Eric is 30!

Since Eric was going to have his birthday when we were out of town, we gave him his surprise before our trip. Eric has wanted a flat screen tv for forever and so I saved up my work money and totally surprised him. I asked his brother to help me pick it out. When it arrived we built a fort around it and Blake was a big helper. Janie just wanted to climb. When Eric walked in Blake took him under the fort and Eric was shocked and so excited. It is now mounted on our wall and we love it.

On his actual birthday, Eric went golfing with his dad and brother-in-law. I bought him his favorite donut that he always tells me about (vanilla long). Everyone went swimming and then just the two of us went out to dinner. I made him one of his new favorite desserts for his cake. He had a great birthday if I do say so myself.

Carmel Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x9 inch square pan. Combine the 1 cup flour, baking soda, oats, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. Mix to combine, mixture will be very crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then sprinkle over the crust the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Mix the caramel ice cream topping with the 3 tablespoons of flour and drizzle over the chocolate chips. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. You will need to break it into small pieces to cover. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Let bars cool before cutting.