Cheers!

Last weekend we had the JOY of hosting the Euken Family and Lubbers Family!  This is the second year everyone has come to KC for the Big 12 Tournament and we had a blast!  I hope this is a tradition we continue for years to come!  (And thankfully this time around a trip to the ER was not required.....)

Highlights of the weekend for the kids were bubble baths, walks to and playing at the park, backyard fun, reading LOTS of books, and playing duck duck goose with the dads!

Our days were busy taking care of 4 kiddos 3 years old and under, but we managed to sneak in some adult time too!  The dads went to the ISU game Friday night while the moms fed the kids and then put them to bed...and then enjoyed a yummy meal and drinks in quiet while the littles slept!

Saturday it was the moms' turn to enjoy some kid-free time....we went to one of my favorite eateries, SPIN Pizza, and then did some shopping!  Saturday night we made a nice meal and once again enjoyed it after the kids were all in bed!

Sadly, this is the ONLY picture I took all weekend! Can you believe that?!

Katie has a few more pictures and sums up the weekend over on her blog if you want to take a look...

We LOVED having both families here and can't wait till we can all be together again!  Thanks for making the trip here guys!

And just for fun....here's a glimpse at our gathering last year.....

 Lawson was just 2 months old

Here we are, about to indulge in some Pizzookie!

Lillia

And we can't forget about Lillia!

I love this picture of her reading a book to her grammy over skype!  :)

On the Move!

Lawson is now 14 months old and On-The-Move!  He started walking about a month ago.  He is so cute as he waddles and sometimes he gets going too fast that he trips himself up.  I LOVE when he is on a mission and puts his arms behind him, like he is skiing down a big hill.  Cracks me up!

Love our busy, walking boy!

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake!

We celebrated Brett's (Brandon's brother) Birthday this past weekend!

It was fun to have the family here!  (Not to mention how nice it was to have all the help since I was out of commission because I hurt my back.)

I was wanting to make Brett a birthday dessert and, much to my dismay, he doesn't like super sweet or super chocolatey things!  So after hearing that he often requested Angel Food Cake with Strawberries as his birthday cake when he was younger, I decided I was going to attempt to make it gluten free.

Denise helped me make it on Saturday night and the house smelled heavenly!  We cut into it after Sunday dinner and the slices came out beautifully! 

After being topped with strawberries and ice cream it was time for the taste test....and we all agreed it was delish!  There was a slight texture difference from a regular angel food cake, but the taste was spot on!  As far as I know, everyone loved it! 

This is a recipe that I will be adding to my gluten free desserts collection!

Gluten Free Angel Food Cake

Author: Linda Etherton

 

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup potato starch
• ¼ cup tapioca starch or flour
• ¼ cup millet flour (or white rice flour) (I used brown rice flour)
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites (1½ cup), room temperature
• 1½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Separate the eggs and let the whites sit in your mixing bowl (glass or metal, not plastic) for about 30 minutes so they come to room temperature.
2. Be sure your bowl is very clean and there is absolutely no yolk in the whites. It is best to separate each egg into a small bowl, then add it to the rest of the whites. That way if a bit of yolk gets in with the white, you can save the egg for another purpose and not ruin the whole batch.
3. Preheat oven to 350°
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, potato starch, tapioca starch, millet flour, xanthan gum, and salt.
5. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until foamy. I used my KitchenAid whisk attachment.
6. Slowly add the granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.
7. Fold in the flour mixture about one fourth at a time, making sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl when you fold. Do not mix, just gently fold until all the flour mixture is moistened.
8. Spoon the mixture into an ungreased tube pan (one without a non stick coating) and smooth the top.
9. Remove air pockets by gently cutting through the center of the batter with a thin metal spatula (icing spreader) or knife.
10. Bake for 35 minutes, then check for doneness. A wooden skewer inserted in the center should come out dry. Also, the cracks in the top of the cake should be dry and the top should spring back when touched. Mine took 45 minutes.
11. Turn the cake upside down and cool for at least an hour in the pan. Most tube pans have legs to keep the top of the cake off the counter. If yours does not, invert onto a bottle inserted into the tube.
12. When cool, run your metal spatula or a knife around the sides to loosen. Remove the outer part of the pan. Run your spatula under the cake to loosen it from the bottom and remove to a cake plate.

When Momma's Back is Hurt...

This is how we read books when momma has a hurt back and can't lift the almost 30lb boy onto her lap...

And this is how we eat lunch....