Julian

We took a scenic drive up to Julian this morning. It was so pretty and the air so fresh and cool. We had lunch in Julian once we got into the town. Next, we walked around the little town and visited some of the shops.

Can you guess which one of the shops was the kids favorite?

Cleopatra

The Junior High kids from school, had a dress-up party a couple of nights ago. Morgan went as Cleopatra. A very cute Cleopatra I must admit. She wasn't planning on going so at the last hour before it was time for the party, we ran out got the costume and drove to the party! Morgan had a great time! We were both glad she went. :)

Justin's Birthday

Happy 11th Birthday Justin! 

Happy

Helpful

Sweet

Friendly

Can't believe we are already celebrating Justin's 2nd birthday in America!

Since I wasn't home for Justin's birthday, I finally made him his birthday pie. We decided that we had, had enough cake the past few weeks and would try something new. The pie was apple with Carmel and pecans on top. It tasted like a Carmel apple! It was super yummy!

The second half of the pictures are from a party my sister's and nephews gave Justin.  He loves his cousins and his Aunt's and Uncles!

Wild Animal Park, San Diego

Justin's class had a field trip to the Wild Animal Park. He had never been to a zoo. He says he wants to be an animal doctor for giraffes but had never seen one in person. :) Now he can say he has seen a giraffe and many other animals he had never seen before.

Morgan was on assignment for her zoology class. She was busy classifying birds and their regions. It was pretty neat for her to actually see the birds that she has been reading about. Several of the birds were from Africa and she would have never had the opportunity to see them in person had they not been at the park.

Garrett and I were just along for the ride. Garrett was just happy to not have to do his regular school work. I was happy to be outside on a beautiful day!

Warm Monkey Bread with Maple Icing!

Oh you should have been here this morning. I made some wonderful Monkey bread with maple icing. Oh yes, it was the best! The kids (Garrett and Morgan) thought it was the best too. When Justin gets home from school today he will love it also. I am sure Kevin will want some for breakfast in the morning...that is if there is any left. I have to keep Garrett away from it! Morgan said it was so good that she didn't think I should share the recipe. :) I will share if you will comment how you liked it.

2 cans Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Walnuts and raisins (optional)
3/4c butter (melted)

Heat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease fluted tube pan with cooking spray. In lrg. plastic bag place sugar and cinnamon.

Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut ea. into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the pieces.

Pour melted butter over the top of biscuits and bake 28 mins.

Maple Icing:

1 lb. powdered sugar
1/4c whole milk

3 tbs. butter (melted)
1/8c strongly brewed coffee
dash of salt
1/2 tbs. maple extract

Mix together until desired consistency. You can add extra milk or coffee if you want it thinner.

After the bread is baked, let it cool for a minute or two and flip onto a plate. Pour the icing over the bread and enjoy! I put a tiny bit of icing on the rolls before I flipped it just to make sure I got it all over. :)

Disneyland (Sort of)

We sort of went to Disneyland yesterday... We met Kevin at about 4:30pm and I didn't think it would be too crowded. Well, that is where I thought wrong! The place was packed due to it being a federal holiday. I ended up leaving because I can't take the crowds when I know I don't need to deal with them. Kevin and the kids stayed but only ended up on two rides before they left at 9:00pm. Note to self: Don't go to Disneyland on a holiday or a weekend! The good thing though was Kevin got to have the kids all to himself for a few hours. :)

Kevin made Garrett a promise that if he would smile for every picture from here until Christmas, not be a pest and have a good attitude that he could get a cell phone for Christmas.
What do you think? Can he do it?

Kevin standing in front of Indiana Jones. He loves to tell the story that he built the ride all by himself. :) Well he did! (Along with 100 other people.)

As you can see Morgan doesn't enjoy having her picture taken much anymore. :( It makes me sad because I think she is so beautiful!