4th of July.

We spent much of July being very sick.

Titus finally got to meet family back home.

We inevitably came home with some extra seasonal allergies gone wrong.

Maybe it was a cold, gone wrong,

but it ended up ear infection, bronchitis,asthmatic, eye infection, for more than one kid.

All had some of the above,

Titus had all of the above.

We managed to surface for air during that time at a high point in the game.

Just long enough to celebrate Independence Day.

 

For the last few years,we have participated in or watched the children's parade.

This time, we were (I was) going for gold.

Silas got to stay up extra late the night before making this happen:

How patriotic is Abe Lincoln?

 

You can't see Claire's get-up here, but she was a Pioneer girl.

More specifically from the American Girl series.

She had amazing brown boots with tassels on them,

Along with a thick leather belt to hold up her sister's skirt.

She walked the dog who carried a sign labeled:

"American girl 1860's"

 

Then, there is my masterpiece:

I hand dyed Jake's t-shirts

upcycled a toy echoing microphone,

and fashioned a cardboard headband into Lady Liberty.

 

I thought at least this would take one of the umpteen prizes.

She was so adorable!

 

 

Silas was hilarious,

Alomg with the Abe Lincoln suit,

He  added a little Richard Nixon wave:

He told the judges

"Government of  the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"

That's his Abe quote to 'wow' judges!

 

Claire ended up carrying the dog sign that Bentley was freaking out about.

Glad I didn't go for the dog pulling cardboard plow.

They had so much fun!

 

Silas ended up winning 'Most Patriotic'

Claire won 'Cutest Pet'

 

Lauren left with a ribboned participation award and a smile on her face.

Mission accomplished,

And what a great time!

Five hits the trail........ (with a bang)

The following is a well documented day.

Its my five year old's last day of being five.

He used it up by running a triathlon.

Five, you rocked.

His race number on the left leg,

his life in years-right leg

1 mile bike ride all by himself.

1 lap swimming

3 faithful followers who were diligent in making sure they were where they needed to be.
They met him at every transition point and heartily cheered!

Swimming was his less vigorous events.

He was lapped by the girl sharing lanes with him.

Oblivious to the fact that he was indeed the slowest,

He informed me that this girl was confused and was going in the wrong direction.

Silas is a sideways swimmer.

I suppose maybe he is lop-sided.

Stronger on one side?

Anyway, the girl and my boy almost bumped heads.

Seriously.

Inches away.

He was so irritated.

I hadn't the heart to tell him he was so behind and a catywompus swimmer.

Backwards by the way.

Running 1/4 mile was surprisingly a breeze for him

After all the previous events.

Check out the lady waiting to crown him King:

Can you see his smile from behind?

It was real big and boy was he satisfied with himself.

The best part:

He thinks he was first because nobody finished at the same time as him.

I did have the heart to encourage that notion.

If you see him he'll tell you that he was

1st & a 1/2.

Five was a fine time.

You were lucky indeed to know my boy this year.

Basically the last few weeks have been getting us into a solid habit of:

Having Claire Bear Hotcakes,

Avoiding all our responsibilities to catch up on some

River swimming,

Crabbing up a storm,

(They're really biting!)

And learning new things like,

Silas:

Training for his triathlon this Sunday,

Fluidly reading his books and the beginning of comprehension,

Mastering time telling

Lauren:

Beginning her reading excursion

One..Letter..At..a... Time.

Picking to make her own blueberry jam

Tying her shoes like a pro.

And Claire:

Learning to use glue-stick like chap-stick,

Practicing scissor strokes

(All fingers still attached)

And exploring yogurt while mom is busy doing OTHER house work

Because life's just too short to have a clean house.

Capturing spectacular moments before Man Cub takes off

For the county Fair's calf chase.

Above: Silas prepares for announcer to say "Go!"

Its pretty hick-genius if you ask me.

Kids chasing calves for a ribbon on their tail.

Every ribbon gets a prize folks!

Silas won a 2nd place ribbon for his painting.
Another 2$ into his "Whatever" fund redeemable by a Man Silas.

Lauren's 2nd place winner.

Category: "Abstract" !

Claire's 2 $ winner:
Category: "figurative"

Titled "Slap fit"
See the figure?

See the slap?

I won 1st place for Marshmallows. 2$

1st place for Grahm Crackers. 2$

2nd place for dutch oven bread. 1$

Grand total prizes: 10 $

Grand total gas : about 16$

Gotta keep tradition alive right?

I have heard about the foolish notion that the fair is a dying event.

Not foolish like impossible.

Foolish like "Why in the world are we letting that happen????"

The American tradition must not die.

The rodeo must go on

SAVE THE HAND DIPPED CORN DOG!

Become a local fair exhibitor.

The Parade.

Our first year in the parade was a blast!

We scrounged up all the red white and blue clothes we could find.

Lauren's tights and skirt were way too small.

Claire's clothes were way too big.

We pulled it off with class.

Even though they walked away with a participators trophies,

They were still winners.

Winners for bringing the biggest crowd of spectators.

The only ones handing out candy,

(I later found out that it was because the 'rule sheet says "no candy handy")

Winners because we had a real serviceman pulling our wagon,

Winners for our music that nobody could hear.

We totally won.

The losers prize.

Cookies, water bottle, participation medal.

Every one's a winner.

Happy belated Independence Y'all

Meeting again.

Jake and I got out for the first time in a really long time

It was an early Republicans dinner.

Like 5 pm early.

The spirit of Red White and Blue was alive and well.
I believe I was one of three people there that was not dressed like the actual flag.

I'll take what I can get.

Everyone there had children the age of our parents,

Hence the early dinner.

Again, take what you can get.

I had dinner next to my husband, and Elmo Williams

If you don't know why this is significant, check out the link.

The man is currently 97 years old.

Walking driving, and able to recollect many antique years of travels.

Recently widowed, he enjoys sharing his life song with a pleasant listening ear.

Although he didn't remember meeting me in years past,

He has never repeated the same story twice.

He just has too many tales to tell!

Our mutual topic of interest that night was cooking.

He boasted about his 12 years in France and culinary experiences there.

Jake was kind enough to take this picture of us:

Because Jake is not interested in cooking (mostly just eating),

He embraced the Bengay and Polydent crowd.

And Elmo was kind enough to hand write me a new favorite recipe.

"Elmo's Rum Cake".
Observe:

This cake was so decadent and incredibly irresistible.

The pictures and personal recipe will be a prized possession in my cookbook.

A real heirloom.

Without further adieu,

The recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix

(yes I made the exception for the man himself- I may try to make my own yellow mix. Suggestions welcome!)

1 package vanilla pudding mix

(try a natural version, or simply omit. I found it was still awesome without the pudding mix)

1/2 cup dark rum

1/2 cup oil (I used butter, Veggie oil works fine too)

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat all ingredients together.

Prepare bunt pan by greasing well with oil of choice (I used butter with success).

Sprinkle slivered almonds around bottom of pan (Oops! forgot this one too!)

Pour batter into pan.

Bake for 30 min.

Meanwhile,

Prepare rum glaze with:

2 sticks butter

1/4 cup Orange juice

1/4 cup rum

1 cup "shugar"

(He's from the south I think. Pronounced "shugah")

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer during the cake baking process.

When cake is done, remove it from the oven.

Slap sides to be certain cake is released from the pan.

While it is still hot, pour glaze over cake.

Let sit until glaze has been absorbed.

Put plate over cake pan and quickly invert it to release from pan.

Once cooled, "duet with powdered sugar"

Not sure where that term came from, but go ahead and sprinkle on the fun.

It is seriously necessary for one to try such a timeless recipe. This is enjoyed and loved by many family, friends, and fans of the great hometown legend.

Elmo,

You're the man.

The kids were wonderful in the auditions Saturday!
Lauren Practiced all week long.

She really had her song and dance memorized!

But then the day came.

She watched intently at the other audtioners and kept telling me

"Mom I won't be shy, Mom, I wont be shy!"

But then her turn came.

She almost didn't make it to the stage!

Luckily the director is super nice, understanding, and is passionate about

getting kids comfortable in theatre.

She allowed me to be up there with Lauren, and she humbly sang her song.
It almost didn't happen folks.

Almost.

As I live and type,

A New little theatre player is in the house.

She will be the cutest little school girl don't you think?

She will have one line, and lots of songs to sing!

What a stretch for her! This is going to be an experience

And so much bravery will be required!

I am thankful to Dori for giving her a chance.




Behold,

Silas:

If that video didn't spell it out clearly enough,

Silas was cast as the little monkey.

All the hard work and his homemade skit
paid off. He got exactly what he wanted.

This play was accepting a very limited amount of boys

hence the name Little Princess,

And my boy made the cut.

Way to work Silas.

Little Princess

The kids are putting together little skits and songs

To try out for in the play

Little Princess.

Silas wants to be the monkey.

We spent the whole week rehearsing our skits and figuring out props.

I tried my hand at rag curling.

If I had known how much fun that was,

I would have tried it on myself

Before I took a hack saw to my own hair.

Just kidding,

I do love my short hair.

The prettiest princess.

She has been practicing Shirley Temple's

"Animal Crackers In My Soup"

Wish her luck!

Try outs are today, I'll post the news tomorrow.