You too can let your three kids ages 6, 3 and 1 make ice cream totally by themselves.....

See- and then they'll eat it all too- and not share a bit with you!

Step #1: Gather all your ingredients.

*1 cup cream (or cold milk, or cold coconut milk)

*1 teaspoon vanilla (omit this if using coconut milk)

*2 teaspoons sugar

*4 cups ice (not in the picture)

*4 tablespoons rock salt (ice cream salt)

*2 ziploc bags- use the freezer kind so they don't get a hole in 'em (either both gallon sized or one gallon sized and one quart sized)

Step 2: In the first bag (quart sized if you are using that size) dump in the cream/milk, sugar, vanilla. Close that bag on up (squeeze out most, but not all, of the air).
Step 3: Fill the bigger bag with the ice and the rock salt. Kinda mix it all around in there. Now put the bag with the ingredients in there and close up the ice bag.
Step 4: Shake it.
Step 5: Give it to your little brother to shake it (and throw it on the sidewalk).

Step #6: When you feel the bag of cream and stuff get hard you've got ice cream!! Take the ice cream bag out of the ice/salt and RINSE IT OFF!!! Otherwise you'll have salty ice cream and if you like salty ice cream- ewwwwwww! Enjoy! You can also throw other things in there with the cream mixture (chocolate chips, melted peanut butter, berries, etc)

MAAAAAAA, ME STUCK!

That's what I heard Jack yelling from the kitchen. And yes, I made hime stay in there while I ran to get my camera. :) As you can see he wasn't too happy!

Only because it gets me an additional entry....

here is a link that will let you enter to win the 'Essential Babywearing Stash'. And since most of you know how important I think babywearing is here goes:

http://www.alongfortheride.biz/contest-s/49.htm

Our 1st Grade Curriculum

This is our plan so far for next year:

History: The Story of the World: Ancient Times and the related Activity Book

Science: R.E.A.L. science along with a lot of mommy-made lessons (Morgan's favorite subject)

Math: Saxon 2 and possibly Saxon 3 depending on how fast we move through it

Vocab: Wordly Wise 3000 We're a few lessons away from finishing Grade 1 and then we'll start Grade 2

Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting Finishing up book B and then working on the Transition book

Spanish: Power-Glide for Children and lots of other supplemental materials

Social Studies: We will be using these three books a lot: Material World , Women in the Material World, and Hungry Planet . No house should be without these books. Josh said he learned more in an hour of looking at these books about the people around the world than he did in his entire K-12 education.

We'll also work on many homemaking-type skills we started last year (cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc) and we'll do some art. Morgan will take piano lesson 1x/week and do Brownie Girl Scouts.

Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it! :)

Another pool pic and Jack on the Bobcat thingie....

A week or so ago Josh took Jack for a ride on my dad's bobcat thing- Jack loved it and wouldn't get off!

At the pool.....

Outside

Wasn't as hot today as it's been so we spent the morning outside.

Sorry her face is chopped off- she kept moving when she smiled- but her smile was too cute not to share!

And one of her sweet cheeks
Our little climber- he really has no fear. Last week he was popping wheelies on his little motorized four wheeler and flipped it backwards- then he got back up, put the four wheeler back on all four wheels and rode off
And one of Raelyn (not the best picture) but I couldn't put everyone else on here and not her!
And Morgan- like the feather pencil?? I didn't buy her ink to dip her goose feather in so she taped it to a pencil instead. Maybe we'll work on Calligraphy this fall.

Gracie

Sister Adoration

Raelyn adores Morgan

And a ring picture because Morgan wanted to show Meggie her ring

Piano Recital

Yes,I know it's blurry, but I didn't get a non-blurry one. So suck it up and get over it. :)

All the piano students with their teacher

Outside time...

My little golfer....he finds Josh's golf gloves and puts them on just to wear around (and yes, that's a pink golf club- it's Morgan's)

And a picture just for fun!

Les chats

One of my sweet Fiona. She looks pretty ticked here though.

And of the baby cat (Garfield). I'm supposed to be getting rid of him (per Josh) but I'm finding I've become quite attached. Never realized I was such an animal person. Anyone want him?

Bridging to Brownies

Today Morgan's Daisy troop had their 'Bridging' Ceremony to Brownies. Morgan and two other friends did the intro for everyone.

Josh and Jack chillin:
Morgan waiting on one side of the bridge to 'cross-over':
And while she is crossing:

BTW- you can see Morgan's shiner as she crosses the bridge. Last Sunday she ran and tripped in the hallway- falling against the wooden door casing- ending up with a black eye and bruise going down the side of her head.

We're baaaaaaack!

I was planning on heading to VA beach for an LDS Homeschool Conference by myself. After some discussion Josh and I decided that he would come with me and we'd make it a little more of a trip. We went from Wednesday until Saturday and mom watched the other three kiddos (Gracie went with us!)!

Here is the view from our room:

We left early on Wednesday and took our time driving up there. We checked into the hotel and then went out to an (expensive!) seafood buffet. I'm not a big seafood eater so I tried crab legs for my first (!!!) time. Not a big fan- they're too much work for what you get. I'll stick to my crab cakes. Thursday was the first day of the conference. Josh golfed in the morning at a golf course called Hell's Point and I attended the conference. (www.ldsehe.org) Friday we both attended the conference and then went out for a nice dinner at Ruth Chris steakhouse (yum!) Saturday we headed home and had a fine trip home except for the LONNNNNNNNG delay on I-85. Stand still traffic. Ick! All in all we had a wonderful time!

Gracie's first look at the ocean:

Mommy and Gracie:

Josh and Gracen:

I was pretty bored on the drive: