Maddox

Took these pictures of Maddox yesterday afternoon while we were outside playing.

Homemade chicken and dumplings by Sean

I came home today from Brendan's baseball game to homemade chicken and dumplings simmering on the stove. Sean is a lover of chicken and dumplings, and while I was gone he found a recipe online, had Brian take him to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients, and had them completely cooked by the time I arrived. He's good! They are absolutely delicious, and the pot is nearly empty.

Recipe can be found here.

8-1

Another win! The Angels won 4-3 against Oldsmar today, and the kids had a great time. The Oldsmar field has an artificial pitchers mound, and it just seemed weird. Two more games for the fall season, and then an in-house tournament.

Another win

The Angels won against the Yankees 11-6 on Wednesday night. I took advantage of the light just before the sun set to get a couple of Bren in the dugout.

Erin is a finalist!

My silly picture of Erin is a finalist in the 5M4M photo contest. Voting is now open, and each person can vote once per day. Please go to www.5minutesformom.com and vote for us. You are voting for the picture you see below. Thank you all in advance!

Another one of our neighbors

This is the small one that lives in the lake behind us, and she's been up on land every day for the past few weeks. She must be enjoying the cooler weather. She's usually in the back yard of one of our neighbors, but yesterday and today she decided to rest up on the concrete bank of the lake.

Greyson

His favorite spot in the house is on Tony's bed, right in front of the window. The sun shines in, and he's happy.

A weekend of baseball

This was a weekend full of baseball. The league tournament started Saturday morning, and ended with the championship game this evening. The Angels had one game yesterday, and won 7-2, so they advanced to the finals today. They played this afternoon at 1pm, and they won 11-3. The championship game was at 3:30. The Angels were down 6-0 after the second inning, and ended up coming back to tie the game with the last play of the game (which was a run by Brendan). Unfortunately the other team ended up winning in overtime, 8-7. Our guys played an awesome game, and their coach told them that he would take a loss with the way that they played any day. It was so much fun. I love weekends that are filled with watching Bren play ball (despite the fact that we were all freezing out there this weekend with highs in the 60's!). They are back to regular season ball on Wednesday.

Bren earned an RBI with this at-bat.

Bren was the only pitcher in the first game today that didn't give up any runs during the inning.

He got a double from this hit.

Bren with his second place medal after the championship game.

Brendan minus braces

After three years and four months Brendan is finally without his braces, and he's so happy. His teeth look great. He's trying to get used to wearing his retainer 24/7, but not complaining much since it's a lot better than braces.

Sean will have his removed next Friday, and I will finally be done with braces!

Baseball boy

I found these two pictures of Brendan. He was just four years old in these pictures. They aren't great quality since they were scanned in, but you can see that he has been a baseball boy for a long time! He was such a little peanut.

Game #5

Another win for the Angels, and they are now 5-1. Bren had two great line drives. His next game is in three days (Tuesday), and then they have a tournament next weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

Getting ready to run after a great hit.

On second base (actually off of it trying to steal between hits).

The second hit, and he's off.

Maddox and Play-Doh

This boy loves his Play-Doh. He got quite a few things for his birthday, and this afternoon he spent some time playing with the Octopus set.

Silly girl

One of the blogs that I read frequently, www.5minutesformom.com, is having a silly kids photo contest. The funny thing about this picture of Erin is that it is so indicative of her personality. This was totally unprompted while celebrating her 5th birthday in 2007. She is constantly making me laugh.

Pumpkins!

Took a quick trip with the kiddos to the local pumpkin patch just a couple miles from the house. Tony bought two large pumpkins, and we are going to carve them tomorrow. He's going to roast the seeds!

The youngest member of the Harper family

Brianna is the baby of my cousin, Ben, and his wife, Ally. Ben is the youngest grandchild, and his daughter is the youngest member of our entire family. She's definitely a cutie!

Game #5

The first loss of the season, but the Angels are still 4-1. I'm so proud of Bren. He plays his hardest every game, and puts forth 100% effort.

This was a great hit.

Running back to the dugout after a line drive was actually caught by the opposing team.

Apple Cake with Maple-Walnut Glaze

This is an all time favorite of nearly everyone that has tasted it. It is incredible. Make sure to use 100% maple syrup and not the fake Aunt Jemima crap. If it's feeling like Fall where you are then this will fit in perfectly.

Apple Cake with Maple-Walnut Glaze

Cake:

2.25 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1.5 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups grated peeled tart apples (about 3 apples)

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

1.5 cups pure maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 10-inch tube pan (do not use tube pan with removable bottom). Line bottom with parchment paper; spray paper with nonstick cooking spray.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until blended. Stir in oil until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in eggs, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 tsp vanilla until blended. Stir in apples, raisins and 1 cup walnuts until combined. Spoon batter into pan; smooth top with spatula.

Bake 1 hour or until top feels firm and wooden skewer inserted in center comes out moist but clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan and center tube to loosen cake. Invert onto wire rack; remove parchment. Turn cake top side up to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together cornstarch and water. Place 1.5 cups maple syrup and cornstarch mixture in medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium; boil 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Spoon over top of cooled cake, letting glaze drizzle down sides.

Erin

On the lanai working on her math workbook. She stayed out there for about an hour.

Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

If you are a fan of peanut butter, then you will definitely want to make these. The bottom is a dense brownie/bar, and the top is a light and fluffy peanut butter concoction. These are so easy to make, and they are truly delicious!

Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter

1.5 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

Frosting:

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup shortening

4 cups confectioners sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

Topping:

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp shortening

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

Transfer to a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake at 350º for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, in a small bowl, cream the peanut butter, shortening and confectioners sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost bars.

In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over frosting. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home Fall Baking Cookbook