week thirty-one memory verse

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thirty

happy things from lately

Love this silly girl!!

I was surprised to find this beautiful cover of Emma at Target... Of course, I had to buy it!!

Summer day at Water World!!! Sadly, the park closed at about 2, because a storm came in...

But we did get to enjoy our time until then & they gave us a half-day ticket for next time!

{ Photos from last summer's Water World trip... }

Our tradition of Pizza Hut after Water World, because that's the only time it's guilt-free!!

And... lately, I have been enjoying a couple of favorite goodies that my Grandma brought us from Ohio! 

These are made by the Amish where my aunt lives... Yumm!

historic colorado ranch

 

During my little trip to the mountains, I got to explore a beautiful historic ranch that was built in the 1800s. 

It is now being restored & there was a sign that welcomed visitors to check it out... Yay! 

I love the white paint & the red roofs! All of the details are very charming!

And of course, the scenery is so beautiful... there were several cows on the other side of the barns. 

We looked through the windows & the inside has already been restored!

It was so beautiful! I would love to take a tour of the whole house someday...

How amazing it must have been to live in a place like this back then!!

afternoon in the mountains

Trips to the mountains are one of my favorite things about living in Colorado! 

The air is cool & fresh and there are so many beautiful things to see!

It is a blessing to be able to "getaway from it all" even if it's only for an afternoon...

As we were driving we saw this mama & baby deer! I zoomed in as much as I could to get this photo.

It's not the best shot, but I love that they are both looking right at me!! So cute! :)

More photos from this adventure coming soon...

:)

snapshots from lately

My sister tried out a new braid on my hair... I love the way it turned out!

Over the weekend, I went on a little trip to the mountains & we got to see some horses!

We also explored a really pretty historic ranch that is being restored... more photos of that coming soon!

Field of sunflowers  //  Ice cream sandwich

Last week, my church had our Vacation Bible School, so it was a really busy week!!

It is a huge blessing to be a part of VBS every year, even though it is pretty exhausting...

My sister & I taught the 1st & 2nd grade class & they were a lot fun! 

Of course, they loved the bounce house!! :)

Chocolate ice cream with banana slices & chocolate shell... my favorite! 

I finished this blue bow headband last week & I am working on a coral one now!!

I will be adding them to my shop soon...

week thirty memory verse

see my verses from weeks...

one & two  ||  three  ||  four  || five  || six || seven  ||  eight  || nine || ten  || eleven || twelve || thirteen 

fourteen || fifteen || sixteen || seventeen || eighteen || nineteen || twenty || twenty-one || twenty-two  

twenty-three || twenty-four || twenty-five || twenty-six || twenty-seven || twenty-eight || twenty-nine  

cutest cherry tomatoes

I picked these cherry tomatoes from my back yard this week... They are beautiful!! :)

Tomatoes are the only thing I am growing this summer, so I am especially excited about them.

Do you have a garden? What are you growing?

inspired by wild horses

Lately, I have been very inspired by the beauty of horses... Oh, they are such amazing & beautiful animals! 

Often times I daydream that I  live on a ranch in the middle of the country & have my own horses... 

Of course, in reality, I have only ridden horses a few times in my life, so it probably isn't going to happen... 

but it's a nice little daydream!! :)

All of these horse photos are by Irene Suchocki & they are breathtaking! 

She really knows how to capture the beauty & the emotion of wild horses... 

Also, she has many more amazing shots on her blog & for sale in her etsy shop. 

Many of them are from her travels to Paris & London... so, of course I love those too! 

She is a very talented photographer! Be sure to check out her  blog & shop.

week twenty-nine memory verse

see my verses from weeks...

one & two  ||  three  ||  four  || five  || six || seven  ||  eight  || nine || ten  || eleven || twelve || thirteen 

fourteen || fifteen || sixteen || seventeen || eighteen || nineteen || twenty || twenty-one || twenty-two  

twenty-three || twenty-four || twenty-five || twenty-six || twenty-seven || twenty-eight

blueberry doughnut muffins

Everyone in my family has a love for lemon-berry recipes... Maybe you have noticed from some of the recipes 

I have made before, like these or these. Well, this time I wanted to make baked blueberry doughnuts, 

but I don't have a doughnut baking pan, so I decided to make blueberry doughnut muffins.

They are the perfect blend between a baked doughnut & a muffin. They are light, fluffy & so yummy!!!

Blueberry Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients...

¼ cup Butter

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Sugar

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 2/3 All-Purpose Flour

1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder

¼ teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Salt

1 cup Milk

1 1/3 cup Fresh Blueberries

Ingredients for the Lemon Glaze...

1 cup Powdered Sugar

1 Lemon, zested & juiced

Directions...

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line muffin pans with baking liners. 

Mix together the butter, oil, sugar & brown sugar until creamy and smooth.

Mix in the eggs & vanilla. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

Alternately mix in the milk and the flour mixture three times, starting and ending with the flour mixture. 

Gently fold in the blueberries. Scoop the batter into the baking liners, filling them 3/4 of the way.

Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow muffins to cool.

To make the lemon glaze... 

Put the powdered sugar & lemon zest in a bowl.

Gradually whisk in the lemon juice until the glaze is the desired thickness.

If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a little bit of lemon juice or water.

Whisk until the glaze is smooth.

Once the muffins are cool, spoon 1-2 coats of the glaze on the top of each muffin.

Allow the glaze to harden before serving.

Enjoy!