Vacation to Valentine, Nebraska

Hi guys! Happy Wednesday! Yesterday we got back from a VERY enjoyable vacation, and I'm so excited to share it all with you! 

We started out with a 5 hour drive headed to our destination; Valentine, Nebraska. For lunch we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant in Norfolk, and as we ate we watched a wall of clouds move in. We decided to leave as it started sprinkling, but we hardly made it a mile before the sky opened up and we were forced to turn around and camp our suburban in a Walmart parking lot for a little while. Colleen and my mom dared to run in and buy a few things but were soaked for their efforts. 

We made it to Valentine safely, and for a while we parked ourselves in our room, debating what to do for dinner. Around 7 we decided to divide and conquer. My parents and Colleen went to a restaurant to have steak and burgers while Laura, Scott and I ordered in pizza and stayed in the room watching TV. Sure, mine was the lazy response but it was nice. After the family was back together we bought ice cream at a little place in Valentine called Frosty's. If you ever go to Valentine I would highly recommend this place for a frozen treat, as I enjoyed the ice cream. 

The next morning was Sunday and we ate a complimentary breakfast at our hotel before packing up and heading out. We drove down to -/////? Lake and had the pleasure of wading in the water and writing in the sand. The sand was soft like silk, and we loved putting our toes in it. When we finished, we brushed off the sand and headed to get some groceries for the cabin we stayed in for two nights. 

Colleen had written a list and we followed it as we went through a very western general store. When we had finished, we headed to the ranch our cabin was on. 

That afternoon we unpacked, then I kept reading my book, trying desperately to finish it. (I never did that day, at 10:30 my dad cut me off and the end of the chapter I was on). For dinner we had spaghetti and for dessert we had banana s'mores (bananas cut down the curved 

side as deep as possible without cutting through filled with chocolate marshmallows and graham crackers) and it was all so amazing. For a while we played on the swings and with the tether ball they had on the grounds near us. Then we headed to bed. 

In the morning we woke early in order to get ready for our big day on the river. Our ride from the ranch was supposed to pick us up at 9 (ended up being about 9:15). On the way to the river we had a crazy group of 8 girls with us also. It turned out to be a bachelorette party, and the bride was very nice. 

Our tubes were tied in a circle around our cooler, and the tubes were shaped like circular jelly-filled donuts. Before we left, we hiked to Smith Falls and took pictures, then we hiked back, got comfortable on our separate tubes, then pushed off into the Niobrara River. 

The ride was supposed to be 6 hours. We ran over rocks and avoided trees as we floated to our destination. There were various stops along the way, but we only stopped for a bathroom break once. Our trip ended up being 5 1/2 hours, and we even ate lunch as we rode. Everyone in our group ended up very sunburned, but it was worth every second. A definite recommendation, but I wouldn't recommend going any longer than the 6 hour. 

That evening we ate hamburgers, then we played charades and Truth or Dare before falling asleep. 

On our last day there, we packed up quickly and were ready to leave by 9. Unfortunately, I had to make a souvineer stop, so we left around 9:45. When we finally made it home yesterday evening, we were exhausted and happy. 

This vacation was so worth it! I hope you guys have had a great summer! See you on Saturday, 

~Blondie~ 

What's your Vay-cay?

Hi guys! So this weekend I just wanted to talk about summer. How many of you have taken a vacation this summer? I myself am leaving on one this morning that will prove to be a bunch of fun, but my only other "vacation" of sorts was a miniature camping trip with my friend Katie, and let me put it this way; rain is not a camper's best friend. On the other hand, it did make for some good memories. 

In the past I've went on numerous family vacations with my family. There are six of us, so it takes a suburban to make six people with long legs comfortable. I remember going to the Grand Canyon, to Mount Rushmore, to Estes Park (Colorado), Yellowstone, even to Disney World (twice, technically three times). Sure, I don't remember everything about every trip, but I do remember a few key things from each trip. 

When we went to the Grand Canyon, I remember looking over the edge into that great big hole and wondering if I could nine climb all the way down to the barely visible Colorado river. The view was breathtaking and I would recommend going there if you haven't before. I hope someday to take my own family there when I'm married with kids. 

When I went to Mount Rushmore we stayed at a KOA campground, and that was where I met my very own penpal. She lives in Minnesota, I live in Nebraska. At a time in my life where texting took forever due to my phone being a flip phone, I reveled in the idea of sending letters back and forth (I still have all of our letters, but nowadays she doesn't really reply and I don't really have time to completely attack her with letters, although maybe I should.). When we actually saw Mount Rushmore on this trip, my favorite part was watching the side of George Washington's head as we drove to the area we could see the whole thing. For a while, that's all I could see and my siblings and I joked about how big his nose was. Truth be told, I preferred the side of George's face to the whole thing. It's more unique. This vacation is definitely a bucket list must-do if you haven't done it, and if you have kids, the KOA campground near the monument is definitely worth staying at. 

(The above photo is my favorite from Mount Rushmore. It perfectly describes my siblings and I.) 

In Estes Park, Colorado, I went to a family reunion. I remember camping, and even remember going horseback riding. I was so disappointed when they tied us all together for horseback riding, I just wanted to let my horse run free. I loved Estes Park, and the area was gorgeous but I wouldn't recommend this for a kid dominated group. For us we had mostly grown ups, but I think with a lot of kids they would get bored easily. 

Yellowstone has some goofy memories accompanied with it. I don't remember much about anything before the actual park, but I do remember my brother and uncle walking past the pools (like pools of sulfer I think, but I don't really remember what the science behind the beauty is) and pinching their noses closed. (It really did smell terrible but when you get past that it's super pretty.). I remember being so excited about Old Faithful but I hardly remember watching it, I think I was taking pictures or something. This part of that vacation (I think there was more but I have a terrible memory) was definitely pretty cool, and a lot of fun for kids. 

My first trip to Disney World was a total surprise. No, I don't have the faintest idea how old I was. All I know was I was still old enough to take the schedule as it came because I knew my parents would get me where I needed to be. That morning my mom made pancakes, and she made them shaped like Mickey Mouse heads. Logically that should tip us off, but I was 13, my sisters were 9 and my brother was 7 so we were just happy to have these cool pancakes made for us. Then my dad went upstairs, and we were confused when my mom suddenly said we should go upstairs so we could see something. When we got upstairs my dad had HUGE suitcases with him (along with something else but I don't really recall what it was. Five years is an easy amount of time to forget things) and he told us we were going to Disney World, our flight left the next morning, and we'd better get packing. So, we left the next morning on the first flight we had ever been on. I had this crazy haircut at the time and let's just say it was an in-between hairstyle, so don't laugh to hard at the picture. When we were in Disney we rode rides, ate good food, and generally had fun in the most magical place on earth. I mean, I'm 18 and I still love Disney, so it really is a family place. 

(Yep, and there's my hair at such an awkward stage of growth. It's cute, but in an I'm-growing-it-out kind of way.) 

Our second expedition to Disney World was right after I turned 15. This time, though, we drove all the way there. I remember sleeping (if you can call short little naps sleeping) all the way there, but anout 30 minutes away from our hotel, we pulled into a parking lot and snoozed for a couple of hours. My parents were so amazing to drive us there. We stayed in a super fancy hotel because my parents bought a Disney share after our first trip. All I can say about that trip other than the hotel was I remember watching the fireworks vividly, and if you are to ever go it is always worth it to stay up for the fireworks. 

The only other vacation I can remember is a cruise. It was only last year, in fact. We went on a cruise for a few days (yep, only a year and I don't remember how many days). It was a Disney cruise, and it really was magical. There were kids and teen rooms that you had to have your card to get into, and there were pools and an extremely long slide. All in all it was beautiful and a lot of fun. A definite recommendation for anyone young or old. 

All right, so now it's your turn and this time I'm actually hoping for a comment or two. What was your favorite vacation that you want to recommend to the world? Write it in the comments and see who agrees or disagrees. 

I'm headed off to Valentine, Nebraska this morning and I will update you all on the trip in my Wednesday posting. 

Until then! Ciao! 

~Blondie~  

Update days

In order to hopefully create a larger following, I have decided to regulate my posting days, so here it goes. I will be posting every Wednesday and Saturday, and I will even do short posts if I get really busy. Hopefully this schedule won't change when I go into college, but if it does I will be sure to update all of you. I hope you are all having a great summer and look for an update on Saturday! :)
~Blondie~

The Creme Puff Experiment

So my sisters and I found a recipe for Creme puffs and we just HAD to try. So we made it an experiment for this morning before lunch.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cream-Puffs-395454

So the above is the recipe that we used but we totally didn't follow the end of it, you can though! :) 

All right so this recipe calls for...

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces

1 teaspoon and 2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup flour

6 large eggs

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Powdered sugar for dusting 

2 pastry bags, 1/2" star-type tip and 1 injector tip 

Start by lining 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. (You may need more but start with two). To line the baking sheets spray the baking sheets with butter spray, then lay the parchment over the top. This will allow the sheet to stick to the baking sheet. 

Start with a medium saucepan and on medium heat bring the milk, butter, salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar and a 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Mix occasionally until it's boiling. 

 

 

 

The last picture above should be what boiling looks like. 

When it is boiling, take the full cup of flour and pour it in, then stir it in until it's fully combined. There should be a thin film on the bottom of the pot. When you see this, transfer it to a bowl. 

Then, add the eggs in but only add 5. There's a trick though; you need to add them one by one. So you add an egg then mix it fully in before you add the next egg. 

Next put the mix into the pastry bag with the star tip. Then create circles of the mix on the parchment. 

 

Your circles should look something like this picture above. You can make them bigger if you like but not any smaller. 

When you have that, whisk the remaining egg with two teaspoons of water, then brush on top of the circles. 

The racks of the oven should be placed in the upper and middle thirds of the oven, then preheat to 450°. Once the oven is preheated, turn off the oven and place the two trays inside for 10 minutes. Once the ten minutes is up, turn the oven on to 350° and allow the puffs to bake for another 10 minutes. At 10 minutes trade the pans quickly from top to bottom or vica versa. This needs to be done quickly so the puffs don't deflate. This second baking period for our first batch we tried 10 minutes and they deflated, but the second batch we did 15 minutes and they turned out better. I'll give this advice: golden brown is not brown enough, it needs to be more of a dark brown. Not burnt, obviously, but it helps to have them dark brown so they don't deflate. 

A 

B

Can you tell which is better? For us, the baking process took forever so we had to entertain ourselves. 

 

My entertainment was taking pictures of these two. When you pull them out of the oven you need to let them cool on the pans for a few minutes, then pull them off and place them on cooling racks. In order for them to be filled they must be completely cool inside and out. Make your best judgement. 

Now for the filling the recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream. My sisters and I were geniuses and only got half a pint. Next time we will get more but it did work out perfectly fine the way we did it. For the filling, pour the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar into your mixer. Start out slow, then gradually speed up until you have whipped cream. Your pastry bag with your injecting tip should be easily filled with this mixture. Quick thing: if you don't have an injecting tip you are definitely missing out. With even a sandwich bag and this tip you can fill anything; cupcakes, cakes, pastries, pick one thing and try it. 

Anyway, once your bag is loaded just carefully put the tip through the first layer of your puff. This should make sure you don't put a hole through the bottom. Then just squeeze a little filling in. Tip: do not put more than two scoops in the bag at a time or you will end up with the kind of mess my sisters and I had when it came out of the back instead of the front. 

When they are filled, feel free to box them up and sprinkle some powdered sugar on the tops. This is how a few of ours turned out. 

Have fun, be inventive, and like usual, ENJOY! 

~Blondie~ 

Freedom

Hi guys! I am currently laying on the couch in my living room with my feet in a blanket and headphones over my ears, but I really wanted to talk about the fourth of July.
So, as a newly ordained checker at Hyvee, I was working there today as tons of people had the sudden realization that they didn't have nearly enough food for their Independence Day parties. This actually got me thinking, I mean this holiday used to celebrate freedom. Freedom for all of America from being treated like we weren't worth it (we showed them, right?). Yet there they all were, more desperate to pay for some hot dogs and beer than to donate a few cents to the fund for the troops that Hyvee had running. Shouldn't this holiday be a celebration of the freedom our country fought so hard for? Sure, the fireworks are cool and it all inspires a little pride for our country but then there's the fact that people will spend hundreds of dollars on the fireworks and suddenly it's not about freedom it's about who has the better fireworks.
So your turn to weigh in. Is the Fourth of July really a good source of pride for our country or is it just a marketing strategy? Also, did you do something fun for the holiday?
I love you guys and would love to hear your opinion!
~Blondie~