Fondue Fun!

Today is Scotie's birthday!! We had a very relaxing day, it was so nice to sit at home and just hang out together. Gracie wanted to go get a toy for herself... for Daddy's birthday. I told her it didn't work that way. Of course the next question was, "how long until my birthday?" During prayer tonight before dinner she said" thank you for Daddy's birthday, and mine is coming soon and so is Mommy's. But poor Kingsley didn't have a birthday because we forgot to have a party." It's so hard not to laugh in the middle of a prayer!
-I decided to make chocolate fondue for dessert instead of a cake. Scottie and I always go to the Melting Pot for our anniversary, but we are too poor to go there this year. I have to tell you this fondue tasted just as good as the Melting Pot. Gracie loved it!!! She ate everything except the pound cake. It was a really nice way to end Scottie's birthday.
-Gracie and I have had so much fun since he has been off from school. It's been a great reminder that we are a normal family, but we are living in an abnormal TEMPORARY situation. I will need to think back on this summer when things get crazy again in the fall!
Here is the recipe for the fondue:
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped (I used Girahdelli)
1/2 cup peanut butter ( I will use a bit less next time)
In saucepan over med. heat bring cream to simmer. It says that you need to put the cream in the top part of a double boiler and add the chocolate until softened. I don't have a double boiler or a bowl to substitute, so I just added the chocolate to the saucepan and whisked until melted. Then I whisked the peanut butter in until melted. Transfer to fondue pot and set on simmer.
-We had to stir it every once in a while because this fondue pot heated it fairly quickly. I'm so thankful to my friend Rebecca for bringing her fondue pot over for us to use!!

Going Fishing

I'm trying to get our Indiana pictures up on the blog. I love these pictures of Gracie and her cousin Stuart. The first picture is the two of them practicing with their new poles that Grandma got them. They had plastic fish on the end instead of hooks. Gracie thought that was fun for a little while, but what she really wanted to do was cast out with a real hook. She was not happy when we told her that was too dangerous, and someone else would have to cast for her. She still had a good time. I can't remember who actually caught the first fish, it may have been Gracie. She got so excited at first, but it took a little bit of encouraging before she would touch it. Her and Stuart had so much fun while we were in Indiana. They are constantly "hunting" for ghosts with flashlights. Nobody knows where they got the idea, but it provides endless entertainment for them. Then again, they always fun together no matter what they are doing!

Out with old - In with the new

We finally did it! We got a mini-van! I never thought I would be so excited to get a van, but here I am jumping for joy!! Scottie and I have wanted one for quite a while, but we couldn't do anything until our house sold. Then we need some time to recover from that giant disaster. (But we are still praising God that it sold, because I'm sure there aren't plenty of houses still waiting on the market)

We love this van, and we can't wait to take our next trip to Indiana. It will be so nice to have all that room, and not feel like we are sitting on top of each other. I will miss the Saturn, but only because I am a sentimental sap. (We brought Gracie home in that car) Hopefully we will be able to bring more babies home in this one!
The last picture is Gracie modeling the extra storage space in the floor. You could smuggle a couple of kids into the drive-inn! (We are going to miss going to the drive-inn in Clermont- it is the best way to watch movies!)
We are so excited about coming back for the 4th! Hope to see you all soon!

* Please ignore the state of our yard. Our lawn mower broke:( Someone is suppose to come out tomorrow. I'm pretty sure our neighbors are mad at us right now!

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We're back...

Ok, so we have been back for over a week. I have been watching Maddie all day so I haven't had a lot of time to sit down at the computer. Slowly I will get the pictures from all our Indiana adventures up on the blog. Our first little "vacation" was to Kings Island. Scottie's mom and dad took us! We had a lot of fun. It was a new experience for us. We are roller coaster fanatics, but it wasn't quite as fun. We kept wondering what Gracie was doing the whole time. So as soon as we got done with a ride we would run to the Nickeloden section. She had a blast!! She is not afraid to ride any of the rides. It was hard for her to understand that she wasn't tall enough to ride some of the rides. She did get to ride the Fairly Odd Parents roller coaster (the Beastie for all you old schoolers).
She kept her hands for most of the ride. She got to ride it twice, but the third time a new park worker decided that she was too short(her hair was touching the line). All the riders tried to get her to let Gracie ride, but she refused. Other than that we had a great time. The last picture is Gracie with her ma-maw and pa-paw. She can't wait to go again.

Ahh... Childhood

I miss the days when you could pick up a couple of odd things around the house and turn them into something fun. I though Gracie looked so cute coloring under her umbrella. (We aren't supersitious(sp) in our house. In fact we encourage her to walk under ladders while holding black cats :) She has such a great imagination, and we have been blessed that she can play by herself and doesn't need us to always find things for her to do.
We are leaving for Indiana tomorrow after her last day of Vacation Bible School. She had so much fun! She asked me not to stay the last two nights because she was a big girl and could be in her class without me. While I was happy that she has found some independence, I was also sad that she doesn't need me all the time. :(
At this rate she is going to make me drop her off at the curb on her first day of kindergarten.
Anway- I won't be able to post until we get back from Indiana. I'm sure I will have plenty of pictures and stories to share!