June 2012

Summer is Here!

Even though I haven't been working at school for a year now, there still is something magical about the arrival of Summer.  I can't say life slows down any - more like it gets richer somehow.  June has definitely been a rich month for us, filled with lots of good memories to treasure.

We started off spending another weekend at the wheat farm in Kansas.  It was a rainy weekend so Bruce didn't get to go on any combine rides, but Charlie brought home an old pedal tractor that he's going to restore for Bruce.  He's of course to little to reach the pedals now, but it won't be long...  Right now he enjoys inspecting the tires and playing with the steering wheel.

The following weekend, we all headed up to the City to check out the zoo.  It was the first time for both Charlie and Bruce, and we met up with our good friends LeAnn, Noah, and Daniel.  The highlights of the trip were getting to feed the giraffes, and when the orangutan came over to see Bruce - both with their faces pressed against opposites sides of the glass.

On the 12th we embarked on our epic family vacation.  Not surprisingly though, vacationing with a baby isn't really vacationing - it's more like destination parenting.  Regardless, we had a fantastic time and it was great to get away and be with family.

Bruce and his cousin Matthew

Before heading to Florida, we first drove to Louisiana so Charlie could do some work on his horse farm project there.  After a few days, we continued on to Navarre Beach where Charlie's mom's family has been vacationing for over 30 years.  All of the family - nine siblings, spouses, children, and grandchildren - cram into a big beach house for a week of family bonding and ocean appreciation.  We try to join in on the fun every other year.  Since there was such a large crowd this year (nearly 50) we had to rent two houses.  All of the Kolariks plus a few others staked our claim in the off-beach house.  We might have missed out on some of the action, but it was well worth it to have a quieter place for sleeping babies.

We got to Florida on Saturday night, just in time to take Bruce out to see the ocean before the sun set and he had to head off to bed.  It was so much fun to see the expression on his little face the first time he took it all in.  I would say that he was speechless, but since he isn't talking yet, maybe soundless would be a more appropriate description.  He was pretty scared of the ocean waves, and even whimpered a bit just watching Charlie walk out into the surf - but Baby loved the sand!  Because he's so fair, we didn't spend much time on the beach everyday - but we went out just about every morning and evening to enjoy some beach time.

As close as we got to touching the ocean

 

It was a crazy year for the "beach," as there was none.  Well, almost.  Our walkway from the house over the dunes to the ocean usually ends with twenty or so feet of sand before the ocean starts.  This year, the stairs dropped you off on a narrow ledge of crumbling sand, before a four foot drop to the ocean.  And as the week progressed, the narrow ledge just got narrower.  There was an area a few houses down where there was more of a beach though, so that's where we set up camp to play most days.      

Overall, it was a great week filled with lots of family time, good food, and shell hunting.  Maybe when we go back in two years Bruce will be interested in going in the ocean!

Bruce's first shell

 

Our garden is still doing well, despite the elevating temperatures.  The early "crops" have petered out, but round two has started with plenty of zucchini, cabbage, and beets ready for the picking.  The peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and corn are starting to make their debut as well.  We planted green beans and okra this month where the other plants have been pulled out.  It was a little later than we were planning, but hopefully it wasn't too late!  See recipes below for some of our favorite ways to enjoy this season's produce.

My little Cabbage Patch Kid

Bruce playing in the corn

Bruce hit 10 month mark last week.  I can't believe he's almost a year old already!  He has turned into such a little explorer, and his mobility has (literally) opened so many doors for him.  Has has perfected the army crawl, and has just in the last week started doing the majority of his crawling on his hands and knees.  When he can't get where he wants to go on his own, he will point to (hopefully) get someone to take him to where he needs to be.  Bruce also can pull up on to furniture now, and while he's not trying to take any steps, he does lift one leg up in a great effort to try to climb everything.  He loves to wave like the Queen of England, and has just figured out how to clap in the past few days.  Now he usually waves and claps at the same time while he dances.  His signature moves are the "hip shimmy" and the "shoulder shrug" with a head bobble thrown in for fun.  His favorite word, uttered with great German gutteral glee, is "cgunk" which he says all day long.  I have no idea what it means, as I don't speak much German, but I'm fairly certain it can be used both as a noun and a verb, as well as multiple adjectives.  He does experiment with other sounds, but no intelligable words yet.  He has four teeth now, with two more about to break through.  He is quite the chomper!  Unfortunately, he loves to sink his teeth into your shoulder, or arm, or collar bone, or stomach, or toes... you name it.  I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a serious problem, but right now I think he thinks he's just showing affection and doesn't really understand.  We'll see.  His favorite things right now are still wheels and tires, and he has a great affection for cowboy hats.  Whether it's the real deal, or just one in a picture, this boy loves him some cowboy hats.  It's been so much fun this month to see Bruce develop his "play" skills.  He'll do anything to elicit a response from you, which usually involves scraping his fingernail across something noisey, then looking to see what you think.  If you laugh, he'll laugh and do it again.  And again.  And again.  Another game he loves to play is the give away/give back game.  He'll hand something to you, and loves for you to give it back so he can hand it to you again.  Life is very repetative around here if you haven't noticed, but we love it.  Bruce had his nine month well baby visit at the beginning of this month, and we got the go ahead to start him on table foods.  So far, Bruce has had a great time with figuring out how to eat like a big person.  He'll eat pretty much anything we offer him, it's just a challenge to get him to stay still in his high chair! 

Bruce won't feed himself unless it's a big piece of something

Opening his savings account
with "Mr. Bain"

We ended the month much like how we started it - at the farm.  This weekend we were in Perkins, Oklahoma though, not Kanas, helping bale some hay.  Bruce and I took it easy, but we did squeeze in one ride on the Polaris with Granny K to bring lunch to the hard working fellas.  Of course Bruce had to drive. 

We're looking forward to hanging around the house next month, and are excited about the visitors headed our way!  Feel free to come by for a visit anytime!

Buttered Cabbage (have to credit for this to Evan Godderz!)

Ingredients:
Cabbage
Butter
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Cut the cabbage into 4-6 wedges
Butter both sides of the cabbage
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Wrap and seal in tin foil
Place on oven rack and back for 45-60 minutes until tender
*Can also be cooked on the grill


Coleslaw

Ingredients:
small head of cabbage
2 carrots
1 cup of mayonaise
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of cider vinegar

Directions:
Shred cabbage and carrots
Mix together mayo, sugar and vinegar until well blended
Toss vegetables and dressing together and chill
*Super quick and easy - great summer side dish!


Pickled Beets
Ingredients:
3 quarts beets
2 cups sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tbsp whole allspice
1 1/2 tspn salt
3 1/2 cups vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
Directions:
Wash, cook, and peel beets (I boil mine for 30-60 minutes, depending on their size)
Combine all ingredients except beets in a large sauce pot.
Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat.
Simmer for 15 minutes
Remove cinnamon sticks
Pack beets into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space (I slice or dice mine prior to packing)
Ladle hot liquid over beets, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Remove air bubbles and adjust two-piece caps.
Process jars for 30 minutes in a boiling water canner bath. 
*This is a Ball's recipe, so you know the preservation is high quality!
*We like ours diced so we can throw them on a salad throughout the year.


Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 1/2 tspn almond extract (can use vanilla instead)
2 cups sugar
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup canola oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn nutmeg
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix eggs, extract, sugar, zucchini and oil together until well blended
Mix remaining dry ingredients together  in separate bowl
Slowly add flour mixture to batter and blend well
Pour batter in 2 prepared 9-inch loaf pans or 24 muffin cups
Bake loaves for 45-60 minutes, or muffins for 15-20 minutes


Bacon Squash

Ingredients:
2 slices of bacon
2 medium yellow squash
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
dash of soy sauce
salt and pepper

Directions:
Cook bacon, remove from pan and lightly crumble
Slice vegetables and saute in bacon grease (remove some grease if there's a lot of it!)
Toss bacon and vegetables together with soy sauce, salt and pepper
*Remove the jalapeno seeds and spine first if you're concerned about it being to spicy!