Our weekend recipes.

A Recipe for a Great Weekend.

From the kitchen of: Josh

Ingredients:

2 dozen cupcakes

1 Strawberry Birthday Cake

2 Viewings of Wall-E (truthfully, he didn't make it past the first 10 minutes, but we tried).

1 Hungry Duck names Elvis

1 "Josh-sized" train mixed with 3 miles of train track to ride

1 Graham Cracker

1 Marshmallow

3 chunks of chocolate

7 pounds 1 ounce of a super cute and cuddly baby boy

1 big overflowing bowl of popcorn

4 hours of great Football

1 hour of an even greater Office episode

Mix all of these ingredients together (but, please subtract Josh diving out of his pack and play and belly-flopping to the floor) and you will have the makings of a great weekend!

Enjoy.

The fun began early on Saturday when Josh and Granee combined their collective cooking genius to make a beautifully delicious strawberry birthday cake for Betsy, Chris, and Josh's belated birthdays. Granee was so patient and brave to let Josh be in charge. She let him pour the flour, turn on the mixer, and even crack the eggs! I think his favorite part was licking the spatula.

Well, obviously, isn't that everyone's favorite part?!

Saturday afternoon, Pa arranged a special treat for Josh that involved a train ride. This picture is not a good indication of the fun that was had that afternoon. Josh looks quite unhappy, but I think he was in shock and awe over all the cool things he was seeing.



Pa took Josh down to the creek outside their house to feed Elvis, the duck. On the walk back to the house, Josh was saying, " Quack Quack, Elvis." He has been putting so many words and ideas together lately, and it is so much fun hearing what things come out of his mouth.

S'MORES!
Pa helped Josh cook up S'mores for dessert. This was his first S'mores experience, and despite the smoke, he thoroughly enjoyed the cookout.


On our way home from Wimberley, we stopped in Austin to meet our newest friend, one week old, William Henry. He is such a handsome little guy, and what a snuggler! I loved every minute of holding him and hearing his sweet coos. And, for those of you who know Tricia, it will not surprise you that she looks fabulous; her house was immaculate, and she had home baked goodies to serve us. Amazing.

We made it home just in time on Sunday to watch the awesome Super Bowl. Due to a very fussy and tired child (and mom and dad), we had to cancel our plans to attend a friend's Super Bowl watching party, total bummer. However, the night got better when Chris decided to surprise me with some homemade Kettle Corn! I love Kettle Corn (especially with M&Ms sprinkled in the bowl) and Chris was so sweet to find a recipe online and make it from scratch. Why, do you ask, would you make popcorn from scratch when it takes 2 minutes in the microwave??? Well, I thought the same thing until I tried Chris' (now famous) Kettle Corn. Oh my goodness, it was so good. In fact, here is the recipe he used so you can try it yourself. Just go ahead and make two batches, you'll thank me in the end.

KETTLE CORN
From the kitchen of: Chris (via allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels


DIRECTIONS
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn. (You can use the "three kernel" method to make sure you have the proper level of heat.) Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds (or maybe just a bit earlier), remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped. Pour immediately into a large bowl (to avoid burning), and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps.

Enjoy!