very easy chocolate cookies with Tyler...

It's way too cold outside! Tyler and I bagged a few leaves, then took a walk around the block. He is seriously not too crazy about the chilly Texas weather after being in Singapore. He helped me stir these up...Don't worry, the stove was turned off!

Here's the quick recipe:

Chocolate Cookies

2 T. butter

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 can Eagle Brand milk

Mix the above ingredients on low heat to melt. Let cool slightly.

Add:

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

2 t. vanilla (oops, out of vanilla, used 1 t. almond extract)

1 cup chopped nuts

Drop by teaspoons on to greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Don't overbake!

Was this really a WEEK ago?

I can't believe it! This was last Sunday after church when we all met up at Panera to see Mom and Dad and my nephew, Bryce. Mom and Dad came up to see Patrick and Katherine while they were visiting from Singapore....then had a big Vandergriff family Thanksgiving at their home back in the Woodlands. I'm so thankful for my family!

a McKinney Thanksgiving!

We have had such a great time with having all our kids together this last week. It's been such a joy to see our kids enjoying each other and their children at the same time! The cousins really love playing with each other and I know Tyler and Annie will have some great play dates next week. Tyler will be staying with us for a week while his mom travels to see family in other states. Patrick has already headed back to Singapore. We all got out in the front yard to grab some group shots for Christmas cards on Wednesday night, so I want to share a few of those with you. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Tyler time

Tyler and I spent some time playing ball and then he let me do a 'mini' photo shoot w/ the pumpkins...So many times I feel like I'm having flashbacks to 25 years ago. He reminds me so much of Patrick w/ that blond hair and those eyes. We are having a blast hanging out together!

Thanksgiving touches

They are on their way!

Yahooooooo! My formerly Irish, now Singaporian, world travelin', jet setting, son and daughter in law and my grandson, Tyler, are on their way!!! They left about 6:30 pm last night (TX time) and will be here in Austin about 4:30. It's been a year since they were in Texas and boy, are we all excited about their arrival.

We'll have lots of family time here in Austin over the next couple of weeks, then we get to keep Tyler for ourselves for a whole week. We'll have to hit all the kid spots because we want him to have a super good time w/ Nana and Papa and Tia and Aunt K and Annie and Meg. Any suggestions on great holiday activities in and around Austin will be appreciated!

http://austinhomebase.blogspot.com/

Well, my new blog got a name! I am starting out w/ my favorite few people on this blog to let you know it's actually up and running. I need a daughter of mine to help me 'tweak' it a bit, but hope you will enjoy my journey with me!

So, what about the prize money, you ask?? WELLLLLL, I'm picking 2 winners. I am splitting it between Patrick for "The Real and Stated Story" which I give first prize for creativity, and an agent/friend, Adrienne, who gave me the word 'Dream' which I use at the top of my page...

My first blog entry is posted. I'll do my very best to keep it updated! Thanks to everyone for your support.

Dinner swappin'

Yay! I got the girls to buy in on my idea to do a dinner swap. We will start out small...We will start in December! (How great is that for the holiday planning?) We will each make one meal that will feed 6 adults, divided into portions that we can each take home. So, we each have 3 meals prepared and stowed away for just the right busy evening.

If we like how the plan works, we can expand on it the next month. Each of us brings 3 meals so that we can each take home 9 dinners...

So, I'm trying out a new recipe my sister in law, Diana, told me about last weekend. Basically it's chicken breasts, Rotel tomatoes and taco seasoning in a crock pot. Serve it with tortillas, black beans and rice. YUM. It smell so good already.

Please give us any suggestions for EASY and DELICIOUS MEALS! Freezable would be good.

The camp house in Jasper

A long time ago, two brothers had a dream to build a cabin for themselves and their families to enjoy. My grandfather and great uncle built that cabin deep in the heart of East Texas near Jasper. As a little girl, I remember going many times to meet up with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. We stayed up as late as we wished. We played cards almost all day long (sprinkling baby powder liberally thru the deck, so they wouldn't stick) and ended the day with a big catfish fry that the men would fix for us. To this day, when I smell either fried fish or baby powder, I think of those times. ;)

Daddy-pa (my grandfather) passed away many years ago and Uncle Dick passed away within this last year. This camp was their refuge and delight. I know they would have been so pleased to see so much family meet up this past weekend to enjoy their camp. Uncles and brothers worked hard over the last year to spruce it up and make it once again... a refuge and a delight.

We enjoyed bar-b-q, desserts, scrabble and washer tournaments, 4-wheeling, campfires and marshmallows and mainly just each other. We spread ourselves out for sleeping between the local Holiday Inn and the camp and the treehouse out back. GREAT weather for such a weekend. We hope to make this an annual event!