Olympic Ring Waffles

The 2012 Summer Olympics start this Friday, and we are getting excited about it at our house! We started working on learning a few different flags from the Olympic nations, we've set our dvr to record our favorite events, and we picked up exotic snacks from different countries to enjoy while we watch some of the world's best athletes compete. AND to get us even more in the Olympic spirit, I had to try my hand as some Olympic themed waffles to celebrate the games this year! I ended up with these fun and easy Olympic Ring Waffles that would be the perfect "breakfast for dinner" while watching the Opening Ceremonies this Friday!

Start with waffle batter divided into five bowls. I usually make my waffles from a box mix, but I decided to try out a homemade recipe {that was way more than five servings} so I just measured about 3/4 cup into each bowl.

Then color each bowl one of the colors from the Olympic Rings symbol. I used green, yellow, red, and blue food coloring for those colored rings, but I used cocoa powder for the black ring just because I didn't think a black waffle would be very appetizing:)

Stir the batter up well to make sure the color is incorporated good, then cook your waffles according to the directions on your recipe/package of waffle mix.

Remove your waffles from the waffle iron and let them cool slightly. Use a 3 inch circle cookie cutter to cut out the center of each waffle. If you don't have a circle cookie cutter you could use the lid to a mason jar or even a small cup or bowl. 

After you get all the centers cut out, line up your colorful waffles like the Olympic Rings and see if anyone in your family can tell what you made:) Henry figured it out pretty quickly, but I that was because he saw the webpage I had opened to make sure that I lined the waffles up correctly:)

A Craft of Olympic Proportions

We love watching sports on tv. My boys could sit and watch ESPN for hours regardless of what sport is on. I love that for the most part {minus some of the commercials} sports on tv are family friendly entertainment for all of us to enjoy. The Olympics are always fun and exciting for me, and this year all of my boys are old enough to really appreciate the idea of the Olympics. So I decided we would turn the Olympics into a bit of a learning experience by making a few flags from some of the nations participating in the Olympics.

 We started with a pack of cardboard flags that I picked up at Michaels. They have a ton of different cutouts available and I just happened to notice these the last time we were browsing. I got a pack of 12 flag cutouts for around $3. You could also just use sheets of cardstock or recycle some other white cardboard that you have on hand. Then I printed out a clip art sheet with some national flags on it. I chose 12 flags for the boys to color making sure to include the U.S.A and the U.K. {because they are the host country}. I mostly just picked the ones that I thought would be easiest for the boys to color.

 I gave each kiddo a blank flag, a box of crayons, and a small clip art picture of the flag they were going to make. I let Henry and Grant figure their flags out on their own, but I gave Eli a little guidance by drawing a couple lines or the shape {like the circle on the Japanese flag} and then let him color the flag in.

 After the boys were finished coloring, we hung the flags up in our living room. We happen to have these two {still unpainted going on two years} canvases hanging in our living room that were the perfect spot for our flags, but you could hang them on your fireplace or string them together to make a banner to hang on an entertainment center.

We worked on learning which country goes with which flag, and Henry already has all 10 of our flags memorized! Knowing the nation's flags is going to make watching the Olympics so much more fun and educational for the boys. I think we are going to take our Olympic craft one step further once the games start and keep track of the medal count on our canvases as well! I guess we need to get busy making some gold, silver, and bronze medals:)

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Candy Bar Ice Cream Pie

We love ice cream any time of the year, but we REALLY love ice cream in the summer when it's hot outside! We've been thought quite a few ice cream containers this summer making sundaes, banana splits, and root beer floats. This weekend I decided to try something a little different with our ice cream, and I ended up with a SUPER yummy and SUPER simple to make Candy Bar Ice Cream Pie!

 Start with a regular pie crust baked according to the directions on the package. You could also use a graham cracker crust or other kind of crust...an Oreo one would be really yummy with this.

 Scoop some ice cream into a bowl. We used plain old vanilla, but you could mix it up and try chocolate or maybe even coffee. Just estimate about how much you think you need to fill up your crust.

 Unwrap a variety of candy bars. I used the little snack sized Snickers, Reese's Cups, and Kit Kat.

 Chop up your candy and add it to the bowl of ice cream. You can also add in some mini M&M's just to make things more colorful and interesting:)

 Give your ice cream a good stir....

 ...then add it to your crust. I topped mine with a whole Reese's Cup. You could also add sprinkles or even a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Place your candy bar ice cream pie in the freezer for a few hours or until it has hardened enough to cut into slices. Serve and enjoy on a hot summer day!

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Tatertots and Jello

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Wordless Wednesday: Today

The Long Drive Home and Meeting a Blog Friend: Day 16,17,and 18

We got up bright and early on day 16 to head home. Our plan was to drive all the way down I10 from where it meets the Pacific Ocean to home. We didn't have reservations for a campground for that night...we were just going to drive until Jason couldn't drive anymore and then stop for the night.

 We kept lots of snacks and big {cherry flavored} diet sodas handy to keep us awake on the way home. 

 The boys watched a couple of movies when they started getting restless and it was too dark to do anything else.

 We drove all the way through California and Arizona and about halfway through New Mexico before we stopped for the night. We ended up staying in the parking lot of a Walmart right off the interstate. I was a little worried about that, but we went in and talked to the {older than dirt} security guard and he said he would be looking out for us all night:)

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The next morning we started the drive through Texas. We passed Exit Zero on the state line between New Mexico and Texas. Who knew there was an Exit Zero!

 We made it to San Antonio just before dark. We set up camp and then headed out to find a steak for dinner! We found this fun place that was pretty yummy and WAY cheaper than all the other fancy steak places around Texas.

 The next morning we headed to downtown San Antonio with a stop for breakfast at the home turned restaurant and museum of the Pioneer Biscuit creator. The boys had pancakes, I had an amazing waffle, and Jason had their famous biscuits with gravy...yum!

 We found our way to the River Walk and took a trip on one of the fun boat tours.

 We checked out the Alamo!

 Then I had the pleasure of meeting one my SUPER fun bloggy friends, Julie. She brought her boys along {her hubby met us there too} and we headed to a fun Mexican place for lunch. Can you tell that all 5 of those boys together would be trouble:) It was so fun to meet Julie...I hope we can get back to San Antonio again soon for another visit!

The next morning we continued our LONG drive across Texas. We made a quick stop in Houston to visit Jason's cousin and eat some pizza with them...then we drove a little further before we stopped for the night.

 We finally made it back into Mississippi on the 18th day of our roadtrip! I have never been more happy to see that Welcome to Mississippi sign:)