Weekend on Still Cove

Let's just start out by saying that there are a lot of pictures and the colors and settings are off but I don't have the time to fix them all right now, so sorry if they hurt your eyes.

The new Wiebe Classic golf jackets

Family Canoe outing

Em fell asleep on her first boat trip

Em loved splashing in the water

Here's the latest skill: Crawling

N caught the one and only fish this weekend. And boy was he proud!
He even helped Oma to cook it up and ate it for lunch.

Father-Son canoe outing

Em having a nice nap by the water

E and N watching Daddy pull huge rocks out to the lake

Here's another one

L and R relaxing in the tube

The men floating on their rainbow star

Uncle Awesome

And after a busy weekend, we had a very nice and quiet drive home.

Strawberries

Nath brought home two baskets of strawberries from the farmers market. So we made some Strawberry Shortcake Cookies and Em got her first taste of fresh strawberries. She is loving her new independent eating thanks to her new pincer grasp!

Still need to make some strawberry jam and strawberry pie.

My lovely assistants!
They did a great job of cutting and taste testing.
They loved the cookies, I thought they were OK. More of a strawberry scone, and are best eaten the same day.

Sunday in Headingley

Sunday was spent with more family, but this time with my side. It was my mom's birthday and my brother and sister-in-law's farewell.

We spent the afternoon at the zoo and then headed to Headingley, where my sister lives, for supper.

Love his new aviators, L has the matching ones (in neon green of course)

Em checking out the animals

A new zebra baby

Looking for sharks in the conservatory

The grown-ups were getting tired and needed to sit down

All the grandkids (Noah walking through the background) with Grandpa

Uncle Jo with 3 of his biggest admirers

Desserts- I couldn't decide which to make so I made two, and afterall it was a party for two events. So this is the Frozen Tiramisu Cheesecake. One of my favorites- chocolate crust with a layer of orange cheesecake and then a mocha layer. So yummy!

And this one is a frozen strawberry margarita dessert. It looks much prettier in a springform, but I only have one, so it's in a 9X13 instead.

Enjoying supper on the deck

The boys needed costumes to sing Happy Birthday to Gramma

Here are the recipes for those desserts if you're interested
They whip up really quickly. And if there are any leftovers for some strange reason, they keep really well in the freezer.

Frozen Margarita Dessert

Crust:
1-1/4 cup finely crushed pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together and press into springform pan. Refridgerate while preparing filling.

Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup fresh lime juice and zest of one lime
2 Tbsp tequila
2 Tbsp ornage-flavored liqueur
1-10oz pkg frozen strawberries thawed with syrup
1 cup whipping cream, whipped or about 2 cups of Cool Whip, I used Ultra Low Fat

For a kid-friendly dessert: Substitute 1/4 cup of Orange Juice for the alcohol

Mix all together, beating til smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust. I sprinkled some sea salt on top. Freeze atleast 5 hours or overnight. To serve let stand 15 min.
Serves 12.

Frozen Tiramisu Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cup Oreo crumbs
2 tsp instant espresso (dry)
1/4 cup melted butter
Mix together and press into bottom of springform.

Filling:
2 blocks of light cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup frozen (thawed) orange concentrate
1 tsp instant espresso coffee dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1-1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped (I used Cool Whip)

Beat cheese with mixer on med until smooth. Gradually beat in milk. Place about 2 cups or half of mixture in separate bowl. Add juice concentrate to one bowl, and coffee and chocolate into the other. Then fold in half of whipped cream into each. Spoon orange filling into crust and smooth. Then gently spoon in mocha filling and smooth. Freese about 4 hours or until firm. Dust with cocoa powder or drizzle with chocolate syrup to serve.
Serves 12.

A Fun Friday in Altona

We had a fun Friday night with old friends/family in Altona. We get together about twice a year, and our gatherings have been getting bigger every year. There were 8 kids this year with my boys being the oldest at 4 and 5 years. And there are two more on the way.

I was so excited to finally have an opportunity to make these cupcakes.
Inspiration came from Bakerella
Oh how I wish I had a color printer, those paper baskets and fry holders are so cute.

Aren't they cute!
And they were really simple to make once I had everything I needed. (That required several trips to the store because I've been a little air-headed lately)

And in the end I settled on orange icing instead of the yellow I really wanted for the "mustard".

The ladies relaxing with some of the babies

Emma giving Tash big hugs

Noah enjoying one of Tash's Rice Krispie Butterflys
She also made adorable little bugs like these from Martha

Little Miss I was getting to know Auntie Rachie

7 out of 8 kids The youngest babe was inside sleeping
Look Em's not the only one in pink! There were other girls around for a change!

Noah loved flying high
The trampoline was a big hit

The Omas on the trampoline with some of their grand kids.

Looking forward to the Winter Gathering!

Quarentines and Scooting

Well after a full week of yuckiness we can finally go out again. Emma came down with Roseola last week and was miserable for a full week. Icky fever from Sunday til Wednesday, and then just when you think she's over it the head to toe rash breaks out and lasted til Saturday. If I even thought about putting her down she would start this incredibly sad wail. So Momma's arms are a little tired after carrying around my 22-lber all week.

But thankfully she's feeling better now and has even started scooting around on her belly. It won't be long before she's full out crawling though, because she gets onto all fours quite easily. Can't say I'm really looking forward to a mobile baby, only plus is maybe my arms will get a little break.

Here's a little video of Em giving the boys a taste of things to come with a mobile little sister.