Peach Pancakes

I just bought what will probably be my last box of peaches of the year, since I think the season is over now. We've been eating peaches on and in everything we can think of, and they are soooo good! Here is an idea, if you too are looking for ways to use peaches.

Peach Pancakes

Pancake batter
Peaches
Butter
Vanilla syrup

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Then slice peaches into circles. It seems to work better if there's a hole in the middle (donut shape), so for the slices that don't have a hole already, cut one. (You can save the middles in a bowl, to serve on top of the pancakes.) Place peach slices on a hot greased griddle. Pour pancake batter over them until they're completely covered. Cook pancakes as usual, until golden brown. (I usually have to turn them back and forth a couple times, since batter sometimes bubbles out from under the peach slice.) Serve with butter, more peach slices, and vanilla syrup.

(For the benefit of those who don't have it, here's the vanilla syrup recipe. This is our absolute favorite syrup; in fact we like it so much that we never have maple syrup anymore. It just takes a few minutes to cook, so you can do it while the pancakes are frying.)

Vanilla Syrup

1/2 c. buttermilk (or ½ c. milk + 1 tsp. vinegar)
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. margarine or butter

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Boil one minute.

Eagles

The subdivision we live in is called "Eagles View" (I can't remember where the apostrophe is, if any)--according to a gate which arches over the street nearby; I've never heard it referred to anywhere else--and I thought it was just one of those meaningless names like "Canyon Meadowes" or "Forest Vista", but for a long time I've been noticing these beautiful eagles circling overhead. They are huge. Even when they're waaaay overhead, their wingspan looks just enormous. I'm not sure what kind they are. Once I thought I saw a white head on one, and in these pictures they look kind of golden. But it is really fun to see them. I don't know if I always see the same ones, but it's usually two at a time, and they seem to be enjoying themselves, riding the wind currents and surveying their domain.

First day of "preschool"

Abraham has started "preschool" (a little playgroup with his cousin Adam, and another friend, Alina) now. They meet twice a week, at a different house each time. They have snacktime, singing time, craft time, story time, etc. Abe has a purple backpack with his own art supplies in it. He loves getting ready for preschool and loading up his backpack with his snack and "school supplieses."

Vacuum trucks and sweeper trucks

Abraham loves to draw vacuum trucks and sweeper trucks. He draws them again and again, and includes every detail he can think of (ignition, key, gear shift, etc.) . I got him to tell me what each thing was so I could label the pictures above. [to enlarge, click on picture]

In the bottom picture, Abe made a vacuum truck out of his bed. Note the purple vacuum hose reaching down. The items on the bed are, respectively, a button to turn the vacuum on, the ignition, the key, the vacuum tank, a water bottle, and (on the floor) the gear shift. This truck has a "steering bar" instead of a steering wheel, Abe told me. I assume that's the bed frame that he grabs onto to steer. Daddy Bear, Blue Bear, and Honey are passengers.

Abe's pointy nose

Duck

We've had a few cold nights, so it was time to break out the soft footy pajamas. In this last picture, Sebby is either reaching out for his monkey, or saying "llllllaa" (which means "light").

Raspberries for Seb

Mmmmm . . . yummy! Abraham and Sebastian helped me pick these raspberries, but the best part was eating them! (Note the transformation of Sebby's smile from real, in the penultimate picture, to fake, in the last series of pictures.)

Monkeying around

Abraham and Sebastian engaging in some Monkey Business through the stairway railing

Speaking of monkeys, did I mention that Sebastian's monkey was lost for a few days? He turned out to be in our church bag, but while he was gone, it was very sad. I knew Sebby wanted him. I could just tell. For example, one night I gave Sebby his elephant to sleep with (he always sleeps with his elephant and his monkey) and he started signing "where? where?" I knew he was wondering where his monkey was. And another time we were reading a book with a monkey in it, and he signed "where? where?" again. And made monkey noises. So it was a very happy day when we found the monkey again. Sebby got this huge smile on his face, and grabbed his monkey and hugged him, and bit him on the tummy, and made monkey noises. We were so happy to be a complete family again! :)

Liberty Park

After we went to the zoo we went over to Liberty Park. They have a really fun water area there that's laid out like the Salt Lake canyons. Water runs down from each "canyon" (Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, Parley's, Immigration, etc.) and eventually ends up in a big pond representing the Great Salt Lake. All the water is chlorinated so kids can play in it.

It was really fun to play in the water. Sebby loved it, because it was shallow enough for him to walk or crawl up and down the rivers, and we liked that we could wade or walk along beside him easily. They release all these plastic balls in the water, too, so you can watch them come down from the canyons into the lake. Abraham had a great time collecting the balls and sending them down various tributaries. So, if you're ever looking for something to do in Salt Lake, this is a great activity for a hot summer day! We recommend it.

Zoo

Sam had a few days off last week and we spent one morning at the Hogle Zoo. I love the Hogle Zoo because the animals aren't in these huge "habitats" where you can't even see them. Instead they're just right up close to you, in cages. Although there are several renovations to the zoo (I noticed, particularly, the new elephant area and the big cat areas) that have made it nicer for the animals. It's not that I want the animals to be uncomfortable, it's just that I like to be able to see them!

Anyway, we had a great time. It's sort of hard to get any good pictures at the zoo, for one reason or another (animals too small, behind windows, too fast, etc.), but here are a few we took.

I don't know if you can tell, but this elephant is spraying water on herself to cool off. I'd never seen one actually doing that before.

There was a baby orangutan at the zoo that Sebby really liked. The orangutan liked Sebby, too--in fact, he came right up to the glass and made faces at us. Sebastian just made monkey noises right back at him.