Cookie Baking Night (08/22/22)

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, Enzo, and Abigail. Tonight was Allison's birthday choice. She turned 12 years old just a couple days ago. For supper, she chose pancakes in the shape of letters (preferably the first letter of each one of our names), blueberries, and mandarin oranges. For her "cookie" she chose Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside Down Cake. I must confess, both Allison's supper choice and her "cookie" choice challenged me in big ways. 

I think Greg planted the "alphabet-shaped" pancake idea when Allison requested pancakes a couple years ago and he made one in the shape of an A for her. This year she asked for all of them in alphabet shapes. Greg is the pancake maker of the family. I can count on one hand (seriously, one hand) how many times I've made pancakes in my entire life. How many times have I made alphabet-shaped pancakes, you ask? That answer would be ZERO. Greg would have been more than happy to make the pancakes, but he has been out of town for the past two weeks and returned home right as Cookie Baking Night was starting. So, I was on my own for this adventure. 

Let the record show: Each family member in attendance had the first letter of their first name represented in pancake form (Allison, Abigail, Enzo, Greg, Katrina, Larry, Rylar). Should you ever need to do this yourself, a squeeze bottle will do the job quite nicely.

As it turns out, Abigail is a huge fan of pancakes smothered in whipped cream (no syrup required). She had a whipped-cream mustache through all of supper time. 

We actually started making the Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside Down cake before we ate supper tonight as it needed an hour to bake. This recipe was also a first for me. Apparently, Allison had this cake at a gathering one time and knew instantly it would be her Cookie Baking Night birthday choice. How many times have we made a cake at Cookie Baking Night you ask? Well, the answer to that question would also be ZERO. They take a long time to bake. How many times have I made a Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside Down Cake, you say? You guessed it. ZERO. 

The ingredients were easy for us to come by. We're big strawberry eaters around here. Rarely will you find our refrigerator without strawberries in it. And we grow rhubarb in the backyard. We had a somewhat rainy summer this year (especially in the beginning), which makes for a plentiful rhubarb crop. 

I have to say, the cake turned out really well. I will add this to my recipe rotation. Always looking for another way to use up that rhubarb. The kids really liked it. 

Here's a link to the recipe we used if anyone else is interested in it. Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside Down Cake. 

We ended the evening with a walk to the local gas station for an ice cream/candy treat. 

Another Cookie Baking Night, another birthday choice has come and gone. And, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night (08/08/22)

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, Enzo, and Abigail. Tonight was Enzo's birthday choice. He'll be 9 years old in just a couple days. For supper, he chose cheese pizza, strawberries, and apples. For his cookie, he chose M&M cookies. 

Hmm. Some nights are harder than others for all of us. We just love each other through it. I'm usually behind the camera, so very few pictures of my melt downs have been captured in a photo, but they pretty much look the same on everyone and the same love and support is given to all.

Since it was Enzo's birthday choice tonight he got to chose the game we played too. He chose Mickey Mouse Uno. 

At the end of the evening, we took a walk to the local gas station for an ice cream treat. 

Awwww. 

We ended the evening by rolling down the hill in the backyard. We don't have a swing set in our backyard or even anything remotely kid centric, But we have two decent-sized hills, which seem to be very attractive to the nieces and nephews. I'm sure someday when they're grown, they'll walk out in that yard and say, "Did those hills used to be bigger?" And they'll be surprised it provided them with so much entertainment for so long. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all (most of the time). 

A Day With a Niece and Nephew (07/31/22)

Today Greg and I spent the day at Bunker Beach, a local water park, with Allison and Rylar, our niece and nephew. Allison will turn 12 years old next month and Rylar will turn 11 years old in December. They both wanted to go to Bunker Beach for their birthday activity this year. Allison has been there a couple times, but this was Rylar's first time. 

We had a fun day there. Greg and Rylar spent most of the day riding the water slides together, and Allison and I spent most of the day floating on the Lazy Loop. When we weren't doing that we all spent time together jumping waves in the Wave Pool, which is pictured behind in us in the following photos. 

We all had a great day together! Happy early birthday to you both. Your Uncle and Aunt love you!

Cookie Baking Night (07/25/2022)

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, Enzo, and Abigail. 

Tonight we enjoyed the fruits of Greg's labor and put our new oven element to use by making chocolate chip cookies. 

We played a new game tonight called "Happy Salmon". It's very active for a card game and the kids seemed to like it. 

A couple Cookie Baking Nights ago was Carissa's "graduation" night. We'll still see her from time to time in alumni status. All of the older kids who have come through Cookie Baking Nights made a fleece blanket many years ago. They used it whenever we watched movies together. I told them they could take it home when they "graduated". Carissa got her blanket tonight. I think she was about 8 years old when she made hers. 

Another Cookie Baking Night has come and gone, and another little birdie has flown the nest (always welcome to return). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

A Day With A Niece 07/16/2022

Today, Carissa and I spent the day together to celebrate her 17th birthday (which happened a couple weeks ago). After the nieces and nephews turn 8 years old, we give them the choice of receiving a gift from us for their birthday OR doing an activity with us. Since the time she was old enough to choose, Carissa has always chosen the activity. The other kids usually like to choose an activity themselves, but Carissa always lets me choose it. Much of the time, it's some variation of she and I driving around in the car together for the day with stops along the way (often there are surprise visits from Uncle Greg along the way, though that didn't happen this time). 

This year, we went on a "chocolate shop tour". 

First we visited Abdullah candy store in Apple Valley. Abdullah is a local candy maker. They sell their products in many grocery stores and craft shops throughout the state. This is their one retail store in the state, and it's worth the trip. 

We had lunch at "The Smoothie Cafe" in Savage. Her mom told me she had been to one when they were on vacation in Florida, and she really enjoyed it. I kept our lunch destination a secret until we arrived there. She was very excited when we pulled into the parking lot. 

Since we were already on the southern end of things, we kept going and visited the Largest Candy Store in Minnesota, which is in Jordan. It is a sight to behold, and it earns its name. 

   

That candy store had an old fashioned photo booth (with old fashioned prices). It was $2.00 for two strips of pictures (in color), one for each of us. We couldn't pass up that deal. We had fun doing it, as you might have noticed. 

We finished the day at one of my favorite chocolate shops, the Droolin' Moose, also a local shop. We didn't take a picture there, but we did have a fun time. 

While we were driving around all day, between stops, Carissa and I played the game "Things" It's a card game that's usually played with a group of people, but I've always used the cards from the game as conversation starters when I have teenagers in the car with me. Carissa and I have played it during our past mini adventures. We pick a card and then take turns trying to name as many things we can think of that match that card until we run out of ideas. 

Some of the cards we drew were: things that no one knows about you, things you were wrong about, things that don't go together, things that are hard to measure, things you wish you were good at, things that are not true, etc. 

We had a lot of great conversation around these simple little cards. It's a nonthreatening way to have a conversation that goes a little deeper than "So, what did you do yesterday?

It was a great day together. Happy Birthday Carissa! You are loved by your Aunt and Uncle. 

Cookie Baking Night 07/11/2022

 Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Allison, Rylar, Enzo, and Abigail. 

The heating element in our oven went out last night, so tonight's treats were of the unbaked variety.

We made finger Jello (Knox Blox as we called them when I was growing up). I made the Jello ahead of time, and the kids cut it into shapes with cookie cutters. We also made Rice Krispies bars. 

It appears we spent more time doing the activities of Cookie Baking Night than we did taking pictures of it tonight. 

When the fun was over and the house was still, Uncle Greg did the quiet work he does everyday to take care of our family. Tonight that included fixing the oven. Heating element installed. We're back in business. Thank you Uncle Greg!

Cookie Baking Night (06/28/2022)

Tonight is Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, Enzo, Abigail, and special alumni guest, Ethan. Tonight is Carissa's Cookie Baking Night graduation. In a few short days, she will turn 17 years old. She is, of course, welcome to continue attending Cookie Baking Nights, but this allows us a chance to celebrate the time she's had here, and it gives her a little freedom as she moves into the busy year ahead as she soon will start her senior year of high school. 

It is also her birthday choice. For supper, she chose Mac&Cheese, hash browns, and raspberries. For her "cookie" this evening she chose a classic, dirt cups. 

It's not a graduation night without a graduation cap and picture boards. 

Since Ethan (now 19) was joining us this evening, he read us our Bible lesson from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

For the first time this summer, we took a walk to the local gas station and picked up a treat. 

The fourteen years that Carissa has been with us at Cookie Baking Nights has gone by quickly. We have enjoyed them and look forward to watching her grow into the young woman God plans for her to be. 

Come back and visit us soon, Carissa. 

Another Cookie Baking Night and another Cookie Night Graduation has come and gone. As usual, a fun time was had by all.