Field Trip

I recently took the kids to one of our favorite local hands-on museums.  They all had a blast!

A new section in the museum shows the three branches of government.  The judicial branch was a hit!

Young jurors.

Judge Clare.  

Judge Jude. 

In the judge's robe.  (Does this scare anyone else??)

Some learning...

Hands-on.

Sand is always fun!

Licensed driver in 2024...

If only this was true...

Fill 'er up!

Even Ellen got in on the fun!

Look at that pretty baby in the mirror!

Crawling down the slide. 

Sister love. 

The water section was enjoyed by all!  And I forgot they have seats for babies to play, too!

She had a ball!  

Mr. Neat put on an apron as soon as one was available!  

I think we have a leftie.  

Of course Clare found some other kids that had a whole plan in how to move the water and build a dam and tell that water who was boss!  This was very serious work!

On to the next activity...the auto body shop.  Can you tell they have NASCAR in their blood??? 

Last stop...grocery shopping and preparing a meal.  

And eating it, too!  

Kickin' It Old School...

Clare and I enjoyed putting my old puzzle together!  

And while I'm discussing the '80s...a shout out to an 80's baby, my brother Max who turns 24 today!  

Happy Birthday to you!

Fairy Party

Clare and I checked this book out from the library...  

...and it became the inspiration for a "Fairy Party" she recently hosted for some of her neighborhood friends.

The recipes in the book were all very simple, perfect for a 5 year-old hostess.  We decided to make the "Friendship Fairy Bread" and the "Snow Queen Punch.  

The bread was made with prepackaged buttermilk biscuits quartered 

and tossed in a cinnamon-sugar mix.  

The punch was Sprite, dyed blue, with honey (or sugar), and a squeeze of lime and lemon.  (Let's just say the lemons were a huge conversation piece at the party...along with lots of "sour" face competitions!)  

Clare was very excited about using a tablecloth!  

Buzz made an appearance (of course!) and enjoyed some "Fairy Friendship Bread." 

The girls were way into the party.  One friend brought "goodie bags" for everyone.  

And another brought this book to read aloud during the festivities.  

 The girls also watched "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue" (after snacking on lemons this ate up a large portion of the party schedule).   

Then they made these fairies.

And don't think I am a creative genius because they came from this Klutz book....along with all of the pieces to make them.    

Clare was very pleased with her Fairy Party and it kept us busy for an afternoon!  

"Magic S'mores Bars"

Oh my goodness these were delicious!  I found this recipe for a cookie/bar type s'more dessert and made them for Monday's July 4th festivities.  They were easy to make, with just a few ingredients...that alone wins high marks in my book!  

Ingredients:

2 wrapped packages of graham crackers

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (they used semi-sweet, but I used milk chocolate)

2 cups (approximately) marshmallows

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (but I forgot to add it's glorious self in the photo below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Make graham cracker crumbs by putting graham crackers through the food processor.  (Or you could also smash in a closed freezer bag.)

Next melt the butter and mix with graham cracker crumbs.  Press into a 9x13 pan.  Bake for 5 minutes. 

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over the graham cracker crust.  Pour sweetened condensed milk on top.  

Add marshmallows on top.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the marshmallows are lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting.    

These were crunchy, chewy, chocolatey, and gooey.  So yummy...and that's why I never got a picture of the finished product!  

1993 Thunderstorm

There was a thunderstorm at my parents' house while we were visiting a few weeks ago.  It's always neat to watch a thunderstorm on their front porch...especially when you're watching with your Jude-Buggy.  

The storm reminded me of a "poem" I wrote about such an event in 6th grade.  And of course I found it in my 6th grade "Book of Poems" in my basement when I returned home:   

(Hello 1993 computer font and printer!)

I can smell the rain from here!

Let Freedom Ring!

We began the 4th of July this year the same way we have for the past 5 years...at the local parade.  

(Last year I went solo with the kids because Ryan had a double ear infection - true story.)

It was a bit overcast yesterday and rained pretty steadily before the festivities. 

Clare eventually took refuge in the double stroller.  

Thankfully it dried up right before the parade began!

It was Ellen's first parade and she was such a good girl!  It was an hour long and she took her morning nap during the last 20 minutes of the parade.  

This is one of my favorite pictures from yesterday: 

This parade souvenir may or may not currently be "lost" at our house...

Some of our favorite floats...

(The band)

Our parade neighbors had made these buckets to collect their loot.  So cute and festive...might have to make some ourselves!

The rest of our day was spent preparing for and hosting a 4th of July get-together with family.  I tried a new recipe, "Magic S'more Bars," for dessert and they were so yummy and rich.  I'll have to share the recipe because they were a hit!  (Did I mention they were delicious???)

And no 4th of July is complete without fireworks!  (And Jude being Jude...)  

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Happy 4th!

One of my favorite pictures from Independence Days past...

Hoping the parade is dry today!

Happy 4th!

Weak Moment of the Week

My children think I am wonderful this week because, in a moment of weakness, I bought this:

The world's largest container of cheeseballs!  

They have become the 5th food group around here...we'll see how long they last...and how many cheesy fingerprints I find around the house.