Birthday Girl

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!!


It's stressful turning one!

First Grader

 

We started school on Wednesday, and Eryn reported that her first day "rocked."
Where has August gone? I must admit, moving up to second grade and opening a brand new building was and will continue to be a lot more work than I ever anticipated!! I'm already telling myself next year will be easier, that's a bad sign!

I Don't Think She's Going Anywhere

Evening bike rides put this little one to sleep, so this is how she ends up!


She loves riding in the trailer with Daddy. Eryn likes to get in and "ride fast" too. She would rather ride her own bike, but she insists that we follow her. It is difficult to ride my bike slow enough to stay behind her, but we manage.

Something New

We took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine last weekend, and Eryn fell in love with the MagiQuest.
Short version: The hotel has an interactive scavenger hunt for kids. You purchase a wand and a game activation and then you're ready to run up and down the stairwell looking for the next clue. Last summer she never noticed all the kids running around with their wands because she was so engrossed in the waterpark...but this year I'd say she was more into the game. She was able to read most of the clues and really got into trying to remember which floor had what clues. She worked on her quests for hours! She is already talking about our trip for next summer and hoping all of the clues are different.

Finding the purple crystal.

Looking for gold.


We only stayed one night, which turned out to be a very good thing. Paige loved being in the water, but had no interest in sleeping that night in the room...she preferred screaming (those bottom two teeth are finally through the skin).
Steven ended up driving around Grapevine with her at 3 am :)

Oh, What To Do

"I just can't wait on these teeth any longer!"

 

Blueberry Buckle

Who bakes with no running water? A broken water main a couple of streets over had me confined to the house today...I didn't make it into the shower before it was turned off and I just can't leave the house greasy! So I ventured into the kitchen, spotted the fresh blueberries, and decided to bake. Everything was moving along fine until I came to the step of cutting the butter into the crumb topping. There's only so much you can do with a fork; I always use my hands and this time was no different. Never once did I think about water or lack there of...until I tried to wash my hands. Urgh!



Blueberry Buckle ~adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cold butter

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar, then beat in the egg. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture alternatively with milk. Fold in the berries and pour into greased springform pan.
For topping, combine dry ingredients and cut in the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over blueberry mixture.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the toothpick test is passed. Cool on a wire rack.

*This was a quick and easy treat, and tastes very yummy!

Standoff

Well I wasn't moving, but neither was he!


This little lovely is just not scared of me. He reeks havoc in our backyard. He gets into our storage shed somehow and makes himself at home.


My schoolhouse birdfeeder is reserved for the Cardinal couple that frequents our trees. They are too cute...he feeds her! But this darn squirrel finds it necessary to hang upside down by his toenails from the roof of my schoolhouse with me standing right there...nope, not scared at all.


He was however scared of the lime Steven lobbed at his head.
My Cardinals can now court in peace...until tomorrow!