Busy Weekend in Montgomery plus Granola Bar Recipe

The girls and I headed south to Montgomery for the weekend. We had several events planned for the weekend.

My mother, me and Adeline (in a stroller) all walked the 5K Walk for life in honor of Jeannie Tapley (my sister-in-law's mother.) It was just a beautiful and pleasant day, which made the walk a breeze.

Mommy and me after the walk.

So many people walking for such a great cause.

Refreshing Gospel music encouraged us along the way, and yes the water in the fountain is PINK!

Campbell was worn out after playing with Aunt Lele during the walk. They had all kinds of fun events for the children like face painting and a man on stilts to make balloon shapes!

I had also planned a Baby Shower for my sister Lele and her baby Laney at the home of my Aunt Clair Fain for Sunday afternoon. With the help of several of her sweet friends, we were able to put together a really nice shower. The guest enjoyed chatting with each other along with afternoon treats such as cheese straws, strawberry mini cupcakes, fudge brownies and pink mint cookies. One thing I can say for sure is that Laney will be one well dressed baby!

(pictures courtesy of my sister-in-law Emily, because somehow I did not get any pictures from the shower on my camerae!)

Also, whenever I got out of town, I try to leave my husband with plenty of food to eat because if I do not... He will either a) not eat at all- and be grumpy and feel bad or b) eat cheap gas station food- and be irritable and sick or c)-cook eggs, and leave the mess for me to clean up when I get home! (I'm just giving him a hard time..I mainly do this because I just love him ;)So I left him with one of his favorite meals is red beans and rice (with Conecuh Sausage.) I also like to leave a sweet treat, even though he is not big on sweets. But he LOVES anything with peanut butter especially when mixed with a little dark chocolate. So I came up with this Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar Recipe. They are kind of like a granola bar, but these bars are chewy rather than crunchy(and probably a little sweeter.) Here is the recipe:

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Butter
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1/2 Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Honey (or corn syrup.. I use honey in place of corn syrup in most recipes for a "healthier" alternative)
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 3 and 1/3 cups Oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips (or Chunks)- I like to use dark chocolate, but use which ever type you like best)- Add more or less chips depending on how chocolaty you want it... (Add less if you add other ingredients)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 9x13 baking dish or pan.

2. Melt Butter in microwave safe bowl.

3. Add peanut butter, honey, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Stir until mixture is smooth.

4. Stir in Oatmeal and chocolate chips until evenly mixed.

5. Press mixture evenly into greased baking dish.

6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

(Note: You can also add any type of nuts, dried fruit or even coconut to this oatmeal bar. I sometimes add in whichever extra ingredient I have at the house. This particular time, I added mini chocolate chips to the top of the bars AFTER I pulled them out of the oven.)

This make a great morning or afternoon snack to help you make it through to that next meal!

What a great weekend with family and friends! We even had time to snag a few cute pictures of the girls.

Fun with Auntie Lar!

Well, I hope everyone else enjoyed the beautiful weekend as much as we did! Have a great week!