Five Brown Kids

These are my favorite summer recipes. Enjoy! Black Bean and Cous Cous Salad Greek Salad Cafe Rio Burritos Bruchetta Quick Fettuccine Cacciatore

Enjoy the fun! Jax had on a blue swim shirt, and white and blue swim shorts and is balancing on a surf board (video 1). Our neighbor is in video two, right hand corner. And the third is Taye with a grey shirt and brown shorts. Scotia grabbed my arm and gave it a good shake half way through. Sorry! Last year.

I asked a dinner guest the other day if he was a vegetarian and Taye piped up, "I'm both!" It's true. That kid is a herbivore and a carnivore and everything in between. He's been practising for the Ripple family "hold your heat wasabi contest" by eating plain old ground pepper and the spiciest salsa Moe's offers. Watch out Ripple men - Taye's coming!

So most every Fresh Friday recipe I post is something I've made a hundred times. This recipe I just found and it is out of this world! Make it now. Yields: 1 quart Ingredients: 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract pinch of salt 1/4 cup of sour cream 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream Mix condensed milk, vanilla, salt and sour cream until well combined. To it add… for Chocolate variation: add 5-6 tablespoons of chocolate syrup for Vanilla variation: 1/2 cup melted white chocolate for Strawberry variation: 1/2 cup killer homemade strawberry jam Mix the heavy whipping cream on high until stiff peeks form. Whisk some of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until incorporated and then gently fold the rest of the whipped cream in. Place in an airtight container and freeze 6 hours before serving! Recipe from a blog I love here .

I didn't buy school pictures this year becuase we had beautiful pictures taken by Crickett last fall! But this one of Scotia was too cute to pass up.

Since his little 5k race Jaxon has a pile of cash hidden away in his box. Sixty four dollars to be exact. He's saving it for our upcoming trip to Boston. But the other day he handed me a little ziploc bag containing two dollars and change. Enough for me to purchase " one package of strawberry gum, one container of tic tacs and extra for tax - when you go to Target mom. " The treats are also stored away in the box waiting for the big road trip.

I can't say enough good about this jam. It rocks! The taste is so fresh you'll never want to eat ordinary jam again. The key is this happy little 'Ball Simple Creations No Cook Freezer Jam' packet that I find at my grocery store. It's so easy you can assign one person to each step and be done in a snap. 1. Pick fresh berries. Wash and hull. 2. Crush berries in blender until you have four cups. 3. Stir 1 1/2 cups of sugar and contents of package into a bowl and combine. 4. Add crushed fruit to sugar mixture. Stir until well combined and pour into containers. Freeze what you won't eat this week! PS - If you're in Raleigh our favorite Strawberry U-pick is Hunts at 4505 Watkins rd. It's down Louisburg a few miles and then right on Mitchell Mill, right on Watkins. 919-266-1619

I read this book and you should too. Have I ever mentioned how lucky I feel to be alive in 2010? Here's the synopsis.

This blog is heading into deja vu zone again. The school year is wrapping up. The talent show is coming. We've been strawberry picking. The boys are wrapping up with soccer and getting ready for some serious swimming. And of course a trip to the beach is on the agenda. It's just like last year only everyone's a year older! (I am absolutely a creature of habit, in case you didn't know it) For the past few weeks the boys have had some spring swim clinic classes through a local year around swim club. So for the past month I've had dance with Scotia on Monday, swim with boys on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, cubs on Wednesday and soccer on Friday eve and Saturday. I'm still breathing, just in case you were wondering. And so are the kids!

This mother's day I just want to say how glad I am that my mom is home. I'm all grown up with three kids of my own and I still need my mom. Thanks for a great life mom! (PS - You think I lie about the weather up there, I took this Skype picture on Sunday - they were sitting on the couch in the living room next to the wood stove that had a fire in it! and wearing flannel and fleece shirts!)

These little no bake cookies are fast and easy to make and perfectly chocolaty . They are an old Ripple stand by. When I was a teenager we had foster children who lived in our home. Some stayed for awhile, others came and went pretty quickly. One girl got hooked on these cookies and made them every day after school. 2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup butter 3 tbsp cocoa 3 cups quick oats 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup coconut *1/2 cup peanut butter In a medium pot stir together the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa . Stir until boiling and then stir for an additional two minutes. Then turn off burner. Stir in oatmeal, coconut and vanilla and scoop by tablespoon onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. If you have peanut butter lovers in your house then after you've scooped out half of the plain chocolate ones you can stir in the peanut butter and make the other half. It must be done this way in our house!

Carleen had a high school best friend and the friend's mother visiting this weekend so we headed out to Biltmore to see the sights. It was beautiful! Definitely worth a visit once in your life. NC has stunning beaches, beautiful rolling hills and totally civilized cities. Why would you live anywhere else? No wonder he built here. And a picture of me...

My parents are headed home to Nova Scotia! Way to go Mom and Dad! See you in a few weeks!

When I was a little kid I remember crossing the big bridge over Halifax harbour and seeing some men way up at the top painting. I asked my Dad if he would ever do that job and he said he would if he had to. I take that to mean it wouldn't be his favorite but if he needed a job to feed his family he would totally do it. I don't know anyone who doesn't feel the same way - whatever it takes to keep my family fed and sheltered. Now if I lived across some imaginary line from a land flowing with milk and honey and on my side poverty and despair and the other side was education, job opportunities and health care for my family - nothing would stop me! And it probably wouldn't stop you either if you think about it.