I missed putting these up during Drama Camp. Each day many of us would go to the park for lunch and fellowship after camp was over. (And because the kids begged us.) These are a few of L.'s friends. They are a great bunch of kids. (Bottom: L. to R. Caanan, Cassie, L. Isabel, Joe, Carina, Austin, Jacob, Thomas)

Struck

Daughter L. caught some storm and lightening shots last night.

Wed. and Thurs. Bible School

Wed. we made Plaster of Paris leaf boxes with caterpillars for Brazil day.

Today we went on a rock hike (Mt. Everest day) and then washed the rocks. It was a hit. Our theme was persistence. (Run the race with perseverance...) Note to future generations: "Toys" like rocks, play dough, water, bug hunts and blocks keep little ones very happy with little cost.

L to R: Gus, Hannah, Sylvia, Gate and Meara

The Golden Spatula

Tuesday night our home school teen group had their annual Golden Spatula cook off (and swim party). Husband and I were asked to be judges this year. Friend Ann and I were "dessert" judges (YES!), Father Anderson and John were "sides" judges and Janel and Curt were "salads" judges. Husband served as tiebreaker. Each teen brought a homemade dish to go with the grilled burgers and hot dogs. Jennifer won the sides with Mint Jalapeno dip, Isabel won the desserts with Brazilian Flan and Strawberries and Rachel won the salads with Sweet Rotini Salad. Daughter L. got an honorable mention with her Garlic Bread Puff. Thanks to Ed and Margie and their family who put on these memorable teen events.

Garlic Bread Puff

*Son J. won a purple ribbon at the fair with this recipe when he was about 10, and also demonstrated it on a local news cooking show.

2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 heaping Tbsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix the butter, eggs, parsley and garlic powder. Cut 1 " chunks of bread dough and dip in butter mixture. Drop evenly into greased (sprayed) 9 x 13 pan. Let rise in warm place until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 min. until golden brown. Recipe can be halved and baked in an 8 x 8 pan or large casserole.

Tuesday Bible School

Keeping them busy with crafts and activities. Today was Egypt, so I made some pyramids last night for props. They turned out well. I learned that you can make two pyramids out of one box.

This is how I did it.

Measure the mid-point of the top of your square box and mark it on all four sides. Mark lines from each bottom corner to the top mid-point on each of the 4 sides to form triangles. Cut along lines with knife. Open out bottom, turn inside out for the plain inside (if desired) and tape the points first. Then fold bottom flaps in and tape to finish. You can use the part you cut off the top of the box to make another pyramid, but you have to cut the bottom flaps between the corners and tape them together on the middles before folding. You can do this with a box that is not square, but you have to alter its size first.

Mulberries

Our cousins (Bob and Marilyn's grandkids) were over tonight while their folks were at a meeting. Mulberry fun! (Bottom, L to R: Meara, Keegan, M., Trevor, L.) The other two were catching fireflies.

Bible School

This is Bible School week. I have 5 preschoolers.We are studying some miracles of Jesus, while "traveling" to different places around the world. Today was Antarctica. ("...they shall be whiter than snow.") The little snowflake verse page was a fun craft. Simple and cheap. You can make your own puff paint with this recipe.

1 Tbsp. self rising flour

1 Tbsp. salt

Water

food coloring as desired

Mix together to a runny paste consistency. Use paintbrushes or Q-tips to "paint" onto paper. Microwave 20-30 seconds to puff and dry. We used white on blue paper to look more snowy, but colors turn out neat also. Use a little heavier paper to avoid wrinkling.

Homemade self-rising flour:

1 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Father's Day

Top to bottom: Gifts in the morning-shirts, ties, Bonamassa tape.
Special music in church by Niece Holly and Bob.
Supper with the big kids at home. Potato salad (see recipe posts) and fresh peaches. Marinated steaks grilled by J. and Mac's lettuce salad.

Heirloom Beauty

L. and I stopped for milk after her movie and my"girl's night out" and the store had these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes for sale. Of course, we had to grab a few shots. Much too pretty to eat!

Hollyhock Dolls

W and M were making hollyhock dolls. Two hollyhocks and a small marshmallow connected by a toothpick. Add a little face.My mom taught us how to make these on our farm when we were growing up.

Women's Night Out

Second Annual Women's Night Out

This is the second time the women in Husband's family have had a Ladies Night out together. There were eight of us and it was as much fun as the first one. This year it was at Applebees. The young waitress was surprised we were family (in-laws even!) and liked each other enough to go out for supper together.

Scrabble

Grandma S. loves Scrabble and is very good at it. I have been looking for a second-hand scrabble board for a long time to replace a tile she lost. I found one this week at Goodwill. We are having fun leaving messages and "words of the day" around the house with Scrabble tiles. I was going to use them for crafts, but maybe not! (Apparently Scrabble people never discard their games. I find many games in good shape at the thrift stores, but this is the first Scrabble I have seen since I started looking. Games are so expensive-often aroung $20 or $30 new. Thrift stores are a great place to find many gently used games. My Scrabble game was about $1.50, I think.)

Tuesday and Wednesday

Yesterday I went to town to shop for Bible School supplies, run errands and see Aunt Marilyn. Then I stayed and picked L. up after ultimate frisbee. When I got home, Husband had our bedroom painted! We have a new headboard and side tables and lamps coming soon, so wanted to paint first. Also have a new dresser.

Today Miss O. was here and Whitney read to her when they were both looking for things to do. Pretty sweet! Later they and M. and Gus walked to the creek to throw rocks. I got some Bible School prep, wash and computer work done, and put a "fancy" glaze finish on two of the walls of the bedroom. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish the bedroom, although we have piano lessons in the early afternoon...Second day of sun! Husband got out to do some spraying in the late afternoon, after insurance/estate planning meetings in the morning.

Sun Please

Rain, rain, go away...

Lots of inches of rain this week. Flooding in some places, but not much on our ground.

Friday Performances Drama Camp

Grace in character.

Joe watches dress rehearsal in comfort.

The youngers prep the programs for the second night of performances.

Flowers for the directors.

Young to old.



Clever mannequin madness.