Cinnamon Chip Scones

These are some of the best scones I've ever had. I asked Laura Leach for the recipe after my first bite.

Hope you enjoy making them too!

Cinnamon Chip Scones
Whisk together:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
Add ½ cup butter mixing until mixture resembles coarse meal.   
Add ½ package cinnamon chips (hard to find, but made by Hershey).
Whisk together ¼ cup sour cream; 3 T cream; 1 egg.  
Add to flour mixture, using fork to mix till moist clump forms.  
Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth.  
Pat into 8” circle and cut into 8 wedges.  
Transfer individual triangles to baking sheet.  
Brush surface with cream; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  
Bake at 425 about 12-15 minutes.

Memorial Day

We had fun with the Pinkley's on Memorial Day! Thanks for having us over for fun times!!

A little pool time and BBQ.

The three girls got to come and play, too!

Later that day the ladies flew home (not on this plane :)

I'm sure thankful for the trip they made and miss them tons!

Surprise Girls Trip!

This was a crazy weekend...I have never been so surprised! I was expecting my friend Rachel to visit from Wednesday to Monday. Then Friday morning I woke up to Hannah here, and Saturday I woke up to Karina here! We had such a wonderful time together. These are precious friends!!

Exercise walk Friday morning.

Keeping Hannah awake after the night flight and converting her to IBC mugs :)

We played outside on the tree swing.

And by the creek.

Savannah enjoying a cookie at the cul-de-sac potluck dinner Friday.

Playing with the neighborhood cat.

After the cul-de-sac potluck dinner Friday night, we went to Old Town and had crepes at Fontaine. 

Then Saturday morning we had another surprise...Karina! 

Snuggles with Rachel.

All four of us headed into D.C. for the day and Jesse was home with the little ones. 

We played tourists...paddle boats...

Then the Old Post Office.

We had a great view of all of D.C. from the tower.

After a drive down Embassy Row, we hit up 2 Amys. Root beer cheers to sweet friends.

After some shopping, we headed home and played in the backyard.

Hugs!

That night Jesse grilled some steaks.

All ready for church!

 

Some Lilly scratches before Sunday School.

Sunday afternoon we left Jesse and the girls napping and hit up Old Town again.

Coffee at Misha's.

Down by the pier.

Then we shared gelato at Boccato. 

Sunday night was a pool party. Savannah and Jesse poolside.

After the neighborhood pool party, we did nails :)

OK, Memorial Day photos later.

Rachel's Here!

 The Johnsons are super happy to have Rachel here with us all the way from CA!

The girls just love her. Maddie keeps saying, "It's so exciting that Rachel gets to sleep here again tonight."

 Maddie on the tree swing. Sometimes my tummy flips when Jesse pushes her high!

 Rachel and I have known each other since 1997, but we have become closer friends in the last 5 years. I'm so thankful for her love for the Lord, and generous love towards others.

Maddie and Rach built a tent in the living room today and are doing some art projects inside. Since I'm not allowed to peek at what they're doing, I'm blogging :)

More fun posts of Rach to come!

Lake Anna with the Pinkstons

 This past weekend we had a wonderful time with the Pinkston's at their lake house. The kids had a blast playing together, and so did the adults! Here are some photos of our time there...

  Savannah played for hours in the sand box.

 "Big Maddie" (Madeline is also called Maddie, so our Maddie endearingly calls her "Big Maddie") was a mother's helper all weekend long!

Maddie came over to warm up in the sun after swimming. 

Sophie and Aiden are as cute as can be!

 Bode was quite the fisherman- he could bait, catch, and release his own fish! He told Madison that he would teach her to be a pro fisherman when she grew up...so cute! 

(And yes, the Pinkstons have 2 adorable little puppies!)

Life vests were a must :)

Here's how the adults spent most of the weekend...talking and watching the kids. It was a great time of spiritual conversations, games, and laughs!

 We took their boat out- so much fun for all!

 

Aden, Madison, and Madeline couldn't stop smiling on the tube! 

 Savannah just snuggled to stay warm.

 Here's the girls being silly before we went to dinner one night. 

 Evening play time by the water.

 We did fireworks one night...what a treat!

 Sunset was so peaceful. Actually, all of it was very relaxing. 

Thank you Pinkstons for a fantastic time away with you!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm thankful for today...church, McDonald's for lunch, naps, Papa John's for dinner with the Pinkley's and a walk. Mother's Day really is celebrated every day of the year. I feel appreciated when my kids learn something new from me, overcome a battle of the will, or give me a smile and say "Mom, I love you to the moon and back." It isn't just not cooking or gifts that make Mother's Day, rather for me it's the love and respect Jesse teaches the kids to have for me every day.

Here's a great article on being a mom. Hope you take some time to read about being a mom that evangelizes.

Playgroup

Since Jesse preaches 3 services on Sunday, I'm kinda on my own at church :) I've joined an Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) called TeamMates. I love this group! We're going through the Art of Marriage workbook, which has been so good. Since Jesse isn't there in the class, he and I have been enjoying talking about it on our date night (at home on the couch :). So, that's all beside the point to the pictures below! These pictures are from a TeamMates playgroup we had at our house today. Enjoy!

 The new sandbox was a huge hit! We found this on the side of the street with a "free" sign. all we had to do was add sand- sweet deal!

 All the babies and their cute mommies!

 Swinging!

 Down by the creek.

Picnic lunch on the grass. We had so much fun this morning! At nap time Maddie asked if all of our friends could come back over tonight for another "party"!