How to make crackers

In approximately two steps. Easy!

Cooking with kids, part 1

Every once in a while, magic happens and we discover an easy and safe way to integrate the girls into cooking. Taco salad is one of those meals.

Here we have Wily painting tortillas (and she loves to say tortilla!).


Jeneric is getting fairly handy with a measuring spoon.


And both girls have figured out how to rip lettuce.


Ask Wily how it tasted...

Delicious!

Gymnastics

The girls tumbled their way through summer at our local gymnastics center. Here they are at the end, showing off their ta das.

Visitors

In the book, Madeline, visitors are only allowed from 2 - 4. Lucky for Jeneric and Toddler Wily - our visitors got to stay nearly two weeks!

There was pea picking and shelling (Toddler Wily sat and shelled peas for over an hour!).


Visiting the air museum.


And reading with Grammy.

A little night music

An impromptu jam session, complete with a cat-faced piano and tinker bell costume.

In an old house in Paris

The girls are on a kick for Madeline and our local library indulged them last week with a Madeline reading hour and a craft. The hat is really pretty clever (all paper plates/bowls) and the girls had a blast painting.

Let's go fly a kite

Or, if the wind isn't really happening, we can run around for a while, eat a picnic lunch, and call it a day.

Kitchen Remodel

Step 1: get organized. Jeneric was keen to try out the three hole punch and help get all our paperwork in order.

First, punch the holes. If you punch the wrong edge of the paper, just turn it around and punch again.


Second, put in binder.


We're thinking of hiring her for our general contracting work, too.

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It appears I mislead our readers - we do not have a picture of Jeneric's erstwhile snowman. Picture a 1-foot tall snowman and you have the general ideas.

Also, in response to a comment question, the girls enjoyed the middle of the asparagus as the top was too charred and the bottom too chewy.

Here and then gone

That's the way spring has happened around this midwestern town. We get glimpses and then winter resumes. I cannot say with any confidence that the snow is gone - it seems gone, but then, it might just snow on the kite festival this weekend.

We have celebrated the small moments of spring, and someone even attempted to celebrate the most recent snowfall with a wee snowman. Pictures of that tomorrow. But first, the spring.


We finally purchase a grill. The girls are fascinated with eating grilled food and eating outside. Hope that continues into the kitchen remodel that is fast approaching.





Jeneric has remained a productive artist, despite the warming temperatures that beg for bike rides.





This is a ghost mask and it currently resides in a front window that Jeneric occasionally uses to scare visitors.

Art Adventures

During the last bit of cold, the girls broke out the finger paints - and since the kitchen is slated for remodel this summer, we threw caution to the wind and let them go nuts on the floor.



Jeneric's pictures. On the left, she painted a rocket ship, planets and the moon. On the right is her interpretation of the Northern Lights, which she is hoping to see this summer.


Toddler Wily decided to paint her hands and then press them onto the paper. Finger painting, quite literally.

Flood

Many have expressed concern over the impending, record-setting flood of 2011. The waters crested Saturday evening at approximately 39'. Our town had more than enough dikes and diversions to protect the populace. Folks to the north (i.e., downstream) have not been as lucky. For them, it is the worst flood ever.

We took a walk last week to investigate what we could - without breaking any local or federal laws. The girls were interested but cautious.



The city is trying out a Norwegian innovation, Aqua fences, but clearly don't trust them as they placed a clay dike immediately behind this fence.

Taken Thursday evening	Taken Sunday morning

Looking straight down Elm Street. It will take a few weeks before this road reopens.


And on the way home, Jeneric shows us how she's grown since last fall, running at full tilt and pulling the wagon - all the way home.

Random Tuesday

Our apologies for the blog silence. It's been a busy two weeks around here, with a bit of travel and a flood. The girls have kept busy...

Playing vet,






Building castles,


Reading,


And singing in the rain.


Flood photos to come...

Hairs cut and hair cuts!

With the lure of a full-length movie (thank you, Tinkerbell!), Toddler Wily relented for her first hair cut - but only after she'd watched Jeneric's haircut and even then, only when sitting in Jenni's lap.



Two bobs, with a small side of curl.



(see the hair tips right there? Curl. Nothing extreme, but enough to make things interesting. Also, she required every single pony hair clip in the house).

Friday Random

Celebrating the end of spring break with a little random.

First, we say good bye to winter.


Then we cuddle up with Walkabout for a good movie.


And end the week with some superhero action.