A Bit of This, a Bit of That

Who says a girl can't build a car? Here I am building a car from blocks of wood and plastic bottle caps. The is one terrific way to recycle! At the Discovery Museum there is a super fun area where you can build anything you want...well almost anything. First I had to put on kid size goggles and check out all of the tools. The fun part was designing my car.

The SAW was the hardest tool to use. I put it in a vise so that it wouldn't be all wobbly while I sawed. That was BIG WORK!!! My arms got VERY TIRED by the time I had cut the wood to the right size. Next came attaching it all together with nails. I tried big nails and small nails. Some went all crooked and crazy then I would have to pull them out.

But with HUGE patience I got the nails in and attached the bottle top wheels. It looked pretty nifty and I did it all by myself.

Crazy but we forgot to take a picture of it. It is sitting happily on my chest of drawers in my bedroom....right by my "GIRLY" things.

See girls can be carpenters!

PAINTING was way easier than building cars. We have lots of paint, glitter, markers and crayons ready to color our clothespin BUTTERFLIES. Grandpop and Grammy made butterflies with me. We had so much fun painting and talking.

We put magnets on the backs of the butterflies and they are HAPPY resting on our refrigerator door!

Hmmmmmmmm.....should I be a CARPENTER or an ARTIST?

Or maybe a RACE CAR driver. Here I am speeding along with a happy MOUSE! He wasn't a backseat driver, just a fun buddy.

Another great thought: I can be a CARPENTER, ARTIST, SPEED CAR DRIVER or a PILOT! I like flying high, maybe this is what I will do when I am all grown up. But for now, it is pretty cool FLYING HIGH!!!

Easter with Ashley-Anne and Daniel

This year spring, springtime and Easter all sprung up in a WINTRY melange of weather. Easter was no exception. Although chilly outside, inside was warm and toasty as we spent the day with Ashley-Anne and Daniel.

Grandpops had just returned from a four day trip to North Carolina, spending a wonderful time with Hunter, Molly, Kayla, Luke, Ed and Cathy. He had gone "down south" to have a cap put on his tooth by his personal dentist Hunter. But that took but moments, the rest of the time was full of fun activities and visiting.

Ashley-Anne and Daniel picked dad up at the airport then drove to our home

to spend a day together.

Dad is always ready for a delicious meal. So bring it on!

Daniel and Ashley had brought perfect lamb chops, steak, potatoes and other treats. Braving a bad cold and the even worse weather, Daniel barbecued the meat to perfection outside on the windy, wet deck.

Sharon always happy to cook with her tajine prepared a rather spicy Moroccan vegetable dish....spicy enough to unstuff the stuffiest of noses.

The talk was "a bit of this and a bit of that." Always wonderful to catch up with loved ones while dining on delicious cuisine.

Almost forgot the salad which was visually pretty and very yummy. Big juicy oranges, blood oranges, red onions, olives mixed with a dressing of spices and lime juice.

Not the traditional American Easter dinner, but the flavors of the mid-east shone through.

We did our best with table decorations...the few BRAVE DAFFODILS that had dared bob their golden heads out of the frozen soil, were brought inside to add a bit of color. You can't see the bird's nest filled with seashells and the family heirloom of tiny Germany dolls.

Dad's AI sauce reigned supreme!

Later we retired to the family room for more chatting, discussion concerning the challenges of raising a family at this time and of course funny family stories.

Dessert was delicious ANGEL FOOD CAKE crowned with really juicy red STRAWBERRIES, and vanilla ICE CREAM!

As we ponder the symbolism of EASTERwith its renewal of spring, life and the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST coupled with ALL BLESSINGS GREAT AND SMALL, we are all grateful for the blessings, joys and abundance in our lives.

Our family is truly BLESSED.

We are all very grateful for the GRACE in our lives.

Peep-a-Boo

Peep-a-Boo, colorful marshmallow chicks and bunnies dipped in crunchy fine sugar,

a "peep-a-licious" treat! Grammy and I went to World Markets and while we "peeped" through the Easter treats I spied a Peep Cookbook! What a "peep-a-find."

What color PEEPS do you like? Grammy and I LOVE bright turquoise blue, emerald green, lavender, yellow and RED! Have you seen red peeps?

They are the prize.

Grammy and I couldn't resist buying the Peep Cookbook, what is a girl to do? Next was looking at all of the fun ideas and recipes. Someone was very very very clever that wrote this cookbook.

It would have been so FUN tasting all of the creations.

My BIG decision: what would we make first? It was all very "YUM-LICIOUS" I decided on PEEPS in a NEST! I made a "NEST" out of a meringue mix---sugar, coconut, flour.....voila...

This is HARD work for little hands, but I did it all by myself. Grammy was busy taking photographs!

After much stirring I was able to carefully spoon batter onto a cooky sheet, spread it into a NEST shape and put in the oven.

We had to watch it very carefully. No burned nests for us!!

The final result. PEEPS-IN-A-NEST! Aren't they adorable? And they were yummy, too! PEEP-A-BOO to you this Easter Day! I had so much fun baking bird nests that I had a GREAT IDEA, why don't I find a NEST just my size. Here I am!!! Having a PEEP-A-BOO time. Story by Emma.

Boppin' Bubbles

Grammy and Granpops brought a surprise from Maryland,

lots and lots of snow! Lucky their airplane arrived before the big snowstorm came to our home. We had our work cut out for us, clearing the sticky, slushy snow off of their snazzy red car they rented. The car was cool looking but rather squatty and hard for me to squirm into the back seat everytime we drove somewhere.

Whew all this work makes a girl hungry. I knew

just where to take Grammy and Granpops for BREAKFAST.

You can eat BREAKFAST anytime at our favorite cafe. So come along.

You can tell it was pretty cold, all bundled up in winter coats, hats and gloves. Grammy borrowed my mommy's winter boots and heavier coat. They were lucky to wear the same shoe size.

A little snow never stops ME from having a really great day!

Ta Da!!!! Here is my super duper chocolate chip funny face pancake. I ate it all in minutes.

To celebrate the wintry snow we all had HOT CHOCOLATE, yum!

Grandpa had crepes, bacon and eggs. He was VERY HAPPY! Mommy had a vegetable egg skillet, the best she has ever had.

And Grammy......

....BANANA FRENCH TOAST.....wow was it sweet! But it did taste like bananas!

I think it looks a little bit like the Very Hungry Caterpillar!

One of my favorite excursions is a visit to the Children's Museum.

I always make a bee line to the BUBBLES station.

There are raised tables, holes in the floor, and tunnels to walk through, all filled with special sudsy water to make ENORMOUS bubbles.

Some are so big you can pull them up over your body. Some are small and make magical shapes. It takes a little bit of "elbow-soap," wrist control and a bit of good luck to get the best bubbles ever.

Watch out everyone, here comes a BIG ONE !!!!!

Oops, where did it go?

Yikes, I think it splashed on a kid standing next to me.

By the time I was finished floating bubbles my pants were drenched.

I headed to the wind machine to get a bit more dry. BRRRR rather cold!

Want to know what we did next at the Children's Museum?

Stand by for next story.

Author: Emma