White Chocolate Party Mix

Annie and I have been trying out recipes from my new cookbook "Southern Living Christmas Cookbook" (thanks Mimi!). Okay, this is a recipe you HAVE to make! It is super easy and so yummy! Annie and I have already made it twice and are going to make it again tomorrow. It makes a great gift for teachers, etc.

White Chocolate Party Mix
prep: 10 min
1 (9 oz) package butter-flavored pretzels
6 cups cheerios (I used multigrain cheerios)
6 cups corn chex
2 (7 oz) packages salted peanuts
1 (24 oz) package almond bark candy coating

Melt candy coating squares according to package directions. Pour contents together and stir to combine. You may want to divide and do this twice, unless you have a huge bowl! Spread mix onto wax paper. Cool for 30 min. Break apart and store in an airtight container. If you don't give some away, you will make yourself sick because it is so addicting you can't stop eating it! Trust me...I know! Enjoy!

Father-Daughter Weekend

A few weeks ago Chris took Annie on a Father-Daughter trip. He has been talking about doing this since before Annie was born, but wanted to wait until she was a little older to start the tradition. So, for their first Father-Daughter trip they went to Moody Gardens in Galveston. Annie was so excited about staying in the hotel and swimming in the pool. They ate at the Rainforest Cafe, swam at night, swam again in the morning, and went to the aquarium. She loved riding the ferry and getting to spend time with her daddy. On the way home she said to Chris, "Daddy, I'm sad our trip is over." She is already looking forward to the next trip! Here are some pictures from their weekend:

Annie jumping on the bed at the hotel...one of her favorite things about staying in a hotel!

Daddy did a good job fixing that cute little ponytail! (Chris, I'm going to remember this!)

Annie and Chris in Galveston

Wonderful weekend

Last Saturday we went to see my parents at "the farm" in east Texas. My grandmother was raised there, and my mom inherited some of the land after my grandmother passed away. We always enjoy being out there, and now it is nice to be able to share it with our children. It seemed to be just what Chris and I needed after a somewhat stressful week. There is just something about being there that allows you to slow down, take a breath, and relax. Here are a few pictures from our day at the farm.

Grandpa and MaMal with the kiddos

Grandpa and Annie

On Sunday we drove to Houston to meet up with our Pennsylvania friends The Luttrells. They moved to PA about 6 months after we moved there, and now they are moving back to Houston about 6 months after we moved to Beaumont. We only lived in PA for about 18 months together, but we became very close friends. Natalie and Annie are exactly a month and a day apart in age, and Owen and Cason are exactly 5 weeks apart in age. Landon spent part of his childhood in Midland, and knows many of the people we know in Midland. It's a small world! We are soooo excited that they are moving to Houston, and will be less than 2 hours away from us! Annie and Natalie are best buddies, and miss each other terribly. The girls were so excited to see each other! We got to see their new house in Katy and eat dinner with them. The guys watched the boys and Kristin and I took the girls to see the broadway production of Mary Poppins, which Annie was tremendously excited about! Mary Poppins is her very favorite movie...she asks to watch it almost every day! She knows all the songs and even recites some of the lines of the movie. Anyway, as we were sitting there watching it, I overhear Natalie tell Annie, "I love you Annie." and Annie said, "I love you too Natalie." Natalie said, "You are my best friend." Then they hugged. What a special moment, and what a precious friendship. I was so mad at myself because I left my camera in the diaper bag with Chris, so I don't have any pictures, but we have lots of fun memories. Here is a picture from this summer when they came to visit us in Beaumont and we went to an alligator farm. No, I am not kidding, and if you come to visit us we will take you there too!

Notice all of the kids are staring at the alligator...I'm not sure if they know it's not real!

Monday morning is Annie's dance class. Although we had a busy and exhausting weekend, Annie wouldn't dare miss dance class...no matter how tired she is! This was "parent week" at the dance studio, so I stayed and watched her to see what all she has learned. She loves going to class, and would love it if she could go every day! Here are a few pictures:

ballett - dancing with ribbons


tap - Annie leading the group

acrobatics - doing the crab walk

Finally, to end my long post...

Go Cowboys!!!

Looking for change...

This morning I went to get into the car, and it looked like someone had broken into the car! The glove box was opened, the center console had been dug through, and everything was very messy. Then I got to the driver's side and saw my pennies in the seat. I realized that Chris had been looking for change and had taken all of my quarters, dimes, and nickels...and left me with all the pennies. I was a little irritated that he had left the front seat in such a mess and had taken my change...that was my Sonic money! I even told my girlfriend about it, thinking it was kind of funny that Chris had taken my change to buy his coffee or breakfast. When I got home, I said something to him about it. He said, "What? I don't know what you are talking about." I think I said "Seriously!" and "Are you kidding?" about five times. So, I guess someone got into our car, found all of the change, sorted out the change, and left all of the pennies for me. How thoughtful! I am honestly very grateful that the windows didn't get broken or anything else taken. I guess they just needed the change more than we did!

Halloween all week long...and a few other things

We have been celebrating Halloween all week long at the Clark house! We carved our pumpkin on Monday night, and after much debate, we decided to carve Snow White. Last year we carved Minnie Mouse, and it was really complicated. Chris tried to convince Annie that we should just carve a regular jack-o-lantern face, but she really wanted a Disney character. So...Snow White it was!

Tuesday night Annie, Cason and I walked around the neighborhood with our friends Kristi, Joshua and Jacob Powell. Joshua and Annie are in class together at Preschool and I have become friends with his mom Kristi. They just moved to Beaumont from North Carolina. Annie was selling cookie dough for ballett and Jacob was selling popcorn for Boy Scouts. The kids had a good time, and it brought back lots of memories for me...I used to do the same thing when I was their age!

Wednesday night, we went to a local church for their trunk-or-treating and Annie dressed up like Jasmine. Thursday, Annie dressed up like Snow White for her Preschool Fall Festival. She had a blast, and I enjoyed seeing her with all of her little friends she has been talking about.

Annie was having fun dancing with her friend Olivia!

Saturday night, the kids dressed up and we had a neighborhood Halloween party before we went trick-or-treating. Annie decided to dress up like a bride, and Cason was Mickey Mouse. Annie won "best girl costume" for 3-5 year olds! We had fun trick-or-treating with our friends Brenna, Boston, Kyle, and Gretchen. Brenna and Boston moved to Beaumont from Florida, and Kyle and Gretchen have lived here for a year or so and are origionally from Lousiana. Both families live down the street and we have enjoyed becoming friends with them! The kids got lots of candy and had a blast trick-or-treating together!

Annie - our pretty Bride

Cason - Mickey Mouse

Our sweet kiddos

Annie and Brenna at the neighborhood Halloween party

Annie ran out of steam about half-way around the neighborhood...she needed a break!

Happy Halloween to all of you!

Kemah

Chris' parents, otherwise known as Grammie-Go and Grandaddy, came to visit us this weekend. They brought their 5th-wheel and Annie LOVED going camping with them! She had fun riding her bike around the campsite, helping Grandaddy find sticks for the fire, and painting a pumpkin with Grammie-Go. We went to the Kemah Boardwalk on Saturday, and had a blast! Kemah is a city in between Houston and Galveston, located on the bay. It is about an hour and a half from Beaumont. There are lots of restraunts and fun rides. We took a little train ride around the boardwalk too. Here is the link, if you live nearby and want to go sometime: http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/flash_content/flash_content.html

I forgot to charge up my camera before we went, so my camera died after a few pictures. Here are a few of the pictures I took:


Annie made friends with a little boy and rode this ride with him...

it gave me a little glimpse into the future!

Chris and his dad had fun riding some of the rides too!

Our Little Photographer

Annie has become quite the photographer. She loves to take pictures...and I am always surprised to see what she took pictures of when I download the photos. Here is a sample of some of her photos:

Tono Romo

Southwest airplane...out of the window of our airplane

her foot

Mommy and Daddy

Our Trip to Disneyworld

We just got back from Disneyworld yesterday, completely exhausted, but having had a wonderful time! I really do think that Disneyworld the most magical place on earth! We went with our dear friends Randy and Miriam Prude, who Annie calls Grandy and Mimi. We went to Disney's "Not So Scary Halloween Party" and stayed out until midnight one night...yes, our kids were troupers! One of my favorite things was watching Annie meet Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. She walked up slowly and Cinderella said, "Oh, it's my twin!" They talked and Annie met Prince Charming, and she just looked at them in awe! Sleeping Beauty was very sweet too, and had Annie twirl around in her Cinderella dress. They made Annie feel like she was so special and like she was the only little princess there. On the way home that night, she looked at her Daddy and said, "Daddy, I really am a princess!" Chris said, "Yes Annie, you are." I thought that was so sweet. We loved all of the rides and shows, and can't wait to go back! Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Cason and Mommy at the airport ready to go!

Grandy and Annie waiting to go to Epcot!

meeting Pluto

Annie and Mimi on the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom

Cinderella and Mickey Mouse

Bacon and Eggs...everyone thought they were so cute!

meeting Cinderella and Prince Charming

Cason even got a kiss from Sleeping Beauty!

For the pet lovers out there...

Chris and I have come to realize that we aren't really pet lovers...we just love our dog Molly. Since we moved back to Texas, Molly has been staying with Chris' Aunt and Uncle, and we have been dogless for a few months. We were in an apartment, then moving into the house, and it was really nice of them to help us out while we were in transition. I was getting used to it...and even beginning to think that we should let them keep her if they wanted to. Well, we got her back a week ago, and I realized how much we missed her. The kids love her and Annie has played with Molly constantly. I've even caught Molly sitting on Cason's lap a time or two! On Tuesday, Molly got out somehow, and her collar had fallen off in the house (of course), so with Chris out of town I gathered up the kids and drove around the neighborhood yelling her name. No luck! I knocked on all of my neighbors doors, but no one had seen her. I couldn't bear to drive onto the busy street behind us...just in case she was...you know. I was so upset, and I didn't know what else to do. Anyway, I took the kids home to feed Cason, and Annie and I made "lost dog" signs. On our way to put up the signs, I saw a woman and her daughter walking their dog...and Molly! Thankfully they had picked her up several streets away from our house. I was so happy! I never knew how much I really cared about the dog until she was gone! So...as of yesterday she has a microchip. Yes, I know that sounds a little funny, but it is really neat! It was only $44, and then $14 to register her online. If you move, you go online and change your info, but the microchip doesn't have to be removed again. Now they can just scan her to get her info. So, if you have a pet that you really care about and don't have a microchip, I highly recommend one!

home...safe and sound

A few random thoughts...

I love Fall! It is probably my favorite season! I love watching the leaves change, the crispness of the air, wearing my fall clothes...but the high today in Beaumont was 90!!! Seriously! Someone needs to tell Beaumont Texas that it is October, not August! For all of my friends in PA, enjoy a little bit of the Fall weather for me!

A few weeks ago I bought DVD players for the car...the kind that go on the headrests. The kids love them and it makes traveling so much easier. We went to Sea World this past weekend, and when I went out to the car Saturday morning, the back window had been shattered and the DVD players had been stolen. We are the kind of people that are probably too trusting of everyone else...we just never think that those things will happen to us. Well, now we know, it can happen to us! It was so frustrating trying to get all of the glass out of Annie's carseat and having to wait until Monday to get a new window. We still enjoyed our trip and Annie absolutely loved Sea World. On Monday we ate at Chick-fil-A before we left San Antonio, and I met a couple whose car had been stolen out of their driveway a month ago! The car was recovered, but everything was stolen...the carseats, the stroller, everything that was worth stealing! That made me realize my DVD players were not that big of a deal!


Finally, here are a couple of recent pictures of the kids. They are changing so fast!

Cason...cutie pie!

Annie...my little sweetheart!

I finally did it!

I'm probably the last person in the world to create a blog...but I finally did it! I love looking at blogs and catching up on the lives of our friends, so I decided that I would join in!

To catch you up with our lives in a nutshell, we moved to Pennsylvania in May 2007 and lived there for 2 years. We recently moved from Pennsylvania to Beaumont, TX, in May of this year. Chris has a new job as a district manager for Merck and loves his job! I am staying at home with the kids, and feel so fortunate that I am able to spend my days with them. We have two kiddos, Annie (3) and Cason (7 months), and they are such blessings to us. Life is good and we are very blessed!

I am hoping that this blog will help us stay connected with all of our friends...wherever they are!