Finally

I know it has been a pathetically long time since I've posted, but I have a very good excuse. Grandma picked up a stomach virus about three weeks ago which totally wiped her out. She became very dehydrated and weak. The weeks since then have been crazy, with one problem after another hitting her. It seems that things are starting to settle down now. Grandma is in rehab and will hopefully be able to come home soon. The pictures are a little of what I have been up to lately.
Built a sandcastle complete with a flower forest.
Ate drumsticks. Lucy was a chocolate monster by the time she finished her cone.
Gave Dad sparklers (he did like them, it's kind of hard to tell in this picture)

Oh Man!

I do not really like wrapping presents, and usually just stick the present in a bag with some tissue paper. Today I decided I was going to wrap Dad's Father's Day present up to make it look nice. I thought I did a pretty good job. As I was admiring my work it hit me....I forgot to take the price tag off. I found out that my unwrapping skills aren't half bad.

Dad's Birthday Trip

Dad's birthday was last Saturday, which of course sparked the question of what present to get him. This is always a difficult decision, as he is not the easiest person to shop for. Dad and I both love history, so I paid for us to visit a Civil War plantation not far from our house. It was actually in Charlotte, which I found to be a little surprising.
History Ramble: Charlotte was a large city during the Civil War and it's surprising that it was not captured by the North. Near the end of the war Jefferson Davis moved to Charlotte. He was standing on Tryon street when he was told the war had ended. The only sign of that is a small plaque built on the street.: End of History Ramble
Dad and I were the only people there for the tour, which was nice. The tour guide said they were having a really slow day.

Ashokan Farewell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jz7lPU7r8Q&feature=related
I absolutely love this song, it is so beautiful. It was written by Jay Ungar and became popular after being used in a Ken Burns Civil War documentary. The first time I heard it was while watching that documentary.

Fudgy Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

4 squares Baker's chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine (1.5 sticks)
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 scant cup flour
1/2 to 2/3 cup nutella

Preheat oven to 350. Line 19x13 inch pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl for 90 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour. Pour into prepared pan. Then add the nutella to the top of the brownie mixture and just leave it (don't stir it in). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup butter (1 stick)
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix room-temperature cream cheese and butter together. Once the mixture is very smooth, add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the sugar in slowly and keep adding until you get desired sweetness and thickness.

The Rest of the Easter Pictures

Lucy wasn't very excited about sharing.




A good idea that didn't work.

Easter and Other events

It has been a while since I've posted any of our going ons, and since I don't really feel like typing a lot right now I'm just going to sum them up real fast and move on to Easter.
I met my first woodchuck/groundhog. He was really angry and wouldn't leave our yard. It was kind of odd considering the fact we're not supposed to have woodchucks in our area.
There have been some really bad thunderstorms, and we had huge hail. Businesses are now putting up signs that say things like "Got hail? We'll give a free house inspection!". I find them to be oddly humorous for some reason.
Jaclyn, Daniel and the boys came and spent the weekend with us. Caleb and Jack built a pulley and wanted to pull themselves up in it. It of course didn't work, much to their disappointment. Sam wanted to hatch one of the eggs we dyed, and was also disappointed that it wouldn't work.
I went to the organic marketplace, and ate at the amazing restaurant there. I then needle-felted a mushroom, and decided that I'm the hippy/country member of the family. Yep, that pretty much sums the last two weeks or so.
The pictures are taking forever to load today, so I'll post the rest later this week.