Reunion Time: Chelsea is Here

Isn't she beautiful?

Our oldest, Chelsea, is a nanny back in the Seattle area and her family had a week off so we flew her out here to visit and as a early birthday celebration since we won't be there for hers and she wasn't here for D's. The first visit in 4 1/2 months!

We rode a ferry on the east coast

Had a super special crab dinner at yummy Joe's Crab Shack, where they made her be part of the entertainment

Explored Colonial Williamsburg - with a very tired girl

Rode a trolley with one of our friends from Seattle who lives in VA now

Had a family movie night - in the camper

Went to the Atlantic Ocean

And got to have some much needed Chelsea time. We love and miss you already. Thank you for visiting your crazy family.

Calzone Time and Kale

Having a minuscule kitchen means things have to be easy. That is why I've been sharing recipes with you every week or so on easy AND healthy recipes.We've been hearing and reading more about Kale lately with all of it's health properties including being a big anti-inflammatory, that we've had to find a way to add more of it into our diet.

Dr. Oz calls it King Kale for all it's anti cancer properties. 

So we tried some of the Kale chips we've been reading about. Warning: this is so easy, your kids can do it and will eat it without much of a fuss.

Take 1 bunch of Kale, preferably organic. Wash and dry it. Cut or tear it into small pieces off of the hard stem.

Place the kale in a bowl or bag and drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over it and spread it on a baking sheet.

Take a pinch of fine sea salt and sprinkle it over the top.
Put it in the oven at 200-250 for approx 20 minutes. It should be crisp and crunchy.OK, maybe it doesn't look so pretty, but it tastes good and given it's health benefits, you'll want to eat a plateful.

Today's recipe is for Italian Calzones.

Kind of like a wrapped up pizza, I haven't made these in years and wanted to try something else to put some kale in that would be simple, simple, simple.

Dough
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. water, warm
1 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine above ingredients, let sit in a warm location for 30 minutes (I have put my bread bowl above the coffee maker in the am). Once it has risen, you will take it out and divide in half and press /squeeze out all the air bubbles out.
Now let it rest for 5 minutes. Go and do the rest - we'll come back, I promise!

Filling
OK, this can really be ANYTHING you want, but here's what I used:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 - 1 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. chopped garlic
2-3 Tbls. dried, ground kale
1 Tbls. parsley
1 tsp. celery salt

Shredded Cheese - I used Edam, because that is what I had on hand, but my first choice would have been mozzarella.
Cook sausage completely. Add in next 5 ingredients and as soon as it comes to a low simmer, remove it from the heat. OK was that easy, or what?

Now, back to the dough. Take one of the two halves and flatten it out onto a flat surface. I used a couple tablespoons of flour on my board as I started out. Once it was coming into shape, I tossed a little cornmeal on my base so it would have an additional texture.

Almost ready!

From here you will make sure the dough is as flat as you can make it. Use your finger tips to dimple it continue to stretch the dough. If it tears, don't worry, just pull it back together and press.

When you have it to your desired thinness, take half the filling mixture and place it on one half of the dough. Add as much cheese as desired.

Now is actually the hardest part: folding and crimping. Even this though is fun which in turn makes it easier.  Grab the back half of the dough that doesn't have any filling on it and pull it over the top. All you are going to do is "roll" a little bit of the dough over itself and push it down onto itself. Gives a little crimped edge look.

When you're done it should look something like this:

Place it on your baking sheet. Next, repeat with the 2nd dough. Now, it is really, really, really important to take your fork and poke the top so the steam has somewhere to go. Otherwise you'll ended up with an extra airspace like this:

Not a huge deal - it is what it is and it still tasted great. The boys ate theirs not knowing how easy or just how good it was for them.

I hope you enjoy this one. Working on a couple more ideas for Kale. Have you tried it before and if so, how did you make it appealing?

Civil War - Gettysburg and their horses

So much more than a time in history, visiting Gettysburg history comes to life and becomes real. 

Real men fought against each other. Friend against friend, brother against brother, to the death. 

We used the car audio tour that you can purchase in the Gettysburg book shop inside the Visitors Center. It directs you through on a driving tour to see specific sites that were marked in history. Some by bloody battles that made the river run red and others where famous speeches were given. 

The Calvary was a large part of the war and is attested to my the multitude of monuments to the men and their horses all across this country.

What made this more interesting for us, was learning about the details and studying more about the Civil War. Although the war will always be remembered for true freedom for all and the end of slavery as we are all taught in school, there is so much more to the Civil War than slavery though. Did you know slavery still existed in the North after the end of the Civil War and Lincoln himself owned slaves? Not long, but it was still there.

Much of it came to a difference of opinion over the Constitution and whether or not it was an evolving document, land rights, cotton and the desire for the south to succeed from the union. 

Gettysburg will go down for all of history as a battlefield of all battlefields. In 3 days of fighting, the Union lost 27% of their troops and the Confederates lost somewhere between 30-34%. Three days. Almost 50,000 lives gone. In the Visitors Center, they use those numbers and estimate if the war happened today, that 50,000 would be well over 1 million with today's population. 

I am saddened at the losses and the families that never happened or that were destroyed due to the war. I love this country. I hope that if given the chance, you will take time to drive the battlefields and see our countries history. 

the boys and their dog in the middle of a battlefield

Kannapolis Intimidators Game

One of the last fun events of summer is always baseball and was no exception for us either.
The boys even got to be part of the entertainment by playing a game on the field between innings.
We don't know how their season ended but they were headed for minor league play offs.

Cotton Fields of the South

These are the first cotton fields we've seen on our trip. Actually, guess I should say these are the first cotton fields we've seen in bloom and ready for harvest. Don't know if we've actually seen them before.

Grandpa Paul and Arlington National Cemetery

It was with great honor that we were able to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. It is there that my grandfather, Paul MacDonald Skinner and his beloved wife, my grandmother, Ruth Evangeline Hamlin Skinner have their ashes at rest. Grandpa Paul was a Lieutenant Colonial in the United States Air Force. He served our country for 26 years, fought in WWII where he flew the very first daylight raid on Berlin and was blessed to survive. He was a base commander, deputy base commander (England) and served in various squadrons as commander (800+ men in one of them).

This photo of me and my grandma hangs in our camper today

But Paul was so much more than that to me. He taught me how to cook. Not just the simple stuff either, but he taught me Thanksgiving dinner! He taught me how to drive on the highways ... when I was 14.  He was a farmer at heart ... he raised a few beef cattle the old fashioned way: on grass. He grew enough food to put up for winter and have a harvest for his church come fall. He taught me the joy of camping - he built his own camper from the chassis up. I went on my first camping trip with my parents and grandparents when I was about 6 months old. It was through him I learned the value of a "captive audience" - car rides with the kids.


 He taught me that it was OK for girls to be handy and gave us kids little tools as gifts (grandma always had grandma treats too). He built his house with his hands and help from a few neighbors. He was quite the investor and taught us both how to save for the future and how to give generously. 

He was hard of hearing from all those flights, but he didn't let that stop him. He taught me - and many others - that you are never too old to learn new things. In his 80's he learned how to use a computer and email with his family and others as well.


Grandpa Paul was truly a renaissance man and is missed. It was with great joy that we had the fortune to visit his ashes final resting spot. We know that is not where he is and that we will see him again someday,  but it was still a nice remembrance. 

Grandpa Paul was famous for saying, "A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once." I try to remember that as challenges come my way. Back down or dive in and attack. It's a choice.


I am sure that one of the first things he heard on his passing was, "Well done good and faithful servant." We couldn't agree more.

Our Nation's Capital - Washington, DC

While we were traveling in the east, we would be remiss to not do a little touring in DC...the other Washington.


We enjoyed the sights and the architectural beauty that is bestowed on this great city. Some of the most amazing and wonderful buildings. We also went through the Museum of Natural History. Here are some of our photos.

Washington Cathedral. They were doing construction.

Super Easy Chocolate Mocha Mousse

This is one you will want to make tonight for dessert - and it's easy enough that you'll wonder where this recipe has been.

Literally, I scrounged around the camper looking for chocolate this time. I've made this with Hershey's bars, bulk milk chocolate from the health food store and this time, with Dove dark chocolates that I found at  the back of the cabinet (don't worry, they were still good).

Ingredients
1 pkg chocolates or 2-3 full size chocolate bars
1 - 2 tsp instant coffee OR 2 Tbl strong coffee, optional
2 Tbl water
2 egg yolks
1 c. half and half
8 oz. Cool Whip or whipping cream
1 graham cracker pie shell

Directions
Unwrap 1 package of Dove chocolates and put them in a bowl over a pot with about 1 cup water on a simmer (this is my homemade double boiler system).

Stir the chocolates consistently.

While the chocolates are melting, mix 1 teaspoon instant coffee with 2 tablespoons water OR 2 tablespoons strong coffee. If you don't want the mocha flavor, skip this all together.

I had some leftover Taster's Choice samples, so this worked well for me

Separate 2 eggs yolks, discard whites or use for another purpose (like yummy meringues). Once all the chocolates are melted and smooth, now is the time to add the egg yolks. Stir immediately and constantly for 1 minute and don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl. The eggs will cook into the chocolate if you keep your arm moving swiftly. Don't do this step and you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your chocolate.

Next, pour in the coffee. It will start to thicken pretty quickly. Remove from heat.

Add your 1 cup of half and half, stir until color is smooth.

Lastly, add in 1 - 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip. OK, this is one option - you can also grab some whipping cream and make up 8 ounces of the fresh stuff. No judgment here - I wanted easy this time. Stir until color is smooth again.

From here you have a couple choices. You can simply pour it all into a pre-made graham cracker pie crust, pour it into individual serving bowls or, as my guys are always wanting to do, eat it all directly from the bowl.

From start to finish this recipe will take you about 15-20 minutes - the first time. It gets easier the more you make it.

Happy Birthday Dakota and Jamestown

This is our second birthday on the road - this time for a 12 year old!

We actually started the day before in Jamestown, going back to 1607 when the very first settlers arrived (13 years before the Pilgrams arrived) in what would become these United States of America.

Scott and the boys on the Susan Constant

Here, Jamestown has been recreated back to the 17th century where we walked among the settlers in their daily lives, whether it be in the kitchen where they prepared one meal a day and the other two meals would have been leftovers and possibly some fruits or vegetables and cheese, to the forge where we watched as one man stood making nails. Yes, nails.

They did used a version of raised beds back in the 17th century.

And the chickens were allowed to roam and fertilize the dead beds

We also experienced a little of the life of the Powahtan Indians and walked through their homes. It was amazing to see all the actual animal rugs. If the men in your family were very good hunters, you would have made the very best hides into large coats to keep you warm through the winter. The rest would have been laid across the beds - both for comfort as well as warmth. The bones from the animals were used as well. Primarily as tools, animal bones were also filled and shaped into fishing hooks.

Boys trying on the gear

We ended the day by celebrating at Red Robin, one of D's favorite places - singing and all.

 

On his birthday, after a short school day, we headed out for an adventurous day of hands on learning.

We started out in Yorktown, went and played video games (talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum), went to a military surplus store for D to pick out some of his own gifts, and ended the night with a new Royal Rangers group where he found a new friend with very similar hobbies. 

Not being a big sugar eater, D opted out of cake and just wanted some ice cream, so day 3 of his birthday, ended with a trip to the local ice cream shop.

In the end, D said this was the best birthday he's had without having his friends around. Whatever that means, I'll take it he had a good time.

120 Days of Life on the Road

To commemorate 120 days on the road (actually 132 now), I thought I would share some of the ups and downs.

We've seen gloriously huge trees in the redwood forest.
We've seen in ice caves hundreds of feet below the earths surfaces.
We've stood on the top of a mountain at almost 12000 feet elevation.
Paying for a campground site when we probably wold have felt safer just boondocking at the Walmart.
Realizing that we are not the loudest family in the campground.
Finding other homeschoolers out on the road.
Email. I always took you for granted. Now I cherish the time I can email with friends and family.
Internet. Ditto, above.
Getting Abby. Our sweet little addition that is now 6 months old. 
Cleaning up puppy messes.
Joy in realizing Abby is growing up and can "hold it" longer.
Sadness at interacting with other Fjords as our own are sorely missed. 
Country music.
Amazing landscapes.
Inspiring farms.
Old, tired farms.
Corn mazes.
Farmer's markets.
Riding a bicycle again. No, you really don't forget how. :-)
Gorgeous architecture.
Seeing more cemetaries in 120 days than I've seen in my entire life. Actually I saw more in half a day of driving in any state in the south, than I've seen in my lifetime.
Historic, old homes. Crumbling to pieces. So sad.
Historic, old homes, gloriously kept up.
Presidents homestead.
Learned that many of our first presidents were farmers. And lawyers to pay the bills.
We got sun!!! And tans. And it still keeps coming!
We've seen miraculous thunderstorms.
We avoided a hurricane. 
Visiting the Billy Graham Library.
We've walk the actual land where men died in battle.
Trees. Lots and lots of trees. Pretty colors.
Majestic national parks.
Route 66.
An amazing aquarium.
Cracker Barrel. Yum. We've eaten at Cracker Barrel in every state out of WA.
Driving an hour out of our way to one of food networks "acclaimed" Diners, Drive In and Dives and then seeing that it closed at 6pm. Really.
24/7 family time. Take that as you will.
Living in 240 square feet.
Cooking in 23 square feet. Oops, that includes the refer.
No dishwasher. Unless you count Scott...
Baking bread.
Laundromats. Hadn't used one since I moved to Spokane for a brief period and our old home didn't have a washer or dryer. I miss my helpers.
Making homemade shampoo and conditioner.
Southern accents.
Yes ma'am.
Standing on the mall looking at the Washington Monument.
The Washington Cathedral.
State capital buildings. Oh wow!
Seeing a county courthouse that had burned down 3 times. They finally moved the heating system to another building off-site.
Driving an hour just to find a natural food store.
Watching the boys - one in particular come out of his shell.
Old fashioned street lights. Still being used.
Visiting my grandparents at Arlington National Cemetary.
Walking the track that is home to NASCAR.
Making new friends. Yeah! (and thank you).
Sadness at leaving our friends - some that really were (are still) closer than family.We really miss you.

Truly, it has been an incredible journey so far, despite some of our trying times. We are encouraged though that we have made it this far. Originally, Scott had said we would only be able to make it for 2 months and I had said 6. We're in between now and so far so good.

I do desperately miss the farm. Everything about it really. The animals, the smells, running my hands through fresh compost, cleaning stalls and more than anything else, all the wonderful people who came by so often.



 

Shampoo and Conditioner - farm style

As with many things, we are always looking for ways to create a healthier environment while saving money. I think many people, if given the option are interested too. 


Well, I've gone back in time. Time to when really simple, basic ingredients served our grandparents and great-grandparents before Big Biz told them it wasn't adequate and they needed more. Let me introduce you to my friends, Baking Soda and Vinegar.

Baking soda and vinegar have been cleaning staples almost since time began. Why again are we not using them everyday? Some like to think of it as cleaning ingredients the "hippies" used. WHOA right there sir! Those two ingredients can be used to clean and sanitize everything from a diaper pail to your face. And that's where I am headed today...


Baking soda, by accident, I found, is this totally amazing, mildly abrasive facial cleanser. I ended up trying it again on purpose and used about 1/4 teaspoon in the palm of my hand and rubbing it on my face with a little of my basic facial soap. Can I tell you that my face felt smoother than a baby's butt? Really - I just kept rubbing the back of my hand over my face, oohing and aahing. I'm using it every few days now. Give it a try.


I decided that this little miracle was not only going to be used for my facial routine now. I did some research and one of the other blogs I read Stephanie, over at Keeper of the Home had a great article and vlog on making your own shampoo and conditioner with, yes, my newly found friends, Baking Soda and Vinegar.


I've been using this for a couple weeks now and LOVE it! I used one of my old shampoo bottles that was right down at the end and needing to be replaced, so it was extremely timely as well. 
Shampoo:
Put a few tablespoons of baking soda in the bottle
Fill it the rest of the way with water
If you're prone to itchy or flaky scalp, add in a teaspoon of ground up rosemary (it also gives a nice, natural shine too so I am adding it in anyways). That's it, just give it a shake each time before you use it.
Conditioner:
I had a little left of my conditioner
I just filled the bottle to half way with unfiltered apple cider vinegar and the rest of the way with water. Shake each time before you use it.


I have never been one to wash my hair everyday, every other day has been fine to keep it clean and even then, I use minimal shampoo (many times I've watered down the shampoo that I brought home from the store). 
I've done the same with this new method (although I do use a little more, but am OK with that since it is all natural and does no harm to delicate septic systems) and I am in shock and awe at how easy it is. Haven't seemed to have that trial period some talk about - my hair is happy. I will say also, I had been experiencing more frizz lately since we have been in the south with the humidity. This new method has almost completely eliminated it.


I know this may sound radical to some, but this has been revolutionary for me and my family. I hope that you will give it a try and let me know what you think.

Photo by Jessica Mullen

Fair Time! Virginia State Fair

One of the things we told the boys we would do along our trip, was to go to some fairs. We love fairs. Well, for the most part ... as a child, dad took the trailers every year to the fairs, to sell them. The first couple days were awesome. After 2 months at fairs, even the most dedicated rider and animal lover is completely exhausted from it. That was us kids. Year after year, although, to dad's credit, we only did "all" the fairs once. After that, it was the one local fair. Still, spending the last 2 weeks of summer at the fair was not necessarily our idea of a great time.

I wanted to change my apathetic attitude towards fairs and started taking my kids when they were young. Thrilling rides, cotton candy, "smelly" cows and all the other joys of the fair were new again seeing them through the eyes of my kiddos. Today I can truly say, I enjoy the fair again. I don't do the rides, but live vicariously through the boys.

My true joy at the fair though, is seeing the livestock. I love the smells of the barn. Even more so now, not having our own farm for the moment. It really makes my heart ache for our land and the animals.

This calf was born just 15 minutes ago!!!

I miss my little porkers

Virginia. What a smart bunch you are. Putting the folks in prison to work, learning new skills ...

It's not a great picture above, but I zoomed in on the board here:

Yes, you read that right. Virginia Dept of Corrections State Agri Business. How smart of you to actually work on rehabilitating your prisoners and giving them some skills they really can use when they are released. Who was the smart one who thought of that? I would really like to shake your hand and say thank you.

One of the most exciting parts of this fair was it's location. In a little town called Doswell, Virginia, sits the home of the Virginia State Fair at The Meadow Event Park. What makes it more exciting is that the land. See, it was once owned by the Chenery family. Penny Chenery. Sound familar? If you saw the movie, Secretariat, it should. The Meadow is the home and birthplace of Secretariat, the world famous, Triple Crown winner. Still today, the barns sit much as they were. They even had an exhibit with one of Secretariat's great grandsons there at the fair. Did you know Virginia is number 4 for horse populations? Me either until now.

More fun times. Here's Evan kickin' some tires on his new tractor...

And seeing if it's really the right size...

for a nap. Ahhh, the joy. It was a fabulous time at the fair and we had a great time as a family. And the sleeping children on the way home didn't hurt either.

What's your favorite experience at the fair?