Garden Turtle and a Party

Yesterday I mentioned that I had wanted to buy something at the Affair of the Heart craft show in Tulsa a couple of weekends ago. The vendor hadn't brought it with them because their booth wasn't very large and well, the item I wanted to buy would have taken up a lot of space.

But since they are located near Oklahoma City and G5's postponed birthday party was this past weekend, we arranged to meet last Friday.

This is what they brought me - a wonderful and very large turtle sculpture made of metal.

When I first saw the turtle at their booth during the Tulsa Home and Garden Show I knew I had to have it for this little garden nook in front of our house. I can just imagine how everything is going to look next year when the hostas are bigger. (They were just tiny little sprouts last year and look how they've grown in just one season!)

We bought the fountain earlier this season and were actually looking for something a bit larger. Now I really think we need a bigger one. We'll find one sometime. I just have to be patient.

And I may just have to plan a trip to the Oklahoma City Affair of the Heart show in October (the 22nd thru the 24th in case anyone is interested). You see, this turtle has a little brother and I may just have to have him to keep this one company.

So that was Friday.

Saturday was G5's birthday party. Isn't his Tonka Truck cake cute. Son made it and G5 loved it - especially the malted milk balls in the back! In fact, all the kiddos at the party liked what the truck was hauling - and some of the grownups too.

When the party was over I drove back home just in time to bake a batch of brownies and head for the local dirt track to watch G1 and G2 race.

It was a long day and a long drive home but I had the turtle as company.

PS. In case you're looking for cute decorations for your garden and happen to be in the Oklahoma City area during the Affair of the Heart craft show, Kountry Klutter is the name of the vendor that had my turtle and they're also the ones that had the adorable balancing bugs I bought at the Tulsa Home and Garden Show.

Brownie Cones

A week ago last Friday - you know, the day our OKC grandkids came for a visit - AD and I got up early to make a quick trip to Tulsa for the Affair of the Heart craft show and get back home before the kids got to the house. I was there to buy one particular item only. Unfortunately that didn't happen - the vendor didn't bring the item I had intended to purchase.

Nonetheless, AD found a vendor (southwestpeppergrillers.com) who sold these - pepper grillers. Just cut the tops off jalapenos, seed and devein them, stuff with whatever, and set them on the grill.

But that's not what this post is about.

This griller is not just for peppers.

20 sugar cones plus

a brownie mix

makes for

these tasty brownies. I topped some with half a large marshmallow after the brownies were done. I baked the brownies at 325 degrees F. and used the toothpick method to tell when they were done.

G1 wanted a little scoop of ice cream on his sans the marshmallow. He gave it a thumbs up.

How the Weekend Ended

G5 turned 2 earlier in the month so we had a little late birthday celebration for him on Sunday. Daughter and her family came (minus G2) and AD's mother and sister drove from Tulsa to be with us.

His little cake shown here was pretty plain. I'd actually made him another one - a big cupcake cake like G1 made for his girlfriend back in June. I should have had G1 make this one too!

When I took the one I made out of the pan the bottom part of the cake cracked a bit. Not to worry - I thought a little frosting would remedy the problem. I went to work and got the large cupcake all decorated late on Saturday night. All appeared to be fine. (I should have taken a photo right then!) Sunday morning - uh, no! The cake looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Within about half an hour the cake collapsed totally on its side.

So out came the mixer, cake mix and pan. I hurried to get the cake in the photo baked and decorated before lunch at noon.

G5 liked it anyway. He particularly liked the cake plate. There's a button on the plate that you can push and the "Happy Birthday" song plays while lights go on and off around the edge of the plate. G5 didn't quite have enough wind to blow his candle out but he sure looked cute trying.

Sunday was another hot day! After lunch the "slip and slide" came out for some fun in the water. The bigger kids enjoyed sliding. G5 just enjoyed running through the water.

We had some water balloons at the house so AD filled a few for some water balloon tosses. G3 and G4 did pretty well. Girlie wasn't so lucky. Her partner was her daddy and HE seemed to keep dropping the balloons.

Fun in the water!

I thought the kiddos would certainly be tired out from playing all weekend and sleep all the way home. According to Son, that was a miscalculation on my part.

It was a busy weekend. It was fun. At least I hope the kids had fun.

Kiddie Park Fun

After a stop at Sonic for a quick meal on Saturday evening, we headed to Bartlesville's Kiddie Park. 3 generations of our family have enjoyed this wonderful institution - myself (it was in a different location back then), our kids and now our grandkids.

Tickets are 25-cents each. Most rides take 1 ticket but some take 2. I had planned to purchase $20 worth of tickets but opted to start with $10. We could always go back for more. From 8:00 to 8 minutes before closing time, the kids enjoyed the rides. And I never had to go back for more tickets.

The ride in this picture is the "turtle ride". It's kind of a mini-mini roller coaster. G5 laughed and laughed all during the ride.

The airplanes are always a favorite. I imagine both Son and Daughter have rode in this very airplane at one time or another.

Girlie loved it. G5 liked it at first but once the plane goes up in the air, it starts coming down and with a slight bump. Then it goes back up and comes down with a bump. Over and over again. He definitely didn't like the bumps.

Son wasn't sure how Girlie would like the roller coaster. She rode with G3 in the very front car. I'm thinking she liked this one too.

The boat ride is another favorite of the kids. The attendants have to watch closely. Sometimes an adventurous kid will attempt to climb from the front to the back or vice versa. Not these kids - but Daughter did on more than one occasion.

Oh, the kiddie cars. These cars have seen many, many miles in their day.

The riders control the speed of the spin their car takes on this ride. Son told G3 not to spin their car very fast. He didn't want G4 to get sick.

You see, Son had a bad experience when he was young. Basically I made him ride with someone he didn't want to ride with (I thought Son was just being snooty) - and he got sick because the other boy spun the car too fast (the real reason he didn't want to ride with the boy).

The train ride is one that few visitors miss when they visit the Kiddie Park. And the last ride of the evening is always "free".

But the carousel was the last ride of the night for these kids. It was a good way to end the day.