A couple of weeks ago we took the boys to an event called Touch A Truck in Salem, Virginia. We've been several years, and it is always so much fun. I will have another post showing an assortment of the activities available, but I thought I would do a post just on what the boys called the Ghost Truck. Here is one of the doors:
Indeed, this truck was a little black, and a lot menacing. Check out the dashboard on the inside. Can you see all the skulls? And the glowing skull plugged into the cigarette lighter?
This is the tailgate.
This is one truck I wouldn't recommend tailgating!
What about you, readers? Have you seen any ghost trucks lately?
Happy fifth birthday today to Cort and Reid!
We have lots of fun planned today, which I'll be sure to share in the near future.
When we visited my aunt and uncle in Greensboro a few weeks ago, their blueberry bushes were in full fruit. I use the term 'bushes' loosely, as they were really the size of trees. These blueberries are extra special though. They were a gift many years ago to my aunt and uncle from my grandfather. He sure would be smiling if he could see his great-grandsons picking those berries.
Cort picked a bunch of blueberries. Reid picked a bunch of blueberries. Pam and George picked a bunch of blueberries. And I picked a good number of blueberries.
"What about Pierce?", you ask. Didn't he pick blueberries?
Oh Pierce. Quit eating all the blueberries!
Readers, have you devoured any berries this summer?
I can't believe it, but I found another of those incredible solar trash cans in Roanoke. They compact the trash, and send an email to Waste Management when full. But the part I really love is the historic picture on the can.
This is my fifth. I think the original document I read said that there were five of them with the pictures (and 15 total solar compacting trash cans in Roanoke). You can read about the others I found here and here and here.
It was surprising when I drove past this one. I was working and in an off the beaten path, not-so-great neighborhood when I drove past it. I made a point to go back later to get a picture.
Even though I think there may only be five of these, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled just in case they add any more. They are such a fun and useful addition to the street corners of Roanoke.
I can't believe it's already August and I have not yet specifically blogged about my garden.
The truth is, I didn't plant that much. But the things I've planted have done well. Kale and lettuce, peas, yellow summer squash and radishes (to battle the bugs), cucumbers and an assortment of tomatoes.
I have been rather busy canning. Below you can see (from left to right) strawberry jam (from our strawberry picking), jalapeno jelly, dill relish, wineberry jam (these grow wild on our land), pickled beets (thanks to a big batch of beets from Sunnybrook Farm), and sweet summer squash relish. I've also done a number of squash pies for the freezer and some squash refrigerator pickles.
I plan to plant a few crops for the fall. Beets, spinach, lettuce, and maybe some more peas. These are all things that tend to do well in the fall in my garden. Broccoli does well too, but picking off all those caterpillars kind of gets to me after a while.
Readers, what's growing in your garden this summer?
When we go to the Greensboro Science Center, there is one animal that the boys always want to be sure to see. It lives on the lower level. We were a little worried when the cage wasn't where it was last year, but when we asked, we found out it had just been moved to a different room.
Do you see anything a little bit odd about this turtle?
Or maybe, you're just seeing double?
So what I'm really wondering is....does the turtle have one name, or two?
Every summer I take the boys down to Greensboro to spend a fun day with my aunt and uncle, Pam and George. This year, they took us to the Greensboro Science Center. It had some new exhibits since we were there last year.
Like penguins!
And stingrays. And a tank of sharks with a real diver that the boys just loved.
But what was really cool was the new pirate exhibit. The boys got to look through telescopes to try to spot the pirate ship. And I enjoyed looking at cases filled with various treasures brought up from sunken ships.
They also had those hurricane machines, where you go in and shut the door and it creates hurricane winds. I thought the twins would be a little scared. But nope. The boys went in the hurricane machines over and over and over again. I think they would've been happy to just do hurricane machines all day long.
Pierce learned how to work a robotic arm, and used it to pick up a coin and deposit it in a bucket.
Outside, there was some leap frogging.
And I fell in love with the smartest cockatoo. He came right over to me and when I whistled, he whistled back. Cort and I played with him for a while, but when we went to leave he threw a terrible tantrum. I have never heard such a racket. In the end, we stayed for a while longer because we felt too guilty to walk away. If you go to the Greensboro Science Center, be sure to visit the cockatoo! He's a real charmer, and he seemed desperate for attention.
The boys groomed the little goats for a while.
And took one last shot as pirates before heading out to lunch.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Plum Organics. The opinions below are entirely my own.
A big box came in the mail last week. The boys were very excited to see what was inside.
They were so delighted to find it stuffed full of snacks from Plum Organics. We have long been fans of their organic snacks for children, and it is a brand that I buy regularly at the grocery store. Full of flavor, easily portable, and completely healthy (with added vitamins, minerals, and omega 3s) -- they are snacks that the boys and myself approve. Plus, they are the perfect addition to the well-balanced school lunch.
My boys need snacks like these, because they are always so active. They were excited to see a new purple cape from Plum to add to our three (!) costume drawers. When we run errands in town, I never know if I might have a superhero or a knight or a frog (or all three) along for the ride. Our costume drawers see more action than all of the toys in our house.
I'm also happy that Cort has a healthy snack to eat in lieu of other things. The other day, I caught him with a bouncy ball in his mouth. He knows he is not supposed to do this. When confronted, he quickly popped out the ball and hid it behind his back. His response? "Mom, you just dreamed I had a bouncy ball in my mouth."
The boys unanimously decided that they liked the strawberry Mighty 4 Bars the best. I don't think they realized they were stuffed with 11 essential minerals, chia, and yogurt. They just loved the strawberry flavor. But truly, all of the snacks were enjoyed by all!
Check out this adorable video from Plum Organics (Pierce, Cort, and Reid could totally relate to the desire to have their own pirate ship):
One lucky reader is going to win the same prize pack that we received! Pictured below, it includes Mighty 4 bars, Mighty Puff 'ems, and Mighty 4 Pouches. And let us not forget the fabulous mighty cape! This is just in time for adding to your back to school healthy snack stash!
To enter to win this fabulous prize, just click on the Rafflecopter below:
