we call it "candy bread"

The real name is Chocolate Banana Bread; here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
6 bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup lite sour cream
1 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

for those of you following her story...

A Day in the Life of Kate

Too, I stumbled across a handful of photographers last night... all using their gift and businesses to glorify God. Thought I'd share them with you as well, in addition to an awesome retreat that I unfortunately didn't learn about until after registration had closed. I'm hoping they do it again next year! It's called Be Thou My Vision and you can learn more about it by clicking HERE.

The photographers are: Heather Thorne, Scarlett Lillian, and Jane Johnson. Happy looking...

Our Camping Weekend

We spent the weekend in Lanesboro, camping with four other families. The kids had a blast though Ren was struggling a bit with DS withdrawal. The adults, on the other hand, had no trouble unplugging. (Okay, I did sneak in a Tweet or two to keep up with things but that was all. Really.) Pippy's family had local connections and we stopped by their friends' place (Pedal Pushers Cafe) on Saturday to enjoy a great meal. I ordered the Great Balls of Fire and shared a caramel shake with the hubby. Seriously, TO-DIE-FOR. (The shake even had thick globs of caramel at the bottom.) There was a coffee bar there as well but I was too full to indulge :-(

While in town we stopped by the local Farmer's Market where I picked up a lovely Amish apron. (I hope to model it soon.) Our friends rented bikes for the morning while our family and Tilly's stopped by the Lanesboro Museum and walked across a very scary bridge.

The weekend ended with a with a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa. (Meeley is desperately seeking visits to other states, we just couldn't pass it by. Iowa, I mean.)

(I love this pic... if you look closely, you'll even spy Tilly.)

I almost forgot to mention the campground! We stayed at the Old Barn Resort. There was a golf course on site, bike trails, indoor pool, and tubing nearby. The bathroom/shower situation left a bit to be desired; you would do well to bring your own hand soap - though there was running water and towels, soap was not provided. Oh, and don't forget to pack the duct tape.

You just never know what you might need it for.

it's been a little scrambley

Life, that is. I am SO LATE in posting the themes for next month's weekly photo challenge. Sorry for the delay:

July 26-August 1, 2009: Forgotten/Abandoned

August 2-8, 2009: Doors

August 9-15, 2009: The Power of 3

August 16-22, 2009: My City/Town/Village

August 23-29, 2009: Things that start with the letter "s"

Have fun!

this REALLY IS the best proposal story ever

I still haven't managed to fully sift through the weekend's images but this is another from the set. If anyone is ever interested in an engagement/anniversary session day trip, this location would be PERFECT. (It would also give me the perfect excuse for going back!)

Along those lines, I came across THIS PROPOSAL STORY on another photographer's site. (A must-read that will make you cry, it's so sweet.) The photographer sharing this story (Jessica Claire) experienced an equally sweet proposal herself, just click HERE for details.

Love. Gotta love it.

we're baaaack

After whooping it up with several other families over the weekend, we are home. I have lots of fun pictures and stories to share, but I'm drained from all of the action. I'll leave you with this one:

Click HERE to see it enlarged. The models (which shall remain nameless) were great sports about this shot, totally embracing my creative vision.

Have a great night and I'll post *for real* tomorrow!

there's trouble brewin' around these parts

It's been one giant battle. For two days, the kids have been teaming up against each other... their play anything but playful. Here's what was uttered by my Nerf gun totin' 11-year old the other day:

"Mom, will you help me find a ski mask?"

Ummm, no.

Then there was the day that Ren tied the neighbor girl up to a tree (with a pink jump rope, mind you.) Trouble, I tell you. Serious trouble.

Between episodes of cul-de-sac mock violence, the kids have had ample time to soak up some rays:

Okay, so that last one really had nothing to do with soaking up rays but at least it boasts virtual sunshine.

I'll be visiting a new coffee place this weekend and actually have some ideas on how to incorporate my complete and total obsession love of coffee places into my photography business. I've also been having other ideas but because I'm suffering from MAJOR writer's block, they'll just have to continue roasting a while.

I'm loving this cool weather, how about you? Perfect for bonfires and smores and hot chocolate and sweatshirts, but just for a day or two. Can't wait to get back into Grandma's pool. The boys are already fretting about summer moving along too quickly. (Meeley even received a book reading assignment already!) It probably doesn't help that Target has all of their school supplies out or that Hobby Lobby has CHRISTMAS stuff out. (In defense of crafters, homemade gifts do require months of work at times. But July?)

Speaking of Hobby Lobby, I'm sportin' a new baby prop courtesy of the hubby who happened to be at a meeting in Rochester and happened to stop by the store and happened to browse for a while. (Personally, I think he was just trying to make up for the Cabela's incident I tweeted about not so long ago.)

Either way, I can't wait to try it out. I'll hopefully have a newborn to photograph in August (the little bundle in the oven HERE). Perhaps you'll see it then.

I suppose it is late and I really should wrangle something up for dinner. Have a great night!