Family Home Evening

Around here, when it is your turn on Monday to make the treat for Family night, it is akin to a Secret Mission.  You get alone time with mom, you don't tell anyone what you are making, and all others are banned from the kitchen.  I'm not sure how it has evolved into what it is, but it is such.

I'm actually grateful, because I'm always thinking how much I need one on one time with my kids, and this is a for-sure mommy-child date that happens when my other ambitions fall through.  We enjoy looking at recipe books and whispering and giggling about what we are to concoct.  Some times we hear shouts from other rooms, guesses at what we are making, but we always act like it is heavily guarded, to be unveiled at the end of Family Home Evening!
Now, usually, we are not very fancy.  I'm talking throw together graham crackers with frosting or make brownies out of a box (of course we can make up fancy names for these things, though).  But occasionally we have time to make something special, like Nathan's Rainbow Bar Cookies! (Sugar Cookies, sans cutting out)

 

Oops!  I didn't include the sugar in the recipe when I first posted this.  It is included now.  Also, if you shake sugar sprinkles on top of the frosting that makes them even more delicious.

These are divine!  (They are full of fat, so how can they help but be so!) 

My mom found the recipe.

Sugar Bar Cookies:

1 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, & egg until frothy (Nathan said, "what's frossy?") (4 minutes)

add vanilla and almond, beat 1 minute.  Mix dry ingredients together, then add to mixture.  Beat another 2 minutes.  Spread on ungreased cookie sheet, (it seemed like it was in between cookie and cake batter consistency) bake 20 minutes at 350.

Note:  While we were making this, I let Nathan pour in all the ingredients.  Of course I had been doing the gathering, measuring, cleaning up spills, etc.  I said, "you are sure doing a good job!"  He said, "Yeah, I'm doing all the work on this.  You can just sit and relax while I make these cookies"  Ha Ha!

Frosting:

1/2 c. softened butter

4 oz. cream cheese

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2-4 Tbls. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

Beat all of this for 2 minutes.  And if you are Nathan you'll want to separate it into 4 bowls and color them each differently.  

We had fun today.

Here are some pic's from another home evening:

This is an activity I remembered doing as a kid.  When Saxton couldn't think of one (it was his turn), we pulled out the old stand by:

Can you...

Hold a clothes pin to your nose

While standing on a chair

And drop it into a quart jar below...

While standing up straight, Brinley!  ha Ha

Daddy almost did it, but Ellie was the only one to make it in!  We each took 2 turns with 3 tries each.

And here is Levi ready for the closing prayer:

 

I love my family.  We need Family Home Evening!