I have very fickle tastebuds.
No, really.
Brad always tells me I have food ADD because I'm always making new and different things. My tastebuds don't like to get tired so I'm always mixing it up. Very rarely do I get in a cooking rut.
That being said, my tastes are always seasonal, too. I just can't eat soup in the summer. Or shrimp scampi in December. It seems the first day of September I start to crave pumpkin muffins and apple pie while in June I want sandwiches and seafood. And before everybody starts calling me crazy (because I know some of you are), I know I am not the only one!
I've decided to post some links to what we're eating this summer at my house. Because it's always nice to share.
THIS shrimp pasta is to die for. Literally. There are not words to describe it's deliciousness. So I'm not going to even try. Just make it this week and you will thank me forever.
Lemons. I'm typically a lime gal (mostly due to my addiction to diet cokes with lime from Sonic), but summertime calls for lemons. Two of my favorite lemon recipes are GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON PASTA and LEMON BLUEBERRY PANCAKES.
Summer is a great time for sandwiches since it's usually too hot to do any heavy cooking. I love THIS slow cooker sandwich and THIS Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich and THIS Shrimp Po' Boy (and by the way, if you're curious about how the Po' Boy got it's name, you can find out HERE) and don't forget the endless possibilities of a panini.
I love me some seafood. Most especially shrimp, as seen by the two recipes above and SHRIMP QUESADILLAS, but I also adore FISH TACOS and the PORT ARANSAS SPECIAL. Eli named it that last summer when we ate in Port Aransas on vacation.
And we can't forget the grill. The temple of summer eating. My dad's famous grilled chicken is at the top of that list, but if I gave you recipe, I'd have to kill you. So I'll share some other favorites like GRILLED PIZZA , BLUE CHEESE BURGERS, ASIAN BBQ CHICKEN, and GRILLED SHRIMP AND POLENTA (although I never make that salad and I use about half the seasoning on the shrimp because it's way too spicy otherwise).
I have already made all of these since school let out. I told I had food ADD. I'm enabled by my husband who likes a variety of food, as well. And I would be remiss if I didn't find even more summer foods to make. What are you eating this summer?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Seriously. My Mom Is Talented.
My mom, The Creative Genius, made these towel cover-ups for my children while she was here for Eli's birthday. I didn't think too much of them at the time because they were simply towel cover-ups. No big deal, right?
Was I ever wrong.
They are amazing! I especially love Eli's poncho. It looks so very hippie and 60's. I'm not sure we will ever use regular beach towels again. Several strangers have commented on them and are always amazed at their simplicity and functionality. And you know, beautiful functionality is my most very favorite thing!
Thanks Mom for your great ideas! Again.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Cousin Camp 2011
Every summer, my children attend Cousin Camp.
You won't find it in any brochure or website, but it's the best darn camp around.
We just got back from Cousin Camp and I spent some time today dumping all the pictures I took onto my computer. It took a while. You know me, if 30 pictures are good, then 300 is better. Sheesh.
Warning: This post contains a boatload of pictures.
Our week started off at HAWAIIAN FALLS WATERPARK. It's my very favorite water park. I didn't take any pictures there because I didn't want to worry about my camera all day. I kind of wished I had, though, because little, baby Phoebe was a big girl at the water park. She went down some big slides with no hesitation. Kind of amazing considering she was scared of the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot.
On Wednesday, we headed down to Fair Park to the CHILDREN'S AQUARIUM AT FAIR PARK. It's a small aquarium (which suits me fine because aquariums creep me out!), but it sits right in the middle of Fair Park which is absolutely beautiful. I love all the old buildings and lovely gardens. I took several pictures here.
This one might be my favorite. You can see the giant "spinning wheel", as Phoebe called it, in the background and the lovely Art Deco seahorses.
My mom was the only one of us brave enough to feed the sting rays.
They are pretty disgusting looking if you ask me.
Nena and Eli on the artsy-fartsy sculptures in Fair Park. They represent something, but I can't remember what.
This is the big elephant outside the Natural History Museum.
Lincoln's favorite part of the day was the puddles. The metroplex had actually gotten some rain and there were puddles everywhere.
More pictures of Eli on the art structure.
This is my mom's swimsuit clothesline on her fence in the backyard. We swam everyday in their neighborhood pool and this was the drop-off for towels and swimsuits. I posted about it HERE because I just love what a lovely statement it made. Not being a very good photographer, I couldn't quite capture its true essence, but it was still nice to look at.
It pretty much describes most of our week, too. We swam. A lot. Since giving up our pool membership this summer, my kids feel like we haven't been swimming as much as we have in summers past. Not exactly true, but it was easy to rectify with the pool right around the corner from my parents' house.
We also allowed Phoebe and Lincoln to draw with sidewalk chalk. With no clothes on.
That chalk makes a h-u-g-e mess and it was easier to just take their clothes off, then try to make them stay clean.
On Saturday we headed down to Dublin, TX for a family reunion. It's my mom's mom's mom's mom and dad's family. (That's my maternal great-great grandparent's if you couldn't keep up.) My great-grandmother was the oldest of 12 children and it's mostly her siblings and their offspring. As far as I know, it's been going on since the beginning of time and has gotten kind of small in recent years. Only my great-grandmother's two youngest siblings are still living and as that generation has died, the reunion attendance has waned. But there's still a few hard core attendees, like my grandmother and her siblings.
The reunion was held in the Dublin Senior Citizens Center and it's hard to capture the dignified shabbiness of this building. So I'll just show you a picture of the three youngest reunion attendees.
Phoebe and her "Aunt" Amy. Amy is actually my mom's cousin, but she's more like an aunt so that's what we call her. :)
Upon drinking a Dublin Dr. Pepper for the first time, Phoebe decided "it was rewwy good!" and so we brought home a six-pack. I also made her take her white dress off to eat dinner. Baked beans and a white dress don't make good companions.
I'm doling it out half a bottle at time since it's basically pure sugar.
It was a great week. Quality time spent with family that I wanted to bottle up and take home with me to re-live all the good, sweet moments.
"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~ Marion C. Garretty
You won't find it in any brochure or website, but it's the best darn camp around.
We just got back from Cousin Camp and I spent some time today dumping all the pictures I took onto my computer. It took a while. You know me, if 30 pictures are good, then 300 is better. Sheesh.
Warning: This post contains a boatload of pictures.
Our week started off at HAWAIIAN FALLS WATERPARK. It's my very favorite water park. I didn't take any pictures there because I didn't want to worry about my camera all day. I kind of wished I had, though, because little, baby Phoebe was a big girl at the water park. She went down some big slides with no hesitation. Kind of amazing considering she was scared of the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot.
On Wednesday, we headed down to Fair Park to the CHILDREN'S AQUARIUM AT FAIR PARK. It's a small aquarium (which suits me fine because aquariums creep me out!), but it sits right in the middle of Fair Park which is absolutely beautiful. I love all the old buildings and lovely gardens. I took several pictures here.
This one might be my favorite. You can see the giant "spinning wheel", as Phoebe called it, in the background and the lovely Art Deco seahorses.
My mom was the only one of us brave enough to feed the sting rays.
They are pretty disgusting looking if you ask me.
Nena and Eli on the artsy-fartsy sculptures in Fair Park. They represent something, but I can't remember what.
This is the big elephant outside the Natural History Museum.
Lincoln's favorite part of the day was the puddles. The metroplex had actually gotten some rain and there were puddles everywhere.
More pictures of Eli on the art structure.
This is my mom's swimsuit clothesline on her fence in the backyard. We swam everyday in their neighborhood pool and this was the drop-off for towels and swimsuits. I posted about it HERE because I just love what a lovely statement it made. Not being a very good photographer, I couldn't quite capture its true essence, but it was still nice to look at.
It pretty much describes most of our week, too. We swam. A lot. Since giving up our pool membership this summer, my kids feel like we haven't been swimming as much as we have in summers past. Not exactly true, but it was easy to rectify with the pool right around the corner from my parents' house.
We also allowed Phoebe and Lincoln to draw with sidewalk chalk. With no clothes on.
That chalk makes a h-u-g-e mess and it was easier to just take their clothes off, then try to make them stay clean.
On Saturday we headed down to Dublin, TX for a family reunion. It's my mom's mom's mom's mom and dad's family. (That's my maternal great-great grandparent's if you couldn't keep up.) My great-grandmother was the oldest of 12 children and it's mostly her siblings and their offspring. As far as I know, it's been going on since the beginning of time and has gotten kind of small in recent years. Only my great-grandmother's two youngest siblings are still living and as that generation has died, the reunion attendance has waned. But there's still a few hard core attendees, like my grandmother and her siblings.
The reunion was held in the Dublin Senior Citizens Center and it's hard to capture the dignified shabbiness of this building. So I'll just show you a picture of the three youngest reunion attendees.
Phoebe and her "Aunt" Amy. Amy is actually my mom's cousin, but she's more like an aunt so that's what we call her. :)
Upon drinking a Dublin Dr. Pepper for the first time, Phoebe decided "it was rewwy good!" and so we brought home a six-pack. I also made her take her white dress off to eat dinner. Baked beans and a white dress don't make good companions.
I'm doling it out half a bottle at time since it's basically pure sugar.
It was a great week. Quality time spent with family that I wanted to bottle up and take home with me to re-live all the good, sweet moments.
"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~ Marion C. Garretty
Friday, June 24, 2011
Show and Tell: Mommy & Me Matching ('Cause I'm a Dork Like That)
I made these for me and Phoebolicious the first week we were out of school.
What can I say? I have a thing for mommy/daughter matching outfits. Actually, I have a thing for sibling matching outfits, but since I had a boy and a girl and they are almost four years apart, opportunities don't come along that often. In all seriousness, it was one of the things I mourned when it turned out we'd only have two children and they would be far apart in age. It was a silly dream, I know, but a dream nonetheless, and there's always a little sadness when you let a dream go...no matter how silly and superficial.
But I digress.
It was my first sewing project I completed this summer and it felt good to have the unstructured time to get something finished.
Even if it was a little dorky.
They're gonna look soooo great on our beach vacation later this summer!
For those interested, I used THIS pattern for Phoebe's romper and THIS pattern for my top.
What can I say? I have a thing for mommy/daughter matching outfits. Actually, I have a thing for sibling matching outfits, but since I had a boy and a girl and they are almost four years apart, opportunities don't come along that often. In all seriousness, it was one of the things I mourned when it turned out we'd only have two children and they would be far apart in age. It was a silly dream, I know, but a dream nonetheless, and there's always a little sadness when you let a dream go...no matter how silly and superficial.
But I digress.
It was my first sewing project I completed this summer and it felt good to have the unstructured time to get something finished.
Even if it was a little dorky.
They're gonna look soooo great on our beach vacation later this summer!
For those interested, I used THIS pattern for Phoebe's romper and THIS pattern for my top.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Go Figure
The kids and I are at my parents' house this week doing all kinds of fun, exciting things. (Hence the lack of posting the last few days. Don't worry, I'll catch up, but it's kind of hard to be motivated when there's so much fun to be had.)
We've been to the WATER PARK and to the pool. We've laughed with family and friends. We've treated ourselves to frozen yogurt and shrimp quesadillas.
But do you know what has been the most fun of all?
Something crazy?
Something different?
Something expensive?
Nope.
Playing in the sprinkler.
I'm not sure Lincoln was really loving the sprinkler at first. He needed a bit of motivation from his big cousins.
Go figure, right?
We've been to the WATER PARK and to the pool. We've laughed with family and friends. We've treated ourselves to frozen yogurt and shrimp quesadillas.
But do you know what has been the most fun of all?
Something crazy?
Something different?
Something expensive?
Nope.
Playing in the sprinkler.
I'm not sure Lincoln was really loving the sprinkler at first. He needed a bit of motivation from his big cousins.
Go figure, right?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Things I Learned From My Dad
Cooking if fun. Baking is not.
Five minutes early is "on time" and "on time" is actually late.
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID is the greatest western ever.
Early (and I mean early) morning is the very best time of the day.
Life cannot be tackled without a sense of humor. It may be the most important trait a person can possess.
Good coffee is important to a productive day.
Close friends are worth more than their weight in gold.
A good marriage is equal parts hard work, compromise, and laughter.
Storytelling is an art. So is teaching.
God is bigger and better than most of us can imagine and more concerned with things that we choose not to see or hear or believe.
So much can be accomplished "while you're resting".
Always (no matter what) put sunscreen on the tops of your feet. (I cannot tell you how many times my dad burned the tops of his feet while we were at the lake!)
Pets don't ever really need to go to the vet.
The grief over the death of a parent never really goes away. (Read THIS to see how it impacted my dad.)
Grandchildren turn you into a big pile of mush.
Despite its name, Egg Custard Pie is manna from heaven.
Even though some of us spend our lives in surrounded by the silence of God (so it seems) we are no less Christian or faithful than those who hear Him everyday and see Him everywhere.
I was given a man of integrity and compassion and laughter and love as a dad, and I am forever grateful.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
Five minutes early is "on time" and "on time" is actually late.
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID is the greatest western ever.
Early (and I mean early) morning is the very best time of the day.
Life cannot be tackled without a sense of humor. It may be the most important trait a person can possess.
Good coffee is important to a productive day.
Close friends are worth more than their weight in gold.
A good marriage is equal parts hard work, compromise, and laughter.
Storytelling is an art. So is teaching.
God is bigger and better than most of us can imagine and more concerned with things that we choose not to see or hear or believe.
So much can be accomplished "while you're resting".
Always (no matter what) put sunscreen on the tops of your feet. (I cannot tell you how many times my dad burned the tops of his feet while we were at the lake!)
Pets don't ever really need to go to the vet.
The grief over the death of a parent never really goes away. (Read THIS to see how it impacted my dad.)
Grandchildren turn you into a big pile of mush.
Despite its name, Egg Custard Pie is manna from heaven.
Even though some of us spend our lives in surrounded by the silence of God (so it seems) we are no less Christian or faithful than those who hear Him everyday and see Him everywhere.
I was given a man of integrity and compassion and laughter and love as a dad, and I am forever grateful.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Does Anyone Think This Is A Good Idea?
This is how I found Phoebe the other morning when the kiddos were playing outside. I might have been in the house cleaning bathrooms instead of outside watching the kids as I (apparently) should have. :)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
(The Forgotten) Ten on Ten: June 2011
So I totally forgot to take my TEN ON TEN photos last Friday! And it wasn't for lack of trying either. I have a reminder on my phone for two days before, the day before, and the day of the 10th. My mind was just somewhere else. So now I'm playing catch-up.
The idea: once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours. Finding much life and beauty among the ordinary things of our day!
My photos weren't taken on the 10 of every hour, but they were moment captured in a special day.
This was the botched cake. I felt I needed to throw this in here for posterity's sake. :)
Happy (Belated) Ten on Ten!
The idea: once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours. Finding much life and beauty among the ordinary things of our day!
My photos weren't taken on the 10 of every hour, but they were moment captured in a special day.
This was the botched cake. I felt I needed to throw this in here for posterity's sake. :)
Happy (Belated) Ten on Ten!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Peach Cobbler Recipe
I think summer tastes like a peach cobbler.
Peach cobbler is one of my very favorite desserts. Which is a shame since it's not the favorite of anyone in my family (immediate or extended) so I hardly ever make it. And every once in a blue moon I am compelled to make one. It's not something I can choose to do. I must do it...and I really don't care if everyone else turns up their noses and eats only ice cream instead. I just invite over some friends who will enjoy it with me.
That's what I did last week. I craved a peach cobbler in the worst way. So I made a brisket and a peach cobbler and had some friends over.
It hit the spot.
I'm pretty picky when it comes to my peach cobbler. I like it a little on the tart side with lots of pie crust. My recipe for peach cobbler is one I've compiled from a few different recipes to make one that I really, really love. You can either use fresh peaches (if they are in season) or frozen, sliced peaches as long as they have not added any sugar. I've found the perfect ones at Wal-Mart in the frozen section. It's the Great Value brand and I've used them several times with amazing results. Sometimes I use half fresh peaches and half frozen peaches. Whatever's easiest to get my hands on. This makes enough for a 2 quart casserole dish. You'll want to one-and-a-half it or double it to fill up a 9x13 inch pan.
Peach Cobbler
For the pie crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 + 2 tablespoon shortening (sometimes I use real butter)
4 tablespoons water
For the peach filling:
10 or 12 good sized peaches OR 2 bags frozen, sliced peaches from Wal-Mart
about 3/4 cup sugar (I don't measure this. I use sparingly and then taste the peaches right before I put them in the crust to make sure they are sweet enough for me. Like I said, I like my cobbler a little tart.)
a scant 1/4 cup brown sugar (again, add a little and then add more later if it needs it)
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour all the peach filling ingredients into a large bowl and let them get to know each other while you make your pie crust. In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt for the pie crust. Cut in shortening. Use a PASTRY BLENDER to mash the shortening in until it looks like bread crumbs. Pour on the water and stir until the dough comes together. Roll out and cut into strips. (I use a FLUTED PASTRY WHEEL because it's pretty.) Grease a 2 quart casserole dish and lay the pie crust in a criss-cross pattern and dot with butter. Spread on half the peach filling. Repeat with pie crust and butter, then the rest of the peaches, then one more layer of pie crust and butter. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour. (I always have to bake mine for at least an hour!) Give me a call so I can come and eat some with you! :)
It'll taste just like summer when you pull it out of the oven.
And then again at breakfast the next morning.
Peach cobbler is one of my very favorite desserts. Which is a shame since it's not the favorite of anyone in my family (immediate or extended) so I hardly ever make it. And every once in a blue moon I am compelled to make one. It's not something I can choose to do. I must do it...and I really don't care if everyone else turns up their noses and eats only ice cream instead. I just invite over some friends who will enjoy it with me.
That's what I did last week. I craved a peach cobbler in the worst way. So I made a brisket and a peach cobbler and had some friends over.
It hit the spot.
I'm pretty picky when it comes to my peach cobbler. I like it a little on the tart side with lots of pie crust. My recipe for peach cobbler is one I've compiled from a few different recipes to make one that I really, really love. You can either use fresh peaches (if they are in season) or frozen, sliced peaches as long as they have not added any sugar. I've found the perfect ones at Wal-Mart in the frozen section. It's the Great Value brand and I've used them several times with amazing results. Sometimes I use half fresh peaches and half frozen peaches. Whatever's easiest to get my hands on. This makes enough for a 2 quart casserole dish. You'll want to one-and-a-half it or double it to fill up a 9x13 inch pan.
Peach Cobbler
For the pie crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 + 2 tablespoon shortening (sometimes I use real butter)
4 tablespoons water
For the peach filling:
10 or 12 good sized peaches OR 2 bags frozen, sliced peaches from Wal-Mart
about 3/4 cup sugar (I don't measure this. I use sparingly and then taste the peaches right before I put them in the crust to make sure they are sweet enough for me. Like I said, I like my cobbler a little tart.)
a scant 1/4 cup brown sugar (again, add a little and then add more later if it needs it)
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour all the peach filling ingredients into a large bowl and let them get to know each other while you make your pie crust. In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt for the pie crust. Cut in shortening. Use a PASTRY BLENDER to mash the shortening in until it looks like bread crumbs. Pour on the water and stir until the dough comes together. Roll out and cut into strips. (I use a FLUTED PASTRY WHEEL because it's pretty.) Grease a 2 quart casserole dish and lay the pie crust in a criss-cross pattern and dot with butter. Spread on half the peach filling. Repeat with pie crust and butter, then the rest of the peaches, then one more layer of pie crust and butter. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour. (I always have to bake mine for at least an hour!) Give me a call so I can come and eat some with you! :)
It'll taste just like summer when you pull it out of the oven.
And then again at breakfast the next morning.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Eli's Camping Birthday Party OR The Plan B Party OR The Bar Party
Eli turned 8 last Friday and I finally gave in and let him have his first sleepover party.
I'm happy to report that we all survived. Well, maybe not my house which is still a wreck because we were useless on Saturday and then left Sunday morning to head to Abilene for my grandfather's 89th birthday and just got back home last night. Whew! This weekend was a whirlwind!
But on to the party. In some ways it felt like the Plan B Party. The time didn't work out as I had planned. The cake didn't turn out as I had planned. The decorations didn't turn out as I had planned. But it came together and everyone had a lot of fun...including me!
This is our front porch all decorated for the party...mostly because we don't have an address marker and some of the party-goers had never been here before.
The rest of my decorations were pretty easy. I used a red and white checked tablecloth on our patio table and hung blue and red paper lanterns across the porch. I forgot to take a picture of either of those. I had to use Plan B on my lanterns because I had originally wanted them strung across the table, but I couldn't find anything that would stick into the porch ceiling so I hung them from some wire between the porch posts.
This was the beverage table. It was completely an afterthought and I ended up dragging the burlap and bandannas out of the attic about 10 minutes before the party started! I also had Brad hang a clothesline across from the table with clothespins on it so the boys could hang up their cups between drinks...like I used to do at Girl Scout Camp! It was the hit of party (and again, no pics).
My first cake was a disaster (I'll show pics later), so I whipped up these cupcakes about an hour before the party.
They made for an impressive birthday cake.
We didn't have any camp food at our party because it didn't start till 8pm. Eli had a baseball game that night that started at 6pm and half of the boys invited were on the team. I didn't want to have to forfeit because of Eli's party...and there wasn't another night to have the party. In the end, the game was cancelled (!!) and 8pm wasn't such a bad start time.
This is the only picture I got of the tent and all the boys together. Silly, silly boys.
After cake and ice cream, we played Musical Sleeping Bags. Twice. That was the hit game of the party. Go figure.
Then we had a Build Your Own Trail Mix Bar. (I kept calling it a Gorp Bar and getting weird looks from everyone else. What can I say? I was Girl Scout in the mid-80's...)
My Trail Mix Bar included M&M's, peanuts, sunflower seeds, mini marshmallows, dried bananas, dried apples, pretzel goldfish, and craisins.
This activity was fun and there wasn't any pushing or shoving or elbowing as I anticipated.
We put our Gorp Trail Mix into ziplock bags and put them in the tent for a "midnight snack".
And just so you don't think we ate our way through the party. Before the kids made S'Mores, we had sleeping bag races. It was getting dark-ish so the pictures were pretty blurry.
Then we had a S'Mores Bar.
No one touched the banana slices on this S'Mores Bar, by the way. I think a s'more made with banana sounds heavenly, but I was too busy helping everyone else make s'mores that I didn't actually eat one myself. There's still leftovers in the pantry though...
I had envisioned sitting around a fire-pit at this camping party, but due to the crazy-high wildfire danger (the city of Amarillo is not even having 4th of July fireworks!), we decided to go with Plan B and not burn our neighbors house down. Plan B involved Brad's gas grill.
It wasn't quite what I had imagined, but nobody complained about the S'mores!
At this point, I was having all the boys change into pj's and get ready for bed. Brad called me the Birthday Nazi and told me to just let them run around a play a bit so we did. And they ran around like crazy, sugar-induced 7-and-8-year-old boys on crack. Seriously, our neighbor called to make sure everything was okay.
About 11pm, we decided to really try and get them to settle so Brad used his iPad to watch a few episodes of DESTROY BUILD DESTROY in the tent. I'm pretty sure everyone went to sleep around midnight. I wouldn't know because I was inside in my own bed. :)
The next morning, I whipped up a big ole' batch of pancakes (from a mix, thankyouverymuch) for a Build Your Own Pancake Bar. I told you it was a bar party!
The fruit was pretty much un-touched here, too, although I enjoyed some chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries on top. Yummy.
The party favors were hobo-packs (called bindles for anyone that's interested) tied on mesquite branches from the front yard. Each bindle was filled with a water bottle, a compass, and a flashlight all from Oriental Trading.
It took us all the rest of SAturday to recuperate, but the camping party was well worth it! Next year, though, I think we're going bowling...
I'm happy to report that we all survived. Well, maybe not my house which is still a wreck because we were useless on Saturday and then left Sunday morning to head to Abilene for my grandfather's 89th birthday and just got back home last night. Whew! This weekend was a whirlwind!
But on to the party. In some ways it felt like the Plan B Party. The time didn't work out as I had planned. The cake didn't turn out as I had planned. The decorations didn't turn out as I had planned. But it came together and everyone had a lot of fun...including me!
This is our front porch all decorated for the party...mostly because we don't have an address marker and some of the party-goers had never been here before.
The rest of my decorations were pretty easy. I used a red and white checked tablecloth on our patio table and hung blue and red paper lanterns across the porch. I forgot to take a picture of either of those. I had to use Plan B on my lanterns because I had originally wanted them strung across the table, but I couldn't find anything that would stick into the porch ceiling so I hung them from some wire between the porch posts.
This was the beverage table. It was completely an afterthought and I ended up dragging the burlap and bandannas out of the attic about 10 minutes before the party started! I also had Brad hang a clothesline across from the table with clothespins on it so the boys could hang up their cups between drinks...like I used to do at Girl Scout Camp! It was the hit of party (and again, no pics).
My first cake was a disaster (I'll show pics later), so I whipped up these cupcakes about an hour before the party.
They made for an impressive birthday cake.
We didn't have any camp food at our party because it didn't start till 8pm. Eli had a baseball game that night that started at 6pm and half of the boys invited were on the team. I didn't want to have to forfeit because of Eli's party...and there wasn't another night to have the party. In the end, the game was cancelled (!!) and 8pm wasn't such a bad start time.
This is the only picture I got of the tent and all the boys together. Silly, silly boys.
After cake and ice cream, we played Musical Sleeping Bags. Twice. That was the hit game of the party. Go figure.
Then we had a Build Your Own Trail Mix Bar. (I kept calling it a Gorp Bar and getting weird looks from everyone else. What can I say? I was Girl Scout in the mid-80's...)
My Trail Mix Bar included M&M's, peanuts, sunflower seeds, mini marshmallows, dried bananas, dried apples, pretzel goldfish, and craisins.
This activity was fun and there wasn't any pushing or shoving or elbowing as I anticipated.
We put our Gorp Trail Mix into ziplock bags and put them in the tent for a "midnight snack".
And just so you don't think we ate our way through the party. Before the kids made S'Mores, we had sleeping bag races. It was getting dark-ish so the pictures were pretty blurry.
Then we had a S'Mores Bar.
No one touched the banana slices on this S'Mores Bar, by the way. I think a s'more made with banana sounds heavenly, but I was too busy helping everyone else make s'mores that I didn't actually eat one myself. There's still leftovers in the pantry though...
I had envisioned sitting around a fire-pit at this camping party, but due to the crazy-high wildfire danger (the city of Amarillo is not even having 4th of July fireworks!), we decided to go with Plan B and not burn our neighbors house down. Plan B involved Brad's gas grill.
It wasn't quite what I had imagined, but nobody complained about the S'mores!
At this point, I was having all the boys change into pj's and get ready for bed. Brad called me the Birthday Nazi and told me to just let them run around a play a bit so we did. And they ran around like crazy, sugar-induced 7-and-8-year-old boys on crack. Seriously, our neighbor called to make sure everything was okay.
About 11pm, we decided to really try and get them to settle so Brad used his iPad to watch a few episodes of DESTROY BUILD DESTROY in the tent. I'm pretty sure everyone went to sleep around midnight. I wouldn't know because I was inside in my own bed. :)
The next morning, I whipped up a big ole' batch of pancakes (from a mix, thankyouverymuch) for a Build Your Own Pancake Bar. I told you it was a bar party!
The fruit was pretty much un-touched here, too, although I enjoyed some chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries on top. Yummy.
The party favors were hobo-packs (called bindles for anyone that's interested) tied on mesquite branches from the front yard. Each bindle was filled with a water bottle, a compass, and a flashlight all from Oriental Trading.
It took us all the rest of SAturday to recuperate, but the camping party was well worth it! Next year, though, I think we're going bowling...
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