Camping

There are two times a year that it's actually nice to go camping in Houston. Early spring and late fall. We took advantage of the cooler weather in April and set out for Huntsville State Park just north of Houston. Stacia did all kinds of prep work such as shopping, packing the cooler, getting all the gear and food ready - so we could send out right after I got off work. It was a quick drive to the site, and what a beautiful place.

After we got the tent set up we started on dinner. Stacia is the camp director for our ward so she is an expert on alternative cooking methods. We used the box oven to cook some enchiladas Stacia had made during the day. After getting some charcoal nice and hot we simply put the enchiladas on a raised rack under this box with tin foil stapled to the sides. 30 minutes later we were eating hot and spicy enchiladas. Way to go Stacia and girl's camp cooking!

We started a small fire after dark and did the required roasting of marshmallows - the real reason Stacia wanted to go camping.

After a nice night sleep (air mattress) in the tent ("castle"to Samuel) we had an exciting day ahead of us. We made pancakes and eggs for breakfast, but all Samuel wanted to eat was a donut.

We set out for the nature center after we had cleaned up camp to take in a demonstration on alligators - which included an overview on how they act in the wild, how many are in the park, and a touch and feel event at the end where Samuel got to touch a live baby alligator's tail. How cool!

Before leaving we spent time in the hammock, went for a walk to the lake to see the fishermen, and saw an alligator hanging out in the lake. It was a great trip - and we can't wait until late fall to go again!

3 boys in a closet

We rode the train to visit cousins at the hospital yesterday. Ethan, Nate and Samuel were a riot. At least it sounded like a riot. A magic wand turned them into various animals, but they hid in the closet to avoid being turned into a bowl of oatmeal or a fairy princess. They rode in cars up and down the hall, giggling and squealing all the time. As we left (through a different door than we'd entered) I looked back and saw a sign on the door that read "Quiet, entering research area." Oops. Too late.

Chocolate Marshmallows

I celebrated Easter by making homemade marshmallow eggs. My mom sent me the recipe and I was motivated to try it by Grandma's reminiscing of how inferior store bought marshmallows are compared to the real thing. I was also motivated by the fact that I didn't need to go to the store - I already had all the ingredients.


Well, they were the real thing -the the best Easter candy I have ever tasted... that is, until the chocolate hardened. With the humidity it was taking forever to set, so I accelerated it by putting them in the fridge. The chocolate became crumbly and the texture was horrible. So much for using Ghiradelli's. I will definitely try this again using different chocolate and more patience (and hopefully less humidity).





I thought I was too messy spooning it into the flour mold and the eggs wouldn't be perfectly shaped. But after it set, I just trimmed the shapes down with scissors.


For my first foray into this sphere of candy-making, it was a success!



Samuel agreed.