Thousand Word - Beach Fun

We spent the week at the beach; one more last hurrah before school starts up. We had a wonderful time. Hope you get some R&R before your year starts.

Despite having watched "Shark Week" the previous week, Bigs was not afraid to play in the water. She loves getting beat up by the waves and throwing jelly fish back into the water (yes, real jelly fish, no they were not poisonous).

Mimi enjoying the sand and water. She has a fantastic imagination and can play for hours.

Can you believe I forgot to bring Little Bit's bathing suits to the beach?? Luckily, Mimi had one that was slightly too small for her....but still a bit big on Little Bit. She had the most wonderful time digging in the sand and chasing sea birds.

Cheaper Than Therapy holds A Thousand Word Thursday each week. Go visit to check out other pictures!

Kid Friendly Friday - Sing Me a Book

Happy Friday Everyone! Kid Friendly Friday is a place to share anything that may interest other parents - recipes, books, crafts, back-to-school material. Old posts, new posts, red posts, blue posts. Sorry, couldn't help it. Link up yours with MckLinky below!

This week I'm introducing you to two of my favorite books. They are my favorites because I can sing them. I'm not the best singer (the louder I sing the better I sound) but it amuses me and makes my kids laugh. I have a great accent for the spaghetti book (Cajun, maybe??). So if you are like me and can get down while reading, may I present to you two of the best....

Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name by Tedd Arnold

On Top Of Spaghetti by Paul Brett Johnson

Enjoy your weekend~

Aloha Friday - Goth or Not

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."

So head over to her site, An Island Life and answer her question but while you are here you might as well answer mine:

Can a 35 year old stay-at-home mom pull off black nail polish?

No saying that I should wear anything that makes me comfortable :) I painted my (short) fingernails black last night and I like it...but I'm not sure if it's appropriate. My 6 year old loves it as well, but she would be thrilled if I came home sporting pink hair adorned with glitter. Tell me the truth. I won't cut you off my Christmas list!

Kids in the Kitchen - Independent Play

Mimi got a mini baking kit (cutters, rolling pin, etc.) for her birthday and has been asking me all week to let her make cookies. I'm not sure if this really counts as cooking...but I let them do whatever they wanted with this....

They didn't have much luck with the cookie cutters so they made free form cookies.

I really am getting better with my "letting go" issues and let them do whatever they wanted without trying to get them to make them the right way my way.

Here Mimi is trying to convince me why she should eat the last bit of raw cookie dough.

They were very proud of their cookies and more importantly they had fun doing it. I couldn't resist going over the end result with Bigs..."What can you do next time so they don't all bake together? What can you do so they bake evenly? What can you...." you get the picture. I know, but I'm trying!

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

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Lizard Watching

She loves the water but we can't keep her in the pool for long. She wants to explore. I wish I could capture the excitement she has when first spotting a lizard (picture a lot of bouncing, screaming, and finger pointing). Then she just squats and observes.

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

Tempt My Tummy - Monterey Jack Salsa

Besides fresh from the garden salsa, this is my favorite salsa. Very eclectic. Tasty. Colorful. Visit Blessed with Grace for more Tempt My Tummy recipes!

Monterey Jack Salsa

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
5 green onions, chopped
1 ripe avocado, chopped (two would be good too!)
1 tomato, chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can black olives, chopped
1 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes 3 cups.

Birthday Cupcake Tower

I did take the giant cupcake wrapper off before she dug in.

Little Bit was not a big entertainer with the smash cake. She took a few bites of the frosting but didn't go for it. She would much rather be down on the ground walking around. The frosting was strawberry buttercream, which was a good tasting frosting (even though I don't like frosting because it is too sweet) but didn't hold up in the heat and humidity. I used all butter. I think it would have held up better with shortening...but where's the fun in that? More pictures of the birthday girl later this week.