Pear Mystery - S O L V E D !!!

Bryan and Tracy McConaughy, of the Gig Harbor McConaughys were officially charged today with Pear Larceny in the 3rd degree. Upon interrogation, they plead guilty to the crime. No plea bargains were made, bail was set at one bottle of wine, and a hearing for sentencing has been set for Tuesday. With no prior convictions, it is suspected that the judge will comply with a request for leniency. Their motive was stated to be "boys that really like pears". No futher investigations will be made at this time. This case is now offically closed.

Quote of the Day

"Please stop licking the car, Kaylie"

A Pear Mystery - Reward Offered!

Those of you who know us well have surely been given a bag of pears lately. Or maybe we forced them upon you, but in either case, we had more pears than we could eat. We finally gave away just enough so that we were left with a manageable sized bag. Our bag of well loved, perfectly peary pears lived on our front porch (sounds tacky, I know, but they were happy there - continuing to ripen in the fresh air and being outside meant that the fruit flies weren't in my kitchen.) So here we are... loving our delicious pears, the pears we kept for ourselves, the pears that we harvested with our own hands and guess what... today we came home from work and our bag of pears was gone. Just like that - gone. All that fiber, all that pear goodness, just gone. And really, it's not that the pears were taken that bothers me - I would have given them to anyone who asked. The fact that someone was on our front porch while we were gone is what bothers me. Weird, huh? Do you know anything about the case of the missing pears?

My Laugh for the day

Yes, I do realize that it's probably very wrong to post this picture, but I just can't help it. It makes me laugh too much. Kaylie is now very independent and likes dressing herself. Unfortunately pants are usually put on backwards (seems uncomfortable to me, but she doesn't mind) and panties are often put on... sideways. Somehow she gets the little tiny leg hole up around her waist. If that isn't bad enough, sideways panties seem to only cover one bunny. Who knew?

I will be in so much trouble when Kaylie learns to post pictures and starts getting me back for things like this. Ha!

Summer Cookie Challenge Winner!!!

This is the cookie that won our Summer Cookie Challenge. It was chewy, chocolatey, and just about perfect. Amazing with vanilla ice cream, perfect warm out of the oven. Enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Toffee Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 Heath Candy Bars, crushed
  

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well blended.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in Heath Bar crumbles. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool.

Cookie Challenge, Second Place

Lime Sugar Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• Zest of 2 limes (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature*
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups flour

1. Beat butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and lime zest on medium speed with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle until lightly creamed. Add sour cream, and beat just until blended. Stir in egg yolks and lime juice, scraping down sides of bowl. Add salt, baking powder, and flour, and beat until blended. Chill dough 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar, and place on baking sheets.

3. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges begin to brown; bottoms will look light golden. (For crispier cookies, bake a few additional minutes.) Remove to wire racks to cool.

*Remove eggs from refrigerator, and place in a bowl for 30 minutes.

Raise Your Hand if You Like Candy!

Scaring a Mom to Death

This afternoon Kaylie was playing outside and Mark came in to say, "You've got to see this! Kaylie's up the tree!" I was guessing that she climbed a few feet off the ground. Nope - not our girl. She went all the way to the top and was a good 20 feet off the ground. Look close - that's her smiling little face poking out between the branches. After climbing down with spotting by Mark, we plucked the tree out of her hair and made her promise not to do it again. This girl is giving me wrinkles.

Welcome Baby Girl!

My friend Jayna gave birth to her second little girl, Emma Renae, on September 16th . Emma is welcomed by Jayna, Ed, and 2-year old big sister Paige. Jayna and I lived together in Connecticut and had many, many fun adventures together. I am so happy for you, Jayna! Congratulation! I miss you terribly! XXOO!

Emma Renae
6 lbs. 14 oz
18.5"

We're baaaack!!

Sorry for the long delay in posts... we were having computer problems, but we're back in the game! Hope you've been well! Enjoy!

September Sunrise

Mark took this picture the other morning. While it's hard to see the sun coming up later and later, She's still giving us quite a show!

Malia's 9th Birthday

We celebrated Malia's 9th birthday with a Barbie Princess party complete with Barbie Cupcakes, an ice cream sundae bar and a pinata. What more could a girl ask for - friends, family, sunshine, sugar, & Barbie... a perfect day! Malia was completely spoiled with amazing gifts of a Nintendo DS, an American Girl doll and book set, Webkins, clothes, gift certificates, art supplies... and much much more. She is one loved girl!

It was a full house
Some of the men folk

The birthday girl and BFC (best friend Cousin) Avery

Another guest of honor

Uncle Keith got a little carried away with the whipping cream. Mark thought we should offer a prize to the person who comes up with the best comment for this picture.

Chris & Josh

The pinata line up. Braeden got the first whack... Chris got the whack that brought the whole thing down.

Marty found other uses for the smashed pieces of pinata. I think I'll forward this one to the school board!

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Nicki - my wonderful parents!

Malia and Kari

Braeden always loves a party

Our Tree Climbing Girl

(Check it out - our girl wears panties now!!!!)

Ken's 70th Birthday

Mark's dad, Ken, turned 70 in August and we were so proud to host his birthday bash! Happy Birthday, Ken!
The birthday boy and his brothers Fred, Jim, & Frank

Fruit of Fall

We're knee deep in fruit off our trees and loving it - we've been eating pears and plums like it's going out of style. Sooo goood! Sadly, our apple tree didn't produce a single apple this year.