Cooking with Emmie

I love to cook.  Oftentimes I cook things I won't even eat because the true joy I get from cooking is the joy it brings to others.  It is one of my favorite past times and is one of the ways I show my family that I love them.  That being said, what better way to share the love than to cook with the kids?  

When I have to whip up dinner ASAP on a crazy busy night I don't typically have time to include the kids.  But, when I am cooking a special treat and can really enjoy it, I am happy to have a little helper. 

Lately little Miss Emmie has been the one volunteering for the role of sous chef.  I think she has figured out that helping usually leads to tasting, and she is never one to pass up food! 

The other night we baked a blackberry cobbler and made whipped cream from scratch.  She was very excited to lick the whisks full of whipped cream!

This past weekend we baked coconut caramel cookie bars and Emmie was front and center to assist! 

Kids First River Cats Game - Sort of!

Continuing our goal of exploring California we spent last weekend enjoying All-American activities like baseball and burgers! Saturday night we took the kids to In-N-Out for the first time.  While they didn't have a cheeseburger yet, they were happy with the grilled cheese, fries and milkshakes!

After dinner we headed to Raley Field to watch the River Cats beat whatever team they were playing (as you can see I am a serious baseball fan!).  This was the first baseball game for Logan and Emmie.  Joey hasn't been since he was a toddler, so it was like the first game for all the kids but technically was Joey's second game.

They had a great time and enjoyed the bounce houses in the Kids Zone, the wave (Joey's second favorite part) and the fireworks at the end (everyone's most favorite part).  Emmie managed to convince the lady behind us to give her a cookie and the lady next to us to give her cotton candy - what a little charmer!

Overall an awesome night and we can't wait to go back again (probably will arrive around the 4th inning though, a full game is hard to keep the kids entertained at this age!)