Cuckoo For Cocoa

Recently, we bought Cocoa Dyno-Bites, and needless to say, Gavin loves them! He asks for "cocoa, cocoa" all of the time. He has them for breakfast sometimes, but more often he has them for dessert. He'll eat his lunch or his dinner all gone just so he can have a bowl full of cocoa, and then proceed to scarf down the whole thing even though he just ate. You can tell he loves them by the chocolate grin he's wearing!

Photo Shoot

A few days ago I pulled out the camera and decided to try to capture the curls that appear on Xander's head. Some in Ben's have family have curls, but Ben and I have such strait hair that we never expected would end up with a little boy with curls. When Xander's hair gets sweaty or wet, the ends start to curl. It's so cute. I tried to capture a close up picture of his hair, but my subject was quite wiggly. This was the best I could get.

Besides having a wiggly subject, Gavin kept trying to be in the picture. He didn't like I was only focusing on Xander, so we had a little photo shoot of both of the boys. Both of the boys have a fascination with the camera and as you can see the like to get nice and close!

Here are my two handsome boys! They are both getting to be so big. I sure do love these boys!

4th of July Weekend

What a great weekend! Ben ended up taking Thursday afternoon off. We cleaned up the house and got ready for our guests on Friday. We had Ben's family over on Friday for a BBQ and homemade ice cream! The weather was beautiful, and it was timed perfectly. An hour after they left, it rained.

On Saturday morning, we hurried out the door and headed to Rexburg to attend the parade. Gavin loved the parade...
at least at first...

Here's why...

Hello, firetrucks! After a while it got long and little boring for him (and a little for me too!) But the great thing was/is they pass out chocolate milk, and as Ben said that's the reason for going.

After the parade we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Barnes for a BBQ. It's a fun tradition that they have every year! After enjoying scrumptious hamburgers, yummy food, delicious desserts, and enjoyable company, we headed home for the afternoon to let the boys take naps.

Once it got close to dark, we headed over to the Greenbelt for fireworks with the family. Kevin and Ann we're nice enough to stake a spot for all of us. Ben and I were a little worried about going to late night fireworks, but it turned out really well. Since we showed up only about an hour before the start, we didn't have to chase Gavin around too long. Xander ended up falling asleep before the start of the fireworks and slept through them all! And Gavin, who I was afraid would be terrified, kept asking and signing for "more, more." He ended up loving them!

The Enegizer Bunny's Batteries Finally Ran Out

Gavin is like the Energizer Bunny... he keeps going and going and going. He would much rather being playing than sleeping and often plays for at least an hour before falling asleep at night. Eventually though he crashes, and isn't it amazing! Really, how do kids do this? Have you ever noticed how kids can fall asleep mid-play in the most random positions? It takes me 20 minutes to fall asleep even after I'm comfortable!

Two Little Monkeys

I was busy in the kitchen, and I look over to find this...

Little monkey is already starting to follow suit. I'm in for a lot of trouble! The joy of being a mom to two little boys. ;)

Death by Chocolate in 5 Minutes or Less

DISCLAIMER: Dieters beware!
We are not liable if you break your diet. ;)

THE WEAPONS: A Large Microwave- safe Mug & the Microwave

THE RECIPE FOR DOOM:

4 T flour (or rice flour works for a gluten-free version)
4 T sugar
2 T cocoa
A pinch of salt
1 egg
3 T milk
3 T oil
3 T chocolate chips
A small splash of vanilla

Mix ALL ingredients together in the mug.

Cook on High for 2 1/2 minutes. The cake will "grow" out of the cup. It looks like it will spill over, but it does not.

Dump the cake out of the mug onto a plate. Cut, cool, and enjoy! Ben and I often share one because there is plenty to go around. I posted this at Ben's request, this is now one of his favorite ways to have a quick chocolate fix with little mess and little effort.