Bible study and more cupcakes

We had Bible study last night and it went really well!! A lot of great things were shared and I think God had his hand in everything that was said and done. I already did my study for today and read Proverbs 31 woman like Rae suggested...Thanks!! I am striving for that goal. Stay focused in the Lord in all I do!!

I made cupcakes for our group last night and was pleased with them overall but will work on making my cups more realistic and smooth if/when I make them again. The big thing....they tasted good. ;) Here are a few shots of them. Mocha cupcakes with mocha icing and white chocolate candy melts as the cups.

Clara is about to take off crawling...it is so neat to watch her. She is also really starting to try and pull up...thus traveling along furniture. SCARYYY...she is going to give us a run for our money. She has been waiting for her day to be mobile for a looooong time now, I am afraid. ;) I will try to get some video and share it with you guys.

I am getting frustrated with blogger as I cannot move my pictures around like I want lately and downloading my videos is virtually impossible and when I link from YouTube it just shows this big box with an x in it. I might be searching out further options.

Cupcakes....

Today I made cupcakes for my brother-in-law and mother-in-law. We are going to the lake tomorrow for their birthdays. Here are a few shots. The flowers turned out pretty nice. It was my first time doing fondant flowers and using luster dust. They were strawberry cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

The triathlon cupcakes really are sad. =( They did not taste good on top of that. They were chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream frosting. The frosting tasted good but the cake part....too cakey and dry. Looking for a new chocolate cupcake recipe!! If you have one please share it!!

I also went to a baby shower today. A friend of mine had her baby early. She was not due yet but she weighed in over 2lbs. She is doing great though. Her sister was born that early too due to high blood pressure. I saw pics of her and her daddy's wedding band fit on her upper arm. She is a beautiful little thing......named Preslee. I cannot wait to meet her in person. They feel she will be home in a few weeks. She needs to weigh around 5 lbs.

Clara was a hit at the shower as usual. Everyone is always so taken with her. She was personally asked to attend. Robin had not seen her since her welcome home shower. Was she in for a shock...Clara looks like she is 1 year old!! =D She was her precious little self if I do say so myself. Clara had time with her big girl cup today and she did great. I guess I am hesitant for my little baby to be a toddler. It is going by way too quickly!!!

There are somedays I think a 4th child would be fantastic!! Clay is definitely not there yet and there are somedays I wonder what I am thinking....=) I just adore my children and cherish every second I get to spend with them. We will see what God has in store for us. If this is my complete family I am 100% pleased and blessed beyond measure with that.

Catch up....

Okay...I am going to post a host of stuff...to try and catch up and then to stay up on my blog...TRY TO. ;) Life here is hectic, great but hectic. I am trying to get our next school year planned and still trying to catch up from getting back from our trip up north.

Here are some more shots from the north. We visited Ben & Jerry's in Stowe, Vermont, which is absolutely beautiful. We got to visit the flavor graveyard which was neat.

We also went on an Alpine Slide in Stowe. It was a blast!! It is a ski mountain where they have put up a fiberglass slide that runs the length of the mountain. You take a ski lift up to the top which was BEAUTIFUL!!!

We were driving back from Stowe and saw all these cars pulled over to the side of the road. We wondered what they were all looking at and turned around. Here is what we had the privilege to see.

We also went to a science museum which was 100 acres of great fun!! Here are a few shots from that. The bubbles were really neat!! I think I got some good shots of the boys reflections in them. The museum had some great hiking trails. We hiked a good bit. Clara liked the ride piggyback style....easier on mommy's back too. ;) This first pic is of the boys looking at a colony of ants. It was really neat to be able to use a microscope and screen to see them close up.

I also had to throw this shot in. I took it the other day. Clara just LOVES the teething bisuits. It is a great mess which she has a wonderful time enjoying!!! Mommy just loves cleaning that up!

Swimming the Connecticut River, Farm Visit and Simon Pierce tour

Casey's dad, Dave, took us on a boat ride on the Connecticut River. It is beautiful and really cold. It was so refreshing. We found a rope swing on the bank and pulled the boat over and the boys had a blast swinging from it.

We also ran through Dartmouth on the way home. It is beautiful and a wonderful school!! Who knows...the kiddoes might end up attending Dartmouth. It is just so far from home!!! Maybe a great school close to home would be nice too!!! Mike (brother) and Casey (sister-in-law) seem to just adore it since they both happen to be Dartmouth alumni.

We have been very busy. Yesterday we visited Billings Farm and also toured the Rockefeller's home in Vermont. It was very neat. We learned about dairy farming, the museum was neat to see the older ways of doing things. I am sure grateful for the modern-day inventions that we have but it is also bitter sweet. Here are some videos of the farm. It is just beautiful here. If I could pack up the beauty of the northeast and take it down south to the hospitality that we have....I think it would be just perfect!!

We also took a tour of the Rockefeller Mansion. It was really neat to be able to walk through such a large home with so much historical significance. It was left just as though they were going to walk back through the door any minute. The view and gardens were magnificent. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park (19th century home)

This is a view from the front porch. Can you imagine spending your evenings out on the front porch looking out at this view. God is GREAT!!!

We also went last night to have dinner at Dave & Brooke's house (Casey's dad and mil). It was just really neat. I think the home was built in the 1800's (not 100%). They had a couple of lambs and Dave makes his own maple syrup. We had lamb burgers, lamb chops, regular beef burgers, and hot dogs. It was GREAT!! Our salad was straight from Brooke's garden. I really enjoyed getting to know her better. We also walked away with more maple syrup to take back home!!!

This is a picture of the house across the street through the yard. Unfortunately I did not get a total pic of the house. I just got pics of the garden, flowers, boys, sheep, etc. Also the lovely pic of the window with the flowers in the window box is off the house and on the shed leading into the garage and maple syrup shop.The boys had a BLAST tying each other to the tree and then chasing each other around.

We had a tour today at Simon Pearce's. I had not heard of it but it is high-end glass ware. They blow their own glass. We all had the opportunity to watch them make (blow) a few wine glasses. It truly is an amazing craft. I did not take pics as I forgot my camera. Sorry!! We also watched them make some pottery. The entire little business, restaurant, facility is powered by the power of the water/dam that is right beside it. It is truly an awesome thought to use no power other than the water to run a full-size business. I hope to get some shots before we leave town to share with you guys. I am sure you can look it up online also. It is in Woodstock, Vermont I think. We have been in so many small towns I forget. Go to http://www.simonpearce.com/ Really amazing especially to watch it in person. The boys really liked it. Clara and I were HOT!! Clara's favorite part was to watch the beautiful waterfall out in the cool air. =)