Day at the Races

Today we participated in the Raingutter Regatta with the Boy Scouts. Ben missed it last year since he was out of town so this was all new to him. He helped the boys build their boats this week and they were all ready.

Benny showing off his boat "Harry Potter's Fast Boat". Guess what he's been reading.

Andy showing off his boat "Party Rock" AND his water bottle.

The racing course. They went with the inflatable course this year to accommodate the wider catamarans.

Once everyone was registered we enjoyed a gourmet lunch which consisted of....

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs...

and Andy's favorite: OREOS. They had chips and other cookies too.

Let the Races begin!!!!

Andy ended up being the only Tiger there so Mr. M. raced against him.

Of course Andy went easy on him.

Ready to Race.

Ben and Dan had to race against their fellow Wolves.

Practice round. A little brotherly competition.

The FINAL battle for 3rd place.

Ellie was bored the WHOLE time! She brought her book to read but that lasted all of about 15minutes. 

The rest of the time she just complained. Typical Ellie.

She found my Playbook once she was bored with reading.

Time for the Awards

Andy got 1st Place for the Tigers.

Benny got 3rd Place for the Wolves.

Danny got a medal for "Most Futuristic" boat.

Junior Forest Ranger

E's Girl Scout troop attended an event this morning that was put on by another troop. Trees for the 21st Century. The girls had to visit 5 different stations and complete activities in their Junior Forest Ranger books. E was VERY reluctant to go this morning since she would have to give up her XBOX/Computer time. She pouted and dragged her feet until I threatened to take her home. In the end she had fun, I think.

making a stamp

I don't think she enjoyed this part :)

her Bald Cypress she got to bring home

Bakerella wanna-be

I LOVE Bakerella! I really wish I was as talented as her. She makes such pretty things out of cake. After probing her blog for about 2 hours I found a few ideas that I could do for our upcoming bake sale at school. I usually do cupcakes but want to branch-out and try new things.

Here's what I ended up with. I hope they are big sellers at the bake sale tomorrow night.

Cake Pops

I have made cake pops/cake balls before but never had any good results...until now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

crumbled cake mixed with icing

rolled into balls

lollipop sticks inserted

I had to lay them down to get them all to fit into the freezer

dipped in melted goodness

--------Thanks to this Bakerella video on YouTube for the right technique--------

lightning bolt decor

the bake sale is for a Magic Show

whirly, swirly

Those turned out OK. I still need to perfect my skills some but I am getting the hang of it.

Oreo Truffles.

The recipe and instructions from Bakerella can be found here. I must tell you that this was the most time consuming for me only because I sold my food processor in our yard sale a few weeks ago. The one time I actually need it and would use it I don't have it. I made do with a rolling pin and a plastic baggie and then did the rest by hand with a large spoon and a big bowl. My hands are still sore.

crushed Oreos

mixed with cream cheese

rolled into balls and frozen

dipped in white yumminess

drizzled with the dark goodness to finish

So Yummy! It was all I could do to only have 1 of each.