Summer

The summer fun has begun, and Ella couldn't be happier. She loves everything outside. It will be fun to see if her adventurous spirit carries through her life.

Some of our fun thus far:

Evie's first pool time:

Ella loving pool life:

Summer treats: First ever s'more and first homemade popsicle, apple juice, as requested by Josh. She had a little bit of a hard time holding the small handle on the popsicle but we only had one drop, and luckily no bugs or grass stuck to it. :)

Doughnuts

I never know what to buy Josh for his birthday, so this year I stuck with some age-old advice "the way to a mans heart is through his stomach". 

If you know Josh - one thing is very clear; the man loves doughnuts. 

Sadly, they are too simple to make. Something this sinfully good should definitely take work. 

I just used my 2.5 quart pan, added 1-2 inches of canola oil (you can use any oil you want) and then placed the doughnuts in once the oil was hot, rotating throughout until it was the desired color (a caramel color -- but that's just a preference, you could do it longer). 

For the doughnuts, I used Pillsbury Buttermilk Rolls from a can. You just don't want the flaky kind - because the oil will flake them in your pan. I made them two different ways: with a hole and then some without. I preferred with a hole. 

To make the hole just punch your thumb through the center and stretch back the dough. 

I used chop sticks to rotate the doughnuts in the oil. I flipped each doughnut to cover both sides and then took them out one at a time and coated in the cinnamon sugar mix, then took another doughnut out and coated. If you take all of the doughnuts out and then coat all at once. The oil will dry up too much and not much coating will stick. 

They were a hit with my man! :)