It's hard to believe that it is actually applesauce making season again but it is! Last weekend we put up a bunch of jars and I thought I'd share with you our process. I'm sure there are as many applesauce recipes as there are people who make it, but if you haven't tried making your own applesauce before, you really should try.
I always find my sister’s artwork all over the house. I can never get rid of it! I have saved every single picture she has drawn and note she has written. There is even a poster size one that I have rolled up in my closet. She has always been a little artist. When she was a baby she began drawing faces – I know our mom has them saved somewhere, I will have to ask here where they are so I can post them. Here is the last picture she drew for me out of boredom I think. She calls me “Sissy” so every picture has “To: Sissy” on it… Adorable….. 
First we have a man getting attacked by a huge bird. Then there is man on a plane wing with a gun and some people jumping out of the plane. Then there is a guy watering the grass as it starts raining on him. And a big pretty flower in the middle of it all. I like how everyone has pointy triangle hats.
Here is an easy and classic snack that I remember eating as a kid.
Ingredients:
Oreos, gummy worms, chocolate pudding, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, clear plastic cups or big clear bowl
Directions:
Put several Oreos in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix the crushed Oreos with the chocolate pudding and gummy worms and use as bottom layer. Next put a layer of whipped cream or the vanilla ice cream. Make another layer of the Oreos/pudding/gummy worms, then a last layer of the whipped cream/ice cream. Enjoy eating worms and dirt!
Check out this cool book I found on Think Geek’s website. Their description is below:
Let’s face it: girls are sneaky. And they have one advantage to being sneaky over boys – they are girls. Girls out there, you know what we mean: your brains are just smarter or something. We want to help ramp up your sneakiness quotient even more, and this book is it. The Sneaky Book for Girls provides complete how-to instructions and diagrams for sneaky gadgets, survival skills, communication codes, science projects, as well as having profiles of more than a dozen famous women. It also explores recycling and conservation techniques.
But that, of course, is not all. In these pages you’ll learn how to:
And it’s the “loads more” that will really get your mischief motor running. Girls, think of this book as a guide to outsmart your enemies (i.e. adults)…or if you are a parent reading this, think of it as a book to outsmart your enemies (i.e. your kids). Either way, just be safe and be sneaky. And don’t blame us if you get caught.
I thought this was completely cute. A large milk chocolate dinosaur egg with miniature chocolate dinosaurs inside. You may get them from dinosaurfarm.com but they are currently out of stock. There are other online stores that sell them for around $20 each. Kind of expensive but still really cute and could make a fun gift (but be careful it doesn’t melt)… 
Salju Desserts is another one of those new shaved snow places popping up in the San Gabriel Valley. I like it better than Fluff Ice because of the atmosphere, it's much more friendly and personal if that makes sense. When you're in Fluff Ice you feel like you're in a store, but not at Salju. At Salju they bring your order out to your table, they don't do that at Fluff Ice.
She used to be scared of everything… now she is seeking scary things. My sister has this obsession with ghosts and haunted houses now. As we are driving back from her 4-H rifle tournament she is staring out the window looking for haunted-looking houses as we go through small Texas towns on the long way home. As we pass by ANY creepy looking older home she yells to my mom, “slow down slow down! I want to take a picture!”. My mom slams on her brakes trying to slow down for her to take a picture as people behind us get mad… and of course my sister was never able to get a picture that would come out since we were moving. We end up stopping at an old antique store which used to be a hotel. We go through the downstairs, upstairs, and basement. I have to say that it was a pretty creepy place because the rooms upstairs were all completely furnished with super old furniture and it had that old smell to it. In the basement there were random stairs leading towards nothing and it was blocked off. It was to say the least, a creepy place… We took pictures throughout every single room, my sister LOVED it… this was her second visit there and since then she has gone back once more. There are haunted stories about that place that the store owner has told us about. She said that sometimes the door gets unlocked and opened when she is not there.
Here is a picture Amylia took of a mirror at the store.
The new leaders in this world are gradually getting younger and younger! We have people like the founder of Facebook who is very young and then we have the creators of Blamtastic lip balm who are only 10 and 13 year old sisters! Their story is very unique. They were crazy about lip balm, as a lot of people are and they decided to create a basic lip balm that didn’t include a bunch of weird ingredients they had never heard of. They made this lip balm in their own house until they came up with the perfect recipe. The name came to be when one of the sisters accidentally said “blam” instead of “balm”. The mother said “hey! that’s a great name for your lip balm!” and the name stuck… The sisters now get to travel everywhere and have an unlimited, free supply of their own lip balm that was created exactly how they wanted.
There are lots of ways we can save energy and nature. Here are a few I have come across for kids to be involved.
Ask your parents for green or recycled school supplies - these products come from other material that other kids probably recycled. This material is then used to create new products so it is recycled rather then creating something from scratch. It takes energy and gas to create new products so it is better to use things that are recycled. You will see why at the end of this post.
Throw EMPTY cans and paper into a recycle bin instead of a regular trash can – make sure that there is no food or liquid left in whatever you are recycling. Food/liquid can contaminate recycled stuff and when it goes to the recycle plant it won’t be any good! Just be sure to FINISH the drink before throwing it into that blue can.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth – Americans waste lots and lots of water because we are so used to it always being there for us. Did you know in some countries they have no water from faucets? We must conserve our water since we have to share it with millions of other people.
Start a garden at home – growing your own fruits and vegetables is not only fun but healthier for you.
Turn off the lights or TV when you leave a room – yes, not all adults do this either but it is a really good habit. If you can’t remember to turn off the lights put a little sticker or a sign next to the light switch to remind you that the lights go off!
Why be green? It reduces the earth’s pollution. It’s part of a big word called “sustainability”. This means, sustaining or keeping the earth in good health for future kids and their future kids too.
