Summer Fun

It's been 6 months since I made my last post.  I can't believe it!  God pulled me away to invest in several other endeavors. 

I've had alot going on, including moving to a new home two weeks ago. 

BUT, I promised some friends that I would make a post about things to do in the NWA area with your kids for FREE or at very minimal price during these fun summer months. 

One of my favorite things to do is go to the movies.  We don't get to go often, because taking 7 people to the movies costs an arm and a leg!  During the summer starting yesterday the Malco Theatre has $2 movies at 10am every Wednesday.  All 3 theatres in our area, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville are doing it and they all have different movies each week. 

Home Depot is sponsoring a kids camp each 1st Saturday of the month.  You will recieve a FREE apron and create a project to take home. The ages are 5-12 from 9am to noon.
Lowe's does a similar project, but they are all cartoon character projects, which I am not really down with, but if you are, go for it.

The Springdale Aquatic Center is open!!!! The hours are 12-6:45pm Monday-Saturday and Sunday 1:00-6:45pm.  The door price is even better $2 for ages 4 and under.  $4 for ages 5 and above.  3 different areas for all different ages.  Lots of fun, but gets a bit croweded at times. BUT you can rent it for parties if you want more privacy. 

BOTH public libraries are nice.  I have only taken my girls to summer programs at Fayetteville, but we now live really close to Springdale and will try it out. 
Listings for SD library: Toddler TimeWednesdays 9:30 and 11am, June 6, 13, 20, 27.  Pre-school Time is Tuesdays and Wednesday 9:30, 11, and 2pm and that's ages 3-5 June 5/6, 12/13, 19/20, and 26/27. Each day is a different theme. School Age, ages 6-9 is Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the exact same dates and times as the pre-schoolers, but in a different room.  The same schedule will be available in July as well. 

Day or Afternoon trips:
Gentry Wildlife Safari Drive-thru Zoo, Bentonville Splashpad, Crystal Bridges (maybe an adult day away from the kids, but there are walking pathes outside to take the kiddos on), Fun City Pizza, and Lokomotion. Terra Studios is open daily from 10-5 and you get a FREE glass bird. A trip to Martin Greer's candy shop near Gateway, AR.  It's a short drive to sample homemade candy.

Also, right now in town for the next 2 weeks there are 3 berry farms that are open for the picking.  Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are all good frozen and used all year long.  My kids love to do this.

Vacation Bible School starts next week at Cross Church.  Click on that link to pre-register. Super FREE Fun!

A picnic at the park can be the best FUN and biggest memories for your kids.  Right now my girls and I are making flash cards.  Abigial will be learning her shapes and colors.  Ava will be learning her alphabet and numbers.  Addy is working on her reading for Kindergarten and Aydan is going to work on learning the books of the bible.  AND a day doesn't go by the we don't sing on the karaoke or have a dance off in the family room.  Cooking and baking with your kids is one of the best gifts and things that you can every teach them. 
So get creative and have a fun summer!
I am sure that there are several other things that I can't think of right off the bat that I will post down the line, but this is just to get you started!

Fabulous Friday

Looks like an Acorn, but tastes like

Chocolate and peanut butter!  Yummo!

These little bite size yummmies

are so SIMPLE!

Three ingredients and voila!

Hershey's kisses, mini chocolate chips &

Nutter Butter mini bites.

I melted half the bag of mini chips.  I dipped flat part of the kiss into

the melted chocolate and fastened it to the cookie.

The messy and time consuming part was trying to pick up those

tiny little mini choco chips and dipping them into the chocolate

and putting them on the back. 

All-in-all, it took maybe 20 mins from beginning to end! 

We will be serving these to all the guest that come to see Aydan

today. 

FABULOUS Friday

I was keeping up so well the last couple of weeks, especially on my blogs

and then this week hit me! It took me 15 mins to fill out the weekly calendar so we

would know who was coming and going. I know we are NO

different than most families, but I FEEL cRaZy sometimes

running after 5 kids and a husband.

I was incharge of the decorations and table settings for M.O.P.S. this year

and here is what I came up with four days notice.

How easy is it to throw some yummy smelling coffee beans in a vase and

tie some rafia around it. The red burlap was on sale for $2.99/yd. This tea cup is mine, but

I had fun rummaging at an antique shop for the other 5, and they were

only $5/set.

I like to remind and encourage people to serve others, like God

wants us to. I choose to serve by baking or cooking each week for someone else.

I often take lunch or dessert to a different ministry group in my church, this

week I took one of these beauties to the new Compassion Center for the new

Director and volunteers. (homemade might I add) AND the other

one was supposed to go somewhere, but Jeff cut into it, hmmmp...so

we sampled 2 slices and sent it to work with him)

Just as soon as I think I have my stuff together and am sooo proud of

all I have accomplished during the BUSY week, I am quickly

reminded that life doesn't stop (and in my case, hardly

ever slow down either)

Ava left her pudding out where Abigail could reach it and

she served herself.

As you can well imagine, I have a LOT of laundry to do. If I

have 4 loads in my laundry room I feel very accomplished.

I did 3 loads yesterday (that means put away too) and so far I've got

3 more done this morning before lunch. (but not put away yet)

BUT I still have sooo much more to do...I will keep on

trucking along!

I thought the house was basically picked up then I started

to walk around and found a stinker

getting into something. I thought

she was in the living room watching cartoons.

I also quickly found out that she had been in my bathroom too.

I promised several people, including my new MOPS group

that I would start posting easy Fall recipes. So watch this

week for all of those.

My Friday has been crazy, I bet yours has been too, and I hope you

have a FABULOUS Friday!

Antiquing FINDS

I went antique shopping this weekend and found some great buys!

Here are a few things that I picked up.

I am sharing the BEFORE pictures with you.

This sturdy old window came from

Daisies & Olives in Prairie Grove, AR.

$10

This tiny little kid size wicker chair came from

Ozark, MO.

$15

Tea cups & saucers came from Tonitown, AR

$5 & $6 per set.

Kids sideboard was picked in Ozark, MO

this was a gift from Papa & Gramma

and it has a sibling. (2 for the price of 1)

This cute little red shelf came from

Eureka Springs, AR

$8.00

This was a steal that Papa & Gramma gave us from a sale in

KS.

I can't wait to have a few FREE minutes to

give these pieces some love and refurbishing!

Don't worry, the AFTER pictures will come soon!

I LOVE antiquing, share your favorite spot with me!

Little Girls

I consider myself to be an expert on little girls!

Of course, I was one, once upon a time, AND I am

raising 5 of my own.

(Ammorae 5 years old)

They want to be a "Big Girl" from the moment go! They want to dress up and wear their

mama's shoes.

(Aydan in my wedding shoes)

They want to wear make-up and get their nails done!

(Ava in my special sparkly heels daddy gave me)

They want to pretend like they are getting married and taking

care of their babies.

(Addy in my RED brighton's)

They want to wear apron's and learn to cook and pretend to

vacuum and mop the floors.

In becoming an expert on anything you have to experience a lot of something.

Experience is a present tense word.

Presently, I am BLESSED with being able to daily experience

the most amazing job and life that God could have ever given me.

Just like a friend of mine describes my family, I LOVE my

Little Women!

God be with today, tomorrow, and forever bringing up these little women.

Changing the Law in AR

At summer's beginning I was hot on a mission! If you are not aware, there is NO law in the state of Arkansas, nor many others for that matter, that specifies what we must teach our children in school about sex education. I know that MANY of you are gasping right now, not about that truth ,but that I am talking about this. Admit it!

Some parents that I talk to say that it's their job to teach their children about sex, not the school. MOST parents that I talk to want others such as church and school to reiterate and assist them in hitting home the truths about what happens when you make these decisions.

Here are a FEW statistics that are current. 1 out of every 3 women have or will have an abortion this year. 1 out of every 6 people have herpes, this is an STD that lives with you for the rest of your life. This also means that 20% of all Americans age 12 and older are infected with it. In the U.S. 34% of young women are pregnant at least once before the age of 20. Trichamonas causes MORE new infections than any other STD, with the exception of HPV, and I bet you've never even heard of it. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) who we go to for all of our health information reports that 19 MILLION NEW cases of STD's occurred last year and 50% (half) of those happened to people who were the ages of 15-24.

Here are MORE specific truths about Arkansas in particular. We are #4 in the country for teen pregnancy. We are #7 in the country for STD's. The health department has release information from surveys stating that most 8th graders have admitted to being pressured to have sex, that is 12, 13, and 14 year olds. It also showed that 10th graders admitted that 50% of them have already been part of multiple sexual relationships. (that's only 2 yrs difference) By 12th grade it's 63% and only 59% of those reported using any kind of protection.

I could go on and on (and I am going to) but this tells me and experts that we are NOT doing our job and mandates and laws should be made to regulate this issue. We need to combine sex education with the truth of abstinence so they know what happens if they choose not to comply. The facts are that very young people are having sex and they don't have any idea about the facts and it's altering their lives. It's also altering our lives. Some of you think it doesn't affect you, and you are SADLY mistaken. With the facts I gave you earlier, it means that we have young and old that are hurting and are broken. If you get herpes as a youth, you HAVE herpes as an elder. If you had an abortion as a youth, you carry that with you as an elder. If you have a baby as a youth, it changes you and your whole family's lives forever. People are hurting and going through SO much all around you everyday and it affects ALL of US!!! You can not assume that people in your circle are not dealing with these issues, because statistics PROVE that they are. If you are a parent, a grandparent, a sister, a brother, and aunt, or an uncle you have been affected.

I started my crusade by talking to parents, pastors, teachers, and law officials. I've not really gotten anywhere yet, but they need to know that God has laid this upon my heart and I'm just getting started. Is this important to you? Will you join me? I NEED to see your comments!!!

Somethings You Might Not Know About Me

The year I graduated from high school I packed up my brand new Ford Contour and moved to Colorado to attend Culinary School.

I lived with one of my older sisters and was her nanny, while going to school.


My Grandma Amy was the one who inspired me at a young age to want to cook and entertain. By watching my mother cook for such a large family, I learned the basics. I took every Home Ec class I could in high school, one year I was in two or three. I was cooking dinner for my family at the age of 12.

So when my mom and sister encouraged me to go to Culinary School it seemed natural and obvious. (the other career I was leaning toward was Journalism)


I attended the Colorado Institute of Arts Culinary School in Denver. My 1st semester was all preparation for the BIG stuff. I took a Dietary Course, Safety & Sanitation, and basic skills in the kitchen. Basic skills sounds easy, yeah right...everything BUT!!! I had to be in a kitchen six days a week for seven hours a day. The rules were STRICT. If you missed 3 or more classes a semester you had to start the course over again.

Almost all of the lingo was French and there was so much about "cooking" that I had no idea. Classmates of mine had worked as line and soux chef's in 3,4,and 5 star restaurants, and were finishing up with their accrediation. It was very intimidating in the begginning.

My favorite class was my 2nd semester, Baking and Pastry. Do you have any idea what it takes to make a croissant? Butter is laminated into the dough several times and it has to rest each time, it's an amazing process. There isn't one' that I bite into that I don't stop and think about the intensity that is put into it. In high school my favorite class was Cake Decorating, so it's not surprise that I was over the moon during this chapter. There were days that I personally made 8 cakes and loaves and loaves of bread. After bringing them home to my family ( I also had extended family in the area) I quickly realized that I had to find somewhere to share my sweet treats. I started driving them to the homeless shelter.


There were several other phenomenal classes. Garde Mange, it's all that foo foo stuff you see with food garnishings and fancy schmancy carvings of fruits and veggies. Wines & Spirits is a world of it's own. International Foods was another favorite.

Hotel and Restaurant Management has been a desire of mine. I love catering and more than anything cooking for my family and teaching my girls what they need to know to successfully navigate around a kitchen and properly entertain.

There are more classes that I need and want to take. This industry is an amazing one and continues to thrive. With the explosion of the Food Network and shows featuring hard core Chefs like Gordon Ramsey it gives us every day folks a look into their world. There are literally 1,000's of blogs about people like you and me who love to cook and want to share their recipes with the world. What an exciting age to live in.

The BAT Cave

Our family met right outside of Freedom OK

to visit the Alabaster Caverns!

Zac brought his girlfriend Reagan and Brent

from OKC and met us there.

Every single business in Freedom has an old fashioned

1800's store front. Such a neat place to take pictures.

This is my nephew Brent trekking through the cave

on our tour.

Papa was teaching the youngsters a piece of history

and talked a lot about his past.

Amanda is posing next to a lit up piece of Alabaster.

Mom was trying to wrangle ornery Ava and

make it through the cave without slipping, it was wet and

very slippery!

The entrance to the cave and 3/4 mile walk.

Abigail enjoyed her 1st journey through a dark damp cave

she chauffeured her daddy.

Here is the whole crew, minus the photographer (me) of course.

Afterwards, we grabbed a bite at this rustic cowboy cafe

outside of the park's entrance.

We had lots of laughs and FUN!

Of course, Brent has to make a silly face.

Silly head shot, Aydan.

Dalton is never far behind.

Cowtown

Gramma & Papa took us to Cowtown in Wichita. It is

the BEST "Old Town" I have ever been to. Here are all the

grandkids that were together.

My dad has been wanting a Chuckwagon for quite sometime.

I want to learn how to do chuckwagon cooking.

Someday we'll get our stuff together!!!

This is my nephew Dalton from Connecticut

trying out a bow and arrow.

The girls were pretty mesmerized!

Here is my mom showing the kids how to use some

"old fashioned" toys! Pretty good hu!

Here is Papa showing Addy how to plunk out a tune on the old

piano! Love hearing him chord those tunes! Reminds

me of Grandma Frances.

Here we are in the church getting a good word from Pastor Ammorae.

This is the one room school house. The kids got to hear Papa

give them the low-down. He went to one when he was a little boy.

We all AGREE, he was probably in trouble a lot!

Jeff was trying out a pair of old stilts.

We got a good deal 3 for 1! Trying out an old wooden coffin!

An intense game of checkers. I think when they weren't

looking Gramma stacked the board!!!

Papa & Aydan on the boardwalk infront

of the General Store! SWEET!

In the Bank, Brent was on the other side trying to hold it up!

The Saloon Girls were off that day, so we improvised!

Great looking Can-Can line!

Amanda & Brent working hard on the railroad!

Brent on the stagecoach! What an amazing place.

I fell in love with the actual homes that were set-up

just like they used to be. I think that's the era that

I would have liked to visited!

Thank you mom and dad for taking on this trip

through history! We LOVED it!

Monkeying Around

We went to KS last week and had soooo

much FUN!!!

We celebrated Ava's 3rd bday.

Since she is our monkey we had a Monkey Bday Party!

While we were there Amanda & Dalton spent the week with us!

They are my niece and nephew from Connecticut

We had 21 ppl out to the Plum Thickett, our favorite

hometown restaurant, also our 2nd home.

This is our ORNERY little birthday monkey.

She had her own banana cake and all!

Everyone played jungle bingo and several other

monkey games. We had lots of winners and entertainment.

We even got the girls' Papa Cecil & Mammo

to play with us! (great grandparents)

We LoVe going home!

Thank you Papa & Gramma (mom & dad)

for hosting such a lovely & fun week at your house.