Bask In My Normalcy

Composting: A New Year's Resolution Complete

2012-01-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to report that I have completed a New Year's Resolution and have officially started composting. It was so easy to get started. I followed the simple instructions on http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/

Drilling holes was easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Using simple Rubbermaid like containers is all you need to get started. Luckily I had 2 generic ones in my garage that were collecting dust so that is what I used.

Start by drilling holes evenly around the lid of the container. Maybe a few in the middle to allow for aeration. Then flip the container over and drill a few holes on the bottom for drainage.

Don't get too excited. He didn't help for long.

Next, start to add your shtuff to your bin. Start with a layer of shredded newspaper. Then add some dried leaves. Water this down but don't drown it. Finally, add your kitchen scraps (fruits and veggie bits, egg shells, etc) and put a lid on it.

Not much but it's a start. I need the neighbors coffee grounds now.

Make sure to turn your mixture every 3 or 4 weeks to mix it up. It will start to turn into compost soil within a few months. I made two bins mainly because I had two but I figured I could get one going and then go back and forth. I don't think I will have enough soil for this year's garden but you never know. Hopefully worms will find their way in as well. That makes it even better!

These two frugal compost bins have made a home behind my garage.

We now keep a bowl in the kitchen for kitchen scraps and Rowdy is learning what we can compost. Then when it fills up, Rowdy runs it out to the bin. He is really learning alot about what we can do to lighten our footprint on the world. That makes it all worth while.

Whew....where the heck have I been?! (Review of 2011)

2011-12-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted since March and so much has happened I don't even know where to begin. I have gone to the Olympic National Forest in Washington, Alaska (again), had an amazing summer, went to three concerts, went to the happiest place on earth, had the best Birthday week ever, have met so many great people, enjoyed every moment with my amazing son, and had a blast with my friends. 2011 has been one of the best years of my life and I did really well with my resolutions! The biggest resolution I kept with was "Be Happy". This was the most important and if I didn't accomplish anything else, this was the one that had to happen. And it did. Merry Christmas! I will be starting this blog up again in 2012 so watch out for it!

First Beach, LaPush, Washington

Redoubt Bay, outside Anchorage, Alaska

William Fitzsimmons (most amazing song writer/folk singer of our time)

Rowdy and Mommy being silly on the iPhone

Rowdy at swim lessons this summer

Alejandro of Boyce Avenue, Martini Ranch, Scottsdale

Rowdy at Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth

Halloween, vampire and Spiderman coming at ya

The girls and the boy

Celebrating my 37th with Joena and many other friends downtown Prescott

Christmas pic taken at Grand Canyon Hotel, Williams, AZ

So many great memories of 2011. Happy New Year everyone!

Love, Stephanie & Rowdy

Lions & Tigers & Bears OH MY!

2011-03-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

What an awesome trip to an awesome place - Out of Africa Animal Park in Cottonwood, AZ!

That's Rowdy feeding a giraffe a cookie with his mouth! He did it three times and didn't mind the slobber one bit! He also fed a camel (from his mouth), a tiger, and some other exotic African animals. This place was so cool. It was pricey but well worth the money.

It was so neat to see all these animals in their semi-natural habitat.

Now, that's an egg - an Ostrich egg to be exact!

My Mom knew someone that worked there and he was kind enough to let us in some areas that would otherwise be unaccesable! We were able to pet some porcupines and look a cobra straight in the eye! And I am not kidding. This thing was right in front of me!

They had some beautiful felines at the park, too!

A white tiger and a lioness

My brave boy feeding a tiger named Ezekial

They also has some young bears and a pair of hyenas. The hyenas were cool to watch! I had never seen one up close before. They laugh when they want their food. And they growl when they are happy and want to play!

And let's not forget the giant python that Rowdy was enthralled with! A Python is the longest snake in the world. It slithered around and never fazed him! He thought it was the coolest thing ever!

So next time you are thinking, "what should we do today?", why not take a trip to this awesome animal park. You won't be sorry. Of course the natives are pretty restless!

"FEED ME! I AM STARVING HERE!" No we didn't feed the zebras but they sure were relentless!

Boom Boom the Rhino

Fun with the Juicer

2011-02-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

Rowdy and I decided to break out the juicer this morning because I had two apples that were looking a little like two old men! But still great for a healthy juice. I don't like apple very much in my morning smoothie so juice was the best idea to use them up. And Rowdy loves to use the juicer!

Rowdy added the cut up apple to the top and pushed down the plunger to extract that lovely apple juice. But, of course, Mommy had to add some veggies to the juice so in went about 4 carrots. Carrots mix so well with fruits, especially oranges!

We also added one orange for a little more sweetner. YUM was it delish! And what a beautiful orange color!

"This is yummy, Mommy!". It was quite a fantastic sip if I do say so myself! And thank you to my friend, Hope, for giving me her juicer for free! Yes, I am using it, Hope!

Rowdy's Juice

2 large Opal Apples, cut up

4 big carrots (do no cut up or peel)

1 large orange, skin removed and cut into quarters

Juice and enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Rowdy and I made Valentine's for his friends. I wish I could say these were my idea but I did steal them from my good friend Sheri's daughter. It was so simple and so unique!

Mommy cut the holes with an exacto knife and Rowdy was in charge of putting the lollipops in the holes. He did a fantastic job. He was very proud of them!

The instructions are very simple. First just take a picture with their hand out in a fist. Make sure they smile! Then open your photo in "paint" on your computer. I don't have photoshop but paint worked just fine. Put shapes and doodles all over it. Save it and get them printed. Then cut the top and bottom of hand with an exacto knife and insert your treat. Voila! A unique and personable valentine for your friends! The gal that I got the idea from made cookies, wrapped them, and stuck them to a popsicle stick. Here is what the valentine looked like before we inserted the lollipop:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

No Buy February Challenge

2011-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have read about this challenge on a few sites (Chiot's Run for one) and I have decided to take the challenge! The challenge is to not buy anything I don't need - books for my nook, clothes, electronics, etc. If I need food that isn't in my house and I can justify the cost then I can buy it. But that's it. If you don't need it to live by, don't buy it!

I am also going to go through my house more and purge stuff I don't need. I am getting stuff together for my yard sale (one of my many new year's resolutions) so this is a great opportunity to do just that!

Anyone else want to join the challenge? Just say no to consumerism and save some money along the way! Let's be like George Carlin - no more stuff!

Homemade Granola & New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

One of my new year's resolutions was to eat more healthier. I have been dabbling in raw foods and trying to incorporate healthy stuff into my diet. So I tried my hand at making homemade granola the other day and I have only one thing to say - YUMMY! Why didn't I ever do this before?? I am putting it in my greek yogurt (it makes it taste alot more like regular yogurt) or eating it with some 1% milk. Rowdy has also been snacking on it! We just can't get enough. I think this will be a staple at the Rowdy and Mommy Homestead!

This is roughly the recipe I used. I looked at a bunch of different recipes and came up with this one. It has a lots of healthy stuff in it. If you don't have all the stuff, you can substitute (use honey instead of agave for instance) or just leave it out. You can't really mess this up! If you like dried fruits with your granola (raisins, craisins, etc) add it to the final product after you have baked it. This amount made 1 Quart jar and 1 Pint jar of granola for me.

Homemade Granola ala Stephanie

4 Cups Rolled Oats (not quick oats)

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw cashew pieces (or any 2 nuts you like)

2 Tbls ground flax

2 Tbls wheat germ

2 Tbls cinnamon

1 Tbls nutmeg

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients in a roasting pan (or a couple of cookie sheets). On low heat, melt the oil, agave, and vanilla until liquid. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and give it a good stir. Bake for 20 minutes at 275 degrees. Take out and stir. Put back in for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and put in containers (after cooling, this is where you will want to add any dried fruit). Will keep for 2-3 weeks.

I sat down and made a list of my New Year's Resolutions for 2011. Many of them will not get crossed off - they will be ongoing - and I may add some or subtract some. I added them to the right side of my blog. I really want to make an honest effort to follow this list. There have been alot of changes in my life in the last few months and I realized that I need to change a lot in my life because of what's happened. I just want to be a good person and live my life to the fullest.

I wish everyone a Great 2011! What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Fire Chief Rowdy Turns 4!

2011-01-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged since Christmas. Life always seems to get in the way, but that's ok. Because it's a good life!

Rowdy's 4th birthday party was a hit and the kids had fun playing with all the new toys and pin the ladder on the firetruck (thanks Pam!). Everyone was a winner of the game and got goodie bags filled with m&m's, kisses, play dough, stickers, card games, and a fireman's hat.

James and Seth with James' Mom, Debbie

Rowdy got a lot of cool toys including a nerf tommy gun (that went to Dad's!), carwash, games, Cars Vtech computer, lots of firetruck stuff, and the biggest remote control firetruck you have ever seen, courtesy of Papa!

For the third year in a row, Deb at the PV Safeway made Rowdy's birthday cake. She always does such a great job. This year it was a firetruck cupcake cake.

Banner made by Pam

Everyone enjoyed the cake!

Little Max

James

I always have so much fun planning Rowdy's Birthday parties every year! I am already brainstorming next years!

I love you Sugar Booger!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas! Rowdy and I had a nice time with Uncle Mike and my parents.

Santa brought Rowdy the chainsaw he wanted. He started to cut down the tree with it!

He got some nice presents from Mommy and the family.

Rowdy made sure there wasn't any stragglers left under the tree!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holiday Baking and Canning

2010-12-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite cookbook right now (Thanks Mom!). This has some great small batch canning recipes for hot water bath canning. And since it's just me most of the time (with a little guy for half of the week) it comes in handy when I don't want to make a big batch of something. I decided to make some recipes from the book for holiday gifts - and of course to fill my pantry with home canned goodies!

The first thing I made was "Your Basic Chunky Tomato Salsa". It was very easy to make and I even added some cilantro to the mix. I was able to use up the last of the onion I got from Grandpa's house in Utah and the garlic too. The funniest part was when I cut up the jalepenos and breathed them in! Rowdy asked if I was ok! I now know to get plastic gloves to cut them up for next time - and maybe a mask!

I ended up getting 3 pints and 3 half pints of this - four jars for gifts and 2 pints for my pantry! A co-worker has already cracked open a jar and said it was delish! I am sure this recipe will be a keeper.

This was the first time I have ever used cranberries. I just love the rich red color of them. So lovely! With these beauties I made "Festive Cranstrawberry Jam". I just loved that this recipe called for me to chop up a whole orange - rind and all! The smell was grand in the kitchen when this was boiling on the stove!

And doesn't it look lovely in my new Ball jars? I was able to get 6 half pints out of this - 3 for gifts and 3 for my pantry. I was a little stingy with this one. I can't wait to try it! The next jam I am going to can is Cranana Jam - yep, you guessed it - cranberries and bananas, yum!

Both of the above recipes can be found in "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard.

Now onto Holiday Baking with Grandma White and Rowdy!

There is my kitchen helper - Rowdy. He is shelling chocolate kisses to use in Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies. He shelled the whole bag for me. He was such a big help on Holiday Baking Day with Grandma White!

His next job was to roll the PB balls in sugar and put them on the pan. He completed it with ease. He then helped put the kisses on the cookies! Voila! Blossom cookies.

We also made the traditional sugar cookie which he took on sprinkle duty.

In one day we made PB blossoms, choc chip cookies, sugar cookies, choc chip zucchini bread (where I had a cocoa powder mishap), pb choc fudge, garlic pretzels, and jingle balls (choc covered pb)!

Most of the goodies went to work as I use these to bribe my employees to do anything I want! Totally kidding but they do enjoy these treats. They always ask for the pretzels and jingle balls. I guess now I am famous for them! I wish I could take the credit for the recipes but alas, they are not mine. But they sure are keepers!

Next up.....I will dabble more into canning cranberry goodies!

The Polar Express

2010-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Rowdy, Grandma White, and I traveled to Williams, AZ to ride on the Polar Express. This is the second time we have done this and I think it's a new tradition! We just love getting in our pajamas and listening to the story of the Polar Express as we ride the rails to the North Pole.

Before we hopped on board the train, my Mom took some pics of Rowdy and I in front of the fireplace at the Depot Hotel where we stayed the night. These two pics will be our annual Christmas card. I love how they turned out!

I also took a nice pic of Grandma White and the boy together!

After dinner, we hopped aboard the Polar Express and away we went - "To the North Pole, of course!".

After hot chocolate and cookies made by Mrs. Claus, the North Pole was in sight! All the kids jumped to our side of the train to catch of a glimpse of the big guy and his elves.

Santa hopped on board with us and rode back to Williams. During the trip back, he talked to every child and gave them a special bell - Mommy and Grandma got one too. Thanks Santa!

The trip back was full of "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer". We all sang Christmas carols together.

Another great trip aboard the Polar Express! Christmas cards have been ordered and will be coming your way in the next week!

The Leaves Are Falling, Mommy

2010-11-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

The leaves have fallen in the backyard here at the Rowdy and Mommy homestead. As soon as Rowdy saw them out the backdoor this morning he immediately wanted me to rake them up so he could jump in them!

Now I don't get much leaves since I only have one little tree in the backyard but it was just enough to satisfy the boy for a good hour.

He looked so cute in the hat that I got him in Alaska. It was quite chilly today and it kept his ears nice and toasty! But Brrrrr.....Mommy didn't last very long outside.

I am thinking of using the first picture for my Christmas Cards this year? What do you think?

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Repurposed Spice Rack

2010-11-11T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am on a roll with this repurposing thing! I just walk through a thrift store and let my mind whirl about what I can do with stuff I find. This was a - not so loved anymore - spice rack that I had a vision for - to turn it into acrylic paint storage. Here it is:

Again, I love how it turned out! I just need to put the color of the paints on the top of the bottles. Most of my paints are the same company and they don't put the "flavor" on top. This matches my shelf perfectly and is a great addition to my room.

I had to sand this down a little bit as there was some finish on it. Then I spray painted it with the same semi-gloss black paint and added the same ribbon. Total cost - $4.

I am on the lookout for a old cassette tape holder - preferably small - to repurpose for ink pad storage if anyone has one that you don't need.

Repurposed Shelf

2010-11-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

So I found this treasure at Stepping Stones today - a thrift store here in a Prescott Valley - for $12. I must have been in a crafty mood because my mind started spinning on what I could do with it. And believe it or not, it came out exactly how I envisioned it and I couldn't be happier!

Isn't this the cutest!? It is now a homemade "clip it up" shelf for my ribbon!

Renee's Clip it Up systems can run you in upwards of $50! This project cost me less than $20! I just painted it with black semi-gloss spray paint, added ribbon to the edges of the shelves with glue dots, screwed on closet rod attachments and a dowl rod - then painted those black too, and added swivel clips from IKEA. Voila! Homemade Clip it Up!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

There he is......my little Fireman! And our silly "Redneck" pumpkin as Rowdy calls it!

Not bad for a $5 costume, eh? The coat I bought at Goodwill for only 5 bucks, can you believe it? He already had the hat, axe, and boots (from our trip to Smith and Edwards in Utah).

We went Trick or Treating with his buddies Seth the "vampire" and James "Bumblebee" transformer. They did really well saying "Trick or Treat" and thank you to everyone. Seth even started scaring people with that scary face of his! They had alot of fun!

After about 2 streets, Rowdy's feet started to hurt and he asked if we could go home. Seth and James went with their Mommies for more trick or treating and we retired for the evening. He ended up with a good amount of loot anyway! It was a quick night but worth it!

Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch Pic That Almost Wasn't

2010-10-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Boy, was this photo a struggle to get! Our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch wasn't the greatest experience. Not to mention that it was without Lisa (who he is STILL asking when she is coming back!). We went to Freeman Farms in Chino Valley this year and it was kind of a rip off. I should have just walked over to the pumpkin patch right away like Rowdy wanted and got the pictures. Instead I paid an overpriced ticket for silly stuff that Rowdy didn't really want to do.

I was able to get some cute pics but not as many as I would have liked. I tried to get a cute one of the two of us but it wasn't to be.

Now, this he loved! Picking out little pumpkins! He thought these were the coolest and picked out an orange one, a white one, and a yellow one. These came home and got colored by my little Picasso!

Grandma thought they were pretty cute too!

Even though it wasn't the best trip to the patch this year, Rowdy was pretty excited to pick out his pumpkin! So just remember, skip all the stupid crap that cost a lot of money and go right to the patch. You will save yourself a few meltdowns from a 3 year old!

HAPPY PUMPKIN PICKING!

Rainy Day Breadmaking

2010-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

"How does this look, Mommy?"

It was a lazy rainy day today and I didn't feel like cleaning the house (even though I should have!). I thought it would be fun to make bread with Rowdy. I found a pretty easy recipe on the good 'old internet via google (gotta love google).

He started out very interested as always - pouring ingredients into the bowl and dousing himself with flour! He had a lot of fun punching the dough, too!

When it was time for it to sit and rise I thought it would be a great time for Rowdy to take a nap. A little quiet time was fantastic! Now don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with the little guy, but sometimes some "Mommy Time" is much needed!

While he napped we got one heck of a rainstorm! It was coming down something fierce! The garden was loving it though. Here are some of my peppers still left. That green pepper went into the dinner salad! And look at my gypsy peppers - I have a few that are turning red finally.

To go with our fresh baked bread, I made Mac & Cheese from the Lottie and Doof blog - a fantastic blog for yummy recipes! It was like grown up mac & cheese. With a salad of greens and peppers, tomatoes, and green onion from our garden it was a great meal.

The bread turned out a little flat - I don't think I let it rise enough. But, oh well, warm with some butter it was still delish. And Rowdy loved it!

Here are the recipes I referenced in this post.

Mac & Cheese (Lottie & Doof Style)

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2009/04/mac-cheese-lottie-doof-style/

Basic White Bread

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

Canning Tomatos and Other Stuff

2010-10-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the last of Mom's tomato harvest (I think). I have been staring at that bag of tomatos in my fridge my Mom gave me trying to decide what to do with them. Should I make more yummy sauce (which I cracked open the other night and made sketti - yummy!), roast them (did that already), dehydrate them (yep that too)?

So I finally fired up the canner and texted Mom - "come on over!". She brought more and we got to work peeling and coring (not so fun for Mom really). I quartered them, canned them in their own juice, and got 6 pints plus one quart of tomatos. Not bad really. They will be great for chili, sauce, or in stuffed peppers.

Mom also brought over some more cantaloupe from her garden. These little guys are cute and from what I hear quite tasty (of course you won't see me eat one). They are the perfect size for Rowdy, which he had with his orange themed lunch today (that would be mac & cheese, carrots, and cantaloupe).

Speaking of gardens, I think I am getting down to the end of mine. I picked the only red pepper I had this year! And look at those pathetic tomatos! Oh well, I just sliced up the pepper and it will be frozen with other green peppers for fajitas.

I was able to get some good tomatos this year from my garden. I just dehydrated those and put them in a jar. I can use these for pizza toppings, soups, etc.

And lastly (since I did put "stuff" in my title), I stayed home with Rowdy today as he is a little under the weather. Good 'old virus again. Poor little guy. He took it easy most of the day and I found him playing with his Thomas Vtech Computer alot. This is a nice suprise as he is enjoying working on his letters!

You can hear him in the other room. For instance, the computer will say, "J is for Jar" and he will say, "and jelly and jam"! My kid is a genius. But what do you expect, he takes after his Mom, right?

Rowdy the "Bug Tamer"

2010-09-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

That's my little "Bug Tamer"! Rowdy loves bugs and has no problems just picking them up whenever he sees one. This cool bug was found enjoying life in my Basil plant (and probably chomping the heck out of it too!). It was climbing up Rowdy's chest and neck and Rowdy was just laughing away. He also thought it was funny to put it on Koby and watch Koby freak out about it!

And it doesn't stop at just bugs. He has picked up and even kissed a snake once! That freaked Daddy out a little bit!

Rowdy is so brave and I love to watch him when he finds something new. He is so full of wonder and curiosity! I hope he never loses that in life!

Making Garlic Dill Pickles

2010-09-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

The cucumber plant was not doing well so it was time to pick off the cukes we had grown. They weren't the greatest cukes this year so I decided to try my hand at dill pickles this time. I used Mrs. Wages Kosher Dill Pickle mix and Rowdy and I added cloves of garlic to the jars for an added zing! Since the sweet pickles turned out a little mushy (but still pretty tasty) I let the cukes soak in ice water for about 3 hours (this is supposed to help the pickles stay crisp).

Rowdy did a great job as my "dill pickle helper". He learned how to take a head of garlic apart and how to take the skin off. He helped put the pickles in the jars and he added the garlic too! Zoey even supervised!

I can't wait to try these! They look so yummy! But alas, we will have to wait at least a month as they have to sit for awhile. But it will be worth the wait. And if not, who cares, it was just really nice to can with Rowdy! He is so much fun in the kitchen!

Preserving the (Stolen) Harvest!

2010-09-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

"Give Me Thine Food And I Shall Can The!"

I have been a canning fool, I tell ya! Dale is making fun of me, but oh well! This is fun!

I canned 5 pints of tomato sauce - tomatos, garlic, and onion were from Grandpa's garden while the basil and green peppers were from mine! I shall call it the famous "Family Affair" tomato sauce! I also canned 3 pints of pickles. We will see how they turn out as I didn't let them sit in a brine for 24 hours. I might have mushy pickles but I will know better for next time. The tomato sauce, however, came out superb as there was a little bit left so I mixed it with some penne, basil, grilled chicken, and some parmesan for dinner that night! Delish!

Remember all those peaches I mentioned on my last post? Well, they have been canned and creamed! Ice cream that is! I made 3 containers of Peach ice cream and had enough to can 2 pints of peaches in apple juice! The canning of peaches is a little bit of a pain because it's a lot of work but I didn't want to waste them. I think it was worth it!

I finally ran out of stuff to can and went looking in the pantry to find something since I was on a "canning roll". I was about to open a can of fruit to can it again (not really) when low and behold I remember the 2 bags of apples Dale had purchased to dehydrate and never got around to! Apple butter, here I come, uh can, uh whatever! This stuff is the bomb diggity! I don't want to give it away! I just want to stash it away and say "my Precious" over and over!

Now that I feel like Mrs. Cleaver I think I am gonna go sew me a pretty apron and bake a pie.....nah! That's too much work!

Utah's Bounty

2010-08-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

What a glorious 5 days in beautiful Brigham City, Utah! The week included visits with Grandpa and family, irrigating the garden, mint chocolate chip ice cream at Peach City, marigolds in the sunshine, running through the sprinkler, a run to Smith and Edwards for stuff we can't live without, reading on a blanket on the lawn out back, and picking a bountiful harvest of tomatos, potatos, corn, onions, garlic, and peaches! Whew!

Rowdy had an amazing time and was so excited to see his Great Grandpa! He especially loved irrigation time and helping Grandpa in the garden. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining all week.

Rowdy thought it was the coolest that one could pick a peach and eat it right away! And that he did! Yummy! Grandpa had me take all those lovely ripe peaches home with us. Along with a bevy of vegetables. Bless his heart!

And did I mention the homemade Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from Peach City Drive-In? I could have lived off this stuff all week (well I guess I did so to speak since I had some at least once a day)! Feel free to lick the screen now.

Rowdy also got to go inside a Caboose for the very first time. We drove down to the tracks to chase some trains but never saw one. So we took a stroll over the tracks to check out a parked Caboose. He was amazed that it had a toilet!

What a great and memorable trip! We can't wait to go back again and visit! Now I need to get going and do something with that bounty I brought home! Peaches anyone?