Buttercup the Bike

Erin's bike was way to small.  She got it when she was 5, and has finally outgrown it.  We've passed it down to a great friend who I'm sure will love it.  So, today at the consignment shop, Erin got a new-to-her bike.  The kicker -- no training wheels.  Erin has been talking about taking her training wheels off all summer.  She even tried with Grandpa, but they couldn't quite get it worked out, so back on they went.  This afternoon mommy returned with a great red and white bike -- named Buttercup.  Erin was anxious and ready to give her a try.

We started off slowly, but gained a bit of confidence quickly.  After a few minor tips, we took a break and headed inside.  Forty minutes later we were back on the bike.  This time mommy let go, and Erin rode on her own all the way to the bridge.  Way to go girl.  She couldn't wait to show her daddy when he got home.

After dinner we went back out for a few more runs down the road.  She grew more and more comfortable with each attempt.  She is so proud of being able to "almost" ride her bike on her own.  Give her a week and she'll be tooling around the neighborhood annoying all the neighbors!!

Good Old Fashioned Home Cooking!!

And not by me!

mmmmmm....frosting

Over the summer both kids have taken a real interest in helping cook.  They've even taken the initiative to help plan out a few meals on their own.  We love that the kids are excited about getting their hands into the kitchen activities.

A few of the projects they undertook:

Erin and I arrived home from a later rehearsal to find Jeffrey covered in flour.  He and Tom had decided to make a carrot cake.  Tom offered up the choice to make brownies or cookies.  Jeffrey got into an Alton Brown cook book and pointed at the carrot cake.  "I want to make that!"  And so off they went to the grocery store to get everything needed to make carrot cake.

So Proud of His Carrot Cake

The kids helped make a "Grape Gazpacho".  The big aspect of this project was that both kids learned some simple knife skills.  They were given sharp paring knives.  Taught to hold and cut.  And then given lots of veggies and fruits to chop up.  While the final result was less than "tasty" for the kids they really had a ton of fun cutting everything up.

While visiting Noni, they all went to a close-out book sale.  Erin picked out 3 cookbooks from the children's section.  She has really enjoyed them.  The recipes are very simple, and use mostly already prepared foods.  No matter, it's gotten her into the kitchen and playing with cooking.  One evening Erin decided to make "Princess Fairy Wands" (white chocolate covered pretzels).  They were really good, and absolutely adorable.

Fun Dessert

While visiting Uncle Gary and Aunt Suzy, the kids helped daddy and Uncle Gary make meatballs for dinner. They rolled them and then dredged them in breadcrumbs.  They wanted to put on a good show for Uncle Gary and certainly did.

See How It's Done Uncle Gary?

A few weeks ago, Jeffrey came downstairs and asked if we could make a special dinner for daddy.  "Of course" was the answer.  So we looked through the cookbooks and he picked out a "Meatball and Biscuit Skewer".  And they were really good.  He did almost all of the work.  He helped cut the biscuits and peppers and put all the ingredients onto the skewer.  This dinner was such a big deal for Jeffrey, and he really enjoyed putting it all together for his daddy.

See What I Made For You Daddy!!

Add to these projects other helpful times flipping pancakes, kneading bread, measuring flour....it's been a very fun summer in the kitchen.