See You At the Pole 2011

{Somehow, I wrote this post and then forgot to publish it!  So, it is late, but better late than never, right?}

See You at the Pole is an annual event that I even remember from when I was in high school.  I remember the Christian kids at my high school inviting me to come to the flag pole on a particular morning to 'pray' - which I had never done and, had I admitted it, would have said that I thought it was weird.  One time though, I went out of curiosity and felt oddly drawn yet strangely out of place at the same time.  Sadly, I didn't go back...

This year, the youth pastor at our church organized an after event on See you at the Pole day for our youth service and it inspired me to get our homeschool group (or as many as possible!) together at our church flagpole - to join together and pray.  We had a nice sized group meet at our pole on 441for prayer and were joined by our youth pastor - we prayed for our nation, our state, our city, our community, our schools, our church and each other.  Here are some pictures from the day, minus the 2 photographers!

This time, I was able to participate without feeling odd or out of place and it was a welcome change.  The After Event was a great success, with lots of visitors from schools around town, including some of our homeschool friends!  God is doing great things and greater things are yet to come!  Did you participate in See You at the Pole?

Unusual...

Do you notice anything unusual in the picture below??

How long did it take you to notice the tp in the fridge?  Well, in my family, it takes 2 days to notice it!  Someone accidentally put in here when they were unloading the groceries.  I noticed it the first time I opened the door, but decided to leave it and just see what happened.   And no one noticed for 2 days!  Two days!  HeHe!!

Anyway, just thought I would share the latest little mishap from our home with you.  Hope it made you smile!

Caleb's Hunting Party

For Caleb's 12th birthday, he asked if we could have a Hunting themed party for a few of his friends.  This was a fun party to put together, and now, all the boys want to have one for themselves!  Here's what we did:

As the boys arrived, they gathered around the "campfire" in the backyard with their Hunting Instructor, aka, Mark:

Mark and I gave them some instructions and guidance for the first activity, a scavenger hunt:

We had a slip of paper for each of them with a combination of numbers:

Their job was to run around the yard and find targets like the one below.  Once they found it, they were to look on the back.  Each of their names was listed there with some letters beside it.  These letters went on their slip of paper under the correct number:

Gathering letters:

Kenna got in on the fun and helped Max, the youngest of the group!

As hot as it was, the boys had a blast running around and finding the targets that Mark had hidden - very well, I may say!

Hmmmm, did Caleb find any in that tree???

Mark hid them near and far...

Max, filling in his letters:

Once they collected all of their letters, they were able to read a hunting word and earn their prize (to be told below!)  Next up was target practice.  Mark gave them a safety talk, set up a target and let the boys chose the airsoft gun they wanted to practice with.  The boys were pretty serious about their aim!

Caleb used a handgun

Jack went for the shotgun...

Max liked the pistol...

Andrew used his handgun...

Dawson used a machine gun type...

Dylan went for the handgun... (seems to be the favorite)

Once everyone had a round of practice, we gave them their prizes, Marshmallow blowers that Mark and Caleb made for the boys, ammo attached!

Max had a little bit of fun with his!

They all took their guns into the yard and had a 'blast' (teehee) blowing them at each other, trees, squirrels, the air, etc.

Marshmallow guns are pretty cool!  They work really well and you can take them apart and recreate them any way you like, kind of like legos!  But the next big hit was the smores on a stick, below:

I took marshmallows, dipped them in melted chocolate, then in crushed graham crackers.  The kids loved these!  And no smores mess!  They each got a hot dog and roasted it over the 'campfire' - hunting does create a hearty appetite!

More free shooting followed, then it was time for the cake.  We had a few 'issues' with the cake, but in the end, it was not too bad...  Notice the sleeping bad in the tent, the marshmallows ready to roast, and the campfire, with the candle inside to light it!  OK, so it's not the best cake ever, but the kids all ooohhed and aaaahhhhed over it, Caleb loved it, and it tasted amazing, so that's what counts!

Here's a shot with the fire lit:

I meant to get a picture with all of us, dressed in our camo, but the girls got in the shower and changed before I remembered.  Argg!  Well, here are Caleb, Mark and I anyway...

Just trust me that the girls had on camo, too!  Ummm, any one but me realize how tall my 12 year old is???  Can we slow this down a bit?  I don't think we can keep up with the clothes anymore!  Help!!!!

So, Caleb loved his party, the kids played hard and a good time was had by all - Success! 

September is Here, so bring on the Fall!

I just love the first day of September!  Even though our temperature was somewhere near 90* again today, September seems to say 'I am here with the comfort of fall, regardless of the temperature!'  September brings back memories of growing up in the north when the beginning of September meant going back to school (always the day after Labor Day), it meant apples - lots and lots of apples - and harvest of all kinds, it meant jackets and breezes and long walks outside collecting brilliantly colored leaves.  I feel homey and cozy and warm inside thinking of September and all the good things that it brings!  

Now that I am a grown up, fall means so many of those things and more.  In addition to the above, it means pumpkins, warm colors - oranges, reds, browns, yellows - spices, pumpkins, pies, baking, playing outside with my kids until the sun goes down, pumpkins, cooler temperatures (we should only have highs in the 80's all weekend!), and, did I already mention, pumpkins??  I LOVE pumpkin - for decor, but especially in all sorts of recipes - yummy!  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin dip, pumpkin butter... I could go on and on with all of the yummy things I will be baking sooner than later!  

After saying all of that, then, it should come as no surprise that I started today on my pumpkin baking!  I was making a chicken pot pie for dinner and happened to make too much crust (hate when that happens!), so I followed a recipe from the American Girls Josephina Cookbook and made Pumpkin Empanaditas.  These. Are. Amazing.  You must try them and I will make it easy on you by posting the recipe so you can!

Pumpkin Empanaditas

Filling:

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon (or more!)

1/4 tsp. cloves (or more!)

1 cup canned pumpkin

Use a crust of your choice - storebought or homemade

Directions:   

1.  Make your pastry dough, if making it homemade, according to your directions.  I love my crust recipe:

1 tsp salt

2-2 1/2 c. flour (fresh milled soft white, if possible)

2/3 c. butter

7 tbsp. ice water

Add the salt and flour to a food processor and mix it up.  Slice the butter into thin slices and add to the flour mix.  Pulse just until combined.  Add the ice water and mix just until blended and a ball forms.  Over mixing takes away the flakiness, in my opinion.  

2.  OK, so you have your crust ready and waiting.  It's time to make the filling.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add the sugar, spices and pumpkin, stirring til smooth.  It should look something like this:

 

3.  Continue to stir this over low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens.  Then, allow it to cool to room temperature and put in the fridge until it is cold. (We didn't do this last part, just let it get to room temp - FYI!)  Go ahead and turn your oven on now to 375*.

4.  Now, sprinkle some flour onto the counter, your table or a plastic cutting board and roll your rolling pin through it to keep the dough from sticking.  Take a ball of your dough and roll it out, being sure to turn it often and that you have enough flour - no sticking!  Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.  

5.  Use a cookie cutter, glass or (like us) a metal mason jar lid ring to cut as many circles as you can from your dough.  

6.  Here, the cookbook recommends making an egg wash of 1 egg and 1 tbsp water, beat well together.  You would then brush this onto the edge of each circle, to keep it closed.  I did not do this and had no problem with it at all!

7.  Now, place about 1 tbsp. of the filling into the center of each circle:

8.  Fold the circle in half and press the edges together, then seal with the tip of a fork:

9.  Place these about 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Repeat the above with the rest of your dough and filling.  You can use your egg wash to brush on the top as well, if you are using this.

10.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they are lightly browned, remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar.  Let them cool slightly, then add a dollop or two of cool whip and Enjoy!

I am now officially ready for fall!