Spencer the Photographer

Last Friday, Jake's older brother's oldest daughter got married. We got to take the boys with us to Utah. They were pretty good, at a not so kid friendly setting. Spencer was pretty bored, and acting out how bored he was. . .so, out of desperation, and also with the knowledge it is under warranty, I let him use my point and shoot camera. . .I think he did fairly well.

 

Jacob was enamoured with playing with the black umbrella. . .He made me think of Mary Poppins. . .

 

Spencer loved being in Kanosh, and had a blast pulling his two cousins around in the little red wagon. . .

 

Fun times, but glad to be home!

World Wildlife Zoo

Each summer, I ask the boys what they really want to do and they get to name two or three things that are top on their list for outings or just "fun" things that they don't want to miss. One of the things Ryan really wanted to do was go to the zoo. . .but not any zoo, he wanted to go to the World Wildlife Zoo in Peoria, so, on June 14th when the temperature was only going to be in the 90's decided today was THE day to go. . .

 

The animals were loving the not so hot temperatures, it was raining just a little bit when we got there and the monkeys, especially, were in fine form. . .The Wildlife zoo is a privately funded zoo, so it is a little bit more than the Phoenix zoo, but the animals are right there. . .The picture of Ryan and Spencer with the kangaroo shows how close, most of the time we were there . . .if they weren't wild, we could have reached out and pet them!!! The spider monkeys (I think) were in a cage and they just bounded around their cage playing tag with one another and just "monkeying around"! It was fun to watch the boys watch the different animals.

At this zoo, you can feed the giraffes, and the boys LOVED getting to feed them -- their tongues feel like sandpaper and they are so tall! It made my neck hurt just watching them!

 

They have an aquarium connected with the zoo, and the kids loved watching them feed the penguins and petting the sting ray. They were a little nervous about the star fish though. There was a petting zoo too. They had all of these things that we cold feed the animals food, for fifty cents. . .well at the petting zoo, we didn't buy food, so Jake handed the boys some grass to feed the deer and goats, at first, I was a bit concerned, but then thought, wait a minute he should know if this is ok . . . so I guess go ahead boys! We laughed when the zoo keeper was scolding the kids about feeding the animals grass -- Jake reminded me that is WHAT they EAT! Fun time and lovely weather! Glad we went!

Glazed BBQ Ribs

So, since I have been having the kids helping me a little more with cooking. They have had to help pick what we eat. This is an adventure and has helpe me stretch how I make or what I make with different food. Jacob has chosen some pretty amazing food. The BBQ is something that I like but use for steak and hamburgers and hotdogs and a few other things. . .when Jacob showed me what he wanted to make, I thought let's just have baby back ribs and make them the way that I know, but he insisted. . . so we tried this recipe, and it is AMAZING. They are super easy, and yesterday when Safeway and Bashas didn't have the boneless pork ribs when I was in there at 6 in the morning, I just used country style ribs -- but I think any pork would be awesome with this recipe. . .so, if you need a yummy BBQ rib recipe, here is a SUPER easy one, I fed 12 people and with store bought rolls, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert, I only was cooking for about 35 minutes last evening!

Glazed BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Directions
Place ribs in a large shallow glass container. Pierce several times with a fork.
In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; set aside 1/2 cup for basting. Pour the remaining marinade over ribs. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, turning once.
Drain and discard marinade. Grill ribs, covered, over indirect medium heat for 10 minutes on each side. Baste with some of the reserved marinade. Grill 20-25 minutes longer or until juices run clear and meat is tender, turning and basting occasionally. Yield: 6 servings.

Water Balloons!

Last week, our amazing scout leaders at church had a FANTASTIC scout camp -- hopefully, they will share their pics -- but one of the things that we had to do was bring water balloons -- Jacob got invited to come as well, because they were nice like that. . .but, the balloons, wow it takes a LONG time to fill!!!! Especially when you have to fill them two days in a row! So, I being the mom, got to fill most of the balloons, because we had to hurry. . .so, I was cranky, especially when I had "help". Imagine my surprise on Friday evening when. . .
I came outside to find this:

 

 

 

I think all of the boys are now official water balloon fillers and can TIE them THEMSELVES! Hallelujah!! I have to say Ryan just learned on Thursday how to tie the balloons!!

This summer we are busy listening to and reading books! I love it! I am always on the hunt to find a good book for me, and then books for my boys. I haven't gotten to read mom books lately, but I did read/listen to a FANTASTIC mom book -- The Help -- loved it! I also read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet -- it is good, but not as good as The Help -- so, if you have any good mom books, will you pass on the book?

All of my boys like books -- wonder where they got that :) but I can't keep on all of the books they read and I want them to read books that are appropriate but will keep them entertained, so, I have some books to pass on if you are looking for fun books for your kids -- The Red Pyramid book, I have gotten just a little way in, but so far, I think my kids are going to LOVE it -- all of the books are totally boy/girl friendly -- the books we are liking, or series we have just finished are:

Summer Vacation

With summer is full swing, I have had to be creative to keep my boys busy. I have some goals for them and one of the top goals is keeping them from camping in front of the TV, the computer and away from video games. Oh yeah, and I decided to keep life easy so not so many outside activities. . .
So. . .I have each of them come up with things either they want to cook (can not include things they already make), science experiments, and craft projects. . . Then, I gave them the assignment of throughout the summer taking pictures of letters in nature. . .
So, we introduced the concept of the letters yesterday, Jacob had fun just in our backyard looking for letters.

 

 

 

Well ok, some aren't without help -- but it is kind of fun. . .
For those who don't know Jacob well, he is NOT a morning kid. He hates getting up, and would rather sleep until noon (I loathe his teenage years). . .
But, he chose to make a recipe that is an overnight pancake batter and strawberry syrup. . .so, this morning, when I told him if he wanted to make breakfast for his dad he had to get up -- he got up willingly and made the YUMMIEST pancakes. We are using the recipes from Quick Cooking, (www.tasteofhome.com will give you their recipes too) and they are easy enough for beginner cookers yet still yummy!

 

The pancakes nd syrup were delicious, and will definitely be made again, and we were able to have success on two other points!