Banana Man! Cake Recipe!

This recipe is adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff.  I simply turned the banana bars into a cake and added a face.  It was a huge hit.  The coconut as "hair" was an especially scrumptious addition, so I think next time, I'm going to turn "Banana Man" into "Banana Snowman!" by covering him completely with coconut.

Banana Bars:

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

½ cup butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Glaze Ingredients:

¼ cup butter or margarine

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbs. milk

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine sugar, sour cream (or yogurt), butter, and eggs. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Spread into a greased 10x15x1 (regular sized cookie sheet) and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until light brown. After it has cooled, whisk butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together for the glazed topping and spread over top.   

Tea Party at Gordon Hall

My mother-in-law and daughter attended the tea party at Gordon Hall on May 18th.  My MIL had lived in Dexter for many years before moving to Colorado, but it wasn't until this visit back to us that she had actually gone into the mansion.

May 18, 2013

Both my MIL and four year old daughter had a splendid time dressing up in fancy tea party clothes, learning the history of the mansion, participating in crafts, chatting with other ladies and little girls, and eating plenty of delicious finger treats.

Gordon Hall was built in the 1840's

For other opportunities to tour the mansion, be sure to stop by during Dexter Daze or Christmas at the Mansion.  To learn more about the history or Gordon Hall, visit the Dexter Area Historical Society and Museum's website.

Two Plant Sales This Saturday - Take Your Pick!

A large selection of plants to choose from for every type of garden.  Gardeners are available to assist you in picking out the right plants and providing you information for successful planting.

St. Joseph Church @ Mast and North Territorial Roads
10am - 6pm

Dexter Garden Club @ Monument Park
9am - 2pm

Exploring Michigan's Largest Amusement and Waterpark!

On our trip up to Crystal Mountain in June, 

I am thrilled to announce that we will be making a stop at
 Michigan's Adventure!  

Our first amusement park with the kiddos! I'm so excited!

I showed my daughter this picture and asked if she wanted to go on this ride. 

 Of course her answer was "Yes!" 

Then, I asked about this picture...

 ...and she stated that she would like to ride both.  

Then, this picture....  

"Mommy, I really want to do them all!"  

"Sweetie, you can!"

My kids absolutely love the fair rides that come to town every summer, but because each individual ride is so ridiculously expensive, my husband and I tell them that they can each pick out only two rides.  I can picture the smiles on their faces now when we walk into Michigan's Adventure and tell them to go at it! Ride until your little heart is content (or at least until the park closes and in which case, we can come back another day!)!

Be sure to check back with Dexter Kids as we discover and explore Michigan's Adventure and share a full review for you in mid-June.

In the meantime, here is some information about Michigan's Adventure...

Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park & WildWater Adventure Water Park
Two Parks for the Price of One

Michigan's Adventure is Michigan's largest amusement and water park, featuring over 60 rides and attractions including our world-class wooden roller coaster, Shivering Timbers which is over 1 mile long and 125 feet tall. Experience six other great roller coasters, Corkscrew, Thunderhawk, Wolverine Wildcat, Mad Mouse, Zach’s Zoomer and Big Dipper.  WildWater Adventure offers Beach Party, three wave pools, tube slides, body slides, Funnel of Fear and a family play area.  Michigan's Adventure also offers thrill rides, and kiddie rides. Take a ride on Thunderhawk, Michigan’s first suspended looping roller coaster, RipCord, Grand Rapids, Go-Karts, Dodg'em Cars, Be-Bop Blvd, Timbertown Railway, and HydroBlaster. Food stands, miniature golf, games and gift shops round out a whole summer of fun for all ages. 

Catered events are also available at Michigan’s Adventure.  Bring your employees and enjoy a day of summer fun together.

Michigan’s Adventure offers fun for the entire family.  One of the best things about Michigan’s Adventure is that both our waterpark and amusement park are included in our every economical price of only $29.00 per person.  Toddlers 2 years of age and younger are free.

Michigan’s Adventure also offers season passes to guests who would like to enjoy a whole summer of fun.

miadventure.com

4750 Whitehall Road, Muskegon, MI  49445   (231) 766-3377.

Target Family Days at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra - THIS WEEKEND!

Who: Everyone, all ages, but geared towards families!

What:  Target proudly presents Family Days — fun, educational, and FREE performances that will stimulate and nurture the enjoyment of classical music in an informal and family-friendly orchestral setting. Adults and children alike will experience world-class performances and interactive audience participation that will delight the senses.

Musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will join forces with the DSO ’s Civic Orchestra and Civic Wind Symphony — Michigan’s premier youth ensembles — to create an exciting performance of beloved classical favorites.

Additional activities, including arts and crafts and face-painting will take place on the first floor of the Atrium inside the Max M. Fisher Music Center 90 minutes prior to the start of each concert.

Where:  Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 3711 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI  48201

When:  
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:30 pm  reserve tickets

Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 12 pm  reserve tickets

Cost:  Free!

Customize Everything with the Most Waterproof and Durable Labels

This is a sponsored post for Kidecals.

My daughter is off to kindergarten next year and at the parent information night, the staff was sure to emphasize the importance of name labels.  An item not labeled can cause a headache for the student, the teacher, the principle, other students, and the parents.  Just imagine that two students have the same water bottle.  One goes missing, Student 1 insists that his is the one that Student 2 has.  An item well labeled will solve the problem right away.  And what if you did label something, say a pair of blue snowpants (the same pair 10 other kids have in the class) and your sharpie label comes off in the wash?

In hopes of saving my kids and I a lot of stress later and them coming home with as many items as I sent them with, I'm going to do my best with labeling right from the start.  Kidecals has labels that are fun and trendy for the kids, but parents love them, too, because of their insane durability - dishwasher safe, washing machine and dryer safe, and the fact that they won't damage surfaces. 

Kidecals makes personalized kids name labels, waterproof labels, fun mustache stickers (great for parties!), chalkboard labels that you can write on, daycare labels (because you need to label everything!), and clothing labels. 

What do you need labeled?  

Sippy cups, water bottles, extra pair of clothes for school, snow clothes, swimsuits, diaper bag, back pack, lunch box, folders, helmets, allergy alerts, toys?  Find over 100 styles of labels to suit every need at Kidecals.com now!   

Video: http://www.youtube.com/v/YRMJmhhCJ5k

My Readers Save 15% off the most durable waterproof labels on the market use promo code: bestlabels at http://kidecals.com/

Goldfish Swim Safety Day, May 18

Our 2nd Annual Safety Day is Saturday, May 18th from 1:30-3:30pm.  This is a FREE event open to the public!  The Marine Division will be on hand to help teach your children about Water Safety and the event will also include Family Swim, refreshments, face painting and a huge bounce house! Come prepared with your swimsuits and towels if you want to swim!

 

goldfishswimschool.com

 

Goldfish Swim is a family favorite of ours and they always do a great job with their events.  This safety day comes just in time for hitting the beaches and pools for summer.  

 

CLICK HERE to read our review of Goldfish Swim School lessons and events.