The Primates

On this visit to the zoo, we decided to visit the primates. The orangutans were sleeping at first, but we lingered a bit and they finally woke up and put on quite the show!

And we couldn't forget about the brand new baby giraffe!!

Our two little monkies taking a snack break!

Our favorite picture from this visit......

A little variation on the weekly favorite

This week, we decided to make brownies. After all, daddy's not too fond of oatmeal scotchies (he prefers chocolate...although I saw his hand in the cookie jar more than once this past week) and somebody has to eat our baked treats.

We made dark chocolate brownies. Yummm! If you aren't a fan of dark chocolate do not be afraid because I'm not either. But these brownies which I also added semisweet chocolate chips to are absolutely delicious. I would describe them as "rich" chocolate as opposed to "dark." You'll have to try some for yourself!

The ingredients

When's it going to be my turn to stir?

I'll share with you Walker.

But save a lick for me too!

The final product

Enjoying the final product!

And if those pictures weren't exciting enough, here's a little more of this week's baking action...

Happy Birthday, Pops!

Pops' birthday is September 11th. So in honor of his special day, here is Chef Kathryn singing her version of "Happy Birthday." You may need translation, so here you go....

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Blow out the candles. (Blow). (Scream).

A Fun Filled Saturday Morning

The weather this past Saturday was absolutely wonderful! We got out early that morning and headed to Oh Susanna's bakery for some pumpkin muffins. After all, what better way is there to kick off the new season than with pumpkin muffins!


Of course, a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks would certainly fit the bill too, but we'll save that for this coming weekend! Here are Walker and Kathryn outside of Oh Susanna's.




We settled on a blueberry muffin, a pumpkin muffin and a bran muffin. I thought the kiddos would eat the blueberry and the bran muffin, but as soon as I mentioned pumpkin, Kathryn wanted the pumpkin muffin (like mother like daughter). Of course, she didn't want to share. She wanted to hold the entire muffin.

Neeless to say, I did get my pumpkin muffin, but it was nibbled on first. Fortunately, Kathryn doesn't LOVE sweets and breads as much as her brother and I do, so she got bored with it very quickly. This is all while Walker finished off a blueberry muffin all on his own!

So, a quick stop at the playground was necessary to work off all of those muffin calories. Here are Kathryn and Walker on the swings.



The geese were also out at the playground. Here is a picture of just a few of them. I would bet there were close to 75 geese and duck gathered on the nearby ball field.


Once we got home, the fun was not over yet. We took a quick wagon ride around the neighborhood and then it was time to gear up for the Auburn game. Go, Tigers! It was truly a fun filled Saturday morning!

Perhaps the best ones yet!

Friday Cookie Day continues...This week we made oatmeal scotchie cookies from a Betty Crocker bag mix, and they just may have been the best ones yet! Needless to say, we gave up on "from scratch cookies" weeks ago!

We simply followed the recipe on the bag and added a cup of butterscotch chips to spruce them up a bit (and to have some ingredients for sampling...essential for keeping the kids interested! Well, that and licking the spoon!).

The ingredients

Who's going to stir first?

Walker's turn

Kathryn will take her turn eating some butterscotch chips!

Walker joins in

Dressing up like a princess sure passes the cooking time!

Voila! The finished product. They were yummy!

Happy Days Are Here Again

Yeah! It's hard to believe it, but Walker and Kathryn had their first day of Weekday Preschool yesterday. And guess what, that's not the best part! They go back again tomorrow!! I know, I still feel the need to pinch myself. Eleven total hours of freedom a week. It's almost to much to handle.

Oh, I kid! I love my babies, but there is nothing quite like running errands without having to bring along juice boxes, crackers, gummy snacks, duck blanket, Quack Quack, and two two-year olds:) It's pure heaven.

Here's some pictures of their big day (unfortunately, it was a rainy first day, so all of the pictures were taken in the car!).

And this is me back home:) Just kidding. This is one of the tigers at the zoo. Matt snapped a picture of him snoozing on our visit Labor Day.

Tour Schedule To Be Announced

Mimi, Walker and Kathryn may be hitting the road soon. With their unbelievable talents, this trio could have quite the future on stage. Here are some shots from last Saturday night's performance...

Here are a few additional pictures from our fun weekend in Birmingham...