Memorial Day

Unfortunately Jared had to work for most of Memorial Day but me and the kids had a full fun day, we began the day with a parade, followed by the park, swimming, and a little bbq with our new best friends and neighbor. Thank goodness for friends.

Talen's Birthday is right around the corner

Here is Talen's birthday party invitation, I was so proud of how cute it turned out that I thought I would share it with you all. We're hoping for it be WONDERFUL because after this past year of of moving every two months, and having no friends for the kids, Talen could really use a special day with lots of friends. We'll be touring a fire station, and then coming back to our house, doing a fire truck craft, grilling up some HOT dogs and having some RED strawberries, we'll then do presents and eat his firetruck shaped birthday cake. I'm excited! I think it will be a lot of fun. It's all he can talk about everyday, "is it my birthday today mom?"

I sent it as an 8x8 photo to costco, they were $1.50 a piece, I printed 5, cut them in half making them 4x8's, stuffed them in a standard business envelope, and passed them out, simple and affordable.

Talen started SOCCER!

We enrolled Talen in a beginner's soccer class that lasts 4 weeks and occurs twice a week. We have been looking for a league for him to join, but everything we found was for ages 5 and up, so this class will have to do.

He loves it. Besides needing water ever 3 minutes, and being a little ADD he does a great job. We had to buy him some shin guards and some shorts, and my neighbor and new best friend, Kim, found some cleats at a yard sale for $1. There are a few kids from the ward in the same class and our neighbor's son, Spencer, Talen's new best friend is also in the class, so it's going to be a lot of fun. Below are some pics of his first class.

The best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER!

I just made these cookies last week and I don't think I have ever made a more perfect chocolate chip cookie in all of my life. I tried this recipe before in Virginia and they didn't turn out so great and then I tried the recipe here and they came out amazing. The key, I think, to this recipe is the amount of vanilla, the additional egg yolk, the use of melted butter, and the low cooking temperature and long cooking time. They are PERFECT. I definitely felt accomplished. Anyway here it is for all of you to enjoy. Try it out and let me know what you think.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)
  

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (for pure convection, adjust accordingly; use 310 F on convection). Grease cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper or use a Silpat.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

Mix the sugars and butter just until thoroughly mixed, then add egg, yolk and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the sifted ingredients and mix until just blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks, then drop dough 1/4 cup at a time on a cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart, and bake for 15-17 minutes. Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool a bit when removed from the oven (this is important… they fall apart if you move them too quickly). Once they cool a few minutes, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Or eat them right away, with milk.

The New Place

This is probably going to be a boring post but I thought I would show what the new place looks like, now that we're pretty much moved in... FINALLY.

Patio

So Kendal's hair is starting to get longer, and being the girly girl that I am I've been dying for it grow so that I can start to play with it, well lately we've been playing a lot with her hair and it's a lot of fun. Anyway these are just a few pictures that we took of the kids out on our little patio.

BTW we are really liking Michigan. The spring here just goes on and on and on, and it's so green, and everyone is really nice. Our church is great and we are slowly making lots of friends. Talen's birthday is just around the corner and I'm excited to get it planned. We are doing a fire engine theme and we are even taking a trip to the fire station so all the kids can meet the fire fighters, see the trucks and squirt some water. I ordered a fire engine cake yesterday and it is going to be GREAT! I think he's going to love it.

I have an interview next week for a possible babysitting position, so that's exciting as well. Anyway things are going.

Mother's Day

Well this is a couple of week late, but here are some pics of mother's day. I had a great one. The kids made some cute crafts, and Jared made me feel very special. He took me to pick out some flowers for our planters, and made some great meals. I'm so lucky to be the mother of Talen and Kendal. They are so sweet and fill my life with joy. At times they are a challenge, but overall being a mom truly ROCKS!

Getting Settled

So I haven't blogged in awhile, life has been insane and busy. We've now been in Michigan almost 8 weeks. We managed to find a new apartment, start a new job, go to Virginia and unload our storage unit, move into our new place, and I almost have my own daycare/preschool business up and running. It has been very busy and emotional. We're just happy to be moving forward. Michigan is cool. The spring has been gorgeous, there are so many trees everywhere- just like Virginia, the people are really nice, we live in a great area, there are beautiful lakes everywhere, there is a great sense of community, our church is amazing (as usual) and there tons of things to do and see, so we think we'll like it here just fine.

I feel like I've been so disconnected from all of my friends just because I've been so engulfed in my own life, so I'm hoping to be able to start blogging again, and staying in touch with everyone.

I'm excited to share with everyone my website, which is finally finished for my daycare/preschool and I would love for you to visit it for me and email me any feedback and suggestions that you have on it. I've never made a website and I've never taken my children to a daycare so I'm open to suggestions (and words of praise :) ) I'm also offering photography as part of my childcare and if I've taken pictures for you in the past, then your pics have made it to my portfolio on my site (Baylis, Heaven, Kenna).

Website:
http://www.wix.com/carliemdavis/littlegumdropschildcare

I'm almost licensed through the state, so I'll be open for business soon. This is very exciting for me as I've never started my own business. I just hope it goes well.

Anyway below are few pictures...