Mud Pies, Ducks, and Other Froggy Tales . . .

fun, Fun, FUn, FUN!!

Stella is big enough and strong enough to sit on the edge of the lake and splash the water with her hands and wiggle and dig in the silty dirt with her toes until the water becomes thick with mud. She uses her toes to experience the feel of things like she does with her hands. Wiggle, dig, dig, smile, splash, slap slap. Her hands slap the water and her feet paddle. She slowly scoots forward or back (depending on the terrain: forward in sand and on the lake side, backwards on the cork wood floor). She moves her legs like a frog that has been set up on its bottom. She sees me pointing the camera at her and she smiles and the smile travels all the way down her body extending her arms out in an open embrace and back to hugging herself and then moves into her legs in a outward frog paddle and then back in. It is all one continuous movement and she does it again and again, anticipating me making a silly face or a squeaky fish kiss at her.

PICTURED ABOVE:
On the left: Froggy, and on the right: Mud-Pie Chef, Marina aka Mermaid

BELOW:
Mermaid with her finished Mud Pie

Yep, here's the mud pie Marina made. She meticulously took handfuls of wet dirt/mud from the lake side and transported them up to her mud-pie site. I had to decline the taste-testing, maybe next time. . . : P

Quack, Quack!

Wait, who's wearing the floatie? It's Grandma Vicky! I hope she didn't take it from some poor kid :D

Fresh July Green & Red Salad

This salad is really beautiful because of the many fresh colors that contrast each other. Choose light green lettuce and deep red lettuce, mix equally and break into bite-size pieces. Wash lettuce and spin in a salad spinner. Add:
whole baby carrots, preferably just picked from the garden
fresh snap peas
nasturtium flowers, any color, I used red
salad dressing of your choice
Mix entire salad with salad dressing. I used Annie's goddess dressing. It would also be good with a Vinegarette.

Our New Favorite Park: Forest Park in Everett WA

We had a lot of fun at Forest Park, in Everett last week. There is a public pool, outdoor playground and water park, petting zoo, and lots of forest trails, click here to see a park map. Marina kept saying, "This is a great day!" We will have to come back to play in the pool and check out the petting zoo, as we did not have enough time to do this when we last visited. I highly recommend visiting this park, especially if you are a family on South Whidbey: you will appreciate the public pool and BIG park with water features. I'm sure any kid could spend HOURS or even days exploring this park.
If you want to visit it from Whidbey Island, take the Mulkilteo/ Clinton Ferry and take the first left (at the stop light) after unloading from the ferry. Follow this road as it winds through homes on the water. As you drive into a forested area, you will see flowers planted along the road and evergreens behind them. The park entrance is close. Turn in at the sign, "Forest Park". Need driving directions to the park? Click here and ENJOY!

Luc's Clam & Garlic Tortilla Pizzas: Wheat & Gluten Free

Here is a fun wheat free pizza that Luc created. We love getting the clam and garlic pizza in Langley at the Pizzaria, and this is a healthy at-home alternative. Our 3 year old daughter Marina LOVED it! She kept taking garlic-clams out of the pan and eating them before they even made it on to the pizzas. She enjoyed them on the pizza too! If you are ever in Langley and looking for dinner, try the Langley Pizzaria. This recipe is an approximation. So enjoy making it with your own twists and creativity.
We used 100% corn tortillas, small size, put tomato pizza sauce as the first layer then clams (canned or fresh, chopped & Sauteed with lots of garlic). Next cover sauce with a light layer of grated melting cheese (not pictured). The bottom layer of tortilla pizzas (pictured above) has pesto and pizza sauce, which I really liked. Butter a baking tray and place tortillas on top. Bake until cheese is melted & bubbly and tortillas are hot. Serve with green salad.