Hot Coco Cake~(since we don't drink coffee!)

(this is not my cake...looks good though right?)

This is easy and good! I actually made this for the first time 10 years ago probably and haven't made it since....until today.
I was going to take it over to a surprise birthday breakfast for my neighbor. I got a phone call inviting me to it last night (don't know her, or the person who called really...but they are in my ward and I thought it was so thoughtful that I was invited). Anyhow. I found this recipe last night while I was looking for something that I could take to the breakfast. Then...my morning didn't go so hot. The kids fought. I got cranky and decided to skip the party but still make the cake. :) That's something I can do without having to shower, get myself spiffied up and get 3 kids ready...by 9a.m. (if those ladies are going to be my friends...they will have to learn to never invite me to go somewhere that early! lol...j/k)
Anyhow...this post is really about the coffee cake....not my rough start to this new week! So here it is.

Coffee Cake

1 cup pancake mix

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix together & pour into greased 8 inch round pan. Mix ingredients for topping (double topping recipe if you want more crumblies on top or for in the middle). Sprinkle over top of batter and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS melted butter

Try it...you'll like it. Your kids will too.

Watch This Video:

I don't know THIS GIRL (click that!) but I love her. To me, she is bright and beautiful (even when she is surrounded by an enviroment that isn't). Because of her faith, she arose and shined forth! I love what she says about being greatful for trials. I used a picture of a sunflower because they are a bright and happy flower. That's how I want to be...bright and happy even amid adversity. :)

Boys+Trucks

Weston was out back doing his "job" (making dirt piles with his trucks) the other day.

 It's pretty hard work....

 Then Connor came along....(this is the face he makes when he sees a camera....)

 .....I have to wait until I tell him "all done" (taking the picture) to snap a good shot! lol!

 anyhow....Connor came with his little truck to help out.Weston wouldn't share one of his big trucks with him...but as soon as Connor got to the "job site"...Weston decided that Connor's truck looked pretty cool...and decided to share.

they worked hard together (for maybe 5 mintues!) and then Connor left to go attack the cat. Note Weston's spurs. That boy has "moving dirt and cows" blood running through his veins. He talks about having horses and a barn when he grows up...and he thinks we need to get a cow...because he's never milked one before. :)

 And here's another example of how Connor will "smile" for the camera....

And another example of how cute he is (snot face and all)!

A little update on the boys:

Connor has been yapping up a storm lately. (Geez...Weston too...that kid talks NON-stop!) Connor loves to yell "MOM! Where are you!?" when I am standing right by him. He also likes to ask "Whayadoning?" (translation: "what are you doing?") over and over again. It's acutally kindda cute. He says, "Bye, see ya" when he leaves the room. He really loves to yell "BYE!!!" to people who leave the house. He says prayers now...(with help)...and he always wants to be the one to pray. He still loves his paci and proved to Brandon and I last night that we are not ready to take it away yet! (he went to sleep without one and woke up in the middle of the night screaming his head off asking for a paci...) He's a cute little booger. He loves to tease and say things just to make us laugh. He laughs at his own "jokes" too. Oh! Another thing he likes to ask is "Cool?" ("is that cool!?"). He will ask that after his has done some trick or made a weird noise. lol!

Weston is funny too. He is our little philosopher. He comes up with some good questions. You can tell he really thinks about things. A few weeks ago, he woke up in the early morning. I laid down by him and he just started talking. He was talking about Heavenly Father and Jesus and how Jesus is our brother and how Heavenly Father loves bad people, he just doesn't love what they do. And then he started talking about how Heavenly Father gives his "power" to His boys. I asked him if he knew what Heavenly Father's power was called...and then told him that it is the Priesthood. He said, "Oh, now I know that." Well, as much as I was enjoying our little conversation, I finally had to tell him to "stop talking and go to sleep".

Anyhow. He is a smart kid. He likes to do addition and he can't wait to go to Busy Bee Pre-School next year. :)

Our kids....we are SO proud of them!

Okay. So, I just found (on the kitchen counter) a paper Kaitlyn wrote for school. (She got a 90/100 on it. She probably would have gotten 100% had she chose a different topic!) What DID she write about? Branding cows. More specifically....rocky mountain oysters.You can tell from her writing that it is totally innocent..she wasn't trying to be funny but I laughed out loud.
 
 Let me share a few parts with you...
 
"When I was young I branded cattle. I used to collect the cattle oysters. Some of my family would take the fur off the oysters, they would cook them and eat them! My aunt said that she would teach me to sew the oysters into a fur bag. I never did learn."........"After branding was done I got all the oysters and cow ears and put them in the cows drinking water to wash them"...."Then most of my family went to my grandmas house to eat lunch"..."In the picture I and my cousin are washing the oysters." (And there is a picture of her and Taryn washing the "oysters" with smiles of their faces.)

I thought that was hilarious...and had to share.

Oh! Something else that was gross but funny.

We were eating dinner last night and Weston asked to be excused to go use the bathroom. A little bit later he yelled from the bathroom: "MOM! My second poop did a splash like a dolphin!" I yelled back, "Did you train it to do that!?"

He wasn't too happy when he came back to the table and we were all laughing at him.

I love my  kids. Even when they are gross. :)

Sitting at the computer makes me grouchy. My kids become attached to my lap or very needy right at the moment I sit down or start doing something on the computer. Addie just said to me, "Is being on the computer more important than your own daughter?" This doesn't get to me. I know she is being dramatic and I know that I try not to spend more than 30 minutes on the computer a day...for that reason...(my kids and housework come first.) I like it that way. It was so nice to not have the computer set up for the first 2 1/2- 3 weeks after we moved in!

BUT...I am glad it is up too. I ordered a new computer desk because the nice big home office wall unit that we bought not even a year ago is just too big for any public area in this house.

Oh! We got a renter in our old house. He his a friend of our former Bishop...who was our realtor. It was a big blessing an an obvious answer to fasting and prayer. He moved in the end of January....just a week after we moved out. That was a busy week....getting our old house ready for a renter while trying to unpack at this house. We are glad to only have to worry about one house for a while!

Everyone is doing good over here. Addie, Weston and Connor have had some cough+snot nose virus. But they all are getting over it.

Kaitlyn is doing great. She's such a good kid. We miss our old neighbors, the Lundbergs. She and Ellie have been friends since Kaitlyn was 3 and Ellie was 2. But, they see eachother at school and Ellie have come over once a week since we moved....or Kaitlyn goes there. I miss having someone to carpool with. I drive to the school 3 times a day now. It's not as bad as I make it sound. I just am realizing how blessed I was to have Natalie Lundberg as a neighbor! She took kids to school and I picked them up. This meant that I didn't have to wake up Addie, Weston and Connor...which meant that I had a few quiet moments to myself in the mornings. :)

Connor has an appointment in Flagstaff tomorrow with an Allergy Specialist. Funny thing is that over the last few days, his rashes (that we are certain are food related since he's had them since Thanksgiving) have cleared up. BUT...we're still taking him for allergy testing. Better safe than sorry.

Things are busy for me. It's hard to unpack and do all the other necessary things too. I want to start decorating!

Brandon is super busy at work. He's also been busy here at home, hanging blinds, spreading gravel, re-keying locks,....

Well...I have two little boys who are "helping" with dishes right now.....I better go before they make a big mess. ;)

The Flakes are on the move!!!

THIS is our new house! (ignore the price cuz we paid much less...)

Since we are moving...and saying goodbye to our sweet little cozy home. I thought I'd post some pictures of it.

note the swim suits...

                                             I love "shelf reliance" for our canned goods!

 Good bye little house on Pear Street!

You will still be our house...

but not our home.

We hope you'll be a happy place

 for another family soon!

My kids are being super naughty today. Getting into EVERYTHING...making a mess of the laundry room that I spent ALL day Saturday organizing........

I was talking to Brandon on the phone and heard a loud noise. I found Connor crawling out from under his toppled over dresser. I looked under and around where he had crawled out from. There wasn't an open space big enough for his body...but, he's fine...no bumps or bruises.

I think that angels visited my house today.