Sugar cookies for my sugar cookie

Its my daughter's first day of Grade 1 tomorrow *sniff*. Off we go into another school year but not just any old school year, no this is the year where they go all day five days a week! My son is going to die of boredom, I can feel it already.

I asked my girl what kind of cookies she wanted in her lunch and she requested sugar cookies in the shape of hearts and stars with star sprinkles. Thank goodness I have all of those things otherwise I probably would have heard about it when she got home.

I know that sugar cookies are traditionally a Christmas cookie but we like to enjoy them all year round. So sugar cookies it is for my little sugar cookie on her first day of school.

Cream 1 cup butter with 1 cup sugar until smooth.

Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla and beat until combined.

Add 3 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp baking soda and mix until a soft dough forms.

Divide in half and wrap each half in saran wrap before placing in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove 1 half of dough and roll out onto lightly floured board. Cut out shapes and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Brotherly love

Now that we are back from the Island we only have two kittens. We took all five with us and got rid of three keeping two for 'mousers.' My daughter had named the two kittens Lily and Puss in Boots. My dear friend K was foster mom to the litter while we were on the island and she called me up one day saying something to the effect of "um, you need to think of a new name for Lily because she is a he." 'Her' name is now Risky.

These two boys are inseparable. They play like crazy and then curl up together.

Dexter sharing his bed with Puss and not looking like he is particularly pleased with it.
Risky and Puss

Uncle

This is my 'little' brother; little in age, not in stature as he stands at least a head taller than me I'd guess. My kids call him 'Uncle' and he's always good for fun. I didn't take many photos while we were on our vacation but I got a few of my brother's visit.

I suggested he try to teach my daughter how to ride her bike. I am beginning to think that riding a bike is a dying art because she has no desire to master it.

They ended up doing this instead.

And this. Who wants to ride a bike when you can ride a quad?

This was the year that my son decided to both get on the tractor with Grampa and ride the quad with Uncle. It was a pretty big step!

I call my brother Uncle more than I use his actual name to the point where I thought I got his name wrong when I said it out loud in conversation. Thanks for the great visit Uncle!

Remember the squirrel?

He got cocky...

Vacationing

We just returned from our yearly trip out to Vancouver Island and Quadra Island B.C. yesterday. To say that I am happy to be home is a bit of an understatement. While I was happy to visit family and friends, the drama from this trip is tipping the scale towards staying home next year.

When planning a vacation you always have some sort of vision as to what you want to see and do.

This is something like how my vision of the perfect holiday went:

~ Lots of visiting with family and friends
~ Family and friends happy to see us
~ A trip to Tofino
~ A trip to Rebecca Spit
~ A trip to the Village Bay Lakes
~ Not hearing from the Creature sitters back home being a good thing

The reality of the 'perfect' holiday:

~ Lots of visiting with my family and friends!!! Good thing!!
~ Not much effort on other family members part to see us. Disappointing thing!
~ No trip to Tofino
~ No trip to Rebecca Spit
~ No trip to Village Bay Lakes
~ Not hearing from the Creature Sitters back home was actually a bad thing
~ My daughter coming down with the flu on the trip home
~ Bathing vomit off the dog in a ditch on the side of the highway
~ My mom forking out $200 to stay in a hotel due to vomiting child
~ Truck stinking like vomit all the way home
~ A complaining son the whole way
~ Finding out that my dog killed eight chickens while I was gone
~ Finding out that one of the Creature Sitters thought I was underfeeding my animals
~ Due to previous fact, I guess I spent $75 on feed in 10 days(this much usually lasts 3 weeks)


Next year we're going to have a Staycation instead of a Vacation, I think!

Coyote Ugly

This fellow was running passed my fence this morning. My young chickens often frequent this area of the yard. Thankfully they had the common sense to stay up at the house otherwise this guy would have had himself some lunch!

Whose children are these?

"Can I have more chicken, please?"

"Can I have more asparagus, please?"

These words are so seldom heard in my house at dinner that I think someone has replaced my kids with ones that like to eat my meals. Hmm, I might have to check them over later for any alien markings. :)

The little garden that could

I have been neglecting my garden... badly! I really truly lost all interest and motivation for the summer when that murderous hail storm ripped through here last month leaving nothing but stalks and shredded leaves in its wake.

I decided I had better get out there and do some weeding before I caused myself more grief by leaving them to seed themselves and give birth to little weed babies all over the place. Thanks to all the rain we've had this summer, my garden is actually making a come back! Plants are amazing! Now that the vast majority of nutrient suckers are out of there I can actually see my veggies again!

As you can see, there is still much weeding that needs to be done but now that I can actually see my plants, maybe I'll be more motivated to get out there and keep it that way!

Canola

When my husband, daughter and I moved to Alberta in 2006 I was miserable. After the initial excitement of being in our own home wore off I realized how much I hated the Prairies. I was a West Coast girl through and through. That July I saw Canola bloom for the first time in my adult life. There was something about the bright yellow fields, blue sky and fair weather cumulus clouds stretching as far as the eye could see that won me over. I fell in love with Alberta. I still look forward to the Canola blooming. It is one of the most beautiful sights there is. So sunny and yellow and happy.

I need sunny and yellow and happy today. My husband is on his way to the adventure of a lifetime on the other side of the world. He won't be home until the end of September. So I'm a little sad. At least I have sunshine and canola today. I don't think they get much of either in Nanbazhen.

The boy can sleep

It's 9:47 am...

he's still sleeping.

I think that I might have a problem when he starts school in a couple of years.

Marshmallow Roast

The kids wanted to have a marshmallow roast this evening so my husband started a little fire(we're still allowed those since we've had so much rain this summer!) and sharpened some sticks and the kids flew at it. There's something about fires and sharpened sticks and flaming marshmallows and kids that makes me cringe. How about you?

"Is it done yet, Momma?"

Mmmm... sticky gooey marshmallow hands + a grass fight = this!

Dexter needed a little taste too

Anyone for roast chicken?

I don't wanna...

We took both Indi and Zama to the Dam the other night for a swim. Indi loves chasing sticks into the water but this was the first time Zama had been swimming and she didn't really know what to think. She went in a couple times but got in up to her chest and it was like she realized what she had done and said, "yuck! What is this?!" before galloping back out of the water again.

When we got home Indi refused to get out of her kennel in the back of the truck. I think she misses being the 'family dog.' We used to take her more places when it was just her and Onyx- Red Deer to Three Mile Bend; an awesome off leash park, to the island when we went. This will be the first year I'm not taking Indi to the island with me. It makes me a little sad.


"I don't wanna get out of the truck!"

History repeats itself

What happens when you take a calf away from its mother and take it to a new home? Hmmmm I think we've experienced this before!

I woke up at 7:00 this morning to a calf bawling and it sounded much too close to my bedroom than it should have. Yup, you guessed it! Sir Loin decided at daybreak he would blow this Popsicle stand.

He broke right through two rails on the enclosure that had held Chocolate and Vanilla for months. Then he broke through another rail to get out of the fence completely before running across the yard and in the barbed wire and down to the bottom field. Luckily, that's where the heifers are as well as the horses so he was in good company.

Who would have thought that Chocolate and Vanilla would help us herd him back up to the house? Well they did. And you know what they were saying the whole way? "Go back to yer momma, ya big momma's boy!"

Thank goodness for halter training!

Look at the big baby!

Our baby bull arrived today! And when I say baby, I mean BABY! He's so little! He's only six months old but he's halter trained which is going to make my life a lot easier!

We've decided to call him Sir Loin. He needed a regal name but also something food related so we don't forget what he's here for! He hasn't met his ladies yet but when he does, I hope they don't laugh at him and call him a big momma's boy or something!