Red Velvet Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Oh.My.Gosh. These are so delicious! They are rich, fudgy, sooo good! And Kell, they make me think of you!

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

Recipe and picture from BakedPerfection.com

Red Velvet Layer:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

The Melting Pot

Finally, FINALLY! Jason and I went to the Melting Pot last night! I've wanted to go there for years and we finally got a chance to use last years Christmas gift card! We meant to use it for our anniversary, and then for this birthday, and then for mine. We just kept forgetting and stuff kept coming up. It had been a while since we had been on a date too!

It was a little different than we expected! We tried duck and lobster tail for the first time- neither of us really loved either of them! The best part was dessert...I would totally recommend the flaming turtle! It was soooo delicious. That dessert made the whole dinner! YUM!

Dragons and Princesses, Oh My!

This year Declan decided to be a dragon and Delaney was, of course, a princess. My Mom made both of their costumes. They looked amazing! We just happened to be in Utah for Halloween so we were able to go trick-or-treating with Drake and Ava!

Anderson Farms Field Trip

Declan had his first class field trip to Anderson Farms pumpkin patch. It was a rainy wet day but the class still had a blast. They were able to each pick a pumpkin, see a baby goat and lots of farm animals, do a hay bale maze and play, play, play!

Mini Photo-Shoot

You know you have your kids trained well when your son asks you if he can dress up and you can take some pictures of him!

Sassafrass

50 Years Young

For my Dad's 50th my sister came in town and we surprised him and took him to go high speed go-karting! He hated not knowing where he was going and the funniest part was when he thought that we were having an intervention- another day Dad! My mom and sister both got motion sickness and couldn't finish the race and the boys kicked my butt! It was still a blast! Took me back to the days when I did the high school drags just with less pressure!! Happy 50th Dad!

**Name the movie: "It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile; winning's winning."**

Some Call Him Stretch...

Mad Scientist Party aka Best Party EVER!!

For Declan's big 5th birthday we went all out! After all, 5 is a big deal! We were going to do a pool party or something similar but after looking into it realized we could do a pretty awesome party at home for the same cost! Declan actually had nothing to do with the deciding but I know he loved it because he keeps telling me that he wants to have the same party with different kids next year!

I was so excited to actually be putting some of my ideas to work! We have never done a big party at our house because it is so small but this time I was determined to make it work! We moved all the furniture around so that the front room was the lab. We covered the carpet with some of that saran wrap style stuff that protects it from spills and stains. We had twelve kids so that was definitely necessary!

When the kids first got there we ate pizza and drank our crazy bubbling kool-aid concoctions. After that they were "transformed" into real scientists- lab coats, badges and safety goggles! Next we did the first experiment- alka-seltzer grenades. That one was pretty cool....when they hit the ground they would completely explode! For the next part we split them into two groups...the first group made glow in the dark slime and the other group made play-doh and then they switched. Then they had to decide what color of frosting to make for their own cupcake and mix that up in true scientist fashion. We barely had time for presents! It worked out perfectly because their goody bags were filled with the slime and play-doh they made and they got to take home their scientist costumes. They also got test tubes full of pop rocks and other candies and some tattoos.

It was a big success and I can't wait for the next excuse to do another big one!

Because this girl does more than baking and crafts....

And until I can ride on the back of Jason's Harley I will ride with my dear old Dad every chance I get!

A Wild Smile

Is your kids first dentist appointment blog worthy?

I'd say yes because look at how cute they are! And Delaney actually let them clean her teeth, I was shocked!! Declan did have to go back to get two cavities filled but he is such a trooper and ironically enough, they give out coupons for ice cream at Cold Stone after a filling....here have a sugar free lollipop and then your mommy can take you for an ice cream and you can even decide which extra sugar you want to add!!

Her Royal Cuteness