Apple Pie

Oh how I love to cook, even when I don't like what I am cooking.  The same is true when I make apple pie.  The best part is that it makes my house smell amazing.  So here is how I make my apple pie.

 

 

You will need:

6 applies died up

1/2 cup of sugar

tablespoon of cinnamon

1 stick of butter

2 pie crust

1/2 cup of brown sugar packed tightly

1 egg white beaten

 

Next, you will need to melt one stick of butter in a large cast iron skillet.

 

Add your brown sugar and mix until it is all well blended.  Then place your first pie crust on on top of brown sugar mixture.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and apples in a bowl.  Then place in pie crust.  Next, top with second pie crust.  Then, you will cut a cute design into top crust for pie to vent.  Finally, you will beat one egg white and then brush mixture on top of crust.  This is an easy step to forget but it is so necessary in order to have a pretty pie. 

After pie has been assembled, bake for 60-70 minutes at 350 degrees.  After pie cools for about 15 minutes, I recommend that you go ahead and cut into pieces.  This pie tends to get very hard as it sets.  When I serve, I warm for 20-30 seconds and top with vanilla ice cream. 

The Olympics

Well the Winter Olympics were on this past month and Luke loved them.  He loved them even more after going to church and playing Mrs. Lori and Mrs. Cathy's version of the Olympics. 

 

Luke was very proud of the medal he earned in class.

 

Of course, he had to share with Evan and both felt the need to wear this medal everywhere.



Luke wanted to know what types of events he could have at the house considering there wasn't any snow (which is honestly surprising given the winter we have had this year). 



The boys determined that racing on the wheeler and tractor would be a great game. 



Jeff and I taking a selfie, HA!



Evan would cry if Luke beat him and Luke would cry if Evan would win.  Needless to say, I believe we are a bit of a competitive family. 

Valentines Day

Luke had a fun little party at school to celebrate Valentines Day.  He had a great time with all of his friends. 

 

Luke enjoying a cupcake.

 

Luke is very proud of his tattoo. 



These sweet moms from Luke's school created photo booths for the kids.



Luke and his buddies had fun dressing up and acting silly.



Luke and all of his classmates.



Sweet McKenzie and I were twinkies for Valentines Day. 

 

And when I got home, Jeff bought me my favorite thing....Diet Pepsi.  He knows the way to my heart, LOL.

Super Bowl Party and Benefits

A few weekends ago we were very busy.  The day started off by me getting my hair done.  It looks so amazing and we added a new color which was exciting.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures.  Then Jeff headed off to a benefits for one of our church members as I fed the children and then prepared for nap time.  Then I headed out with Evan to another benefit for a Kindergarten student in the school I graduated from while Jeff and Luke went to do some work.

On Sunday, we went to Church and it began to snow again!  That night, we went to Matt and Becky's for a Superbowl party.  The kids loved wrestling with "Uncle Gunner." 

 

I think he had as much fun as they did and it was so sweet.  I forgot to take pictures of all of the amazing food.  I made my fabulous spinach artichoke dip as well as Salami pepperoncini.  I will have to post the recipes for both next time I make them so I can do pictures.

 

My dad and Evan are ready to bid with my number, raising money for a great cause.

 

Evan had a blast running around the gym and was not the least bit distracted by all the people.

Dale Tabor, a famous artist but also a member of our great community donated one of his amazing pieces of art.  These pieces are not only visually amazing, but they are extra special because he paints all of them using his mouth. 

 

Its not the best picture but the sweet little girl that they benefit was in honor of, came to show her appreciation.  She is so precious, but the most impressive aspect of this benefit, is that they senior class at Bruno-Pyatt came up with this idea.  The put a great deal of work into this event and it was all done out of the kindness of their hearts.  I am proud to know that we will be graduating some amazing students that I am certain will contribute greatly to society. 

Another around of Snow

Ugh!!!!  I strongly dislike the snow but we got another round of it.  Many of the schools around here have missed 15-18 school days this year.  As an educator, we are not fans of too many snow days.

Fortunately, I was still able to work a few days even though all the schools were out but our road was awful.

The boys as always loved playing in the snow but the extremely cold temperatures limited how long they could stay out.

Look was throwing a snow ball at Jeff but sadly, I did not catch the impact on camera.

Jeff and the boys made a small but mighty snowman.  Doesn't he just look great?!

It is actually a few weeks later that I am typing this post and the snowman may still be frozen on our back porch, HA!

The boys intently masterminding their approach at decorating the snowman.

Evan though I cant stand the snow, there is a great deal of God's beauty shown through it. 

I am very blessed to leave in a place of such beauty.  And I am also blessed that I can finally seen the ground again at our house (picture not included).

Beauty in midst of cold

The past month, we have experienced bitter cold temperatures but within those cold temperatures, we had one beautiful day.  Of course, we decided to spend as much time as possible outside.  Jeff was not feeling the best so I was on outside duty.  I am not quite as good as him at entertaining the kiddos when it comes to outdoor events but I gave it my best shot. 

 

Luke taught me how to rope.  I managed to rope the steer head twice.  I was quite impressed with my abilities. 

 

Evan played a little baseball.  Please excuse the outfit but he is finally wanting to get himself dressed so I will allow him to wear just about anything.



The boys played on the swing set.  Luke of course tries to figure out how he can buck Evan off.  I keep reminding him that he better be careful because his baby brother might be bigger than him one day.



Okay anti-gun people, please forgive me but we had a great time playing army.  The boys and I would pretend to run around trying to find the enemy.  Occasionally, we had some causalities of war.  Evan likes to pretend that he gets hurt and has to be nursed back to health.  He is quite the actor.



Luke also had to show me how he could pretend to be hurt. 



Me and my good-looking boys.



We also played football.  We practiced kicking and catchings as well as running for touchdowns. 



Evan loves to swing but prefers to do so in my lap.  I don't mind a bit.



Luke scored a touchdown (which means he got to the tree with the football before I could catch him).



Evan loves to have his picture taken now so here he is obviously saying cheese.



This is what I meant by cold temperatures.  I can not even believe that the temp was -2 and it likely felt like -15 with the windchill. I am hoping those cold days are behind us. 

One Dish Dinner

Hello all!  If you know me, you know I love to cook.  So, tonight I put together a little something that is quick and easy.  Typically, I do not cook on Sunday and we just eat leftovers so there wasn't anything on my menu.  Well Jeff and Evan are both not feeling the best so we stayed home from church.  That meant it was time to improvise which is my most favorite way to cook.  

Here is what you need:

1 pkg of smoked sausage

1 bell pepper

7 small red potatoes

10 rings on onions

1/2 stick of butter

3 rings of jalapeños 

Salt and pepper

The jalapeños are the secret ingredient.  You can use as much or as little as you like depending on how spicy you like your food.   I cut everything up and put in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Then you bake at 425 covered with foil until potatoes cut easily.  I am guessing 35-45 minutes but we will have to see given that it is still in the oven! 

Enjoy!