Unfortunately, some parties initially had trouble smiling for the camera . . .
. . . so I told Joy that if we did a smiley picture . . .
. . . we could do a silly one after it.
. . . the view ahead of me looks like this . . .
. . . and the view behind me looks like this. It's not that Daniel can't keep up; he just usually prefers to take things a little slower. I guess Joy was the same way at his age.
The kids immediately set to work climbing and sliding.
Joy and I even played a game of Tic Tac Toe.
The biggest attraction, though, was the trains that came by every few minutes. Whenever the kids heard one pull into the station, they would drop whatever they were doing to go peer through the fence and watch the train disappear into a tunnel. Who'd have thought that a train would be more captivating than a playground?
Some of her works are fairly easy to interpret (even if her expression isn't), . . .
. . . while others are more abstract. I asked Joy what she was painting here, and she replied that it was just something fun, with spikes.
Joy also likes to print random coloring pages off the internet (it's never too early to get ready for Halloween!), . . .
. . . and today she brought this home from Primary. At first I thought they had discussed King Triton in Sunday school, but Joy informed me that it was, in fact, the prophet Abinadi (with a crown and a really impressive tan).
I bought a few of their products to try in my own kitchen, using their Crazy Good Chili recipe. I confess I tinkered with it a little bit (I added beans, and since I didn't have the freeze-dried corn or onions I used frozen and dehydrated, respectively), but otherwise the ingredients and seasonings were pretty consistent with the recipe.
The result was very tasty. The meat looked a little odd (like uniform-sized pellets), but the flavor and texture were great, and I definitely plan to try more of their products. Assuming they are as good as the things we tried tonight, I'll buy more to slowly add variety to our food storage. I'm grateful to have found sources of meat, fruit, and veggies that actually taste good, because most canned meats and produce aren't that great, and I probably won't have access to cows, chickens, or a farmer's market in an emergency.
On a different note, I tried making my usual chocolate chip cookie recipe in the solar oven a couple days ago.
The kids agreed the result was even better than the muffins.
Literature Appreciation
A Solitaire Variation of Trouble
Bouncing on the Lifeboats
Resting up for Tomorrow
My cookie sheets don't fit inside the oven, but the "no fail" solar cookie recipe I was trying said I could use mini muffin tins instead. The choice turned out to be fortuitous, because when I sampled the finished "cookies" their taste and texture was surprisingly muffin-like. I've since compared the recipe to several others, and found that it's a near perfect match for an oatmeal muffin recipe in one of my cookbooks. Weird.
Fortunately, the mix-up didn't keep the kids from gobbling several muffins apiece.
Hmmm . . . I think it needs a little more salt next time, Mama.
Joy loved watching the trains go by . . .
. . . and Daniel could have sat for hours watching the stoplights change.
Joy and I also worked on our soccer skillz . . .
. . . and checked out some temporary sidewalk art someone put up for our cultural edification. If you can spot Joy in this picture, you get a virtual cookie.
Aw . . . aren't they cute?
Joy was excited to be there with the bride . . .
. . . and Papa . . .
. . . and the big coral tree . . .
. . . and the Savior. Because, after all, He's the whole reason eternal families are possible.
. . . and this morning the kids and I took the train out to join them . . .
. . . for the traditional pre-wedding dinner with our extended family and Sean's. As always, Aunt Lisa did an amazing job with the food and decor, and it was fun to touch base with family members who had come from out of state.
After dinner Joy palled around with Cousin Sophie (where could she be hiding???) . . .
. . . and played tic-tac-toe with Aunt Heather . . .
. . . while The Butler opened the door for everyone as they came and went. He also consumed most of the potato chips at the appetizer table while Joy nibbled the lettuce garnish.
She is now tall enough to walk along the shallowest part of the pool and keep her head above water, . . .
. . . but most of the time she still prefers to use a pool ring . . .
. . . then wrap up in a cozy towel afterward.
9:00am - Preheat oven while mixing up chili (I browned and seasoned the beef last night).
9:20am - Cover the chili and put it in the oven, which has heated to 225 degrees in just twenty minutes.
12:00pm - Turn oven to face sun again.
4:15pm - Remove cornbread and discover that it looks spongy, but it feels done. Take it inside to cool.
The cornbread was delicious.
