round the corner

we have a lovely woodland trail near our home. a favourite of ours. it is usually quiet. there are a few spots where you go around a corner and the trail disappears behind you. we have Aidan trained now to ride only as far as he can see us, then to wait until he spots us or ride back to where we are. the first few times we took the path and he disappeared were a little frightening. it is quite the dilemma to be thrilled on one hand that he has reached this level of independence. but it is also scary to realize that we have a little less control!

the little trail has us fooled into thinking that we are so removed from streets and roads. there are logs and thick bushes to explore. wild strawberries and the largest wild raspberry patch i've ever seen.

Aidan loves to ride the trail as fast as he can. Kiara loves to take in every detail. and i am caught in the middle trying to accommodate both of their desires.




this is the point where we all know the winding trail is over. this is also the only point of the trip where we must take it together. unity. once we cross the road the trail changes. no more gravel. it is an easy and quick trip. the destination is visible. they know that the playground and bike track are soon to be reached.






winter is so dismal. this year we weren't even allowed to enjoy the yellows, golds and reds of the changing seasons. the past few years were rich in the autumn colours and we were blessed.

i love to see the spring buds. even the weeds make me smile at this point!

i am thankful that there is more than one kind of tree. spring would be so boring if we only had spruce or cedar or elm trees.




the park is much more fun without snow suits and heavy winter boots.

i was looking at old photos a few weeks ago and saw baby photos of the kids when we played at the park. they have grown so much. they love to hear stories of what they were like when they were "little". they are great kids. so different from one another. but yet so very similar. it is interesting how they are a mix of us, as well as having some aspects completely different from us.


here is a recipe for Baked Alaska desert:

allrecipes.com

you can also watch Gordon Ramsey make one here.





i did not follow either recipe exactly.

for the cake i used the cupcake tops. then i added one scoop of the ice cream on top of them.

i did follow the meringue recipe for egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar.

i don't own a cooking torch. besides i am sure i would never be allowed to own one! have you seen me with fire? ha! besides it was much more fun to put the desert into the oven and really make a show out of it all.

i was thrilled to learn that you can make them ahead and freeze them for a few days. just be sure to encase the entire desert in the meringue. it is actually a fun science lesson too.

pajama day

friday!

we (Aidan & Kiara & me) decided to spend the entire day in our pj's. how fun!

banana pancakes started the day....

the recipe for yummy banana pancakes

(found at allrecipes.com)

combine in a smallish bowl:

1 cup flour

1 tablespooon white sugar

2 teaspons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

in large bowl mix:

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

then....stir flour mixture into banana mixture! the batter will be slightly lumpy...but that is ok.

a little tip from me....i have a really small frying pan, so i only make one pancake at a time...i use one of my largest serving spoons to scoop up the batter and i'll "smooth" it out in the pan so that the pancake is a little thinner....it cooks better this way i find.

yummy!

...and homemade bread was the finishing touch. and yes i had plenty of help for all of it.

Aidan is the BEST banana masher and power button turner in the world.

Kiara is our own little taste tester.

they also each made their own bread creations.

the most ironic part of pajama day friday is that we had a surprise (happy surprise) visit from our purolator delivery guy. my laptop came back after only 4 days! wahoooo! i'm sure we'd still be waiting for it if it had not been pajama day....

it was so cute! we heard the doorbell and i guessed it would be the laptop, didn't want to miss the delivery and have to get dressed at 6pm just to go to purolator to pick it up....so i threw on my robe while Aidan ran to the front window. he says to me, "mommy it's your "puter"...you will be so happy!" and so it was!!! and as predicted i was 'so happy'. ....and i apologized to purolator guy that it was pajama day, with a nervous laugh. good thing he didn't stay long....we hadn't done anything else either....like brush our hair...or our teeth...and i had dirty glasses on....couldn't have been a better house than ours for him to have to be at! is there an award for most ridiculous delivery or something? we may have won a prize...

then we had a special breakfast this morning....yummy bread! (to be honest, we couldn't wait until this morning, so we also had some of the bread for dessert after supper last night)

so fun...tough to beat a day like that...we're staying cozy indoors again today. and we are all dressed! some of us have even had a shower....wow!

can't wait to have one of the gooey cinnamon buns for afternoon coffee. oh yeah!