Lots of Awesomeness today

I love the feeling I get when my kids are really happy.

"Today was so AWESOME" is how they started describing me their day after picking them up at sailing camp.  They went on and on about falling in the water, booms and masts coming undone (???), big waves and fast sailing!  I'm so happy they're enjoying this...

 

Then when I returned home, I yelled "AWESOME" when I unexpectedly found this care package sent to me by my lovely-and-oh-so-cool sister-in-law who is an owner at Urban Yarns in Vancouver!

So tonight, do I bake those cake pops for a big party tomorrow, or pop in a chick-flick DVD and knit me some Kashmir Baby?!?

Summer camp didn't look like this when I was a kid!

This is where my kids will be spending their summer - private yacht club learning to sail.  There's also a pool and lots of green lawn to run around on.  I can tell you my summer camp didn't look like this when I was a kid!  It was a paved school yard and a bus ride to get to the city pool!  If I could start over, this is where I want to go!

Their dad is a big sailor, several world championships and 2 Pan-Am games.  It's a family thing actually!  So it's only natural that he is so adamant about sending his kids to junior squadron all summer.  Each of his 7 nieces and nephews have done it, some even became coaches and are avid sailors today.  My fingers are crossed that the boys will follow in these footsteps!

I'm Reading: Room: A Novel: Emma Donoghue

I picked up this book yesterday while shopping at Chapters with the kids.  I stayed up late reading last night, getting halfway thru already, and can't wait to keep reading tonight!  I am however a bit tired!!!

Room 

chapters.indigo.ca: Room: A Novel: Emma Donoghue: Books

First Day of Summer

The boys enjoyed this simple old-school summer favorite yesterday.

 We welcome you Summer with open arms!

Last days of school

What does your dining room table look like these days?  This is mine, it's scary really...

 My dining room has become the left-over school supply central.  Backpacks get emptied here every day after school.  Why do they keep 1 inch pencils and tiny eraser bits?  It's triage time with recycle and garbage pickup in 2 days.  Hopefully it will be gone by then!

I finally sent the boys off to school this morning with a dozen of these fun & cheerful teacher's gifts.  Reusable insulated to-go cups filled with a half-dozen instant tea and lemonade packets and a thank-you note!

Idea from here, and here.

Dessert, desserts and more desserts

On Friday evening, after a very long week with work, my hubby and I shared a beautiful dinner of steak and shrimp on the BBQ, and lots of wine!  I was a bit tipsy lazy when it came time for dessert, so I prepared a quick, easy and cool treat:

Store bought mini angel cakes, creamy vanilla ice cream and some chopped ripe strawberries... all drowning in maple syrup!

Saturday we had dinner with some very dear and generous friends.  Since I wasn't feeling tipsy lazy at one o'clock in the afternoon, I baked squares - my lemon squares + homemade brownies.  For years now, they ALWAYS ask for my lemon squares!  I usually bake up a batch along with something new, but they always come back to those lemony bite-size treats.  So here's the recipe for my lemon squares:

LEMON SQUARES
Crust
  1 cup flour (I use pastry flour)
  1/2 cup soft butter
  1/4 cup sugar
  pinch of salt
Mix well and press into a 9x9 inch baking pan.  I line it with parchment paper.  Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
Custard
  1 cup sugar
  2 tbsp flour
  1/4 tsp baking powder
  Finely grated rind AND juice of 1 lemon
  2 eggs
Mix well and pour over baked bottom crust.  Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.  Let cool before cutting into squares and dusting with icing sugar.

For the brownies, I followed the Baker's One Bowl Brownies recipe with butter (and LOTS of it!) and pecans, but also added about a cup of butterscotch chips, just because I felt like it!!!