A Country Kid's Day Off

See all these mailboxes? Well, they all belong to my family...

From left to right:

my Uncles, my Uncles, my Great Auntie, my Parents, my Grandparents ......

So guess where my kids want to be ALL the time ????

Did you guess ???? Well - did ya?

Yesterday the cousins had a day off school, which for some reason made my girls think that  it would  be so unfair for them to have todo school ..... So we went out to play .... and what do you think we did when we got there ?

Well we headed to the woods that's where !!!!

Often we forget the beauty in the woods ....

the calmness of nature .......

It's probaly a good place to relax alone ... and if I wasn't a big ole chicken I just might do that someday, but I firmly believe when heading to the woods - there is safety in numbers and the more the merrier ........

the kids never think about the fact that there could be Bears lurking... or Mooose.... or Coyotes ..... but trust me ...... that's pretty much all I think about when we are back there !!!! It's always good to take a dog, so they can bark to warn you if they hear something..... as you see - no dogs with us - we had left Wags home !   My Mom was super helpful though making me feel better by saying things like.... " you know this is the time of year that all the animals are coming out of hibernation " ........ yeah ......

The kids only see adventure .....

and fun ......

Meanwhile I'm wondering who lived there this winter ..... and where he might be now ... ?????

Finding wild rose bushes .....

nothing like wading in the water .......

jumping over streams ......

throwing rocks ........ and this time not on my lawn .....

big sisters teaching little brothers ....

floating sticks through culverts ......

just to get them on the other side .....

Taking breaks ........

Jumping high .........

Having a swing ...

Older cousins taking tractor obsessed little boys for rides .....

Small climbs ......

Big Climbs ......

Little Man finding big rocks to...... yep... you guessed it  ....... Throw :)

I promise you ..... summer is coming to us ..... it just seems to take forever .... 

I. 

Know.

but it will be here soon  .....

Tasty Tuesday - Indoor S'Mores

I've never made Indoor S'mores before.. We'd much rather be sitting around a roaring bonfire to roast our marshmallows but alas... the weather, rain and downright coldness prevented that tonight! Plus hubby was working late and his helpmate - knows zilch about how to start a bonfire............safetly ........ So instead the kids and I made them inside the warmth of our cozy home :)

Here's what you need :

Graham Crackers

Marshmallows

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars

We threw some marshmallows on a glass dish, warmed them in the oven til they got nice and soft.

Put a square of chocolate on a graham cracker, then the marshmallow, then another graham cracker and ......

Voila !!!! A Yummy S'more :) Try to eat just one! I may have had more than one ... which will really help the old diet ....... Enjoy :)

Simple Days

Warmer weather brings on the days .....

the days when trying to decide where to go on the bikes was your biggest problem ....

or how brave to get on the trampoline ......

Little Man finally got brave enough but only with the understanding that noone else could jump at the exact same time ....... 

Still with the rubber boots ! He has even been know to wear them to the beach !!!  I do buy him other footwear but really I'm just wasting my money .....

Why get one rock to throw in the water when you can get a shovel full ???

throwing Mom's dandelions in the water so they wouldn't die ... ;)

My trees are finally budding out .....

My biontic wheeping willow tree, which my Mom started from a little piece off her tree and was just planted last year! It's still alive!! Miracles do happen :)

The way the sun shines through the trees in the evening ...........

This is Bampi Bear or Mimi Bear as my kiddos have named him/her. They are very inventive naming a bear after their Grandparents :) Does anyone know how to tell if its a he or she...... from a distance ??????? I know it looks like the bear is caged in but this is the fencing along the highway and we are parked up near the overpass ... We saw this same bear in the exact spot last year - not kidding ... :) Well at least I think it's the same bear. I mean, It's black and it's a bear in the same spot - how many could there be ??????

Showing off for us  ....

It's finally happened ... hubby and I have become " those people" you know .... the ones who load their kids in the minivan and tell them they're just going for a drive ........and we all know how kids just love to "go for a drive " ........

but hey... if we hadn't become those " just going for a drive people ".... we would have totally missed out seeing Bampi / Mimi bear :)

Blanket Making

One of the many things I love about homeschooling, is the freedom! Freedom to do something out of the ordinary in the middle of the day even! When the girls were in private school, they were gone from 8-3 and then had an hour of homework after school! It didn't leave a lot of time todo much before supper and then an early bedtime! That's what's great about having them home, flexibility!!! So yesterday afternoon we decided to dig out the fleece and make tie blankets for the American Girl dolls .......

So they got busy ....

pinning .....

more pinning .....

lots of cutting ......

working hard .......

during this time Little Man was super relaxed doing his "schoolwork"

but not being one to miss out on anything ... found his way to the action :)

Thankfully he has very patient older sisters, who even offer to let him help .....

tie.. tie.. tie....

these blankets are really easy to put together. They were made in under an hour :)

Emily & Kanani all wrapped up :)

They really got into the whole " posing " thing ......

Great job girlies :) 

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chocolate Macaroons

One of my favorite cookies to make when I am having a serious chocolate craving are these Chocolate Macaroons. I remember making them growing up and have yet to get tired of cooking them. Plus you can throw them together in less than 10 minutes ! 

Start with throwing :

1/2 cup of butter ( 1 stick )

2 cups of white sugar

1/2 cup of milk

6 tbsp of cocoa

into a saucepan

In a seperate bowl mix:

3 cups of oatmeal

1 cup of coconut

1 tsp of vanilla

Set this aside .....

Bring the mixture in the sauce pan to a boil, 

stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes give or take ....

then pour the saucepan mixture into the oatmeal mixture, 

stir together and Voila :) Chocolate .... Gooey .... Yummyness !!!

Drop by spoonfulls onto wax paper ...

Now Enjoy and try to eat just one :) I dare ya!