New Bike

Monday I went and bought Amelia a new bike.  She had her Cars tricycle and a Barbie bike that a friend gave her, however, she could just reach the pedals on that and always chose the tricycle to ride.  After a trip to Toys R Us, I realized that indeed a 14 inch bike was the size she needed.  She already made a dash to the Little Mermaid bike, but the only one they had was a 16" and really didn't have many 14" bikes to choose from, so we left empty handed.  After a bit of a search, I found one on Target.com...but of course it was not in stock.  So, when I saw it at the store (only 1 left of course) I was elated...but it was $20 more than on line.  Did I mention I love Target?  They price matched to their website and Amelia just scored a new bike. 

Rob put it together in 20 minutes and we were off...

Little did I realize that I would be out all afternoon ... and all day the next morning...

came in for lunch and was at it again until dinner...

then back out for an after dinner ride.

Wed we had dance and stopped at the mall ... came home and got a few laps in before it started to rain...

then it cleared a bit and had to go back out for a quick spin.

She gets off it frequently and admires it ... then back on she goes.

Did I mention it makes bubbles???

We stop every so often to pop them.  There is a design flaw...when you ride you can't use the bubble maker or you get bubbles in your face.  She really doesn't need that distraction :)

It's Friday and the bubble machine is having some problems.  I replaced the batteries, but still sluggish.  I assured her Dad will be home Sat. morning (he had left for Oklahoma for work on Tues. morning) and it will be the first thing he tends to.

Funny what a difference a bike size can make.  She is like a different kid now riding her bike and loves it.  I even get a workout keeping up!

Biking is pretty much all we have done since we got it, but we did plant a few seeds...even some in eggshells.  From seeds we have Peas, lettuce and Nasturtiums.  We will buy a few flowers and veggies to put outside come the first of June.

Since only a few blobs of snow remain, after one of our bike runs, we ditched the helmet for some helmet head adventures in our forest.  It will be so overgrown shortly that we better take advantage while we can.  She pretends she is Aisling the forest fairy from The Secret of Kells and darts around from tree to tree.  She does kind of look like her with the wild hair!

More biking this weekend I am sure.  Thinking it is time for me to get one too.

Easter

A spectacular Easter.  Beautiful enough for the Easter Bunny to hide a few eggs AND her easter basket outside. 

She is a blur in most of these pics as she moved so fast!

Found the basket Mom and Dad hid for her.

I believe the Easter Bunny just put these out there an hour or two prior and a critter (bunny or squirrel) got to it!

She had already grabbed the Anna Toddler Doll that the Easter Bunny also left...before I got the pic.  Stinker.

Time to check out the goods and eat some candy...

and have some breakfast... 

make the lego set with Dad...

and go for a walk where we stopped over to our neighbors who were all dressed up for Easter.  Amelia came home and wanted a dinner party and we needed to all dress up.  Fine.  Thanks Pickett family. :P

I LOVE this pic...that face on Amelia and Dad!   Daddy loves dressing up :) :P

Happy Easter!

Easter excitement is building

It is quite nice to be celebrating Easter for such a long time.  Must be that since Amelia's arrival, Easter has been in March, giving us little time after her birthday to enjoy Easter festivities.  I have realized that when Easter is in April we do not have enough Easter books, each has been read at least 3 times, not to mention the abundance of painted eggs in the fridge (deviled eggs for Easter appetizer is a must).  

So, we boiled another batch of eggs and went at it with sharpies and watercolor pens. 

Amelia's new favorite color is ...

Blue.  I am sure Elsa has nothing to do with it.  I did one egg an she did the rest.  I encouraged her to do another color, but she insisted she wanted all of them in blue.  Ok.

We did try a few new recipes this week as well.

Amelia hammered the graham crackers for the crust with her toy hammer...worked like a charm. 

Trust me...you only need a slice about this big.

  

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE PIE

For the crust:

 ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons melted butter

For the filling:

1 ½ cups HERSHEY’s Special Dark or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

11 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed - plus additional for serving if desired

 Instructions

Crust: 

Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and brown sugar in a bowl. Mix until completely combined.

Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and spread, pressing down firmly, so that you have an even layer in the bottom of the plate and about ½ an inch up the sides. Freeze the crust while you are preparing the pie filling.

Filling:

Pour chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at medium power for about 1 minute. Continue to microwave 15-30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating until the chips are completely melted. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment and at medium speed, beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar and butter until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and with the mixer at low speed, slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate. Mix until completely blended together. 

Replace the paddle attachment of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and at low speed, fold in the softened whipped topped until well blended. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust. (I made this in my kitchen aid, but a hand mixer would have been fine too).

Refrigerate until firm – about 2 hours. 

I had several pitas in the fridge and saw a few pins on Pinterest about these cinnamon sugar pita chips.

CINNAMON SUGAR PITA CHIPS

Cut a pita into wedges, brush each slice with melted butter (you could use spray I would imagine) and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them.  Place on baking pan and bake 350 for 5 minutes.  

Crunchy and just the right amount of sweetness.

We were also out and about this week.  First to Jitters after dance (seems to be a ritual now) for our hot chocolate fix.  Then to the Dimond Mall for ice skating. 

  

I mentioned our rink here in Eagle River was being redone for the summer and not wanting Amelia's ice skating skills to go by the wayside, we figured we would try out the ice rink at the mall.   This mall is on the south end of Anchorage and not nearly as nice (my opinion) as the 6th Avenue Mall...but ... THEY HAVE AN ICE RINK!   

Truly I thought it would be kinda run down, but wow we loved it!  Our rink is geared for heavy duty hockey and plexiglass covers much of the area.  This rink is great as we could stand and see them with only a 3 foot wall keeping us apart.  Great to hold onto for beginners if needed.  Seems once you learn to skate...you don't forget...Amelia did smashing.

Our friend Vivvy came along too.  She has had one session of ice skating with Amelia and did great considering she has had a couple weeks off.

We are planning weekly trips throughout the summer...keeping our skills sharp for classes in the Fall.

Our walks continue...

this one was called the Princess Walk.  Elsa, Rapunzel, 2 Ariels, Mulan and her doll Liz (named after cousin Liz as it looks like her).  

Liz, you didn't realize you were a princess did you? And in doll form at that! :)  

Will surely post early on all our Easter fun.

The happiest Easter!