Happy Boy at the Zoo

Thanks to a work party...Benjamin got his first visit to the Hogle Zoo. He was fascinated by all the animals. The first we saw were the elephants. Mike took several pictures and he will post them later.

There were also sea lions, polar bears, birds of all kinds including a golden eagle that we got close to, giraffes, grizzly bears, tigers, lynx, black swans, crocodiles, bats, sand cats, orangutans, gorillas, rhinoceros, gila monster and other lizards and those are all the names of the animals I can remember. There were many more. I think that the elephants and sea lions were Benjamin's favorite.

Throughout the zoo there were several Lego exhibits. I thought there were pretty cool.

 

Earlier this year summer I took Benjamin on a merry-go-round, so it was Mike's turn to go with him. Below is a video of him whipping by.

 

Right before lunch Benjamin got a snake painted on his arm. After it was painted on, he tried to pick it up off his arm. It was quite amusing for us.

Poor little guy was exhausted after running around the zoo he took a nap on the drive home.

The Spoon

The spoon...a fun concept for this little guy. It's a stick with a round little bowl on the end that will scoop up food.

Here we are trying to learn how feed ourselves (really it's just Benjamin learning to feed himself). Sometimes the food makes it into his mouth and lots of times it dribbles down his chin.

Walking Boy

Walking at last, yeah! 

- or -

Oh no, walking!

Oreo Pretzel Truffles

My brother-in-law gave this recipe to me to try out and I finally got around to doing it. I halved the recipe since it makes a lot. They're very easy to make and I think would be fun activity for kids to get involved. I like the combination of sweet and salty. They're small and bite sized.

Oreo Pretzel Truffles

2/3 package of Oreos
4 oz cream cheese, softened
package of square pretzels (or other shape to sandwich it in)
8-10 oz chocolate chips, melted
nonpareils (optional)

Crush the Oreos and mix into the cream cheese. Shape into 1-inch balls. Sandwich the mixture in between two pretzels. Dip top in melted chocolate chips and sprinkle with the nonpareils.

Everyone has there way of melting chocolate. I have a small dipping crock-pot (it's miniature crock-pot) that I like to use. It's an easy alternative to messing with a double boiler (which I don't have), or using a pot on the stove (which may burn the chocolate and I have done), or microwaving (which cools and then you have to keep reheating). So, my little crock-pot keeps the chocolate melted and at a consistent heat. If I wanted to step it up a notch, I would probably buy the specialty chocolate that is made for melting because I think it has a better consistency. Also, another trick I have from a different recipe, is to add a bit of paraffin wax. Somehow, this allows the chocolate to get hotter, without burning (at least it never burned for me), a smooth consistency and gives the chocolate a nice gloss. The ratio is 1/3 stick paraffin wax to 1-12 oz package of chocolate chips. Let me know what your trick is for dipping chocolate.

Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

What do you do with leftover lemon filling? Make lemon cookies. So, after the cupcakes I made these cookies last week. Lemon lovers like a lot!

Lemon Thumbprints

2 sticks butter, softened 
1/2 c sugar 
2 large egg yolks 
1 Tbs grated lemon zest 
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 1/2 c flour 
1 cup lemon curd or filling

Heat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugar with mixer until well blended. Beat in yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. With mixer on low, beat in flour just until moist clumps form. Gather dough together in bowl to bind. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Using a floured finger, make a deep indentation in center of each ball. Bake cookies until firm and lightly golden on bottom, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and immediately fill indentations with curd. Return to oven and bake 2 minutes longer to set curd. Bake remaining cookies. Lightly dust edges with confectioners' sugar before serving.