Catching Up April 2025 part 2

April 12 was Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and National Licorice Day. We celebrated by having both. We did have tomato soup with our sandwiches.

April 13 was National Peach Cobbler Day. Yes, I made some. I tried a different recipe that didn't use as much sugar. My peach cobbler loving child said he liked it so yay. Less sugar.

We had an at home potluck that evening. We haven't had one of those in while. Here are everyone's contributions from oldest to youngest: cookies, peach cobbler, pizza, pickles and cheese cubes, sparkling apple-grape, lemonade.

That day was also Palm Sunday. This year I tried to do a better job with celebrating Holy Week. The Church had some good resources for every day leading up to Easter. It was a good way to focus my scripture study.

 

April 14 was Look Up at the Sky Day. It was National Dolphin Day. It was International Laughter Day.

How did you celebrate?

 

April 15 was World Art Day. I went up Provo Canyon to get a look at a place that I think looks like a piece of art. When I was there on World Water Day, I got that impression so I wanted to enjoy it again.

Nichole sent me several art pieces she had to celebrate World Art Day.

I love that she uses different so many different mediums.

April 16 was Charlie Chaplin's Birthday. Who else puts rolls on their forks and makes them dance to celebrate?

P.S. It was also National Banana Day. 

 

April 17 was, in no particular order, Bat Appreciation Day, National Cheeseball Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, National Haiku Poetry Day, and National High Five Day.

This is what happens when I hand my daughter some seasoned cream cheese on these holidays.

This is what happens when I take seasoned cream cheese and ask my son what I should make.

Son: A penguin!

Me (after "sculpting"): I think it looks like a ghost.

 

Lucky was the one who let me know it was National High Five Day. I gave him a high five for that. Jeremy showed me a haiku or a few.

We had Blah Blah Blah for after school snack. Remember that? Apple slices with peanut butter and honey? Except lately we just use honey peanut butter instead of adding honey to regular peanut butter. 

 

That evening I went to a Relief Society activity and learned a new skill: embroidery. I've done a lot of counted cross-stitching in my past so some of the stitches were similar but there were definitely some things for me to learn.

 

The next morning, I had to wipe snow off my vehicle. Note the snow covered hills across the lake. Ah, that "Spring" weather.

So You Want to Know Even More About August, Huh?

August 19 was International Bow Day. Jet and I did some coloring on a Minnie's Bow-Toons coloring page. We may have watched a little bit of the cartoon later (I can't remember).

Ah, bonding time.

It was also National Potato Day. Continuing with using A Season of Family Meal Plans by Jordan Page, I learned how to make "baked" potatoes in the Instant Pot. I like doing it that way. Along with the potatoes we had Sheet Pan Bell Pepper Chicken but I cooked it on the stove instead of in the oven. I can do that. I'm a shelf cooker.

It was also Mr. Snuffleupagus' Birthday. Our kids don't know who Mr. Snuffleupagus is. They didn't grow up with Sesame Street. Jeremy and I had to explain to them who he is.

August 20 was National Lemonade Day (it used to be in May). We made a pitcher of lemonade to go with our Tex-Mex Bowls (using leftover fajita filling) and spanish rice. I made Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing from A Season of Family Meal Plans, volume 3. The recipe in there is simpler than the recipe I've used in the past to make cilantro lime dressing. I liked it better after it had been refrigerated for at least a day. Mmmm.

Jet was my little kitchen helper again. He decided to help spin lettuce this time. He didn't bother waiting for me to cut it up first. That's fine. I'm so glad he likes to help me make food. I hope it continues.

August 22 was Be an Angel Day. Dinner was angel hair pasta (of course) with leftovers. Jet was an angel and ate better than any of the other kids when it came to dinner. He got first choice of cupcakes for dessert.

After dinner, Nichole and I went to a Relief Society activity, a sourdough class. It was cool to again see a demonstration but it reminded me that I am not in the season of my life to make sourdough. It is a long complicated process. I did enjoy the samples and socializing, though. I do like to eat sourdough. I just can't commit to it right now.

August 23 was National Cuban Sandwich Day. I tried out some new techniques with cooking (I am constantly learning) and made Cuban Sandwiches (even if they weren't authentic).

August 24 was National Waffle Day. We made a whole bunch of waffles with the intent to freeze some of them for easy breakfasts. Ha. They didn't last long enough to be frozen. 

That day, Nichole, Jeremy, and I went on a UCB field trip to Jordanelle Reservoir- Rock Cliff area. That felt good.

Jeremy also decided to try out a new look that day. Look closely.

August 26 was National Toilet Paper Day. I used some to wipe up tears while I was crying.

August 27 was Banana Lovers Day. After our Cajun Green Beans & Pork Bites and roasted potatoes (both from that same cookbook listed above), we had Frozen Banana Bites (also from that same cookbook). 

August 28 was National Bow Tie Day. We had bowtie pasta along with macaroni with our dinner. We also had Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps, apples, and carrots.

Family History Story

When I was a kid, we had bats that made their home in our attic. In the evenings, we kids would go outside and watch them come out and fly around. Bats are cool. 

One night a bat escaped into the house through a hole in the kitchen ceiling. The timing was such that it was right in the middle of the family watching... Batman. The Tim Burton version (that was the Batman movie when I was a kid).

Ah, memories.

Recently I was going to watch that movie while doing menu planning (multi tasker here). Jet had different ideas. We're going to snuggle while watching, Mom.

On a different day, April 17, I started watching Batman Returns... for Bat Appreciation Day. 

It was also National Banana Day so there was banana eating.

It was also Blah Blah Blah Day. I think that's what my kids hear sometimes when I ask them to do things.

That day was also National Cheeseball Day. I made cheeseball and got it chilled in the fridge but forgot to get it out and shape it later that day so we didn't eat it until the next day. I never did shape it.

Here's another bit of family history but with my current family. One year Nichole shaped cheeseball like a bat to celebrate both holidays (National Cheeseball Day and Bat Appreciation Day). One of these years we just have to get her to shape a cheeseball like a haiku poem for Haiku Poetry Day, also on April 17. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Oh, I just looked it up that family history story of Nichole shaping the cheeseball to look like a bat. Ha Ha. That was just last year. My post about it was on June 10, 2023. And apparently, Jr. wrote a haiku poem about it. Heh Heh.

Mommy, Look

 I look like Daddy.

What's With This Kid?

Remember when Jet put that piece of pizza on my shoulder? Random. I blogged about it on May 12, 2022.

Apparently he's still into that sort of thing. He put a banana peel on Jeremy's head back in April this year.

He's a ham.

Weekdays of Celebrating

Now that we're transitioning back to school, our celebrating has simplified. There's not time to do as much. So here are a few things we were able to fit in the second week of school.

 

Monday, August 23 was Gene Kelly's birthday. The kids wanted to watch Singin' in the Rain but their wasn't time that day. It was also National Sponge Cake Day. Jeremy bought us chocolate twinkies but there wasn't time for those either. There was time a couple days later so people got to eat twinkies while watching Singin' in the Rain.

 

Tuesday, August 24, was National Waffle Day and Vesuvius Day. One of the kids suggested we have an explosion of syrup on our waffles. Heh Heh Heh. I opened the syrup carefully to see if it exploded before we put it on our waffles.

Wednesday, August 25, was National Banana Split Day. The kids got to have banana splits for after school snack.

Thursday, August 26, was Dog Day. We had squid pups again.

Friday, August 27, was Banana Lovers Day. Yep. More banana eating.

Grandma and Grandpa Come For a Visit

Jeremy's parents came for a visit... finally. They wanted to come a year ago March for Jet's baby blessing, but it wasn't safe then. Now things are calming down and people are getting vaccinated and they were able to make the trip in May. Yay. I love Jeremy's parents.

They were here to congratulate Nichole for getting her driver's permit.

Before and After

 

They were here to go to Jr.'s last orchestra concert of the year and afterward when we had pie to celebrate for National Apple Pie Day on May 13. 

We didn't have any ice cream to go with our apple pie so Jr. drank some milk with his pie.

"It's like having pie and ice cream but sadder." 

May 13 was also National Fruit Cocktail Day but we had some of that with dinner the next night. We also had buttermilk biscuits with dinner since May 14 was National Buttermilk Biscuit Day.

Jr. let me know that Friday, May 14, was Fintastic Friday a.k.a. Give Sharks a Voice Day. How appropriate that Jet was wearing a shark outfit that Grandma and Grandpa gave him.

May 15 was International Day of Families. We certainly got family time in. Grandma and Grandpa took a drive up Provo Canyon to look at Bridal Veil Falls with the kids and me while Jeremy had his virtual writing group with the Provo Library.

After that they went with us to the Tulip Festival at Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.

We gave Nichole the camera for most of the time and were not disappointed.

Grandma and Grandpa spent time with us after church on Sunday when the kids made dinner. Lucky made BBQ pizza because May 16 was BBQ Day. Jr. prepared carrots. Jr. Jr. prepared bananas with honey. Since it was World Baking Day and National Sea Monkey Day, Nichole made Monkey Bread.

We had a really great time when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. I'm so glad it worked out. I'm also glad they finally had a chance to meet Jet. He had fun with them as did the rest of us.