Reunion!

Last weekend we had our annual reunion for Bob's side of the family.  His brother and SIL have a beautiful property and always host it.  Bob has 3 brothers and 2 sisters.  One brother was in Kansas visiting his son and DIL who live there, but the rest all made it.

We had grilled hot dogs and brats, and everyone brought a dish to share. 

After supper the kids got busy playing. Sidewalk chalk is always fun!

They had fun talking to Bob's sisters too.

I went for a walk along the trails on their property.  The wild flowers are blooming beautifully! 

Bonnie has made lots of wooden signs with verses on them, and they are found along the trails.

There is a pretty little stream flowing through it

If you want a rest, there are rustic benches along the way

Beautiful Coleus flowers next to the garden

Here's Aaron taking Toms' tractor for a ride

Before long, we all gathered around the campfire

I took this picture of the siblings that were there.  From the left are Tom, Karla, Diane, Larry and Bob.  Larry is the oldest, then Rog who was in Kansas, Karla, Bob, Tom and the youngest is Diane.

  The kids were loving the ice cream, this is Alaina and Ruby in the center and Bob's great nieces, Sophie and Olivia on the left and right.

Cassie was enjoying it too.  (She isn't as close to the fire as this picture looks)

Connor was happy just playing with the stones

Isn't a campfire pretty as it gets dark?

When it got dark, the glowsticks came out and the kids were having fun.  It was a nice afternoon and evening, and a great time to reconnect with family that we don't see all the time.

A Day in my Life; September 1

We're a week into September already!  So, I'm a little late this month, but here's how I spent the first day of this month.  It was Labor Day, but we had no plans to go out, just a project we were working on.

I started my morning in the usual way, downstairs for a walk on the treadmill.

After walking, I started some laundry.

Then it was back upstairs to get ready for the day and to have breakfast.  I'm a real creature of habit and have a boiled egg most every morning for breakfast.

After eating I spent a little time checking blogs and emails, then cleaned the bathrooms.

Then it was time for Bob and I to start working on the project of the day.  We had to wait for the temps to go up a little because we would be working outside. When we got up it was only 58 degrees.

This is a storage shed Bob has been working hard on!  He had reached the point of being ready to paint the exterior, so shortly after 10 we were out there, ready to get the first coat on.

Shortly after 12 we were done and came in for lunch.

After lunch I decided to take advantage of the nice weather (it was now 75 degrees) and wash a few windows.

I love this glass cleaner that I get from Amazon.  It smells amazing, and wipes clean with no streaks. (I don't get anything for sharing this, just like to share what works for me)

I took a walk around the yard and noticed the sedum are starting to change color.  The bees love them!

The Rose of Sharon bushes are beautiful right now.  Ginny from Let Your Light Shine asked me to show the 3 colors we have growing in our yard.  My favorite is the white.

Around 3 we went out and put another coat of paint on the shed.  It's painted the same color as our house.  

About 4:30 my BIL came over to help Bob get the last piece of plywood on the dormer roof, so he could work on finishing the shingles the next day.

When the work on the shed was done, Bob grilled a few burgers for our supper.

After supper we took advantage of the beautiful weather and sat on the porch for awhile.

To finish the evening, we watched this movie.  I read the book several years ago and enjoyed it so when a friend said she had a DVD we could borrow I took her up on it.  We both thought it was a good one.

It was a really good day; beautiful weather, lots accomplished and a nice evening together.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

I have another air fryer recipe for you.  If you don't have one, you could probably do this in the oven too, but this is so easy in the air fryer and gets nice and crispy.
I got this one from the Pioneer Woman.  It works for a light supper or for lunch.  It takes just a few minutes to put together and it's very good!

Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Bagel Pizza

1/2 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
6 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 bagel
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
optional - jalapeno peppers, pickled onions

Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
Mix together the chicken, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Halve the bagel and spread remaining BBQ sauce on each half.
Top each half with the chicken mix and jalapeno peppers if desired.
Place in air fryer and air fry for about 5 minutes.  Watch to make sure it doesn't get too done.
Garnish with pickled onions if desired.

Wordless Wednesday

Squirt Gun Tie Dye

A few months ago, a friend sent me an idea for a kid friendly way to do tie dye shirts.  It was something that sounded like Cassie would enjoy.  Since this is best done outside, and Fall is coming, not to mention Cassie will soon be in pre-school, I thought I better have her over before it was too late.

You get cheap squirt guns - I got a pack of 12 from Amazon for $8.99, and you put tie dye color in them.  The kids can choose the color they want and squirt them at a shirt.

I used a drying rack and set it up in our driveway.  I got a white sweatshirt and clipped it to the rack.  Can you see how excited Cassie was to do this?

She's having fun squirting the dye.

Soon she was using two squirt guns at a time.  Do you see the dye on the cement?  That's why we did it outside!

Here she is, modeling and showing the back of the finished shirt.

And the front!  It turned out cute and she was proud of it. When she left she told me thank you and said "Next time we can do another activity that is fun!"

Labor Day

 Happy Labor Day to my friends in the U.S.  I hope those of you from other countries aren't laboring too hard today!

(Comments are disabled for today, enjoy the time with your family)

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

During this season, our church has a big table where people can bring extra produce to share. Last week, someone brought a bunch of jalapeno peppers. Someone else there said she had made Jalapeno Poppers and they loved them.  So, I took a few to try it out.  Bob was skeptical of how hot they would be, but they turned out really good and not hot at all. If you have extra jalapeno's, try this one out!

Jalapeno Poppers

6 jalapeno peppers
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup bread crumbs (Italian or plain)
1 tablespoon butter

Slice jalapenos in half.  If you don't want them too hot, scoop out all seeds and the white membrane.
In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, shredded cheese and seasoning until creamy.
Spoon filling into jalapenos.
Melt butter and stir in the bread crumbs.
Dip stuffed jalapeno into the bread crumbs so filling is covered.
Place in air fryer at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden.  Or you can bake in oven at 425 degrees for 5-10 minutes.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Community Fair

Our Community Fair was last week.  Alaina and Ruby usually enter things to the exhibits, and we went to see their things Friday afternoon.

Here's a view of the Fair scene; rides, food and lots of happy kids!

I love the colorful Ferris Wheel!

We walked past a man doing chain saw carving. I like this eagle.

Laura and Aaron were there with the girls, so they came to the exhibit hall to show us their entries. Here's a few of them. It was hard to see them all because they put everything behind fencing so it isn't damaged or stolen.

Ruby's leather coin purse

Ruby's woven doll blanket and pillow

Alaina's clay relief of a cactus

Alaina's cutting board with wood burned design

They had to enjoy a few rides

This is Ruby and Aaron on the Ferris wheel

You have to see the animals when you go to the Fair.  I thought these sleeping goats were cute.

We were good and didn't buy any Fair food.  :)  But, we did get a lemonade to share.

I don't get nearly as excited about the Fair as I did when I was a kid, but it's always fun to walk through and see everything, especially if your grandkids are part of it!