No photographic evidence

We had a great last weekend in September, but unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence to share. :)
We were able to take a break from harvest on Saturday evening to go to a Point of Grace concert in Watertown.  It was held in conjunction with the State Right to Life Convention.  This was my third time seeing Point of Grace in concert.  They were one of David and my my favorite Christian bands in their early years (our high school and college days), and their early songs bring back memories for both of us of driving in our cars and cranking up the music.  (Mine was a tape; David was further ahead in technology and listened to his on CD.) :)  They are still making music together and it was a great concert and night out together!


Yesterday my sister and her fiancé came out to take their engagement pictures.  Again, I cannot share any of these amazing photos until they make them public.  It was my first time photographing adults.  Wow--it was so much easier than children!


And, now, it is time to get this Monday started!


Have a great day!

Zucchini Bread

You already know that zucchini and I have a complicated relationship.
Well, maybe it's not all that complicated.  I like zucchini, just not 100 at a time.  One or two a year is fine with me.  The good thing about that is that it's always easy to find one or two (although sometimes difficult to convince those sharing that it's ALL I want). :)
Zucchini is interesting because it tastes like . . . nothing.  (Rachel was disappointed to find out that it does NOT taste like a cucumber.)  That makes it easy to hide in all sorts of things, and especially baked goods.  Even though it doesn't taste like much, it does add moisture to everything.  It's one of those ingredients I look forward to in the fall.

Here's one of my favorite zucchini recipes from my mom.

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup oil

3 cups grated zucchini

1 cup nuts (optional)

Sift together salt, soda, cinnamon, baking powder and flour.  Beat eggs until light.  Add sugar and vanilla, oil, and mix well. Stir in grated zucchini. Add dry ingredients and blend.  Stir in nuts if desired.  Pour in 2 floured and greased bread pans or a greased and floured Bundt pan.  Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  Cool before slicing.

Eureka Pioneer Museum

Nathan, Teresa, Rachel and I started our Schmeckfest Saturday with Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley at the Eureka Pioneer Museum.  This beautiful one-of-a-kind wheat sculpture that celebrates Eureka's title as Wheat Capital of the World is outside the entrance. (For more on Eureka's history, visit this Germans from Russia site.)

Our first stop was a rope making station where they learned how to twist their own 3-strand rope.

The player piano caught all their attention.

Everyone took a ride on the wooden colt (which was also built by the man helping them make rope).

We stopped in the school house.  Teresa was most interested in the pens, ink wells in the desks, and handwriting books.

The country church has a very large collection of antique hymn books, most of them in German.

We don't visit the museum every year, but I always enjoy it and so do my kids.  There is also a sod house on the grounds, as well as an extensive collection of farm machinery, a fire truck and cars.  There is even a jail cell!  

They always find something new to interest them, or revisit favorite displays from before. 

It's always good to go back home . . . and be reminded of our roots. 

Homecoming 2014

It's Homecoming in Wildcat Territory today!

The annual Homecoming parade is one of the most fun things about being a part of a small school.  Next year, we will be part of the marching band scene.  Wohoo!  I looove marching band.

The parade theme this year was Dr. Seuss stories and we had quite a long parade for a small town!

The Senior Moms were Molly Shannon "Superstars"!

(And, yes, Rachel noticed that Yellow Bus.)

Yellow Bus

The YELLOW BUS is Rachel's dream car.

Remember playing M.A.S.H. (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) on school bus rides when we listed our top three dreams for all things important in life?  

Rachel's list of three dream cars would include a YELLOW BUS.  She spots them everywhere and anywhere.  The arrival of the yellow bus in the morning and afternoon are the highlights of her day.  One day we were stuck at a railroad crossing beside a yellow bus.  

A train AND a yellow bus?  It just doesn't get any better!

Remembering that Nathan had also been motivated by a bus ride when he was a little guy, I mentioned to Rachel that big girls have to poop on the potty in order to ride the yellow bus.

The message wasn't always clear--"Where do you have to poop?"  "On the yellow bus!"

Uh, no.

But, it still looked like the timing could be about right to promise a yellow bus ride for the Grand Prize.  Within a few days of school starting, she was starting to get it.  She has actually been near 100% since Labor Day weekend and she did not forget that promised ride.  

Today it worked for her big YELLOW BUS journey.  Our awesome driver Camille agreed to pick her up at the corner and take her along for the last stop a mile away.

Of course, she needed a back pack, too!  Why ride a yellow bus if you don't look the part?

Hooray for life's little victories!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

After a busy weekend, this week has been full of catching up both inside and outside, with a little bit of field work tossed in, too.

This morning, having been given the day off from the field, I decided to use up some brown bananas in my baking.  This recipe is from an old newspaper and was given to me by David's Grandma Rosemarie Melius a long time ago.  I made it once, but today I decided it was time to try it again.  

As I usually do with quick bread recipes, I made this into muffins instead.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (or 3 bananas)

1 cup chocolate chips

Beat the sugar, oil and eggs together until thoroughly mixed. Beat int he vanilla. Blend the dry ingredients together and stir into the sugar/egg mixture until just combined. Sitre in the bananas and chocolate chips and mix well.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 250 for 60 to 70 minutes, or make muffins and bake them for about 25 minutes. 

Hello, Kitty!

We love kittens, but what farm family doesn't?  Farm cats come and go around here, and sometimes we even import them from another farm.  

Teresa was promised a kitten last summer (which you can see, turned into the generous gift of 3 kittens).  I just went to adopt them on Friday and surprised her after school.

(Rachel's drawing of a cat!)

Teresa took these photos of her new friends.  We kept them pretty close to their carrier on the first day, so that we wouldn't lose them.

They are already great friends. :)

On this day in history . . .

It was on this day in history, September 9, 1999, that our mutual friend Sarah asked me if I would be interested in meeting this nice guy she knew.  I was so excited about how great he sounded, I didn't even remember his name from this first conversation!
Somehow I was reminded in the interim, he called me, and we ended up meeting at another mutual friends' wedding (his co-worker was the groom, the bride was my classmate, and I was soloist) on September 18, 1999.
The rest is history!

(2011 photo)

Craniosynostosis Awareness Month

It's September and that means it's Craniosynostosis Awareness Month!

A fellow Cranio Mom made these badges for the kids in our group and I wanted to share here, too. :)

Have a great day!  

Baptism & Birthday #11

We continued on our journey to Brookings after the State Fair to celebrate the baptism of our new nephew, Reid Everist, on Sunday.  Here he is with Great Grandma Neises.

Rachel says, "He's cute." 

On Monday, it was time to celebrate again!  We started out with a little hotel room present opening. 

And a little car watching. 

We gave Landen some new train cars for his collection.  The gondola and caboose were antique cars I found in Fargo this past summer.   

We spent the afternoon with a picnic and playing in a park. 

Since we were again on the road for his birthday this year, Landen got to choose his cake.  He thought this cheesecake sampler would do the trick. 

Happy 11th Birthday, Landen!

A Day at the Fair

We surprised the kids on Saturday with a trip to the State Fair.  Neither David nor I had been to the State Fair in . . . yes. . . decades, so it was time for the Melius family to check it out.

There were mixed reviews as we looked at the various machinery on display, but attitudes brightened as we discovered the Rainbow Play Systems display and toured a few campers on display.

After that, we found some ice cream and decided to take a seat at the Freedom Stage, as a band was just getting ready to perform.  It turned out it was a classic 80's and 90's rock band, and although some more mature audience members did not appreciate the talent of the Snake Oil Sinners, my kids did.  If you remember, they just sang 90's rock songs for their Spring Concert last year.  When they announced Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock," Teresa couldn't sit still.  She was ready to rock!  We all shouted out "Livin' on a Prayer" and they were introduced to "School's Out for the Summer," too, which was ironic since they just returned to school. :)

Then we went to check out the animals.  We found this adorable pig.

And horses.

And lots and lots of goats!

We finished up with bunnies and chickens.

It was a great day at the fair.

Happy 11th Birthday!

Our Landen is 11 today!

Our adventure was just beginning when this photo was taken 10 years ago.

Happy Birthday to our Labor Day baby, who is now almost as tall as his mom!