Velata, So Easy, A 9 Year Old Can Do It!

You know you have a Velata addict in the house, when she's always on the hunt for things to dip in chocolate.
Last week I brought home a half flat of local strawberries (LOVE local berries!) to make jam. I was stirring a pot of strawberry rhubarb jam when Lily came in and saw the extra berries. She grabbed the Velata chocolate, microwaved it for one minute, then plugged in the warmer. She was dipping strawberries in chocolate fondue and had half a pound devoured before I could stop her! It's seriously that easy, and sooo yummy!
Need to try it yourself? Check out my website, easy-fondue.com.

Grandpa's Pedal Tractors

When my Dad first became a Grandpa, almost 12 years ago, he had many dreams about the future. He wanted to do a "Grand Kids Camp" where they all came to visit for a week. He started collecting pedal tractors, one for each grand kid. Most of the time they were old and rusty, and he would clean them up and paint them. He dreamed of pedal tractor races between all the grand kids.
What he didn't think of was the age difference between them all. As of this week, he has 10 grand kids. And there will be more (not from me!). So he decided that the kids all need the pedal tractors now, while they are young and will enjoy them. He came up from Oregon this weekend, and brought all 10 tractors. The kids had no idea.
Last night we gathered at my sisters, and told the kids Grandpa had a surprise. He opened the garage door and the kids had to find the tractor with their name. The jumped on them, and didn't get off (even for dinner!). Our favorite quote from the night came from Grant. "Grandpa, I don't like the tractor, I LOVE it!".
Even the "big" boys had to jump on and give the tractors a try! Missing from the kids picture is two day old baby Alana, who isn't even home from the hospital yet!
Lily's tractor is the one that I rode around the barn as a kid. Dad gave it a pink makeover.

What wonderful memories were made last night! Thanks Dad for sharing your love of tractors!

Memorial Day Weekend

May was just a little crazy around here. I was pretty much in survival mode. I was working every day, and trying to keep up with every day stuff, with Dan gone the whole time. He was due back by Memorial Day weekend, but that didn't happen. We were supposed to go camping at the river (it's tradition!), but by that week, I didn't have the time or energy to get the trailer cleaned up and packed. I had decided to just go up for the day, and not camp.
Poppa Wayne heard my plan and pretty much told me to get my butt in gear and get the trailer packed. The other challenge was that Dan's truck was in Seattle, so we didn't have anything to pull the trailer. My brother in law, David came to our rescue, and with Poppa's help, we got the trailer to the river.
We were so lucky to have a beautiful weekend (until Monday morning), and of course we had a great weekend. The kids flew kites and played hide and seek in the dark. My 3 year old nephew, Firefighter Jack-Jack, tried to drive the motor home. Lily complained that the river was too cold, and too rocky (isn't that the definition of a river?).

A big thanks to my family for helping out, and making memories!!