Zucchini Bread!

Well, it's that time of year again. That time when friends hand you zucchini's from their garden because they have them coming out their ears. Or when you wake up in the morning and find a small pile of zucchinis on your porch that were left there by some little garden fairy. Or you hear a knock at your door, and when you answer it, there is a zucchini on the step in front of you, but no one around.


Has anyone NOT been given some zucchini yet?


Some friends of ours gave us two. Here's what we did with them.(and by we, I mean me and the boys, in what turned out to be a cooking and cleaning demo....don't get me started. *sigh* )

Ok. Remember now. I have three (ravenous)boys. We made these around midday. The first loaf was gone by 5:00. That's right. I'm lucky I even got a taste!

Today-the day after we made them, the second loaf is 3/4 gone at dinnertime.

Yes, it is good. The boys are fully aware that it has zucchini and that zucchini is a vegetable, and that it is good for you, but like I said...It is gooood.

Sean on the other hand, will just eat anything that even slightly resembles cake.

Here's the recipe I used, which was my mom's. Thanks mom! Sorry it won't last long enough for you to get a taste. Next year I'll have to make I dunno, like two dozen loaves. That should get us through a day or two.

3 eggs

2 1/2 c sugar

1 c oil

2 c grated zucchini

3 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c finely chopped walnuts ( optional) -the loaves I made this time did not have any nuts in them.

( I did add a dash of nutmeg and small splash of vanilla as well, which was not in the recipe. I know, I am a rebel)

Mix DRY ingredients together in a bowl-EXCEPT THE SUGAR

in the bowl for your mixer, blend eggs and sugar til creamy.

Add to the egg and sugar mix, the oil and the zucchini

Then slowly add dry ingredients until mixed well. Add nuts last.

Grease and flour two loaf pans

* I used lard to grease them with, and then instead of flour, I shook sugar around the bottom and sides. This makes for a nice sweet outer crust when it's done, and the sugar does not burn)

BAKE @350 for 1 hour

Insert toothpick or tester to make sure it's done- stick should come out clean.

Voila! There you have it. Your kids will devour it and BEG you for more!

The best is when you warm it up a little and spread butter on it. Yummy!

The Rest Of The Story

So, as promised, here are some of the pictures from Fantasy Island. This was an especially important night, because for the first time ever, the boys went on the rides by themselves!

Much to my delight, I saw more smiles than tears.

This smile is one of Ryan's best ever! He was so happy because he was in the front seat of the green car he wanted to sit in. He had all the controls too. He waited for that one.

Why is it that the smalles child chooses the biggest truck?

Sean's first ride with Kevin.

The boat ride

I'll let Jeff post about the Reptile World Show with Michael Schwedick. He is amazing at showing his collection of snakes,lizards and the like in an interesting and sometimes comedic way. Here's a picture of his snake Banana Peel. He does shows around the world-mostly for schools. Luckily, we get to see him every year at LBI. The kids love it!

At The Shore.....

Ahhh. There's nothing like it! Feeling the sand between your toes (and in your suit.and ears. and hair. you get the picture). Breathing in that salty air. Getting cleaned up from a long day at the beach using the outside shower! (Love that!) And eating from dusk til dawn. Yum!

Boy did we have a great time! We had wonderful beach weather. And this time the boys were not afraid of the water!

Although I wasn't able to get pictures of everything, I can share with you some pics as well as tell you of some of the exciting things we encountered!

Such as....

On our first day there, we went to the beach and were lucky enough to see Dolphins swimming by! Not only that, but a little while later, we spotted a group of stingrays right in the breakers! (Later finding out that reported sightings of them had made the news!)

Looking upward, we spotted several Pelicans who were hanging around for a bit, but none of them ever swooped down for anything. After I had taken Sean back to the house for a much needed "dwink", the boys came back and told me how excited they were that a man who was fishing on the beach caught a Kingfish! Wooooo! That's one heck of a first day at the beach!

Day two was just as exciting, seeing jellyfish (you know, the little clear ones that don't sting,so you pick them up and jiggle them and then throw them like a frisbee!), as well as many sand crabs and teeny teeny tiny digging clams by the millions! Also we found this little fellow..

And a majestic Egret in our backyard!

The boys really enjoyed seeing this on the sand....

That's pretty cool!

Then we did a little of this...

And fed quite a few of these....

Any of you who frequent LBI know about Fantasy Island, the amusement park there. We also had a great time there and went on the rides. (This was an extra exciting time, but I think I'll save it for tomorrow's post).

It was such a great time. The whole week was just packed full of great stuff. We stayed in our usual house in Beach Haven with my mom and my Aunt and her teenage son. We loved it and most of all, the boys made a lot of fantastic memories.

I Can Smell The Salt Air Already!

Tomorrow we leave for LBI! We'll be there til Saturday, soakin up the sun and playin in the sand! See ya when we get back-maybe a bit tanner than tonight! (Hopefully).

My Arch Enemy and Worst Nightmare

The elusive,vile and utterly loathsome.......

Camel Cricket. *gulp*

Given his name for the shape of his humped back, and looooong, lanky legs.

Unlike the teeny little ones that hop lightly around your garden singing their little midnight songs(which usually are endlessly annoying), this cricket does not make any noise. From his size (which can be up to 1 and 1/2 inches long),you would think he would let out a healthy deep bellowing CHHIIRRRRP!

No, my friends. He is stealthy. He is fearless. When you attempt to remove him from his new habitat(your basement), he JUMPS! HIGH! LIKE 3 FEET HIGH AND I AM SO NOT JOKING! YOUR SWINGS WITH THE BROOM ARE OF NO USE! HE JUMPS WILLY NILLY IN ALL DIRECTIONS, MAKING YOU DIZZY!

To our advantage, he does not bite. He only stares at you with his buggy eyes and waves his giant, mile long antennae at you, threatening to jump at any moment, if only you turn your back for a second!

They are not easy to catch or to kill. They are extremely fast! And when they do happen to be flattened by your broom, they play dead! Do you hear me? They fake it! When you think you have beat him and go to check on his poor little lifeless body saying"what have I done?" he springs into action and tries to jump in your hair! You run away screaming in terror!

When the broom is handed off to the stronger, MUCH braver husband to "finish the job", the bad bug is finally crushed into oblivion ( as well as into the carpet). At this point, any unwise attempt of the husband to pick up the deceased creature and "dangle" it in front of the terrified wife who is huddled in a heap on the floor crying hysterically, will be UNFORGIVEN.

When we first moved into our new house two years ago, we had many of these horrid things coming in. The hero of our household(aka: My Hunky Hubby) managed to plug up any and all possible passages and ports of entry. We saw none the second year.

This summer we have had less than a dozen. Although this week, we have had two or three in only a matter of a few days. There must be a weakness in the fortress somewhere.

These hideous creatures must be kept away at ALL costs!. They are soooooo not my friends. The only other bug I truly dislike very much are spiders. Though I might, in this instance even say, "Hey. Mister spider. I'll make you a deal. You eat the camel cricket, and I won't squash you."

But honestly, if a spider tried to eat one of these things he would choke for sure.

I hope none of you ever discover one of these in your homes. It's the stuff nightmares are made of.

Conversations with Kevin Part II

Kevin ( closely examining Daddy's unshaven face): "Daddy, you have silver pokes and orange pokes and black pokes! You need to shave!"

Daddy: Thank You for pointing that out to me, Kevin. I appreciate that."

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Kevin (at dinner table): "Daddy, which one is the salt?"
Daddy: " The white one."
Kevin (disappointed) "Oh, I was hoping it was the brown one."
Sean (adding his two cents) "Bwown One!!"

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In case you forgot Conversations w/Kevin Part 1, you may enjoy it again here

A Great Week at WOL Family Campground!

We had a blast at WOL! We were very blessed. It was sunny and warm, there were great people, and we made new friends! (big shout out to Lawn-Guy-lund!) hee hee. There were great speakers that helped us really "dig in" to the Word each day, and the kids had lots of fun in their programs, and with us as a family. We are so excited to go back! We even booked it for next year already!! Here are some of the pics from the week....

Here's a big beaver dam we found on the pond.

There was a great playground there for the kids.

The boys are getting ready to go out in a rowboat with Mommy and Daddy. Look how unhappy Sean is with having to wear the vest. Sorry Buddy! (He got over it.)

Here's the beach at Andrew's Pond where they hold the big campfires. See the wood is already stacked up for that night's fire.

Here's the fire!

We had lots of smores and lots of fun, and I don't think we will ever forget this trip! We are so happy we went!

We are working on our "Quiet Time" devotion books we bought there. We do it every day, and the boys know that by the time we are finished with the whole book ( 1 yr), it will be time for camp again! We can't wait!