Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

Before summer is completely done, I want to share one more ice cream dessert with you.  I had forgotten about this one until my daughter reminded me of it, so I thought I should make it again. When Andy was little, he called basketballs "boop balls".  This dessert is decorated with malted milk balls so he called it Boop Ball Dessert, and we still call it that.  :)
If you like chocolate malts, you'll like this one.

.

Malted Milk Ball Dessert

Crust:
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick melted butter
Mix and press into a 9 x 13 pan.

Filling:
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

12 ounces crushed malted milk balls
Stir together and spread over crust. Freeze.
Top with 8 ounces softened Cool Whip spread over frozen filling and freeze.

Garnish each piece with a malted milk ball prior to serving.

Wordless Wednesday

It's Fair Week!

Last week was the week of the Fair in the community I grew up in. It's an agricultural community and the Fair is a big deal, with tractor pulls, a demolition derby, barns full of animals, competitions in canning, produce, sewing, crafts and other things.
We went one evening after work.

There were lots of animals - goats, sheep, bunnies, horses, cows, chickens...  They are always fun to see.

I like seeing some of the big sunflowers, corn and of course pumpkins.  There were some that were much bigger than these.

We didn't go on any rides, but some kids were having a great time!

We did share an elephant ear, and it was delicious!




Our main reason for going was to see some entries that Aaron, Alaina had Ruby had entered.

Aaron does some amazing work with his camera, and this photo took 4th place in the black and white section.

Excuse the glare here - I had a hard time getting this with all the lights overhead.
Aaron's photo of this turtle took 1st in color photos.

Ruby wanted to enter something too, so she made 3 purple rabbits out of clay.  When they went to enter, they found out that the kids age groups start at 7, so even though she is 4, she was entered with the 7-9 year olds.  The kids entries are judged with an A, B, or C and then one of the A's get's a best of show.  Ruby got a B for her bunnies and she was very happy with that.

Alaina made this bowl of fruit from clay.  She got an A, and Best of Show, so she was thrilled.  I think she did a great job.
I have a feeling they will want to do this again next year.

Ruby and Grandma's Day out

Last week it was Ruby's turn for a shopping day before she starts pre-K.  She got to stay overnight too.  Bob had that day off and I was at work so he went to pick her up.  She was so excited that Grandpa was going to get her!  When I got home from work they were waiting for me.  We had supper, then spent a little time outside.

She rode the scooter...

 Collected all sorts of things from the yard....

and goofed off with Grandpa.

She stayed up late, talking and talking.  She told me she wants to be a mom, and when she has kids we have to take the bunk beds down and put a crib up so her babies can spend the night.  She told me that God is never going to die and wanted me to tell her why and how...   How do you explain that to a 4 year old?  It was fun talking though!

She slept in the next morning, which is quite unusual!  She helped me get some things ready for supper and start laundry and then we left around 10:30am.

Our first stop was Grandpa's work to say hi to him.  When we left, she stopped right outside the door and said "I hope Grandpa is going to be ok".  I told her he was fine and asked her why.  "He could get hurt here!" I told her he is here every day and hasn't gotten hurt.  "But there are hammers and things that he could hurt himself with!"  I reassured her and we left.

 The next stop was Great-Grandpa's house so I could get his pills set up for him.  She loves to stop there because they have a big porch swing and she likes to sit on it with them.  Great-Grandma took her out back to see if there were any grapes to pick.

Then we made it to the mall.  All kids like the escalator!

We started looking for shoes and found these cute shoes that she said she liked.  Then we looked around a little more to find an outfit.  She wasn't too excited about that.  She wanted to ride the carousel!  But we finally found one.

 When we got to the carousel, we got sad news.  It wasn't running that day!  Ruby was disappointed, but handled it very well.

 We got lunch, she chose a hamburger and fries, with ketchup please!

 After lunch, she got to go on a few little rides in place of the carousel.

She enjoyed them.

 She liked the glass elevator.  It was so fun to see everything as we went down.

I was enjoying watching her walk in front of me.  It wasn't really a walk; it was a hop, skip, jump, stay in the squares, walk a straight line...  If I did that every time I was walking I would probably lose weight, but people might look at me funny!  :)

 Here she is sitting on the ledge outside, holding our bags.

 Here she is with the book I got her.

And here we are on the porch at her house before I went home.
It was such a fun time.  I loved having one on one time with her, because that rarely happens.
I sure do love those girls!

Friday Funny

A friend posted this on facebook and it had me laughing so hard I was crying. So I'm sharing the whole thing as it was written!

Y’ALL!!!! I am DONE!! I learned a hard lesson today...one I wasn’t prepared for and I feel like I’ve been through a trauma! I need prayer! 🤦🏼‍♀️😵💩
I got Blakely an ice cream cone (yes the McDonald’s machine was working🤷🏼‍♀️). Well she walks into the living room and hands me her cone (half eaten like everything I give her) and I know all you moms have been there. We as moms pretty much live off of the food our kids don’t eat so I licked it before it dripped. I notice she is standing there looking at me like this 👉🏼😐.
I ask her: “what’s wrong?”
And she says: “Is it okay?!”
🥺😳😨🤭
At this point I’m scared b/c I don’t know what just happened. I think maybe she dropped it in her room and was scared to say. We stand there looking at each other and the ice cream cone. And then she says: “I accidentally wiped my butt with it”
🤢🤢😳😵🤭🤭
Excuse me?!! With this ice cream cone I just licked?!!  I am coming unglued...so I ask this child “How do you accidentally wipe your butt with an ice cream and WHY did you give it to me to eat????” 😳😑🤐
She looks me dead in my face and says “I used the wrong hand to wipe but it was just pee mommy”
🤮✌🏼✌🏽🤯
DONE! Someone come get these kids. I cannot even handle it. If y’all need me I’ll be washing my mouth out with Clorox. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️😒

Cooking Thursday

Today I'm sharing a recipe for some yummy bars. This is a recipe that I've been making since I was in Junior High!  Chocolate and caramel...   Need I say more?

Chocolate Caramel Bars

11 ounce package caramels bits
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 german chocolate cake mix
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup softened butter
6 ounces chocolate chips

Combine caramels and milk; microwave, stirring occasionally until melted and set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. Stir together until dough is crumbly, but holds together. Press half of dough into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Spread melted caramel over all. Sprinkle reserved dough over all. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Alaina and Grandma's Day out

It's almost time for school to start here.  Alaina will be going into second grade and Ruby will be in Pre-K.  I've been taking them out for a little fun and shopping before school starts for the last few years.  I try to get them a pair of shoes and an outfit, and just have some fun.  Last week it was time for me to go with Alaina.

Laura brought her to work on Monday afternoon and she spent the night with us.  That meant Ruby was home without her and she's not used to that.  Laura ended up laying in bed with her because she missed Alaina.  Laura said she talked and talked.  Laura told her that it was time to close her eyes.  Ruby's response?  "But Mumma, I'm nocturnal!"  (and she is!)

Tuesday morning, we got up and did just a few things before heading out at about 10:30.

 Our first stop was at Target.  We didn't find anything for Alaina here, but we did find a shower gift and had fun looking around.

 We went to the mall. Alaina always likes to ride the escalator.

She also likes to look over the rail to the bottom level.


It was almost noon at this point, so it was time for lunch.  I told Alaina she could choose any place she wanted from the food court.  She chose Subway and she didn't want a sandwich.  She wanted a turkey wrap.  I can see she is growing up because she marched right up, gave her order and told them what she wanted on her wrap.

 In past years, she would ride the carousel after lunch, but this year she said she didn't want to do that anymore.  I asked if she wanted to go on any other rides and she said maybe one.
:(  She is growing up.

Here she is on the one ride she took.

Then we started looking for shoes.  We found some cute boots that will look cute with a lot of different outfits, and we also found a cute little outfit.

Here she is modeling one of the boots.


I asked her if she wanted to stop somewhere else and she chose the book store.

When she saw this book, she was very excited.  "It's the funniest book in the world!"  So we got that one.

 Then we rode the glass elevator down to the main floor.

Alaina had some frozen yogurt for a treat before we were home.

 Here she is  - a successful shopper!

 When we got her home, Ruby was resting, but their dog Remie was happy to see her!

Laura took a picture of the two of us before I left.
I sure do love her, and love spending time with her too!
Next week it's Ruby's turn.

Annual Chicken BBQ

This past weekend was the time for the annual chicken BBQ for our family.  This is something I remember going to as a kid - it's been held for over 50 years.
My Dad has invited the whole family every year and this year he did again.  My brother is in Africa on a hunting expedition and my sister Cheri and family were driving home from vacation, so our numbers were down.  My sister Terri, husband Dave, daughter Katelyn and husband Nathan and Daughter Chelsea were there, along with our Heather and Andrew, and Laura, Aaron and Girls.  My step-moms friend Phyllis came along too so we were still a big group.

When we arrived, the community band was playing.

Lots of people were sitting outside enjoying the music, others were enjoying music and chicken at the same time.

Look at all that chicken!

 We got in line and got our food.  I love grilled chicken!

 Here's the group filling up a table.

 Dad and Ann - Ann is making a face because I am pointing the camera at her!

Ruby is also making faces at my camera!

 Bob and Laura with the girls.

Alaina and Ruby giving Great Grandpa a hug and a thank you after dinner.  He just lights up when he sees them.

 After we ate the were tractors to sit on and animals to see.

 baby goats...

soft, furry bunnies...

 A pig, a billy goat and ducks...

 Some cute fluffy sheep...

 a little donkey...

and little chickens.  Alaina was so happy to hold this one.

Then we got to take a wagon ride.

 The girls were excited to go for this ride.

 It wasn't long - just a ride around the back of the park.

 We saw a few barns, a pond and fields!  Then we were back at the main part of the park again.

And then it was time to go...
We were told this was the last time this would happen.  It's getting harder to put this on and to get volunteers to grill chicken, set it up and work it.
We've had a lot of fun years here!