We Took Our Circus To The Circus

Last Saturday we decided to go to the Shrine circus. Instead of being held at the local arena like usual, this one was under an old-fashioned big top....at....the mall. Believe me when I say I had serious reservations about this whole experience. First of all, I don't really like circuses because I feel sorry for the animals. Then when you figure in a portable tent, wild animals in very close proximity, and less than favorable weather......it's a recipe for possible disaster.

As I usually do, I took one for the team and Bill woke early from his after work sleep so we could hit the afternoon performance. We bought tickets and rushed in 30 minutes prior to the start so we wouldn't have to sit on the metal bleachers. We were careful to sit in the middle so as not to be trampled by something. I also made sure we were near an "emergency exit." Here's a view of the VERY close quarters. It was actually worse than I imagined.
























There were people who paid a bit extra to sit in the reserved seats. Please note how close they were. I'm not exaggerating when I say that they wouldn't have had to reach to touch any of the acts in the ring. [cringe] It was at that precise moment that I started to think about creeping up to the metal bleacher section.
























Hammie decided he wanted to ride an elephant, so Bill took him down. Ree and I sat and took pictures. They're pretty blurry because the seats we were sitting on were on metal risers and people were walking, causing my camera to wiggle.




















Then it started. Check out how close these horses are to the edge. They were seriously racing fast around that small ring. Oh and that fairy lady....came out in the beginning with a unicorn! I love unicorns. The pics I tried to take of the uni turned out too blurry.



















There were some okay acts and the kids were somewhat entertained, but after the first half lasted 90 minutes, we bailed at intermission. Let's just say nobody was busted up about leaving early. The best part of the whole adventure was supporting the Shriners. They do wonderful, life-changing things for so many children and it breaks my heart to hear they may have to close some hospitals.

Sweetness Is.........

A little boy who says to you on a Friday night "look Mama, I picked these for you at school and put them in my pocket." Then, "wait there's more" as he dug deeper into his pocket.

Another Milestone

The little ones can finally blow their own bubbles! I can't tell you how happy I am about this development. If I had a quarter for every time they have begged me to blow bubbles for them during the warm months, I'd be a rich woman!

Oven Fries

I made some pretty good oven fries last night. Everybody liked them, which is quite a feat. I didn't take a picture, but will next time. I froze some to bake later. I believe using fresh garlic is the key to this recipe. I used to use the jarred stuff, but now that I've started using fresh.....I'll never go back.

4 baking potatoes
1 large or 2 small cloves FRESH garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp. italian seasoning
2 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Cover 2 cookie sheets with foil and spray with Pam. Peel the potatoes (or don't), cut in half lengthwise and slice into equal sized wedges. Put them all in a Ziploc and add rest of the ingredients. Seal the Ziploc and rub/toss to coat. Spread the wedges out evenly in one layer. Bake for 35-45 minutes turning twice so that they brown evenly.

This recipe would serve 8 people. I froze some to bake at a later date.

Stringing Beads

As part of the kindergarten preparation classes I've attended we received some stringing beads. They're helpful to teach kids patterning, which is a key skill they must demonstrate in kindergarten. Anyway, it was kinda yucky outside last Sunday so I brought them out and the kids had fun playing with them. Oh and yep, Ree's shirt was on backwards.

Spring Has Sprung!

We were able to get outside to do some spring clean-up last week. Hammie really enjoys helping Daddy.

Ree made her first visit to see the Mary statue. Ever since she was 2 she has had a real fascination with any statue of Mary.

Easter At The Steppers

We went to the Stepper's for Easter dinner. As always, the food was awesome and the kids had a blast playing with their many cousins. I believe there were 14 under the age of 10! Easter is brave to host so many of us at her house. I should've taken more pictures, but here are a few.

Easter Morning

Peep!

Happy Easter tomorrow! Here is my latest cake pop creation. I borrowed the idea from Bakerella and added my own touch with the basket and tissue "grass." We had these for dessert at Chris and Lisa's house.

Easter Lillies

I made my Mom a little arrangement with all the grandkids' handprints.

Easter Saturday

We had an early Easter celebration at Chris and Lisa's today. It was fun and dinner was VERY good!

Fun Art

I found an artist on Etsy (I apologize in advance if you become addicted) that sells prints of her original art. If you're interested, go to www.Etsy.com and search by seller for Dazeychic. Her prints are very inexpensive, but I wanted so many that it was too hard to choose one. Or two. I decided to order post cards and frame them instead. I found frames at Walmart for 3 bucks each, so this whole grouping only cost me $30.00! I will take pictures of them on the wall, but I couldn't wait to share.

Baking Decor Drawer

Look what I did! I organized my baking stuff into an easily accessible drawer. It's a temporary thing until my new kitchen is here. Then they will have a new home.

Smores Muffins

These were pretty good! Let me know if you want the recipe......