"Vacation" Day 5

Man, is it Friday already?! I'm not ready for our vacation week to be over! Today it was not nearly as nice as it has been, so we got some indoor projects done (that were orginally on the list). Josh was able to hang 2 light fixtures and I did a lot of dishes! We had been neglecting the inside of the house since we have been outside pretty much all day every day this week.

For those who don't know, Josh bought a John Deere tractor that had been in a barn fire. It looked like a hunk of junk, but when he is done with it, it will look brand new. He has been working on it for a couple weeks now and today he rewired it and it ran like a champ! It mainly just needs some cosmetic things (like fenders, a seat, and a hood) but he is waiting until the fenders get finished before he can put the rest on. He rode around on it today by sitting on the gas tank. He thought that was pretty funny!
After I finished the mountain of dishes, I decided that since my kitchen was so clean, I should probably make something. Riley absolutely loves these pretzels with cheese as a snack, but they are so expensive! They are usually almost $4 a box and there are only six in a box! So, I decided to make some homemade pretzels and put them in the freezer. I have never made pretzels before, so this was a new adventure for me.

I also happen to love the Glazin' raisin pretzel from Auntie Annie's, but there are none around here, so I made some powdered sugar glaze and had my own. Yummy! I didn't have any raisins on hand or I would have worked some into the dough. It was delicious straight from the oven!

I made a double batch of this recipe, but this is all that is left. I was planning on freezing them, but I think I'll just leave them out because I don't think they will last long. I did adapt the recipe a little bit and worked in 1 cup of whole wheat flour into the mix just to add a little more flavor and nutrition. Riley loved them!

Yesterday Josh taught me how to ride the four wheeler (not an automatic) so now Riley thinks I can take him for a ride whenever he wants. Here is a picture Josh took of Riley and I tonight. Josh was also able to work on the ladder to go on Riley's new bunk beds but we will put that on a later post. We also put up his new swings on the swingset, but I forgot to take a picture. Overall it's been a very productive and fun week with the family. We need more of these weeks! All we have left is the weekend and unfortunately it is jam packed! I hope you all had a good week too!