I baked late Friday evening because we have been in a heat warning from Friday until tomorrow, Wednesday. We were totally out of bread and buns, and I can't very well make lunches for my husband if I don't have bread/buns to make a sandwich.
Saturday, we went with Matt to move cows. We have a pasture about 20 miles away from our house that we rotate our cows in every 4-5 days. It's a 400 acre pasture with 8 mini-pastures inside it. Every 4-5 days, we rotate our cows to the next pasture. It's a really good way to manage our pasture because the cows are forced to eat everything in that pasture until they move on, not just selectively eating their favorites (the clover and treefoil). Then we go out with the 4-wheeler and yell "Come, boss" and the cows come running. It's really fun to watch. The kids had such a blast! Adina was whipping her head from one side to the other making sure she didn't miss a thing. It's so cute to hear Clarence's little voice yelling for the cows to come..."Come, boss". :)
Managing our pastures this way is good for us because it makes us take time to go down there and look at the cows firsthand. This helps us find the sick calves and the cows/bulls with sore feet, etc. We also bring out mineral tubs and salt blocks for the cows.
I love helping move the cows (not that riding on the 4-wheeler can actually be classified as 'helping'). It's fun to see how much the calves have grown, how nicely the cows are filling out, and to spend time with my family. I hadn't done it since the beginning of June, 2010, when I was 9 months pregnant with Adina. That time, I crawled under the 5-strand barbed wire and got poison ivy all over my arms and stomach. Here's an up-close picture of my arms...
Please don't judge me.
Saturday night, we went to a surprise 30th birthday for a friend. We were late and missed the surprise, but we still had fun visiting for a while.
Sunday morning, we got up and got ready to head to the Zoo...it's only an hour and a half drive from us, and it's actually very cheap entertainment for the kids (and the husband). My parents, brother, and my family all piled into their vehicle and up north we went. Clarence loved the donkeys (zebras). He wanted to stay and watch them all day. There was a baby zebra, too, and he thought it was his. He kept saying, "my donkey, momma," and was quite upset when we moved on to look at the other animals. It's the only part he actually tells people about when he tells them about his trip to the 'yoo'. The kids were so good...I hadn't been to the zoo in years, and we had so much fun! I hope to make more trips with the kids in coming years. It's good for them to know there are other animals in the world besides the farm animals they look at everyday.
Monday, Matt got up at 4 to head over to my dad's house. They started pouring cement for his shop yesterday. They were going to pour the first half yesterday and the rest of it today. The crew was up and ready to pour at 5 (to try and beat the nasty heat and humidity), but the cement guy didn't show up until 7:30 because he had overslept! He was not a very well-liked guy yesterday morning, and I bet he wasn't late today. We had lunch and naps over at mom and dad's house and helped feed the work crew. Later in the afternoon, Nikki, the kids and I went for a drive out to a friend's house. We grew up together and were very involved in 4-H together, but haven't gotten together to visit since we've started our own families and gotten our own houses. It was SO MUCH FUN to go out and visit. It's something we would always talk about but never do unless we just set a day and do it. We did that, and I'm so glad. It's nice to keep old friendships going, and all it requires is a little extra time and effort.
After, we went to watch Matt, Nikki's husband, my dad and brother play softball (with the rest of their team). They're an entertaining bunch to watch, and Clarence just loves playing on the playground equipment.
Today, Matt was up early again to go help lay the rest of the cement. Poor guy...he's going to be so tired by the end of the week! He's going to come home and cut hay. I think I'm bringing the kids to the sitter and I'm going to rake for a while. Then, I need to make a dessert...we have couples bible study tonight and I'm in charge of dessert. I'm going to make grasshopper pie. Well, here's the recipe. Make it sometime...I think it looks delicious and very refreshing.
Recipe: Grasshopper Pie (taken from thepioneerwoman.com)
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Ingredients
- 16 whole Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
- 2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
- 24 whole Large Marshmallows (or Container Of Marshmallow Fluff)
- 2/3 cups Half-and-half
- 2 Tablespoons Creme De Menthe Liqueur (more To Taste)
- 2 Tablespoons Creme De Cacao Liqueur
- Drop Or Two Of Green Food Coloring
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- Extra Cookie Crumbs, For Sprinkling
Preparation Instructions
Throw the cookies and melted butter into a food processor and pulverize (or, if you have some aggressions or energy to expend, you can crush them in a large Ziploc bag.) Pour into a pie pan and press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Set aside.
Heat marshmallows and half-and-half in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. As soon as it's all melted and combined, place saucepan in a bowl of ice to cool down quickly. (Stirring occasionally will hasten this process.) Once cool, add creme de menthe and creme de cacao. Taste and add more creme de menthe if needed. Add one to two drops green food coloring (optional!)
In a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff. Pour cold marshmallow mixture into the whipped cream and fold together gently.
Pour filling into chocolate crust (note: you might have a good 1/2 cup filling left over, depending on the size of your pie pan!) Sprinkle extra chocolate crumbs over the top. Place pie in the freezer and freeze until very firm, at least two hours.
Remove from freezer ten minutes or so before you want to slice and serve.
Heat marshmallows and half-and-half in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. As soon as it's all melted and combined, place saucepan in a bowl of ice to cool down quickly. (Stirring occasionally will hasten this process.) Once cool, add creme de menthe and creme de cacao. Taste and add more creme de menthe if needed. Add one to two drops green food coloring (optional!)
In a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff. Pour cold marshmallow mixture into the whipped cream and fold together gently.
Pour filling into chocolate crust (note: you might have a good 1/2 cup filling left over, depending on the size of your pie pan!) Sprinkle extra chocolate crumbs over the top. Place pie in the freezer and freeze until very firm, at least two hours.
Remove from freezer ten minutes or so before you want to slice and serve.
Have a wonderful day! I hope to make another post in the morning...we have another fun day ahead of us tomorrow!
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