Austin the Baker

Austin really enjoyed making these cookies. He can't wait to make more. He seems to be working hard at cutting them out.
He also learned how to use the rolling pin to roll the dough out.

I love my family. They have so much fun doing whatever they are involved doing.

Rachel and Papa ride the motorcycle

Rachel loves to go for rides with her papa on the motorcycle. She doesn't get to do this often, but grandpa was on vacation this week and they rode almost everyday.

Word and Quote for the day

deride - to laugh at with contempt

"the harder you work, the luckier you get" ~ McAlexander

Joe

Lara's good friend Joe passed on July 1, 2009. We do not know any details. His funeral is tomorrow. Lara and her husband Chris are coming down. Not sure where we are going to eat at, but I bet it will be.... Not going to say... why ruin a good day.

Fireworks tonight.... Austin and Devon can't wait.

We are getting ready to finish the cookies. There are so many. We will take my mom up some real soon. She loves her cookies. I need to go to the family site and write the two latest remembrances she has.

Rodz...

Rodz you wrote about your dad hiding his 100 lottery win... I wish I would win our lottery so I could have you come on over here and go to school... I think you would be a riot to have around.

I think even though we have not spent time together except by post and this past year computer, our family traits have been passed to all of us.

Keep having fun, but take school just a little more serious this year.

Have you heard if you passed all of your exams?

Let me know...

134 posts this is 135

This is post 135. Wonder who all will read it? What should I rant about today?

Austin, Devon and I are getting ready to bake cookies. We made the dough last night. We are now waiting on the dough to get the workable state.

It is a great recipe. One that my grandmother brought here from Wales. The family all enjoy this light, sugary cookie with nutmeg.

The only cookie cutter that we have that is for this season is stars... so we are doing stars.

The 4th is over and now we are on the 5th of July.

I have much work to get done before school starts. Time to start today. So I may not blog much... However this s like an open journal. Isn't it great to speak you mind and it doesn't matter who reads it as it is your thoughts and some people ALWAYS have to state their opinions about your thoughts.

Firework hunting

Casi, Shane and the boys have gone in search of fireworks. Mom keeps calling... turn to channel so and so they have fireworks there.... We hear them and they have gone out in search of them. Hope they find some good ones. Devon woke this morning wanting to see more fireworks... Don't know what he will do tomorrow morning when there are none...

3rd of July

Okay so we had our own private fireworks show. Today is the 4th...rain, rain... and more rain. I am so glad we celebrated last night.

Rodz right now the American flags are plentiful as it is a celebration of freedom... The Revolutionary War.

Well in GB is not celebrated because us "Yankees" were being rebellious against the King of England....

Enough said on that. We had a great celebration even though it has rained.

Happy 4th of all ... even those that are in Vegas, the home of SIN!

Austin and the park

Austin and I went to the DQ yesterday and then we were going to the park. While at DQ it started to pour down rain. We sat there and ate our ice cream. It stopped raining hard and we went ahead to the park. There were lots of people there. Austin played for a short time then we came home. We then caught lighting bugs, feed the fish and went upstairs and watched a movie. It was too hot to really enjoy anything.

Attic Cleaning

It is now officially too hot to work in the attic. It is about 140 degrees up there. Maybe in the evenings I will be able to go up there and pull a few things out to go through. I guess the rummage sale will have to wait a few weeks. On Thursday the weather is to be cooler. Maybe I can get up there and do some major work. I am glad I did what I did before these super hot days. Heat advisory until 7 pm Wednesday. Believe me it is too hot to even think about going out side to feed the fish. I will get this attic beat though... just wait and see! You know me, when I make up my mind to do something, nothing gets in my way. I will accomplish it.
So be warned children... anything you want you need to get and take home...

Money, Money, Money

Austin was hired by Great-Grandma to pull weeds from her garden. She paid him and he put the money in his secret hiding place until we can get it in the bank. He likes pulling weeds especially when he is getting paid.
Aunt Lara he wants to come to your house and visit soon. Send us your schedule so we can see what we can work out.

Austin and his key

We found a key to the house, so Austin now has his own key for the summer. He has been practicing unlocking the door. He is pretty proud of himself.

Austin the Fish Trainer

Austin has been working on getting the fish to come to the side of the pond where he is feeding them. It is working. They now come to the side. They are getting braver coming to the top to feed while he is there. It is just a matter of a few more days of feeding them and they will be "friendly."

Austin and his day doing yard work

Austin Friday helped my yard guy Steve. Austin pulled weeds while Steve moved some plants for me. Austin worked very hard and did a great job. If anyone in this area needs a yard man Steve is good at the job and works hard from start to finish.

Austin is very proud of his work. But the toads have invaded the pond. What a mess we will have in a few days. Not a fun thing at all. I just don't have the heart to tell him that probably most of the toad eggs will get eaten by the fish.

DIshes, I don't know how to do dishes!

Austin had a first experience today. He washed all of the dishes, even the glass ones. He was afraid he might break one. I told him as long as he didn't break a dish on purpose, no sweat. He relaxed and did a great job. He even learned how to use the green scratch pads. What a great boy he is. Everyone should be proud of Austin..... Go Austin Go!
And he lived happily ever after.
Grandpa is very proud of him!
Grandma is very proud of him also!
Mommy told him she was proud of him!

He wants mommy to know he loves her very much!
He says Hi to Devon and I will be home someday.
Bye all from Austin.

More Indiana Beach Coverage

Here are some more pictures of our trip to Indiana Beach.

Anyone for a Bull Ride? Ashley and Rachel gave it a try. Ashley missed beating the best time by 10 seconds and Rachel missed it by 6 seconds. Not bad girls for your first time riding a bull!

Yes that's right, Rachel and Chris rode this ride more than once. Rachel and Chris are Roller Coaster nuts!



Watch the video of Devon future race car driver.

Indiana Beach

We went to Indiana Beach Sunday. It was not crowded and you could walk up to a ride and hop on. Nicole loved the roller coasters this time. She was tall enough to ride them all. Ashley, well she is almost 48 inches tall. Next time it will probably cost us 48 inches price for her. Devon rode his favorite rides more than once. Ashley screamed and laughed on the Frog ride. I think it caught her off guard. They slid down the water slide a couple of times. They were hoping it would be warm enough to go in the water park part. Ashley is not quit tall enough to go in without wearing a life jacket. They just went to the beach instead.


Here they are in the car riding to Indiana Beach. Don't they look excited.


Here Nicole and Ashley are getting ready to ride the Frog Hopper.


Ashley scream-laughing!

The Jams and Apple Butter

I spent two days this week making apple butters and jams. We have caramel apple butter, regular apple butter, peach jam and strawberry jam. I can't wait for the berries to get ripe so we can have blueberries and blackberries.

Caramel apple butter

I have found a recipe I think I want to try. It is called caramel apple butter. I don't know what it will taste like. The strawberry jam is really good. To bad your brother has dibs on it all.....He is waiting on the blackberries to get ripe... You know what Rob wants - blackberry pie.

BBQ Rules

My sister sent me this email... I think it says it all!

BBQ RULES We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman..
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine....
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.


And most important of all:

(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

Strawberry recipe

I found this at cooks.com My mom has gone strawberry picking crazy... so here is a recipe for all of those strawberries...
STRAWBERRY JAM
Printed from COOKS.COM

4 c. sugar
2 c. crushed ripe strawberries (about 2 pts.)
3/4 c. water
1 box powdered fruit pectin

Add sugar to crushed strawberries in a large bowl; mix well and set aside. Combine the water and pectin in a small saucepan; blend well. Bring to boiling and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir into sweetened strawberries. Continue stirring about 3 minutes. (There will be some sugar crystals remaining.)
Quickly ladle jam into jars and cover with tight-fitting lids. Let stand until "set". If used within 2-3 weeks store in refrigerator; if kept longer store in freezer. Five (1/2 pint) jars of jam.

Rachel and Ashley

Rachel, aka Nicole and Ashley have been begging to spend the night for several weeks. They are staying tonight. We are watching A Night at the Museum. I have tooooo many hours of paper work to wrap up, but they are really missing spending time with us. We want to take them to Tennessee with us to see their Uncle James, however their ball schedules wont allow it at this time. Maybe after ball season is over.
Austin and Devon are going to Tennessee with their parents. Devon is coming to our house with us from there. We will have so much fun. He is my little buddy and I am sure we can find lots to do while he is here.
I know we will be going to the park often. My mom will spoil him, and we will all have lots of food to eat.
School is almost over for the year. Some are finished. We have 2 more days. Hope they fly by.
I have been checking out the St. Jude house raffle. Go check out their site. Maybe there is a home near you that you can get a raffle ticket for.
Nicole has finally posted to her blog. She is getting pretty good at it. Now she needs some pictures to post. I will try and find time this week to take her out where she can take some pictures.
Have a great day!

Home from Tennessee

James is home from Tennessee. Here are some pictures that were taken there. James in his wheel chair, Virginia and James, Sarah's son, Lucas Hayden and a picture of the deer that Blake shot on the property and Blake with the Baby.

One more Monday

There is only one more Monday left this school year. No school next Monday because of the holiday. YEAH! Then the following Monday we have teacher workshop so the students do not attend. On Tues the 2nd of June is report card day... if any high schoolers come then they are there for a whole 30 minutes. To me that is not worth even rolling out of bed for.

I have begun the process of getting my classroom organized for the summer cleaning crew. It will be ready on the last day of finals. I am amazed at how quickly this year has sped by.

Hi Rodz... SO glad you are coming to visit America, via the Internet. Looking forward to your real visit.

I am going to Devon's birthday party on Sunday. Mum is going with me. Rachel and Ashley both want to go, however their biological father has them that weekend and so I doubt he will let them go. Such a shame. Family is important to kids. It doesn't matter which parent they are with at the time of an important date in their world.

Rachel and Ashley I will try and bring back some cake for you and some pictures. Remember how much fun we had last year... You camping in the tents with aunt Lara and uncle Chris and then the storm that came in.

At least you were close to the camper where you could come join us. LOL

Love to all my family here and across the great pond.

What a Rainy Spring we are Having !

Rain, Rain and more Rain. My yard man came today. It was a little wet, however he weeded and mowed the lawn. The storm hit my electric outlets outside so my pond is without its filter for the time being. Chris said he would come Friday and fix it for me. James is in Tennessee with James. Little James seems to be doing better, however things are serious. His leg is not healing like it should and the doctors made an error. Not once but three times. Now it is a matter of time to see how things will turn out. The storms that hit here yesterday are rolling through Tennessee today. James left his phone outside in the down pour. Hopefully it will dry out and work okay. My flowers are doing well and they are growing quickly. The girls are growing too! Devon is getting to be quit the talker on the phone. And Austin can't wait for school to end. It is close. I figured Austin would get out before us, however with all of their snow days they are getting out after us. Enough of this for tonight. I am busy scanning my magazine articles so I can get rid of the magazines. Talk later.

French Onion Soup

Ask anyone in my family, one of my favorite soups is French Onion. Here is a recipe so you can make your own.

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2 large onions)
4 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of pepper
6 slices French bread, toasted
3/4 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

In a large saucepan melt butter. Stir in onions. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or till tender and golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sprinkle toasted bread with shredded cheese. Place bread under broiler till cheese melts and turns light brown. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and float bread atop. Makes about 4 1/2 cups (6 side-dish servings).