Catching Up: Easter

Here are some photos from Easter Saturday (we like to have the Easter Bunny come on Saturday instead of Sunday).

Austin holds up his Easter swim trunks

The Easter Bunny brought Henry some Henry-sized bananas!

Thomas puts together his train

Hunting for eggs in the backyard

Smashing confetti-filled eggs on heads

Henry got more than his fair share

Dad's not immune!

Henry models his Easter swim ensemble

Titanic Homeschool Adventures

I have been trying to get these photos on here for, literally, about a week. Blogger does not like me lately. I really should be finishing up my Sunday School lesson, but I've got to get this post off my "to do" list. So here you go:

For one of my co-op days in the month of March, I focused on the Titanic. As the families showed up, they were given "luggage" as they waited on the front porch for "boarding". The luggage contained a couple of clothing items and a boarding pass. Each of the kids, as well as each mom, were assigned the identity of an actual passenger aboard the Titanic representing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class, as well as ship employees.

After watching a short slideshow on the Panama Canal ('cause that was the other topic I wanted to cover for that day) they opened their bags, donned their clothing, and found out who they were. We proceeded to the dining area where guests dined in one of three dining "rooms" by class. Each class partook of a snack which included one food originally on the menus that final night aboard the Titanic.

First class dined on homemade eclairs (original), homemade crackers and cheeseball, apple juice, and hot chocolate. Second class had cheeses, grapes, lemonade, and American ice cream (original). Third class had homemade applesauce, bread (original) and butter, and water.

After they ate their "class" food, I let them have anything they wanted from any menu ('cause them eclairs were dang good!). Then we went back to the living room. After giving them some facts about the events of that fateful night, I called each passenger up one by one and told them their fate. Only about half of them survived. It was an interesting way of relating to the more individual stories of such a large catastrophe.

In the "boarding area"....checking out their boarding passes and wearing their partial costumes.

On of the moms explains the menu to the first class passengers.

Another mom (my sister) serves the second class passengers.

And here is third class.

Emma, second class, enjoying her "American" ice cream

Thomas and Spenser enjoying some homemade applesauce in third class.

Poor third class....no tablecloth, no attentive waiter....

Austin, second class, with American ice cream

Try not to notice that the first class dining room waiter and this first class dining room guest are obviously related!! He got a kick out of demanding more apple juice from his "waiter".

It's Been a While....

Yeah, sorry about that. Things have been a little, well, weird lately. On the day I last posted, Rick was laid off from his job of 17 years. That came as a bit of a shock. Not only that, but the severance package they offered was pretty ridiculous.

Since that time we've been focusing our efforts on more positive ventures, like our garden. We've gone back to trying Square Foot Gardening because the newer book has better methods and ideas. Raised beds enclosed in wooden boxes and homemade soil mix. We're excited about this year's garden adventure and hope to be able to report pounds and pounds of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, sugar snap peas, shelling peas, cucumbers, lettuces of many kinds, spinach, eggplant, potatoes, onions, leeks, sweet potatoes, carrots as well as chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary, pineapple sage, parsley, dill, and some edible flowers like nasturtiums, impatiens, marigolds, etc. Pictures will be forthcoming as the garden grows in a bit more.

It seems like since Rick lost his job we've been busier than ever. Even now I should go work on a handout for my LDSEHE conference class in May. But it's been nearly two months since I've blogged and I had to get something in.

Things are going pretty well as we try to get Rick's resume professionally prepared for distribution. We went on a scouting trip to an area where he has already submitted a version of his resume. It's both exciting and scary to contemplate putting down roots in a completely new area, but we will go wherever the Lord tells us to go. Just wish he would go ahead and let me in on where that's going to be. I am not a patient person.

If any of you hear of any online/digital marketing manager/director jobs please let us know.

Cub Cake

Here's the cake I made for our Cub Scout Pack's Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme is a celebration of 100 years of Boy Scouting in the USA. So I hid 22 "100's" all over the cake. I won't bore you with pics of all 22, but here are some pics of the cake.

It's chocolate and yellow cake with chocolate chip cookie dough filling, buttercream frosting and fondant.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

This year's science study is in chemistry. Part of a recent chapter discussed crystals, so I found an easy and quick-result crystal experiment/activity to do.

Here's the very easy recipe:

Crystal Flower Garden

1/2 c. water (warm or cold, see explanation below)
4 Tbsp. liquid bluing
4 Tbsp. salt
4 tsp. ammonia
Q-tips
natural or oil-based clay
clear, small, shallow dish
food coloring

A day in advance take the Q-tips and cut off one of the tips on each one and discard the cut tips. Put drops of food coloring on the remaining Q-tip ends and allow to dry on wax paper.

The next day, take a lump of clay and stick it in the bottom of the dish. Stick the cut ends of the Q-tips in the clay, sticking up like flowers, giving them each enough space for crystals to grow on the tips.

Mix up the water, bluing, salt, and ammonia. Pour the mixture into the dish, allowing it to cover the bottom half inch of the Q-tips. Set in an open space where the dish will not get bumped and watch the flower crystals grow. You will see growth in just a few hours.

We did two dishes, and I'm so glad we did. The salt wasn't dissolving very much in the first one we did, so the second time we used warm water, and man, were the results fascinating.

Below: After one day.....Emma watching the crystals...this one was the cold water dish.Below: Emma is amazed at the difference...here's the warm water dish.
Below: After 2 days.....more growth in the cold water dish.

Below: After 2 days.....the warm water dish is really going to town.

Below: After 3 days.....cold dish is showing some real signs of improvement...

Below: After 3 days....but warm dish is kicking cold dish's butt.

Below: After 4 days, cold dish is still very reserved.

Below: After 4 days....warm dish is trying to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!

....and it's.....still.....GROWING!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I have wanted for several years to make fortune cookies for Valentine's Day, but never got around to it. Actually, I wanted to try making a giant fortune cookie for Rick, but considering how tedious it is just to make regular sized ones, I don't think that dream will ever come true. The recipe itself is not hard, it's the technique that is tricky. I made a triple batch of batter to allow for mistakes and it's a good thing I did. I think maybe one-third of the finished cookies were usable.

Below: Here is the graveyard of unfortunate cookies (some look nice but never got crispy enough)Below: Two of the best samples.

Below: Once they were made I put some vanilla candy melts on them and decorated them with sprinkles. Here's a baby one.

Below: The finished plate of cookies, most of them with fortunes inside.

Here is the recipe, with my alterations:

Fortune Cookies

2 large egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
water

Make your fortune strips ahead of time.

Whip the egg whites on low speed until light and foamy. Blend in sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Pour in the melted butter, flour, salt and extracts; mix until well combined. Incorporate in enough water to make the batter of pouring consistency, about like pancake batter.

On a greased griddle (about 325 degrees) pour the batter by tablespoonfuls, no more than 3 at a time. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread out the batter thinly to about 3 inches in diameter. Continue to gently swirl the spoon over the batter circle until it isn't shiny anymore. Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and flip over the cook on the other side. Each side should be golden brown.

When both sides are done, quickly take the cookie off the griddle and onto a work surface. Fold the cookie over but don't flatten it. Take the ends of the cookie and move them toward each other, which will make a crease in the fold. Place the formed cookie in a muffin tin to cool; it will hold it's shape better in the tin. The cookies will get crunchier as they cool. If after about 10 minutes the cookie isn't hard, it's a dud!

To put fortunes in the cookies: After you take the cookie off the gridle, lay a fortune across the middle and then form the cookie.

Snow!

We've gotten two snow "storms" this winter, and that's unusual for us. The pattern is one good snow every 2-3 years. A good snow for us is 4 or 5 inches and we've gotten that in both storms. This first storm was icy snow, but this last one was nice and powdery.

Below: Rick and the kids build a giant snowman while Audrey, Henry and I stay inside and keep warm!

Below: Thomas coming back from feeding the chickens. Them thar chickens gotta eat too.

Below: I love to see our old red barn in the snow.

Below: I love how the snow laid on top of our back garden fence.

Below: Henry liked being outside, but not standing in the snow...not at all!

Below: Austin

Below: Every time we get a good snow, Rick and the kids go and meet families at the overpass for sledding. That's the only place to go for it since it's mostly flat everywhere else.