Tina the Ballerina

This weekend, my little dancers got to perform in our spring show of "Tina the Ballerina." I had a total of 9 classes perform and they were all spectacular! I hate that it is all over... till the Fall at least.... but now I get a little R&R :)


Jesters


Precious Petals


Pink Carnations


Sweet Peas!

Burger Night

Our Friends Max and Michelle came over for a long overdue dinner night. Ty and I have been super busy so we wanted to do as little as possible but have fun at the same time so we figured that equaled burgers on the grill..... It was a great night and of course it was my brilliant idea to head down to several downtown hot spots before the night was over....


Max made a killer burger


Ty was fryin up some potatoes


He was really excited about it...


They were pretty tasty!


They are sooo cute!


Classic Eddie... we were at Joes

I dont even know why this happened but we went to the wildcat.... no explanation

Flash Forward

This is Kayda when we first got her in November...... why do they have to grow up so fast?


She is just too grown up! Where did my puppy go?

Blueberry Muffins

Ok, these muffins come in a box at the store for $0.69! The Box is small but they pack a pretty big punch. I use two boxes for a whopping $1.38. Compared to homemade blueberry muffins with fresh blueberries they may not be the best but they are great if you are on a muffin budget!

Rocky Ledge Bars

These things are super intense. The recipe called for butterscotch chips, caramel and white chocolate chips but I substituted chocolate chips, and peanut butter cups. I could do without the peanut butter cups but they are pretty good. Gooey too!

Ingredients

Makes about 16

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 18 soft caramel-candy cubes, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides. Brush parchment with butter (not overhang).
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Mix in flour mixture until combined. Fold in half of each of the marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramels.
3. Spread batter in prepared pan. Scatter remaining marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramels on top. Bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Lift out of pan, and transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.
4. Remove parchment, and cut into about 16 triangles. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

From The Martha Stewart Show, February 2008

Family Hike

We set out for a leisurly family hike.... my "cousin" cody goes to Cal Lutheran and just finished his first year of college. His mom Alexa, my "aunt" was here to celebrate. I have them in quotes because I can't actually think what they really are in the family tree but thats what they feel like. Alexa is my Great Aunt Dana or Granny's daughter. Way too confusing to try and figure out. Anyway, we (my sister, Cody and Alexa) set out from Granny's house in Montecito and walked to Hot Springs Trail. It was about 1.2 miles each way to get to the trail. The trail itself turned out to be a scenic 7 miles round trip! oopps. I have hiked that trail a lot with Kayda and it never seems that long. Let's just say it was a great afternoon and we all felt great after it! We brought Kayda and Granny's new puppy "Beach".


Cody trying to wrangle the pups


Mimi and Alexa


They are bf and gf for sure!


It was a little dry and hot....


The views are great!!!!

Kayda's New Favorite Toy

Kayda just loves her Moosie. My mom got me this moose from Montana a while back. Kayda found it when we moved and just loves it. You would think she would tear it apart but she just likes to have it near her. She plays with it like its her friend! sooo cute.

Visiting Ty

Kayda and I decided to visit Ty at his station. He was working an overtime shift at station 15 which is right by the Santa Barbara Tennis Club on Foothill Rd. I snapped some pretty cute pictures... and they even have a tree swing! so cute!


swingin'


Kayda is way too big!

Lobster for Dinner!

So we had a couple leftover lobsters from "lobster season" a while back. We decided they needed to be eaten immediately if not sooner.... and it was fantastic!


I made an Orzo pasta salad and buttered snap peas to accompany our lobster!
It was followed by an ice cream drumstick on the couch :)

Golfers? Or just goofing around?

Ty has recently enjoyed golfing every now and again. This past Sunday, Ty and Eddie went to hit a few holes and I am just not sure if they actually played golf or just goofed around ;)

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Time for another sweet treat! The toasted coconut sounded amazing and not too far off the "normal" cookie chart. Ty always wonders why I don't stick with the painfully normal chocolate chip cookies or apple pies. I tell him its something he will never understand... maybe with time but probably not :) These cookies were really easy to make but I would double the batter because I only got 24 petite cookies out of it and I needed more to share!

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 Cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 ounces dark chocolate (70% cacao), chopped
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Arrange coconut in a single layer in a small baking pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once. Set aside to cool.

4. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a wisk until blended. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer o medium speed just until blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in toasted coconut and chocolate.

5. Drop by level tablespoon 2 inches apart onto baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes just until the bottoms of cookies just begin to brown. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire racks. Makes 25 cookies.

*Cooking Light Magazine