Slices of Life

 *Originally published May 7, 2013 when the boys were 9, 7, & 5 We packed lunches and got ready to head out for a fun day at the zoo with the boys' cousins, aunt, and grandmother.  We arrived at the zoo and spent 4 hours walking around looking at animals. They had a ball. We saw a few animals that we hadn't been able to see on our last few visits and they had so much fun playing with their cousins. Here are a few highlights from our day:  a snapping turtle     learning about feathers and how birds "seal" them  Playing with the water station  colors, wheels and gears are so fun  wind chimes  making forts with scarves the boys played with the ropes and hooks  the elephants were outside  kangaroos         the giant anteater enjoying our Del's lemonade and sharing with the dog  Red panda's are still a huge hit  All the animals w...

Thank you so much for all your well wishes last week. Moving Alec home was a breeze! I think my mother in law and I were in Providence with him for all of 45 minutes before we had both cars loaded up. My brother had gotten the keys to his new place the day before and moved out of Alec's room that very morning so I had his room all cleaned and ready for him when we arrived home. He spent the rest of the day unpacking what needed unpacking, doing laundry, and settling in.    We had another very successful party last week and I think you all for participating!        Most Popular Posts from Last Week:   NYC for a Night & Moving Adventures by Our Life in a Click    Some Others that Caught My Eye:    Rainbow Jell-O Poke Cake (Gluten Free) by Hunny I'm home   Tuesday Tidbits #370 April Flies By by Two Trails One Road   Mother's Day Cactus Craft (Free Printable) by Simple Everyday Mom   This party will remain open unti...

Ian always requests some combination of peanut butter/chocolate for his birthday cake and this year he added that he wanted some Heath in there too. We settled on a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and I added a layer of Heath bits in between the layers as well on top of the cake then finished the decorations off with some Reese's minis.    It was a huge hit!  I used my standard/favorite chocolate cake recipe:   For the Cake: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 3 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk (We used 1 cup of milk with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar mixed together) 1 cup warm water 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp. vanilla extract.   For the Frosting: 2 sticks butter, at room temperature 1 cup  creamy conventional peanut butter  (all natural peanut butter gives it a weird texture and taste) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons milk (whatever kind you prefer...

 We had a really lovely April and the month just flew by so quickly. Our weather is still all over the place but I still get out and enjoy the sunshine whenever I can.   1.  So thankful I finished my latest painting and it turned out so well.  Hiking with Evan, lots of blog work, Ian started our latest patio project and I finished my latest painting. 10,284 steps.  I changed after hiking Ian started the patio for our generator 2.  So thankful for a hot shower after working outside.  Gym, school with Evan, haircut, then Evan, Ian, and I spent the afternoon working on the patio; it was freezing after being in the 70's yesterday it didn't even reach 40 today! 5,833 steps. I never even changed out of my gym clothes  3. So thankful the backache I went to bed with lessened a lot by morning.  Gym, laundry made granola, granola bars, a large salad, then spent my afternoon reading, blogging, and ended my night at the grocery store. 10,025 steps. ...