How to Make the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

First, you have to start with an excellent baker.

Kendra loves learning to cook. She helps in the kitchen every chance she gets. She even likes to watch cooking shows with me. She had been asking to make cookies for awhile, and we finally got a chance to do it.

So here is our excellent baker.She started with softened butter that we pulled out of the fridge about an hour ago. She added the butter and sugars to our mixer to cream together.

She also added the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla.
Then she mixed the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, measuring carefully.

Then the dry ingredients are added to the mixer, making our delicious cookie dough, but it is still missing one important thing.

Chocolate!

Kendra mixed in the chocolate chips, then started shaping our cookies.

After that is done, the baker gets to clean the dishes of the cookie dough while the cookies bake.

The best chocolate chip cookies...

are the ones you make and enjoy with your kids.

Yummy!

If you'd like our favorite recipe, we got it here.

I love you more than anything

I don't want to forget this morning, so I am going to blog about it.

Every morning when I drop Camryn off for school, she has a sweet little routine. After she gets out of the car and the door is closed, she hands motions "I love you" (pointing at herself then making a heart shape with her hands then pointing at me). Then she mouths the words "more than anything." This last part evolved from games of "I love your more..., " now she just says "I love you more than anything." Then I return the same message and we blow kisses at each other (catching them dramatically). Then she runs to the playground. This is a routine that Kent started with Camryn and I love it.

This morning was going just this way. After she was out of the car and the door was closed, she did her signal for "I love you more than anything." Then she stopped, opened the car door, and jumped over the passenger seat to give me the biggest hug. She said, "I love you, mommy."
I hugged her back and told her, I love you too, Camryn, so much!" Then she got out and blew her kisses and ran to school.

It was such a small thing, but it made my day.
Thank you, Camryn, for showing me you love me.
I love you more than anything.

School Pictures

September 2011.

Camryn

1st Grade

Kendra

Pre-Kindergarten

We took pictures of Kendra at home that morning before school.

I put their hair in spiral curlers the night before. In the morning when I took them out, Camryn cried because her hair was up to her chin. She thought she looked like a boy because it was so short. Kent and I tried to assure her that she did not look like a boy (she looked more like Shirley Temple). With a curling iron, I worked on relaxing her curls a bit. Camryn completely rejects the idea of using curlers ever since.

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Kendra liked her curls.

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I sure love my beautiful girls, curls or no curls!

A Super Halloween

Our girls were so excited to carve pumpkins last week. They were all ready to get their hands slimy and clean out the pumpkins.

Corinne was trying so hard to do it just like her sisters. She had to have her scoop, and would copy everything they did.

Slimy!

We helped the girls carve out their designs. Kent and I did the tricky stuff, but Camryn and Kendra both carved a lot of their own pumpkins. They turned out great!

Kendra made a cat.

Corinne made a silly jack-o-lantern face. She didn't carve much. She really didn't carve at all, but she did get a few seeds out.

Camryn made Jack's face. I guess she likes the Nightmare before Christmas.

Then we were ready for candles.

Pretty cool jack-o-lanterns!

I was able to make it to Camryn's Halloween party at school again this year. The teacher wasn't there that day, because her daughter was sick.

Also, the room mom is supposed to plan the parties. She did nothing.

The substitute teacher was great at improvising though.

Someone bought treats for the class and a 24 count pack of toilet paper.

The kids got into pairs, then turned each other into mummies!

Camyrn's partner was Carolina. She was in Camryn's class last year, and they are in the same class again.

First Camryn turned Carolina into a mummy.

Then Carolina turned Camryn into a mummy.

Pretty good mummies, if you ask me.

The kids had a hard time keeping the toilet paper on their bodies. It would tear easily and slip off. They put it back on themselves as good as they could for a group picture.

Then the teacher had them gather up all the toilet paper for one final fling!

All of the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. I'm glad I was able to be there.

Later that night, our family got ready to go trick-or-treating.

SuperGirl!

BatGirl!

Girl Robin!

Superwomen family!

Don't mess with us!!!

Happy Halloween!!!