Summer eats

Cold fruity things are great for the summer.  A friend gave us an ice cream freezer.  (I think it was an unused wedding gift.)  So we proceeded to freeze things.  Our first attempt was the watermelon-limeade combo I've made in the past.  Second into the freezer was TJ's Rio Ruby Grapefruit juice.  It is really good frozen, a little sweet, a little sour, and just a bit bitter.  Sounds strange, but it's a good combo.  You can see that one in the back of the photo. 

My mom used to make a frozen raspberry buttermilk shake sort of thing.  The front image is blueberry buttermilk "ice cream".  It's just what it sounds like, blueberries, buttermilk, and sugar in a blender, frozen.  It tastes a lot like blueberry cheesecake to me.  You get a pretty yogurty-cheesy taste.  I like it, but it isn't for everyone. 

I had the buttermilk because I have been making my sister-in-law's waffle recipe.  I swore I would never make waffles that involved separating eggs and beating egg whites, but these are worth the effort.  I sprinkle chocolate chips on once it is scooped on to the waffle iron.  That isn't in the recipe, but it's a great addition.  With the chips we skip sticky syrup and jam.

Happy eating!

Wendy's wonderful waffles

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs separated
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and soda.
Whisk egg yolks.
Whisk butter and buttermilkjin with yolks.
Add dry ingredients.
Beat egg whites and fold into batter.

Summer so far

I approached summer this year with a bit of anxiety.  I'm not sure why.  It just seemed like a big long black hole.  It's hard to believe that summer is more than half way over.  So far we've done a couple of local field trips, gone on a great road trip to Utah, and watched every episode of Mythbusters broadcast as well a a few more from Netflix.  We spend a lot of time reading and playing Legos.  We got a box from Amazon that included a Whirley Pop pan and a new game called Labyrinth.  We've played it almost daily since then.  It's a good game for big and little people.

The week after our trip we had a week of camp for the kids, Ancient Rome camp for Buddy Boy and games, songs, crafts, and pony rides at the park with friends for My Girl.  Buddy Boy HATES games, songs, and crafts if there isn't a point to it.  He LOVED Ancient Rome camp.  Each day they had art, history, and science all related to ancient Rome.  It was perfect for him.  My Girl has also had a taste of tap and ballet class.  She goes back and forth about whether she likes it or not, but always leaves smiling.

We've made paper glasses with red cellophane lenses and a transmogrifier. (Read more Calvin and Hobbes if you're unfamiliar with this important scientific instrument.)  I was actually a trout for a few minutes.  Luckily, I was transmogrified back pretty quickly.  Buddy Boy spent some time as a panda.

Our house is still for sale, but I've calmed down about it.  After two weeks there haven't been any offers so we may be here longer than I thought.  One good side effect of the open house and showings is that the house is nice and clean, the garage less so.

News update

The Monday after I got home from a fabulously fun and relaxing trip our landlord informed us that he is listing our house for sale.  Ughh.  We had really hoped to be here another year or so.  I can't blame him.  He pays a pretty hefty sum each month to cover the mortgage in addition to what we pay in rent.  The housing market around here is just a little crazy.  So the house hunt for us begins.  The problem is that rents have increased dramatically in the two years since we moved in.  Not enough that they are equal to what you would pay for a mortgage, but enough that we can't really afford a place like where we are currently living.  We've looked at a bunch of places and it's a little depressing.  So in addition to looking for a new place to live I'm also looking for a part time teaching job.  With My Girl in school every day this fall I'll have a little time for work.  It isn't what I had planned, but it will be OK.  I have a couple of leads.  One job that I thought was a sure thing is now looking iffy, but there seem to be other things out there as well.  We'll see what happens.  Now I need to think about packing.

On the road

On sort of a last minute whim, I decided to drive to Utah with the kids to see the family.  It just worked out so that if I stayed for one week I could catch two different family reunions and catch up with cousins.  Some of them I haven't seen for a long time.  We took two days for the drive so we would be able to spend a night with friends along the way.  Because of these friends my kids want to move to Reno.  Friends, and the fact that it snows there and Buddy Boy wants to build a snowman and bring him to life.  Thank you, Calvin and Hobbes.

I invited myself to stay with my brother and sister-in-law.  What I didn't realize at the time was that my other brother's family would also be there.  It was great!  Thirteen kids under one roof for six days.  It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it worked out.  Everyone had a fantastic time.  My kids were in cousin heaven.

One day we dropped the big kids off at the amusement park.  My girl was quite upset that she couldn't go with them until I assured her that she could go with them when she was a teenager.  Only nine years to go.  We took the littler ones to the Air Force museum.  We picniced under the tail of a plane outside before going in.  The museum was quite interesting.  Buddy Boy has learned a bit about the Wright brothers and liked the replica they had of their first flyer.

Buddy Boy took the camera for a few minutes and snapped a couple of these.

I like that he took a picture of his reflection in one of the planes.  I'm not sure why it tickles me so much.

The highlight for the kids was the empty platform and podium.  My Girl spent quite a bit of time speachifying.  I couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but she had a lot to say and was taking it all very seriously.

We also went to the LDS Church museum of history and art.  The kids played and practiced their Mexican folk dancing in the kid room while the adults rotated out to see the art exhibits.  I really enjoyed seeing how the different artists interpreted the theme of the exhibits.

On the night of July 3rd we went to see the fireworks in town.  This was high on the list of things to do for the trip. My Girl really wanted to see fireworks that go "whoosh--kaboom!".  We had a good time with the crowd at the park, dancing with the band, eating three different flavors of popcorn, and playing games.  By the way, if you make kettle corn with coconut oil it tastes really good. 

On the 4th we went to another cousin party.  My uncle has a great yard, nice deck for eating and visiting, a pool, and a giant DIY slip-n-slide.

That night the neighbors put on a firework show that rivaled what we had seen at the park the night before.  It was quite a show.  I was only a little worried for my brother's roof.

We spent a rainy day picking up, going for a little umbrella walk, and running a few errands.  That night we jumped at the chance for free tickets to the un-rodeo.  What is an un-rodeo you ask?  It's the event that takes place in between the nights of the PRCA "real" rodeo.  It was pretty funny.  We saw BMX and ATV barrel racing, horse-drawn-wagon races, stick horse races, and last but not least steer milking.  Teams of two chased steers around the ring trying to rope them and get the ribbon off their tail.  We got rained out after the steer milking, so we missed the mutton bustin' and what must have been a pretty muddy hide race.  In spite of the rain it was worth every penny we paid for the tickets.

After all of that it was time to head home.  The kids were exhausted and even though I was having a great time I was ready to be home again.  Thanks to a DVD player in the car and McDonald's playlands all across Nevada we made it home.  It was a great trip.  Now that I've broken the ice and made the long drive, I'm willing to do it again... but not for awhile.

Some girls...

Some girls play with Barbies.  Others don't.  These are the real men Barbie dates when she is tired of Girly-Boy-Ken.

Yes, they drive a tank.

We just got back from a great trip to Utah.  More pics etc. later after I recover.