Berry Infused Water

Our temps here in North Texas have hit 100 and higher the past two days so I am craving anything cold.  But we all know what quenches our thrist best is that amazing H2O!!!

Unfortunately I don't crave plain old water!

So I have been trying different drinks that are mainly water.  And although this is NOT sweet(at all)it is just what I need to add to plain water.

All you need is a jar or any glass container, berries and water.

Mash the berries a little to release the juices.  Add to your container and fill with water. 

Put the lid on and set out in the sun for several hours. 

Strain the water, but don't throw those berries out!  Save them for another batch or for a smoothie!

Toss in the fridge until it is nice and cold.  Then enjoy!

~~My other favorite drink ideas for HOT days~~
-water with lemon and mint
-water with cucumber slices
-pink lemonade and tea
-peach flavored tea


Happy Summer!!!!

Play BALL!!!!

The boys have been practicing.  "Tossing the ball" as they call it.  We finally talked them into throwing it back and forth to one another. 

Brant shared with them how he and his brother(twin brother)would throw the ball back and forth to one another for hours! 

And the only way to get better at catching is to practice.

It is so hot here that they have two times they can do it these days......early morning or right before dark.

Last night at about 8:30 they decided they wanted to toss the ball.  It was getting dark quickly and my camera is not the best for fast moving boys and no sunlight. 

So bare with me as I proudly share my sweet boys playing catch. (with a BIG smile on my face!)

Yep, that one on the right is just like his Daddy!

Farmer for a Day!

Last Wednesday the boys spent four hours at a small farm(Homestead Farms)being "Farmer for a Day"!!!  This is not a new place to the boys.  They have been to Homestead Farms several times before.  You may remember me telling about this farm in other posts. You can find a couple of posts about Homestead Farms HERE and HERE .

No surprise Ryan is with the dogs and wore the boots!

The day was to start at 9am.  The boys along with about 10 others were eager to be a farmer. 
After receiving their name tag, learning the rules and meeting Farmer Michael their day began!

I was free to stay the entire time with the boys, but wanted to give them some time unleashed from their apron strings. 

BUT as soon as I heard they were going to see the goats first I had to stay for a bit. 

I LOVE goats!  I want a goat or maybe 10.

I know, I know, I have NO idea what it would be like.  That is true, but I am willing to take on the task for these cute, sweet, agressive creatures.

Anyway they lead us in the milking stall.  We had to quickly rush in to avoid letting all the flies in.  And we let some in alright!  And there were tons more inside.  It was not the best smelling place either.  And of course my whimpy boys were the first to point it out and announce it!!! 


This was the coolest set up I had ever seen.  Well I have never seen a goat milking set up before, but this was COOL!  The picture below......to the right there was a little door where once opened the goats would come in and go straight to the feeding trough.  Once there, their heads were locked in place where they could not get out. After that it allowed Farmer Michael and his friends to milk them. 

BTW-I am explaining all this in terms that I understand.  And they may very well be the wrong words for farming and milking goats.  JUST GO WITH IT!!!!!!

Above he is explaining how the milk will go through the pipes once attahced to the goats' teats.

Showing how the suction works once this thing is attached.  And below every other goat is being milked.

And finally after a few of the brave children milked a goat it was my turn!!!  The boys would NOT do it!  They don't have a brave bone in their body for milking a goat.  But I did!!! 

It was not as easy as it looked. It was kinda hard! But I did muster a little squirt.  I would need a lot of practice to get milk from a goat!  But very glad I tried it.

And what do you do after milking a goat?  Taste it of course!!!!

Matthew was brave after all!  I was too, but Ryan would have NO part of tasting goat milk.  He doesn't drink cow's milk either.  Unless it is highly sweetened with sugar and vanilla.  Or is a dark chocolate color! 

And just FYI-it was cold milk!  In this room we got to see where the milk goes from those pipes in the milking room and ends up in this room....where we drank the COLD goat's milk.  It did not taste any different than cow's milk to me.  Matthew did not like it and would only take a sip.

It was time for me to leave.  And hard to go too!!!!  They were on their way to feed the baby goats!!! But I said my did.

After that they did "chores" around the farm. Various other things and played in the bathroom they said.  It was set up outdoors like an outhouse so I am sure it was fun to them.....remember they are seven year old BOYS!

The boys tell about being "Farmer for a Day":
Matthew says........
-picked cherry tomatoes and someone kept throwing them at me.
-fed goats.
-tasted cantaloupe and fed the chickens the leftover rind.  And one pecked me!
-also did a craft that did not include scissors and glue....and it did not work!

Ryan says........
-fed pigs rotten tomatoes and okra.
-fed teenager goats.
-picked green beans.
-went in the chicken coop to feed chickens grass.

Both boys told me about one of the dogs, Scout, who helped pick zucchini, but did not eat it.  But he did eat 2 rotten tomatoes and drank nasty pig water.


They LOVED being "Farmer for a Day"!!!!!  And want to go again sometime.  It is way too hot now for that, but maybe come Fall. 

For now they can practice being farmers in our backyard with our dog, birds and bunnies!  And pick all the remaining(and almost dead)cucumbers and tomatoes. 

The pictures below are just various pictures from that day.

Not sure if this is the nasty pig water drinking dog

Talking to the chickens

Feeding them grass...weeds that looked like wheat at the top

Checking out the massive gardens

Making memories-the lake

 Friday we decided to hit a new area of the lake we normally frequent. 

It was not a sandy beach like I had read, but the boys loved the rocks.  My feet did not!!  It had a nice set up for us all to enjoy.  Roped off swimming area for the boys and close by was a fishing area for Brant......and Ryan. 

 It was close enough where the boys had fun running back and forth to check out what Daddy was catching. 

I stayed right by the water.

It's no secret I am a little strange about just being near water. 

There is something about it that is completely soothing to me.

 I enjoyed sitting back with my toes in the water, the sun greeting me with a smile and taking it all in........

I also enjoyed watching my "not so little boys" make memories.

Simply because it's summer and the memories are just waiting to happen!

Sitting along the shore collecting rocks. Or just daydreaming.....every summer has a story.

Being brave enough to catch a grasshopper and make friends with it will be what they remember from this day.

And speaking of friends......oh summer friends for a day....."Hey Ryan, remember that boy with the gator float?!"

Sun burns, tan lines, Gatorade and lake days will fill their memories. And Cheddar Cheese Pringles! "Mom always buys junk food for the lake!"

Dragging BIG rocks to build a shelter/wall for bugs will stay with them all summer.

Remembering how strong he was carrying "THAT" big boulder! 
Now that is a memory to hold on to.

And remembering the wall actually held back the waves!

Realizing rocks and dirt are nothing like sand!  Those are the memories.

The simple, carefree days of summer.

FUN Friday!

WOO HOO it's Friday!!!!  Happy Friday!!!

Do you ever have one of those weeks?  Maybe it was really tough with your sweet children.  Or maybe you were just not feeling good ALL week long?  Whatever it might have been, it is one of those weeks for me!  And I am so glad it is finally over? 

So today we are going to regroup, relax, enjoy life and maybe even take a nap.

What is on your agenda today? What about for the weekend?  

Whatever you do today or this weekend get OUTSIDE and have some FUN!!! 
But make sure it is in or near water.  And drink plenty of it!!!!  It is HOT!!

And now we are OFF TO THE LAKE!!!!!!

Summer Bracelet

Happy Summer!!!!!!!

It's here!!!!!  Are you ready for the heat? 


It has actually felt like summer for a few weeks here in Texas.

When the season changes and things get hot I tend to change the way I dress too.  I prefer to wear lighter, cooler fabrics and cut back on the jewelry I wear.

But I still like to have cute accessories. And this bracelet is prefect for me!  And cost me next to NOTHING!!!!

I was hoping to do a video tutorial for this bracelet, but I am not ready yet.  I need to practice more!  Brant thinks that would be much easier than giving directions.  Maybe in a few weeks!

The blog where I found this super cute bracelet was not much help for me.  I hate to dog out a fellow blogger, but it was so confusing!  She did post a video and I found that rather odd, but maybe it too will help you!
Regardless I will give you her blog link because I want you to be able to make one too! 

And maybe you will go to her blog, read the directions and think I am a complete idiot.  And that is just fine.  I hope you DO understand her better than I did!!!

After reading all the comments on her blog I found out this is very much like(or is)finger knitting.  And many commented about learning it as a kid.  I don't think I did, but once I figured it out I could not stop making bracelets!!!!!!!

I first started with old tshirts.  Old tshirt with NO side seams!!!

Where do you get a tshirt with no side seams?  I used men's Hanes tshirts.

Surely your husband, brother or dad has some in a box in the garage that he uses for rags when working on stuff!

The tshirts worked fine, but then I made some from jersey knit material.  LOVE the jersey knit!!!!  Plan to make a couple more in some bright colors for summer.

What should you use to make your bracelets?  You decide.

-Old tshirt-FREE
-Jersey knit-an eighth of a yard 88cents

These are the ones I made from jersey knit......bday gift for my sister.  I will say I like the way the jersey knit knitted together verses the tshirt. 

You must make one or ten today!!!  They would be perfect with that sweet sundress you love so much, a blue jean skirt or capris and a cute tank. 

And let me just say they make the BEST accessory when you are milking a goat.

Yep! That's me!

More on the goat milking next week.  For now get busy making a summer bracelet. What colors are you thinking?  Are you going to make one for yourself?  A friend?

You can find the directions HERE .

Wordless Wednesday-Compost melons....look how they have grown!!

Father's Day gifts

Sorry this post was not before Father's Day, but Brant reads my blog. I could not take a chance of him seeing his special handmade gifts.

These are SUPER easy gifts that literally cost me under $5 for BOTH!!!!  Only because I had just about everything in my school closet.  And you just may have all the supplies too.....for next year!

First up is the gift I made for my Honey.  I had seen this on another friend's FB page and she had found it on Pinterest.  Since I am not into the pin thing I simply wrote down the wording and knew I could figure it out.

I totally surprised myself and DID IT!!!!!!

It turned out just the way I wanted!  Not knowing how Brant would prefer it, framed or on an easel, I just grabbed one I already had and it set up for Father's Day on his desk.

He thought I had gone out and spent a bunch of money on this amazing print.  Not this frugal gal!!!  I did the print on my own.  I simply used heavy card stock and for each line changed the font.

Here's a closer look.

I wasn't sure how costly a matte would be, but as usually Hobby Lobby came through for me with their coupon.  And by the way, did you know you can pull the coupon up on your smart phone?  When you go to check out have it showing on your phone and the cashier enters a code from the coupon showing on your phone!  How cool is that?! No forgetting the coupon at home anymore..like I did!

Anyway the matte was regularly $3.99 and I received 40% off that with their coupon.  SCORE!
For now this is where it hangs with my super thrifty jute hanger.  I love being frugal and knowing how to use be so!

Next is the cute card the boys gave to Brant.  As you can see he is a fishermen.  So this was the perfect card!!

They did need a little help with this one.  And it ended up being a book actually.  They each drew Dad a fishing picture and signed it on the last page.  The book ended up with four pages.

I had everything we needed for the card except scrapbook paper.  These fish needed to be special since they are for Dad.  Scrapbook paper is around 59cents each page and usually on sale at Hobby Lobby.  I think these were both less than a dollar.  I simply cut out a "D" for the body of the fish in the patterned scrapbook paper.  Then used construction paper in different colors for the fins and tail. Add some wiggly eyes and hole punch white paper for bubbles. The "A" is just yarn.

Next add some cute fishing text and you have Dad a one of a kind, homemade Father's Day card! 

And those are the very BEST!!!!  Now go ahead and pin it for next year.

Father's Day 2012

Happy Monday!!!!

Hope all your special Dads had a GREAT day! 

It was FUN filled day for Brant.  And the boys! 

Pictures can tell the story best(maybe with a little text)! And tomorrow I'll share a super cute card the boys made for "Dad" and a little something I made for my honey.  Yes, I know it is a day late for you to make, but you can "Pin It" for next year. 

After church I was able to catch a quick picture of Daddy and his boys!

Later Sunday afternoon we were off to a baseball game........IN THE RAIN!!!!!!!

It was the boys' first real game to attend and they were great at waiting for the rain to stop.
Well at least one was!

And thanks to Aunt Licia a flag was great entertainment for the boys! We hung out up by the concession area as we waited on the game to start.....really for the rain to stop!!!!

Go Fort Worth Cats!!!!

It was so much fun to watch them once the game FINALLY started.  They took it ALL in!! 

It was time for the first pitch and Matthew was so excited to wave his flag!

We had great seats......2nd row right behind home plate! 

$5 Sundays are a must if you are a local.  No, it is NOT the same as a Texas Rangers game, but if you have little ones that can't sit still for long and you need to get up and move around, and eventually leave early(without feeling guilty about the amount you paid for tickets!), well the Fort Worth Cats games are the way to go!!!!  Or any other local minor league team!
I'll give the boys a few more times going and then "might" think about a Rangers game.....if the price is right!

We did eventually need a change of scenery and headed up to the top.  It was a great area where the boys could run around and still see the game.

They had loved going to the game! Ryan almost cried when it was time to go. And they can't wait to go back. 

I think Daddy had a good time too!