Friday, April 25, 2014

Shriner's Circus

A few weekends ago we took Zoey to the Shiner's Circus. I was really excited about this because I remember going to the Shriner's Circus with my Grandma Cook one summer when I was staying with her. I thought Zoey would enjoy seeing all the animals and the different performers. I was told that there would also be carnival rides there, but I didn't really think too much about that because I figured we would be too busy enjoying the circus. Boy was I wrong!!!!

Zoey seemed excited when we first got there. We were lucky enough to have Scott's mom, as well as Scott's dad and his girlfriend along for the ride. My sister, niece, and nephew were supposed to go with us but bailed for various reasons, so we ended up having three extra tickets. So day of the circus, we talked Bev into coming, as well as Don and Connie. Zoey was in a good mood and seemed happy to have her family with her. She got super excited when we pointed out her cousin Jack was there with his parents too (we weren't sitting by them, but saw them in the stands).
With Grandpa and Connie
With Grandma Bev
Family Pic
Once the circus actually started, Zoey was interested for a few minutes and seemed enthralled by the women who twirl around in the scarfs.
Scott and I were both pretty excited to see that they had tigers. However, then the tiger show started. At one point Scott and I looked at each other and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. It was something along the lines of "I hope that tiger bites him". The tiger trainer was SO rough with the tigers. At one point he walked up to this beautiful white tiger and smacked it in the face. Then they had guys outside of the cage poking the tigers with sticks if they wouldn't do what they were supposed to. It was at that point that I realized that the magic of the circus had gone away for me.

Zoey started to get restless so Scott took her out of the main area to walk around a little but; however, he didn't take their tickets with him, so they couldn't get back in. Once I realized he had been trying to call me and I listened to his message, I went down to give them the tickets. However, Zoey really wanted to ride some of the carnival rides, so I got her a ride wristband. We ended up staying in that part of the circus for the rest of the time. While the circus was going on, there was hardly anyone down there, so Zoey didn't have to wait in line for any rides. She absolutely loved it. You can't tell from most of the pictures because I swear she knows when a camera is on her and she stops smiling or laughing.





 So even though we ended up not being big fans of the actual circus, we still ended up having a very good day. The downside was that Zoey didn't get to spend any quality time with her grandparents since they decided to watch the circus. That was a bit of a bummer.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

MDBD - Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

This MDBD originally took place on January 12, 2014. The recipe came from a site called Kirbie's Cravings and was for Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies and was a pretty easy one since it used a cake mix. Those are what I call cheater MDBD. LOL!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our Ingredients

INGREDIENTS
1 box strawberry cake mix
Halfway in between 1/3 and 1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
  Preheat oven to 350F. 
Line two cookie sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper.
 Mix cake mix, oil and egg in a large bowl
Stir in chocolate chips
 Take about 2 tbsp dough and form into a ball.
 Place on cookie sheet.
 Repeat with remaining dough about 2 inches apart.
 Bake about 12 minutes until cookies are set, and edges start to turn a light brown.
 Let cookies cool on baking sheets and finish setting before removing.

Original Source Photo
The downside of being behind on MDBD posts is that with these ones that happened months ago I just don't remember enough to give a good review. I think that means these were just okay. Nothing to write home about, but not a disaster either. Something different if you are sick of the run of the mill chocolate chip cookie.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

MDBD - Scotcharoos

This MDBD took place on January 5, 2014.Growing up I had a fondness for Rice Krispie Treats. I think most kids do. We always made ours with marshmallow creme. However, when I met Scott, he introduced me to Rice Krispie Treats made with peanut butter and my life has never been the same. So when I was perusing Pinterest for a recipe for MDBD, I decided to break away from the cookie trend that I tend to constantly be on and I made some Scotcharoos. I found the recipe at Crazy Little Projects.

Scotcharoos

Our Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
 6 cups of Rice Krispies
1 C light karo syrup
1 C sugar
1 C peanut butter
6 oz. butterscotch chips
6 oz. chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS
Pour your Rice Krispies into a large bowl and set aside.
In a small pan mix karo syrup and sugar and bring just barely to a boil, stirring constantly
 When it just starts to boil, add your peanut butter and mix it in
Take it off the heat and pour your mixture over your Rice Krispies and mix it all together
In a well greased 9 x 13″ pan press your Rice Krispie mixture in

This wasn't a very Zoey friendly MDBD
 Mix your chips in a bowl and put them in the microwave for 1 minute
About halfway through your minute though, take them out and stir them, then put them back in
 When they are good and melted, smear it all over the top of your Rice Krispie layer.

Original Source Photo

All in all these weren't bad. Scott liked them better than I did. I just wasn't a fan of the butterscotch. I think I'll just stick with the peanut butter :)