Make It Monday - Tornados

My boys have become enthralled with tornado's over the last few weeks.  They actually got to see the aftermath of a tornado that struck not far from our house which has heightened their interest.  We get all kinds of questions from "Where do we go if there is a tornado on the "big road"?" to "Where do you go if a house doesn't have a basement or a bathroom or a middle of the house?"  We've talked alot about how a tornado is formed and watched videos on You Tube about all kinds of storms.  So, this past weekend we also made this:

Yep, the classic "Tornado in a bottle".  All it takes is a couple of two liter bottles and some duct tape.  I added blue food coloring to the water for the effect but it isn't needed. 

To be honest, the boys were not that impressed.  It took about two times of making the "tornado" before they walked away.  Oh well, at least we tried!

Things My Kids Say

It's been awhile - maybe my kids have been quite lately or maybe they just aren't as funny (or maybe I forget to write things down!).  What ever it is  - here's a few gems from recent weeks.

* Recently, the boys and I were driving into town and it was raining.  Nate says, "I wish we lived with Papa and Nana that way Papa could drive."  I asked him why and he said, "Because Papa can drive in anything and never stops even when it is raining hard.".  This stems from one time several years ago when, on the way home from my parents, I had to stop on the expressway due to severe weather.  Well, I was tired of hearing that "Mom can't drive in the rain" so I told them the truth - the reason I had to stop was because we were actually in the middle of a tornado so all of the cars had stopped on the expressway - I had no choice but to stop.  (For real - the tornado went above us and touched down on the other side of the expressway)  I figured this would nip that story in the bud.  NOPE!  Josh states, "Well, if Papa had been driving, he would have just driven right out of that tornado!!". 

* The boys were discussing their future jobs.  Josh wants to be a State Police and has stated that he will tell his boss that he cannot work Saturday and Sundays.  Nate is going to be a City Police and said he will never work Sundays because he loves church too much AND he will tell his boss that he won't work on rainy days.  They won't be as busy anyway and won't need as many people.  HA!

* Nate has decided that he also wants to be a storm chaser; and on days he isn't working, he'll be a father.  hahaha

Family Fun - Camping Trip #2!

In the middle of June, we took off for our second camping trip; this time to one of our favorite places, Muskegon. 

 Once we uploaded, set-up, and unpacked, we headed to our favorite Pizza Place for dinner - Bernie O's . . .only to discover that it was closed on Sundays!!  So, we drove a little farther to a Chicken place and got dinner.  We headed back to camp and stopped at the beach.  It was amazing - totally covered in Fog.  I've never seen it like that - even standing by the water, you couldn't see further than an arm length in front of you.

 Nice.  Darryl is crazy.

 The boys love bubbles so we set up a full-out bubble station this time. 

Of course, the fire is always a favorite activity for all of us.

 On Monday, we enjoyed the park all day long.  The boys had seen a trail going up to a sand dune so we had to check it out.  Josh climbed the dune and walked around the entire "bowl top". 

 We then rode bikes out to the pier.  We all love the water and the pier. 

Plus, if you look in the distance, we were able to see the Lake Express leave the channel heading to Wisconsin.

We headed to the beach again because it was clear but, by the time we got to the beach, it was totally encased in fog again.  It was so odd to sit on the beach in the fog HA!  The boys had a blast though. 

Despite a little rain we had another great trip and are looking forward to heading out on our third camping adventure . . .tomorrow! 

Weekly Menu - A weekend of Camping and then no kids!

Do you have any idea how quickly picnics empty your fridge?  Trying going to two in two days!  Whew!  Chips, drinks, salads and sweets are all quickly eaten up thanks to lots of people sharing!  It's always fun but the rest of the week brought some slim pickings :-)

Now, we are heading out camping and then leaving the kids with my parents at the camp ground for the rest of the week.  Should be a great week!

Saturday - Pizza.  Again, we've found our local pizza place has a great price on a 3 topping large pizza ($10.00).  We'll be spending the day getting ready for camping and attending a wedding reception in the afternoon followed by getting the dog to the kennel so I know that even if I planned something - we'd end up grabbing dinner anyway.

Sunday - And we are off!  We will eat sandwiches for lunch just before we leave for the campground.  Dinner tonight will be marinated steak, potato salad, baked beans and rolls (store bought).

Monday - Breakfast - Pancakes and bacon.  Last time we camped Nate asked for pancakes so I'm going to make sure it happens.  Lunch - Sloppy Joes, Salads, and Chips.  Dinner - Marinated Pork Chops, Loaded Baked potatoes, Mac and Cheese (for real) and Rolls

Tuesday - Breakfast - Sausage McMuffins and Cereal.  Lunch - My parents are arriving in time for lunch so we will have Brat's and Hot dogs, salads, and chips  Darryl and I will be heading home so for dinner - I'm not sure - we'll either eat something we didn't cook up while camping or we will grab Taco Bell.

Wednesday and Thursday - It will just be Darryl and I.

Friday - Tacos, of course. 

"Confessions of a De-Cluttering Junkie" - A Book Report

I recently picked up a book that caught my attention solely based on the title "Confessions of a De-Cluttering Junkie".  I found it just a few days prior to starting my big basement clean out so the timing was perfect.

This story is a great "real life" story of how one woman conquered the clutter in her home despite dealing with the negitive attitudes of those around her about her new hobby.  She addressed getting her family on board, dealing with the fact that her "hobby" consumed her life and made her cause her family heartache, to the huge garage sale they had that funded their summer activities.  I loved all of the tips that the character gave throughout the book and the account of how hard it is to get rid of things at times.  

This book would not appeal to everyone - if you have a perfectly organized, non-cluttered house, you might think this lady is crazy.  But if you are in the midst of trying to simplify your life - you would enjoy the humor throughout the book. 

What We Are Eating - Monkey Bread Muffins

Monkey Bread Muffins
adapted from Brooklyn Farm Girl

Josh reminded me of a tradition we started a few years ago on fireworks night in our town - we have Monkey Bread.  I had forgotten because last year, Darryl was just recovering from major back surgery so the boys were with their grandparents so I had forgotten about this little piece of goodness.  This year, I wanted to try a little something different because I've found that cooking a big pan of Monkey Bread is not always successful.  I had seen some recipes posted with the muffin idea so I found this recipe and it was . . .fantastic.  The muffins were perfectly sticky and yummy!  To make it better, they warm up perfectly the next day and taste almost better!  

Ingredients

1. 2 cans of 7.5 oz Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits (or other brand)
2. 1/2 cup butter - melted
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar
4. 1/2 cup white sugar
5. 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a dozen muffin cup sheet with nonstick spray. Spray it good - on the bottom and sides.
3. Mix melted butter and brown sugar together in small bowl, spoon 1 tablespoon into each muffin cup.
4. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag.
5. Take each biscuit and rip it up into 6 pieces. Put the biscuit pieces in bag and shake to coat evenly.
6. Place 8-10 pieces of biscuits into each muffin cup to evenly fill them up. If you have any sugar left in the bag, sprinkle on top of the muffins.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute.
9. Turn upside down, the muffins should fall right out.
10. Serve warm, enjoy!

 

Teach It Tuesdays - Having Some Fun

My camera has not made it out of the case too often lately but I can still tell you what we are doing!

Last week there was lots of playing and swimming and even a little bike riding.  (Bikes don't come out as often in the summer!).  We also worked on . .. chores.  After I worked on organizing all of the toys (again) the kids all got tired of me saying, "Put it away where it belongs".  But, it was all worth it when I saw the boys all playing with  some toys, then when done, Josh says, "Ok, guys, lets put everything away." and they did it! 

Here's a run down of what fun we have been having:

Last Friday - The Munchkin and Princess are gone for a few days so the boys and I had some fun.  We went out to breakfast at McDonald's and ate outside on the patio.  The boys had fun playing in the "McDonalds grass".  From there, we went to the fireworks place to get sparklers and then we headed to the grocery store.  Once home they watched moves (they are JUST getting into wanting to watch movies!) Finally, we went to the skate park so they could ride bikes and got ice cream!

Saturday - The family headed to my in-laws for the day.  My mother-in-law lives on a lake so there is natural fun.  The boys played with their cousins in the lake, went on boat rides, fed their cousins pigs, and loved seeing fireworks. 

Sunday - Church!  Followed by a picnic in the park with our church family .

Monday -Today is our quietest day.  We may go to a park for a bit or just hang out at home.  It's supposed to be hot (almost 90!) and humid so staying in the air sounds kinda nice. 

Tuesday - Today we are heading into town to see "Home" - it is showing at the theatre for free this week so I had planned to take the boys weeks ago.  We will then have lunch before heading home.