BNSF Family day

 Every September BNSF has a Family day in the back of the campus.  They have tents with food, crafts for the kids, raffle tickets, and train displays.  It is a lot of fun.  We showed up early and the kids were able to do all the fun activites without waiting in line.  We had lots of yummy dilly bars from Dairy Queen and hot dogs, chips, and bbq sandwiches.  A fun Day!

 This is the first thing Callie did.  Preston was not interested.  She enjoyed it. 

 Go Callie!

 Then the guy in the orange needed an adult to go on the other trampoline and no one was willing too.  I said I would be up for it.  It was really fun and it was free, so why not!  The guy even taught me how to do a back flip.  Taylor of course didn't get it on camera.  But it was cool to say I did a flip. 

 Callie thought it was neat that we were doing it together. 

 This year they had a small zip line.  Preston waited in line with Taylor and Callie and found out he couldn't ride with his Daddy.   He was out.  Callie did great and wasn't scared until she hit the wall at the end.  But it was padded and no big deal. 

 There she goes. 

 Lots of different bounce house's too. 

 They dressed up in BNSF gear and were able to move cranes with a remote control and knock over cones. 

Preston moving the crane to knock over the cone. He did really good.

 

 Callie's turn.  The man helping let Callie take control.  She had a harder time knocking over the cone. 

 

 Onto crafts.  They painted wooden trains with sharpie paint pens.  Not messy and the kids sat there for an hour.  They didn't want to leave. 

A miniature train city.  A lot of work to set this up. 

Your cordially invited to a Birthday tea party!

 My friend had a tea party birthday for her little girl turning 3.  She is fabulous at making cakes and throwing parties!

 The Birthday girl on the right.  Her mom made her dress out of this amazing lace.

 All the little girls were able to decorate hats with ribbon, lace, and flower decals.  Even us moms were lucky to make one.  They turned out so cute.  They can use them for dress up at home.   

 Then they made bracelets with pretty beads.

 Getting ready to have tea (lemonade w/ raspberry flavoring)

 Loved the name tags!

 My friend served cucumber sandwiches, pb & j sandwiches in the shape of butterflies, and strawberries.

 Next was dress up.  Paige really got into it with the boas.

All the moms wore their prettiest dresses too!  It was fun to dress up.  

Preston's first day of soccer

 Stretching!  So cute.  His coach kept asking Preston if he was 5.  He is small for his age and thought he was in the 3/4 year old team.  Maybe next time I should bring his birth certificate.

 He did very good listening to the instructions.

 Paige had fun playing at the park right behind us.

1st day of soccer practice

 This was the first time Callie has ever played soccer before.  She really liked it.

 She was so exhausted from all the running up and down the field.  Her face was so red as you can tell from the pictures.

Her soccer coach is the nicest guy.  He played professional soccer for Mexico and still has a team he plays with 2 times a week.  He is obviously dedicated and loves the game if he practices 2 times a week for himself and 2 times a week for Callie's team.

2nd day of school.

 My camera broke so I wanted to get some pictures with my new one.

 Callie said I didn't need to walk Preston in because she knew where his class was and would take him.    What a nice sister.

 The first day Taylor picked them up from school.  They now ride the bus home everyday.  They were very nervous they might get on the wrong bus but they did fine.

Preston made this his first day of kindergarten.  Sorry it's going the wrong direction.   It was a poem of what they were going to learn this year.

First Day of School 2012-2013

 Callie is in 2nd grade this year.  She was excited to start school and a lot of kids from 1st grade are in class again this year.

 Preston has a great teacher for kindergarten.  He wasn't sad at all for me to leave.

Callie had a different outfit picked for the 1st day and she changed her mind to this dress.  While waiting in line to get into school we saw a girl with her original pick and she told me when she got home 2 other girls had this maroon dress on.

French toast cupcakes with maple frosting and bacon sprinkles

Love these cupcakes.  My favorite cupcake I ever had!  I have noticed you either love them or hate them.  Many weird faces.  My friend had them made for our family's going away party in California.  

Ingredients
Cupcakes
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs, separated
6-8 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Maple Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons heavy cream, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon maple extract 

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.  With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar on  high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla and set aside.  Add the egg yolks to the creamed butter one at time, waiting for each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next.  Alternately, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, waiting for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next.  Raise the speed to medium and mix briefly until a smooth batter is formed. 

Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Thoroughly clean the bowl of the mixer and put the egg whites inside. Whip the egg whites on high speed, using the whisk attachment, until stiff peaks are formed. Working in 3 batches, using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter, until just incorporated. Divide the batter evenly among the cups in the muffin pan. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, mix the butter and sugar on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the heavy cream and maple extract. Beat until fluffy and well blended.  May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with crisp, crumbled bacon.