My Hubby’s Weekend Project

Can you guess what my hubby will be putting together this weekend? If you guessed a Swing-Set you are right. The boy’s super-cool Grandma got our family a new Swing-set, and we are all so happy! The weather has been rainy today, but James already has the frame finished and the swings on. I can’t wait for the yard to dry out a bit, and we can go out and play!

Thade is looking forward to playing on the slide, and I hope that Dylan enjoys the Baby swing. No matter what it will be so nice to have a safe place for the boy’s to go out and play.

Aug 9

Preschool Let’s Go!

Last night we signed up Thade for Preschool, and it looks like it is going to be a great school year.This will be his first year at Preschool and he is so excited. He even ran into a few of his friends at sign up. We brought Dylan along too, and he had a blast getting to play and run around the classroom.

Thade can’t wait to start school, and today we started a count down on the calendar. I’m thinking of a few fun activities that we can do before the school year begins. Thade can’t wait!

Aug 8

Little Birds

Last night the sky was absolutely beautiful, and we are finally enjoying some cooler weather too. This week in the garden there are also baby birds everywhere, and lots of Momma birds squawking if you get too close to the little ones. The babies are so cute, and I hope that they are enjoying all of the mosquitoes.

There are also tiny Cucumbers and another Yellow Squash that is ready to be picked. I might have to batter and fry it up with tonight’s Salmon Cakes.

I think the teeny tiny melons are so cute. I hope that they continue to grow, so the boy’s will have some tasty treats from our garden.

Aug 7

New Recipes with Nico: Coconut-Orange Candies

My Mom and I were on the phone and we were talking about cookies. I was getting ready to bake cookies for VBS. We were discussing a few of our favorites, and we both mentioned these amazing Orange cookie-candies that her Mom (my Na-na) made. I really wanted to make the Orange Cookies for my family, and my mom found a recipe that she thought would be pretty close to her Mom’s recipe.

The Coconut-Orange candies are light, cool, and delicate. Perfect for a simple Summer dessert or Tea.

The recipe is simple and calls for: Vanilla Wafer Cookie Crumbs, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Orange Juice Concentrate, Vanilla Extract, and Coconut or Powdered Sugar to coat. I’ve omitted the Pecans and added in a bit more Vanilla Extract.

I thought it would be fun to get the kids involved in the prep work. Thade had fun smashing and crunching the cookies, but Dylan was a little concerned that all of the cookies were going to be crumbs, so he had a few to munch on. Once Thade was finished with the smashing, I finished up the cookie crunching job with the pastry blender.

Blend in the softened butter and add in the Orange Juice Concentrate and Vanilla. I set up a little assembly line for the candies, so I could Roll, Coat in the Coconut, place in Gladware, and then off to the fridge to chill for at least 24 hours…