Homemade Strawberry Popsicles

Since it is strawberry season, we decided to try making our own strawberry popsicles. I found a simple recipe at Heather's Dish. You only need three ingredients: 1.5 pounds strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup cream.  You also need a food processor or blender and a popsicle mold.  We got our molds at Wal-Mart, but you can use an ice tray if you don't want to purchase molds. 

Aren't these strawberries beautiful?  Red to the center.  At this point you just add the sugar and process for two to three minutes to allow the sugar to dissolve.  Then you add the cream and mix until blended.

Pour into molds.

Insert sticks.

If you get a little on you, just lick it off. :)  Then, into the freezer they go.  Now find something fun to do for the next several hours (4 hours for these molds) and resist checking on them every thirty minutes. Thankfully, it was a beautiful warm Saturday and we had plenty of yard work and playing outside to keep us busy.

The wait is over!  This recipe is Nate approved.  I hope you give these strawberry pops a try. We are already working on our second batch. :)

Dino Discovery

The Birmingham Zoo has an awesome dinosaur exhibit now through July 21st.   

The dinos are life-sized and animatronic - even their eyes move.

  

Since we were in the area, we had to have a popsicle from Steel City Pops.  Their popsicles are the best.  Check them out and have my favorite flavor, avocado.  It is seriously delicious.  Nate's favorite is strawberry.  Coconut is also tasty...and blueberry...and chocolate...and peanut butter. :)

Goodbye Peach Trees

The last few weekends have been beautiful and perfect for some much needed yard work.  One of our biggest projects was cutting down our peach trees.  

I will miss their beautiful blooms and yummy fruit, but peaches (actual edible ones without worms or rotting) are a lot of work.  They require lots and lots and lots of spraying with pesticides and other things.  So we decided it was time to let them go and enjoy peaches from the farmer's market.  On a side note, I have a hard time believing people can actually grow "organic" peaches.  If you know that secret, please let us know. :)

Nate had the best time sawing peach limbs.  I will admit that I was a little nervous when I found out that Darren had given him a real saw.  But, Darren taught him how to use it properly and Nate still has all of his digits.

Nate's job was to use his saw to mark a spot for Darren to finish cutting with the chainsaw.  He was very determined and focused and took his job very seriously. 

I love this face. :)

 

This kid is growing up.  Too fast.

Easter

Happy Resurrection Sunday!  What a glorious day.  Even if was a rainy day in our neck of the woods.  :)

Thankfully there was a break in the rain just in time for the egg hunt. 

It's a good thing because Granna (Darren's mom) worked really hard to make this egg hunt one to remember. 

This was not just an egg hunt. It was a scavenger egg hunt.  Each child had a card with the specific eggs they needed to find hidden among "plain" eggs.

It was tough!  Seriously.  Thankfully, Nate had Karmen's help.

We were very excited that Brenna and Ella joined the boys this year.

Aunt Lynn did a great job checking everyone's eggs. 

Prize time!

The kids had to close their eyes and reach under the blanket to choose their prize.

The fun continued Sunday evening.  My dad's birthday just happened to be on Easter this year.  My sister and brother-in-law cooked an awesome dinner for us.

My dad loves to aggravate.  So, Nate and Darren decided to tease him a little with a gag gift.  A box of switches!  We did give him a real gift, a turkey call.



I told you it was a wonderful day!  We are so very blessed.  Our biggest blessing is Jesus Christ.  He is risen indeed!

Willie & Si

A couple of months ago I heard that Willie and Si from Duck Dynasty would be speaking in our area this month.  Duck Dynasty is Darren's favorite show and his birthday is March 14th.  I knew this would be the perfect present for him.

They talked about the show and shared some things about the family/employees we didn't know.  Did you know Willie (and, if I understood correctly, the other brothers) went to seminary?  Willie shared a funny story about a fight he and Jase had over the oven when they were teenagers.  Willie also talked about how smart Martin is...like incredibly, super smart.  Si talked about how he can't go anywhere without being recognized. He also told the whole story about his shoes catching on fire from running so far/fast...which he admitted he had exaggerated just a little.  :)

Si ended the evening with the very best story.  He shared the gospel of Jesus Christ and His great love for us.  "God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

The Coast

My niece, Ashlyn, is a freshman at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. My mom, sister, Nate and I visited her last week.  We started the trip off right with a yummy dinner from the Original Oyster House.

The next morning, we headed over to Mississippi to the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch.  If you watch Gator Boys, you've probably seen the gator ranch featured on the show. 

 We are just about to take off for an air boat swamp tour. 



The tour was a good mixture of alligator education and fun.  The boat ride got pretty wild at times.  Not scary wild, fun wild.
 

We saw a couple of alligators. Did you know that only 1% of baby alligators survive to become adults?  I am a nerd and I loved learning alligator facts.

We got to hold a baby alligator! 

It was surprisingly soft and smooth.

On the walking tour, we saw a bunch of big alligators in their natural environment.  It was a cool day and they were moving around a good bit, which was really fun.  At the zoo, the one alligator is always just laying there doing nothing. 

This guy was the biggest.  The picture does not do his massive body justice.  I wonder what happened to his claw?

The walking path is over the alligator habitat and there were a lot of alligators swimming around and under us.  This is the nose of a pretty big gator that swam right under us.

After the gator ranch, we headed for Dauphin Island.  On the way, we went through Bayou LaBatre and saw lots of shrimp boats. 

Unfortunately, it was not ideal beach weather.  It was extremely windy and even rained a little bit, but rain or shine, we love the beach.

We sure do love this girl.  She is a great niece and a super cousin to Nate.  Just today, Nate was talking about how much he loves Ashlyn.

Nate had to put his feet in the water.  I tried to talk him out of it but he insisted.  I can't blame him. :)

Of course the sun came out as we were leaving the beach.  

Our last stop of the day was the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.  I wish I had more pictures.  It was really neat and we almost had the entire place to ourselves.  It was nice to look at things as long as we wanted and not be rushed. 



It was a great trip.  Nate and I always enjoy spending time with Ashlyn.  Going to her dorm brought back so many memories of my freshman year of college, which was 18 years ago!!! How is that possible?