Deck This Out!

The back of our house has looked like this for almost 3 years -

until now!

Check out this pile of wood and concrete mix 

that was dropped off the other day.

 And look at all of the spray paint and flags marking the lawn.

Yep, we finally got ourselves a deck!

We talked about building it ourselves,

but decided to leave it to the professionals.

After their first day on the job, 

this was the progress -

We checked over their work,

 and couldn't help smiling.

 It was so nice to finally be able to walk out our back door!

They finished up with the railings on Day Two and

now here's Ruby showing off the finished product -

 She just loves climbing all over the railings.

 Such a little monkey.

One of my favorite features is this sweet baby gate 

they made for me to keep my monkeys locked up.

 

 Here are some different views of the completed project.

Where before there was a whole lot of nothing -
 

We've now got this fabulous deck 

to enjoy for the rest of the summer.

A Bookshelf Makeover

My sister was getting rid of this old bookshelf,

 

so I thought I'd fix it up and put it in Walt's room.

 

 She had also given me this cute kid's map of the world

 that I thought would look great lining the back wall of the shelves.

So Walter helped me measure and cut it up -

 Next, we went outside and did a little painting 

so the bookshelf would match Walter's dresser.

Then, we used some 3M spray adhesive
to stick the map pieces to the back of the bookshelf.

 

We lined up one side of the map and sprayed the adhesive 

and then pressed and smoothed the map into place.

  

 Here is the bookshelf with the maps stuck to the back -

 

 and here it is with all of the shelves in place.

This is the corner of Walt's room where his books have been

hanging out all stacked up on a little end table.

  

But now with his bookshelf in place -

 

 his books have a new home,

and there's room to display some of his things.

We even hung up one of Walter's 

canvas masterpieces he made at daycare.

 

I love how it all turned out

and the bookshelf looks great with his dresser.

 This little makeover was a quick, fun project 

that really spiced up an old bookshelf.

Here again is the BEFORE:

 and here is the AFTER:

 I think it's adorable and fits perfect in Walt's room!

The Babies Hit the Beach

Last time we were in Long Prairie,

we took the kids down to play in Lake Charlotte.

Rubes loved playing in the sand.

  

 

 And Walt loved running in and out of the water.

 

 

I wasn't sure how they would do,

but both kids actually loved the lake!

Might be time to get a cabin :)

Lunch Lady Bars

I pinned these bars awhile ago from this site 

and finally got around to making them.

Don't they look delicious?

 Here's what you need for the bottom layer -

Cream together sugar,

 brown sugar,

 and one cup of butter.

 Add in some vanilla, peanut butter,

and 2 eggs.

 Mix well before adding flour,

salt, baking soda,

and oatmeal.

 The dough will look like this -

 You can spread it out into a greased jelly roll pan, 

but I was taking mine to 2 different places,

so I just bought 2 smaller tin pans that could be thrown.

 The bars turned a nice golden brown 

after baking for about 15 minutes.

 While they are still hot, grab some peanut butter -

  and smooth it out over the bars.

 Then put them in the fridge to chill while making the frosting.

I brought in some help for this part.

Here's Walt and the chocolate frosting ingredients -

Mix together milk,

vanilla,

 cocoa powder,

and powdered sugar.

He got a little wild measuring the powdered sugar, 

but I still let him lick the beater :)

With the frosting done -

 

all I had left to do was cover each pan of bars with it.

 

 Let me just tell you - they were fabulous!

I will be making these again.

I could eat a whole pan myself. Serious.

They got eaten so fast 

I didn't even get a shot of a bar out of the pan.

Make these.

You'll thank me.

Lunch Lady Bars

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups oatmeal (not quick)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream together sugar, brown sugar and butter. Add in vanilla, eggs, peanut butter and combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread dough on a greased jelly roll pan (18 x 13 x 1"). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (until golden brown). While hot, spread 1 1/2 cups peanut butter on top. Refrigerate and cool until the peanut butter solidifies before frosting. Spread the chocolate frosting(recipe below) on top of peanut butter layer. Cut and serve.

Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tablespoons cocoa (more or less depending on taste)
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients with a mixer until smooth and spread on top of bars.Add more or less cocoa powder and powdered sugar to desired consistency and taste.