Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 70

Three Years of Kate

Happy 3rd birthday, Kate!Kate just celebrated her third birthday (which, is incidentally the same day as my baby sister) and, as always, I had a flurry of emotions. Three years really isn't all that long but at the same time, it seems like we've known her forever. Families are forever, after all. Usually Kate's a dog person, but she doesn't discriminate if the cats are close by.Kate was the last of our girls born in Iowa, which seems like a lifetime ago. Jack was in school, I was working...

Honey Harvesting

Sooooo much honey...The leaves are changing, the weather is increasingly chilly, and that means it's honey harvesting time! For the first time since we moved in and gathered pounds and pounds of wild honey from a hive residing in our walls, were we able to collect an equally impressive amount from one of the hives we purchased earlier in the year.
There are now five hives total (thanks to the free swarm that randomly showed up one day) though two are a friend's. Since the swarm arrived la...

Camping Trip #2

Spent an evening warming ourselves by the fire.It's coming to the end of the camping season (yes, I know there are people who camp in the winter and Claire claims she wants to be one of them, but I draw the line for sleeping outside when the temperature dips below freezing) and I was admittedly a bit sad that we'd only gone one time this entire year. Yes, it was fun camping and canoeing on Sugar Creek but between being pregnant, the monsoon weather earlier in the summer and weekends taken up...

Blazing Bonfire

Autumn is finally here, and the weather's been fabulous. The days are warm and bright, the nights are cool and calm and the tips of the leaves are just changing. Jack suggested a bonfire for our family night and the girls eagerly agreed. Probably because we had marshmallows to roast. Whatever their reasons, we all went outside after a late dinner and settled in.
Getting the party started.Jack is a master fire builder. I've had my fair share of practice after using our wood burning stove last y...

U-Pick Apples

She can't help herself when it comes to fresh fruit.It's apple season again and though we have our own apple trees out front, we were not blessed with a bumper crop this year. The trees are old (we planted replacements, but it'll be several years before they're fruit bearing) and Jack trimmed them drastically to cull the dead and dying parts. There were probably only a dozen apples hanging on the branches and Claire and Kate ate a majority of them while waiting for Evelyn to get off the bus o...

Collection of Chicks

Playing with Claire.Since Henry's arrival, he has enjoyed weeks and weeks of being doted on by sisters, family and neighbors,
Scooping manure is hard work!But already (and still less than a month old), he's no longer the new kid on the farm. Can you see what she has tucked under her feathers, right under her chin?Remember that broody hen? She managed to hatch two eggs so far! I haven't been able to count just how many eggs she has in her clutch, since all of her fellow hens keep trying to lay m...

Name That Baby!

One of my favorite photos of Evelyn and a brand new Claire. I've had more than one person ask who Henry looks like. You tell me! Can you guess which baby is which child?
Who's this dark-haired sweetheart?  Who's the smirking baby? Who's wide awake in this photo? Who's serious and solemn?
Did you guess correctly?

A Girl and Her Dog

Running, running, and running some more!I know the saying goes that dog is man's best friend, but while Raven loves Jack, she definitely sees me as the alpha. Even with me being the boss, she often prefers hanging out with the girls because they're always more than willing to play fetch or rub her tummy or run wild with her.
There's no room left!Yesterday, the weather was beautiful and fall-like, so after dinner, we headed out to the hammock. Everyone else piled in while I sat back and watched...

Cherry Cheese Pie

We were in the mood for cheesecake but didn't have the time to whip up, bake and chill one, so we used this version. It's not exactly like cheesecake, but has a great, firm texture and creamy taste that really hit the spot.

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ready made graham cracker crust OR 1 package graham crackers and 1/4 cup melted butter
1 can cherry pie filling

In a medium bowl, whip...

Super Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

We were getting ready for a Friday night movie night at home (we just discovered VidAngel, a site that allows users to filter content to avoid scenes and language they'd rather not see--check it out here!) and I decided that cookies were in order. Not just any cookies, but big, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies that are perfect for dunking in milk. Introducing the super soft chocolate chip cookie!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flou...