SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN OUR QUEEN...

But it's official now...she's the Queen of the Knights!



I don't really get it since I didn't go to college here, but she tells me it's a big deal. Must be if they gave her a jersey and she's riding on their shoulders! So that makes me excited because all I've ever been Queen of is my own household!

WHAT SOME COLLEGE KIDS DO IN THEIR FREE TIME...

These two met each other on campus recently, and have become friends. The cool thing is, their MOTHERS shared maternity clothes 20 years ago! I vividly remember an adorable navy blue jumper I borrowed. We then lost touch with each other as jobs took us/them to different places and to different churches. It's wonderful how God brings people together, isn't it?
CHECK IT OUT HERE

IF "IFS" AND "BUTS" WERE MINTS AND NUTS WE'D ALL HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS....

that's one of my husband's favorite sayings. Exactly what I thought after looking at the few pictures I took yesterday.

"If only" he could smile like his friend!

But we're okay with that...makes 3 out of 3 for us...our 9th COCDA honor choir concert, our 3rd kid to get a 3 year medal! Woohoo!

HAPPINESS IS...

Your daughter calling at 8:50 a.m. to tell you what a great day she's having. She just aced a test, loves it that it's raining, and her next class is canceled so she's got some unexpected free time. Sweet call!

AND...

Watching your son perform praise songs to our Father!

It's been a good day. :)

A CHOCOLATE PRODUCT AND RECIPE REVIEW...

So I bought this product this week, expecting great things. I mean, what else would you expect with a name like LAVISH? It wasn't horrible, it just didn't live up to its name. There was one really good bite. I think it must have had a huge chocolate chip in it. Save your $.

But now this, this was really good. I was craving something with that mexican chocolate taste. Love that hint of cinnamon and vanilla in it. Once I had the BEST hot chocolate at Maggie Moo's, and I keep trying to recreate that. They made hot chocolate, then put in a scoop of their cinnamon vanilla ice cream. Have you ever had hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream? Well, it's wonderful, especially with Cinnamon Vanilla ice cream. Anyway, Maggie Moo's is long-gone around here. I found this recipe and it's a KEEPER!

Cinnamon Brownie Cupcakes (courtesy McCormick seasonings website)
1 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
4 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients together. Set aside. Mix sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon 1/4 c. batter into 15 paper lined muffin cups. Bake 15 minutes or until done with toothpick test.

NOTE: I reduced it to 2 eggs because I don't like brownies with an eggy taste. I also had to cook it 20-25 minutes to get done. We LOVED the cinnamon-fudgy brownie, but next time I think I will reduce the cinnamon to 3 teaspoons. The nutrition information indicated 4g fat per cupcake, but it would be even less than that with the reduced amount of eggs! Big taste and not a lot of fat. I like it!

MUDDY BUDDIES...

Look at these two little friends...sweet little girly girls with their plastic jewelry on...
My daughter and K playing on the swingset, 1993



Forget the girly girls...just call 'em MUDDY BUDDIES now!
K, from Texas A & M and my daughter completed the Muddy Buddies race! 2010

Isn't it interesting how with some friends you can just pick up where you left off? These two have been separated by distance for a while but are still friends. What a blessing! They went to church together and were in playgroup together for basically the first 8 years of their lives. Although they lost touch for a few years, they reunited again about 5 years ago when my daughter went on "TREK" with K and her youth group in Texas. They went to different colleges, but of course have connected with facebook, and now have enjoyed a challenge getting back together again to do the Muddy Buddies race!

Haven't they grown up to be beautiful young ladies? :)

THE FALL BREAK MYSTERY TRIP...

We decided since our kids all had the same fall break (small miracle!) that we should do something together as a family. That quickly fizzled as our daughter told us she had already made plans.

WHAT? You mean you have your own life now? Without us?

So we looked at all the options within an 8 hour drive of our lovely home. Found an interesting sounding thing in the mountains of New Mexico...

A LLAMA TREK!

Yep. Llamas. We decided NOT to tell the boys. We were a little afraid they might make other plans too, if they knew what we were planning! Not really. Both of them enjoy hiking and stuff. But would you believe we really haven't camped as a family??? It's true. We have each individually had different kinds of camping experiences, but never together. (Too many Marriott points to use from my husband's travel - Yea, I know, it's tough)

Anyway, we spent 3 days and 2 nights with 6 llamas and a guide in the Rio Grande Gorge. It was more like a camping trip with llamas along to tote all the gear. But we did learn their names, got to feed them and lead them through the gorge. We thoroughly enjoyed our guide. He was a Llama handler, science teacher, and gourmet cook all rolled up into one! He's been doing wilderness treks in this area for 19 years. Great guy! I would totally recommend him to anyone. Let me know if you want his name. Here's some pics from the fun:
Beautiful fall colors in New Mexico!
So after meeting our guide here for our trek, he made a change of plan so we wouldn't have to camp in the snow!
Our guide with our son on the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge!
Llama fun...
Of course he got wet
Showing us petroglyphs near our campsite!
Family pic in front of LaJunta peak