Back to School

The kiddies have started school this week!!!  I took them to the doc, for the good ole check-ups, and they both passed with flying colors!

Remember the ole eye chart?  That was my favorite part of check-ups since it was relatively painless.

Also, I totally ROCKED at reading the eye chart!  I have my fingers crossed that holds true as I get older.  Both kids did very well! 

Poor Gladys had to have FOUR shots-- two in each arm!!!   OUCH!

I was driving along down a rural country road, and noticed what I thought to be a cat floundering about.  Of course, I stopped to rescue the poor cat, but it turned out to be just an empty Wal-mart bag!

Gladdie's 7th grade open house was a few days before school began.

She mastered the maze of hallways and found all her classes.

Then opened her locker a hundred times.

I carried out my motherly duties and embarrassed her.  JK  Seriously though-- Can I help it if I'm a social butterfly?  Her geography teacher seemed like a fun guy! ;-)

On that magical morning of the first day of school, poor Troy didn't want to spend ALL DAY away from me.  I'm sure it was cause he was going to miss me, sooo SAD.

Obviously, Gladys too, was all broken up about me having to cut those apron strings and send her on her way! 

After struggling to break free of their clinging, I ran into the house and locked the door; then secretly spied on them. :-)

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?  But a bright yellow school bus and FREEDOM my dear!

I totally enjoy myself a little "ME" time!  After the kids left, I relished in the piece of quiet and then attempted to perfect my bowling skills!  It was AWESOME! 

Troy's open house was a couple days after the start of school.  He showed me his classroom and I got to meet his teacher! 

I knew right away which desk was Troy's, as I recognized his self portrait! 
I really enjoy this time of year!

Jean's 21st Birthday

Soooomebody's a little bit older and wiiiiser today!!!!  Jean's birthday is frequently celebrated at the water park, as that's what the birthday girl requests!

Jean's older brother, Hub (the one from CA) helped her celebrate.

Jean's older sister, Grace, did too.  Only she recently had a surgical procedure and couldn't do the waterpark yet.  We met with her and more family that evening.



Grace had a "brain zapper" installed to treat epilepsy.  She has had trouble managing seizures with medication, so this device is designed to shock her brain.  Wires from her heart to nerves in her neck will provide the stimulation she needs to ward off seizures.  At least, that's the plan.



Grace was in good spirits and hopeful the treatment will be better than traditional medications, which make her ill.  Since she just had the zapper put in, it will be a couple weeks for it to heal and her body to adjust to it, before it becomes operational.

The birthday girl likes dried banana chips.  So, I made her banana cupcakes.

Not just any banana cupcakes either, these are actually Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes!  The base is a very dense banana cake.

The Cream part is a made from scratch vanilla pudding filling.

I took a small knife and made holes for the filling.

It worked out beautifully!

Instead of eating all the centers (yes, it crossed my mind), I put them back on the cupcakes.  I'm such a good gal!  Besides, I had all the leftover vanilla pudding I could handle!

Let's talk frosting!  The frosting is a made from scratch buttercream with banana chip crumbs!

I was going for a more rustic look as ya'all can see.  ;-) The food processer worked well for grinding up the chips.

The cupcakes were a hit!  I actually thought they had too much sweetness, cause that frosting is some major SUGAR SWEET! 

The California boys didn't stay long.  Oh, and funny story: when they arrived at the waterpark, Troy greeted them and brought them to where we were set up.  Along the way, he announced to everyone he passed--  the California boys are here!!!  They are here from California!!!

Troy knows how to make a couple of guys feel like celebrities, that's for sure!

We played a dice game (Rock) until we couldn't see anymore.

Nancy was the winner and it was her first time ever playing it.  Beginner's Luck!

Summertime

Heeelloooo Everybody!

Meow, my person has returned from CA and I missed her!   

Francy Pants is sooo cute!  He loves getting dressed up and taking naps!

The five longest days of summer are here!!!  That is to say, the countdown till school begins is coming to an end!  EEEEEeeeee, peace and quiet at last!!!!  WOOO Hooooooo!!!!

I'm sure I'll miss these 90 degree days spent at the Waterpark and Beach; probably sometime mid February.

Taking kids to the beach has it's benefits.  For one thing, folk's give digging kids a little more space!

Of course a gal can't help it if her blanket is surrounded by holes!

The best food I have recently tasted of this past weekend is the donut peach!  I absolutely love the light peach flavor.  It's name is cool too, who doesn't like donuts? And better yet-- donuts with only good calories!!!

I found the donut peach at the European Market in Chesterton.

Between the hot 'n humid summer days and refreshing rain showers, as far as I can tell it's been a fairly decent year for produce.  I do miss having a garden, and next year I'll at least plant tomatoes and cucumbers.

I made an old fashioned popcorn cake and decorated it with a modern flare-- M&M's!   A popcorn cake is basically just one big popcorn ball.  In the olden days (early 1900's), it was a common baked good to send via US Postal Service, as it travels well.  The only trouble I had with making this cake, is BEING ROBBED by a POPCORN THIEF (Glenn)!  Rice Krispies worked out as a decent replacement. 

Another cool thing about a popcorn cake, is it's a good take along dessert for picnics. 

Summer around here is picnics every weekend!

Often, they are in our own backyard.  It's much less messy that way!  Of course, MY KIDS aren't messy!!!   Bahahahha!

I mean, picnics are fun!  Also, their is the little matter of not being able to take kids anywhere for more than a couple hours without em getting hungry!  I get where they are coming from though as a gal can really work up an appetite swimming and sand digging at the beach.  ;-)



Backyard picnics usually include food hot off the grill.  Sweet corn and whatever meat Glenn can get his hands on to grill. 

I actually have to give myself credit for this meal, as I made slow cooked cinnamon apples in the crock pot, bbq ribs, and sweet corn on the grill.  It was delicious.  The apples compliment ribs nicely and are healthy; it's only apples, water and cinnamon!

A summertime tradition for our family is making Mom a BLACK RASPBERRY treat for her birthday!  Jean gathered the berry pickers, (Gladys and Troy) this year and they picked a bunch!  She made this pie:

I made a black raspberry berry cobbler for Mom:

Both treats were delicious and tasted like summertime!