Birthday Celebrations!!

In celebration of my mom's and brother-in-law's birthdays, I made this amazing Turtle Cheesecake:

Ingredients

• 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 14 ounces individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter one 9 inch springform pan.
2. Toast the pecans at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 6 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Leave oven at 350 degrees C (175 degrees C). In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter.
3. Combine vanilla wafer crumbs with the melted butter then press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Place the pan onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove and allow to cool.
4. In a double boiler, or a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the caramels in the evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Pour this over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the nuts over the top.
5. In a bowl, combine the cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler and mix into the cheese mixture. Pour the batter over the caramel layer.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until barely set. Chill over night in the refrigerator before serving.

ENJOY!!

Spring Break!

Spring break is almost upon and we are starting to dream about warm weather and sandy beaches around our house! We are heading to Orange Beach, AL and we are praying for warm weather...I think it will be warmer then here in Michigan. It has been in the 20's and 3o's around here so anything is better than that! We can't wait to make these memories again:


Playing at the beach! Watching the Blue Angel's practice!


Having a blast last year and hoping to have just as much fun this year!!

Suessical the Musical!!

My school put on Suessical the Musical for the spring musical. The boys and I went with some friends of ours. The play was absolutely adorable! I am always so proud of the students. They have some great talent!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we dined on breakfast for supper consisting of green pancakes with chocolate chips, green eggs and bacon! Have a great St. Patty's Day from the Kimball's!!

Lazy Sunday Afternoons!

This is what rest time looks like at the Kimball house! Daddy and Michael (who just opened his eyes) are sleeping while Andrew stays awake to watch the movie, Home on the Range! And of course it wouldn't be complete without Sadie in the mix! Hope your Sunday is just as relaxing as ours!

Spring is in the air...well not really!

Since it is March, I feel like we should be having more Spring-like weather. Well that is not the case in Michigan. However, the sun has been shining more so at least there are glimpses of Spring! We have had a pretty uneventful weekend for us. Ryan and I ventured out to dinner Friday night while Grandpa Kimball watched the boys. Saturday we divided and conquered, I took Michael grocery shopping and Ryan took Andrew to get some things he needed. Sunday was a nice relaxing day with church in the a.m. and lots of cooking and baking after that. Balto was the movie that was chosen for rest time where Michael conked out for about an hour. I got some exercise in while the boys enjoyed the movie and now we are eating pizza rolls and fish sticks...that's how we roll around the Kimball house. :)