brookies with a side of twins

Today I learned a lot of valuable lessons...

1. Dump water on 11 year olds and the spray them with a water hose... you will get water ballooned.

2. You can hide stuffed animals in A LOT of different places.

3. You can put anything you want in a brownie and it will come out okay... well maybe...

I've been hanging out with my two favorite 11 year olds today, and I'm lucky enough to spend more time with them tomorrow and Friday!  It has definitely been fun and they create awesome games for us to play.  After playing in the hot sun with the water hose, buckets, and water balloons, they were hungry.  So they ate Bagel Bites.  But what I have learned about boys since I have been married is that they are ALWAYS hungry!  After playing in the water some more they came up with the idea to make brownies.  Specifically, brownies with cookies on top and M&Ms.

We went to Publix, everyone quickly ran for the item they said they would get and met at the register.  It was hectic, but very fast, just like they wanted.  We grabbed Ghirardelli Fudge Brownie Mix, Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, eggs, and the M&Ms.  I let them put their snack together all on their own (you will notice chocolate on their faces in every picture!)

This is how it went down...
We preheated the oven to 350.

We mixed up the box of Ghirardelli Brownies and added the M&Ms!

Then, after the boys and their friend snacked on the cookie dough :) we smashed them down and laid them on top to cover the pan.  They will spread out and together, so it is okay to leave space.

Put the brookies in the oven to bake, covered in tin foil for about 35 minutes.

They also watched the oven while licking the bowl before moving onto a stuff animal war.

And wala! The final product!

I was actually impressed with how nice the dish ended up looking.  It would definitely be something to consider taking to a party or get together if you wanted to do something fast and impressive!

The boys definitely enjoyed it! I couldn't even snap a shot before they gobbled it all up!

Brookies

1 box brownie mix

1 package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

Optional: M&Ms or nuts

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix brownie ingredients and fill the bottom of an 8x8 greased baking dish with mixture.

After sampling the cookie dough (which was the case for the twins), flatten the remaining cookie dough out and place it on top of the mixture.  Leaving a little space inbetween for the cookie to expand together.  Cover with tin foil and bake for 35-40 minutes!

School's ALMOST Out For the Summer!

I'm purely exhausted....

and it can only mean one thing....

school's ALMOST out for the summer!

While I still have to go into work some, make brand new lesson plans, learn new curriculum, and create common assessments aligned with the standards in my time off.... at least I can do it wherever I want!

Today, one of my cousins, Alex called me!  We talked about what all we were going to do this summer.  We talked about going to the pool and playing with Hazel at the dog park.  It gave me a glimpse of summer and there is no going back!  Above is a picture from Christmas (when Hazel was HALF the size she is now!)  We can't believe how fast our precious puppy has grown!

Hazel is REALLY excited about hanging out with her cousins this summer!

Thinking about summer is getting me through these long and exhausting days.  I am so excited to spend time with the hubby, my family, go on vacation, celebrate our 1 year anniversary, and the most important thing of all, GET A TAN!

 Hazel was also not very happy that I was paying attention to the computer and not her!  This last one is her begging me to play right now! So I will appease her :)

I know we are all looking forward to summer summertime!

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since December 6th!

Since I've been off work, I have spent a lot of time with the puppy!

And catching up on sleep....

I am fully rested and ready for a new semester now, but I'm so excited I still have another week off!

Since I've been on Christmas break I've...

Spent time with family and friends...

I've taken lots of walks with sweet Hazel, in my new kicks...

Completed a few puzzles with the hubby...

Started reading books... FOR FUN!

Watched lots of movies and Modern Family Season 3...

(Hazel hid beside the couch during one movie!)

And loved on my sweet puppy!

As you can tell, it was no exaggeration that I've spent a lot of time loving on my puppy!  Hazel met LOTS of family and friends.  She is purely exhausted.

David and I are going to enjoy some time in the mountains before life gets crazy again.

We are going to visit Asheville, NC and the Biltmore!  We are so excited!

I hope you had a MERRY CHRISTMAS as well!

thankfulness

So it's been awhile...
life has gotten in the way again!

Just before we went on Thanksgiving Break, I got the flu.  And I had it for roughly two weeks.  It was so awesome, but not really.  Let's just say if my kiddos have something, I always get it!  Thanksgiving break was just what I needed to get over it for good!

We kicked it off with a GEORGIA game!  David and I had such a good time!  We even got to help Uga crowd surf!  To be honest, I'm probably a little too proud of the picture below.  I whipped out my phone so fast and jumped off the bleacher to get this beauty!

David has officially kicked off finals and all the fun studying that comes with it.   So I went to visit my parents for a whole week!! It was so much fun!  But just before I left, David and I celebrated 5 months of marriage.  And how much fun we've been having!

We treated ourselves to a Last Resort supper, Jittery Joe's coffee, and a walk around North Campus.  And of course, I had to have the chicken praline.  I get it every time and it never disappoints.

Then we ate an incredible lunch at Five Star Day, just before I hit the road to spend some quality time with the fam! Soup and salad!

Over the last week, we made our first step towards celebrating our first Christmas together by participating in Operation Christmas Child!  We love knowing that we have made some litter girl's day.  We highly recommend you get involved if you are interested!

And speaking of celebrating...my sister was almost a turkey baby!  We got to celebrate her birthday on Thanksgiving this year.  My grandma made a HUGE peppermint ice cream cake for Claire!  It was three times as big as her head!  She is 24 now... wow she's getting old!

And her precious dog, Margo LOVED helping her open gifts!  She can seriously rip up some paper!

It was so great to see so much family over Thanksgiving break!  I am so thankful for David, my family, job, and church.

Now I just can't wait for the weekend!