Sunday, June 5, 2011

A weekend to remember!

Over Christmas break, the decision was made (inspired by Marie) that we would all run a half-marathon in May. After 5 months of training, tired bodies, blisters galore, many fixes of gatorade and protein drinks... we have all complete a half-marathon. Yes...13.1 miles! It feels great to be done and I may even consider doing another. As for now, the recliner feels the best it has felt in months! :)

Our running encouragement!

The Glaser/Drakes and our inspiration "Marie"



Saturday, May 7, 2011

Cake Pops

For Easter Caitlin and I tried out a new recipe... cake pops! They were a hit! Although it was a 5 hour long process, they were worth every minute. Below you will see the steps to these wonderful party favors, holiday center pieces, birthday treats, or just a yummy dessert.

First you bake a cake, let it cool, and mix it with one tub of your favorite frosting. We used red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. We also did rainbow chip cake with vanilla frosting.

While mixing the cake with frosting, using your hands is the best method to get it completely mixed! :)

Next you roll the mixture into small balls and place one sucker stick into each ball. After the sticks are in each cake ball, place the pan in the freezer for approximately an hour.

One step that was not pictured is the dipping process. After they sit in the freezer, melt your white chocolate or whatever kind you wish and dip each cake ball into the white chocolate and sprinkle before placing it in your styrofoam to dry.

Ta da!!!! The cake pops are complete and beautiful! You place a small mini see through bag around each pop and place colored ribbon to seal it. They taste best if stored in the fridge!

Blessed by GREAT friends!

This year we have been blessed by our amazing friends, The Andersons. God brought them to Coeur d' Alene to bless us in many ways. They came so that Landon could student teach at Aaron's school, and what started as a dinner date to hang out moved on to be a wonderful friendship!

Landon and Danielle have three adorable boys we have also fallen in love with. Landon and Aaron share the same crazy sense of humor, and the husbands would say that Danielle is my twin! :) Although they may be moving back to Arizona come summer time, they will forever hold a special place in the Drake's home and hearts! :) We have now adopted the names "Drakester" and "Bonster" from our friend Landon. We love them!

Our dinner date to Wolfe Lodge!



Saturday, January 15, 2011

Christmas and Suncadia

This Christmas break was full of excitement, relaxation, wonderful company, snowy days, and great family time. We spent Christmas with the whole family in Ellensburg. It was very relaxing, but we also found time to make a giant snowman on Christmas morning and go sledding up at our old childhood sledding hill. The day after Christmas my parents took us all to Suncadia resort for a small vacation. We had a blast! We ate yummy (expensive) food, went sledding, swam, went ice skating, played games, and enjoyed time together as a family (plus Marie). :) It was a Christmas to remember!
On our way to go sledding!

We loved having Marie join us!

Our 2nd Christmas together as the "Drakes".

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Favorites...

I love everything about Christmas time! It is one of those times of year that brings so much joy and happiness to my life. Most importantly, it is when we get to celebrate the gift of Jesus! Although it can often be overlooked by presents, lights, snow, cookies, etc, I am forever grateful for Jesus' birth. Here are a few of my favorite things about the holiday season...

Baking Cookies: I love to eat AND bake Christmas cookies. A few of my favorites include caramels, fudge, and traditional sugar cookies.

Wrapping Presents: I have loved wrapping presents since I was very young. I love turning on Christmas music, sitting on the floor, and wrapping presents!

Christmas Cards: This might possibly be my favorite. I love putting together a Christmas card and letter to send out, addressing the letter, mailing the letter, and then in return I LOVE receiving Christmas cards. 1 o' clock mail couldn't come soon enough the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Decorations: We are one of those families who decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. If I could keep x-mas decorations up all year... I would!! They are so cozy and cute!! :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

My new favorite place...

I have always had a passion for decorations/home decor. Whether its decorating our home, shopping at home decor stores, looking through model homes at the decor, etc... I LOVE IT!! As of one month ago, Coeur d' Alene got the most amazing home decor store. The name... REAL DEALS. It is a franchise so you may have heard of it, but if not... you need to find the one nearest to you! All "Real Deal" stores may look a little different, but they all are quaint, inspiring, inexpensive, and only open two days a week. :) Go to www.realdeals.net to check it out!

Monday, October 18, 2010