Baking Up Some New Goodies || Gluten Free!

My family likes to do family nights every once in a while where we get together, eat delicious food, play games, chit chat, and have fun together. This last time I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and bake some of the delicious looking recipes that I had sitting around. I had so much fun!

I had originally planned to make Almond Joy Bars, Grain free Brownies, and another brownie recipe, but then I decided that was too much brownie :) I had to control myself a bit! I was excited to try some new gluten free recipes and hopefully make a fun treat that my mother and aunt, who both have celiacs, could enjoy. Plus my aunt is known to complain that all things gluten free are nasty. I was bound and determined to prove her wrong!

(I am great at trashing the kitchen!)

I spent hours in the kitchen trashing it, mixing, baking, cooling, cleaning, and stressing that it wouldn't come out well. When I first bit into one of these brownies, I was in heaven! It was so yummy! I learned quickly that you need to keep them covered though, because they do dry out. Luckily simply putting the casserole cover on top of them for a couple of hours moistened them right back up. 

(this picture does NOT do them justice)

The almond joy bars seemed like a no brainer to me. I mean my family loves almond joy bars. they were more cakey than I expected, but they were super delicious as well. I had to refrain from eating them all...so I made a second batch to make sure everyone got to try them. 

Joey wasn't a bit fan of either of them, sadly. I figured out why though. The marshmallow fluff that I put on top of the brownies had almond extract in it and so did the almond joy bars, which he identifies as a cherry flavor. He hates cherries. I made a batch of the brownies without the fluff and he loved them. 

My mother was THRILLED to have something special and loved them. She said she hadn't had baked goods in her house in a long time. She was even more thrilled when I left them for her :) Even my sister, brother-in-law, and step dad loved them. It was a complete success! Sadly, things went a little crazy that night and my aunt was not able to make it and try them out. I guess I will just have to make more!

Katrina & Russell || Topeka Wedding Photography

I had the pleasure of capturing the wedding of Katrina and Russell in Topeka Kansas at the Goodyear shelter house. I was told that the wedding had been planned in a very short time, like two months. That had caused some issues and there were kinks in the road to the big day, but I think it all worked out wonderfully. It was a beautiful wedding and everyone was in great spirits. They didn't let those little things ruin their big day. I was so happy to be there and get to be a small part of everything. I met a bunch of great people, shared laughs, and captured some great photos. 

Congratulations Katrina and Russell!

The day was full of laughter and outtakes that everyone loved! 

Ponies!

When we went over to Illinois to visit family, I got to see the cute, adorable ponies that Joey's aunt and uncle have. We had fun petting them and taking pictures. There was this super cute one with pale blue eyes that kept walking in front of the others when we would pet them or even if I tried to take a photo. I think that one likes attention. Then there was the one with the awesome hair! Seriously styling!

Enjoy some cute pony pictures. 

 Look at that hair! Hiding behind those bangs too. 

 This guy tried to attack us when we headed towards the ponies. We tried to tell him we weren't moving in on his territory, but he wouldn't listen. 

This guy was just too adorable. He was kind of a loner at the time.