Stallions & A Stud

What a fun and beautiful weekend we had! Something in it for everyone...a lot of time with friends in beautiful sunshine enjoying out-of-the-normal-routine experiences. Here's the weekend recap:

The two at the top had a great Friday night sleep-over at the church, with a late, late night at the Valley all to themselves. Lots of swimming, basketball, and other energy-burning activities. Alex went straight from there to Wild Waves with a group of about 20 others. They heard some great bands, became walking water-logged teenagers, and came home glowing from the experience. Or was that glow the sunburn?? Sadly, no pictures of this whole event. The family photographer was not present, and asking him to take pictures would have been fruitless.

Meanwhile, the one at the bottom had some much needed one-on-one time with us on Friday night. We watched a barely tolerable, I mean hysterically funny, movie to draw out some giggles after a sad goodbye to her sweet Minnie.

Then on Saturday, Beth and I were off to Everett to see the Lipizzaner Stallions with her Brownie troop. These horses are amazing! We were able to go to a "Tack and Groom Clinic" before the performance to learn a little about the horses. During question and answer time, my daughter really made this momma proud. She had her hand frantically waving in the air for some time, then was finally called on. "How do you tell the difference between a mare and a stallion?" Ahem. I told the MC that I would handle that answer at home, thank you. Next??? And if I may, let me add that the horse they were demonstrating with was providing a very teachable moment right when she asked that question. Next!!

The Stallions:

Me & my sweet girl:

After a busy and late night of crafts and a movie, we went to bed on the floor of a ballroom with about 200 others. So cozy. So no sleep. I was so glad when it was time to get up and go home. I then had a lovely 2 hour nap!

Meanwhile, as we were headed south towards home, Brad was already far south of home getting ready for his first open water race! He had such a blast. The electronic clock wasn't working, so he doesn't have his precise times. His eyes were still blurry from the goggles when they handed him his placement stick coming out of the water, so he's not sure how he placed. Definitely in the top half, which was his goal. He swam in the 800 meter and 2000 meter race. He's now ready to find more of these races to enter.

The Stud:

Now, for those of you who are paying close attention, you are right. The family photographer was unable to make this event, as she was previously engaged. Brad was kind enough to take some pictures so we can pretend. Use your imagination. He looks much like these other wet-suit clad men. Just better. I'm looking forward to being there for the next event! Yeah for Brad!

**UPDATE**

The official times are in! Brad swam the 800 in 12:02, 6th place in his age division, 28th overall ~ out of 96! And in the 2000 his time was 31:47, for 91st overall, out of 200+. He wants it known that he had some wardrobe malfunction that caused him to stop 3 times for adjustments. Otherwise he "totally could have come in under 30." Next time! A GREAT first showing!!

In Loving Memory...

A sad discovery in our home today. We are not sure what happened, but Minnie the frog died today. Beth found her when she went in to clean the frog tank. Lots of tears.

She was such a good frog. She was very curious and liked to climb. She especially enjoyed climbing on various toys in the bathtub. She will be missed very, very, very much.

Minnie has always had a special place in Beth's heart. She was Beth's frog for over 4 years.

A private family burial was already held. She was buried in the woods behind our house, under one of Beth's favorite trees.

Minnie leaves behind a very loving family and her two frog friends, Sally and Sweet Pea.

Thanks for all the fun memories, Minnie! We will miss you.

Flashback Friday - Baseball Then & Now

Last night as I watched Alex play in a double-header - 4 1/2 hours of GREAT baseball, I might add - I was thinking back to where it all began for him. So here he is in April of 2000. He was 4 years old, creeping up on 5. I love this picture of him facing that tee. In true Alex form, he is sizing it up, thinking through what to do. Analyzing it. Being his methodical self. Staring it down. Summoning the courage. Trying to remember which way is first base. Trying to simply SEE from under that helmet. Thinking, thinking, thinking. This was a special kind of fun...

And here he is last night...it's hard to see, but this is moments before a great base hit. You can see the blur of the ball coming in. He still thinks about it, but now he mostly just does it. You kind of have to with a ball firing in at you instead of sitting there on a tee waiting for you to think it through! And his helmet fits much better, too...

Flashing back only to last night...such fun baseball to watch. I always enjoy watching, but it's especially fun when the boys have such great games. They played back-to-back games against a team that creamed them the first game of the season. It was an ugly slaughter. That team has gone on to be undefeated this season. Until last night. Our team came back in the last inning of the first game to bring in 9 runs to win the game! Including a grand slam! Wow! The second game they just totally dominated, winning 16-2. Everyone contributed. Amazing pitching, great fielding, great hitting, great base running...it was all working for them last night! I know it's not about winning. I know. But it sure is fun ~ a different kind of fun!

Go Jump in the Lake and Chocolate Reality

Our three-day weekend was such a welcome treat! Brad gets very few holidays off, so we were excited to have him off work when the kids were out of school! Made it truly feel like a long weekend...in a good way! The weekend did not go as planned, for a variety of reasons, but we had some good times.

Brad is getting back into competitive swimming through the Masters Swimming program. He has his first open water race this coming weekend, so he's been jumping in the lake as often as possible the last couple weeks. Since Monday was so beautiful, the whole family came along this time for a little lake fun. The kids had fun chasing him in a paddle boat and a kayak. I stuck to the dock and played the role of paparazzi. I took several great shots at one point, then put my glasses on and realized the person I was photographing was an elderly gentleman doing the backstroke. At least I got some that are really Brad...

There he goes...

Here he comes...and there are the girls in the paddle boat trying to chase him...

Blurry picture because he came at me a bit faster than I was prepared for...

Brenna, Samantha, and a backwards Beth...

Tyler and Alex thinking they could catch him (they did in the kayak, but too far away for a picture!)...

On another "note" (so corny...), Alex played in a "Jazz Night" concert last night. Just a couple more concerts this year...hard to believe!

While Alex was there early warming up, I ran to the store for a couple items. While waiting in line in the "express lane", which never is, I noticed a lady in the lane next to me. She was next in line, but had obviously been there for some time. She had a stack of 10 large Ghiradelli dark chocolate bars, her entire purchase. I instantly liked her for that. She was taking several deep breaths, in through her nose, out through her tightly pursed lips. I offered to let her go ahead of me in my line, since she was clearly in a hurry. She thanked me profusely and stepped in front of me. I told her I really admired her grocery buying strategy, and asked if there was a story behind all that chocolate. And she told me.

Apparently she plays gongs. She arranges these various sized metal disks and plays for groups of people. The intention is to take them to another dimension. Now, I had noticed that she was dressed a bit eccentric for my taste, but that's nothing unusual around here. She had a large, colorful tattoo covering her bony yet amply displayed chest. It was some sort of large bird, but I didn't want to stare to get the details. Anyway, my eyes were easily distracted by the lion's mane of free-style hair surrounding her head. Get the picture? So, how does the chocolate play into this? She said, "the chocolate is how we bring them back." I, in my naive way said, "Oh, so they come back for another performance to get the chocolate snack?"

"Oh, no, dear. They come back from the other dimension to have the chocolate. If they didn't have chocolate at the end we would leave them floating around in the cosmos somewhere."

I kid you not. I had so many questions for her. Instead, I told her, "Wow. And all this time I've been eating chocolate to escape reality for a bit!"

I came off as extremely friendly to her, because I couldn't stop the big goofy smile on my face. I was one breath short of laughing straight out. And I didn't dare make eye-contact with Brenna, because I'm sure her face would have done me in. I totally would have taken her picture if I had my camera. The whole time, I was thinking that this was either a really great Seinfeld episode or a really great blog post.

When we finally walked away, Brenna said, "Well that was sure a nice lady." And she's right. Very nice lady. Just a bit misguided in regards to reality. So she took her $29 and some odd cents of chocolate and went scurrying off to her event. I took my Pepcid, vitamin E, and M&M cookie for Alex and just went to a simple jazz concert. I think I had the better deal.

Monday Menu - Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

"Holy smokes! I think this is the best cupcake I have ever eaten!" ~ Alex

If that review doesn't snag your attention, I don't know what will! And, really now. Snickerdoodle Cupcakes?? Considering the name of my blog, how could I not share this new found recipe? And the first time I saw that name, it truly gave me a little thrill. I assume the same for all of you. Thus, I give you the Snickerdoodle Cupcake recipe:



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes


Dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

Combine all dry ingredients together in small bowl.

In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add sugar. Mix with hand mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, mixing well on medium speed. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix well.

Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients and combine on low speed. Add 1/2 the milk, again mixing on low speed. Repeat with the next third of the dry, the rest of the milk, and the last third of the dry.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle each cupcake with a small amount of sugar, then a dusting of cinnamon.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Do not over bake. Who likes a dry cupcake?!

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. (This recipe, for me, made 12 large cupcakes and 10 mini cupcakes.)

Meanwhile, make frosting:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

2 oz. white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. cinnamon extract

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (more to taste)

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a small bowl, microwave the white chocolate for 30 seconds or until partially melted. Stir to melt together. Set aside to cool slightly.

Mix together the cream cheese and butter until well creamed. Mix in the white chocolate and vanilla. Add the cinnamon extract, cinnamon. Mix in the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. Chill the frosting until is sets up better for easier piping or spreading. (This makes a lot of frosting. You can get by with 1/2 the amount for the amount of cupcakes. Or make the whole thing and be very generous with the frosting. Or save it in the fridge to put on graham crackers. YUM!)

These are great! The cupcake top gets a bit of a crust from the sugar and cinnamon on top, giving it the same feel as biting into a snickerdoodle cookie. And the house smells so great when they are baking. The cake is very dense and moist. That melted butter really gives it a fabulous consistency. Butter. Mmm. I did not do a good job of photographing those cupcakes. I think my hand was shaking a bit from the sugar rush of taste-testing the frosting. So don't judge them by their picture!

Flashback Friday

Here we go back to early May of 2001 for some sweet memories:

Why did I have such a huge bag of M&M's?? I dunno.

Why was it totally empty?? I dunno. Don't judge me.

How did Beth get her hands on this bag? Well, she is child number 3, which means that she pretty much got whatever she squealed for. If it kept her happy and entertained, it was as much a treasure to me as her. I do know that we kept that empty M&M bag for a couple weeks, simply because it was such great entertainment for Beth. She loved the shiny paper, she loved the noises the shiny paper made when she crinkled it, and she loved trying to pick at those colorful M&M pictures. I don't know if the drool shows up in picture #1, but I do think that is not only from teething, but also because she was born with great taste!

I'd love to have another snuggle with that girl as a baby, and maybe snack on a few M&M's while I rock her...

But now we get to share M&M's together, which is equally as sweet. And she does still love to snuggle. Especially if I'm holding M&M's. Yep, I'm raisin' her right!

Baseball, Bugz, & Bassoon!

Here are a bunch of pictures that pretty much sums up what we've been up to this Spring...

Baseball, of course: Games have been too few this year courtesy of all the rain and concert conflicts, but Alex is having a great season overall. (With the exception of falling for some strategic trickery last night, resulting in a tag out at 2nd to end a bases-loaded inning...bummer.) Please notice that these boys are playing in WHITE baseball pants!! The moms in the stands have shared many stain removal tips over the last 3 years. My favorite? Shout Advanced Ultra Concentrated Gel. It has a plastic scrubber brush attached that the gel squirts out of, so you can aggressively rub the gel into the 100% polyester (or whatever), and you can apply it right away and then launder it up to a week later. I swear these boys revel in the glory of getting their pants as dirty as possible. And I swear the moms revel in the glory of bringing those boys to the next game with bright white pants! I should have kept count of the number of bottles of Shout I go through in a season...

And, while Alex plays baseball, the girls just play...finding lots of ways to pass an evening in a park...

And occasionally daddy gets in on the playtime...

And here is Beth at her 2nd grade program, a musical play called "Bugz", with her very favorite friend, Natalie. (Yep, they are the same age...quite a pair, huh?!)

And lots of music...here is Alex playing his bassoon in an ensemble. We are now in the market to purchase him his own bassoon...cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching!

And here is the music teacher extraordinaire, Mr. Allison...this is Alex's last year with him, and Brenna's first. He is one of those teachers that invests so much into his students, we are so thankful for him!

These happy smiles are because Sunday was the last SOGO concert of the year! Great year, but great to have our Sunday afternoons back!

And this is just a sweet picture...of three of my very favorite people...