Kid Friendly Friday - Take Me to a FREE Ballgame

We love baseball. Major League games are a bit expensive (and aren't located near us). We do have a summer college league close by that has family friendly FREE games. They even let you bring in coolers....so free really is free (you know how much stadium food can cost you)...and you don't feel bad for leaving after a couple innings if the kids get bored or it's a rain out.

My husband's friend used to coach one of the teams in the league, the Sanford River Rats. I made shirts and the girls loved going to cheer on their team. The stadium is close to my in-laws house so each time we would pass it somebody would yell out "1-2-3" and we would all reply "Go River Rats!" Great family camaraderie. Well this year he is coaching the Diamond Dawgs and there is a bit of a rivalry in the family. I made new shirts (although I ran out of D's so Scarlett's shirt just tells Kenne, the coach, how much she loves him)...but there's still some lingering love for the Rats. I was going to take a picture with the girls at the game last night but it was rained out. They were super disappointed!

Look around in your area for college league or minor league teams. The minor league games (and some college leagues) aren't free but they are very reasonably priced. If you are traveling this summer it is worth seeing if one is in the area you're headed. We fell in love with the Madison Mallards while in WI and the St. Paul Saints in MN. The games are filled with kids activity before the game and in between innings - dizzy bat contests, the kids running the bases, etc. And lots of game promotions. Even if you don't like baseball it's a fun family affair.

Check out a list of some of the college leagues HERE. Minor league teams HERE.

Please join in Kid Friendly Friday and add your link to the box below. We would love to hear what activities you are doing with your family this summer. Anything goes - crafts, recipes, questions, movie reviews, giveaways.....anything kid friendly!

Kid Friendly Friday Resumes

My Kid Friendly Friday blog carnival is resuming tomorrow. I can't wait to see what you have been coming up with the past few weeks! Crafts? Movie reviews? Recipes? Summer activities? I would love for you to join me - Feel free to link a previous post.

Kids in the Kitchen (on the lawn) - Making Butter

Making butter is just too easy - and fun! When we were up at my parent's house (with all the cousins as well) Gramma B gave each of them a pint canning jar (any jar would be fine) half filled with heavy cream. Their mission: to shake it until it was butter. I thought they would do it for a few minutes and get bored but they surprised me. Even the baby pitched in. It took about 10 minutes, maybe less. It turned to whipped cream, then cottage cheezy like, then a big ball of butter with thin buttermilk around it. When it was complete we drained the buttermilk, added a little salt and then patted the extra buttermilk out of it (the adults did this). To pat it you put it in a bowl and run a spoon on it's surface from side to side. Little droplets of buttermilk will surface. Drain this off. The butter will be a little soft but will harder if you refrigerate it. If you haven't done this yet, it's a must!

Go over to A Little Fun With Me and Lu to check out more Kids in the Kitchen posts!

Scarlett is Walking!

Cheaper Than Therapy holds A Thousand Word Thursday each week. Go visit to check out other pictures! Michelle over at Psalm 104:24 hosts Three Things This Thursday. I like to do them together. Randomness and pictures.

1. The girls are fighting like nobody's business. It started on the trip up north and has continued to a point where I would just like summer to be over to get a little peace and quiet. Easy for me to say....I don't have anything to go back to. SOOOO...instead of screaming like a mad women telling them to stop screaming at each other, I have implemented "banishment" (some call it time out but I would like to think that my kids are too old for that). Emma in the nursery (Scarlett still refuses to use her crib - at least the nursery should get used for something) and Lexi in the bathroom (we do have little stools in there so she doesn't have to sit on the potty). I am done giving warnings. I am done listening to even a little bit of bickering, name calling, biting, or rock throwing (yes, this morning Lexi was just about to launch a rock at her sister). Say a little prayer. If this doesn't work I might find myself locking myself in my own bathroom. For the rest of the summer.

2. Scarlett learned how to walk while we were in MN! It is completely because of the grass. She played in the grass a ton everyday and was walking before we knew it. She doesn't wear shoes so that would be a problem down here. FL Grass = Yuck! If you are from Florida you know that our grass is not worthy of walking in barefooted. If you are from the north please thank God each day for the soft, plush grass that you can actually lie down or walk in without fear of being attacked by a fire ant. Seriously. That junk hurts.

3. Whenever I come back from MN I am all inspired to garden. There's something about the short span of time you have without snow that makes everyone want to grow things. The flowers in everyone's yards are so nice. By much trial and error I have found that gardening down here is best done in the fall and winter. So this week it's my goal to get all of my seedlings started. I plan to do tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, swiss chard, and spinach. My dad gave me a bunch of flower seeds that I want to get planted as well. I also need to replace all of my herbs that perished while we were gone.

Wordless Wednesday - My Big Fish

Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts HERE , HERE or HERE.

Glad to Be Back - Tempt My Tummy!

What better way to return to the blog world than with a yummy recipe? And what better recipe than one that uses the beautiful peaches we picked up in Georgia on our way home?

Peach Streusel Crisp

9 ripes peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. vanilla

2 TB flour

Topping:

1 stick cold butter

1 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan or medium casserole dish (double recipe for a 9 x 13 pan), Peel and pit peaches, slice and place in a bowl. Top with sugar, flour cinnamon and vanilla. Toss to coat and set aside while preparing topping.

Make strusel by cutting the butter into the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. This is easily done by hand, or use a pastry cutter, until course texture.

Put peaches in the pan, top with strusel, and back for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and peaches are bubbling. Top with vanilla ice cream!

We had a wonderful month-long trip but nothing beats home. More about the trip later....

Visit Blessed with Grace for more Tempt My Tummy recipes!

Why This Road?

Meghan's Story with "This Road" from Northland Media Design on Vimeo.

Amazing story and song (starts about halfway in). Can't get it out of my head....