May Activities

May is often a very busy month around here.  With school nearing summer break, it is time to finish up multiple projects, study for end of year tests, science shows, music and drama shows, as well as end of year field trips.  Work out in the garden gets more frequent, as we start getting the veggies and flowers planted, and tend to weeds which love to sprout up this time of year.  As well as getting the house freshened up for spring and summer activities.

So I thought I would write an update as to what we have been up to lately.

Sarah's trip to Disneyland and all the other fun places around Anaheim, like Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, California Adventures and her visit to Huntington Beach went very well.  The weather was very nice, and she enjoyed her adventure along with her choir.  Her first plane flight went very well, and she came back sun-kissed from all that California sun.  Here we are at the airport getting ready to send her on her way to California.

When Sarah arrived home, she had to get right to work on multiple school projects, and studying for end of year tests.  She took her SAT this last Saturday, and as I write, she is taking her AP Psychology test.  She also has been hard at work on her physics projects- the one she worked on this weekend is a Rube Goldberg Machine that ends with the popping of a balloon.

Using a marble run and some hot wheel tracks, cars, dominoes, and other odds and ends she got it to work, it is pretty fun to watch all the parts in action, and she did a really good job coming up with all the different components.  Sarah was excited to do this project, and I have a feeling she will be making more this summer.

Joseph has also been quite busy these last couple of months with his Drama group, they have been practicing for their newest play- Fools by Neil Simon, a very funny comedy.  We had the pleasure of attending his performance twice this last weekend, and it was very well done and funny.  Great job Molalla Thespians!

On Saturday night we brought my grandma, Sarah and Joseph's Great Grandma, to the play.  My grandmother enjoyed doing plays in her youth as well, and was so excited to come out for Joe's play.  She is legally blind, and didn't see much or hear very well, but it was still exciting for her to be at a play, and she really enjoyed it.  In the picture below, my grandma is sitting with Sarah and Gary getting ready to watch the play.

We also celebrated Gary's birthday last week, as always, a good meal is always part of the celebration.
BBQ country pork ribs, baked potato, and corn- with a cherry cake and cheesecake for dessert.

Zoey jumped up to wish Gary a happy birthday as well as get a whiff of the cake.

For the cake, I made a white boxed cake mix according to instructions with a few additions,  using four whole eggs instead of three egg whites, a small box of instant vanilla pudding, and switched out half the water for milk, which made the cake rich and moist.  I frosted it with a thin layer of white frosting, then piped around the edges, and topped the center with a can of cherry pie filling.  This cake turned out very moist and delicious, and would be great for a fourth of July BBQ or a summer potluck.

Yesterday I stopped by the garden center in town on the way home from church, we found a few interesting special plants for our fairy garden that we will be working on this week, as well as a couple more varieties of peppers for the garden.  The weather is beautifully sunny right now, and I will be spending lots of time in the garden this week planting flowers, and getting in some of the veggies, I look forward to posting pictures of some of our new plants later this week.

With all this activity my fairy tale post has been delayed a couple of days, a few more touches, and I should be ready to post my fairy tale and project later this afternoon.  Hope everyone is having a nice spring day!