Fireweed! Weekend

One fireweed weekend we had a party. We had movies, and candy. We even made lemonaide cupcakes. We had a little fun with the licorice. We had three cups of juice. One was lemonaide, and the other ones were grape and orange. We used the licorice as straws. We went to Saturday market and ate corn fritters and honey butter. Those were yummy. We took a picture of Silvia and I. We watched the bonus episode of Cinderella. We made a play house out of cardboard. - Pia

Fireweed!

Louisa and I went to Valdez with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Boo, and Dad. Uncle Boo and Dad rode their bikes in the Fireweed Race. We rode in the camper following them and taking pictures and videos. After they finished the race, we went to Mass and then came back to our cabin to get ready for bed. The grownups sat outside and talked, and we sat inside and watched TV. It was a very hot night but we all slept soundly. In the morning we got some snacks and hopped in the car. While we were on the way home, we stopped at Eureka Lodge and bought every single kind of pie there was, about seven kinds. We listened to the radio, read, and played chess, not to mention ate snacks. It was a wonderful trip but we are glad to be home!

Cool Bubbles

In Science, I had to blow bubbles. So I got out a plate and a twisty straw and some bubble solution. I went outside because it would be too messy for inside.  I blew with the straw and filled the plate with bubbles. And then I started to make bigger and bigger bubbles. After that I just had fun with the bubbles. I learned that bubbles are air trapped in liquid. I learned that wet fingers won't pop the bubbles. But, dry fingers will pop the bubbles. So if you want your bubbles to last longer, you have to keep the sides of the straw or your finger wet so they won't pop the bubbles. -Pia

Tie Dye!

Yesterday we had a tie dye party. We dyed dresses and skirts, socks, and silk handkerchiefs. Louisa and I also dyed two of Dad's old shirts to use as nightshirts. We invited Auntie Rach and some of her friends to join us. The results were unbelievably beautiful and amazingly cool. We hope to wear them a lot.

The Great Paper Airplane Race

We had a rainy day today. So we made fancy paper airplanes. We used Monsters, Animals, and Airplanes by Richard Wagner. We decided to have an airplane contest. First, we saw which went farthest. Second, we tried to aim them at a target. Then we tried to fly some tricks. We each won a contest! We had lots and lots of fun until Louisa's plane flew into the Bermuda Triangle. Luckily, she made another one, and we continued having fun.      
  

OUR  PLANES

Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip - Bacon Pancake Recipe

This recipe is adapted from CountryLiving.com. I feel like I have really improved it.

- 1 cup pancake mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (I like chunky)
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Mix these ingredients together and cook like you would any other pancakes. Maybe a little lower temperature than normal. Coconut oil instead of butter adds a nice flavor dimension.These are really good with maple syrup on top. Applesauce or rhubarb sauce would be a tasty option for those on a diet. I imagine they would also be good with chopped banana instead of bacon. Or, frankly, in addition to bacon. What about maple flavored bacon! This recipe doubles easily but, as you can imagine, they are pretty filling. Good for breakfast or dinner. This recipe is a winner in our house!

License Plate Update

We are in the midst of our annual license plate game, running from Memorial Day to Labor Day. So far we have seen 33 States and a few Canadian Provinces. We have more trips planned this summer so I'm sure we will be adding to that total. Can you beat that? - Judy.

The Alaska Zoo

Today we went to the Alaska Zoo with Auntie Rach. She took these pictures.

 We saw a polar bear swimming in the water. He looked huge. Then he got out and was stretching his neck and walking around. He looked like he was dancing. We saw a baby swan, two baby fawns, two baby moose, and a baby dall sheep. The turkey was acting funny and trying to get our attention. "Gobble, gobble." When we looked at the wolves we saw them having naptime. To eat for a snack, we brought popcorn with peanut M&Ms and chocolate covered raisins added in it!