Bi-Plane Craft

We've had some rain and cooler temps lately, I'm definitely not complaining. We've also had a guest stay with us which means that I've been extra busy which means the boys are bored! Since today it was wet outside I thought we'd have the boy's friends over for a little "play date". I found the idea for these bi-planes on the Family Fun site and thought it would be a fun and quick craft for the boys to do.

 These boys love to paint. Nathan got a bit

carried away.

The glue hasn't dried on these yet but they turned out pretty good.

Week 29 Peanut butter, chocolate chip, and pretzel squares!

This weeks Pinterest dessert was a big hit! We have a guest staying with us this week ........the pastor of one of our supporting churches and a good friend and he loved it. My husband loved it too!! Unfortunately both men are trying to watch their "waste lines" so I'm going to have the share the dessert with our next door neighbors.

The pin is over here ! 

Pirates and Thunderstorms

The boys have been saying some funny stuff lately! Some days Jon and I just stare at each other in either amazement or shock because of their funny antics and conversations. Other times we try our best to hide our laughter.

During school the other day Josiah said the following to me in a very non-chalant tone : "Mom, when I grow up I am going to be a pirate actor since I already speak pirate." I have no idea where he got that from. He was working on a Math worksheet and it truly came out of nowhere!!!

On another note, Monday night we had a very big thunderstorm. It was quite loud and the rain was coming down in sheets. Nathan got a bit scared and Jon tried to calm him down by pointing out that the thunderstorm is a display of God's power and that God was in total control of the storm. When we put Nathan to bed that night he called me into his room and asked: "Mom, what will God do to me if I don't like His power?"

Week 28 Strawberry Shortcake

So, the strawberries are slowly making their way to Samara............well at least they are getting more affordable. I remember a couple of months ago walking in the market and seeing huge strawberries at all the vendor stands............my mouth was literally watering but every time I checked the prices I knew I couldn't buy them. Paying over $10 for a small basket of strawberries was just ridiculous to me but yesterday 1 pound of strawberries were $3.50.......a bit of a splurge compared to how cheap they are in California but I couldn't stand it anymore!!!  I made strawberry shortcake from this pin on my "sweets" board on Pinterest.

I was a little nervous about making the shortcake but it turned out ok. Actually, I don't think I've ever
really liked shortcake.........it's so plain! The strawberries and the whipped cream really made up for the plainness and actually the shortcake tasted better today than yesterday.

Week 27 Oreo Cheesecake Bites

Last night we visited with our British friends and I took along dessert. I have been wanting to make these Oreo cheesecake bites for some time now and I am so glad I finally did. They were a big hit!!! I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough cream cheese and not enough Oreo cookies and there were plenty of bites to go around and even plenty left over. This recipe will definitely be one of my top ten favorites............but since we can't get Oreo cookies here............I am not sure when I will make them again! You can find the pin here .

Would You Like Some Salad With That Mayonaise?

This past Friday we had our last wives' group for the year. It's been a little tradition where we do a salad lunch and a time for fellowship. A lot of the wives will be returning to their home towns for the summer so it's the last time we'll see them for a few months.

Now, I don't have anything again mayonaise......actually when I was little one of my favorite snacks was toasted bread with mayo spread on it. Furthermore, my mom loves mayo so much she actually will eat it by the spoonful and even though that does make me gag a little, I'm used to large amounts of mayo. Every salad I have eaten here uses mayo as the dressing.............mayonaise is one of the four staples here along with sour cream, dill, and potatoes. It is pretty much guaranteed that one if not all of these four ingredients will greet you at any Russian meal!! So, as you can guess all the salads at our lunch had mayonaise in them and you know what!?  They were all actually pretty good.

Before we ate our lunch though, one of the wives showed us how to make Armenian food! It was lots of fun and the results were delicious.

Week 26 Pineapple Sheet Cake

I am waiting for the girls to arrive for small group and so I thought I'd post. Not sure how this cake turned out but it looks good! I guess I'll find out..........the ladies are such good sports. They know that I often use them as my taste testers.

The recipe is here on Pinterest!

Another Pinterest Project

I've been wanting to scrapbook with baker's twine for the longest time but I can't find it here in Russia.  Not too long ago I came across a pin on Pinterest on how to make your own baker's twine!  I was so excited and only recently did I try it. It's actually not too hard at all!

I think the homemade twine turned out

pretty nice! The direct link to the tutorial

is right here .