Fourth of July

So... the Fourth of July was, what back on July 4th? That was well over a month ago and I'm just now ready to share our trip with you. Joe and I flew back to Iowa for a week. That's become our mid year trip home, coupled with Christmas we make it back twice a year normally.

We started the week with my parents. During our time there we drove to my old school. Really where I spend my kindergarten through 12th grade. I won't go into detail, but the school has been officially closed and this summer the demolition began. Sometime I'll have to post a comparison picture to show you what it use to look like. Sad to see the building torn down.

Joe and dad sifted through some of the bricks for souvenirs. I believe my exact words to them were "be careful!" Not two minutes later I heard "ouch!" No actual injuries though.

Joe took the opportunity to chuck a few bricks.I admit, it looked like fun.

We met up with two of Joe's brothers plus Abby while in Cedar Falls. We hit the town and saw wayyyyy too many people from middle school, high school, etc. But it was a blast spending time with these crazy cats.

It's normal for them to cuddle in the early morning hours.

I couldn't resist snapping a few Iowa landscape pictures. This, I believe, was during our drive to Joe's parents. We did a nice little switcheroo mid state and mid week.

 

And then we made it to the lake.  We had amazing weather all week. This was pretty lucky considering the week prior it had rained almost every day in Iowa and the whole time we were gone from Charlotte it rained. Couldn't be more perfect!

Yes we may look a little cold here, but it was early in the morning. Sun wasn't out yet!

There's my boy :) Cap'n Joe.

Joe's parents showed us how it's done. They're pros on the skis.

We had a great trip back to see family and friends. These pictures don't truly capture the entire trip or all the people we got to spend time with, but it's something. Actually, after going through and posting these pictures I'm surprised I don't have more of us with the family. Next time!

Photo Friday #48

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Thought I had completely given up on you and this baby blog of mine? Think again. When I took the first week or two off I didn't have intentions for that to turn into over a month (or two?) I can't keep track any more. But the point is, I'm back and I hope to check in more regularly. I have a lot to share.

First I wanted to show you how I am secretly an artist. Not really, but the picture below is actually a sunflower that I painted. I like to think I did a good job! A group of us here in Charlotte went to painting studio where you bring in your own food and drink (wine and chex mix for us) and the instructor teaches you how to paint. I love it and already want to schedule my next trip. My masterpiece now resides on our mantle and I really like it there. Our living room needed more color and this gave us plenty.

S'mores Graham Krispie Treats

I wasn't quite sure what to call these. Technically they don't have Rice Krispie's in them so they shouldn't be Rice Krispie treats. On the flip side when you say Rice Kristpie treats, everyone kind of gets the idea and knows what to expect. Am I right? Well these are an awesome twist on that old favorite. Next time you get a hankering (yes that's a technical term) for something sweet and crunchy, try these!

S'mores Graham Krispie Treats
adapted from here

Ingredients
1 bag (10 oz) mini marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips (plus more for topping)
1 box (12 oz) Golden Grahams cereal
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Spray a 9x9 or 9x13 pan with cooking spray, set aside. In a large non-stick pot heat the marshmallows and butter over medium heat until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Remove from heat and fold in Golden Grahams until mixed evenly. Add chocolate chips and mix a bit more. Spread evenly into pan and top with remaining chocolate chips. Press firmly into pan and let cool. Slice into squares and enjoy!

Lazy 5 Ranch

Sometimes you just have to let go and enjoy life like a child. That's exactly what we did when we joined some friends of ours for their daughter's third birthday party at Lazy 5 Ranch. What is Lazy 5 Ranch you might ask? It's basically a glorified petting zoo. You not only pet the animals, you either drive your car or ride in a horse drawn wagon through this huge open area and you actually feed all the animals. Well, with a few exceptions... we weren't allowed to feed the zebra. Some animals (the emus and giraffes) you let eat straight from the bucket while others (the llamas and deer) you feed from your hand. Our guide told us how to feed each animal so there were no lost fingers.

Anyways, here is the birthday girl. You might remember Gwen from this trip we took back in April.

As part of the birthday crew we took the horse drawn wagon through the enclosure. It looked a lot like this one, but it wasn't as crowded. We had the perfect amount of people on board, meaning we had room to move around.

All of the animals knew the drill, when the cart came through there was food to be given out. They weren't shy (for the most part) and came right up to us demanding food. Here is one of the llamas who actually appears to be waiting patiently.

It took a little getting used to feeding the animals. Some were more aggressive than other. And like I said some ate from your hand as oppose from the bucket. Here is Joe warming up to a llama. After the first round of feeding or so we got comfortable and it was easy-peasy.

The giraffes were my favorite. Although most animals were free roaming, the giraffes and a few others had their own enclosures. The wagon rode right up next to the fence and stopped for a while. We were instructed to just hold the buckets up and let the giraffes have at it. We even gave their heads a little pet while they ate. It was so cool to be so close to these huge, yet gentle creatures.

You can probably tell we had perfect weather for an outing like this. We were a bit nervous because on our drive to the ranch it was sprinkling. Luckily the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was perfect!

The zebras came right up to the wagon too, but like I said, there was no feeding these guys. I guess they can be very aggressive when it comes to food. Plus they have teeth on top and bottom. The llamas and other animals that we were instructed to feed from our hands don't. I think they only have teeth on the bottom which means they can't really bite you or anything while feeding. The zebras were still beautiful to see up close.

Oh and the bison. They were fun to feed. As you can see they were trained well... all they had to do is open their mouth and stick out their tongue. Then we poured food right in. It was easy!

Here's a better shot. I think this guy is actually a water buffalo. There were so many different types of animals at the ranch and lots that I didn't get a picture of. It was hard feeding them while snapping pictures and trying not to get my phone too dirty. Other animals included many types of deer (which most of the females were pregnant and we saw a few babies), emus, pot belly pigs, ducks, rhinoceros (which was not outside of his covered area that day, bummer) and probably more that I'm forgetting.

We had a lot of fun being a kid again. Thanks to our friends for inviting us!

White Wine Spritzer

Another Pinterest idea!! This was a simple drink to whip up and is perfect for summer. Although you can hardly call it a recipe, I got it from this blog. Joe and I enjoyed these on a weekend when the temps went up and we needed to cool down. One change I would make next time is less raspberries. I didn't add the whole bag into the pitcher, but we made sure a few made it into our glasses and I didn't care for that. Oh well, live and learn!

White Wine Spritzer

recipe from here

Ingredients

One bottle Moscato wine (chilled)

Equal part Sprite Zero (chilled)

Frozen Rasperries (to your liking)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and service chilled.