Big Huge April

April is off to a big start. In its first four days, there has been cold weather, hail, hot weather (86!), and thunderstorms. On Friday, Daphne brought home Clifford, the school stuffed pet, to visit. He goes back to school tomorrow to go home with another kid. I think we showed him a good time. You might see him in some of the pictures. On Friday night, we took him to First Friday downtown, where there was decorating your own Easter cookies at the real estate place, bluegrass at the bank, and wine and bbq tastings behind the Pink Shop. On Saturday, Daphne had her first soccer game. About 30 seconds after the kids hit the field, it began to hail. Game Over. So, I got no pictures. We went out to lunch at the Red Kabob with G-Ma and G-Pa instead. Then, we celebrated a fake holiday called P Day, which Kev and I made up to keep Daphne on good behavior for the rest of the long long day. We made a Poster of P words, did a Puzzle, made Puppets, played with Clifford the Puppy, and had Pasta with Pesto and Pine Nuts for dinner.

The puppets were a Pirate, a Princess, and Daphne's Principal, Miss Linda. The Miss Linda puppet looked remarkably like her. Daphne's behavior was excellent. I love P Day!

On Sunday, I made Steel Cut Oatmeal again, and this time just added some blueberries and cranberries, brown sugar, and cinammon. So delicious. You should really try some. By the way, I make it with milk instead of water. I think it makes a pretty big difference. Yay oatmeal!

While I was cooking breakfast, Kev and Daphne made a satellite named Star Trek. It looks remarkably like a real satellite.

Next, we packed up Clifford and walked down to the Tally Ho to see Hop. It was pretty good. It was no Despicable Me, but I liked it just the same. Daphne loved it and drummed on things all the way home (the Easter Bunny in the movie wants to be a drummer).

After the movie, we went next door to La Lou for lunch. They were finished serving brunch, but made Daphne some chocolate chip pancakes anyway. We tried them, and they were GREAT. My mushroom ravioli and Kev's lentil stew with Italian sausage were also great. We love La Lou! Please go there so it doesn't close! I can't wait until the weather is nice enough to sit outside for Sunday brunch.. They have outdoor seating on the Town Green, where small children can run off their chocolate chip pancakes while their moms and dads leisurely finish their meals or drink coffee.

How much is that doggie in the window?

When we got home, Daphne wanted to pretend to be E.B. (the bunny from Hop). It was too loud for Clifford, I think.

And then came Monday. Daphne didn't have school because of teacher conferences or something, so we finally got around to making the pop tarts. I halved the recipe, and it made five small-ish poptarts. We filled them with Raspberry All-Fruit and a few chocolate chips. Daphne brushed the tops with milk and sprinkled on a little sugar. Voila:

Ingredients list: Flour, butter, egg, sugar, salt, milk, raspberry all-fruit, cornstarch, water, chocolate chips. Much better than all that stuff in the store-bought ones.

We ate them outside on the porch for dessert after dinner last night. It was so nice to eat on the porch. Except for the wind which kept threatening to blow our salads away. The poptarts were good, and I will make them again. When I was awake for a while in the middle of the night listening to the huge thunderstorm, I had all sorts of poptart filling ideas.

Today is April 5. It is Kevin's and my eighth anniversary. We will be celebrating in a few weeks with a weekend in DC. I cannot wait for that. But now, I am being asked to look for buried treasure and have adventures in the other room. What I really need is a nap. But naps can wait. Maybe I'll find a pot of gold.