Impromptu Fairy Princess

Kira had an opportunity to go with her Aunt Janna to a Halloween Party.  Since her costume had been left at her house, Pam got one of  the dance costumes which Janna or Kari had worn at one of their dance recitals many years ago.  A set of 'Fairy Wings' and a 'Magic Wand' and we have an Impromptu Fairy Princess for Halloween.

Recipe Wednesday

Recipe #21 - Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Just in time for Haloween a seasonal recipe of unknown origin. What can you do with those seeds you scrape out of the pumpkin for your Jack-o-Lantern? Usually they get thrown out with the next trash. Some people may save them for planting to grow next years pumpkins. Here is a tasty and nutritious alternative. Make a batch of:

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds of a pumpkin

Salt (to taste)

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

Rinse the seeds to remove strings and pulp and pat dry with a paper towel. Spread the seeds on a baking pan and let stand for several hours to dry. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the seeds with the oil and salt to taste. Toast the seeds in the oven stirring every 5 minutes or so, until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let them cool completely. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve the pumpkin seeds as a snack or use as a garnish.

I found this recipe in a flyer I picked up at a local Fall Festival Pumpkin Patch sponsored by the Clear Lake U.M.C. in 2008. Here are a few pictures to chronicle that event and our Grand-daughter's visits to the Pumpkin Patch in search of the "Great Pumpkin".

We didn't find the "Great Pumpkin" here, but we did get a few good pictures of Kira.

P.S.  Be sure to follow the link for the Great Pumpkin!

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Picture Girl

Pam set out to get a few 'candid' photos of the granddaughter.  Oops, I think she has seen the camera.

She was going to take a nap with her animals. Oh well, no nap now.

Kira with "Pink Bear".  Boy, what a smile! What a ham!

Flower Girl

Kira is making preparations for her Flower Girl responsibility at a recent wedding. Her mother's friend, Monica, may not have realized what she was starting when she asked for a 2 1/2 year old to act as flower girl in her recent wedding ceremony.

How do you keep a 2 1/2 year old flower girl busy during the wedding ceremony?

Spinning and Grinning!

Ain't it great to be the baby sitter. I recently took this video of the grandkid, Kira, while she was playing with one of her toys. Here she is on her 'Sit & Spin' doing what a kid is supposed to be doing on a 'Sit & Spin', she is spinning and grinning!

For more information on the "Sit and Spin" see:

http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/

Cleaning Up!

Kari used my computer last night. Look what I found on my computer desktop this morning as I was looking over it to clean up. Just look at all this stuff she left on my desktop:


This dragon appears to be hatching from a pumpkin in a Pumpkin Carving contest!




















Wait, who is that young lady and what is she looking at?

I think that is Witch Kira at Haloween last year and she may be watching over the Pumpkin Patch. This truly must be the Great Pumpkin to be hatching that dragon.

Grandparents - 2, or Two Grandparents

Pam and I are doing that Grandparents thing again (see my previous Blog from March 9, 2008). We have the granddaughter, Kira, for the day since mom and dad are both at work. Although it is work tending to a young child (I'm not sure we can say she is a baby now - she is growing up so fast) it is one of those things you don't mind and one might say it is even enjoyable. This is the 'Second' Blog entry for this topic - thus the title 'Grandparents - 2' but, Pam and I usually do this together as 'Two Grandparents'. I never really thought much about what these kinds of days might be like before I actally became a Grandparent. Yes, there have been some trying and even painful times going through through that 'Parenting' process. Yet, it has all been memorable and the Grandparenting thing seems to be making it all worthwhile. My brother recently entered his Blog on "Re-Looking at Re-Cycling" and it occured to me that Grandparenting is 'kind'a like' Re-Cycling Parenting.

I will occasionally Re-visit this topic of Grandparenting to share some of my thoughts and experiences on the topic.

Now for the real reason for this particular blog post - an opportunity to share with you the joy of Grandparenting:

Nap Time, No Not Yet!