Homemade granola bars

Homemade granola bars - go here, make them, you will thank me :)

I made these last week, and the kids were begging me for more. They are super easy, no baking, and very tasty.

Cows

We were recently asked to speak at our home church youth retreat. A dear friend offered to keep our kids while we spent the weekend with the youth which was a huge help and a blessing to be able to focus on what we were to speak about. Savannah loves to give gifts – probably even more than receiving them, so she wanted to take something special for her friends. Since they have a dairy farm, Hadden suggested cows. Appropriate, no? :)

We found a pattern at the fabric store and also found a lot of remnant fleece pieces that were perfect for stuffed cows. I helped her cut out the pieces and pin them, but she did the rest.

I thought they turned out really cute!

There were 2 bulls…

Two cows in the same color scheme as the bulls …

And two with some variations in color! She put “ear tags” on them and they had an auction to see who got which one.

It was very fun to spend time with Savannah making them and to see her excitement to be able to give them to her dear friends.

Trip north – part 3 and final!

We decided to change plans and switch our day in NYC to an extra day in DC on the way home. That worked out very well because the weather in DC was incredibly nice and it was supposed to rain all day in NYC. Also, there were very few people in DC – so no crowds. Whoo hoo!

This time, we took the metro system in to avoid trying to decipher the parking sign codes of DC. I may be the only one, but they make NO sense to me! On a previous trip years ago, my car got “towed” because I was parked in the wrong spot at the wrong hour.

We took a tour of the capitol building where they do a nice job of including all of the states in the presentation. Here are the kids near a Helen Keller statue (she was from Alabama).

John at the Supreme Court building. John and kids taking a little break from walking. It was so warm that John and Savannah wore short sleeves all day!

The sky was gorgeous again this day – the next few pictures are some of my favorites! Especially the tree – my fb friends may recognize it already. This was a tree near the capitol building.

Most of the museums in DC are free, but the National Building Museum is not. We went into the courtyard area and enjoyed lunch instead. It was very pretty in there and we were feeling like it has been part of a movie – anybody know?

Lion statue outside of the police museum. Outside Ford’s Theatre where Lincoln was assassinated.

Outside the FBI building. I like the row of flags. At dusk, the Washington Monument looked cool against the sky.

And the National “Holiday” tree. Very funny because it was dinky this year. I know different states have the honor of sending in the tree, but I was surprised at how small it was. So small, that a foreign, Asian-looking man stopped us to inquire where the tree was … and we were only about 1/2 block away. It was “hiding” behind a small tent that was also part of their display!

On the final leg of our trip home, we stopped in at Liberty University where John did his undergraduate studies. It was fun to see where he went to college and also for him to see the changes. We stayed the night in Knoxville, TN the last night and I have always loved seeing Historic Knoxville High from the freeway. It wasn’t far from our hotel, so we drove past to get a picture.

We arrived home on Christmas Eve and enjoyed a pretty quiet rest of the year at home. Loved all of the neat places and people that we saw, but it is also nice to be home.

Trip north – part 2

After spending a few days with family and friends in PA, we decided to visit NYC. We both LOVE NYC and have missed our annual visits in to the city. This time was an exception, however. We both were feeling a little like we were coming down with something and our normal “tricks” of parking in the city weren’t working. We drove around for 2 hours without finding a parking spot. We decided to backtrack to our hotel and take the bus in instead. That worked very well, but the weather was kind of drizzly, damp and cold, so it was less than ideal. Also – there were SO many people everywhere – it was crazy! I guess everyone wanted to go to NYC over Christmas. Seriously, busy. Around Times Square, the police blocked off some of the vehicle lanes in order to accommodate the people traffic! We had the kids with us, so we were very conscious of keeping track of them, too.

Why would I put a blurry picture in of the Brooklyn Bridge? Because it sums up our morning in NYC! The Freedom Tower is progressing.

John and the kids in Times Square. Kids in the M&M store :)

Pretty Christmas tree in the lobby of an office building. Tree at Rockefeller Plaza.
Loads of people – the police were directing people traffic. Countdown projected on the side of a building – it didn’t really seem to do anything, so we weren’t sure what it was for.

These lights were beautiful!! The kids and me in front of the huge ornaments. I saw them on tv a couple of days later :)
We still love NYC, but this was not our favorite trip in.

Trip north – part 1

After our trip west, we stayed home about 8 whole days before embarking on a 10-day trip up to PA to visit John’s side of the family. We left on Dec 14, the day before Savannah’s birthday. We drove as far as Washington, DC and stayed overnight. The next day, we went to Arlington National Cemetery – you know, to celebrate Savannah’s birthday :) It’s just what worked for us that day – we did go to the Native American Museum later in the day and she enjoyed that, too.

I don't think we can express enough gratitude to the men and women who serve and have served in the military. Our freedoms are only possible because of what they have given. Thank you!


JFK’s grave and memorial
Memorial amphitheater – the sky was beautiful that day.

We toured the Robert E. Lee home. A memorial to the Columbia space shuttle. Love that the big cross is right there.

Tomb of the unknown soldier. We caught the changing of the guard.

One of my favorite pictures. I just love how the sky looks and the lines created with the tombstones. Also the scraggly trees on the horizon add to the beauty.

This is cool – at the Native American Museum, they have this beautiful flag on display. It is made entirely of tiny beads.


We spent the next few days in PA visiting family and friends. This time, we caught up with some that we haven’t seen in a few visits, but unfortunately missed out on seeing some others. There is simply never enough time.

Thanks to John’s side of the family for the wonderful hospitality and fun. They have always welcomed me with open arms and they instantly became my family, too. Much love to all of you!

Road trip 2011 – part 11

Day 27-30 12/3-12/6 – Headed home! Stops in Santa Fe, NM, Shamrock, TX and Little Rock, AR.

LOVE Santa Fe!! SO CUTE!!! We went to the Loretto Chapel to see the “Miracle staircase”. On the right is the San Miguel Church – the oldest church structure in the US ca. 1610.

The left is a parking structure!! I would live there – I love the southwestern architecture and the warm look of adobe.

Beautiful hotel in downtown Santa Fe. Native Americans set up their crafts near the square.
________________________________

Shamrock, TX was a gem of a little town. Cute water tower and even cuter “gas pumps”.
________________________________
Oklahoma City, OK – we stopped for a break in our travelling to visit the OK City memorial and the capital building.


________________________________
Last night on the road, we spent at Little Rock, AR. The next morning, we toured the capital building before heading home.

WHEW!!! Wonderful trip with many spectacular memories. We are so incredible thankful to the Lord for watching over us in so many ways. We didn’t have any car troubles, only one spot of scary driving (on snow), one somewhat close call (freaky kind of accident), beautiful weather, great health, good attitudes (well, the other 3 did – ha! I did most of the time!), great visits with family and friends, a ton of pictures and a lifetime of memories that we were able to share as a family! Priceless, truly!
We stayed home and rested for about 8 days before we headed out for another 10 day trip to visit John’s side of the family. Oh don’t worry – I’ll show you some of those pictures, too! HA!