Rice Krispie Treats

I made these football-shaped Rice Krispie treats for Ryan's birthday. I didn't get to try them but Darren liked them. I found the recipe on one of my books called "Meals on the go". I forgot to take pictures as I made them but they are not that complicated so here we go:

Crispy Chocolate Footballs
Makes about 20 small footballs


2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter or margarine
7 cups Rice Krispie cereal
White icing

1. Line baking sheets with waxed paper: set aside
2. Combine chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter in medium saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.
3. Place cereal in large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal; stir to coat evenly.
4. Lightly butter hands. Shape about 1/3 cup cereal mixture into football shapes, each about 2 x 1 1/4 inches in size. Place on prepared baking sheets.
5. Decorate with icing.

Christmas in April!

Darren loves Christmas songs, even in April...but it's really not Darren's fault, both Daniel and Darren are constantly exposed to my David Archuleta's Christmas CDs, so yeah, sue me :)

                                       

General Conference

Last week we enjoyed watching General Conference together. I gotta admit it's always a challenge finding ways for Darren to sit by us and try to listen to what the speakers are talking about. This time we talked to him about King Benjamin and how he addressed his people and built a tower so that everyone could see him. All the people gathered in tents with their families as they heard King Benjamin's counsel. We attempted to turn our family room into a tent, we weren't very successful, but Darren liked it and that's all that mattered to us. We know he's still young, but at least we're making an effort and we hope that Darren will come to enjoy General Conference as much as we do.
Here's some ideas I found around to help him. I don't remember all the websites I went to and I don't claim credit for any of the work sheets, some of them I printed and some of them I changed a bit to fit Darren's needs and likes. Coloring is something he doesn't find interesting so we always relay on math papers to kill some time. He's also not a big candy eater so we reward him with a few candy, coins and "coupons" that I come up with and these ones are his FAVORITES! (like skip jobs on Saturday, skip grocery shopping trip, earn 10 minutes extra before bedtime, etc).

Here's our attempt to building a tent, note that we're not campers AT ALL, bahaha.

Darren working on his General Conference packet.

(Hey! there's a giraffe back there!)

 Prizes (candy, coins, coupons) he earns when he listens to key words like: prayer, scriptures, Jesus Christ, Temple, etc.

 Some of the work sheets I found (If you made any of these, thank you!)

Darren placing each general authority on their seat as they spoke during each session.

Darren got to eat an M&M every time he spotted a general authority.

Darren working on a puzzle of the Salt Lake Temple...At this point we were almost out of stuff to do! (wherever Darren is, there will also be a giraffe haha)

 My boys working on the puzzle.

 Puzzle is finished!

Beautiful Salt Lake Temple.

 Darren coloring the ties of the First Presidency.

More work sheets.

 Daniel before General Conference.

Daniel 20 minutes into General Conference :)
Never listen to GC while lying down...duh!

A place for everything and everything in its place.

One of Darren's favorite places to go to is the library, whether it's the "big library" (Main library in Ogden) or the "little library" (Roy branch), he always finds interesting books to read. This time he just couldn't help it but to give the librarians a "hand" by organizing the books on the "popular"shelf. He started with a couple of books and a few minutes later he had a ton of them on the floor and ended up organizing all the shelves. I couldn't help it but to smile watching him as he carefully organized all the different series by number. I kept thinking somebody would come and be upset at how Darren re-organized the books but I honestly didn't care *shrugs* because the books looked SO much better afterwards and they were indeed in order. It reminded me of an episode of Curious George we used to watch together called "Book Monkey" where the librarian Mrs. Dewey leaves him in charge of the library to stack and sort books. When George has trouble finding a certain book, he decides to rearrange them, first by color, then by size. But then Steve tells him that the proper way to arrange books is by subject.
Darren really enjoys organizing and sorting so I just had to sit there to watch and wait until his job was done :)

Meg

Our days at home are, for the most part, calm and quiet. We have great days together, but they are even better when Meguire comes to visit. She's a wonderful little girl who's not only our backyard neighbor but Darren's best friend. There's something VERY special about her that makes our lives happier and better.
Meguire has been Darren's friend since he was 3 years old and she was 4. I will always love her not just because she's beautiful inside and out but because she brings so much joy to Darren's life, he adores her. She's always been so patient with him and has been able to handle Darren's "quirks" like nobody else. She plays with him and listens to him, she's helped him in ways that only a child like her could and she is probably not even aware of how IMPORTANT she is to us and especially to him. She can do more than any other friend, she can play with his special toys, drink from his cups and even wear his socks haha.
We have created many memories together. Kelly, her mom, has been kind enough to let her spend time with us and I'm so grateful for her and for trusting us with Meg... If I ever had a daughter (which will probably never happen) I wish she was like her.
I have loved making crafts with her and watching her grow. I have loved watching her smile and making both my boys smile. She's funny, nice and loves to hug and be hugged. She's easy going and VERY well behaved (great job Kelly and Lawson!), she can come over and stay home for hours at a time and we don't even feel it as a burden. She is always welcome and she will always be a part of our family.

Like star dust glistening on fairies' wings

Little girls dreams are of magical things.

                                            -- Sherry Larson