Apple Streusel Cake

Here is a great recipe for an apple streusel cake. This is an easy recipe! It not only goes great with your coffee (or hot chocolate) in the morning it can also be served as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

FOR THE STREUSEL:

1 c. light brown sugar

1 c. chopped apples (peeled or unpeeled - it is your preference)

1 c. sliced almonds, pecans or walnuts (optional)

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

FOR THE CAKE:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. butter (1 stick) softened

1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c. orange juice

FOR THE GLAZE: (optional)

1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 tsp. orange juice

1. Making the Streusel - Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9 or 10 inch tube pan. To prepare streusel, in a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, apples, almonds, flour and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter.

2. Making the Cake - In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Add vanilla.

3. Set mixer to low; alternately beat four mixture and orange juice into egg mixture. Spoon half of batter into tube pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel, spreading to make an even layer. Swirl batter with a knife to create a marble pattern.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven; sprinkle with remaining streusel. Return cake to the oven; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Making the Glaze - combine confectioners' sugar and orange juice. Mix well. Turn cake out onto a serving plate; invert so streusel is on top. Drizzle glaze over cake; serve!

Look Who Turned 2 !!

Rian had been looking forward to her birthday for quite some time. She kept telling everyone "my birthday coming up". We had two parties for her, one with the Evans side and the other with the O'Brien side. For the Evans' side party Rian had picked out a Cinderella & Prince cake. She enjoyed the presents and I can honestly say she has worn her new fairy costume every day since her birthday!

Her party with the O'Brien side of the family was the day after her actual birthday. Kami and I decorated a ton of cupcakes with fancy flowers just for little sis. Again Rian loved her presents and has been sporting her new duds and playing with her new toys daily! Thanks to all who helped us celebrate!!

making cupcakes

Yummy!

Treats for the party

Birthday Fairy w/ Boots

Cara helping with presents

Ballet Lessons

Today was Kami and her good friend Reese's first ballet lesson. The lessons are held on Tuesday mornings from 11-11:30 at the Grand Rapids School of Ballet located at 341 Ellsworth, Grand Rapids MI 49503. Miss Jennifer is the instructor of the 12 little ballerinas. Here are some photos and video clips for you to enjoy. I'll try to point out which one is Kami. Kami's good friend Reese is also in the pics and videos since they are taking the class together.

Kami is the second ballerina from the left. Reese is the ballerina between the girl in black and the other girl in dark pink. Here they are doing some barr work (waving at themselves at the big mirror across the room). There is no sound since I shot this through the glass door/windows in the hallway.

This video shows up as a black screen - just press play and the video will begin. Kami and Reese are next to each other (to the left of the girl in dark pink). The group is learning the "first position" with their feet - heels together with toes separated to form a "v" shape.

The class allows for family/visitors to watch the girls during class on the 3rd (Oct 7) and 6th (Oct 28) class. Please feel free to come watch our little ballerina learn ballet.

PATIO!

Before
During
After
The girls hand prints in the wet concrete

For years our heavily shaded back yard has been somewhat of an eyesore due to its inability to grow grass resulting in a lot of dirt and mud. After having a small stump ground out a few months ago we finally decided to add-on to our small brick patio with a concrete patio. The girls and I had an absolute blast watching the concrete guy dig out the area for the patio, pour and spread the concrete and then add our own personal "touch" to the almost completed patio. Here are some before and after pics.

Family Face Painting

Our summer has been full of various activities, including picnics and festivals. One of the most popular things to do at these fun events that our girls just love is face painting. Tonight we decided that grilling out at home with friends was a perfect excuse to try some homemade face painting. I pulled out the WASHABLE Crayola paints, brushes and spread newspaper over the kitchen floor and let the fun begin. Rian loves to have butterflies painted on her and she does a great job sitting still. Kami did a great job painting balloons on her daddy's face! After Rian was done getting painted on she wanted to try painting on someone. I was her first victim! After wiping globs of paint off my eye lashes, Kami declared that Rian had painted fireworks on my left cheek. Daddy also got some "fireworks" painted on his cheek. Both girls became adorable kittens (or lions) after a few whiskers were added to their cheeks. We had a lot of fun doing this as a family and it washed off easily in the tub!

Huge Sale

For any of you moms out there looking for a great place to sell your gently used children's stuff (clothing, furniture, toys...) or for those looking to buy some of these items check out this site - westmichiganmomsale.com. The date for the next sale is Saturday, September 27 from 9am-3pm. Follow the link above for directions and additional information.

Grand Haven & Lake Michigan

Grand Haven Lighthouse

For some reason this summer we just haven't been able to find time or the right day (when it isn't raining) to spend some time out at Lake Michigan. Well with just one week before Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer, we were able to squeeze in a short visit to Grand Haven. After dining at the Kirby Grill (thegilmorecollection.com) we strolled along the boardwalk as the sun was setting. The girls love climbing on the large rocks and playing in the sand. After playing for a bit we headed back to the grandstand area to watch the musical fountains.

Fun at the Park

Just a few blocks down the road from our house is Zinser Elementary School. Several times a week during the summer I take the girls over to the school to enjoy some time playing on the playground equipment. Rian (a.k.a. "Monkey") enjoys hanging from any bar she can reach and swinging her feet. Kami really likes to hang upside down! Both girls love to slide and enjoy playing together.

Picnic Party

More summer fun! After a great church softball tourney on Saturday (Gary's team won their division) our family enjoyed spending time with the Knoll family. The kids swam in the kiddy pool, ran through the mister and just overall played hard. Below are some cute pics of the kiddos enjoying some sweet ice cream cake cones which they decorated themselves. Only the group shot shows my little girls - the other pics are of our friends including some "enhancements" added by yours truly (picnik.com).

Summer Smoothies

Finding ways to get my little girl (Rian) to eat healthy fruits and veggies has been a struggle. So far the only two veggies she will eat is corn and tomatoes (aren't tomatoes actually a fruit...I'm considering them a vegetable so there are two on her list of "will eat"). The closest she will come to eating beans is picking the little bean "seed" out of the actual bean and eating that. As for broccoli and carrots she will put it on her tongue for a quick "taste" but then just as quickly she throws it back on her plate. So what is a mommy to do? I hide them! The latest mode of hiding has taken the form of a fruit smoothie (or chocolate if I am in need of some serious cocoa). I found a great site with some great recipes I thought I'd share for those looking to make a smoothie. Check out smoothieweb.com for a variety of recipes. Our two favorites are the Berry, Berry Good Smoothie and the Power Protein Smoothie (actually it is a peanut butter, banana, chocolate smoothie - I love the name, it sounds so healthy!).