Back-handspring Bathing Suit

 Rachel has wanted a new bathing suit this year even though she has three others; although they are small and stretched out they did the job.  I made a deal with her that if she could land her back-handspring without a spot I would get her a new one.  She tried so super hard that even though James still technically spotted her she still did it 98% by herself so we went to Sears to get her a Land's End suit and lucky for me they were 50% off.  She fell in love with the pink polka-dots and ruffles of her new swim suit and looks adorable in it.

  

Rachel posing in her cute new bathing suit by my beautiful pink tiger lily.

My garden snack this morning while watering; first ripe blueberry I've picked from my garden.

Waffles

I've been making lots of waffles lately. It's an easy way to use up some of the wheat I have stored and since wheat is one of the few foods that Rachel is NOT allergic to, a good way to fill her tummy. Yesterday I experimented with a savory waffle that Rachel used to make a "waffle pizza" with for lunch, minus the cheese of course since she is highly allergic to any milk product.  Then I made some "Apple-Pumpkin-Cinnamon Waffles for afternoon snacks. I added some brown sugar to the recipe so the kids would eat them like a cookie instead of needing syrup. The kids loved them! Rachel is allergic to butter but here are David and his friend Nolan eating fresh, hot waffles with butter. So satisfing to hear their "Ummmm's" and see their little eyes roll back in their heads as they ate their waffles.

Then the boys decided to go strawberry hunting to complete their afternoon snack.

4 c Freshly ground whole wheat flour

1 c brown sugar

2 T Baking Powder

1 t Baking Soda

1 t salt

1T Cinnamon

1t nutmeg and ginger

1/2t allspice

1/2 c olive oil

2 t vanilla

2 T Vinegar

About 1 1/2 c dried apples blendered till smooth with 2-3 c of water-aprox.

1 16 oz can pumpkin

Add dry ingredients to liquid ingredient.

About 1c batter per waffle.

Cook for about 10 minutes on med in waffle iron. 

add more water if too thick 

(I would add 1-2 eggs if Rachel was not allergic)



Zoe loves eating the strawberries from our garden. The first video she signs for "more" and the second video she says "NUMMY, NUMMY, NUMMY!"

Zoe's favorite game to play at night.

Vole Drowning

Look what we found in the pool filter this morning....EEEEWWWW!

These nasty little voles have been eating all of my strawberry plants back behing  the waterfall.

David was studying it and said, "I think it's a possum!"  Close David but it's a Vole.

possum

Voles are small rodents that grow to 3-9 inches, depending on the species. They can have 5–10 litters per year. Gestation lasts for 3 weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month. As a result of this exponential growth, vole populations can grow very large within a very short period of time. Since litters average 5–10 young, a single pregnant vole in a yard can result in a hundred or more active voles in less than a year.

Voles are commonly mistaken for other small animals. Moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. Since voles will commonly use burrows with many exit holes, they can be mistaken for gophers or some kind of ground squirrel. Voles can create and will oftentimes utilize old abandoned mole tunnels thus confusing the land owner into thinking that moles are active. When voles find their way into the home, they are readily misidentified as mice or young rats. In fact, voles are unique and best described as being a little bit like all the other animals they are so commonly thought to be.

They will readily thrive on small plants. Like shrews they will eat dead animals and like mice or rats, they can live on most any nut or fruit. Additionally, voles will target plants more than most other small animals. It is here where their presence is mostly evident. Voles will readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill young plants and is not healthy for trees or other shrubs.

Voles will often eat succulent root systems and will burrow under plants or ground cover they are particularly fond of and eat away until the plant is dead. Bulbs in the ground are another favorite target for voles; their excellent burrowing and tunnelling gives them access to sensitive areas without clear or early warning. A vole infestation is often only identifiable after they have destroyed a number of plants.[1]