Future Park Ranger...

Today Morgan found that she is a rock climber and would like to grow up to be a Park Ranger. These are some of the photos from our girls day out....

Notice how she is signing I Love You...

I would recommend clicking on the picture to enlarge them they are stunning!

Smarter than the Average Bear...

The mystery is solved! I have been wondering for weeks the cause of the tragic Toxic Banana Bread incident.

I saved a bunch of rotten bananas to try out the banana bread recipe again. I carefully measured out the dry ingredients and wet ingredients. As I was ready to add the flour I noticed that it looked really white and consistency was a little different. I licked my finger and placed it in the flour to get a taste. The ingredient I thought was flour was actually Powdered Sugar. This would explain the constant bubbling, smoking, and terrible burning smell, I was trying to make Candy Banana Bread.

Now you may be thinking how could I make this mistake but I will state that I have recently purchased new containers to hold all of my dry ingredients so nothing is labeled.

Powdered Sugar=BAD

Flour=Yummy Banana Bread

Early signs of Autumn

It is amazing how often I forget the beauty that lies just up the mountain. These are some pictures from Silver Lake taken today.

Toxin Free part II

Yesterday I found myself facing the fact that there were 2 rotten bananas hanging in the basket. This was not the first time I noticed them but the time I decided to do something about them. They were perfectly rotten for banana bread and my moms recipe is great so I decided to make the wonderful banana bread YUMMY!!!



I called my mom just to verify that I could use a glass baking dish, which was fine. The events which occurred after the phone call were not fine.


I went through all the steps poured this deliciousness into the dish, all the while thinking how thrifty I am not wasting those bananas. I placed the dish in the oven and set the timer and counted the minutes till the delicious goodness of hot banana bread. I was thinking how great it would be to offer this freshly baked goodness to friends. They would laugh and compliment me on my wonderful baking skills and I would graciously accept their mounds of praise.


Tasty goodness started wafting throughout the house but wait something was burning too. I opened the oven and the bread was bubbling all over?? What this hasn't happened before so I quickly got to ramekins too take the excess bread out of the dish. I placed a cookie sheet under them to catch any drippings. I had dodged a terrible thing, burnt banana bread..

That was the least of my worries as the house filled with smoke and all the dishes were then bubbling over and everything was burning. I changed the tinfoil on the cookie sheet 4 times, quickly running it out of the house through the garage and directly too the garbage cans. Through the hour and half the bread never set up it just kept bubbling over and burning. TOTAL PERMEATION of smell into every fiber in the house and neighborhood for that matter.



Here are the pictures of the end result.


Bread Anyone...Anyone????

There was a light smokiness to the bread..

Detoxing 1 Second

A lot of toxins in banana bread...

A game of Quarters...

I was looking at Adam and Tina's blog tonight and started thinking about the years I spent in Ann Arbor. A2 is such an awesome place to live, lots of food, cultural art, and crazies to keep you occupied. I was thinking about the year I struck it rich with a sad tale that took place in A2.

Every year Grandpa Ellert and Grandma rent several rooms at a local hotel. The whole family comes to spend a night of swimming, games and of course food. The year I struck it rich, I drove from A2 to the hotel to spend the night with the family. That year there were a few rules, you could not use any type of "Dutch word fillers" such as Ues, "What are ues up to?" and now I can't remember the rest of them. There was a list which was sent out prior to the hotel night. (I know those of you who are Michiganders will remember the rest of them) The penalty for using a Taboo word would be putting a quarter in a jar, then at the end of the night the person with the saddest story would win the loot.

There was a lot of money at the end of the night. Several people got up telling a sob story for the money. I was the last person to go so here is what I can remember of my story.

I was Deathly ill at work, a wrestling singlet company (sad in itself), and since I was sick a friend drove me to the Dr. I waited in the germ tank for at least 45min before they saw me and diagnosed me with bronchitis and a sinus infection. I was there for at least 1hr 1/2, then there was a problem with my insurance billing. I was ready to be picked up and my friend couldn't leave work because they were being lame and wouldn't let her leave.

I walked over 2 miles home sickly and near death coughing up a lung head splitting with pain, no tissues only leaves. Not only did I not have any quarters for my bus ride home, when I got to the pharmacy I my debit card didn't work. I was never the same after that walk.

At the conclusion of my story people were in tears riveted with this tale of struggle and despair.

This true story won the loot and as you can imagine many hugs and reassurance that I would be OK. Those quarters came in handy at the laundry mat for the next several months.

Thanks Family!!