Face Painting

After services today we needed to get some lunch and a couple other items, so we headed to the mall to hit two birds with one stone. There was a couple of ladies there doing some face painting to "drum up some business", as Kevin put it. Why? Because it was free!

So we got in line and let Eliana pick what she wanted painted on her face. She sat so still and kept her eye closed almost the whole time. This lady was so talented and did a great job! She's from the UK and had moved here 14 years ago. She was really nice, but - sad to say - it would cost about $125 to have her come for 30 minutes for a birthday party to do face painting. Oh well!  

Here was her creation. I was sad because I didn't think to take my camera today because other kids had beautiful paintings as well. I guess I just need to take my camera with me EVERYWHERE! 

A Typical Day

There is a flock of sheep and goats who come to graze in the lot above where our house sits on the hill. Each day the shepherd brings them and they eat the grass growing between the trash.

The girls like to watch them coming over the hill and make their way to the grass. This time of the year there are already a few babies with their mothers. I'm sure there will be more in April.

The shepherd is an older man and he's our neighbor too. He brings them and they graze for about an hour and then he takes them to another location. This is usually around 2:00 or 3:00 every afternoon. 

We sometimes see him around the house in the morning, without the sheep. So we're not sure who has them at that time. And sometimes there are boys who are helping with the sheep, especially when the flock is larger in the fall. 

This day was a warmer day and so we took the girls outside to see them and even walked further up the hill to get a better look.

The girls happened to be wearing some dress up dresses, so they were quite a sight walking up the hill and looking over the edge of the terrace.

But they enjoyed seeing them and now I'm sure we will be doing this a lot more often.

Baking Cookies

Today the girls donned our aprons and went to work making some yummy cookies. I pin recipes on Pinterest continually and need to start making some of them. These were very delicious! They are called Laura Bush's Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies. They did not disappoint.

The girls helped me mix the ingredients while I put them in. (The recipe is Texas sized, so I had to half everything so we wouldn't have cookies coming out of our ears!)

And next time I make them I think I will melt the butter instead of use room temperature, and maybe make the full batch to share with friends and neighbors. But this was a new recipe trial run. 

Our oven is Celsius, so I thankfully brought an oven thermometer in Fahrenheit to be able to know when its the right temp. But I'm still learning which dial temp is right in C, so the first ones were too hot. And I think these have a little too much flour, but they still taste great!

Laura Bush's Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies

Yield: enough cookies to feed most of the Lone Star State

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

2 cups chopped pecans (8 oz)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. 

Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined. Add the chips, oats, coconut, and pecans and stir until fully incorporated.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet, making sure to allow plenty of room between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.