More Summer Fun!!

Wilderness trekking with friends...

Tide pool investigating...

Zak trick riding...

blueberry picking...

The fabulous four...

Max is boogie boarding...

Zak is boogie boarding...

Rock scrambling...

Digging in the sand...

Hangin' with grandpa...

Hope you are having a fun summer too! 

Nothin' But Fruit

Honestly these are nothing but fruit frozen and boy were they refreshing a sweet. The idea for these comes from nourishing meals.com Ali used blended watermelon in hers and recommended using a honey dew melon if you have one. I did, so that is what I used. 

To make them simply slice fruit and stick it into the popsicle molds. I sliced up 1 and a 1/2 kiwis, 2 strawberries, and add a handful of blueberries. That seems to fill much of the space in the molds nicely. Then I cut up my honeydew melon which was very sweet and blended it until it was liquidy. Then I  just poured that in and around all the sliced fruit in the mold. Freeze the mold for a few hours and presto, a cool summer treat you can offer to your family and feel great about it!

Yum! Can I have another one? 

YES!

Summer has just begun...

and we're having so much fun...

Hangin' out at the skateboard parks with the bike

Making underwater friends at the Zoo.

Going around and around and around on the carousel.

Playing hide-n-seek.

swimming lessons.

Going an expeditions.

Doing amazingly hard puzzles.

Going boating with Dad.

making new doggie friends.

Learning to sea kayak...and the summer has just begun. Hope you are having a great summer too!!

Green 'sickles

Now that warm weather is upon us we are delving into more cool sweet treats for afternoon snacks and after dinner desserts. These green 'sickles are so far our favorite indulgence. Though sweet and delicious they are also chalk full of nutrition as well. The green color comes from several large handfuls of kale, spinach and collard leaves.

I used this idea of a green smoothie recipe from Ali and Tom's website Nourishing Meals.com Really any smoothie you love will make great popsicles and give your kids a great nourishing snack during the hot summer months. Here's the recipe I used:

In a blender add the following:
1 honey crisp apple (I used a gala apple)
1 1/2 barlett pear
1/2 of a lemon only its juice
1/2 inch chunk of fresh ginger ginger. (leave the skin on but it is up to you)
1-3 T of maple syrup (I added this because when the smoothie freezes the flavors diminish some so adding a little natural sweetener can keep the sweet and it gives the pop a better consistency)
1 1/2 cups no sugar added apple juice ( you may not need this if you are using a vita mix...I used a ordinary blender)

Blend all of this until well incorporated and then add:
1 1/2-2 collard leaves (with or without the thick vein)
1 1/2 -2 Kale leaves
1 -1 1/2 fist fulls of spinach.

Add more no sugar added apple juice if needed and blend away. Once the mixture is well blended pour into a mold. Set in your freezer and later you will have a nice frozen treat.

Yummy!

Snap shots for the Grandparents

We love you Grandpa and Grandma!

MAX

Today you are 7 years old and it is hard to believe that that many years has gone by since I first layed eyes on you....... and marvaled at your tiny face. I still love the memory of your little red knit hat...the snow at your first doctor's appointment and the twinkling of the Christmas lights as we sat you under the tree home at last on Christmas day.



And now you read, write.....

You can climb all the trees in our yard...

You love to be silly and laugh when we read Winnie the Pooh stories...

You have lost your 7th tooth....

You love to be close to nature...

You are an inspirtaional leader, as well as calm and thoughtful....

You are always ready for an adventure...

 You can sit for hours listening to stories...

You love to learn about the fishes and life under the sea....

You make cool creations from clay...

You love to be around any sort of water....

You are a great help in the kitchen helping me make tortillas and pancakes....even if you do eat all the blackberries before we get them home....

You love good food....

You make experiments...

You get the award for the most casts and the most patience on our fishing trip....

You took the bicycle like a real pro...

.

You are truely a water dog...

Max we love you to bits...Happy 7th Birthday!!

Max was born on Dec 19th 2003. he was 5 weeks early and we almost lost him to toximia. He spent 6 days in the ICU before he was stable enough to bring him home on Christmas day. He is our Christmas baby!)