Sir Kyle.........our muse.

Are you up for some AMAZINGLY DELISH cake???

We are...

So tonight we've decided to make some (semi) homemade strawberry delight cupcakes.

This is simply the BEST EVER STRAWBERRY CAKE.............ever!

Best Ever Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix

3 TB. plain flour

1 (3 oz) box strawberry jello

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup oil  (I actually only used 1/2 cup oil & it was fine)

1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and chopped up

4 eggs

Combine cake mix, flour, Jello and water.  Add oil and eggs, one at a time, beating well between.  Add strawberries.  Beat 2 minutes.  Pour batter into well greased and floured 9×13 pan.  Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes.

 Be prepared for yum!

*Ding*

They're ready......hot and fresh out of the oven.

They smell soooooooo so good.

 We decided to decorate them like someone near and dear...

by near I mean--
in the kitchen
 right beside us the WHOLE time
from preparation
 throughout the baking session
 right to the decorating finale.

Behold the masterpiece......

Mmmmmm......

Now Sir Kyle would like to know when he can have a cupcake??

 (Click here to see what we were up to last year to day) 

A+ and beyond

This week is final exam week

A week that is typically full of studying, studying and even more studying.

But Fifi brought home an unbelievable accolade.....she's been formally excused from taking her final exam!!

My first reaction......."What??!!"

Fifi is absolutely ecstatic over this honor......and I'm over the moon for my wonder child.

CONGRATULATION!

You have been excused from the final exam

You have worked hard all semester

and you deserve a break! 

Keep up the hard work!

Have a good 

SUMMER

it's a bird, it's a plane...... it's a SUPER MOON

Today is El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla otherwise known as Cinco de Mayo...... a day of Mexican heritage and pride.

We're not of Mexican heritage but we love to join in on the many festivities in New Mexico. 

There are many events with mariachi bands, Baile Folklorico dancers, music, drinks, food and more food.

After a day of fun, we came home to relax a bit before the big show.....

Tonight is the night of the Super Moon.

The night when the moon has its closest approach to the Earth on its elliptical orbit resulting in the largest apparent size of the moon and brightest.

We brought out the lawn chairs and had dinner in the light of the super moon.

Incredibly bright and beautiful SUPER MOON  over our head

SUPER MOON over our house 

The same SUPER MOON by Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro
(I found this one on the internet----beautiful photo right??) 

Hope you had a Super Cinco de Mayo today.....I know we did

GON volunteering

Tonight is an important night..... volunteering at Gathering of Nations.

NO PICTURES PLEASE.....

Here's a few very nice snaps of 

NORTH AMERICA'S BIGGEST POWWOW

Enjoy......

(click here for Blog about setup)

the NM skies frame it well...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Sunflower dancing every so slightly from side to side

It's easy to see how Vincent Van Gogh was inspired to paint the first series of sunflowers.
The sunflower is simple and has an understated beauty.
We took this picture on our way to the playground.
Simply beautiful.....

it's a beautiful day y'all

♥  Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis  ♥

Pigeon Forge Welcomes Us

Knoxville's Eccentric Sunsphere

Nashville the Country Music Capital

Stainless Steel Pyramid by the Mississippi River in Memphis

Y'all Come Back Now

When I asked the children why they loved Tennessee so much.
 They replied with the following:

Annual family berry picking
Homestyle southern soul food
Drinks served in mason jars
Dollywood / Splash Country
Wide green countryside and vines draped off of every tree and post
Cowboys and tractors
Old country stores and fleamarkets
Elvis and BB King
Country music and the Blues 
Farms-white fences-horses and cows (lots and lots of cows)
Smokin' Smoky Mountains

"There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter." 
(quoted by The Mad Hatter)

Guess where the chess pieces are stored.......

"Fast is good but accurate is better! "

What a memorable day full of love, laughter and blue suede shoes...........

As we came out of the restaurant we snapped this shot of a stunning Memphis Sunset.

That's ahlattawatta!!

It's another day of FUN in the HOT, HOT Summer Sun....
(Try to guess where we are from just the first two photos below)

This place is very popular with the tourist....

We're almost there.....

"Red Maple Leaf" 

Any guess yet.....

Yes! We're at Niagara Falls!!!

I love that you can see Bam's reflection

This sign says it all; 'Welcome to Niagara Falls'. What family road trip would be complete without a stop to a popular national park like Niagara Falls.

(www.niagarafallsstatepark.com)
(www.nps.gov/nifa)
 (http://www.niagarafallslive.com/facts_about_niagara_falls.htm)

Bam is so excited!!

The rushing and roaring of the waterfall was more louder than any we've ever heard!
Absolutely AMAZING!!

It's crazy that the railing isn't more back away from the edge.....

The mist from the falls is everywhere and quite cooling for a day like today's triple digit heat.
We were all soooo very....
 Exhilarated
 Energized
 and
 Exciting

"Mommy can you believe that Ontario, Canada is literally a stones throw away!"

"I don't think this water will ever stop flowing Mommy"

"I can't wait to journal about this!"

The vortexing whirlpool is mersmerizing....

Vortexing whirlpool???
Yes...
The huge volume of water rushing from the Falls is crushed into the narrow Great Gorge, creating the Whirlpool Rapids that stretch over a mile. The water surface drops 50 ft. and the rushing water can reach speeds of 9 miles per second. In a Whirlpool, you can see the "reversal phenomenon." When the water travel over the rapids and enter the pool, then travel counterclockwise around the pool past the natural outlet. The pressure builds up when the water tries to cut across itself to reach the outlet and this pressure forces the water under the incoming stream. This swirling water creates a vortex or whirlpool.

check out this live webcam link below
(http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Niagara_Falls_Webcam.htm)

Niagara Falls Landscapers are they fearless or  just crazy!

Did you know........

1. The Niagara Falls has a 167 foot height (or 52 meter drop)
2. Niagara Falls in the second largest in the world next to Victoria Falls in Africa.
3. One fifth of all the fresh water in the world lies in the four Upper Great Lakes-Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie. All the outflow empties into the Niagara river and eventually cascades over the falls and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Niagara Falls attracts 12 million visitors every year to marvel at her beauty
5. The volume of water is 600,000 U.S. gallons per second or 32 feet per second, that go over the Niagara Falls. This causes the water to fall at between 280 and 2,509 tons of force at the various falls.
6. The falls create 4 million kilowatts of electricity which is shared between Canada and the U.S. Niagara Falls is the largest producer of electric power in the world.
7. The Niagara Falls consist of the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horse Shoe Falls.
8. The Horse Shoe Falls are known as the Canadian Horse Shoe Falls but actually 1/3 of it is on U.S. Territory according to the United States Geological Survey.

THIS IS A DEFINITE MUST SEE!!