mississippi mud brownies and other things that would make my dad cringe.

I wish I had my dad's tendencies toward healthier foods, and repulsions toward fried foods, multi-layer desserts, and heavy pasta dishes. Or at least his ability to have all things in moderation. Don't get me wrong. My dad likes to indulge here and there. He's a master pie maker but is somehow able to limit himself to one (small) piece. And he eats oatmeal cookies daily (I use the term "cookie" loosely). I've even seen him eat sandwich cookies (after scraping out the cream center). He has an admirable habit of eating only half of things. And an apple a day? Try three.

But alas. I am not repulsed by deep fried oreos. And I like to eat french fries (which, by the way, are very hard to eat in moderation). And donuts. And chocolate. And layers.

And these Mississippi Mud Brownies:

A chewy brownie. With marshmallows and chocolate chips layered on top. And peanut butter. And nuts. Oh, and a little chocolate frosting too. You know, just to seal the previous mentioned layers. I used this recipe. And I have no regrets.

Except that I also made Peanut Butter and Nutella Swirl Cookies the same week.

 The recipe can be found here.

branson: branson

We thought we would do more exploring in the area but the kids were having so much fun with their cousins that we mostly just hung around the mansion. We did drive down "the strip" on our last night and went out to dinner. The main strip of Branson was pretty underwhelming. Although it was raining and Amelia was sick and moaning in the back seat the whole time so that didn't help. The most interesting (and sad) part was seeing all of the recent tornado damage.

I had the house specialty burger which had a fried egg on it. It was awesome.

The only photo I got in Branson.

branson: easter egg hunt

Elsa was beyond excited about the egg hunt. She still talks about it.

branson: party!

We celebrated Jonah and Anna's birthdays during the reunion. Rachel and Michelle put together a great party with lots of festive touches. They had a really yummy lunch with fun box lunches for the kids, delicious cupcakes, cute party favor bags, and fun games including an Easter egg hunt.

The kids loved playing "duck, duck, goose."

Michelle made these cute potato sacks.

Siblings.

Spouses.

branson: boat ride

We took turns going out on a boat one afternoon. Ben took the girls out and said that Amelia absolutely loved it. She especially loved being in the front and feeling the strong wind. Elsa, on the other hand, was clinging to him in the back and pretty scared. Even though Elsa has a much louder personality, Amelia is definitely our little daredevil.

The view of the mansion from the boat.

Elsa, Anna, Amelia, and Grace