Last Minute Trip

On the road again. This time we headed south to Austin to meet up with my parents and brother, Alex. The trip was a surprise to Alex for his birthday and we couldn't wait to get there and celebrate. By celebrate I of course mean eating as much BBQ as we possibly could in 3 days. 

We went to Gospel Brunch at Stubb's BBQ on Sunday morning. Greg and I are big fans of Stubb's and had the opportunity to go to Gospel Brunch in our younger, pre-baby years. It was hard to appreciate the experience at the time as we were, shall I say recuperating, from an open bar wedding and previous night on 6th Street. This time it was awesome. My dad made sure our table had a view of the stage but wasn't too close to the speakers for Kennedy's little ears. She had the time of her life clapping and kicking to the music. The weather was gorgeous to we strolled up and down Congress before taking the little lady back to the hotel for a nap. My dad, Greg and Alex went out to listen to music at night while my mom and I snacked on sweet treats and kept Kennedy for the evening.

Since it was such a nice evening we decided to drive out to the Salt Lick for dinner. If you haven't been there, its like the Holy Grail of BBQ in Austin and is a "must-do" if you are ever in town. Guaranteed hour wait but they always have live music and a big open area where you can BYO beer and wine to enjoy before dinner.  We all sipped on pre-dinner drinks while Kennedy enjoyed all the open space and other kids running around.

The next morning we ate BBQ again. Kidding. We made a stop at the Kolache Factory before hitting the road back to Dallas. It was a quick trip but a really fun way to celebrate Alex's birthday. 

 

Kennedy and Lainey waiting for brunch.

Best seart in the house.

Yummy Time.

We ate about 15 lbs of this.

Collecting rocks.

She was running around yelling "home run!"

Exploring the grounds at the Salt Lick.

Gramps and Alex

I said, "Greg, make a nice face." 

No more. I can't even look at another bite of food.

Monday morning conference call.

Midland Gun Show

Last weekend we loaded up the car and drove to Midland for a visit. Grammyflash was recovering from surgery and we thought a visit from one of her grand-babies would brighten her day. 

Kennedy made her grandparents very happy by learning how to put her Guns up. Let me back up a second, there's a bit of a Hunter Family rivalry since Greg and Ross went to UT, while his parents went to Texas Tech. Anyway, she found this little Yo Samity Sam looking guy (apparently he's called Raider Red) that plays the Texas Tech fight song and danced and held her little gun up in the air. Her grandparents were beaming. Greg was cringing because he had just taught her how to put her Horns up. He let it slide this time. But rest assured he is already looking for a singing Bevo for the house.

All Kennedy's friends are loaded in the wagon for a ride.

Valentines Day 2012

Kennedy went to school on Valentine's Day and got to have a special party with her classmates. When she got home (and had a nice, long nap) she had fun opening her Valentine's from all her sweet friends and family. "We" made a special dinner and decorated the table to surprise Greg when he got home from work. 

Checking out all her cute Valentines.

Being silly.

Little Sweetheart

Red balloons. Heart smocked dress. Little sweetie. All the makings for some adorable Valentine's Day cards. Hope you enjoy today with your loved ones. 

Valentines for their school teachers. 

Kennedy (technically, Kennedy's mommy) made these for all her little friends at playgroup. 

Superbowl Sweets

We went to our friends Evan and Sally's for a "baby friendly" Superbowl party. We thought there would be a handful of littles there. But seriously, the price of admission was at least one child. There were so many kids! Kennedy and her friend Emily had a great time, as per usual. They were the Big Kids at this party and loved running the show. Our wonderful hosts made some delish BBQ, drinks and snacks. I made some dangerously delicious Salted Peanut Butter truffles. Just wanted to share the recipe. You will make many, many friends if you show up to a soiree with a plate of these.

Kennedy and Emily sharing window kisses.  

Make these. Make friends. 

Salted Peanut Butter Truffles

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
18 ounce jar smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound box confectioner’s sugar
1 cup chocolate wafers
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (can be substituted with regular sea salt or kosher salt)

In a large bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes on high power. Add the vanilla extract and salt then mix with a spoon until smooth.

Add one cup of confectioner’s sugar and mix until incorporated. Continue to add the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, melt 3/4 cup of the chocolate wafers in the microwave for 1 minute on 50% power. Mix the chocolate with a spoon and continue to microwave for 30 minutes at 50% power until it is melted. The chocolate may not appear melted until you mix it. Add the remaining chocolate wafers and mix until smooth.

Spoon small mounds (approx. 2 teaspoons, use a mini ice cream scoop for consistently sized truffles) of the peanut butter mixture and roll into balls. Place each peanut butter ball on to a fork and dip into the melted chocolate. Place on parchment paper to cool. When the chocolate is partially dry, sprinkle a pinch of fleur de sel on top of the ball. Do not wait until the chocolate is complete dry, otherwise the fleur de sel will not stick.

Let the chocolate completely dry (approximately 1 hour) before serving or transferring to mini cupcake liners.

Hands. A Stranger. 10am.

Catching up on the Photo A Day challenge.

Day 3: Hands. Day 4: A Stranger, Day 5: 10am

The hands were easy. The stranger was a bit of a stretch. We went to a birthday party on Saturday morning, and while there were strangers everywhere, I just couldn't be a creeper and take a pic of someone when they didn't know it. My friend Katie's husband rode on the train with their son Knox and I noticed they had a passenger atop their train car. That counts. 10 am is a picture of my current favorite (navy blue) pumps as I was getting dressed for church this morning.

Ladies Who Lunch

Just a couple of gals lunching on the patio.

Arocki

Kennedy hasn't had much of an appetite for the past week. If its not a cracker, pretzel or applesauce, she can't be bothered. Our normal "go-to" foods aren't even working with her. Earlier this week she finally decided it was time to eat and sat in her chair. When I put her plate of cut up fruit, cheese and turkey in front of her, she very politely said no and then down. Fine. I put her down, she walked into the kitchen, and said these words,  arocki, noonles, sheese, pease, walkum (broccoli, noodles, cheese, please, welcome). Then returned to her highchair and asked to be placed in it.

The girl knows what she wants. And she used her words to tell me exactly what that was. I made her a steamer bag of her choosing and she nearly ate the entire thing. For the past few days all I hear is arocki, arocki, arocki. Which beats cracka, cracka, cracka. 

Kennedy, her arocki and her dinner companion, the ehfant. 

Photo A Day: Words

'As Good As Gold' inscribed on one of my favorite bangles. 

Photo A Day: My View Today

Today is the first day of a Photo A Day challenge for the month of February. I see these every month on Pinterest and decided to join in this time. I wish I hadn't used the 50mm lens and considered retaking it tomorrow with something different. But that would be cheating. And we're not cheaters. 

My (rear) view today.