The Wizard of Oz Exhibit in Kansas--Fitting!

A few Saturdays ago our family went to down town Kansas to visit the Wizard of Oz Exhibit. The kids loved following the yellow brick road, seeing the witch melt, and sliding on the slides. It was really cute.I believe that these are the actual shoes worn in the movie--I could be wrong but I could be right and how cool would that be!

"We represent the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild......We wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land"!

"Somewhere over the rainbow..... "

After the exhibit we went to the fudge shop and watched it being made. This guy could seriously throw the fudge.

A perfect ending to watching the fudge being made was sampling it afterward. It was mighty tasty!

The afternoon wouldn't be complete without a lunch at Fritzes. You order your food from a telephone at your booth and then a train delivers it to you. The kids love it but I think it is just about the worst food you could possibly eat (I would put school lunch way above this place) but it is an experience to be had---once.

It was a happy Saturday had by all!

Down and Derby

A few weeks ago Cardon got to participate in his first Cub Scout Derby. He absolutely wanted to build his car by himself. BJ cut the block of wood like he wanted and then Cardon did the rest. He did a great job and I was really proud of him since usually it's a race for which dad can build the fastest car. When we got there BJ helped Cardon add coins to it so that it would the right weight and then he entered his car. He was totally excited!

All of the boys had to line up their cars and then they were ready to race.

Here is our "Cheering Section". Next year we decided that we would make cheering signs to show our support.

He put his car on the track and then.............

watched it race------and Lose.....twice. He was out. I'm not going to pretend that he wasn't disappointed but he did win a certificate for building his car all by himself and he was proud of that. I wondered how it would affect him---if it would make him feel bad about himself. My concerns were short lived when we got in the car and the ENTIRE way home he explained how he was going to build his car differently next year. I'm grateful for that experience for Cardon. We always want our kids to succeed but it's not always going to happen in life and they need to learn how to pick themselves back up, dust themselves off , learn from their mistakes, and then get back to work.

What a fun night! Way to go cub scouts!

BJ's Belated Birthday!!!

BJ's birthday is actually the day before Amelia's but I just didn't have the time to play catch up. So, BJ wanted lasagna (his mom's special recipe), bread sticks and yummy banana cream cheesecake for dessert. It is so easy to make and not at all bad for you like a normal cheesecake. I will post the recipe at the end. He turned 33 and all 33 candles were lit and ready to blow out. He had a theme birthday----Movie Night!!! So the kids gave him movies, popcorn, licorice, Mt. Dew and 3 new movies (Big, Back to the Future and I can't remember the other one).

Happy Be-lated Birthday BJ---We Love You Lot's and Lot's!!!


Banana Cream Supreme

16 (2 1/2) graham cracker squares (crushed)

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1 container (12 ounces) light frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup light sour cream

1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding (I use cheesecake instant pudding but you can use banana flavored also---whatever you like)

3 medium bananas

2 TB. grated pecans

raspberries and mint leaves (optional)

Combine crushed graham crackers, butter and sugar and spread on the bottom of a sprayed Spring form pan. Combine whipped topping and sour cream until well combined. Add the instant pudding. Put half of the filling on top of the graham cracker crust. Slice bananas and arrange over the filling. Add the rest of the filling on top of the bananas. Grate pecans over top and garnish with raspberries and mint leaves. Keep in the fridge. To serve, remove the collar from the Spring form pan and cut into wedges. Enjoy!!!

Amelia Bedelia turns 4!!!

Amelia started out her birthday party day with a bang! She fell and split her chin trying to climb up the counter to get a drink of water. Luckily we have a good friend who happens to be a physician who fixed her right up so that we didn't have to stand in an ER all morning. Whew! Thanks, Jeff!!! Her friend Emma-Kate made a great assistant to her dad.

After she was all fixed up we made the cake. The birthday girl always gets to lick the beaters clean.

After the cake was finished it was time to PARTY! We had 15 guests at My Gym and the kids had a blast. They played all sorts of games, blew bubbles, climbed, jumped, and had a great time.

Our babysitter Courtney even came to play with Amelia. We love you Courtney!!!

Then it was time for Pizza.

During the pizza Amelia was whisked off to get ready for her "Birthday debut". In she came riding on a snow sled with a pink feather boa around her neck. Everyone cheered for the birthday girl! She was in heaven!!!

Next it was time to blow out the candles. After a few attempts the candles were out--no fire extinguisher necessary.

What a fun party! Thanks everyone for coming!

Today is Amelia's actual birthday. She had pre-school today and so I was able to come in and bring cupcakes, read a story and play in the gym until school let out. She loved her "Pinkalicious" cupcakes.

Her pre-school class sang her the birthday cake song and Amelia was beaming. What a fun day!

Happy Birthday Milly---WE Love You!!!