Granola Bar Recipe

For Brenda - my easy granola bar recipe.  Easily adaptable to family likes/dislikes.

1 C. Karo Syrup
1 C. sugar
1 C. almond butter, sunbutter, peanut butter (creamy or smooth)
        (I used almond butter)
The recipe calls for a total of 8 C dry ingredients.  Following is what I used:
4 C. oats (I used quick oats)
2 C. rice krispies (or your preferred cereal)
1 C. sunflower seeds (I used roasted, but not salted)  My sister used flax seed, but I couldn't find any.  Or you could use chopped nuts, or more oats/cereal. 
1/2 C. mini choc. chips (or mini M&M's) (the choc. chips melted when I stirred in the sugar mixture, which again made me think I had got the sugar mixture too warm, but I think I prefer it melted, because then Amelia can't pick out the choc. chips)
1/2 C. raisins, chopped (or other dried fruit)
1/4 C. shredded coconut (I'm not a big fan of coconut, but this small amount just added sweetness without too much coconut flavor)

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients; set aside.
In a small pan, heat and mix the Karo syrup and sugar until well-blended.  Add almond butter and mix.  When well blended, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.  (I had a really hard time mixing it; not sure if I over-warmed the Karo syrup mixture?)  When well blended, pour into a greased cookie sheet; press mixture into pan and let cool.  When cool, cut into bars.  (I got over 24 bars.)  Wrap in foil.  Refrigerate and/or freeze to keep fresh.

(Not a great picture, but you get the idea.)

Sophia's Update and other ramblings

Can you believe Sophia is 9-months already?  I can't, but I'm loving it.  At Sophia's Dr. appt, she measured in at 28 inches and 17 lbs - tall and skinny.  She is sleeping through the night, has started crawling, has 2 teeth, and has the longest reach (meaning - don't put food containers on the table near her high chair or they end up on the floor; something I keep forgetting).  And we finally moved her to her own room - yeah!  It's way over due, but we haven't had an opportunity to move her until now.  Now I just need to teach her to go to sleep on her own.

In other news:

• I made the yummiest granola bars yesterday from a recipe my sister gave me.  It was so easy and easily adaptable to whatever you prefer in a granola bar.  The hardest part - not eating them all at once ;)
• It was super hot in the Northwest last weekend.  I don't do heat and was so glad that Ken's parents (who we were visiting) both had AC at their house, and that Grandpa had a mini-wading pool.

• As I've been feeding Sophia, and cleaning up her messes, I am reminded how much I HATE having cream colored carpet under the dining room table.  Really, who thinks that is a good idea?  I'm trying to think of a convincing argument to present to our landlord so that he'll put in something else.
• After multiple episodes of chasing Amelia in parking lots and somehow, miraculously avoiding her being hit by a car, I purchased a "leash" for Amelia.  It's a stuffed monkey, worn like a backpack, with a tail for a leash.  I was a little paranoid about what other people would think of me as I used it, but it has been great.  Amelia loves her monkey buddy and it gives her the freedom to run without having to hold onto my hand.

Family Reunion Part 2

A few more random, but favorite photo moments from our family reunion.  Amelia and her cousin Emma hung out a lot together, which Amelia loved (she just doesn't look so happy in the picture).

Amelia loved being in the hot tub or swimming pool or ocean with Daddy.   Thank goodness for Daddy.

Sophia with my parents.  (Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of Amelia with my parents.)

My two favorite guys.

Amelia surrounded by some of her cousins.

Sophia crawling in the sand . . . and loving it!

Thornley Family Reunion

Last week was the Thornley Family Reunion.  An event only held every 2-years.  It's never long enough, and I always end up with a ton of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

My brother Paul brought his rocket launcher (PVC pipe hooked up to an air compressor), and everyone made a paper rocket.  I started our rocket, Amelia colored it, Ken finished it, and Sophia squished it (after it had launched). 

The reunion was at the Whaleshead Resort, near Brookings, OR.  A beautiful spot; perfect for playing, relaxing, and spending time with family.

In spite of her oxygen tank, my Mom made it down a windy path, rocky staircase, and across the sand.  I loved seeing her there, able to enjoy watching her children and grandchildren play . . .

. . . and sleep.

Paul brought out his rocket launcher again - this time slightly adapted - as a "candy cannon".  Thanks to my brother, I now know what Amelia is like amped up on sugar ;)

We were super close to the CA border, so we did a quick drive through of some of the Redwoods; it was beautiful . . . but not as beautiful as seeing my parents surrounded by almost all of their grandchildren.

This wasn't one of the largest trees, but it was near the road, and was accessible all the way around - making it easy to get around it.

Not much to say about this shot, but I love it.  Just like I loved every minute of the family reunion.  Hopefully I'll have time/ momentum to publish a few more of my favorite pictures.

Family Photo Shoot

Some of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot.  Thanks Heather Mann for catching some great moments.

Realizations

• I realized that I have never given cold cereal to Amelia for breakfast when I saw her hand dipping each piece of cereal in her glass of milk rather than pouring her milk on her bowl of cereal.
• I talk tough, but I realized the other day that I am really a softy when it comes to my girls.  I would rather squish into Amelia's toddler bed with her rather than just letting her cry herself to sleep.
• I realized that we must go to Costco a lot when Amelia walked with the receipt in her hand, right up to the person at the door for them to check our receipt.
• Last night at our Relief Society event, I realized that being organized really is a talent, just like being crafty, or sewing, cooking, photography, etc.
• For good or bad, I realized that Amelia and I are both stubborn.

Random Ramblings

• A month after we got our family pictures taken, we FINALLY got the cd in the mail.   Now to pick out pictures for printing, posting, etc.
• We have a very ambitious squirrel at our house.  One day the squirrel woke me up from a nap by climbing up the screen door on our sliding glass door in order to get to the bird feeder.  Later, I had Ken take the screen door off, since we never used it anyway, and it was about to fall off.  A week or so later, I saw the squirrel climbing up the edge of our sliding glass door to get to the bird feeder.  I can't even imagine what he was hanging onto.
• The other day, Amelia told me that I wasn't being nice.  She was right - I wasn't being nice.  I giggled and then apologized.
• Our next door neighbors shot off very large and loud fireworks (like what you'd see at a city firework show) on July 4th, until almost midnight.  Amazingly, Sophia slept through most of it, but it woke up Amelia and then she wouldn't/ couldn't go to sleep for an hour after they stopped.  Since then Amelia's napping and bedtime have been a battle.  I'm not sure if she's afraid to go to sleep now or what, but I hope it gets better soon.
• Sophia is becoming mobile.  She has figured out how to crawl . . . backwards . . . but gets frustrated when she gets stuck backing into a wall.  She also loves to stand and has almost figured out how to pull herself from sitting to standing.