Homemade Vanilla

My latest homemade product is Vanilla Extract. I've read about it and decided to give it a try. Vanilla Extract is expensive in the store and this is a cheaper version with less ingredients. The recipe is simple: Vodka and vanilla beans. I was able to secure a few vanilla beans from a friend. But after this, I'll order them from a company that gets them from Madagascar! And the Vodka, well, I'm pretty sure I saw pigs flying when I was buying this ingredient. It took me a while, since I had no idea what to look for and I was unprepared for the numerous brands and bottle sizes. But I was able to get out of the store without anyone I know seeing me. It's simple to make. Simply fill the jars with Vodka. Take your vanilla beans and split them down the middle. Stick them in the vodka and wait. And shake. And wait. And shake and wait. Well, you get the picture. My small jar of vanilla will be ready to start using in about 4 weeks . When it's half gone, I'll add more vodka and shake and wait. . . . My helpers, who at one point had a bit of vodka on their fingers but I had them promptly wash their hands! Of course, to them, it just looked like water.

The product in waiting.

Off to the races!

It is Pinewood Derby Car time again. The boys both have cars and the girls do too. The boys did a lot of the work themselves, but Seth did most of the work on the girls' cars, but they aren't to elaborate. The first race was at church on Sunday. After church, and after a potluck, the boys were finally given the chance to race their cars. Of course, the first race pitted brothers against each other. Emmet's car is Mater, on the left. Ephraim's is a TIV (tornado intercept vehicle--watch Storm Chasers). Emmet's Mater won. But then we took a time out and greased the wheels. What a difference that made! It was nearly a photo finish. But Emmet's still won. This is Eliza's car on the right and Allie's car on the left. And Eden's car on the right. All the racers! The girls are in the front row with Ephraim behind them. Emmet's second from the right. They all did a good job! Emmet's Mater placed third overall. And was Honorable Mention for Best of Show. The girls with their cars. Seth did a car for them mostly so they wouldn't be left out. They'll probably race the same car next year if it isn't worn out by then.

Ephraim with is TIV and participant ribbon.

Emmet with his 3rd place medallion and Mater. We were putting the finishing touches on Mater Sunday morning yet! I thought the cars were done and Seth did too, but then Emmet proclaims "Mater's eyes and buck teeth aren't done yet!" We'd plan to do them with marker anyway, so it wasn't too much of a big deal to quick marker them on as we were heading out the door for church!

Pictures of the week, March 20-March 26

It was another great week! Here are the highlights:

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Our roller skating experience!

Monday, March 21, 2011

I have two pictures for Monday. When Seth gets busy in the fields, he likes to have several things in his lunch box. First, he likes the fruit cups that I make. It is his Aunt Janet's recipe. We make the fruit mix and then freeze them in little cups for his lunch. Easy and delicious! Eliza was my stirrer.

And then later . . .

After the kids went to bed, I made the Breakfast Biscuits that Seth likes to have in the morning. I had barely started when Eliza snuck out of their room and wanted to help, so I let her. Here she is with the final product. It is biscuits, eggs, cheese and sausage patties. We wrapped them individually and then freeze them. All Seth has to do is warm them up for 20 minutes in the oven. Another easy and yummy recipe!

Tuesday March 22, 2011

Tuesday night there was some severe weather in our area. In fact, about 10pm, we woke up the kids to head for the basement for about 15 minutes. The wind was pretty fierce. The next morning, we discovered our play house had blown apart and away! But, I think it's designed to do that, so we'll just have to snap it back together.

Seth and I often wish our kids would sleep through the night and this particular night, we were the ones waking them up!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

My Sandwich-Making Assembly Line! We needed to restock the freezer with sandwiches for Seth's lunch, so that was Wednesday night's job. Lots of help either makes it go faster or makes it more complicated!


Thursday, March 24, 2011

I've mentioned before that we love puzzles. After school on Thursday, Ephraim fixed this one by himself. It's fun to see his knowledge of geography expand! This is an older puzzle, one from Grandpa Arlin.

Friday, March 25, 2011

I looked on the Internet for something to do for Easter devotions for the kids. Not finding what I was looking for, I went to the Resurrection Easter Egg set that we have and expanded it for more than just 12 days. I wanted something for the month before Easter. I've come up with about 30 items that symbolize part of the Easter story. Here are the items we've learned so far this week: Palm branches, donkey, soap, coins, cup and the rooster. I think having an object to look at helps with their recognition and realization of what the lesson is about. And after talking about the object, we read the corresponding Bible verses.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Baby Chicks! We interrupt all regularly scheduled play time for chick watching! We ordered our chicks with a friend and they came in the mail today! We picked them up and now we're enjoying their peeps. Eliza and Emmet are the most enthralled by them. Eden would rather not be too close and Ephraim is a bit cautious around them. We ordered 8 new ones and we also got an extra 5 roosters for free!

The roosters are doomed for the crock pot . . . (deja vu anyone????)

Movin' & Groovin' or Slippin' & Fallin'

Our church had a family fun night at the local skating rink on Sunday night. It was well attended and my kids were super excited to go. Never mind the fact that they had never been skating before. Seth and I, on the other hand, were excited but a bit apprehensive. I'm not the best skater in the world and it's been years since I last skated. We were grateful for Grandpa Arlin who was there to help.

This is the before shot! Everyone's excited!


Grandpa and Ephraim


Eden was actually pretty handy with the skates. She probably fell down the least!

On the practice rink.

Ephraim and Daddy.

Emmet and Grandpa

I need to interject here and tell you what I told the kids before we went skating. We sat down and had a "family meeting" that this evening was about skating and we were not going to be going to the bathroom (mostly meant for Eliza) or hanging out at the snack table all night. However, after about 20 minutes on the skating floor, with kids and skates and arms and legs going every which way, I was the one who said "Let's take a break!"

Then next Nancy Kerrigan? Probably not, but still looking cute.

And the supportive sister, Eliza. She didn't take to the skates very well. In fact, we soon tried another pair of skates with smaller wheels. That still didn't work. Then, seeing that some of the smaller kids were using skates that strap to your shoes, we tried that pair. And then Eliza was off and skating.

Emmet with Grandpa and Dan. We were grateful for the many friends who came alongside our kids and offered a hand, literally. Dan, Melissa, Carmen & Ambjour, just to name a few!

Eden doing pretty good!

Is that Grandpa doing the limbo?? (Yes, it is!)

Eliza with her new skates and feeling pretty confident.

Ephraim had kind of a rough start, but did better after getting a different pair of skates that fit. By the end, he was trying the limbo, too!

Eliza and Emmet trying the limbo.

Eliza with her strap-on skates.

Seth with Emmet and the girls. We both had the sore arms to prove that we'd been skating. Holding onto the kids and making sure that we don't all fall makes for some tense muscles.

Uh-oh, Eliza had a skate malfunction. :)

We had a great time! Despite some sore muscles and bruises, the kids are already asking to go back.

On a different note . . .

Seth's parents got their old piano back on Friday night. We moved it into their house and had a pizza party afterwards. Here are the girls helping.



Eliza was trying to lift it but was actually pushing down on the movers.

It didn't take long for the girls to sit down and pound out a tune.

Getting a lesson from Uncle Paul and then later from Aunt Michelle.

Pouting, after closing the cover to the piano because it was time that the banging stop.

There will be lots of other opportunities for them to "make a joyful noise."

Pictures of the week, March 13-March 19

Another great week!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Our afternoon at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Emmet's class made the local paper. They had a Cat in the Hat guest.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Waiting for the school bus. I'm glad that we're past the boots, snowpants, etc stage.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A perfect spelling test, which seems to be the norm for Ephraim. And that earns him free-reading time on Friday. The unhappy look is because I interrupted his Lego time to take the picture. Sorry!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

St.Patrick's Day--thus the green shirt. But also the day that we took Emmet's training wheels off for the 2nd time. He had them off for a bit last fall, but then had a bit of a crash and wanted them back on. Now, they're off to stay. He's doing quite well with it!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Trying to move the piano! I'll post more pictures and the story later.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Seth spent all day Saturday sowing oats, so the kids and I had our own special day. We played Battleship, UNO, Legos and watched a movie. We tried to play out side, but it was a bit windy and cool, so that didn't last long. The kids got involved with suppertime by helping butter the cheesy bread. When it was time to add the cheese, I did have to scrape some of the excess butter off, but I know they enjoyed helping.