Random WonderThoughts from Kids

"Sometimes I wonder why they even make candy."
(as he munched on Smarties and Tootsie Rolls from my candy bowl and we discussed how candy rots out your teeth)

"Sometimes I wonder why we talk...how we know what to say."
(it is amazing sometime, huh?)

These wonderthoughts brought to you by one of my co-workers kids. They stopped by to visit this morning.

I remember going to work with my parents when we weren't in school. I was always glad I had Joshua to play with because we always managed to keep ourselves entertained.

Key West

June 9-15, 2006 we went to Key West, Florida, with Mama and Papa. Ashley and I drove there (stopping in St. Augustine on the way down). A long drive but worth the trip! Our first night we went to Mallory Square to watch the famous Key West sunset and street performers. The Cat Man was not as great as I remembered from my other trips (he seemed to be on some serious drugs this time) but his felines still had talent. Here they are, jumping through a flaming hoop, over each other. The Custom House was beautiful, particularly in the sunset.

Unfortunately Tropical Storm Alberto (the first of the season) blew by Saturday and brought in rain and not-so-nice weather until Tuesday. Check out the stormy water at the Southernmost point!Here is the Southernmost Point on Wednesday...much sunnier!We rented a scooter on Wednesday and zoomed all over the island. This was probably one of our favorite things.Key West doesn't have a very large beach but it does have that tropical feel. We spent Wednesday afternoon beneath a palm tree, soaking up some sun. US Highway 1 (which runs through Gilbert, SC, among other places along the east coast) ends in Key West. Here's Ashley on our flashy scooter at the Mile 0 marker. I took a lot of pictures as we were zooming by on the scooter, including a few of us.Wednesday evening, Mama, Papa, Ashley and I went on a sunset cruise on a Fury catamaran. It was a perfect ending to our vacation. The pictures were amazing. My favorite is of a schooner as it glided past the setting sun.
Ashley got to help raise the sail on the catamaran.
On Thursday, we drove all the way home. In case you are curious...it takes 14 hours to drive from Key West to Gilbert (includes an oil change for the truck, lunch, gas, dinner, and gas again).

Sweet Rewards of Summertime

One of my favorite things about summer is picking blackberries and making a cobbler. Today I picked my first blackberries of the season -- enough to make a small cobbler. Yum! It's baking now.

Cobblers are incredibly easy to make. Here's the recipe I use:
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
2 cups of self-rising flour
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of milk
3 1/2 cups of blackberries (or other fruit)

Heat oven to 350. Once temperature is reached, melt butter in a 9x13 pan in the oven.
Stir together flour, sugar, and milk until lumpy.
Pour mixture onto butter (don't mix).
Drop blackberries into batter (don't mix).
Top with some extra sugar.
Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.
* This recipe is easy to divide in half. You also can decide how much crust you want. I like a little less and more berries.

Enjoy!