We have power!

Yeah! 2 1/2 days without and I'm so glad its' back- mostly for the refrigerator and freezer. But again we were blessed it so many ways
-great weather- not too hot, not too cold
-we have a gas stove so we could cook
-James' office is super close and has several refrigerators so we took almost everything to his office
-the basement was a terrific plasma car racetrack

Trash, trinkets, or treasures

"Trash, trinkets, or treasures…how are you spending your time?" I saw this quote on email and thought I had to share. what a great question to ask as we go through the day.

catching up

I'm really behind on my blogging and want to catch up with our fun trip to Boone, Grandma & Pops Leon's visit, Kelly's visit, and capturing the other memories here ... but
before I do, here's some great things heard from the kids recently:

KG: where's Daddy?
Me: Kentucky
KG: Kentucky Fried?

after I prayed over C the little girl God has planned to be his wife, C: but Mommy I already know who is going to be my wife.

Little T tried his hardest but didn't quite make it to "No Hugs until Saturday". Today he says "every day is a day for hugs and kisses"

We've all been enjoying our Friday night movie nights- pizza & then a movie- some of our recent favorites- Benji, Charlotte's Web, and tonight we started The Black Stallion (although we probably should have fast-forwarded the whole ship sinking part- there was much weeping during that tonight. KG- where'd his daddy go?)

Tonight we had a terrific treat which the boys named "Smoothie Cream"- the boys  (& Papa) have always loved frozen bananas and I really stumbled upon a recipe for banana ice cream. Tonight after dinner I got out frozen strawberries for the kids- not quite so yummy & hard to eat so I thought I'd try strawberry/ banana "ice cream"- I pureed 1/2 frozen strawberries, 1/2 banana in the vita mix- I did add a tiny bit of coconut milk because I didn't chop the bananas or strawberries first and I was impatient.  Super yummy! Can't wait to try more flavors.

banana can be used as a base to get the creamy texture. I add frozen berries, frozen peaches frozen ANY fruit.. making sure you always have at least 1/2 the quantity of banana total. 
For a special treat I like to add chocolate chips, or make a chocolate ganache and pour it over like a sunday. YUM! and healthy :)

Nana & Papa Visit

We had a great visit with my parents. They were very happy to arrive at our house- especially with their car trouble.  

The kids were excited to see the tow truck in action.

After lunch Sunday we headed out to Park Quest #8: Susquehanna. 

C and KG as early 1800s children doing chores

boys watching their corn being ground into cornmeal

corn meal ground, mail delivered, water carried, time to enjoy the mansion's AC :)

outside the Rock Run mansion at Susquehanna: Park Quest #8

Hiking is always the kids' favorite part of Parkquest

Sunday night we celebrated K and Papa's birthdays with a Turtle Cake. Most years we've celebrated their birthdays together so K always looks forward to that.

Happy Birthday to K and Papa!

Monday we went to Park Quest #9: Sandy Point. I probably should have read more about the park & packed for the beach. but we improvised and everyone had a blast.  The treasure really was the beautiful beach and the molting crab we saw in the nature center. Even little KG suddenly decided she likes the water- "Go deeper Mommy".  I wish I'd taken my camera- although I don't know that a picture could fully capture the joy on the kids' faces as they played in the water. 

Tuesday we went to Days Cove- we've really enjoyed our Tuesday Park Pals and Sprouts there. And the boys were especially excited to have Nana and Papa go with them. 

Wednesday we went to K's speech. It was great to be able to go in with him while Nana and Papa went on an adventure with the other 3. They didn't see our friend the cat but they did find all the letters of the alphabet. Then off to our first Diners, Dive-Ins, and Drives restaurant:  G and A Restaurant.  We had a great time there. The food was good- coney island hotdogs, sliders, and fries with gravy- and the waitresses & owner were terrific.  After lunch we went to the American Visionary Arts Museum. Part of the Blue Star Museum summer free museums for military. We had a great time. It was so neat. The kids really loved the toys hanging from the ceiling when you come and the whoopee cushion bench. There were lots of other neat things too. The only downer was spraining my ankle.


Thursday we celebrated Dad's birthday with another DDD- The Blue Moon Cafe. Everything was good but the Captain Crunch French toast was amazing. Then we hunted for the Charm City Circulator but did a scenic driving tour of the waterfront instead. We had berry crisp topped with chocolate banana "ice cream" for another celebration of Papa's birthday. Friday morning, Nana, Papa, and K headed towards Florida. K is super excited about his birthday trip.  KG keeps asking "where's K?" When I tell her Florida, "Why he not here? Miss K" So sweet! What a great week!

Seven!

I can't believe my baby boy is seven! Seems like just yesterday we got to hold him in our arms for the first time. Wow! He's grown fast.

we had a fun birthday- even if the kids' early morning dentist appointments were canceled. our Baltimore friends came over to play, have lunch, and hit the pinata that K made. I showed him several and he wanted to make the paper bag kind which was okay with me since it was less messy and took less time, but I think he just wanted something he could make all by himself. He planned on filling it with all healthy things but was pretty happy to use the Easter candy too.

All three boys were very excited about the hamburger for dessert.  And K was so excited with his presents- a book and cool game from friends, clothes & drawing things from Grandma, and Nana & Papa coming up soon. We did have two very sad parts of the day: Daddy couldn't be here & our friends from Fayetteville got sick and couldn't come. Otherwise a good celebration to the beginning of another year!

Tuesday Fun!

We are enjoying our summer. When we found out we were moving to Baltimore, I was excited about exploring a new city and area, but also sad and a little anxious about moving somewhere and not knowing anyone (although it turns out 2 friends from high school live near here). We've always moved to a military post where we'll probably know some people and the small Army connection means you almost always meet people who are friends of friends. But it's funny amazing how God puts things together for us ahead of time.  Like leading us to Royal Rangers in Fayetteville which lead us to our wonderful church Trinity Assembly of God which lead us to our terrific new friends.  We also found ParkQuest which lead us to Days Cove which has been a lot fun especially with our new friends this summer.  K & C are in Park Pals with their good friends. T and KG are Sprouts with me and their friend and her Mommy. Our 2 families are always the first to arrive and the last to leave.   Here's some pics of our summer fun- 

sshhh! Don't tell the park rangers we've been climbing trees before & after class.

Our cool leaf collections- every week we act like a tree, do some crafts, have a snack, read a book, go on a nature walk, ...

our friends!

I see you!

Watch out frogs, bugs, lizards, toads, ... here come the herd of scientists.

rock throwing is always a favorite

poor frog

Baking Days

 We found a new family favorite at the Civil War Encampment: Hard tack!
The boys were super exited to make it, all enjoyed it for dinner, and KG wouldn't even cheese for the picture bc she thought it was so yummy!

Frying the hardtack in the bacon grease (although turkey bacon doesn't leave much grease!)

I got a little carried away making pancakes and waffles (I usually x4 the recipe but this time x8).

 At least I'll have them in the freezer for a long time!