Beach Fun

During our stay at Camp Hammer, one day was a "free" day so we decided to spend the day at the beach down by the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. It was an absolutely wonderful and surprisingly easy day with the kids. Neither of them took a nap that day and you wouldn't even know it. Not one fussy moment the entire day. Is this what life is like when you don't have babies anymore? (I kinda like it) :)

Lovin the Redwoods

This past weekend we had the kids and I had the privilege of going with Phil to a speaking engagement that he had in the Santa Cruz mountains. He was speaking for Berean Christian High School's Class of 2010 Senior Retreat and we stayed at Camp Hammer. It was a really nice camp with nestled deep in the forest. It was a little chilly, but we managed to have a blast despite the weather.

Elijah's been so into basketball lately...good thing they had a hoop
there for him to practice his skills

Daddy and Savannah watchin bubba

Look, I found a little pinecone

Do you see what I'm workin with?

Isn't my little guy as cute as a button? Well, I have to agree, but I thought I'd show you what I have to go through to get a real non-silly, goofy, giggly smile from this kid...enjoy. :)







Oh, how he brings me joy (and maybe a just a little bit of frustration)... :) I love him so.

Silly Faces of Savannah

My Recipes: Bagels RE-DO

So, I posted a few months ago about making bagels (here) and it was a good recipe and made dozens of them but there was something just not quite right, so I did some searching and decided to cut the salt down and add 1 T of olive oil to the dough and that was the trick...made for a much lighter bagel, less dense and much more like the bagels you buy from an actual bagel shop.

Anyway...here's what my latest batch turned out like...

Thanks Ikea!

A few weeks back, we went to Ikea to check out the latest and greatest offerings. We didn't have the kids with us and I convinced Phil to come with me, so we got to take our sweet time looking around. After 1 1/2 hours of checking things out, Phil went to get a cinnamon role (his reward for going) and I waited off to the side near the packing-up-your-stuff section (for lack of a better term) and realized that they had roles of paper to wrap your breakables up in and I thought it would be a perfect "craft" and coloring item for the kids...so I ripped off a huge chunk and rolled it up. The kids love to color and paint all over it and its great because you can just roll it right back up and use it again later...get some next time you're there.

The kids

Have you missed them? I haven't posted many pictures lately, sorry...here's a few to tide you over until next time.

Garden

If you remember last year, I attempted a garden in our backyard directly in the dirt that's back there...
Last year, it was strictly a "test run" just to see if we could even sustain anything back there. Well, it turned out that we had something that loved to eat entire plants at one time...so we went from having a garden to having just tomatoes and chives.

This year, I thought for sure we'd have our yard in but being that both fences blew down during this past winter, the yard is yet again put on hold for a while longer. I decided to do a container garden and a small raised garden made from reused wood from a bench that was out in our yard. We'll see how it turns out. I'm just hoping nothing eats it all again this year. :)

Sticker Chart

We've been trying to correct some minor behavior issues with Elijah and so we started doing a sticker chart with him to reward him for good behavior and positive reinforcement...well, he finished his chart the other day and couldn't be prouder. He got to pick out a new car as his reward and hasn't let go of it since!

Youth Sunday

This past Sunday, Phil had the opportunity to preach at "big church" for youth Sunday.

He spoke on Psalm 78:1-8 and entitled the message Dear Generation... He spoke about how it is everyone's responsibility to teach the things of God to the next generation. It was a great day and I thought I'd put the link to his sermon on here for anyone who wanted to listen.

Dear Generation... click on the link and select the sermon with the same title.

Recipe Review: Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

(photo and recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com)

If you or your kids love the petite vanilla scones from Starbucks, you are going to go bonkers for this little gem of a recipe I found from none other than The Pioneer Woman. They are easy, delightful and the perfect (less expensive) swap for the real-deal at Starbucks!

MY THOUGHTS: This recipe really came together nicely and was easy to follow. I ended up getting my vanilla beans at World Market because their spices are so much more inexpensive than the grocery store. So, for two vanilla beans it only cost $2.99 versus the nearly $8 at the local grocery store! I also swapped the whole milk and cream for a lower-fat 1%. I still thought they tasted great.

I've made two batches so far. With the first, I was in a hurry, so I didn't let the bean and milk mixture sit as suggested and I could definitely tell the difference when making the second batch and I took my time. The vanilla flavor was much more noticeable.

Also, I didn't have unsalted butter on hand, only salted, so I just left out the salt called for in the recipe. No problems there.

These freeze wonderfully.

DIFFICULTY: Easy

MAKE-AGAIN: Yum. And, I already have. :)

Below is the recipe directly from The Pioneer Woman's website.

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• SCONES
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• ⅔ cups Sugar
• 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
• 1 whole Large Egg
• ¾ cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans
• GLAZE
• 3 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• ½ cups Whole Milk
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean
• Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla “caviar” inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.

Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.

Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

VANILLA GLAZE

To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.

One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.