August 22: Dirt Dessert



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Carefully putting the Oreos in the bowl.

Tysen LOVED this dessert, but he also loved to say the name of this dessert.  I wish I had a dollar for every time he said, "Dirt Dessert!"  I remember having this once or twice as a kid, I had saved a recipe for it, and when I had some when I was in Texas last month I knew I had to make it with the boys.  While there are many recipes floating around, I decided on one from food.com that used chocolate pudding rather than white pudding.  It is a MESS to put together, but the boys had so much fun with it! 

This dessert is RICH!  You certainly don't need much!  But it is delicious!  I'm certain we'll be making this again.  I would even recommend making half the recipe since it makes so much.



CRUSH them!

Dirt Dessert

• 1 - 20 oz package of Oreos
• 16 oz cream cheese
• 16 oz Cool Whip
• 8 oz powdered sugar
• 8 oz milk
• 2 - 3.5 oz boxes of instant chocolate pudding


1. Crush the Oreos into small pieces (the recipe suggests using a food processor, but we just crushed them in a bowl with a meat tenderizer).
2. With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, Cool Whip, sugar, milk, and pudding mixes thoroughly.

3. Layer the dessert with Oreos on the bottom, pudding mixture, Oreos, puddings, etc. ending with Oreos on top.
4. For extra fun, make the dessert in a (clean) sand pail or flower pots and decorate with gummy worms or fake flowers.













August 21: Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Last May, Koen received a kite for his birthday from Grandma and Grandpa Davies.  We've talked about pulling it out a few times, but either the wind was great and the weather wasn't, or the weather was great with no real wind.  Today was a nice kite-flying day! 

We crossed the street to Koen's old preschool and Daddy and the boys worked together to get the kite up in the air!  The wind wasn't constant...more gusty, so there were numerous attempts to get it up, but it worked!  The funniest thing was Koen wanting to catch the kite's tails.  The first time he did it we asked him to leave the tails alone since his pulling on them pulls the kite out of the sky.  When he tried it again, it dawned on me that we had just read a book where Curious George hangs on to some kite tails and takes a ride over the city!  When I explained to Koen that he was too heavy to ride a kite like Curious George he was really disappointed, but then just focused on flying the kite with Daddy.

Koen tries to get the kite up on his own.

Success!

August 20: Bike Ride!

I was VERY excited to find a great deal on this trail bike for Koen last summer at the Just Between Friends Sale.  If you're not familiar with trail bikes, they only have handle bars, a seat, and a back wheel, and in lieu of a front wheel, it connects to an adult bike.  Koen LOVED riding his trail bike!  We're hoping this is a step in the right direction to help him ride his bike without training wheels.  He's not quite ready for that yet, though.  He spends most of the rides checking behind us to see how far behind Daddy is with Ty and Brielle in the bike trailer.   

Trying out the trail bike.

Brielle's new helmet -- it keeps sliding forward so she holds it up with one hand.

Brielle climbed back in the trailer after we'd taken her out...she was ready for more!



August 11 - August 18: My Trip to Arizona with Brielle and the Boys' Staycation

I had the amazing opportunity to go with my mom to visit my sister and her family in Arizona for a week!  Brielle joined me as she still flies free.  The only way it was possible for me to go was that Grandpa and Grandma Davies came through and helped take care of the boys as Seth was still working and had begun coaching.  Koen and Tysen loved the attention from Grandma and Grandpa -- they did a number of fabulous activities:  the new splash pad; the Children's Museum; visited Great-Grandma; went camping with Daddy, Uncle Justin, and Isaac; the library; and went out for ice-cream, just to name a few.  In the midst of all that fun, Seth and his dad renovated our main floor bathroom!  It was a huge surprise for me!  I told Seth I need to go away more often! :)

At the Children's Museum.

In Holland while visiting Great-Grandma Davies.

While Brielle and I were in Arizona, we didn't get out a whole lot just due to the heat.  We walked each morning before it got too warm, I got a ton of scrapbooking done on Brielle's first year book, and my request was that we do one tourist-y thing while I was there.  To fulfill that request, we drove up Mt. Lemmen and stopped at Rose Lake.  The drive and the stops were beautiful...it hardly looked like we were in Arizona! 

Cute Cousins -- It's fun to dress alike!

At the top of Mt. Lemmen:  Me, Brielle, Grandma Smits, Evan, Annika, Aunt Jane

Evan at Rose Lake.

The girls LOVED to play "Ring Around the Rosie".

August 9: Real Lemonade

One of the "to-do" items on our summer check list was to make "real" lemonade.  I know the powdered kind is easier to keep on hand and less time-consuming to mix up, but it isn't nearly as healthy for us.  I've actually been making lemonade this summer with bottled lemon juice to get away from fake ingredients, and that hasn't taken too much more of an effort. 

We made some "real" lemonade last summer, too, but this summer we used a different recipe:  Perfect Lemonade.  It claims its title by using a homemade sugar syrup rather than just sugar so the sugar disperses rather than sinks to the bottom of the pitcher. 

I purchased an inexpensive juicer so getting the lemon juice wouldn't be quite as difficult as last time, and it did seem to help the kids!  They also had fun tasting the lemons! :)   Brielle couldn't get enough!

Perfect Lemonade

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup...we did)
• 1 cup water - for the sugar syrup
• 1 cup squeezed lemon juice
• 3-4 cups of cold water

1. Make the sugar syrup by heating the water and sugar in a small sauce pan until the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Use a juice to extract the juice from 4-6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice (our lemons were smaller and it took 7 to get one cup).
3. Add the juice and sugar water to the pitcher. 
4. Add 3-4 cups of cold water, depending on how strong you like your lemonade.
5. Refrigerate 30-40 minutes before serving.

Yield:  6 servings

August 5: A Trip to Cananda

We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Davies for the first weekend in August along with Uncle Justin, Aunt Lindsey, and Isaac, Uncle Ethan, and Aunt Tracy.  With the hot weather we spent quite a bit of time outdoors which the kids loved!  Here are a few shots from our fun time with everyone.

The adult kids went to Stratford for a matinee on Saturday.

Boys being boys!

Cousins and buddies!

Grandpa and Grandma's little sweetie!

August 4: Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park

Since seeing the advertisement on grkids.com, I've wanted to visit Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park.  The ad has been up for a while but the park just opened the last weekend of July.  The kids and I really enjoyed the Wild Animal Park!  We went on a beautiful day -- almost a little cool after sweating it out in the humid      90-degree weather we've been having.  The owners have so many unique creatures, and each one was easy to view up close!  We also took a wagon ride around the park looking at more animals.  I learned a good deal about the different animals but am embarrassed to admit I can't even remember all the names of the animals we saw!  The park is home to animals mainly from Africa, Asia, and Russia. 

Koen, Tysen, and their friend Ian check out some snakes in the Reptile House.

A tortoise, Tysen, Me, and Brielle.

 

A lemur (also known as a "move it, move it guy" from the Madagascar movie)...one of our favorite animals to watch!



This emu "growled" at Tysen!  Yikes!

Brielle checks out a baby chick.

Tysen gently holds a chick.

Feeding the parakeets:  You can purchase bird feed on a stick and feed the parakeets in the bird sanctuary.  Tysen wanted to do this, but changed his mind as soon as he stepped into the sanctuary and the birds mobbed him!  I helped him hold the stick, but it was still a little intimidating to have all these birds flock to you and swarm around you.  Tysen apparently wanted revenge for being scared...can you see him in the middle of this picture?  His foot is raised because he tried to stomp on the little birds.  Fortunately, he missed, but I still made him leave the bird sanctuary immediately.

August 1: Grape-Nuts Cookies

More than one person rolled his/her eyes when I clipped this recipe out of a magazine earlier this summer.  What they didn't understand was that we'd had a box of Grape-Nuts cereal sitting in the cupboard for ages!  I thought this would be a great way to use up the remaining cereal and just possibly have a healthier alternative for a treat.  The boys were eager to help mix these up and really did enjoy the cookies! 

After we had each tried one shortly after removing them from the oven, we decided they might be even better with an add-in.  We had some Craisins handy so we tossed some in the last batch, and they turned out even better than the first batches!  Raisins or chocolate chips, etc. would also have been good choices.  We'll certainly hang onto this recipe!

Grape-Nuts Cookies

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tbs. honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup Grape-Nuts cereal

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter and sugars in large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3. Add honey, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
4. Add baking soda, rolled oats, flour, and Grape-Nuts.  Combine until just mixed.
5. Drop  rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, on a lined or greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-14 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cool 2-3 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cool completely on wire racks.
7. Enjoy!

Yield:  About 4 dozen cookies

July 30: Chicago Family Reunion

Tis the season for family reunions!  Every year the Smits family tries to get together for an afternoon to reconnect.  This year it was three hours away in Momence, IL, at my cousin Karen's house.  The day was gorgeous...perfect for swimming in their pool, jumping on the trampoline, or playing soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.  They have a beautiful place!  The boys were most excited about the elaborate model train set in one of Karen's boy's rooms.  Unfortunately, the power was out a good share of the time we were there (which didn't hinder the party at all) so the trains were unable to run.  Brielle's favorite part was jumping in the pool to Mom or Dad! 

We all had a wonderful time swimming, eating, and talking.  Instead of turning around for another three-hour trip home, we headed to Steve and Lori's house to spend the night there.  The kids were so excited to have a sleepover with Henry...a little too excited!  No one got to sleep much before 10:30pm Chicago time (that's 11:30pm for our kids!).  We enjoyed most of Sunday there and then headed back home with a quick stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick up Sage who had been left behind...poor puppy.     

July 29: Painted Butterflies

It seems that it's been a while since we've done a project.  I picked up these butterfly suncatchers at Michael's a long time ago.  They'd been sitting on the counter for a couple of days and the boys finally decided it was time to paint them.  They had a great time with them!  The butterflies came with pink, purple, and yellow paint, and Koen mixed the pink and yellow for some orange.  We taped them to our slider door after they had dried and admired the boys's beautiful work!  Unfortunately, the purple disappeared after one day!  Slowly, the colors have faded which has been disappointing for the kids, but the project itself was great!

July 28: A Little Family Reunion

Our "special thing" today was heading to Grandma and Grandpa Smits's house for a mini-family reunion.  My cousin Joy was out from Arizona with her kids, and Uncle Judd and Aunt Linda were out from Chicago.  The kids got to swim in Helen and Gene's pool (even though I forgot their suits!  Good thing underwear still works OK!), and as always, there was great food to eat!  It's always a joy to spend time with family!

July 26: A Lollipops Concert -- The Little Engine That Could

Koen, Tysen, Brielle, and I ventured out to Sunshine Community Church on this Tuesday morning to take in the Grand Rapids Symphony's The Little Engine That Could Lollipops Concert.  The Lollipops Concerts are held twice a year and are 45-minute performances geared for younger children.  I hadn't been to any before, but Koen had gone to a performance of Peter and the Wolf earlier this year on a school field trip.  It was both educational and fun, a mixture of music and story, interactive and entertaining.  The conductor introduced each section (easily identifiable with their different color shirts), and each character was introduced with music matching his/her character.  The boys really enjoyed watching each character enter, especially the trains, and I thought it was a great way to introduce them to the symphony and some classical music.  It was a fun morning out for each of us.

July 25: Christmas in July

Every July I have a "Christmas in July" sale for my Premier Designs Jewelry.  This year the boys were so excited about it that I needed to give them something to do!  I went into our crawl space and found the little Christmas tree, one box of ornaments, and one string of lights.  I brought it upstairs, put up the lights, and let the boys begin to decorate!  I even found some candy canes in the cupboard that they hung on the tree (and later ate!).  They were so adorable as the carefully found a good place for each ornament.  Koen even took empty jewelry boxes and placed them at the base of the tree as presents.  It certainly was a lot of fun!

One of the treats I put out for the jewelry show was Razz Ma Tazz bars.  These received many compliments so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Razz Ma Tazz Bars

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 - 12 oz. packages Nestle white morsels
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 12 oz. jar seedless raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. Grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Melt the butter, stir, and add 1 bag of white chips.  Let stand -- do NOT stir. 
3. Beat eggs until foamy.
4. Add sugar and beat until a light lemon color.
5. Stir into the butter mixture.
6. Add flour, salt, and extract.
7. Spread 2/3 into the pan and bake for 15-17 min. at 325 degrees.
8. Heat jam in microwave and spread over crust. 
9. Stir remaining morsels in remaining batter.
10. Drop spoonfuls of batter over the jam.
11. Sprinkle with almonds.
12. Bake 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees.
13. Cool and cut.

July 18-21: Camping!

This is the fifth year we've camped at Lake Wabasis with a group of friends from our church.  While they stay for 10 days, we usually limit our camping experience anywhere from 3-5 days.  The kids talk about camping all year long...they can't wait to go back next summer!  I'm already praying it won't be as HOT!!!  We were in the middle of a heat wave this year!  While we did go to the beach one day, we waited until evening to hit the beach the other days just because it was too hot!  We have kind friends who shared their inflatable pools with us so we could try to keep cool during the day.  One friend even brought a window air-conditioning unit for us to use with the pop-up camper we borrowed.  It worked great the one night we had it, but it just couldn't keep up during the day.  Honestly, it was just too hot to do anything much, yet the kids didn't seem to mind the heat a bit.  Here are a few pictures from our 4 days out there this year.   

Brielle fell asleep on the walk up from the beach.

Ty hangs out in front of the camper.  Notice the bluish tinge on the picture? 
Seth created an awning for us out of a blue tarp.  It was great for providing much-needed shade!!!

Playing in dirt!

What?!?  Girls can play in dirt too!

1 comfy chair + 1 good book = 1 perfect afternoon



Splashing in Ian's pool to keep cool!



One morning we went to a local bakery for donuts!



S'mores!  (Although none of the kids ended up eating more than 2 bites)



July 8: Froot Loop Rainbows (an attempt)

Not every project turns out the way you think it will.  When I mentioned making Froot Loop Rainbows to the boys they were really excited!  I envisioned a curved row of red Froot Loops, followed by a curved row of oranges, yellows, etc.  I thought we'd glue them on the papers, maybe add some cotton balls for clouds, a fairly easy project that would incorporate sorting and organizing.  But that's not how the boys envisioned the project.  Both Koen and Tysen took one of each color, lined them up (at least they got them in correct order!), and then proceeded to eat ALL the Froot Loops I'd put out for them, only pausing to ask for more.  Oh well!

 

July 7: Airport Picnic

This was the first time this summer we made it to the Grand Rapids Airport Viewing Area.  It was an active day for both arrivals and departures which made it fun for the kids.  We met a group of church friends for a picnic, although most of the kids took a bite of something, ran around for a while, took another bite, ran around, etc.  More playing than eating!  Tysen LOVED watching each airplane and made sure EVERYONE knew when one was arriving or taking off.  I enjoyed watching HIM enjoy the planes!  We even saw a helicopter come in just before we left!