A Trip to Marmon Valley Farms

This has been a busy Fall, which I love. Fall is my favorite time of the year because there are so many fun things to do and the weather is normally just perfect for spending time outside.

Scott's mom got tickets through her work to spend time at Marmon Valley Farms and was nice enough to invite us along. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting harder and harder to take Zoey places if she isn't in the right mood. She was a terror for most of the day. It started from the moment we walked in. She wouldn't listen and was an all around turd. She refused to do the pony ride (which is understandable), and acted afraid of everything (including the playground). We were able to eventually get her to calm down long enough to have some lunch.

She seemed to do better with decorating pumpkins. She loves pumpkins and with the help of Grandma Bev, she made a fantastic looking pumpkin. 

We then headed over to the barn to pet some animals and play in the hay. She was tentative about petting the horses and petting the bunny that I was holding. She enjoyed playing in the hay with me once she got used to the lack of footing.

We tried to stay long enough for the hayride, but trying to get Zoey to sit still for too long is just not going to happen. I tried to entertain her by taking pictures of us on my phone, but that didn't last too long. 

Once back at the cars, Zoey got a surprise early birthday present from Grandma Bev and Grandpa Leland. They got her a Minnie Mouse suitcase and a Princess pajama for our Disney Trip.

Pumpkin Carving

Zoey has been really into pumpkins this year. Every time she sees a pumpkin she gets super excited. So I thought she would be really into pumpkin carving this year; however, she was much more interested in rolling around on the garbage bags Scott put down.

Once we started gutting the pumpkin and Scott and I showed her that it was okay, she got a little more into it.

Scott's cute pumpkin design. He did such a good job!

Zoey was so excited to see the finished product. This was by far the best pumpkin Scott has done!!!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Here we are at Disney World and I can't blog our experience because I am behind on blog posts, so I figured I better catch up so I can share the Disney magic. 

The last weekend of September was our annual trip to Lynd Fruit Farm and the pumpkin patch. We actually spend more time in the apple orchard picking apples then we do in the pumpkin patch. Zoey just loves picking apples. This year Scott's mom and step-dad joined us again. 

Apple picking was a blast (and resulted in a lot of dehydrated apple chips for our Disney trip).

Scott even found a little tree frog on one of the apples he pulled off the tree. He just kind of chilled out there until Scott got him close enough to a tree that he made a jump for it. 

Our pumpkin patch time was pretty short. We found a nice looking pumpkin just sitting on the outside of the patch. 

We walked down a bit further to double check we hadn't missed a good one, but we ended up going with the first one. 

Zoey helped her daddy carry it to the car. 

It was another fun fall adventure at Lynd Fruit Farm!!!

MDBD - Kit Kat Brownies

One of my absolute favorite candy bars in Kit Kat. I love to dissect them and eat them layer by layer (and I wonder why Zoey dissects everything she eats. LOL). Anyhow, when I saw these brownies on Pinterest I knew I had to try them. Now the pin I found was just a picture and no recipe, so I kind of winged it.

Kit Kat Brownies

Our Ingredients

Zoey getting the mixer ready

 I'm not even going to lay this out like I normally do because it is SO simple. Basically you use a boxed brownie mix (or your favorite recipe), pour about half of the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan, place Kit Kat bars on top (push them down slightly), and then cover with the remaining brownie mixture. Bake according to the directions on the box. Seriously, could it get any simpler?

Before covering with remaining mix

Final Ranking (1-10)
     1= Throw Directly in the Trash
     5= Not Bad, but Not Great
     10= Best Thing I've Ever Eaten

Scott: 5 (They were brownies with a bit of crunch)

Kristin:5 (I was so disappointed by these. The awesomeness of Kit Kats did not come through. In fact, the Kit Kats just seemed to taste stale)

MDBD - Gooey Smores Cookies

Wow!!! I am way behind on blog posts. MDBD has been happening as always. I just haven't found the time to write the posts. I guess it's time to do some catch up posts.

A few weeks ago Zoey and I made Gooey Smores Cookies, which came off of a Pinterest board called DIY Pinterest. I have come across several recipes on Pinterest for some kind of smores cookie, but this one intrigued me because of the mini hot chocolate marshmallows (that's what I call them).

Gooey Smores Cookies

Our Ingredients

 INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Mini Hershey’s Kisses (or chocolate chips/chunks)
1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits

INSTRUCTIONS:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

 Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to crush graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs.

Zoey loved this part :)

 In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed.

Add the chocolate and marshmallows and stir to combine.

There was A LOT of chocolate chips and marshmallows

Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

I've never really talked about what Zoey loves most about MDBD. It is by far the licking of the beaters. She is a big helper when it comes to putting the ingredients in the bowl and mixing things up, but once that is done she is done as well. She takes her beater and runs. LOL! Then I am left to make all the cookies by myself. 

Finished product

Final Ranking (1-10)
     1= Throw Directly in the Trash
     5= Not Bad, but Not Great
     10= Best Thing I've Ever Eaten

Scott: 6 (Little graham cracker flavor. Overwhelming chocolate taste)

Kristin:5 (I was not a fan of these cookies. I agree with Scott that the chocolate chip flavor was overpowering. If I were to decide to make these again for any reason, which I highly doubt, I would cut back on the amount of chocolate chips used)