David and Kayla are expecting!!
Our family is growing by one, and we could not be more excited!!
Kayla is due the first week of January.
It will be so hard to wait to meet this precious one!
Rejoice with us for this precious gift – another arrow for David and Kayla’s quiver!!
The sun is shining bright and we are expecting a hot summer day here at Twin Oaks, with maybe our first swim in the pool!!
I thought I would share this smoothie recipe with you all first!
The kiddos call this a “Florida” smoothie.
Blake and I have traveled to Naples, Florida, twice now for an anniversary trip, and I came home from our first trip determined to recreate a smoothie that we had and loved while we were there.
We make smoothies both for breakfast or for a snack, and they are always a favorite here!
Don’t be intimidated by the green color – I promise you cannot taste that green kale in there!
A Green “Florida” Smoothie
3 to 4 cups of coconut water
1 and 1/2 frozen banana, broke into chunks
equal amounts of frozen pineapple, peaches, and mangoes
2-3 leaves of kale – just the leaves, not the stem
1-2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
If you have a powerful blender, have your frozen fruit come up over your liquid ingredient just a bit. This will ensure a thick, spoon-able smoothie. Add the kale and ginger on the top. Blend until smooth, using the blender’s tamper to push the smoothie around in the blender while you blend.
*we sometimes add a splash of orange juice to this too!
*if we are not having this smoothie with other food, I will add a source of protein or fat – like some coconut oil, an avocado, or some chia seeds.
Enjoy!!
We sure did – thanks to some beautiful summer like weather!
To add to that – my people, except Chad, had the weekend off of work!
You all know I love when everyone is home!
We did have some rain on Saturday afternoon, but the rest of the weekend was gorgeous!
Perfect weather to work outside and finish setting up the pool!
The guys finished the foundation and set it up on Sunday, started filling it with the hose, and then finished the rock around the outside of the pool on Monday.
It turned out great!
Tate was quick to measure himself once the pool was up, hoping he would be able to stand up in it this year.
Maybe next year, buddy!
Lane blew up all of the floats, including this giant turtle.
I think it will be used a lot this year!
Sunday Addie Mae and I ran to a green house to get a few more plants.
Isn’t it beautiful there?
Our favorites came over Sunday evening and we had a camp fire and ate outside!
We had the BEST evening together!!!
Monday was another beautiful day!
We got more work on the yard done and spent the day outside.
The kiddos had a great summer day!
Helping with the work, but playing too!
Addie and I took them for a bike ride and then we came home sweaty and hot and made chunky monkey smoothies.
Chad jumped right in when he got home from work.
The guys leveled off the area under the deck, and we will be putting weed barrier paper and river rock there now.
Our weekend was full of good eating, as usual, too!
Grant got a new smoker and has been smoking all kinds of good things!
Our pups enjoyed being outside too.
This is pretty much how we all felt after a long weekend spent outside!
It did our hearts GOOD to have some summer like weather and to be all together for a couple of days!
Looking forward to many more summer days, Lord willing, spent here at Twin Oaks with my crew!
Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend too!
So thankful for ALL who have served for our country and our freedom!!
Well, of course math went out the window and we had to stop and make the recipe!
It is a great memory and this recipe has stuck around since that day.
These no bake cookies are that good!
To give credit for this recipe, I will say I am positive it was an ABeka math book, but I do not remember what grade Lane was in.
Of course we revised the recipe anyway, to fit our dietary needs!
This is the dairy-free milk and “butter” we use.
I buy our gluten-free oats off of Amazon prime, and this is the brand we use.
These cookies are a great summer treat, because you do not have to turn on the oven!
Let’s get to it so you can go and make them!
No Bake Cookies
1 1/2 cup sugar (we use coconut sugar and only 1 cup)
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine or butter
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
Melt the first four ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove, stirring often. Let it come to a boil, and boil for one minute. Turn off the heat and add the last two ingredients. Stir the oats and peanut butter in thoroughly.
Drop by spoonfuls on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the tray into the freezer to set, and then move the cookies to an air tight container in the fridge.
*we use the small cookie scoop to drop these cookies, and it is fast and efficient!
Enjoy!!
