Odds and ends from July 2015

Memories from July 2015 . . . There were flowers . . .

We had a family outing . . .

. . . with a trip to the hardware store:

The older Muffins built a large tower together:

We found a rainbow dolphin:

Clarissa had fun exploring another play place:

We took a scenic country drive:

Whilst on the drive, we got ring pops:

Jared got some planting supplies:

Lydia found a new place to play:

The kids got some wiggles out as we saw some houses:

We had fun at a friend's birthday party, which featured a shark theme:

We repainted a few walls (they used to be blue):

Mom digitized a bunch of actual, printed photos:

Lydia decorated a crown:

Jared created an elaborate board game variation of Plants vs Zombies, with a bit of help from Amanda in the game board department (all illustrations on the pieces by Jared):

The middle Muffins tried a craft project:

We found a nest:

We visited the library:

We celebrated Hot Dog Day:

Clarissa had fun visiting ponies at the store:

Dad did a bit of shopping, too:

There was park play time, of course:

There was pool time, too:

We saw a lovely country lane:

Curtis did a bit of photo work:

The boys had fun with building:

And Mom got a (very fuzzy) picture of the blue moon at the end of the month:

Superhero Adventures at the Library

One of the libraries in the area hosted some superhero costume activities in July. We got in on the masks:

Behold, the double hero, a mask within a mask!

We also got in on logo/chest plate day. The boys were especially pleased with their handiwork:

Grace

Some years, 7/11 is a day of Slurpees. This year, however, the day was devoid of Slurpees for us, and rather high on stressful things. We found a fun bumper sticker while shopping:

And Dad got the bathroom project to a promising point:

But it still was a pretty rough day. Then Mom and the Muffins went to the park. There was a party in progress, with cake and balloons, but it wasn't anyone we knew, so Mom told the kids not to get their hopes up. But, lo! There was cake for the Muffins after all, as well as for every other child at the park, thanks to the generosity of the party hostess:

Playing after cake:

A sand angel by Lydia:

And then there were balloons for the Muffins!

The hostess also sent Mom home with lots and lots of yummy leftovers from the party. Best of all, the memory of what made that particular day so hard has faded, but the memory of the kindness remains.

Culinary Adventures in July 2015

It all started when Mom saw a sign advertising lobster rolls, a New England classic, at McDonald's of all places. "Lobster" just isn't the first thing that usually comes to mind with "McDonald's" . . .

But lo and behold . . .

There was indeed lobster at McDonald's. Decent lobster roll, too, and definitely the least pricey of any sampled thus far.

As if that wasn't enough, the fast food industry also provided this: a smothered burrito from a Taco Bell drive through. Who says you have to go to a sit-down restaurant to get one?

Inspired by the commercial goodness, Mom did a big of something-besides-pasta cooking at home.

No-churn homemade ice cream:

"Ladybugs," which the all the kids liked making and which Mom and Clarissa liked eating:

Meatballs!

Berries!

Ants on a log, colony style (another one that went over better as a craft than a snack):

Brownies, Katherine Hepburn's recipe:

And then there was the fancy pasta sauce, which we did not get, but which was interesting to think about. "Mortgage buster" tomatoes really live up to their name if you can get people to pay $8 a jar for sauce made from them (this from the perspective of one who usually shops in the cheaper-than-that sauce section).