Summatime!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my! How sweet is summertime?!

Well, for those friends of mine that have a regular 'ol job...sorry! Yes, I will rub it in your face. You can remind me of this when I'm complaining in August. But I will revel in these 8 weeks of pool and pajama days.

The girls and I have started our summer off right. We've spent almost every morning either at the park or at the pool. Then we all come back home for lunch, a nap, and a project. My goal is to tackle our home room by room, week by week, and get some things done around here. This week my focus is the kitchen. It took me fours yesterday to go through each cabinet and throw away the unused and unnecessary. Anyway, for those of you that need to do the same thing at your house, I recommend the room-a-week plan. It seems a little less overwhelming that the idea of the whole house.

I will be spending quite a few days at the school as well. In my blogging absence, I was told, yes told, that I was moving to 3rd grade. I've taught 2nd grade for 7 years and have loved it, so moving to 3rd is a bit bittersweet for me. I'm excited about the challenge ahead, but as stated before, I'm not a fan of change. I'm trusting that each step is directed by the Lord and He knows and sees more than I understand.

On another note...

As you know, I bake for therapy, and then quickly deliver the goods so I don't interrupt the progress from my early morning workouts. My dad's birthday was this past weekend which gave me the excuse to bake away! I made two pinterest recipes that turned out delish! I'll share those below. I also have a recipe for oreo cheesecake that will be coming soon. It received rave reviews, and since I've made three of them in the last two weeks, I figure it is worth sharing.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

This is a PERFECT summertime cake! Not only is is yummy, but it really turns out to be a pretty cake when decorated with fresh sliced strawberries. The frosting has everything it needs with marshmallow fluff, cream cheese, lemonade, and sugar! Yes, please!!! I am posting the recipe below, but know that I added 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to my frosting so it would be thick enough to ice the whole cake and not just be a filling. It was easy and good! Make it!!

I also made these little Brownie Roll-Ups that were pretty easy and a big hit with the kids. My nephew even said, "Alison, these are amazing!!" All ya need is a box of fudge brownie mix and some frosting and a little bit of patience. :)

Here is the recipe from one of my favorite blogs:

I hope your summer is off to a great start! Hopefully in between my projects, and the pool, I'll find some time to post a few recipes during my break. Until then, try these!!

Our Easter

Is this time of year not the most precious? There are so many things about this season and this time of year that put a smile on my face.

I want to share this sweet little video that a friend shared with me so I could share it with my girls. We do our best to explain to our daughters what Easter is about, but it is difficult trying to explain to a 2-year about sin and death and new life. This little video was not just great for my girls, but it was wonderful for me to watch as well. Hearing the Easter story from a child's perspective was exactly what I needed on this Good Friday. I hope it is equally as heart-warming to you and yours. May we never forget the significance of this event.

Easter involves traditions for us. I'm a gal that loves traditions. I love the Easter bunny. I love getting dressed up for church. I would even put on a hat and gloves and little shiny white shoes if I could get away with. But, my man is a hippie and we have church in the park. I do enjoy the sunrise service with our friends on Easter morning. There really is something special about a sunrise service. We follow that up by coming back to our house for a big breakfast with our church family. Then, we do get dressed up and go to church with my family, the traditional way.

And then there is the Easter bunny. The Mr. is not a fan of the Easter bunny. As stated above, I like him...a lot. I think all of that is nothing but fun for the littles and I want my girls to have those same memories as I did, at least until their daddy tells them otherwise. :) He has great motives, and I agree with him. I don't want my girls to be distracted away from the true meaning of Easter. So we comprise. Our Easter bunny comes on Saturday morning so that he can have more time at church on Sunday. :)

After we open our baskets in the morning, we will follow up with the cutest little "Bunny Rolls" that I found on pinterest.

I've also made a Easter treat tray that I will take to our family gatherings. This works a lot like my holiday cookie tray that I simply refill in between stops to arrive with a plate full of goodness. On this particular treat tray, I'm taking "bunny bark" (thank the good Lord above for pinterest!), oreo truffles (these are the same as the Christmas ones, just with Easter sprinkles and minus the peppermint), and little brownie bird nests. I got the idea from here, but tweaked it to use brownies instead of the cookie dough.

And I just have to share this photo of my girls who were so excited to "help mama in the kitchen". LR wanted to make sure I let her do the sprinkles! What a blessing they are!

Hopefully, I will be back in a few to post post-Easter pics. I'm not promising anything due to the fact that spring break will soon be over and I'll be back in survival mode.

Enjoy your Easter with your families! He is ALIVE!