Tuesday, April 14, 2015

A Blustery Day - April 14, 2015

Tuesday - April 14th
It was really windy today.  When it was time to get Alissa from school, the wind had picked up a lot.  I considered driving to get her, but as Roger and I talked about it and walked outside to see how it felt, we decided that walking would be much more fun and adventurous than driving.  We were right.  It was fun!  But, also a little painful.  There was a lot of dust flying at us.  On the way to get Alissa, the wind was blowing at our backs.  That was fun, because every once in a while, it felt like the wind would pick us up a little and push us forward.  The 3 mile walk to the school went really fast with the wind pushing us, but we knew the walk back would not go as fast.  It was hard walking back home, because the dust was blowing in our eyes and the wind was blowing so hard against us.  It was something different and that made it fun.  I don't know why weird things like that make me so happy.  But, this was my favorite memory of walking with the kids.  This and a few weeks ago when there were a crazy amount of bees sitting on the side of the road for 2 blocks.  It was sunny, but really cold and I assumed that the cold was making it hard for the bees to fly.  I was really freaked out as I had to step over them all on the way there.  I warned the kids about it on our way back and when we got there, a lot of the bees had started flying.  There were still a few on the ground, but a lot of them had started to fly.  It was crazy to see all the bees, kind of scary, and also fun, because it was something different.  When I noticed the bees were flying, I said, "I can't handle it!  I'm running."  Then I took off running.  All the kids took off running with me, yelling, "Run!"  That was my second favorite memory of walking with the kids this year.
Back to today's walk.  The wind whipped extra hard as we walked under the freeway overpass.  With the wind at our backs it was fun, then when we came out from under the freeway, the wind was kind of swirling back toward it, until we got far enough away.  That was kind of crazy to see.  On the way home, I warned the kids that it gets really bad under the freeway, so they took off thinking they would run through it, but it was really painful and hard to get through, because of all the dust flying at us.  We ran through it, but with the wind blowing us back, we might as well have been walking.  At one point on the walk, the wind was blowing so hard at us, that when I tried to run, I ended up barely moving.  I thought it was funny.  I yelled to Roger, "Run with me.  It's like I'm on a treadmill!"  We had a good laugh as we tried to run into the wind.  It was fun.
I had Roger take a picture of the kids.  There were a few parts along the walk where the dust was blowing really hard in our faces.  This is how the kids dealt with it.  I also forgot to mention who these kids are.  Alissa is in the red shirt.  She is walking next to her friend, Malaiyha.  Simon is in the yellow shirt and Tayson is in the green shirt.  These are some of our friends that live in the town houses surrounding us.
 I had a really good baking day!  I tried a recipe for granola bars that I love!  They taste like store bought granola bars, but better.  This recipe is super yummy and it was really simple to make.  I know, maybe I should share the recipe, but I need to make a few changes to it, before I type it up.  I learned a few things as I was making it, that I wold like to add to the recipe.  I'll come back and post it on here after I get it all typed up.
 This was my second success of the day.  For the last 12 years, I've been trying to find a recipe that makes light and fluffy bread, similar to the store bought bread.  Today, I did it!  I found a recipe that is close enough to the store bought bread, that my little ones will eat it.  We all tasted a slice and everybody agreed it is the best bread I've made.  We even had sandwiches made with it for dinner tonight.  That was the big test.  They enjoy the other bread I've made, but they don't like it to be used for sandwiches.  This bread passed the test.  We all love it!  Yeah!  I never have to buy store bought bread again (except when I want bread and I'm feeling too lazy to make my own, which, of course, will probably happen a lot, after the excitement of having this new favorite bread recipe wears off).
 I didn't take a picture of the other thing I made.  I made salad in canning jars.  So, know I have 6 pre-made salads.  They are put together in the jar, in a way that they won't get soggy (I hope - I learned about this idea on Pinterest).  The claim is that it will keep well in the fridge for up to 10 days.  I just liked the idea, because it make it really easy to have a salad.  I like salads, I just don't enjoy cutting and preparing all of the vegetables whenever I want to eat one.  This way, I only have to do all that work once and I have salads whenever I want all week.  I ate a salad in a jar for my dinner tonight.  It was very yummy.
These are the pictures I took after we got home from school.  It started to rain toward the end of our walk.  The rain that came down was pretty much, mud, because of all the dust in the air.  Here is a picture of Alissa's mud splattered glasses.  When Roger went out to leave to work, we noticed all of the vehicles in the parking lot where splattered with mud.  It was kind of crazy to see.  I would have taken a picture, but I was tired at the time and walking across the room to get the camera felt like too much work.  I had already spent the whole first half of my day, on my feet, working in the kitchen, then I walked the 6 mile walk to get Alissa.  I was tired.
 Here are the kids enjoying the granola bars I made.  They all loved them and they were gone in no time, so I made a second batch.  Hopefully, they filled up enough on the first batch, so the second batch will last longer.

 Eventually, the wind stopped.  As the day went on, it got colder and colder, and as Roger left to work, the snow started.  We hardly got any snow this year, so I felt it important to document every time it snowed a little.  I'm pretty sure I took a picture each time. I'm not positive though, I'll have to look back through my blog and remember.  It was just a crazy year.  We really missed the snow.  I had the snow tubes out, waiting for a chance to make some hills to sled down, and it ever happened.
Also, Parker went to cub scouts tonight.  He had a lot of fun, but he was freezing when he came home.  He was walking home, when the snow was at it's worst.  He thought it was fun though.
Roger texted from work to tell me the power went out and when it came back on all of their equipment wouldn't work right anymore.  So, he had a nice break, while the power was out and they worked to fix the machines.  They have to call people in to fix the machines.

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