Monday, January 28, 2013

Brilyn On Her REAL Birthday!

Brilyn's REAL Birthday
fell on a Wednesday so we celebrated
the weekend before and after.
But, her Momma didn't want her
birthday to come and go without doing
something special, so we went to
Chuck E. Cheese's!
She opened a couple of presents!
 And we had a special lunch followed
by Birthday Cupcakes!
 She raced her Daddy in the token powered
race cars and won!
(she can make hers go with no token)
 She played lots of games!
And she rode lots of rides!
We had a good time and she was happy!
 
Brilyn loves Chuck E. Cheese's!
She talks about going all the time, so
her Daddy has been wanting to go with her.
They even took her to the big
Chuck E. Cheese's in OKC after the family
birthday party last Sunday.
But on Sunday's Chuck E. Cheese's is
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY
and Brilyn doesn't care much
for the crowd. During the week
the little Chuck E. Cheese's in
Wichita Falls is quiet and she pretty
much has the place to herself and
she loves it!
 
Anyway.... I think she has had
a Very Happy Birthday!


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Brilyn's Birthday Party

 We have monthly birthday parties at
my house. In January, there is only
one Birthday! So, Brilyn
gets a party all to herself!
We made banners that she can
use at both her family party here,
and the birthday party she
has at her house this coming
weekend.
We also made cupcakes!
 She's not too sure about that fire
on top of her cupcake!
Daddy had to help her blow it out!
 But - she didn't need anyone's
help opening presents!
She can handle that
all by herself.
She might want some help
playing with them, though.
She likes having someone
to play with!
But - she's so much fun
we all like playing with her,
so that's never a problem!
 

 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Happy Birthday Brilyn!

Today is Brilyn's Birthday!
 She's TWO!
 And she's just as sweet as she can be!
She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,
so she's having a Mickey Mouse party at
her house this weekend.
We had a family party at
my house on Sunday.
I'll share more about that later!
But for now,
I hope this little princess is having a
Happy Birthday!

Monday, January 21, 2013

S'mores

 Brilyn was here and she loves
chocolate so I thought it would be fun to
try out the S'more Maker I got
from Deuce for Christmas!
Brilyn was excited as she watched me set out
the marshmallows and chocolate
and graham crackers!
I got it all set up and she was all smiles!
Until I lit the fire!
Then she RAN!
This brave little girl who acts as though
she could take on the whole world
is afraid of fire!
So, I made the S'mores!
And she ripped them apart to get to
the chocolate in the other room!
 
The S'mores Maker does a great job
of toasting marshmallow's, though.
It was fun!
But - handing over the
Hershey's would have made Brilyn
just as happy!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Brilyn and Her Tea Party Blooper!

 Brilyn wanted a tea party!
 So, I set out a little plate of snacks
and poured some tea.
 She was so sweet! A perfect little lady!
See! She's even got that pinky curled!
She is just so precious!
We were having such a nice time!
And then......
THE BLOOPER!
She got her poor finger stuck!
But we've studied science around here
enough that I knew just what to do.
First - take a picture!
Then - tip the teapot up to get the
stuck finger all wet and it will
slip right out.
 


Thursday, January 17, 2013

A New Kuerig for Christmas

 
 Every year Papa Bill gives us money
to spend on a Christmas gift from him!
He's got a huge family,
kids, grandkids and great grandkids!
So - this is one way of making sure
all of them get something they want.
I got a Kuerig!
I actually got it before Christmas so I could
have it set up and ready to use on
Christmas morning.
I tried it out early and then liked
it so much I went back to the store
and got another one to give to
my own Mom for Christmas. And - I think
she enjoys hers just as much
as I am enjoying mine.
These things are WONDERFUL!

See my Caramel Latte!
It's delicious.
Starbucks is not even tempting anymore!
And really - I am not an extravagant person.
I like things simple, clean and functional.
My old FREE coffee maker I got from Gevalia
has lasted over 5 years and has served me
well - but these new single cup
coffee makers are simply amazing.
You can even get a refillable cup if you're
concerned about the expense of the K-Cups and
you can use your regular coffee.
The tight wad in me was going to go that
route until I discovered how delicious
some of the specialty coffees are.
My favorites are
Café Caramel and Chai Latte
And I like the Hot Cocoa's and Cappuccino's, too!
YUM!
 


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Snow Ice Cream

 
 Since we had a nice good snow,
we just had to make some snow ice cream!
Grace added chocolate and caramel
syrup to hers!
Yum!
 
Olivia ate hers plain!
And it appears it was just as delicious!
 
To make snow ice cream I simply
add Sweetened Condensed Milk
and a little vanilla to a bowl
of fresh clean snow and
mix it up.
It's the easiest recipe
and it's delicious!

Monday, January 14, 2013

A White Christmas!

We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!
Really!
It actually snowed.
We don't get many white Christmases
here, so it must have been some
sort of Christmas magic.
Or - the result of lots of kids praying!
But - it was wonderful!
 Grace got to play in the snow!
And ride on a sled!
And Olivia got in on the fun, too!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Christmas

 During the Christmas Season I set out this
sweet little nativity for the children
to play with! Brilyn loves it!
She is constantly asking to,
"Play Jesus!"
Or.... "Read Jesus!" Which means
she wants to read
The Christmas Story.
 I just love watching the little ones play.
Olivia seems to like the nativity, too.
She presses on the angel to make the music play
or holds baby Jesus in her hands and kisses him.
And when they play with this
nativity they share!
Not so much with other toys.
I guess Jesus is for sharing and
even a child knows that!
 Anyway, here is a close up of the
little nativity.
When Brilyn is finished playing with it,
I almost always find it like this.
I'm not sure if everyone just wants
to see the sweet baby Jesus,
or if they are all worshiping.
She's not yet two, so she can't
really tell me what she's thinking.
But whatever it is,
I think it's pretty sweet!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Wonderful Christmas!

 
 We had a
WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!
We were only missing one family member.
My sweet daughter in law, Alyssa,
went with her parents and her brother
to visit her other brother and his
family. She has two little nieces whom
she adores and doesn't get to see often,
so while we missed her I was also happy
that she had the opportunity to spend some
time with them.
 And our little ones each got one big toy
from The Disney Store!
Olivia opened hers first!
It was a castle!
 
Brilyn opened hers next!
 It was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
I think she likes it!
She LOVES Mickey Mouse!
Grace opened hers!
 
And it was a castle!
(similar to but different than Olivia's)
But - what really made her happy
was a Barbie Doll!