Homemade Reese's Bars

I've made these homemade Reese's bars a few times in the past, and they're so easy! They can be enjoyed with a fork or fingers depending on each individual's messy preference level. I whipped these bars up for a quick dessert a couple weeks ago when my Nana came over for dinner.

(Original recipe found here).

Ingredients:

1/2 c (1 stick) salted butter, melted 

1 cup Graham crackers crumbs (I added in Graham crackers and some Ritz to a gallon bag & had a kiddo help me crush them)

2 c Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

1 c plus 2 extra tablespoons of creamy peanut butter 

1 c chocolate chips (we use semi-sweet and I just eyeball the measurement)

Process:

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (easy clean up and no bars stick to the pan when serving!)

In a large bowl, mix melted butter, Confectioners sugar, crackers crumbs, and 1 c peanut butter. Spread into pan.

Melt the chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons peanut butter in the microwave (30 second intervals) until fully melted & stirrable (I think I made up this word).  

Pour chocolate mixture over bars. 

Refrigerate at least an hour, but two is better. Cut into appropriate bar sizes (that's up to each household!) and serve! 

These will keep in the fridge for a few days but I don't think you'll have to really worry about that!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Crab Apples & Banana Spiders

Michael the Creative came up with some themed snacks to have this last week. I had some gala apples & bananas on hand, so all I needed to grab from the store was pretzel sticks & we were ready to make his snacks!

First up were the crab apples. We used a wooden chopstick to poke holes in the apples, then we stuck some pretzel sticks in the holes. Each kid could make their own holes, so each crab looked a little different.

Michael gave his the standard 8 legs & added in two chopstick holes for eyes.   

Avery was very proud of hers. 

Noah was very particular about how his crab looked. He added 8 legs, then 2 antennae, and 4 chopstick hole eyes. 

Next up were banana spiders.  This time, the kids were easily able to poke in the pretzel sticks directly into the banana-- no chopstick needed.  

Here's the artist behind the idea!

Noah is very technical with his creature creations, but chose not to be in the picture himself this time. 

Avery had a blast doing the same activity as her big brothers! 

Super easy & fun! They loved making these and we'll definitely do it again!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Autumn in Downtown

Our downtown area has the cutest pumpkin parade set up outside every shop and along the Creekwalk. We grabbed some pictures on a couple different nights this week when we were in the area. 

On every hay bale will be a pumpkin. The boys both got to paint one in their art classes, and at their school each class got to decorate a pumpkin as well. So we'll be on the lookout for their pumpkins this upcoming week!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Books in the Fall

I've read a few books this fall so far and am hoping to have more time for leisure reading as the months progress.  I am currently taking a Professional Development Course for work, and although it's quite interesting, it's also quite a bit more work than I was expecting.  However, it's not unattainable and I still feel as though I'll have sufficient time for leisure reading. 

I ordered a few books to have on hand that are easy reads with no sad parts.  One of these books is a re-read-- Frontier Follies.  Previously I checked it out from the library, but enjoyed it so much that I knew I'd read it over and over again over time.  It's also a good light hearted book to lend out if one needs a good read that is self-contained in each chapter without lots of characters of which to keep track.   

The other book I purchased recently is Cosy- The British Art of Comfort.  It's a fun light read that keeps each chapter focused on something that the British do to attain coziness-- wearing fluffy socks, making tea, using lamps, etc.  It's another book that doesn't require strain to keep up with characters and plot twists.  

The next book is one from our local library and it's certainly one that I'll consider purchasing.  It's an easy read because the author writes in a manner similar to how I imagine she'd talk if she were sitting down to a conversation with a friend.  It's her amazing story of her husband's courageous acts on 09/11 when he was one of the passengers aboard United Flight 93 who helped take down the hijackers to keep them from crashing the plane into any additional U.S. landmarks or buildings on that day.  My grandmother has been to the memorial in Shanksville, PA and I am absolutely set on going one day myself.  The book, Let's Roll, is a memoir and so captivating and inspiring.  Truly a good read and I found myself tearing up quite frequently in awe of his bravery and also in remembering that day and all the details that accompany those memories. 

I'm currently reading this book, Let's Talk, which I received in the mail for free.  It centers around the power of prayer and each chapter is broken down by benefit of prayer and includes lots of scripture and personal accounts from the author on how those benefits have proved real. 

These have kept me busy, but have also kept my heart full.  It's nice to read about things that don't drag me down or involve lots of suspense or drama.  (Honorable mentions of other things I'm reading include The Magic Treehouse and Angelina Ballerina.) 

What have you been reading lately? 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Twelve

 Aaron and I celebrated twelve years of marriage!  Although we didn't celebrate exactly on our anniversary, we took advantage of a weekend day and made arrangements to spend the afternoon and evening doing something for just us.  After I did my cheer coaching duties for Upward sports, we dropped the kiddos off with my parents and we made the one hour trip to Auburn. 

We started at an Auburn staple for lunch-- Momma Goldberg's!  We didn't go to the original location, but instead decided to try one of their newer Auburn venues closer to the interstate.  After this, we checked out the mall, then Tiger Town, then went to downtown Auburn and got a lemonade at Toomer's Corner before wandering campus and eventually making our way to a high-end outdoors store where Aaron found some shoes he'd been on the hunt for, and afterwards we wandered back to the downtown area and then headed to dinner!  We tried out a new to us restaurant called Bow & Arrow and it was so good!  We'll definitely be back!  We liked it so much that when we told Aaron's brother about it, he made arrangements to stop there on his way through Auburn the next day!

It was SO nice just to wander at our leisure, go into stores we were interested in, taking our time where we wanted to, etc.  We spoke about our dreams for the future and who we've become, and it was nice to just be with my best friend and just "be." 

My parents offered to keep our kiddos overnight, which was a nice treat.  Aaron and I chose to turn on our current favorite show, Royal Pains, and start our newest puzzle. It really was a great ending to the day spent together.  At church the following day, the congregation sang to us and we enjoyed a relaxing evening at home with our kids in our cozy home. 

Here's to the rest of our lifetimes together!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba