Sunday 30 August 2009

Sunday Explorations

On Saturday we spent the day exploring around our new district. We wandered coastlines, picked up treasures, ate hot chips, dipped our feet in the water and listened to the water flow at a nearby waterfall. Perfect.


Home
Some of the scenery

Hanging out in treesStumpedThe Child Tree
Tree Dwelling

Four Explorers
Explorers

First PaddleAt the waterfall
Water play

Him and Me. Me and Him.
Us - Pic by Kyla.

Lemon Shortbread Love

Lemon Shortbread

Today Kyla and Sienna made Lemon Shortbread. These two are really into baking right now, and we wanted to use up some of the lemons nana gave us.

Kyla chopped the butter
Butter Fingers

While Sienna mixed the sugar, flour and lemon zest.
Sugar Goes in...to bowl and mouth ;)

They needed my help to whip the butter and sugar.
Butter and Sugar

Then some teamwork was required to mix it all together.
Hands on

Then the part they both liked the best, cutting out the shapes.
Shaping
Creating
:)

Eventually they were ready for the oven.
Ready for the oven

And before we knew it, ready for the tummies...
Yum!*NibbleTaste TesterCheffettes celebrateWhat about me?

And yes, a few even made it to nana....just a few!
Lemon Shortbread
On Thursday it was time for Denver's biannual hospital visit, at Greenlane Hospital in Auckland. Since we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to follow our appointment up with a visit to One Tree Hill and Mt Eden. Kyla has been keen on checking out the volcanic craters ever since we read Under the Mountain last month.
One Tree Hill

Denver got freaked out looking up at the sculpture atop One Tree Hill, thought it was going to fall on her and went and sat in the car. I managed to coax her out when we got to Mt Eden.
Eventually.

Mt Eden

After that Rog surprised us all with a trip to Kelly Tarltons Underwater World. It's been a few years since we went last, and the girls all had a blast. Kyla loved the snowcat ride through the penguin enclosure, and kept dragging us all back through it. Here's some pics.
Snow CatStingray EatingEelKySea HorseFeeding TimeWonderDive, dive, dive!LookWhere's Denver?30 Second ChallengeSwingball, penguin styleStingray BarbSnacktimeWith the FishesBrendan Frasers Holiday JobChillin'Broad Squid

Wednesday 26 August 2009

White Chocolate Puddings

Today Madi decided to put into practice some culinary inspiration that hit her in the middle of our weekly grocery shopping.

"Mum, what would white chocolate puddings taste like?" So we armed ourselves with some good quality white chocolate and the next day, she set to work.

White Chocolate

We used the same quantities that were in the warm chocolate puddings.

Chef

She thought it was weird that the mixture was yellow, she expected it to be white.
Pre Bake

White Chocolate Pudding
Taste Test

I asked her what she thought, and she said they were okay, but not as nice as the milk chocolate version (not that it stopped her eating two!). Kyla on the other hand LOVED them, and said next time she wants white and dark, lol.

After Madi had finished, Kyla and Sienna decided they wanted to bake too, so we broke out the Betty Crocker Strawberry Babycakes.

Little Bakerscupcakes, the messy wayStrawberry Babycake made by Sienna:)Sienna Cakes

I'm rather glad I cannot eat any of these wonderful things, else the only thing I could fit would be a mumu.

The Word Party

Loving words clutch crimson roses,
Rude words sniff and pick their noses,
Sly words come dressed as foxes,
Short words stand on cardboard boxes,
Common words tell jokes and gabble,
Complicated words play Scrabble,
Swear words stamp around and shout,
Hard words stare eachother out,
Foreign words look lost and shrug,
Careless words trip on the rug,
Long words slouch with stooping shoulders,
Code words carry secret folders,
Silly words flick rubber bands,
Hyphenated words hold hands,
Strong words show off, bending metal,
Sweet words call each other 'petal',
Small words yawn and suck their thumbs,
Till at last the morning comes,
Kind words give out farewell posies....
Snap! The dictionary closes.

-RICHARD EDWARDS.