To the zoo

 We went up the the Columbia Temple last Saturday, and afterward, we took AB to the zoo up there.  It was a great zoo, and a lot of fun, despite the mid-80s humid weather and crowded zoo.

Monkeys are my favorite animal to see at the zoo, with gorillas high up on that list.  This one just rolled around covering his face with this branch, right up next to the window where everyone was standing.

 The elephants were awesome.  We got to see this lady feeding them.  They were pretty active and walked all over while we were there.

 Yee-haw!

 AB loves aquariums, so this section of the zoo enthralled her

 Oooh, look, a shark!

The baboons were a blast to watch.  The baby kept chasing his daddy around.  We watched for probably 20 minutes.  Very cute

Grinding wheat

I have had buckets of wheat for over 2 years, and have only ground it into flour on one occasion.  I don't own a wheat grinder, so that makes it difficult.  I have a friend here in my ward who let me borrow hers.  It was awesome, an attachment for my mixer.  I ground a lot of wheat that day so I wouldn't have to borrow it again for a while :)

 It looks so wonderful.  I love baking with wheat flour.  Don't get me wrong, I've got a definite soft spot for homemade white bread and rolls, but wheat is a whole different ball game.

In the past, baking wheat bread has been kind of a problem area for me.  I have never found a recipe that I really like, so I get discouraged and take a break from trying.  Well, I was ready again!

 Anabelle wanted to help me the whole time it was grinding

 So she scooped up more wheat for me.  What a good helper!

 We didn't get the attachment hooked up properly our first try, so wheat went everywhere.  

 I forgot to take pictures of my wheat bread, but it turned out fabulously.  Delicious!  I will definitely be making more.  Yay for not having to buy bread at the store :)

Since I don't have pics of the bread, I thought I would include some of the tasty chocolate pudding cake I made in my crock pot.  Yummy!
 Topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings....I will be making this again too.

Of course AB approved

I will post pics of bread next time I make it.

It's finally COMPLETELY finished!

I made this quiet book for Anabelle last summer (with a lot of help from my mother-in-law, Annette).  It is now finally complete.  The reason it took so long...

grommets.

I was mostly just being lazy and putting it off.  As it turned out, putting them in was pretty simple, and cheap.

 Appliquéd letters

Here are all of the different pages

The safari page is probably my favorite.  We came up with the concept completely on our own, and I designed and sewed all of the little animals. (complete with zipper and magnetic sun attachment)

Velcro helps the apples stick to the tree

Different textures for little hands to feel 

Finger puppet animals

I also really love the mailbox

Button-on flowers (she's still working hard at that skill) 

 
Vinyl fish bowl stores all of the little swimmers
Foam puzzle pieces fit into the stencils

 Sorry it's sideways. She can match the crayons with their colored pocket and draw on her notebook, which also has its own pocket :)

 Pocket on the back to store any loose pieces

Magnetic flap to hold the book closed

 Rings, placed through our loops, bind this wonderful book that keeps my daughter occupied, especially at church (even if it's only for 5 or 10 minutes)

 Even a little pocket inside the front cover with my info., in case it gets lost.  I would most definitely cry if I lost this quiet book.  I cannot count the number of hours that have been put into it.  I probably like it more than AB does...hence the bragging :)

beach and eating

We finally made it to the beach on Saturday.  The weather was beautiful, in the low 80's and sunny.  AB loves her new sand toys.  She even has a sandbox in our backyard that she loves spending hours a day playing in.

 Mike persuaded me to get into the freezing cold water...but this was what he had to promise to let me do.  I've always wanted to bury someone in the sand :)

Laying in Daddy's sand cave 

 It was hard to get a good picture because we were looking straight into the sun

First time playing in the sandbox that our awesome neighbor made for her

 Handsome man

I have been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, which has been a lot of fun.  I have several cookbooks that I haven't used much.  I have resolved to be more creative and try new recipes.  We have had some delicious meals so far.  I have also shopped for and written out a menu for the entire upcoming month!  Go me!!!  That is the most organized I have ever been with my food planning.  I made salsa last week, and after talking to my mom on the phone, got a wonderful idea to put raspberries into the salsa.  I happened to have some in my freezer, so in they went.  Oh. my. goodness.  Wow, was it good.  I will definitely be doing that again.  

 With the raspberries...doesn't it look so fresh and delicious?

I also made some homemade pesto to put on my grilled cheese sandwich, which also included tomatoes and salami (all on sourdough bread).  Mmmmmm

Some of the other new meals I have tried include shrimp scampi on angel hair pasta, blue cheese burgers (Awesome!), chipotle chicken rolls with avacado dipping sauce, tortilla soup, ham and swiss creoes, and more.  Now we have another month of new tasty experiments.  We have even added some new dessert recipes to the list (almost my favorite part).  Sorry I don't have pics of the other foods I made.