Lorikeet Birds at Mickey Grove Zoo!

Today we went to Stockton to visit Grandpa, Grandma and Hibachan. When we arrived Grandma told us there are lorikeet birds at Mickey Grove Zoo! We had so much fun with the lorikeet birds in Long Beach so we decided to go and check it out. Today was the first day the exhibit was opened to the public and I think EVERY elementary school in Stockton had a field trip planned to visit the zoo. I've never seen such a busy zoo - especially the zoo in Stockton. Well, it was a good thing they limit the amount of people in the lorikeet exhibit. When we got there we got in line and bought some nectar to feed the birds. When we went inside the birds didn't seem to be very hungry, but I think all the kids were making them nervous. Once the place thinned out a bit they started to come down and feed. I had to carry Bailey so she could reach them, but they ate from her hand. Sorry, no photos of her feeding them, but I got a couple of shots of the birds. So pretty.

Riding the tortoise

Looking for birds

When we got home, the kids opened the Easter eggs that Aunty Kristin filled for the egg hunt (that we missed). Since we were home sick, Aunty brought them to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the kids to open.

Pinkalicious Cupcakes!

We've been reading Pinkalicious a lot lately so yesterday we decided to bake pink cupcakes! I found a great vanilla cupcake recipe and added a bunch of pink food gel. We made a couple of changes to our cupcakes though - We frosted ours with green frosting and Bailey also pointed out we forgot to add a cherry on top like Pinkalicious' mom did. I'd like to say we frosted our cupcakes green to counteract the pink food dye like in the story, but they got frosted green because that is Gregory's favorite color.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Here's another great egg and dairy free cupcake from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. They are very moist and not at all crumbly like most vanilla vegan cakes I've tried.

1 c soy milk

1 t apple cider vinegar (i used rice vinegar)

1 1/4 c flour

2 T cornstarch

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/3 c canola oil (i used light olive oil)

3/4 c sugar

2 t vanilla extract

1/4 t almond extract, caramel extract or more vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with cupcake liners

Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to get good and curdled

Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until no large lumps remain. Add a bunch of pink dye if you like the nice pretty color!

Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20-22 minutes til done. Cool completely before frosting.

Wheel Day!

Today was Wheel Day at Bailey's preschool! They had a fire truck (old and new one), police motorcycle, some very old classic cars, an excavator (that did tricks), cement truck, RV, horse carrier, and a school bus for the kids to climb and explore.

Bailey and Gregory on the old firetruck

Here they are waiting for the bus ride around the parking lot

On Thursday Bailey came home covered in paint (I mean covered! Her face and arms and her clothes too) This is what she was working on. The Meadowlark train!

Here they are having some apple juice

Playing on the playground

Sweet Smelling Play Dough - Critter Update

Today was HOT. I think it was suppose to be around 96 today - It's 7:22pm now and it's still 84 degrees out. Tomorrow should be cooler...

Since it was so hot out we planned an indoor activity after Gregory woke up from his nap. In this month's issue of High Five, they had a recipe for Sweet Smelling Play Dough. While Bailey was at preschool, Gregory and I went to pick up some unsweetened Kool Aid so we'd be prepared to make the dough when he got up.

I'll post the recipe, but I have to say, if you make it you need a nice strong wooden spoon and a lot of muscles. The kids had a great time with it and it kept them busy for an hour or more!

Sweet Smelling Play Dough

2 cups water
2 T vegetable oil
One unsweetened package drink mix
2 cups flour
4 T cream of tartar

Mix water, oil and drink mix together. Add to flour and cream of tartar. Cook over medium heat until mixture resembles mashed potatoes (takes longer than you think!). Remove from pan and let cool. Knead dough a bit (we had to add a little more flour) and have a great time!
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CRITTER UPDATE -

This little guy was right by our door the other day. We think he died behind the bbq. He was a mean little guy. Bit the squirrel that hangs out in our yard! Clark put d-con all over the yard. We haven't seen any rats in the last few days so we're hoping they are GONE! (Clark did have to scoop two dead ones this weekend though - He said one had a tail over a foot long!)













Here's the mommy dove with one of her babies. The eggs hatched on Easter Sunday! (She's been sitting on a dead one) They flew the coop Sunday. We had a great time keeping an eye on them! Can't wait until next spring when they'll do it all over again!

Jello Popcorn Balls

I was doing a little search for popcorn snacks and came across jello popcorn balls! I used to eat these when I was young(er) and thought the kids would enjoy. The recipe seemed easy enough so we gave it a try today. Well, it is as yummy as I remember, but boy are they messy to make!

Jello Popcorn Balls

9 cups popcorn
1 cup karo syrup
3/4 cup sugar
3 oz jello (any flavor)

Boil karo syrup and sugar for a few minutes. Add jello and let mixture cool a bit. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Coat hands with butter/margarine and shape into balls, if desired.

Notes: We didn't really get them into balls. I poured it all onto a piece of waxed paper and let it cool. Then broke them into chunks. It was just too sticky to form into balls! Even with coated hands. There must be something I'm missing. I'll have to do more research. :)