Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with Andrea, Narci and Erika to share my Friday favorites. 

ONE

My kids and I had the best time making homemade ice cream. The kids thought it was so neat! 

TWO

On Wednesday, my sister asked if I wanted to take the kids to see In and Out. It was Witten's first movie experience and he did great! At one point during the movie, I did give him his iPad and headphones. It was a really cute movie!

He was really excited that he got to go! :)

Carly and Kinsley. 

Kate started out at the other end and then, asked to come sit by Witten. :) They are about 2.5 months apart. I LOVE that my kids get to experience the same as I did... growing up with lots of close cousins! Best part of my childhood memories were made with my sisters and cousins. <3

THREE

One day this week, the kids and I got went out to the get the mail. They each got these catalogs: American Girl and Thomas the Train.  Kinsley asked for a pen so she could circle ALL the things she wanted (almost every item). Witten wanted to do the same. It looks like he will be getting Thomas stuff for his birthday. I see a trip to American Girl in our future. :) 

FOUR

A couple weeks back, our photographer: Your Candid Memories, did a fun, little, super hero session. We decided to get some of Witten. We got the previews the other day. HOW CAN I PICK JUST 5??? I think they turned out so cute. One day he is gonna kill me over these, but he had fun taking them that day. :):) Please excuse the quality... I just took a picture of the computer.  Here are a few of my many favorites. 

FIVE

This week the mornings have been really cool with an overcast. Perfect time to go to the park! So, we have been going to the park and then coming back to eat breakfast. My kids wake up most days super early! The kids played hard and before we left wanted to go for a bug hunt.  It sure was nice before we get into the 100s next week!

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Homemade Ice Cream

At Christmas time, I received this ice cream maker off my wish list. I went with the one that had the best reviews and that I had heard great things about from friends also.

I also got the Ben & Jerry's book with tons of recipes and tips, you can find that here. 

After you make the ice cream, you can NOT save it in the freezer bowl that comes with the maker. So, I highly recommend getting these to save your ice cream in. 

The kids and I had the best time making ice cream. We made French Vanilla, but there are so many others we want to try. It was super easy and the kids LOVED being in the kitchen. I am going to share the French Vanilla recipe we used today. 

Happy Summer!

To make the ice cream, you must freeze the freezer bowl in advance. I popped it in a couple days before we were actually making it. Then, once you are ready to make ice cream, it's ready to go. You can also store the freezer bowl in the freezer for any spur of the moments. :)

Shopping List

2 eggs

3/4 cup of sugar

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of milk

In a bowl, whisk the eggs about 1-2 minutes. Add in your sugar a little at a time, whisk about 1 minute once you have added all your sugar. Then, add the remaining ingredients and whisk together. 

Place your paddle inside your freezer bowl and place the cover on the maker. Turn on your ice cream machine and pour your mixture inside of it.  Time varies, depending on the consistency you like your ice cream. We let ours mix a full 20 minutes. 

Remove, serve and enjoy! We added sprinkles to ours. 

I placed our left over ice cream in a plastic, air tight container. However, I am going to order one of the containers I listed above. The ice cream was more like a soft serve right out of the maker. Once it sat in the freezer overnight, it was just like regular ice cream. 

The consistency right out of the maker. 

The consistency after being frozen. 

Happy Summer!

Weekend Wrap Up: Red, White & Blue Edition

Let Freedom Ring!!!

We went to the Hurst fireworks celebration, it's always a good time.  But before we met everyone, we stopped at Chick Fil A for dinner. 

We met my mom, sisters, Matt and the kiddos (Anthony had to work). We set up our blankets and took some pictures before the festivities began. 

A picture of the kids (Aiden didn't want to get in the shot). Blake wasn't there yet and Adyson didn't come this year. 

My family! 

Me and my guy!

My babies & me! 

My babies!

Grandma and the kiddos

Beau & Kinsley

Then, we were off to let the kids play in the bounce houses and such. They had the best time. Beau came back with Carly & Kinsley right before the fireworks started. They were having a great time and apparently, Kinsley had done an activity where you jump from ball to ball. No one could make it all the way across, but she did. She was so proud of herself! Beau got a video and there was lots of cheering, whistling and clapping from the crowd. She told me she was the star! haha. 

While we were waiting for the fireworks to start, the kids played in the wagon and danced. Kinsley & Carly were quite the social butterflies and ended up with a bunch of light up necklaces and bracelets. They shared with all the other kids. :) 

My pretty girl!

Making friends. 

snack time!

Kinsley & Brooke

Then, Granddad and Blake made it. They decided to wait until fireworks started before they came. Blake had baseball games and was tired. 

All the kiddos (Adyson didn't make it this year)

Kinsley laying in my lap! <3

Grandma & Kinsley

Granddad & Witten

I love the way my parents love my kids and they love them back just the same. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Kate was the most animated! She would scream pink after each firework (even if it wasn't pink because it was her favorite). :)

We had the best time! I love this time with my family. Creating memories and having fun, that's what it's all about!