Cookie Baking Night 06/25/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Hmmmm, Emily?

Diana and Carissa joined us for supper when they came to drop off Ethan, then they were heading off to Carissa's soccer practice. Ethan decided to go to soccer practice as well (the thought of visiting with a good friend who had been away last week was too much for him to pass up). So, the three of them joined us for dinner and then off they went (it was fun to have them at dinner).

And then there was one.
Tonight we made berry-rhubarb crisp. Emily cut up the rhubarb and got the recipe together to put in the oven by herself (so grown up).

Since it was just the two of us tonight, we decided to forego the Leading Little Ones to God lesson. Instead, Emily read Proverbs 1 from the Bible, and then we talked about its meaning. 

Emily also helped me with a project I was working on. I needed to sort through some pictures my mom had given me, looking for some baby pictures of my youngest brother. Emily thought this was a very fun project! She sorted through the box looking for mullets, parachute pants, big hair, and big glasses (all of which were plentiful since we were adolescents of the 1980's). She found pictures of her dad, her uncle, and myself that she formed into a pile and requested copies of for future use. She had a grand ol' time. I heard this phrase many times throughout the evening, "Why is everyone dressed so weird?" (I assured Emily that the time will come for her too when the fashion sense of her generation is scrutinized and likely mocked--no matter how "cool" they think they look at the time). 

My brother, Rob, Emily's dad, came to pick her up while we were still sorting the pictures. He got a kick out it as well, and we had some fun reminiscing about the photos. 

 

 As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

P.S. As you can see by the above photo, the allure of the leopard headband from VBS has not worn off yet. She wore it most of the night.

A Few Days With A Niece 06/18/12

Last week, I took Thursday and Friday off of work. Emily spent the night Wednesday through Friday night, and I took her to the last two days of our church's Vacation Bible School program. 

Turns out Thursday was "dress as your favorite animal day" at VBS. When we found this out (on Wednesday night), Emily said, "Katrina, How are we going to make me look like a hedgehog? (or a unicorn?). Hmmm. Good question. I made a few feeble attempts at the aforementioned animals. Then, after a quick trip to Michael's (craft store), we decided to go with "the animal Aunt Katrina is most likely to come up with a costume for on short notice." We found a cute leopard headband (complete with matching tail), added a brown T-shirt, and some whiskers and, voila, animal costume.

Our church used Answers in Genesis' curriculum. This year the theme was called "IncrediWorld". I talked Greg and Emily into posing behind this roller coaster cut out, and they humored me.

Friday was Greg's birthday. So, after VBS, Emily and I went home and made him his favorite meal and a chocolate cake. (Happy Birthday, Greg!)

Cookie Baking Night 06/11/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan and Emily (Carissa had soccer practice). We made our classic summertime treat, dirt cups.

                                   
     First, we crushed the Oreo cookies (always a fun time).

      Then we layered them into cups with chocolate pudding.

    And don't forget the gummy worms.

As a bonus feature this year, I found these small plastic cups that come with lids (just right for holding a flower, the perfect final touch to our dirt cup/flower pots).

Since it was just the two older kids this evening, and we were planning to go through two lessons from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland, I let each of them read the lesson tonight (and I read the Scriptures from the Bible that went with the lesson). Emily read lesson 70 "What It Means To Pray" and Ethan read lesson 71 "Praying in Jesus' Name". They really enjoyed reading the lessons (and especially asking everyone the questions at the end), something they beg me to do every Cookie Baking Night. It's fun to watch them grow and mature over the years.

As usual, a fun time was had by all.

Cookie Baking Night 05/14/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, and Carissa. 

We made Peanut Butter/Marshmallow Squares (a tasty little treat with butterscotch chips, nuts, peanut butter, coconut, and marshmallows). Pictured above: When Emily tried to scoop the peanut butter into the bowl, it became a "peanut butter lollipop" on her spoon.

Carissa showed us her "cat presentation" that she made for school (complete with fancy display board and props). She did a very nice job.

We read lessons 68 & 69 from Leading Little Ones to God. Ethan and Emily read from the Bible for us.

And we finished off the evening with a lively game of bocci ball in the cool of a beautiful spring evening. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all!

Cookie Baking Night 04/30/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan and Carissa. Tonight we made M&M sandwich cookies (with colored frosting between them). It was a fun project and the kids seemed to enjoy it. But, between the preparing the dough, making the frosting, cooling the cookies, and frosting the cookies, it took up our whole evening. We made it through only the first paragraph of our lesson from  Leading Little Ones to God when it was time to leave. (And Carissa was really hoping we would have time to weed the flower garden--as was I with such eager volunteers at my disposal, but alas maybe next time). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 04/16/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, and Carissa. We made a traditional seasonal treat this evening (traditional for Cookie Baking Night, anyway): Spring Bird Nests. This is  definitely a kid favorite. They always have fun making these and eating them. 

 Here's the recipe:

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 bag chow mien noodles
Colored candy eggs

Melt the butterscotch chips, choc chips, and p-nut butter in the microwave until smooth. Add chow mien noodles. Mix until well coated. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto waxed paper. Decorate with candy eggs (p-nut or almond M&Ms will do in a pinch). Chill to set. Enjoy!

We also read from "Leading Little Ones to God" tonight. We decided to read two lessons each night since we're nearing the end of the book. Since we meet only every other week, and we read one lesson a week, we've been reading this book for 4 years now (and I should note nobody's complaining about it--the kids always remind me if we haven't read our lesson yet and they make sure I save time for it). We read lessons 66 (The Father Will Help If We Ask Him) and 67 (The Holy Spirit Helps Us) tonight Ethan and Emily took turns reading from the Bible for us. Tonight's lessons were followed by some good Spiritual discussion with the kids (my favorite part).

As usual, a fun time was had by all.

Cookie Baking Night 04/02/12

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Emily, & Carissa. Yesterday was Emily's Dad's (my brother's) birthday. So, for the cookie this evening we made chocolate chip cookies. (Rob's always asking me, "Why don't you just make chocolate chip cookies?"--so tonight, for him, we did). 

Hmmm, I clearly wasn't watching the flour measurer closely enough this evening. Looks like not quite enough flour got into the cookie dough. Well, they weren't pretty, but they did taste good. 

We also managed to squeeze in a walk around the neighborhood (first one this spring--woo hoo!). And we read from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland. Tonight we read lesson 65 titled "We Need Help to Live for God". Emily read 1 John 1:7-2:1 for us.

As usual, a fun time was had by all!