Bang That Drum!

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm

Cherry Crest is a farm not too far from us that has a main attraction of a corn maze but also many other activities that are great for small children.  My mom took all of us, except the men who were working, there last Friday, and it was a blast.  We spent about 4 hours, and the kids were upset that we had to leave.  Except LB, he was beat. 

One of the first things we saw upon entering were 2 giant bounce pillows.  Poor Anthony had to bounce on a separate one from the girls because he is so tall.

This was my girls' favorite thing there pretty much.  Pnut says everything was her favorite, but this is what she was most upset about leaving.

They had a whole play area of different climbing things and slides and a playhouse.  There was also a shed that was supposed to be like a sandbox but was filled with shelled corn and some water tables to play in. 

My favorite things, and Pnut did say she liked this a lot, were the giant slides.  The tube one can be ridden by more than one person on a bag, but the metal ones have to be done individually.  After I went down it, I understood why!  You fly down!!

There was a chicken show that was pretty cute, and the kids enjoyed that quite a bit, although I think the jokes went over their heads:)  What did the hen do after she saw the bucket of fried chicken?  She kicked the bucket.  :)

There were many things I didn't get pictures of.  I think this place is definitely worth the money!

I have pictures to post from a fun place we went Friday, but right now I am working on birthday stuff.  I'm making a gift for Anthony and things for Pnut's party Saturday.  I've gotten stuck on Anthony's gift.  I made Joel laugh by saying that I wish my mom lived closer (by which I mean next door) so that she could help me figure out the directions.  They are just confusing in one part.  I'll see her Wednesday, though, so hopefully she can help me figure it out then.  After I finish Anthony's gift, I have some things I am making for Pnut for her birthday, although I technically still have an extra week for that.  All this to say, I'm too busy tonight to do the pictures!

Grilled Steak and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

This is a recipe from Rachael Ray's Classic 30 Minute Meals on page 100.  I love this cookbook.  It is probably my favorite one that I have!  I'll just tell you how I did it, not list all the extra stuff she had in!

2 cloves garlic, minced or smashed
1 T frill seasoning blend
1 t smoked paprika
2 dashes cayenne pepper sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T red wine vinegar
1/3 c EVOO
1.5 lb flank or skirt steak
1.5 lb small red-skinned potatoes
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I just cut mine up with my kitchen scissors)
1/2 c sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Mix garlic, grill seasoning, paprika, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and EVOO in bowl.  Marinate meat for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile cut potatoes in half and boil until tender.  While boiling, heat pan on stove to med-high.  Sear meat on each side for 4-5 minutes until desired doneness.  Drain potatoes, smash with pastry blender until pretty smooth but with some lumps.  Mix in bacon, sour cream, and salt and pepper.  So good!

Softball 2011

Tonight was our last regular season game of softball.  The play-offs start next Thursday night.  I enjoy going and the girls have such a good time, but it is always nice to get back to regular life too.  LB has a hard time staying up and can get quite cranky, especially when his buddy Miss Katie isn't there to hold him!  On softball nights, I spend a lot of time playing catch-up when we get home.

LB got a tooth during the night last night, which would explain why he was up 500 times.  He is only 6 months old...I was hoping he would hold out until he was 10 months like Pnut.

So I have a recipe to share, but that will have to wait.  Instead I leave you with this real conversation:

Joel was flipping back and forth to America's Got Talent and a woman sword-swallower came on. 

Joel:  I thought women physically couldn't do that.

Me:  I have no idea.

Joel:  Why would a woman want to do that anyway?

Me:  Why would a man?

Joel:  Well, men are stupid.

There we have it folks, straight from the horses mouth!

Sailor Boy

Joel hates this outfit and said he hopes LB can't wear it ever again.

I think it is cute.

Babies don't need to be manly!

I wish he had a hat to go with it.  Oh well, I don't think I'll be able to get it on him again.  He is just so long and I had trouble getting the buttons buttoned at the bottom!

Applique

I definitely need to keep practicing for smoother edges and a more invisible stitch, but I like that whole thing isn't surrounded by a zig-zag stitch.  I need to make my next towel a little more generous as well; it isn't quite long enough.

Those are supposed to be lemons, by the way!
I am relatively pleased with the new skill I tried out.  I've done applique before, but not with the "invisible" stitch. 

Pirate Baby

So until everyone had baths and was into bed, it was after 9:00 and no crafting is happening tonight.  Instead, enjoy these cute baby pictures:

Love those chubby little limbs!  He has started crawling a bit now.  Great, he is even more mobile than before!

Confession...

I totally meant to work on my project tonight, but I was talking to Randa on the phone and got sucked into www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com.  You should check it out!  You too can lose hours of your time!:)

...

We were away all day visiting with family, and it was really fun, but now I'm really, really tired and still trying to just catch things up here.  I have a project in the works that I will hopefully get to share tomorrow or Thursday and I'm really excited about.  We do have softball for the next 2 days so I don't know if it will get completed or not.  But for now, I'm going to go!

Clothespin Magnets

I had wanted to make something with the girls with clothespins to hang their pictures on the fridge, but I wasn't sure what to do.  I had brought in 6 pins, and they were pestering me every day with questions about what we were making.  So I was forced to come up with an idea, and we were pretty pleased with the results:

They each made three, and I like it because now they each have 3 holders for their pictures, and that is all the pictures they are allowed to keep on the fridge.  They would try to hang up so many, and all of the pictures would just fall on the floor every time the door was opened.

Someone has become quite the force to be reckoned with!

If he isn't buckled in, he flips over and squirms out and stands beside his chair.  He is getting very steady when he sits and now is up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth to try to propel himself forward.  He moved one hand today forward.  And he'll be 6 months in 2 days.  I'm not ready for him to get so big!

Water Fun

How cute is he?

We went out twice today because it was so hot.  I put up the tent of sheets so that they could play out when it was sunny.  I set up this bowl or water for LB, and he didn't even care about it.  He just wanted to play in the sprinkler.

The girls are hilarious and have come so far!  The were giving themselves showers:)

I was trying to get her to keep talking while I took her picture because her facial expressions are so animated.  She was "cooking" outside and describing everything to me, her ingredients, the taste, all that.  Vinegar marshmallows with donut salad.  Delicious.

And this pictures so sums up Pilly.  Look at that sideways look.  Stop interrupting what I am doing, I am intent on it.  That ball was a fish.  Who we were told didn't really like water so don't splash in his bowl.

And finally we are back to the sprinkler again.  He let it squirt all over his head and just kept trying to eat the water.  He would put his hands in it and then suck on them.  He doesn't seem to care how cold it is, but maybe it is just so stinkin' hot that it doesn't matter!

Wordless Wednesday-How to watch Little Mermaid

Friends

Sunday night, I went to a shower for a really good friend of mine.  It was such a wonderful time, very casual with much laughter and talking.  She was very surprised, and it was just such a blessing to be able to be there.  I'm so thankful for my friends and how wonderful they are.  Where I grew up, not many people moved, and I think that is something that scares me about here.  These people that I love and am good friends with have the potential to move away!  Or Joel could get some crazy idea about moving us.  So I live in the moment and enjoy the time I have and know how very blessed I am!

The party theme was "A Mister is Coming."  It was all so sweet, and we had chocolate mustaches as favors.  The kids modeled them, and then the girls ate them:

Have a lovely evening and tell your friends you love them!

Cousin Fun

We spent the day with my sister and niece and nephew, which was a lot of fun.  My mom drove us over, and we got to see their new house and their new hamster, Hammie.  He was quite a hit with everyone, except me cause he nipped me twice.  What a little turkey.  He is cute and quite furry:)

Poor Anthony ends up doing things like this when he gets together with the girls:

And he ends up looking like this:

Someday he will regret these pictures:)  He is awful pretty:)

The girls looked quite beautiful:

And now, a picture of a smiling baby:

Where?

Where has this week gone?  Tomorrow is Friday already?  Looking at the calendar, this didn't look like such a busy week, but it sure filled up.  Even just the day-to-day things with the girls make it go fast.  Today we went here:

We were going to have a picnic at the playground, but there was a field trip there so we went to the rose garden instead and ate there.  It was so fun!

We ended up staying for almost 2 hours.  The girls just ran around and played in the roses.  LB sat in his stroller most of the time.  I usually carry him in the Ergo, but I have too much stuff to carry when we are picnicking, and I like to be able to hang a bag on the stroller.  He was happy to sit and watch his sisters run around and stuff blow in the breeze.  We couldn't have asked for more gorgeous weather!

I'm trying to be more spontaneous with the girls this summer.  Pnut asked right before we left, I mean right before, if we could go on a picnic.  I was going to say no, and then I figured why not?!  So we did, and I'm so glad. 

The girls both took good naps then too since they were so worn out.  Just another added benefit!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Ours looks like it will be fun:)

Aaah

Well, we've had our thrill for the day.  Joel dislocated his finger at softball tonight.  Thankfully there was a girl there who majored in sport's medicine and popped it back in for him.  We could hear it pop.  I gagged.  What a very long day we have had!  I am going to go take a cold shower and go to bed!