Creative Kids Birthday Basket

My niece just turned six this month, and I wanted to make her something special.  She is an on the go, playful, and creative kid, so what better than a gift to be creative, color, paint, and more.

 I think the finished product turned out perfect, and will be ready for whatever creative whim comes her way.

I started off by making some of the basket necessities.  The first was sparkling playdough.  I went to trusty Pinterest to find my recipe.  I found the one I liked the best...
Sparkling Playdough Recipe
I cut the recipe down to a quarter of it's original size.  I only needed a little bit, and I wanted different colors

Next the glitter slime.  This stuff is so cool, Elmer's glitter glue, water and borax.  Couldn't be easier to make, and more fun to play with.
Glitter Slime Recipe

Finally the homemade finger paint.  I used neon food dye to give it an extra pop of color.
Homemade Finger Paint Recipe

I went to my silhouette to create the labels for the tops of my jars, and used mod podge to attach the label.

I also made these clip art scenes on my computer.  Took them to an office supply store close by (Staples), and had them blow up my
 8 1/2 x 11 sheet to poster size.  I wanted my niece to be able to hang this on her wall, and color till her hearts content, and then have artwork for her room when she's done.

Purchased some crayons, markers, and an extra pack of paper.  One last thing to make it complete...

Found an old shirt at my local thrift store, got some iron-on letters to spell her name.  Now she's got a personalized shirt to get paint on, and no one needs to care!!
Can't wait to see what she creates.

3

Fruit is Ripening, Time to Start Canning

Can you tell by the title that I'm excited to start canning the best of the summer.  Between a flourishing garden and boxes of fruits that are coming our way, it's a good time to enjoy and save the bounty.  My first conquest this season is apricots.  Did a girls weekend on the western slope of Colorado where we traveled to different winery's and fruit stands.  Palisade, CO is known for it's winery's as well as it's peaches and apricots, plus so much more.  While I did my fair share of wine and mead tasting and purchasing, did manage to come home with some fruit too!

From just 3 1/2 lbs of fruit, came 10 jars of apricot jam.  Yum.

Here's what you need.  Ripe apricots, sugar, lemon juice, pectin, and your canning utensils.

I did a coarse chop on my fruit, after a wash and taking out the pits.  Put all the fruit in a bowl, and added the lemon juice, 1/4 cup.

Once the fruit was in the bowl with the lemon juice, I started mashing it to break it down into even smaller pieces.

Add fruit to your pot, stir in your pectin, then bring your mixture to a full boil over high heat. Stir constantly.
Once it's at a full boil, add your sugar, 7 cups. Yikes, I know it's a lot, but it's always a warning not to adjust the sugar in canning, and I stick with it.
Bring the mixture back to a full boil.  I let mine boil for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly.

   Filled each jar with 1/4 inch head space

Cleaned off the rims of each jar, added the two piece lid, and placed them in my water-boiling canner for 25 min.  I needed to increase my time from  15 minutes because of my altitude.

Just opened my first jar a day later, and it's just the way I like it with chunks of fruit and jam that isn't too firm.  Spreads well, and can be used on anything you can think of.

More canning to come...

Recipe

3 1/2 pounds of ripe, washed, and pitted apricots
1/4 cup lemon juice
7 cups of sugar
1 package of fruit pectin

0

Quandary has been Conquered

Okay so that may be a little dramatic, however for a class 1 hike, this one was hard.  We started below timberline, and it felt like it went straight up from there!  The view is breathtaking, always worth the effort.

We had to start a little earlier this trip.  The weather was definitely not on our side.  There have been several lightening strikes that have hit hikers this year, and we didn't want to take any chances.  After a morning full of delays, we did manage to hit the trail head at around 7 am.  Not as early as we wanted, but close!

After venturing above tree line, we encountered several mountain goats on this trip.

This big guy was walking right down the trail. We stepped just off the trail to let him pass, however he moved off the trail right along with us.
This was a no zoom photo.
We are aware that mountain goats can be dangerous, and we in no way followed or harassed this beautiful creature.
Just fortunate enough to be able to see him.

What a view...

It's official, we made it to 14,264'.  We managed to hit the summit at about 10 am.  Not bad timing, but as you can see the clouds are moving in.  Can't stay too long up here.

Konnor's second 14er!  This time like last he practically ran up the mountain.  He left his mom and dad in the dust.  He made the summit before both of us.

Geo marker, love finding these.
Thinking we might try one more this year.  Grays and Torreys were coming for you, maybe even this season!

0

What a Horse Ride

What a 4th of July.  It was one for the record books for sure.  The Flying X Ranch doesn't disappoint if I do say so myself.  For the last several years, the Flying X Ranch and Wheatland, WY have been our 4th of July tradition.  This year we brought some friends with us, and the horseback ride we took was beautiful with all the rain and cooler temperatures, it was one to remember.

Green meadows and cloudy skies with no rain, what a day.

 Getting out of the barn, all saddled up

Everyone needs a quick drink!

Good day for a ride with friends and family. Just a minute to take in some of the wildlife, scenery, and fun from our 4th of July trip.

0