. did anyone else notice that we're less than 100 days away from the gloriously mind-blowing and life-changing graduation day??? as katers says- YEEHAW!!

whoever invented the public library... THANK YOU!

dear camera manual that i've never taken the time to read until now:

so glad we decided to meet.

thus far i've learned quite a bit.

including how to set the timer so i can be in pics with katers.

this is us reading library books yesterday:

i set the camera to take 7 shots in a row and this is the only one that turned out-

obviously i have a lot to learn

that girl loves booktime.

so does her mama.

it's nice to just sit and be still for a bit.

tv's off, no music playing... just me and the kid enjoying our simple life.

and then we read all the books in the stack and she's back to throwing tennis balls around the house.

dang that jancer for teaching her how fun that is.

at least her aim is getting better [yikes]

thanks for educating me,

k

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