Creative Writing by Rus, age 9 (Writing from Pictures Assignment)

The Fishing Trip

by

Aidan Piercey

                Joe and Uncle Mark rushed out for the fun fishing contest. Joe felt the cool air rushing over his face when they entered the almost deafening harbor. Happy seagulls flew over head as if they were cheering, "WIN,WIN,WIN!"

            "You ready for the Blue Mammoth Fishing Contest, Buddy?!" Uncle Mark yelled. Joe ,who was almost leaping for joy, jumped into the unstable boat. Carefully they fit the bait on the line and then they pushed off from the harbor. The salty water sloshed in his face and he could feel the imaginary tug and the huge fish that would emerge from the water.

                Suddenly a yank shook the salty, slaking water. The big boat bobbed up and down. The water flew in Joe's eyes. He took his sleeve to wipe off the salty stingy stuff. Joe ,who was still trying to remove the salt from his eyes saw a huge fish on his boat.  Suddenly they saw a flash. It must have just been the sun. They held their fish with care. It was a blue mammoth. This was the prize fish. These were rare fish and were prized by any fisherman who caught them. Suddenly the fish yanked flipping the boat! They had lost the fish.

                Without any warning they found themselves gasping for breath. The fantastic fish flopped into the gleaming water. Suddenly they were swept under by a wave. A boat came out and brought them to shore. Huge gusts of wind almost froze their wet clothes. Because it was only early spring they grumpily walked to their car. Suddenly someone ran to them holding a trophy with a ton of money in it. He gave it to them and explained,"This for winning the contest. I am another fisherman who took a picture of your fish. Sorry about the flash." A large smile formed on Joe's face. They had won!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2015!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today we had a fun day yummy food and fun crafts that we'd like to share with you.

First, here are some fun facts about Saint Patrick... 

Next we did some crafts...

 I printed out this Pot of Gold Color By Number for Filia, but Tert ended up enjoying it too.

Next Tert and Filia did a Complete the Leprechaun Page

 Tert absolutely loved the Valentine Heart Chains Craft we did last month (click link to see how to make the hearts) so he was really excited when I found this Heart Shamrock Craft. 

 Next we did a really fun, easy Coffee Filter Shamrock Craft. 

First, we colored the coffee filters with different shades of green...

Then we sprayed the coffee filters with a bit of water...

 Then we let them dry and made them into shamrock shapes.

 It was a very windy day today, but we all wanted to get out for some sunshine. The kids had a lot of fun jumping in puddles. Here are some action shots I took...

 Mom made an incredible Saint Patrick's Day meal. 

 Slow Cooker Corned Beef

 Rustic Irish Potato and Cabbage Soup

And for dessert...Shamrock Shakes!

 Megan's Shamrock Shake Recipe: 1/2 Gallon Gifford's Vanilla Icecream, 12 drops green food coloring, 1 T pure mint extract, 2 C. whole milk, 1 C, unsweetened almond milk

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Field Trip to Capitol Center for the Arts By: Rus

Ethan, Dad, and I went on a field trip to the Capitol Center for the Arts to see a science show. They brought in two Tesla coils and made them make music with the electricity. They taught how electricity comes from electrons. They also taught how Nicholas Tesla invented the Tesla coils that help with creating electricity. They also showed how static electricity can make your hair stand up.
They also showed how an electrical field can snap a tin can.They also had a robot! They also had a person who was playing a guitar that was was controlling the Tesla coils and being shocked by them by 1 million volts. This was an amazing show.

Tesla Coil Demonstration:

And for those of you who are Doctor Who fans...

Maple Oat Nut Scones By: Siobhan

~Maple Oat Nut Scones~

Today I have a recipe to share with you that I got from The Pioneer Woman blog. Yesterday we were all in the mood for some scones, and I made these. These scones are delicious! They are flaky and light, but they are incredibly filling with the maple icing. I doubled the recipe for our family, and we had enough for dinner and breakfast.

Ingredients
(Yields 8 scones)

• 2-3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Oats Ground In A Food Processor Or Blender
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 sticks (1 Cup) Cold Butter
• 1/2 cup Nuts Finely Chopped
  
• 3/4 cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 teaspoon Maple Extract
• Icing
• 5 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup Whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Strong Coffee
• 2 teaspoons Maple Extract

 

 Mix together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

I chopped the butter and then added it in, but next time I will definitely grate it. Grating the butter makes it much easier to incorporate. The secret to amazing scones is to use cold butter. Although it is harder to work with, it makes all the difference.

Stir in nuts. The original recipe called for pecans, but I used walnuts I had chopped in the food processor that were leftover from my Healthy Banana Cookies. They worked just as well.

Roll the dough out into a circle until it is 6-8 inches wide. Cut into eighths and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Opt: Top with a little sugar.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-24 minutes or until puffy and tops are firm. They should have almost no color, but the bottoms should be firm.

 

 While these are in the oven, mix together the icing ingredients until the icing is thick, but pourable. Pour generously over scones when they are cooled.

Enjoy!

Amazing Animal Homes By: Rus

        Animals make amazing homes. For example intelligent beavers construct amazing lodges. The y have powerful teeth. Carefully using their strong teeth the beavers ,who have teeth,

which don't stop growing, cut down trees and drag them to the river. They use mud to pack everything together and that makes their lodges. They have little under water tunnels to enter their lodges. These are busy beavers with incredible homes.                

        Another animal that constructs an amazing home is a swiflet. These amazing creatures make

homes tasty enough to eat. They outline their nest on the cold cave wall. They then use their slimy spit to make a nest. Then men,who have a dangerous job, remove the nest. The nests are expensive!

Eagerly they sell the nests to chefs to cook to have the customers eat eagerly. This bird truly makes a

cool nest.  

        Another animal that builds an amazing home is the honey bee. The worker bees ,which also

protect the nest, construct the thousands of tiny cells. These hold delicate eggs and baby bees. That's

neat. The worker bees hang in chains so that their bodies become very hot so that they create wax.   They add these to the cells. They also have bees that stay at the front of the nest. If there is danger then they let off a smell to warn others that danger is near. The others hurry out to attack. All these bees construct neat hives. Many animals construct mindboggling shelters. 

By: Rus

Age: 9 Grade: 4th 

Midwestern Regional Meal

 Midwestern Regional Meal

Recently we cooked our Midwestern U.S. regional meal. We kept it simple and had some delicious roast beef, vegetables, and white chocolate bread pudding. We also did some fun Midwest trivia.

Spiced Roast Beef and Vegetables

Click here for the spiced roast beef and vegetables recipe.

 White Chocolate Bread Pudding

 Click here for the White Chocolate Bread Pudding recipe.

Siobhan's 15th Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday. Thank you so much everyone!

 

Mom and I went out to get our makeup done and to get my hair done. We had a great time. Steph also took me out for dinner and to put some highlights in my hair. 

 

 My big birthday present was having my bedroom redecorated.

On Valentine's Day (the day before my birthday) I went to Grandma's with Lydia, Moriah, and Elim to sit in Grandma's hot tub and for a fun sleepover. We had so much fun!

Our first birthday sleepover! Then and Now...

 Mom made an amazing Mexican meal with chipotle pork tacos, taco braid, fruit salsa, chips, and yummy toppings.

 For dessert Mom made Oreo Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Thank you everyone for a great birthday!