Corndog Muffins

 

Saw these on Pinterest and they are as good as they are easy.  Make regular cornbread muffins and put a little hotdog in each one.  The hotdog will sink as they bake. 

Pass!!

 

Dancer passed her first CLEP test today, she did very well too I might add.  There just happened to be this Dairy Queen right in front of the college where she took the test. 

Where we were more than happy to help her celebrate with lunch and Blizzards.  Can't wait until she passes the next one, I think I already know what I am going to order.

"Home" School Lunch Program

 

 

Llama Clinic

This past weekend we had a min llama clinic to trim nails and give shots to a local llama herd.  The owner of the animals is in the hospital so our 4-H llama club was helping out.  

 

 

Spark and the Dad putting a llama in a chute to help hold it during it's care.  This is an older male with pretty cool fleece. The llamas needed their toes clipped and a subcutaneous shot of Ivomec wormer.

 

 

Dad was using a trimmer that kept popping open in his back pocket and when he reached for it he would cut his hand.  By the end of the project 30 percent of his digits are sporting Band-Aids.  Other members of the club thought this was funny since he is an RN.

 

After the work we had a great potluck to celebrate the end of the llama fair season.  The kids in our llama club did great job at all levels and really represented the cub well at the state fair. 

I'm A Penguin

and Nikki is my egg.

Beach Day

 

We are at the beach on a week day because we are homeschoolers and we can.  I'm no James Dean but, I love any chance I get to be countercultural, even if it is a small and perfectly legal thing to do. 

 

 

The water is starting to get cold and it took Spark awhile to get use to it.

 

 

Right away he found an agate.  He has an eye for agates but, I was still amazed he found on one the beach that had had hoards of people at it all summer.

 

 

He also found this Sponge Bob silly band, perhaps we were at Bikini Bottom.

Back To School

 

Our day included a trip to the library.  This picture confirms that we no longer have little kids - I have been trying to be in denial about that.  This year is 7th and 11th grade.

Labor Day Picnic

 

Fun day with our homeschool co-op friends.

 

Happy Veggies

When cutting up veggies to freeze for our winter food supply, this green pepper was smiling.  It must have been happy to contribute.  If veggies smiling at you doesn't make your day, nothing will.

Pop Can Butterflies

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Fair Whirlwind

 

Dancer and her llama, Nora, won a state fair trip.  A great feat for a llama girl who made Dancer work for half an hour just to get a halter on her back in the spring.  Now she is all refined and strutting her stuff with the best of them. 

 

We enjoyed a beautiful cool summer here up until the week of the state fair when the temps rose into the 90's and the heat index even higher because the humidity was in the 70's.  All this heat made a the trip a bit more challenging, like when we stopped for a break on the way down and I said to Dad, "There is green stuff running out of the car."  Thankfully some more coolant fixed the problem because what does one do in extreme heat with a llama along side the freeway and you are still at least an hour from your destination?

 

 

We brought Dancer on Wednesday, but two of her shows weren't until Thursday, so while Dancer stayed down at the fair the rest of us drove back and forth.  It was well worth it to see her compete.

 

 

With Dancer busy in the barns it left only Spark to walk around with Dad and I.  One of Dad's favorite kind of soda is RC Cola but we never see it in our grocery stores.  There was a vendor there that sold only RC Cola, probably because no one can get it here, and since it is such a novelty, Spark posed by the sign.

 

 

 

The state fair mascot - the gopher is the mascot, not Spark.

 

 

Spark won a blue ribbon for his potato cannon!  Luck was on his side that his judge was a high school physic teacher so he understood his project.

Frosty Peppers

The garden starting to produce fast and furious so it is time to start freezing some of it. These are peppers, cut up, laid on a baking sheet and frozen.  Then we put them in freezer bags and during the winter pull them out for soups etc.

Church Picnic

 

 

 

 

First time Spark ever held a baby :)

A Milestone Birthday

 

We had beach day planned for our homeschool co-op and it just happened to fall on the same day as one of the mom's milestone birthday.  We couldn't let the chance go by to do something fun so we planned surprised birthday party for her.  She got a decorated chair and we showered her with gifts.

 

 

There was lots and lots of food but then we always have lots and lots of food when we get together!

 

 

We looked behind us and there was this man lounging in a tree.  Him in the tree reminded me of the movie Benny and Joon.  I wanted to yell over to him when he got down that he was out of his tree but, I missed his exit.  And yes, he really is wearing a red and white polka doted tank top.  I think instead of the boyfriend shirt it is the girlfriend cammy. 

 

 

All the kids from youngest to oldest.

 

 

We had planned to play lots of old fashioned birthday party games but, the kids only got out of the water to eat and then they were right back in.  We played this one right before we left.  The kids were split up into two groups and they each got a pair of chore gloves.  They had to put the chore gloves on, run down to the suitcases, pick out a piece of clothing to put on, put it on while wearing the gloves and run back.  They found this one so fun they played it twice.

Cheesy Zucchini Rounds

 

Another way we have been attempting to use up some of our, what seems like hundreds, zucchini are these simple, cheesy delights.  Just take a zucchini and slice it in about quarter inch pieces.  Season with salt, pepper, etc. and sprinkle with cheese.  Put them under the broiler for about five minutes and they come out perfectly cooked.  Broil them on Lo for the cheese to be a little brown or on Hi for dark brown cheese.  These are so easy the kids have been whipping them up for quick lunches.

Sweet Onion Mini Muffins

Spark spied this recipe in the cookbook next to the zucchini oat muffins and we are sure glad he did.  Since his first batch, we have requested he make several more.  Dad says these taste like a muffin you would be served in a fancy restaurant.

Sweet Onion Mini Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup finely - emphasis on the finely - chopped onion
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts - Spark used peanuts in one batch and that was good too

Combine dry ingredients.  Combine wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fold in walnuts. 

Bake in mini muffin maker or muffin cups at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.   Batter may be baked in 1 dozen regular sized muffins cups for 20-25 minutes.

By Mildred Spinn from the Taste Of Home Baking Book

Zucchini Oat Muffins

This what happens when you are gone most of the time for two weeks and don't have a chance to check your zucchini patch - two wagons full of zucchini, most the size of caveman clubs. 

Most of these will be fed to the animals but, we are attempting to use at least a few of them.  The ironic thing about all these zucchini is that last year we couldn't get any to grow and I was begging them off of other gardeners.

Several batches of these muffins have been made in our kitchen and it seems they are gone before they are cool.  The kids have been baking them in the mini muffin maker which makes them even easier to pop in your mouth.  At our house I guess these could be called the vanishing zucchini oat muffins!

Zucchini Oat Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (don't skip these it is what makes them so good!)
1/2 cup oatmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1 medium zucchini shredded - about 3/4 cup - this is not a hard and fast measure
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix all wet ingredients together.  Add in dry ingredients.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe by Janet Bonarski in the Taste of Home Baking Book

Llama Costume Parade

 

Dancer was Alice In Wonderland and Nora was the queen of hearts.

 

 

Spark was a minister and Marceline was a blushing bride.

 

 

A side view to show off her beautiful gown.

The Llama Show Must Go On

We had three days after our county fair to mow the lawn, wash the clothes and a few other tasks before heading out to the next fair.  Llamas are new to our county this year, only four kids, so we joined another county fair for our judging. 

 

 

Showmanship - keep smiling even if it feels your cheeks are going to crack.

 

 

 

Obstacles - fun for the audience - stressful for the kids.  

 

 

The kids in our county, even though we were at another fair our kids were judged by themselves - Dancer and Nora won a state fair trip!

 

 

Since we had to be there for four days, and the llamas could use some more time in the ring, we also competed in open class.  If you are only in the open class you only had to come one day, there were llamas coming out of the woodwork, I had no idea there were so many llama owners.  It did make for a very long show on metal bleachers - over five hours.  Here Dad is giving Spark some last minute advice. It must have worked, Spark and Marceline took fourth place and Dancer and Nora snagged third in their classes!

 

 

Those darn obstacles again. 

 

 

Although she has the look of, "there is no way I am going through there," she did.

 

 

 The final obstacle of tying the quick release knot and putting a towel on the back of your llama.  Whew!  We got the first shows done and now it is lots of intense training for Nora before the state fair and studying up on llama knowledge.   We also have a lot of sleep to catch up on!