Movie night

Jon had to leave for a teaching conference thing for the weekend so I decided the kids and I needed something fun and cheap to do while he was gone. While Jacob was at school- since as a general rule I avoid taking all three kids to the grocery store at the same time- I took the other two to the store and we picked out movie snacks and put together some movie packs. Then I made the rule- you can have the movie packs once all chores are finished and we are ready to start the movie. I haven't seen chores get done so quickly and happily in a while- I might have to do this more often;) In fact, Sam volunteered to help fold laundry with me to be a gentleman. Then we went onto the Netflix instant streaming and found something we could all live with- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- and sat down and enjoyed each other. If the weather had been more cooperative we would have gone to the local Tulip Festival. This wasn't too bad though and cross my fingers we can make it to the gardens in the next week. I would like to take the kids out to the movie "How to Train Your Dragon", but for the price of tickets for the four of us we could buy a full priced Disney movie and snacks. Sick!

A Taste of Summer

I had this craving for strawberry-lemon cupcakes and did a search on the internet and found this recipe. They were so delicious! My favorite part is that they use real fruit as part of the recipe. I wish the cupcakes looked cuter but I didn't have time to drag out my frosting bags and tips. Here is a couple of things I found with the recipe before I post it:
1- I did the optional syrup and loved having the extra lemon taste.
2- If you don't have a citrus zester you can either get one at wal-mart for around $5-10 or you could probably grate the peel instead. I have a zester that I use for many different recipes so I used that.
3- I used a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer for the batter and had no problems. Just make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature like the recipe says. As a cheat, you can microwave the butter or cream cheese for 15 seconds on high to soften it.
4- I found they cooked better in my oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes rather then 325.
5- I used the same lemon I zested for the batter for the garnish. I dipped the slices in a bowl of sugar so they would taste better if you wanted to eat them or suck on them.
6- There is a lot of extra syrup and frosting so you can make more batter and make more without as much work.

I got the recipe from: http://annies-eats.com/2009/02/24/strawberry-lemonade-cupcakes/ - there is a ton of other good looking cupcake recipes to check out at this website if you get the chance.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Yield: about 21 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon zest
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

For the lemonade syrup:
1 cup lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the frosting:
1 cup fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
18 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For garnish:
Fresh strawberries
Lemon slices

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir together with a fork and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add in the milk and mix until smooth. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended. Fold in the fresh strawberries with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the paper liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, whisk together the lemonade concentrate and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl to make the lemonade syrup. Poke several holes in the top of each cupcake with a skewer and pour the syrup over the cupcakes, allowing it to soak in. (Place wax paper underneath your cooling rack so you don’t make a mess!)

To make the frosting, puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Strain the puree through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds, and set aside. Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Mix in strawberry puree, a tablespoon at a time, until you achieve your desired texture and flavor of frosting (I added about 7 tablespoons of puree). Frost cupcakes as desired and garnish with fresh strawberries and lemon slices.

Source: cake adapted from Williams Sonoma, frosting from Annie’s Eats

Jon gets his Masters!

Jon graduated with his Master's Degree this last week. Wahoo! We are so thankful for all the family that were able to come down and support us and we feel the support and love of those who weren't able to make it as well. The ceremonies were really good and I enjoyed the speakers. Now we just need to find a job. The current plan- which is subject to change- is to look for full-time teaching positions at community colleges. All Jon needs is his master's degree to qualify and he thinks he would really enjoy doing that. We'll see what we can find.

My Little Brother Gets Married!

My little brother got married! He looks so happy with his new bride. I was so glad that we were able to travel and see it and meet his new wife. I am so happy for them. Right after the wedding they left to California for some military training and then next month my brother will leave his new bride for a year to do his deployment in Korea :(

Busy Busy Busy

So much to do to get unpacked from my brother's wedding last weekend and to get ready for Jon's graduation this weekend. Life is never boring.

Katie cleans the bathroom

If only they stayed this enthusiastic about cleaning the bathroom.

Easter Story

Here is Jacob re-telling of the Easter story, in his own words. Out of the mouth of babes...

ter

Easter

The kids had an enjoyable Easter. I got a small bag of bulk Easter candy from the store and divided some for each kid. I have a life time supply of easter egg dye so I let them go at it and dye eggs. I brought out a white crayon to draw on the eggs with and ended up sunshine eggs, dinosaur eggs, scribble eggs, and name eggs. We had a small ham and have been eating the leftovers all week. Good times.

Teaching

It seems that the world is now wide open for us since Jon lost his nice, comfy job. That has it's blessings and it's frustrations for sure. We've considered so many different options though the basic two seemed to have come down to a- go back to grad school or b- find another job. Both have pros and cons so it has been hard to figure it out. Now we are thinking of option c- teaching. We'll have to see what pops up. I think Jon could be good at it and it would allow us to stay in the area for a while longer which is what we really want. Jon likes the idea which is what matters most. To be continued.... like everything else in life.