Rocky Road Bars

We were invited to a friend's home for dinner yesterday and, although they said we didn't have to bring anything, I still wanted to take a little something as a thank-you. So I got out my dessert recipe book and was about to make a batch of cookies. Only one problem.... I had no brown sugar. Okay, I could just make another kind instead. But I looked through several other recipes and I was missing an ingredient for everything I wanted to make! Arrghh!
I put my book away and looked in the pantry to see what I DID have....aside from the usual flour, sugar, baking soda, etc., I had some graham crackers, lots of marshmallows, peanut butter and a few chocolate chips. Rocky road bars! My parents used to make them for us as kids. They were thick chocolate squares with little colored marshmallows. I don't have a recipe for it and I was a little short on chocolate, so I made my own version:

Rocky Road Bars

3 graham crackers
1 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 cups mini marshmallows

Break the crackers apart and line the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan. Set aside. Crush the remaining crackers into coarse crumbs.
Melt the butter in a small pot, then add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Mix in peanut butter until smooth. Stir in marshmallows until coated, then spread over the wafers in the loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs and chill until firm. Cut into 8-10 squares.

These weren't as thick and chocolately as the ones I remember having, but using the ingredients I had, they turned out pretty good--definitely sweet enough to satisfy a chocolate craving! And I think I liked them better with a little peanut butter mixed in.

You had to 'BEE' there!

I realized the other day I'm a little behind in my 'weekly project' posts! I haven't put anything on here for a while, not because I haven't made stuff, but because I've been getting ready for Parker's birthday party. I was waiting until everything was done and I had a few pictures before posting. I can't believe he's one already!! Wow.
A couple months ago I started looking up birthday cake ideas for Parker. I had all kinds of cute themes in mind, but they're all for older kids and Parker is still too little. He wouldn't have a clue what was going on or remember any of it, so we decided to just do something baby-ish for his first birthday. I wanted it to be simple and have bright colors, so when I saw a picture of a beehive cake, I thought it was perfect! Kyle looked at a bunch of pictures and liked the bees, too, so that was the one I ended up making.
I went online to look up ideas and supplies for bumble bee-themed parties and was surprised that the results were pretty limited--and were mostly for girls. I didn't see any invitations I liked for a boy so I found some honeycomb scrapbook paper and cut it up, printed out the party details on white paper, then put them together with pieces of black ribbon. For a finishing touch I added a little bumble bee die cut (no, I didn't make the bees. I found them on etsy!)

I also ordered a few dessert plates with bees on them, then bought the rest of the supplies in plain black and yellow. It was an afternoon party so instead of a full meal we had snack foods--veggies & dip, fruit, cheese & crackers, chips and drinks.

And for dessert we had birthday cake, cupcakes, ice cream and Nanaimo bars! Yum! :)

It took a few hours on Thursday night to make the fondant bees but they turned out super cute! I made the cake on Friday...thankfully, since it was a fairly simple cake it didn't take too long to put together. That left plenty of time to ice the cupcakes and wash/cut all the fruit and veggies.
And since Parker and his little friends are too young for most party favors, I ended up making each of them a small stuffed bee toy! A little cheesy, yes, but I wanted something bee-themed to give out. :)

We had reserved a local park gazebo for Parker's birthday and on the day of the party we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. We didn't have anything specific planned...just a time to get together and enjoy everyone's company.

We were amused as we watched Parker walk around from one person or group to another, like he was mingling, yet still in his own little world. :)

Finally it was time to cut the cake! Parker had his own big cupcake to get his hands into.

He wasn't sure what to do with it at first. He sat and looked at it for a minute. I picked up a small piece of icing and put it in his mouth thinking that once he tasted it he would dig in. But he still sat and looked around--guess there were too many people around talking to him and taking pictures and he wasn't sure what to do. Finally he poked his finger into it. Then he started squeezing handfuls of icing and cake, then he finally started putting some in his mouth. And he wasn't being dainty! He was shoveling it in by the fistful, using his arm to push in any falling crumbs. :)

So fun to watch! I'm glad he enjoyed his first cake!
He was getting a little tired after the cake but we wanted to try and have him open some of his gifts before everyone left. Kyle sat with him and helped him pull paper and gifts out of the bags.

We barely finished opening everything when the meltdown started. Poor little guy...he had a big day and he did really well with all the people and attention!
It was the perfect afternoon and we were so thankful we could celebrate Parker's first year with family and friends!

Parker?

Recognize this baby?

Hard to believe this was Parker last October! It's amazing how fast time goes by...and how easy it is to forget things so quickly. Was he really that tiny? What did we do before Parker came along? Although this year has sped by, it's been incredibly fun and we've made so many sweet memories with our little boy! He will be a year old tomorrow, October 10, and we thank the Lord every day for our little blessing. I don't think a day has gone by in which Parker hasn't made me smile (or in many cases, laugh out loud!).
A couple days ago I was sitting on the floor playing with him when he came over and reached toward my face. Usually when he does that he's trying to touch my glasses, which he's not allowed to play with. But I waited to see what he would do. Rather than go for my glasses, he put both hands on my face and then leaned over and gave me a kiss! He's never done that before and it was the sweetest thing ever! Totally made my day! :)
Here's a picture of our little guy from a couple weeks ago. Isn't he handsome in his little suit?

I knew he couldn't stay tiny forever, but now that he's starting to get more independent, I'm already starting to miss snuggling with my baby! He started walking when he was 10 months old, but over the last several weeks he has really taken off--preferring to walk rather than crawl. But along with that, he doesn't like to be held as much. Now he will only sit on my lap for a few minutes at a time before he wants down to walk around and play.

But one of my favorite things is when Parker's playing and every so often he looks at me with a big grin. If I hold out my arms he comes over for a hug before running off again. Snuggling may be over, but I'll take hugs from my baby boy any day!! :)