Will Gracie continue to elude?

I took students to the farm on Friday. After we played with the chickens, it was time to try and catch Gracie. Last time, that just meant chasing her around several acres... for a long time. Even with $20 on the line, they couldn't get her. Heading up the hill in search of the giant elusive sheep: There she is! Maira and Adriana (and Cammy) - chase her into the back so we can corner her: OH MY GOSH - Makayla got her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We caught a sheep! Man, there's a lot of stuff stuck in her wool (is it still called wool if it's still on the sheep??): Adriana loves Gracie: A good place to sit: "I caught a sheep!!!" Up next... will Michael let them race the golf cart around the farm? (If you know Michael, you know the answer!) Stay tuned...

:)

Back at the chicken farm

In February, I took a bunch of CE2 students to Michael and Kendra's "chicken farm" in Newberg. They held baby ducks and chickens and then chased around some big chickens. They wanted to go back and see their babies all grown up, so we all put on boots, loaded up Mom's minivan again and returned to the farm.

They held the older girls and the "teenagers" - the ones we held last time as chicks. Adriana and Jose, who weren't with us on the first trip, didn't waste any time grabbing birds:
Carly is a seasoned pro:
Cammy wanted to come play with us in the pen:
The ducks were harder to catch, but Carly got it done:
Adriana and Maira were very interested in the egg-laying area:
Jose stole an egg right from the nest:
Makayla and Carly love chickens:
I think Joan wants to keep this one:
Next up... chasing Gracie the giant sheep. Will she be caught this time??? Stay tuned...

Thank you, Farmer Michael! We'll be back!!!!!
:)

Good friend

Kendra is such a good friend... for many reasons, including her kindness, generosity and eagerness to fill our tummies with yummy homemade goodies. That was once again demonstrated last week at our Thursday dinner gathering when she brought out this:
Brad's favorite: strawberry rhubarb. Oregon berries frozen last season and rhubarb fresh from the garden. Brad ate almost half the pie by himself!

:)

Skyline Chili

Do you know Skyline Chili? Coworker Andy is from Cincinnati and has talked about this stuff a couple times... the original Cincinnati-style chili... served on spaghetti! He says you put on hot sauce, cut it with a knife and take a chunk - you don't twirl the noodles. And you eat it with oyster crackers. Looks very low-cal!
The fam is headed this summer to the Midwest for some MLB. Cleveland is one of the stops, and Andy says there are franchises up north, too. I think we'll have to give it a try. I hear the 4-Way (with onions on top) is the one (and they have a veggie version) - YUM! I'll let you know how our Skyline Chili experience goes :)

Any other Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Philly must-sees?

Muffin Wednesday: Cheese Danish

Stacie and Gerise chose Cheese Danish Muffins for this week's Muffin Wednesday treat, and I was happy to oblige.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
12-cup muffin tin (I easily filled 18 cups... because I did it wrong)

1 package cream cheese, softened (4 oz)
2 T sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c melted margarine (I used butter)
1 t grated lemon zest
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt

1. Cream the cheese, sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.
(I had an 8 ounce package of cream cheese, so I went ahead and doubled this part. The more the merrier, right?!)

2. In another bowl, beat egg lightly with a fork. Add milk, margarine and zest. (I accidentally skipped over the milk part. I added it at the end when I noticed that it was all really dry and realized I'd forgotten the milk)

3. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg mixture; stir just until blended. (And then, if you're like me and you don't read your recipes thoroughly, add the milk)

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling half full. Place 1 T cheese mixture over each; top with remaining batter. Bake for 20 minutes.

***** OK - I JUST saw that as I typed it.... I was supposed to put on the cheese mixture AND THEN cover with more batter. DUH. That makes a lot more sense. I just put some cheese on the top... and then wondered why it oozed all over the place:
I really need to read more carefully. Or not try to bake new recipes right when I wake up in the morning :)

Well, they taste really good like this. The testers thought they were very moist and yummy. Stacie noticed the lemon right away and said they reminded her of a lemon bar. I'll have to make them again and see what happens when I actually follow the recipe.

The girls already looked through my book and picked Strawberry Drop Puffins for next week... Stay tuned :)

Irony of the day

My two classrooms are at the far end of the THS campus, and I must go outside to move between here and the main building. Most days I make the trip once to check the mailboxes, run errands, attend meetings, etc. When I stepped outside today, it was pouring - I'm talking monsoon. I had on my coat and but my pants were soaked after my short walk.

Still dripping, I found this in my main office mailbox, from my secret pal:
HA! Too late ;)

Christ is risen!

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!
Luke 24:5-6