Apple Squares

Apple season is upon us.  I currently have a batch of Applesauce in the crock pot.  I'll be getting more apples to make more apple-y things.  The kids do make it hard, they see fresh picked apples and suddenly they're eating 2 and 3 apples each a day.

This time of year doesn't just mean apples, it also means Halloween camping is approaching.  Our Halloween camping trips are always really big group affairs.  I took these Apple Squares one year and got tons of compliments.  I made them at home and served them cold.  A reheat in the oven would work well, but it was cool that trip and the dish would not have stayed warm long.

Ingredients
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

What to do

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x9 inch pan.  Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.  Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Stir in the egg and vanilla.  Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts.  Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.  In a cup or small bowl, stir together then remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven; finished bars should spring back when lightly touched.  Cool in the pan and cut into squares.

Tailgating: Time to raid the camper

The season of fall is the season of football.  This family cheers for the MSU Spartans (but really, we'll cheer for UofM, too, as long as they're not playing MSU).  And, being really honest, if my kids get into UofM and decide to go there down the road, I'd be a proud Wolverine Mom.

We went to the EMU vs. MSU football game today.  We signed the kids up for the Junior Spartan program.  For a little bit of money, they get tickets to a football game for the family, t-shirts, free admittance to most MSU sports, and more.  It's really a nice program.  This is our 2nd year doing it and I think it's worthwhile.

ANYWAY...  What does this football nonsense have to do with camping?

The perfect stuff for a tailgate lives in the camper.  Paper plates, napkins, individual chip bags, plasticware, Solo cups (ok, not really, mine are Meijer brand), water bottles, juice pouches, condiments, cooler.  All of it lives in the camper.  All of it is perfect for a tailgate.

I spent my morning raiding the camper for the tailgate items.

The game started at 12 pm.  We got to our parking spot around 10 am.  Discussing adult beverages with my friend Jenn, we weren't feeling the desire to drink beer at that time.  She mentioned bringing apple cider.  I mentioned adding a little bit of vanilla vodka.  Jenn gave it a positive review and I think it was a nice little something for a morning tailgate.

In case you're wondering, the Spartans won 76-14.

N. Higgins Lake State Park

A canceled trip.  Not the first time we've had to scrap a trip because of illness.  I do hope it is the last time, but I'm also realistic.  I'm sure we'll have others.

We sad campers had to make due.  The trip was planned with my parents.  They still went to N. Higgins Lake State Park for the weekend.  I took the kids up for the day on Saturday while Husband stayed home and rested while watching bad TV on the couch.

When we booked our campsites, I purposefully picked campsites right by the playground, hopeful that the kids could just run over and play while the adults stayed at the campsite.  We had sites 66 & 64, and that certainly would have happened if we'd spent the weekend.  But the playground was nothing to write home about (but apparently worthy of writing about in a blog?).  It was an old swing set and an old, tall slide.  And that's it.

We walked down to the beach and the kids enjoyed searching for snail shells & clam/muscle shells.  Grandpa tried to teach Oldest Kid how to skip rocks on the lake.

Right across the street from the state park is the Civilian Conservation Corp Museum.  It was every bit as exciting as it sounds.  Worthy of the free price tag.  It was interesting, I learned new information.  Kids enjoyed spending time with Grandma & Grandpa, which was really the most important thing to me.

All things considered, I think we made best out of the situation.  Oldest Kid has asked that we go back and experience North Higgins Lake State Park on a real camping trip.

Not exactly the day I planned

I said yesterday that I was packing for a camping trip this weekend.  And now that trip is canceled.

Husband has been fighting a bug for a few days.  Last night, he was feverish.  By morning, we were both aware that the camping trip was a bad idea.  I told the kids when they were up for the day.  Needless to say, we were not happy campers.  We were a family of sad campers.

This trip was planned with my parents.  More sad campers.

Whomp whomp.  Sad campers all around.  I need some sort of image for a sad camper for this post.

The camper has been unpacked.  The food is back in the house.  Clothes are back where they back belong.  I realized that unpacking from an uncamped trip is almost as sad as the end of season clean out.

My parents are still going and the plan is for me to take the kids up for the day tomorrow.  Husband can rest.  Hopefully no one else gets this bug.

Camping after a cold snap

A storm blew through yesterday. Temps are noticeably cooler today, we barely got to 60 degrees. Of course, we're camping this weekend. And this means a change in how we pack for the weekend. Sigh.

Gone are the swimming in the lake days. Gone are the tank top days. Shorts are only packed in hopes that the weather people are wrong.

Fall is here.

There have been enough camping trips where I regret not packing enough layers for the cold mornings and cool nights by the camp fire. The winter coats are packed.

The morning dew can make for some wet toesies. The rain boots are packed.

The makings for hot apple cider and hot chocolate are packed. Might as well make sure that our insides are warm, too.

My camping list sure changes this time of year.  The bright side is that we ARE still camping, and I'll take all the camping I can get.

Fall is in the air

The nights are getting cooler.  It was about 55 degrees when I went for my run this morning.  I see the very beginnings of trees starting to change.  There is a nip in the air when I take the kids to school.

I quite enjoy fall.  I enjoy the nip in the mornings with the warm afternoons.  I love watching the leaves change color, it's really showing us the world is God's canvas for beauty.  I enjoy hot apple cider on cool evenings with friends around a campfire.

The biggest downfall, to me, about fall is that it means winter is coming.  Winter is my least favorite season.  Like I said, I enjoy fall, but I hate that it means winter will be here soon.

And if winter is coming, that means camping season will soon be ending.

For now, I will look forward to the two trips we have planned left for the season.

License Plate Game: US & Canada

A while back, I shared my check off list for playing the License Plate game for our trip to Tennessee.  We saw all but 5 states.  I knew Hawaii was the most unlikely, which proved true.  We did see Alaska, which surprised me.  We also missed Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Wyoming.  The kids have had fun continuing to watch license plates since then and we've seen 3 of those elusive 5.  Still no Hawaii or North Dakota.

My mom suggested (yeah, that's her in the comments.  She has a quilting blog if you want to check it out) adding the Canadian plates to the list.  Since we live in Michigan, we frequently see Ontario plates.  The others are much less common.

Now we have a new goal for our next big trip: 50 States & 10 Provinces.  Click HERE for a printable version.

Labor Day & School Starting

Well, I've had to take a bit of time off from blogging from a very nasty cold.  Thankfully, we don't typically go camping for Labor Day weekend because I'm not sure how I would have done that.

Now, of course, you're wondering why we don't go camping Labor Day weekend.  The kids start school tomorrow.  Since they always come home from a camping trip exhausted, I'm not a fan of mixing that with the excitement of the first day of school.  With school always starting the day after Labor Day, we don't go camping Labor Day weekend.

Maybe when the kids are older, I'll reconsider my ban on no camping Labor Day weekend.  I enjoyed seeing friends pictures of camping this weekend on Facebook.  Our family did enjoy our time together at home.  Husband got some yard work done, I got my first batch of salsa made for the season.  We played games and went to the movies.  And, I continued to recover from this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad cold.

Right now, the kids are getting themselves sparkly clean.  Their outfits are picked out.  Backpacks ready to go (with their Junior Ranger keychains, no less!).  Lunch boxes are ready for food.  I just set my alarm for the first time since June.  This family is ready to go.