Day at the beach

There are many things we like about the area we live in now.  One of these things is that we are only an hour away from a nice beach.  So, when some friends asked us to join them at the beach today, we jumped at the chance.  It was a great day, filled with playing in the sand, catching crabs, and collecting shells!

Some 1st grade material we love . . .

(Note:  Please excuse the horribly blurry photo.  I was lazy and didn't attach the external flash when I took the picture.)

Now that Zeke is reading, we allow him to stay up and read at bedtime. 
As part of his 1st grade home school curriculum, and at the recommendation of my sister-in-law Becky, I purchased Beautiful Feet's Early American history book set.  

I personally, was never much of a history buff.  I can't remember a date to save my life, and thus, history always bored me.  These books, however, bring history alive by telling each person's story and making them more real.  Zeke and I just finished reading a story about Benjamin West (famous American artist) and his cat Grimalkin.  We befriended a cat today, and the kids decided to name him Grimalkin.  But even beyond reading these books together, Zeke has begun choosing to read them when he goes to bed.  The last several days it has been fun to listen to him excitedly comment about Benjamin Franklin and Buffalo Bill.  Tonight he was reading about Abraham Lincoln.  When he came out to say good night he said, "But the story ended kind of sad, because he went to watch a show and there was a shot that everyone thought was part of the show, but really Abraham was dead."  

When I was trying to figure out what to use for 1st grade, I spent hours POURING over catalogs and blogs.  As I find products we love, I want to post them here for those who might stumble across this blog.  I highly recommend this set, although it is a bit pricy.  If you live in the States you may be able to find them at your local library.  You can purchase a study guide, which I did, but we aren't using it.  We are just reading through the books at this point and laying a foundation with the stories. 

 

Sierra is TWO!

Where do I even start with this precious girl?  Two years have passed since this not-so-little baby made her appearance into our lives.  Sunday night we were riding home on a bus.  We didn't get home until midnight, so of course the kids fell asleep.  As I held Sierra on my lap, with her sweet little face cuddled against my shoulder, I couldn't help but treasure the moment.  For one, these moments are rare.  Sierra is incredible independent and self-sufficient.  Typically the only time she wants to be held is when she hears Kaiyah asking to be held.  With the 2nd birthday, it seems babies leave their babyhood and turn all little girl.  I'm thankful to have had these last few moments to treasure my baby-turned-little-girl right before her birthday. 

Sierra is full of fun and mischief.  She is our little bully, our family clown, and likely going to become more and more bossy as the years go on.  She gives the sweetest smiles, and melts your heart with her love.  She isn't afraid to try things, loves Dora, and playing on the ipad.  She loves to eat, and will eat most anything.  We love you Sierra Nicole!  Happy 2nd Birthday!

Zeke's Barberry Balls Recipe

Zeke has recently started learning how to cook.  He has been helping me make things for a long time, but he likes to do it by himself now that he can read a recipe.  Yesterday morning he asked if he could make us breakfast all by himself, WITHOUT a recipe.  I was thinking that perhaps he could pull out the cereal or something of that nature.  The next thing I hear from the kitchen is the mixer whirring around.  Oh dear, I thought!  A few minutes later Sierra walks in covered in some brown substance.  As I walk past the kitchen to get her cleaned up, this is what I saw.

 I'll confess, at first I thought, oh no, my prized vanilla, all over the floor and table.  But I did good and held my tongue.  I then realized it was my maple flavoring, which is also prized, but not AS prized as my vanilla!  So we had a little chat about how maple flavoring is not typically used in baked goods.  

So, here it is ladies and gentlemen, what you've all been waiting for.

Zeke's Barberry Balls Recipe

Mix unspecified amounts of sugar, sunflower oil and barberries with a mixer.  Add salt and baking powder, 1 egg and 1 1/2 cups of flour.  Roll into small balls and bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Dried Onion Flakes

 While we were in the States I saw several recipes to make homemade ranch dip "packets," so I didn't bother bringing any back with me.  I saw a recipe recently that I wanted to try that called for ranch seasoning, so I began my search for the things I would need to make it.  Alas, onion powder was no where to be found.  So, I chopped 7 or so fresh onions and 36 hours later this is what I had.

Not bad, eh? 

 I went ahead and baked up some of this yummy-ness to try to tone down the onion smell in our house.  They were delicious although Dan's sensitive tongue detected a slight onion flavor :) 

A new cook in the family!

This past weekend was the Spring Fair at our local congregation where we raise money to help refugees and other various projects.  I had signed up to make some baked goods to sell, so friday found me in the kitchen making cupcakes.  I asked Zeke if he would like to help me, but he said that instead he would like to make something all on his own for the Spring Fair.  I wrote out our brownie recipe on a piece of paper and he ran with it, making some YUMMY brownies completely on his own.  I put the pan in the oven, took them out of the oven, and helped with a small cocoa powder spill, but other then that, he did it!  Watch out world, there is another cook in this family.  But, with his dad, Paw Paw and Granddad all being great cooks, I can't say I'm surprised.

Kaiyah is 4!

Our sweet Kaiyah turned 4 years old a few days ago.  There are moments when she seems so grown up, and other times when she still seems little and vulnerable.  She is still very shy with people she doesn't know well, but there are several teenage or nearly teenage girls that she ADORES, and she talks about them constantly.  If they are around she is right by their side.  Kaiyah is super sweet and affectionate.  She tells you she loves you all the time.  I wasn't feeling well the other day, and she came to my bed and kept saying, "I sorry you hurt momma.  I sorry you don't feel good."  However, whenever Zeke or Sierra are getting in trouble, she also makes sure to be right there spouting her love for me ;)  She is very sensitive, making her prone to tears, but also giving her a love for those around her.  Kaiyah plans to marry Zeke's friend Jacob.  Her best friend is Avery, and it's so sweet to watch them having conversations with one another.  I need to capture some of those moments on video, but I'm not very good about that.  She loves to giggle and has an amazing imagination, always acting out some dialog between one toy and another.  She can laugh hysterically with Zeke, and fight fiercely with him all in the matter of seconds.  Yes, our sweet Kaiyah is 4 years old.  Here are a couple of pictures from her actual birthday!