Homemade Ice Cream - BY ABBY

I made ice cream yesterday with my friend Atticus. We used salt, sugar, vanilla, ice and milk. We used 1 gallon size ziploc bag to put in the ice and salt (make sure you don't get the salt in the little bag). We put sugar, vanilla and milk in a sandwich size ziploc bag. We put the little bag inside of the other bag and shook it up for 5 whole minutes. After we were done we ate it. We compared what we made to the ingredients in whip cream and the ingredients in factory made ice cream. We discovered that the factory made ice cream and the whip cream are not as healthy as the stuff we made, but I like the factory made ice cream better because I got salt in my bag and that tasted yuck! Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

Put the following ingredients into a sandwich size ziplok bag and seal (you can double bag this to prevent the salt from getting in)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Fill gallon size ziploc half full with ice and add 6 tbsp rock or regular salt

Put small bag inside of large bag and shake for 5 minutes and it will turn into ice cream!


AN UPDATE -

We wanted to find out if you could make this recipe without using the salt so we tried it. The ice cream doesn't freeze if you just use ice. We looked it up online to find out what the salt did to make the milk turn into ice cream. Ice cubes just freeze something to about the point of water freezing (32 degrees) and in order for ice cream to freeze it has to be cooled to 27 degrees. Once you add the salt to ice it makes the ice colder and lowers the temperature that it melts at to about -5 degrees, making it plenty cold enough to freeze the ice cream mix.

Wildlife Center, Asheville NC

Abby and her friends Winston and Lincoln got a chance to learn 1st hand about the animals at the North Carolina Wildlife Center.

Sliding Rock, Asheville NC

Ok, sliding down a waterfall in late October might not be everyone's idea of fun, but why not??!!



We decided to go to Sliding Rock and although it was only 65 degrees outside and the water was in the 50's, we jumped in and slid down!


Never let it be said that the Bennett or the Sloan families pass by an any opportunity!

LEAF Festival

What a great time we had at the LEAF Festival! We got to see old friends and meet new ones, enjoy all the music and arts, learned to hula hoop, hang out around the campfire, be in a parade, and just generally chill and relax!

Abby's Fairy House Business

Abby has opened her own business - Fairy House. She made homemade fairy crowns & wands to sell in the store and at the LEAF Festival. She created her own business plan, including expense and income reports, and made up posters to advertise for them. She did so well at her business that she sold out of everything this year at LEAF and made $135.

Educational Fun all Summer Long

I always feel terribly guilty in the summer since we don't focus on Abby's educational needs as much as I would like to, but this year we were able to get some educational field trips in in spite of the fact that we have been so busy.


Abby, Zoe & Ayden loved seeing the animals at the Binghamton Zoo, we got to go to the Herkimer Diamond Mines twice this year, once with with Mema & Tami and with the Homeschool Group, we met up with some fellow homeschoolers at the Unadilla Game Farm. Abby also had a good time at swimming lessons and acrobatics this summer and fall, and has made some new friends.

Washington DC block city

I came in one day this summer to see Abby spread out on the floor with her blocks. She built the entire city of Washington DC, including the reflecting pool, Arlington Cemetery, the White House, Pentagon, etc. She even had people driving their cars and walking though town.

Guess she remembered a lot from our trip there two years ago!

Summertime with Family & Friends

This summer we were fortunate to be able see lots of our family and friends. Bobbi & Eric decided that they had to head back to California in June, and fortunately not long after that I got a call from Tommy asking if we had any positions open at the campground (funny how things like that just seem to work out!)


Seth, Becky and Faith came over a lot to visit us this year, and Abby & I spent a week over there watching Faith when she kept getting sick in daycare.


Debbie & Chris came over for Pirates Weekend, and everyone, including Grampa Bill & Granny Kay, came down for my birthday party!

Birthdays

Faith's Birthday Party


Gayle's Birthday Party


Sarah's Birthday Party

Back at Tall Pines Campground

Well, our Journey for this year has come to an end, and we are back at the campground for the summer. We have lots of work ahead of us for this year, from finishing the bathhouse to putting the new sites up on the hill. One great thing that came out of our travels this year is that we've brought our friends Bobbi & Eric back with us. They are thinking about buying a campground and wanted to try working at ours before they made the plunge. We also have two other workampers coming this year to work in the store, Barb & Beverly. Hopefully we'll have a great season and everyone will have a good time at the campground.

Easter at Mema's, Logan's Kindergarten play

Abby had lots of fun with Sarah & Logan looking for Easter eggs at Mema's. Kids are so cute when they are little and completely believe in something :)


We also happened to be down in Virginia when Logan had his premiere in his school play this year. He did wonderfully. Abby also got her first look at the inside of a school building, as Sarah took Abby on a tour of her's and Logan's classrooms.

Eddy Childhood Farm

On the way back East we made a swing up thru Luverne, MN and saw the farm that Eddy had grown up on. The last time we were out there was about 17 years ago. I remember standing in the fields watching the wheat sway back and forth like the ocean, home cooked meals with Gramma Umland, searching for fireflies late at night and Tommy yelling out all excited that he had found the hugest firefly in the world when he saw Grampa Ed coming towards us with a flashlight.

Snowed in in South Dakota

Well who would have thought that when Linda & Jake and us all decided to go camping in April in South Dakota we would have had, not one, but two blizzards! In fact, within the past week, we've hit THREE BLIZZARDS!! One in Colorado, then two in South Dakota. I'm pretty sure that it will snow regardless of whether we come out in January, April or August!!


Once they reopened the roads from the first South Dakota blizzard, we decided to stay at a nearby hotel in Rapid City since a second blizzard was forecast in another two days. The hotel was great with a beautiful indoor swimming pool, hot tub, arcade, bar and restaurant. Also, right outside the parking lot was a really cool 50's diner, with authentic 50's food and drinks.


In spite of all the snow, we still had a lot of fun. We ended up in Sturgis one night, went to an indoor water park, went out to dinner with Ellen, went bowling, went on a tour of a Black Hills Gold jewelry company, and just hung out. Unfortunately all the other education things that I had planned for the area were closed due to road closures.

Colorado with Family

It was nice to see everyone out in Colorado while we were there. We enjoyed staying up at the cabin, going out for dinner with family, and hanging out with Linda & Jake. Abby got a chance to reconnect with cousins she only sees once a year or so, and we got a chance to have some family time.

Saratoga Springs, Fault Line, Redwoods

Saratoga Springs Campground - a rushing stream running by your camper, the sounds of squirrels collecting nuts, nature all around, what could be better? Our last campground left a lot to be desired, and it is nice to have moved on. We are right on the San Andreas Fault Line, (http://geology.com/articles/san-andreas-fault.shtml) so it's been a great homeschool lesson for Abby, Zoe & Ayden to learn about earthquakes. We all decided to hike up to see the actual fault, but unfortunately we never made it as the earth had shifted too much and had created mountains where the trail once existed.



We did however get to see the Redwoods at a nearby State Park and learn all about the wildlife there.

Salt Lake City, Utah

I've never seen a mirage before, but on the way out to Utah we saw the of craziest sights. As we were driving along it seriously looked like there was a huge lake on each side of the road, with islands and everything, but when we got out, it was just sand.


Abby got a chance to learn alittle about the Mormon religion when we went to visit the Mormon Tabernacle.


And we our friends Bryce & Steve and took the kids to the Children's Museum where the kids all put on a puppet show, climbed the rock wall, explored the lego and building area, got to go inside a helicopter, and lots of other fun stuff.



Afterwards we met some new FOTR friends, Billy & Tara and their family. They just bought a bus and are remodeling it and getting ready to hit the road soon. They have been keeping a blog of their preparations in hopes of making a reality show.

San Francisco area with friends

San Francisco is a fun area to explore, and even better to do it with friends. We had met Bobbi & Eric at the FOTR Rally and knew they would be in the area, so we decided to hook up with them for a couple weeks and explore. I was also surprised to find an old high school friend who lived near San Jose on Facebook and enjoy a homemade pizza dinner at their house one night.



The Winchester Mystery House was built by the owner's of the Winchester Rifle & Gun Company, and when the husband died, the wife went crazy. Insisting that the spirits of the dead who had been killed by Winchester guns were haunting the house, she was "told" that they could be kept at bay if she just kept building. So she did. Stairways that go nowhere, doors exiting off the second floor with no way out, secret rooms, half finished rooms, etc (notice the door on the second floor in the picture above)



The Santa Cruz Boardwalk was a cool experience. The Harbor Seals slept and played in the framework of the docks, while starfish of all different colors made their home there too.





We also got to go to the Redwood Forest...


learn about the Golden Gate and Suspension Bridges....


have shrimp at Bubba Gump's on Pier One....


see how Boudin's Bakery makes their amazingly cool bread animals.....


and step back in time at Haight & Ashbury

Solvang, California - A Dutch Village in the U.S.

Did we take a wrong turn somewhere and accidentally end up in the Netherlands?? If you can't afford the trip overseas, what better way to get a first hand education of a working Dutch Village than to visit Solvang. This small town is filled with authentic Dutch architecture, food and shops.

Pacific Coast Highway

Sights along the Pacific Coast Highway

Lemon Picking, Dude Ranch, Harbor Seals on the Beach

We left our friends in Hollywood and continued up the California Coast. Our first stop was a sweet little state beach just North of L.A. While we were there we decided to take a drive up some back roads. At the end of the first road that we came to, we ended up at a Dude Ranch sitting in the middle of nowhere. This place was really cool, with authentic cowboys, trail rides, a big great room with a huge fireplace, swimming pool, and cabins throughout. Exactly the type of place that you see on the TV shows! The owner of the ranch showed us around and had the cowboys teach Abby about horses. On the way back from the Dude Ranch, we passed by groves of ripe lemon trees, and stopped to pick some lemons for homemade lemonade that night.



See the trails in the sand in front of Abby? That's where just a few minutes before a lone Harbor Seal had been. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera and by the time we ran back to get it, he had run off.

I think out of all the amazing things I have seen this was by far the most touching. When we first saw the little guy I thought he was dead up on the beach. I gently touched his hind quarters with my foot and was surprised when he woke up and kind of hissed at me with his mouth opened wide in an act of aggression. I was kind of scared, and not knowing what he would do, I thought maybe we should give him a wide berth and let him be. But then I looked into his eyes and saw that he was just scared, not aggressive at all. I started talking to him like you would talk to a dog or cat, calmly and reassuring, until he began to respond. After a while he not only let me stay close to him, but actually let me pet him and nuzzled his head up against my hand whenever I touched his head. He was so soft, his eyes were so intelligent and kind, and being this close to something so wild, yet so tame, left me filled with wonder and appreciation.