A collection of pictures

Well, well, well it seems I have gotten myself back into one of those situations where I might need to reintroduce myself or something.  I have been so busy lately, with an assortment of things that I have had very little time to blog, but mostly I am suffering from a very severe case of writers block.  I have a lot of material, but cannot seem to find the words.  There. are. simply. no. words.  So today, I thought I would show in pictures what we have been up to lately, you know since I have no words and all...

(I might find a few words)

My first attempt at a key lime pie.  Let me just say, it was A lot of work for 3/4 C of lime juice.  I'm not joking, I bet it took me 30 minutes.  As I was sweating trying to squeeze every single drop of juice Mark looks over at me and says, "you know, I think they sell these in the freezer section."

Our garden is growing!  We now have 2 tomatoes.  Let's just  hope the birds or the large lizard don't get to them first.

It's official.  Our little guy is registered for kindergarten.  {Sigh}

Date night and mini-photo session with my favorite little man.

Pizza at a local pizza shop, Sal's.  Really nice having a little one-on-one time.

This is how all photo shoots start with this kid.

Then you throw in something for distraction.  In this case, a stick.

Then you add a little action.

Then you catch him distracted by thoughts of Angry Birds, ice cream , candy, etc.

And you end up with a J.Crew model in the making.  Fantastic!

Kite flying afternoon with grandparents at the community picnic. 

Jack teaching P-paw how to play video games at the mobile gaming truck.

We might not live in Chicago, but it certainly feels like the windy city here.  It is incredible.  Thank heavens we left the tie downs on our trees.  Otherwise, I'm certain that they would have been uprooted and blown over long ago.  This particular day was a perfect day for kite flying. 

Easter weekend.  

Do you know how difficult it is to get a family picture using the self time with a 2 year old and a 5 year old?  Well, let's just say it is a small miracle that everyone is actually looking at the camera.

I have one child that refuses to eat just about anything that is called a "vegetable" so I decided to sneak it in a pancake.  These were pumpkin pancakes and they were delicious.  By far, some of the best pancakes I think I have ever made.  Recipe below.

Easter rice cripsy treats.  I would like to tell you they were a hit, but they weren't really.  They were cute though.

Our camping trip was cancelled, but we didn't want the kids to miss out on roasting hot dogs and of course smores.  Actually, I think the parents didn't want to miss out on the smorse either.  They were delicious.

 

After dessert we decided to sit outside and watch the storm blow in.  Initially, the kids weren't remotely interested in sitting on the patio because there was funder (yes, funder) and lightening.  I on the other hand, love storms.  Jack finally made his way out there to sit with me and we talked about lighting and thunder and how it isn't something to be afraid of.  How he should be aware of what is going on, but doesn't need to be afraid.  Julia on the other hand, was climbing on us and crying.  That is until her brother (he speaks the gospel to her) began to talk to her.  He repeated what I said, but he followed it with this, "Julia, you don't need to be afraid of lightening.  Think of it as a fireworks show.  Think of it as free fireworks given to us by God."  Seriously, his words, not mine.  Incredible!  And it was an incredible show.  I loved every single moment of it.  That is, until the gigantic mosquitoes came out in full force.


An afternoon with bubbles.  Always a big hit around here.

And finally, our own little Easter Egg hunt.  This kids thought this was fantastic.  Julia found the golden prize egg, but her brother took it in stride.  We were so proud of him.  He found eggs and lots of them, but worked really hard to make sure that Julia found eggs too.

Pumpkin pancakes:

1 C flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided

1 egg, lightly beaten 

1 C buttermilk (or 1 Tbs. lemon juice with enough milk to make 1 C)

1/3 C canned pumpkin

Mix flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda.  Melt 1 Tbsp. butter.  Whisk in egg, buttermilk, pumpkin and melted butter. (remaining butter used to coat pan)

These were nice, fluffy, moist pancakes.  As Julia would say, "deyicious"

Love to all.

Amy