Monday, July 23, 2018

Recent Baking Exploits

It is funny how baking requests seem to come in waves. Recently, we were asked to help with two different baking projects for the same day: a friend's 50th bday party and a baby shower for my sister's co-worker.

 My husband is a VERY talented man (duh!) and, once again, showed his skill working with fondant and a smattering of random pointy tools. I cannot even begin to understand how he so easily and beautifully takes a lump of fondant and makes a person... or an animal... or whatever else someone requests for the top of a cake. Bravo, hon!!


Jim (Elaine's husband) asked us to make the cake and gave us free license for the design. He sent over a couple of options that caught his eye (over the hill stuff) and so we used that as inspiration for Elaine's birthday cake. In our opinion, she is anything but over the hill, so made a happy, flower-covered hill. Two unknowns were big parts of the cake... would the fondant figure successfully stand (she did!) and would the cookie cutters cooperate when I cut out the fondant letters (they did!). WHEW!



My sister's co-worker is fairly new to the area and is expecting her first baby soon. To celebrate the baby's upcoming arrival, the people at work decided to throw her a baby shower. Once the planning process started, Suzanne asked if I'd make sugar cookies for the party. Umm... YES!! I love making cookies and for a baby? EVEN BETTER!




The desserts from both parties were met with rave reviews. So glad everyone enjoyed themselves and we had a hand in their eventual sugar rushes!

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Kid Time

First, I have to say that our summer has been pretty darned great. We've had a lovely balance of relaxation and fun activities all smooshed together. Today, was definitely one for the "fun activities" column. The kids and I got the chance to visit some school friends .... moreover, their animals!

The Clausons' goat had her baby 2 weeks ago, and if I'm being honest, I was dying to get a chance to meet the wee one. Tonight was THE night.... squeee!! After dinner, the kids (ha!! I should use their names to avoid confusion between our kids and the baby goat) and I hopped into the car and within a few minutes, found ourselves knocking on their door.

Annika and Conor got in lots of goat snuggles and quickly learned that goat babies are very willing to nibble/nurse on anything within reach, including chins, noses, elbows, hair, cheeks, arms, skirts, shorts, shirts, and legs (human and chicken). They also learned how to feed a goat a bottle of milk and how to milk a goat. (After we got home, Annika proclaimed, "Bucket list item checked off! Milk something.")

In addition to the goats, the kids (again, ours) got to spend quality time with the chickens. Ever since we were at the farm last summer, Conor has had a true fondness for chickens. He prides himself on his egg-finding skills and really seems to enjoy the company of chickens. Tonight was no exception. Annika practically stalked the baby goat (in a good way) while Conor (while a fan of the goats) seemed quite drawn to the chickens, too. A little taste of farm life is so good for the soul!!!

We are incredibly grateful for the chance to get in touch with our inner farmers and spend time with animals that are beyond the typical "family pet".

Annika learning how to bottle feed a goat

Goats tickle!!!


Annika would keep this goat forever if she could

Conor getting to know the baby goat

He agrees that goats are tickly

Annika milking the mama goat


Conor had the "up close and personal" approach to goat milking


Chicken snuggles
Babies will mouth anything....

Oh, and the Clausons have bee hives, too!


Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Family Camping Trip at Lake Easton

This past weekend,the Olson Four packed up our camping gear and headed out into the great beyond and the wild outdoors.... well, Lake Easton State Park. Not exactly very beyond (1.5 hr from Seattle) and "wild" might be a bit of an over statement... it is a state park full of other campers just like us. For the most part, we tend to be a pretty tame group.

THAT SAID... we really did have a lovely time on our trip. As a regularly plugged-in person who is also married to a man  who is usually plugged in and who is the mother of two youngsters who prefer to be plugged in whenever possible, it is always a treat to get away and UNPLUG!!!!

We headed out late morning on Friday, knowing it was only 1.5-ish hours to the park. Very intelligently, we had our summer nanny (hi, Miss Emma!) work that morning so she could keep the kids occupied while Eric and I got our pre-trip tasks done. Brilliance, I tell ya! The kids got to burn off some energy and we got to focus on getting all of our .... items (notice how I didn't use one of a few 4-letter words I could have selected) into bags, bins, and the car.

Prior to our trip, I treated us to a soft-sided chuck box.... best thing EVER!! No more digging to the bottom of a big blue plastic bin whenever we needed a specific item. Hatchet? Check! Matches? Check! Paper towels? Yup! Everything was organized and readily available.


Waiting for Eric to grab lunch
We made it to the park in good time and without incident (always good things!), and quickly made camp. Eric and the kids got the tent set up in record time, partially because Lake Easton State Park has level tent pads. It took the guesswork out of finding "the best spot" for the tent. We knew right where it needed to be and that no huge rocks were going to be in the way. Bonus! While the kids used the pump to blow up the air mattresses, Eric and I got everything else set up.... including my hammock.

Readers, I have to explain about the hammock. We have brought it on EVERY camping trip we have ever taken but have NEVER used it due to the trees in our site not being conducive to the hammock. Usually, they were spaced too far apart and/or had too many nearby bushes for the hammock to be used. We contemplated leaving it behind on this trip, but I said, "You know, if we leave it home, this will be the first time it'll be able to be used." How right I would have been!! This camp site (lot 67) offered a perfect hammock experience! Many a relaxing moment was spent in the hammock over the weekend; it was glorious and renewed my desire for a hammock stand at home so we can use it more often!

Ahhhh!!!!!
 After my "leave me alone for a little bit, I want to enjoy my wonderful hammock" time, we set about many of our other camping past times, including playing games galore. Of the course of the weekend, we played dice, checkers, tic-tac-toe, a version net-less badminton called Jazzminton, and more.

Conor and Eric mid-Greed game

Annika opted out of playing Greed once the hammock was vacated by yours truly

After we finished our game of Greed (yes, I won... but who is counting???), the kids and I went on a bit of a hike while Eric discovered how lovely the hammock is. Behind our camp site was a trail that followed a leg of the Yakima River. We found the trail head and made our way from one end to the other. It was a lovely day, easy hike/walk, and pretty view. Win, win, and win!









We finished up the day with more games, roller blading/scootering up and down the campsite rode, readying, and roasting hot dogs over the open fire, and snacking on s'mores. A perfect evening!

Perfection was rattled a bit at 3 AM when we discovered that just on the other side of the Yakima River from our camp were railroad tracks that freight trains ... LOOOOONG, LOUD freight trains travel on at 3 AM and 5:30 AM.  (We'd hoped this would be unique to our first night, but the 2nd night proved that nope, it was a regularly scheduled event. Oh joy...)

Needless to say, our 3 AM train wake-up call left us feeling a bit drowsy on Saturday (and down-right zombie-like by Sunday). We had a low-key (coffee-filled) morning and eventually out ourselves in gear enough to get dressed and pile into the van for our excursion into Cle Elum.

We had lunch at a tasty Mexican restaurant (Conor requested Indian food, which wasn't exactly an option in Clu Elum.... it was either generic "American" food or Mexican food) and were thrilled to see how easily the kids (especially Annika) conversed with the waitress in Spanish. (Thanks, CKS Spanish teachers! You are rock stars!) After lunch, we poked around some of the local shops and the Telephone Museum, which was a huge hit with the kids! They got to use rotary phones and call each other  while seeing the internal mechanism do their thing. They kids thought "old timey" switchboard was particularly fun and took turns being the switchboard operator.

Annika using the rotary phone to call Conor

Silly telephone boy

Conor talking with Annika (who was 3-4 feet away)
Eric inspecting the switchboard

Switchboard operator Annika at your service

We wrapped up our Cle Elum visit with a much-needed stop at the local Starbucks (please reference the previous train story if you don't understand that need) and a speedy "hi and goodbye" visit with another CKS family who has a 2nd home in Cle Elum. The kids were anxious to get to swimming in Lake Easton, so we did a quick "how has your summer been going?" catch up with our friends and then headed back to camp to change into swimsuits.

Knowing the lake was glacier fed, I opted to guard our blanket and towels while  Eric and the kids braved the insanely cold water. They get the Bravery Awards for their willingness to dunk themselves in the frigid water. I happily claim my "stayed warm and enjoyed reading a book" award.



Because the water was SO cold, the kids were more willing than they otherwise would have been to make it a short trip to the lake. They spent a bit of time in the water, laid in the warm sun to thaw a bit, and then we high-tailed it back to camp so we could build a fire and warm up a bit more. Eric took the opportunity to teach the kids how to safely make kindling (the family at the site next to us could have taken a few lessons from us on hatchet safely.... but  then again maybe not all families feel the need to tell their kids not to swing hatches around and come insanely close to lodging them in their little legs.... but I digress....)












With a crackling fire nearby and thawed children, we changed our focus to dinner and then on to the ranger's presentation on bats. We learned all about bat anatomy, species, metabolism. conservation, and behaviors. It was quite interesting and even included a rather cute bat puppet.

MMMMM! Burgers (Thanks, Crowd Cow)
 Sunday morning was another sleepy one thanks to the middle-of-the-night trains... this time, the 3 AM one included lots of whistle blowing as a bonus. (God bless the inventors of coffee!)

Conor and Eric relaxing by the fire

Crackling fire, hot cocoa, and a little table time for Conor

Before packing up and heading home, the kids and I attended another ranger presentation. This one was about salmon. Annika rocked the presentation because of the fact her 4th grade class studied and raised salmon most of the school year. She had the vocab and life cycle information down pat!! Conor was a bit disappointed with the whole thing because for some reason, when he heard "junior ranger presentation", he thought they'd learn how to use a bow and arrow. Salmon aren't NEARLY as cool as what he'd envisioned. Poor boy!! Fortunately, he worked through the disappointment and found a way to have fun.



By late morning (not only because we ran out of coffee and were insanely tired, but those reasons didn't hurt), we packed up and started on our way home. The drive home was uneventful and included a stop for lunch and more coffee in North Bend... win for all involved!! Before long, we were home, doing laundry, airing out our suitcases (no camp fire smoke smells allowed in our closets!), and were reunited with Buca once the dog sitter dropped him off.

All-in-all, a great weekend for the Olsons!!



Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Pancake Chef Conor

Over the past month or so, Conor has taken on the role of pancake chef in our house. He own the process now and seems a little put out if someone else offers to make pancakes.

He has memorized the recipe (but wrote a copy just to confirm everything is in the mixing bowl) and can whip out some truly tasty pancakes! He knows to get the step stool so he can reach the eggs in the fridge and also knows to crack the egg into a small bowl instead of the big mixing bowl (makes fishing out any shells easier!). He measures carefully and is very methodical and precise ... right down to having a "favorite" whisk to use!

I have to say, one of my favorite parts of the whole thing is he wears the Snoopy apron I wore when I was a child. (I believe it was given to me as a present on my 5th birthday.) He loos so stinki' cute in that thing!!

Beyond the specific task of making pancakes, he's learning kitchen safety, proper food handling, and a life skill. He is also gaining confidence that will (hopefully) help him continue down the path of self reliance and personal growth.

The recipe ... plus a little Spanish lesson thrown in for flavor!

Scooping the sourdough starter




Olson Family Sourdough Pancakes
1 c. sourdough starter
1 c. milk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T sugar
2 T vegetable oil (we usually go the lazy route and measure out "2 glugs" and call it good)

Mix all ingredients together until the four is incorporated. Pour 1/4-1/3 c batter onto a greased griddle (medium heat). When 1st side is golden, flip over the pancake and leave on heat until the entire pancake is cooked through. Eat. Yum. Repeat!