Tuesday, March 31, 2015

In Which I Attempt to Crack a Coconut

I'm a made-from-scratch kind of girl.  I'm usually undaunted by trying to create dishes from real foods so after having passed coconuts many times and having told the kids, "One day we'll get a coconut" I decided to finally do it.


I googled directions, first draining the liquid then whacking it soundly with a hammer.  That was the easy part.  Actually prying out the flesh was difficult and then those morsels had to be shaved and toasted.

While I'm glad we tried it, I believe it was my last go at fooling with a real coconut.  I'll pay the extra to have my neatly shredded coconut made for me.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Friday Fire

A neighbor once called us "The One Family Neighborhood Watch." 
 
We could add "Family Brush Collectors" to that resume, too.
 
 
The kids have been wanting a fire so they agreed to collect the necessary sticks.
 
 
I'm not sure there's anything more terrifying that these wild boys and a girls wandering around with long, sharp pointed objects in the dwindling daylight.


Thankfully no eyes were put out in the process.


 
Matthew perfected his toasting skills.

 
Josie might need a little more practice. 


Katherine was dubbed the Marshmallow Hoarder.  She raided the bag and filled her hands, clutching them tightly to her body lest anyone should try to take one.
 

 
 
Jonathan's cheeks grew as large as his brown eyes as he stuffed in many a marshmallow.
 
 

And for the occasion we created a new treat: the Swoopie - toasted marshmallow stuffed between two whoopie pie cakes.  I think Stephen approves!

Stoplight

 
 
Fruit bowl style.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

What $200 Will Buy You

One of these boys is a saver but the rest are fearful of burning holes in their pockets.
 
 
They have received birthday money and Christmas gift cards which we insisted be saved for future purchases.  But like the widow in the Bible who kept pestering the judge for relief, they wore me down until I finally decided it would be better for all around to let them make their purchases. 
 
Matthew got some "change" from his gift card and Jonathan squealed, "Ooh, now you have more money to squander!"
 
And Josie was not to be left out especially when she saw a princess in a castle. 
 
 
(I would gladly spend my own money to buy a barrette to keep her hair back but it would truly be squandered - she'd never keep it in).

Monday, March 23, 2015

31 Flavors and That's What You Choose?!

Scouts was cancelled due to lots of sickness so to assuage their disappointment, we got ice cream.
 
 
I had some random coupons including a free birthday scoop and we couldn't let that go to waste.  Stephen made a sensible choice with Oreo but Andrew chose Easter Egg Hunt (white chocolate with crème swirl and bits of colorful something).
 

 
And these two chose cotton candy which looked as bad as it tasted. Of course, Josie was thrilled that not only was it pink and purple, but it matched her dress (which thankfully concealed the fact that she left the house without underwear).  Definitely no temptation to me!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Meet Cordon Bleu

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our family.
 
 
Matthew has been wanting a fish for sometime time, and we finally gave in.  And seeing as the only relatively safe place in the house is the kitchen, the male betta has taken up residence along with a LEGO Atlantis minifigure on the counter right next to the stove. 




Saturday, March 14, 2015

March Madness

This whole blog began with some boys and a ditch and a dam.  The days keep on ticking past but we keep coming back to the familiar and fun.
Days and days of rain finally ended leaving our ditches rushing with water:
the perfect playground for little ones.
Katherine was not to be left out and waded in barefoot
before I finally located a pair of boots a couple of sizes too big. 
With a little bit a direction, Matthew and Stephen constructed a working dam.
Jonathan and Katherine experimented with a pulley system.
And Andrew supervised the lot.

Ah, yes.

The long winter is past and spring is upon us:
fresh air, sunshine and lots of outdoor playtime.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Pine Wood Derby 2015

It's Derby time again!
 
 
The boys have been busy thinking about their cars (although it seems like they waited until the last minute to get actually make them).  But they were ready for impound and are now ready to race.
 
 
Matthew and his den-mate Maxwell were first up.
 
 
 
Stephen flashed his driver's license and headed to the starting line.
 
Stephen's car is the gold one on the left.
 
Finally, Andrew was up for his third and last Derby.
 
 
As they speeded to the finish line, they were close.
 
 
 
Andrew came in second by a very, very, very close margin!
 
 
 
I'm so proud of these boys
 
 
 
 
 
and dads
 
 
 
 that keep this pack going.