Our Week

This was a very busy week. Alyssa got to go to the Cardinal baseball game as a award for selling so many magazines for her school. Some of her fun friends were there. Alyssa had lunch with her buddy outside, which was so much fun for her.
Also, Alyssa has a July birthday, she get to choose one day during the school year to celebrate her birthday and she likes to celebrate her birthday on mommy's birthday which was yesterday. So she brought in cupcakes, of course and kids celebrated her birthday all day.
This week with (buddy) Zac, at school they celebrated the week of the young child. So on the last day of the week, on Friday, it was PJ and crazy hair day. So Zac wore Spider Man PJ's and we made his hair really CRAZY...... LOOK AT THAT HAIR!!! He had so much fun this week. The school also had a potluck dinner for all the parents last night, which was so much fun.

My New Nephew--RYAN

 

IT IS A BOY!!!!

ITS A BOY, LAURA AND WALLACE ARE PROUD PARENTS TO A
BABY BOY NAMED RYAN WALLACE COBB-LARSON
5 POUNDS 2 OUNCES 19.6 INCHES LONG
BORN IN GERMANY AT 5:52PM

IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY

In honor of Earth day, Alyssa and her Daisy Girl Scout Troop planted a maple tree which dates back to George Washington's time. George Washington farm, Mount Vernon, is where the cut of this tree came. This tree has a great deal of history, so it was really neat to plant the tree at our park (Thoman Park). Not only is a great opportunity on our part to plant a tree in honor of Arbor Day/Earth Day, but over the course of Alyssa's life, she will watch this tree grow, knowing she planted it with her friends. What a special life lesson and fun opportunity for our daughter!!

SUMMER VACATION TRAVEL TIPS

With summer vacations coming right around the corner here are a few tips to help with those fun travels/
Each and every mother that has prepared for, traveled with or even thought about taking little ones on a road trip understands that it is not an easy task. It is almost like preparing for a natural disaster where there may not be food, water or sanity for days at a time. After all it takes bags, bottles, totes, snack bags, coolers and that is just in the front of the car, not to mention all the diapering and other personal care items required. Really it can be a trying task to prepare for a trip with little kids, but there are some great tips, from mom to mom that can make it a smoother trip. Here are the 10 best tips for traveling with little ones that us moms can ask for.

This first tip goes hand in hand with a couple of the other tips as well. Keep them busy! It doesn’t matter where you’re at, going or doing if kids have something to do they are less likely to complain, get bored or into mischief. They are visual creatures that long to be stimulated with bright colors, sounds and yes, movement! If a DVD player is not possible, then how about a handheld toy version that plays little games or movies? While electronics are important, children can get bored and begin asking for something else to do. Bringing us to another tip: keep snacks, drinks and fruits available at all times. It may even be a good idea to put a cooler or other food holder where it is easily accessible to mom so that the little ones can be handed a snack quick. Sometimes traffic doesn’t wait so keeping snacks and drinks handy can create harmony as well as promote safety!

Coloring books, travel packets and paintless sets can keep even the most difficult child happy for a long car ride. These books are easy to find and most of the time they can even be purchased from discount stores making them affordable. Remember to stock up because with some of our little ones it doesn’t take long for them to work their way through them. Those books that can be wiped clean are a good idea as well, since they can be used over and over again. Remember, if the mind stays busy, the mouth is out of gear and the hands are occupied.

Playing games, singing songs and even guessing what color car you will pass next also engages the child and helps to keep them busy. There are tons of these little game ideas online, but here are a few:

• “I spy” is always a favorite
• Counting cars, fences, posts or signs
• Practicing counting, alphabet or nursery rhymes

Making frequent stops is not at all convenient, but it really makes the trip easier on the child. Most kids get upset when they are strapped into a car seat and have absolutely no freedom or choice about being there. Try and remember roadside parks for stretching the legs and bathroom breaks along the way!

Of course going into the trip well prepared always make it easier, but things like including paper towels, trash bags, goodies and little surprises make it even more pleasant. Use these little surprises as incentives during your travels.
Traveling with little kids can actually be fun, especially when you have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve. Enjoy yourself and be prepared ahead of time is the key to a fun travel!!

BUSY WEEKEND WITH THE BUNNY and COUSINS

Well we survived another FUN weekend!! On Sunday we went to Eckerts with the cousins for egg hunt, face painting, pictures with the bunny and of course cookie decorating---well the girls wanted to decorate---BUT ZAC wanted to eat the icing!!
On Saturday, Zac and Alyssa went to a local Easter egg hunt and got LOTS of eggs and even got to sit inside a fire truck!! That was so COOL!!

Bannana Split Brownies

This is so much fun for the little ones!!! What a great yummy fun treat for everyone in the family...ENJOY.....

Banana Split Brownies are very easy to make and they are an incredibly delicious treat!
What you’ll need:
Brownies
Bananas
Strawberries
A really good bar of Milk Chocolate
Long toothpicks

To start, make up your brownies however you’d like. Whether you want to bake your brownies from scratch or use a box, it works either way. (I made my brownies from the box on this one).
Let your brownies cool for about an hour, and then cut them into small squares, about 1 inch each. Holding your toothpick, place half of a strawberry on first, then a slice of banana, then a brownie square. It is really that easy.

When you have all your brownies and layers on the toothpicks, you’re ready for the topping.
To make your delicious drizzle, take your milk chocolate bar and melt it in the microwave. (This is the hardest part.) Make sure to only microwave it in 30 second intervals and then use a fork to mash/mix your chocolate in between each 30 second interval. Keep microwaving the chocolate at 30 second intervals until it is completely melted. It’s very easy to burn chocolate, admittedly, I’ve tried to shortcut it (microwaving for 45 seconds or 1 minute at a time) and have burnt my chocolate more times than I can count!
Arrange your desserts on a platter so you can easily drizzle the chocolate over them. This next part is what restaurants sometimes do to make your plate look even more appetizing!! And, it also makes this dessert over-the-top incredible!!

Dip a fork in the melted chocolate and then fling the chocolate over the brownie kabobs. Do this repeatedly until you have a nice, thin covering over all the desserts. Wasn’t that part fun?
I have always used short toothpicks, but you could use kabob skewers and make more layers too. You will not believe how incredibly delicious these are compared to how easy they are to make. They taste great with a nice glass of milk too. Yum!!