More veggies!

So far we have been very happy with what has come out of our garden. Although it is still a little early a lot of our plants look really good and there have been a lot of blossoms on the plants that we have. 

 This year we decided to plant a new vegetable, kohlrabi. I have heard of it before and seen them but have  not tried one. Eric has had them before and has like them so I thought I would give it a try. Looking at it, it is a very hardy veggie and can withstand colder temps much better them some of the others. So we went ahead and planted four. 

 The boys were pretty excited to try it. It is one that can be eaten raw or cooked. To me it tasted a lot like cabbage. We have just eaten raw thus far, chopped it up and put it in a salad and put a tempura batter on it. I also have plans to try it roasted, so we will see how that turns out :) But so far Eric and I liked all of and the boys have at least tried it. 

 That same night we picked the kohlrabi our heads of romaine lettuce was ready to cut as well. I was really excited about the lettuce. This is the first time we have actually had some that have come up and looked decent. 

We planted five plants and we cut three heads two Sunday's ago ( I know I am about a week and a half behind). It has been fun to see the boys get excited about the plants and willing to try new things that they have help grow.  I didn't take a picture of them but we have also harvested some green beans and peas.... and I will have to say the peas we did taste really good. Thomas likes to just pick them off and eat the shell and all :)

Thomas' first volcano

Eric and I wanted to get somethings a little educational but fun to do over the summertime. There really are a lot of fun things to do to help him continue learning over the summer. 

 One of the things he really loves to learn about are volcanoes. He will look at any book and any program that has to do with volcanoes. He will sit and watch documentaries from PBS, History Channel, Discovery, etc from start to finish.  

 So we had an idea to make a volcano and have it erupt for a little science project. He was VERY excited to say the least about this project. We did spring for a mold, so I had him mix up the plaster and I poured it into the mold. He drove Eric and I bonkers as he was waiting for it to dry. Asking about every minute if it was dry yet so he could make it erupt. 

 Finally after the volcano was ready to use we took it outside. For obvious reasons it was going to be messy and it was a nice day so why worry about a red mess inside when outside would be much better :)

 As we mixed all the "ingredients" the anticipation was growing and both of the boys couldn't wait for the eruption. It actually took us a couple of time to get it to work right. The liquid in that we put in the volcano would seep out the bottom so there was not a lot of pressure building up for a lot to come out the top. So we needed to seal the bottom. 

After Daddy fixed our problem we had our fun eruption! The boys were so excited that we did it a few more times. Because we used red food coloring it looked liked something died in the driveway but after a little bit the red disappeared :) 

Birthday dinner

On your birthday in our family you have the right to pick whatever you want for your special dinner. The boys are getting at the age now where they have their favorite foods and can tell me what they want to eat. 

About a week before Sup's birthday I asked what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner and he was quick to answer.."ummm cheese and apple juice!" I couldn't have just apple juice and cheese for dinner so after offering other/additional items we were able to add more to the menu throughout the week. 

Because it was his birthday and his favorite color is blue he had a big blue plate. They usually get just a small plate so when he seen he had a big blue plate it was very excited.... they are rather easy kids to please ;) So he was able to fill up his plate with his mickey mouse cheese, along with rice and ham (his additions). 

For his birthday cake he  was finally able to see his animal cake up close and put his number 3 on it. He was so excited to blow out his candle we had light it twice because he had blown it out before we sang to his. He was so cute when we sang he sat there smiling the whole time, and waiting patiently to blow out his candle again.

As we were picking flavors he wanted a blue cake. We ended up making a white cake and adding blue food coloring to it. After it had baked he was really disappointed because "it looks brown mommy, not blue!" After I had cut it he was really excited to see that "really is blue!" 

Presents first?

With Eric's work schedule we did birthday's a little different this year. Usually we have dinner, cake and then presents but if we did that Daddy would not have been around to see Sup open his gifts so we did them before dinner. 

 After we finished up with our jobs we came to the family room for gifts. Sup was very excited and with all the gifts from family it kept him pretty busy. 

 Sup is a the type of little boy who likes to look and actually see what he gets before moving on to the next one. He really appreciates each gift and really is a slower gift opener, which is really nice. Thomas likes to rip right through them and then look at them when he's all done. Needless to say Thomas was being a little more persistent and we had to them him to let Sup see and open his own gifts at his own pace. 

 Thomas was really excited to give Sup his birthday gift. Eric had taken Thomas earlier to pick out what gift he wanted to give him. Sup really likes Captain America so he picked out a little Captain America figure for him. Sup loved it and said thank you and gave him a hug, it was very sweet. 

 Eric and I decided to get him a little trike so he could ride next to Thomas while he was on his bike. He was really excited about it. He is still learning how to pedal but I am sure he will catch on. 

One of Sup's favorite things is to tote around all his toys, he will always have an armful. So the best thing we like about his trike was it had a little "trunk" in the back that he could take all his toys for a ride too. So this will become a new spot for me to check when he is looking for a particular toy.  

Our Sup is 3!

Birthday post are always fun so there will be a few more to come :) I am a little behind on my posting, but Sup turned three on May 17th. 

 I decided a couple of years ago that I would get a morning birthday pictures of my boys each year. This way I can look back and see how they have grown, so this is his three year morning picture. I think this is one of his best pictures. He was so excited for his birthday and to be "the birthday boy". 

We have verily simple birthdays around our home, which is just the way I like it. Since we had some things we needed to get done I had baked the cake the night before and thought we would go ahead a decorate it in the morning before the day got away. I had this whole big plan for it and well, lets just say it didn't happen. Sup decided on an animal cake and really wanted to help. Since it was his cake and his birthday I had him place the animals wherever he wanted. It didn't look as grand as I had envisioned but he thought it was "really awesome" so that good for me :)

Preschool graduation

May has been a busy month this year. Thomas finished up with preschool May 14 being his last day. On the 15th they held a preschool graduation. It was a pretty busy evening. There were 3 morning classes and 2 afternoon classes in all. 

Thomas, Sup, and I left the house shortly after getting Daddy off to work. He really wanted to get his teachers a gift and settled on some flowers..because he told me. "Boys are suppose to give girls flowers." So we stopped and picked up two little flowers for each of his teachers along with a thank you card. As we walked into the school it was pretty crowded with all the kids and parents but he look so nice all dress up holding his flowers. 

The program they put together was really nice, and it was so fun to see him up on the stage doing his part. All the songs they sang they did the sign language to go along with it. As I watched him he sang and signed all the songs. This is a big accomplishment for him and to do it in front of a large crowd was amazing!

It was nice that he was in the front row so he was easier to pick out. When they came out in their caps and gowns he was a little harder to pick out. Taking the pictures were very challenging as I was videotaping and had Sup bouncing and crawling all over my lap all at the same time. In this picture he is the third one in on the bottom row. So please forgive the picture quality. 

I must admit he looked pretty grown up in his cap and gown. They gave each of the graduates a diploma and a book for graduating the program. They went by class and each child was called and handed their diploma and given their book by their teachers. Above as they called their name they had a video of the child telling us what they wanted to be when they grew up. Thomas wanted to be a train man/conductor. After everyone received their diploma we returned the caps and gowns at the classroom and they were able to keep their little tassel. 

They had a little cookie and punch reception in the gym for all the kids and their parents. Sup was much more interested in this part of the night. He had gobbled his cookie before Thomas and I even had a chance to pick up our napkin. Thomas was able to see he teachers and thanked them and gave them each a hug before we left. He loved going each day, had a lot of fun, and learned so much this year. Great Job Thomas! We are very proud of you! He is growing up so fast.  

Garden update

There have been several people asking about how our little garden has been doing so last week I took an updated pic. I thought it would be fun to see how it had progressed. 

 We ended up planting our garden a little earlier then usual because of the warmer weather he have had this spring. This was about two months ago we planted our garden on the last day of March. 

 This was about a month later, May 1st. This was the day we started pulling some of our radishes. After a few days most of the radishes were harvested. 

This is a picture that I just took last Sunday. The peas are the tallest peas I have ever seen. They are about as tall as the tomatoes. It is hard to see because the boys wanted to stand in the back but the tomatoes are just about as tall as Thomas and I think we could lose Sup in there ;). We have little tiny pea pods starting to grow and our tomatoes are flowering and I think soon we will have some little green tomatoes as well :) 

Learning young

The last two months have not been kind to us in the tire department. About a month ago I got a very early morning call from Eric saying that he had a flat tire coming home from work. There was a jack in the car along with a donut but the jack was not good at all. 

 So after rummaging through the dark garage in the wee hours in the morning I drove up to meet him with a good jack and follow him home. The next day we went to get a new set of tires. With the miles on our car and the tread we need all four new ones anyhow..fun fun. Everyone was happy with four fresh tires :) 

 About a week ago, Eric came home and told me that he had gotten another flat tire. It was about 4:30 in the morning and I thought he was joking so I didn't think much about it. When I woke up I looking and wouldn't you know there was the car with a dount! Really not even a month later, it was a good thing we decided to keep the jack in the car. He told me later that day it was as he was leaving for work so he at least light. As I looked at the tire that morning he had ran over a screw. 

 So it was back to the tire store. It was a good thing we had gotten the warranty on the tires so all I had to pay for was to re-warranty the tire....a very small fee :) and the way we are going with the tires a very well spent couple of bucks. I had just taking the tire so when I got home Sup was very excited to help Daddy change the tire and put the new one on. 

He was a very good student :) and looked so cute helping Daddy with putting the screws on and using the wrench to tighten them on. With the way Anderson's go through tires I think it was a skill he will be able to use often ;) 

Strawberry jam

This year our strawberry plants really started to produce a good amount of fruit. They are about three years old now and it is good to see the production go up. 

 When they first started to get ripe the boys would eat them all up before they even made it into the house. But after a while their interest started to decrease. This was just fine with me because I have been really wanting to made some of our own jam. 

 I have always been more of a fan of freezer jam. I think it taste a little better and it is a lot easier to make rather then breaking out the pressure cooker to can them, especially with a small batch. I had a are time finding regular pectin....if I am going to make jam its going to be real jam not a reduced/sugar-free kind. Besides with my underweight kids they are better off with the extra kcal's ;)

As I as looking I found this instant pectin. I was intrigued so I picked up one packet for $0.99. According to the directions all you had to do was mash your berries (the second batch I made I use an immersion blender so it smoother), then mix the pectin and sugar together. Pour the mashed berries and sugar mixture together and let it set for thirty minutes and pop it in the frig or freezer and your done! It was really very simple and quick. It only uses 1 2/3 cups of berries but I was able to get these two little jars of freezer jam. It was officially the first batch I made with my own berries and all by myself, it was great! 

Beach lunch

After playing all morning and some of the afternoon in the sand and water all of us were pretty hungry. We came prepared with a yummy lunch. 

 The night before the boys and I spent sometime getting all of our food and drinks ready so we pulled out our cooler for lunch. They had a really shady spots with a picnic area not far from the beach and right where we parked. So we didn't have to worry about driving to a different place or lugging our lunch to a different spot. 

 We decided to get just a little table top grill for the summer so we could have something warm to eat on our different adventures. I had made some ranch stuffed cheeseburgers sliders (for Thomas some without the cheese stuffed inside) the night before so all we had to do was put them on the grill.  

It was great because I had all the other food ready so we could just relax and Eric cooked the burgers for us. After the burgers were done we sat back enjoyed our meal and enjoyed spending the time together as as family.  

To the beach!

Just about two weeks ago we decided to have a fun Saturday. We have had a lot of productive Saturdays outside getting the garden ready and all the stuff that comes with getting the yard and outside looking decent. 

 So we decided that if it was going to be warm enough and it wasn't raining we would head over to the beach. We have had some unusually warm weather here for this time of year so the weather was really perfect. It was hot enough where the water was refreshing but when you got out you were not cold.  

 The boys where so excited to come to the beach for the first time. We haven't had much rain this spring so the water levels were actually quite low. When we came last year it was a lot more sandy when we were swimming. This year since the water was down it was a little more mucky and sea-weedy, but it didn't seem to bother the boys at all. In fact I think they may have liked it a little more because they didn't have to go very far to collect their seaweed for whatever activity they were doing. 

 This year we invested in a beach umbrella and it was great! If the we or the kids wanted to get out of the sun for a few minutes and grab a snack or a drink, they came under the umbrella for some shade. It was a "must" bring were the sand toys. They played with them all day. One of the biggest items on the agenda was to make sand castles. 

 Thomas was very particular about his sand castle. He found shells on the beach and in the water that he used for decoration all around his castle. Then he found sticks and seaweed to help defend any bad guys....aka Sup... from coming into the castle. Lastly he put the water around his castle for extra protection. 

Our Sup on the other hand liked to make the castle (multiple) and then running and smashing them with his feet. We were able to keep him from Thomas' until lunch, this was a big accomplishment!  

Our first vegetable!

About a week and a half ago we were able to harvest our first vegetable from our family garden. Our very own radishes!

 It was pretty exciting to see how fast these radishes popped up. We planted two rows of them and even after thinning them out we will have plenty of radishes.... I'll have to see if I can find some recipes.  

It was pretty easy to see which ones were ready and Eric showed the boys the little pinkish red bulb. Eric and I both like radishes but the boys have not. Amazingly they were really happy to give them a try. 

 Eric worked hi s way through the rows and was able to pull some really nice out. After we collected our bunch I we went inside to clean them off. 

 

Eric and I were the first to try them the bigger ones did have a little bit more of a bite to them, so we gave the boys a smaller one to try. They each took a bite and were not a fan, but I was happy they were willing to try it. 

One big cookie

A couple of weeks ago Eric decided to give me a "boy day". He said that he would keep the boys and work around the house and I could do some things that I wanted. It was a nice day ;)

There was a stake relief society meeting that I attended in the morning. After lunch I headed to do some shopping with some of my birthday money. It is not very often I can go shopping without my boys and I was able to actually look instead of grab and go. 

The kitchen stores always catch my eye so I wondered into one. I couldn't resist the oversized cookie spatula. I thought it would be something fun to make some giant cookies for our family treat. The boys thought it was really cool and couldn't wait to see and of course eat a big some big cookies. 

I just made a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and split it up in to four cookies. This way we all got one big cookie. They actually came out really nice. I was a little concerned with having the edges a little too done and at the center not enough, but it came out as a nice soft cookie! No one finished their cookie and the boys ended up sharing one but it was fun :) It might make its way into some big pancakes ;)