2.16 through 2.21

2.16.10

Sunshine (:

2.17

*Happy Early Birthday Mikey* 

I am so against early birthday gifts. But...Mike's birthday is March 10 -- like the middle of spring & I was worried that he wouldn't be able to wear his longed for high neck hoodie for very long if I waited to give it to him!! He LOVES it! I think he's worn it every single day since I gave it to him!

2.18

Frozen bird waterer in the front yard!

2.19

"Cowboy Cookies" (thanks Gene / Tasty Kitchen for the recipe!)

I took these to the LOST party the night before & they were a HUGE hit! I made Mike take the rest to work so I wouldn't eat 20 of them! 

Here's the recipe:

MIX: 1 cup white sugar (or Splenda), 1 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

ADD 2 eggs to the above mixture.

IN A SEPARATE BOWL sift together 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. ADD to sugar/butter/egg mixture.

ADD 2 cups oats, 1 pack (12oz) semisweet chocolate chips, 1 cup craisins, 1 cup butterscotch chips (I left these out because I didn't have any), 1 small bag chopped pecans (or nuts of your preference---I used hazelnuts and the sweet hazelnutty taste was great vs the tartness of the craisins!) 

BAKE at 350 degrees on greased baking sheet for 8-9 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack (otherwise they are so soft and gooey that they will fall apart!)

*You can mix & match the ingredients...the recipe called for raisins, but I don't like them, so I used craisins...you can add other kinds of nuts or chocolate chips ...whatever you like!

 2.20

Mike & I did yard work at his parents house for the afternoon  (after a class at church / before a shower for Will & Julie!) -- I took a photo shoot break (: 

2.21

Shadows on the front porch....our hangout spot for a lot of the afternoon because it was so beautiful!!