Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake-Off

My friend Jeni is doing a bake-off to find the best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don't know if mine are the best but we sure do like them!! Happy Baking, Jeni!!

4 1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. salt

1 c. shortening

1 c. margarine or butter

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla

12 oz. chocolate chips

Mix together flour, baking soda , and salt. In large mixing bowl cream together shortening and butter. Add sugars, then the vanilla and eggs. Add flour mixture. Blend in chocolate chips. Drop unto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

This makes a lot of cookies. The recipe can be divided in half....but what I do is make the whole thing and then divide the dough in half. I bake up half of the cookies and freeze the rest of the cookie dough for another time. Delicious! :)

36 Minutes 20 Seconds

This is how long it took me to run/walk 3 miles today. Cary and I have set a goal to run a race in October. He is running a marathon. I am going to run a 5k. I have never been a runner so I am not sure why I have decided to do this. To many 3 miles isn't that big of a deal but it has been a huge challenge for me every time I do it. I have found though that once I am in "the zone" I actually enjoy it. What I hate is that I am completely drenched in sweat and my face is bright red when I am done.........but I do hope that by October I can accomplish this goal and that I don't kill over at the end of it. Wish me luck!!

Last Disney Post......I Promise!

Pooped Out!!

The kids were exhausted after our 6 days at Disney World. We all had a fabulous time but were happy to get home to our own beds. We look forward to making another trip in the next 2 to 3 years. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Disney World it is well worth it!! We love Disney!!

Down Time

This is what we did when we were not at any of the Disney Parks. The house we rented had a fabulous pool. It was to cold for me to get in, but the kids absolutely loved it. The pool was totally screened so we didn't have to deal with any yucky Florida bugs. While the kids would swim I just lounged around and ate. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

Epcot

Last, but not least we went to Epcot. We only spent one day here and again we needed at least two. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy Epcot because everyone I have talked to has mixed reviews about it. I loved it though. There aren't as many rides like at Magic Kingdom but there is still so much do and see and learn. I would really love to go back with just Cary and explore the countries more. Maybe for our 15th anniversary in a couple of years......

We had to get a picture in front of the huge "golf ball" as Kate liked to call it.

There was a flower show going on at Epcot while we were there. We didn't get to walk through it, but there was still flowers all over the place. There were tons of good places to take pictures.

Kate was amazed by this fountain. She could have sat there for hours.

Epcot has amazing aquariums. This one was just outside the Nemo ride. We also saw a show called, Turtle Talk with Crush. It was really cute. It was an audience participation show and the kids thought it was hilarious. They learned when and how to say Dude, Sweet, and Right on!!

Fish are friends....not food!




Believe it or not Epcot is where we met most of the Disney characters. Joshua got lots of autographs for his souvenir book. Grandma even got it on the action with Goofy.
These dummies were hanging out at the Test Track. We had to force Braden on to this ride, but as soon as it was over he wanted to get back on. He couldn't get enough of it.
This picture was taken in the World Showcase. I lost track of which country it is. There was so much to do and see here but we ran out of time and energy. There was so many different kinds of food and drinks, shops, and attractions that it is almost over whelming.
Throughout all of the parks they have topiaries of all the different Disney Characters. Kate really wanted this picture with Pluto. He was her favorite until she met Mickey.
The kids were so tired that we didn't stay for Illuminations. I know we missed something fantastic but they were worn out. I am sure we will catch it on another trip. One of the kids favorite ride was called Living with the Land. I was so surprised by this. It is a 13 and half minute boat ride that takes you through the rain forest and Disney's greenhouses. I was surprised to see all the fruit and veggies that are grown there. They had tomatoes growing up in the air instead of in pots or in the ground. They also had actual pumpkins shaped as Mickey's head. Not only was it educational but it was actually fun. The kids loved it. That's all they could talk about that day.

Side Note: I promise only a few more posts about our Disney trip and I will move onto something else......:)

Animal Kingdom

We spent one day at Animal Kingdom and could have used two. The park closed at 5p.m. so we hurried to get as much in as possible. We were there from the time it opened until it closed. We were exhausted by the end of the day.

Tree of Life......this picture really doesn't do it justice. It is a huge, fake tree, but it looks so real. It has lots of different animals carved into it. It is amazing what Disney can do.

I can't remember this monkey's name but he is from Tarzan.......Turk, maybe??

Animal Kingdom was all Kate could talk about when we told her we were going to Disney World. Those who know her know her love of animals, especially Tigers. She was so excited to go on the safari. She wanted to see a tiger so bad, but we didn't. We did get to see cheetahs though, which is a rare treat from what our tour guide said. We also learned that the animals have the right of way in the Animal Kingdom. As we were on our tour we had some ostriches that took there sweet time crossing the road. The kids absolutely loved that!!
Look closely and you will see cheetahs....

It's tough to be a Bug was an amazing 3D show. Another of my favorites. It stars the bugs from the movie Bugs Life. You get a bug's eye view of what insects might go through everyday. It was so funny, but can also be a little scary for little kids. Kate wasn't so sure about it.

Another amazing carving...

I think we saw this bat on the Pangani Exploration Trail. As we were looking at the bats I thought there was a glass window in between us and the bats, but then I saw someone reach there hand through.....no glass! They were humongous and a little scary!

As were were walking through the park we saw some tribes men coming through dancing and singing. Joshua stopped in his tracks and began watching and then started dancing with them. One of the tribes men saw this and handed him his baton thing and had him join in on their dance. He was so thrilled! It was fun to watch! When we came out of the Dinosaur ride (which was very scary) we decided to take a few minutes to sit in the shade and rest. My kids saw this Disney employee in front of a huge dinosaur skeleton and began talking to her. They were literally there for almost 20 minutes talking her ear off. The kids, especially Braeden, had tons of questions for her and she really didn't seem to mind.

Mickey's jammin' Jungle Parade

Beautiful Kate.... This is the last thing we did for the day......The Lion King Show. Another do not miss show. There were amazing performers, singers, acrobats, floats, and of course several of the characters from the movie.
I would have to say the Animal Kingdom was my second favorite park. We missed so much stuff that I definitely need to go back. We got in a lot of the shows and the rides so we missed a lot of the trails and Camp Minnie-Mickey. Animal Kingdom was definitely a high light or our trip!

Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom is probably my favorite park of all the Disney Parks. There is so much to do and see. We spent 2 days here and loved every minute of it!

The boys really didn't want a picture in front of Cinderella's Castle so I tricked them into getting a picture in front of the Clydesdale. Hee hee!
This little alien guy was outside of the Mosters Inc. Laugh Floor. It was a really cute show. It was set up like a comedy club. Our laughter was captured to provide power for Monstropolis.
Cary and the kids rode the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway while me and my mom rode Space Mountain. The lines were so short that we were able to get out in time to catch this picture.

Grandma and Joshua on the Astro Orbitor.

Captain Hook....Arrrgh!

This was in Liberty Square. I love the expression on Braeden's face. You would think he was really going to be beheaded.
This was Kate's most favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom. She kept saying faster, faster. I tried to get a picture of her, but we were going way to fast. There was no wait in the line so we did this two times in row......I don't recommend this. Before we had kids Cary and I went to Disney Land and he had the song "It's a Small World" in his head for years. So he refused to go on this ride again. So while he went to get a fast pass I took the kids. How can you go to Disney and not ride It's a Small World? After we got off this ride Joshua said, "Your right Dad, that ride brain washes you."

A nice lady offered to take our picture in front of Splash Mountain. This is the only picture that we have of us all together.

Timon and Rafiki
This is at Mickey Mouse's house. He grows huge pumpkins the same shape as his head.
At the end of the night Disney has two different shows. They have a fire works show that is amazing.....pictures don't do it justice. That was my 2nd favorite night time show. The other show they have is Spectromagic. Honestly, I have to say I was a little disappointed. We saw the Electromagic parade at Disney Land and it was much better. This show that we saw was to long because the floats were so far apart. We would get so excited to see a float and then wait what seemed like forever to see the next one. Don't get me wrong it was still good, but Disney has such high expectations that I think this fell short. I still wouldn't have missed it though!


One of my other favorite shows that we saw while at the Magic Kingdom was Mickey's Philharmagic. It was so good that Kate, my mom, and I saw it twice. It is a 3D movie with smells, special effects, and lots of surprises. You do not want to miss this show! It was awesome!! There was so much more that we did and that I took pictures of but I can't post it all. We had such a fabulous time and can't wait to go back!