mystery powder

rI found this large bag discounted at the local grocery store. It was onbly 50 cents! SO I brought it home and started soem detective work.
FIrst, we observed the powder, and , considering the context (grocery store) hypothesized about what it could be.
powdered milk, flour, rice flour, biscuit mix, pancake mix.

the kids tasted the stuff, and said that it tasted like flour. They still wanted to add baking soda to see if it would fizz, but I advised against it.
then we performed the cooking test. I mixed a small amount with water, then cooked it like a pancake. the powder definatly fluffed up during cooking, so it probably contains some baking soda. It also tasted great, so it is some sort of baking mix.

I then mixed it up as if it were biscuits, cooked it, and they tasted great.

I am secretly relieved that it wasn't plaster of paris or something. Tasting mysterious white powder is not always a great idea, but here it worked. FYI: when we invite people to come and eat at our house, we don't serve mystery food.

candlelight hike

we recently attended the candlelight hike ski & snowshoe event at governor dodge state park. A 2 mile ski path was lined with little paper lanterns. There were also a few ice lanterns, which looked especially neat. I think that I will try to create my own ice lanterns this winter.

There was very little snow, so most people just hiked. We put Reed in the stroller to keep him warm, but no one really got cold.

Afterwards there was a large bonfire for roasting marshmallows. Cookies and hot chocolate were available by donation. My kids, like children everywhere, enjoy cooking things over the fire.

Winter hiking is fun, but winter hiking at night is even better.
This activity showed me that my kids can hike 3 miles in the snow without getting tired or complaining, as long as there is hot chocolate and marshmallows at the end.

ice fishing and other news

Icefishing



We went ice fishing at kids' ice fishing day at Brittingham park. We even got our very own free ice fishing rod. It was incredibly cold.

Martin really likes to fish and will probably want to go ice fishing again. Caleb and Maddie enjoyed the free hot chocolate and Bonfire. It was a good experience. They always are interested in the icefishing houses on the lake, now we know a little bit more about what they are doing.






In other news, Maddie has acquired another costume. She has been making saddles for herself, so Reed can ride around the house on her back, so I made her a horse costume. It turned out well.

Maddie does not usually like to wear barrettes in her hair, but she recently wore this lovely outfit to church. She told us that she was the 'flower fairy'.


Everyone dresses up to go to church, Maddie just takes it a step further.