Wordless Wednesday

 

Grandma and Girlie day out

 Every year I try to take the girls out for a little shopping and fun before school starts. We did that again this year and had lots of fun!  Here's some pics of our day.

Here we are, all ready to go.

We usually try to get a pair of shoes for each of them, and maybe a shirt.  However, this year, the mall didn't have a very good supply of shoes.  And when we found a pair we liked, they were the wrong size.

I was looking for shirts and saw the girls goofing of in front of this mirror.  We did find some cute sweatshirts here.

We went to the food court to have lunch and ride the Merry go round.

And, we found out it no longer runs during the week, only Fri to Sun.

Thankfully, they had other rides available, so they did a few of those.

They also found this huge candy selection that they thought was pretty cool.  We didn't get anything though because we were about to have lunch.

Here they are, enjoying a burger.

After lunch, Ruby said we needed to ride the escalator because "it's fun!"

So, we rode it down,

Then we took the glass elevator back up.  They were jumping up and down while looking out the glass panels.

We did find a cute little Stuffy - in their words, for them to take home.

We went to another store to look for shoes.

We had success!  Alaina found these cute boots she was so excited about.  I asked her what her Dad would say about them, and she said "He'll say I look beautiful!"

And we found some cute little black boots for Ruby that she liked because they have little zippers on the side.

It was a hot day and they reminded me that last year we got ice cream when we went out.

This year I took them to a frozen yogurt place.  They thought it was the best because they got to choose things to go in it.  I had to keep them from filling it with all sorts of candy!

Mine is the plain looking cup with heath bits on top.  They had gummy sharks, sprinkles, worms...   :)

Here's Alaina with her gummy shark.

AA

They both enjoyed it, and have asked to go back.

Then it was time to go home and show Mom our finds.

 A sweatshirt for each of them.

And some cute boots!
Along with memories of a fun day together!

Day at the Lake

We are part of a small group at our church which includes 4 couples and one woman whose husband passed away a few years ago.  We try to get together monthly and take turns going to each others homes.
One of the couples owns a cottage on a lake about an hour from our area. They invited us all to drive up Sunday after church and spend the afternoon with them.  At the last minute, one couple couldn't make it, but the rest of us were able to go.

It was a beautiful day, and this was the scene that greeted us when we drove up.

This heron was hanging out on the dock for some time.  

Part of our group, after enjoying lunch.

After we ate, the women took a walk, while the guys hung back and talked.  One of the cottages has several of these concrete arches on the path to the lake.  This one says - 'Success is a journey, not a destination'.

Here's a beautiful place we walked past.

It was a wonderful afternoon, beautiful place, perfect weather and good friends!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 The recipe I have for you today is not my own.  Last week my sister Cheri - who is a great cook - dropped off a loaf of bread.  It was English Muffin Bread and was so good!  We toasted it and had it for breakfast.  She gave me the recipe to share with you and she said it's easy to make! 

English Muffin Bread

5 1/2 cups warm water
3 packages (24 grams total) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
11 cups bread flour or all purpose flour

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until incorporated.  Leave to rise until double in size.  Divide dough between 4 bread pans and let rise unit it reaches the top of the pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter, then bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool.  Best if enjoyed toasted.
This bread freezes well - or you can make someone happy by sharing a loaf with them!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Backyard campout!

 We had a fun time with our girlies this weekend. Bob has been wanting to have a sleepover in the tent with them, but our schedules have been crazy!  We had it planned for last week, and then Bob got sick.  Finally it looked like it was going to work this weekend.
Bob had the tent set up.  I went to get them after work.  As we were driving home, it started to sprinkle.  Shortly after we got home this happened.

It was a downpour!  We were afraid being in the tent wasn't going to work.  But shortly after, it stopped raining and the sun came out.

The girls were excited to get some blow up mattresses out there to sleep on.

They tested theirs out and said it was perfect for sleeping.

Running to the house to get more supplies.

Soon it was time to get a fire going.

They were impatient for the fire to die down so we could make smores.

T

Finally, time to roast marshmallows.

After smores, we put a packet in the fire that made it different colors.  They thought it was pretty cool!

Time for bed!  There was only room for 3, so Grandma stayed inside. (which was fine with me!)

Bob said it didn't take long for them to fall asleep after he turned the lantern off.

When I went to bed, I found Ruby's stuffed toy tucked in by my pillow.  She thought I needed something to keep me company.

The next day, Bob had planned a craft for them in his woodshop.

He had done the prelimary cutting and drilling of wood blocks.

Here they are sanding their wood.  They weren't thrilled with this step!

They liked using tools better!  Here's Ruby blowing the dust off with the air compressor.

And Alaina doing the same.

Alaina using the sanding belt.  Grandpa was right with her to make sure she was safe.  After that, the pieces were assembled with cording, tying knots and fraying some of the cord for a tuft of hair.

Here's Alaina with her little robot.  They drew a heart on it too.

And Ruby with her robot.

Here they are - Ruby's, Bob's and Alaina's!

Then it was time to play outside.

They picked up acorns for "the poor starving squirrels by our house".  They said they don't have acorns for them to eat.  :)

Then it was time for lunch.  I saw this idea of cheese, crackers, meat and tomatoes that they could put on skewers and eat.  They thought it was fun.  We ended with grapes and a chocolate covered strawberry.

It was a fun, fun time!  Happy kids, happy grandparents too!