Volleyball Junior Championships

Me and Krystal at the gorge.

Opening ceremony.

Me and Alicia after we won a beach game.

Me and Alicias game.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

INGREDIENTS 
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
15-20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until bubbles form around the edges. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and well combined. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon (about 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer). Pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until completely chilled. Once the mixture is well chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the mixture is softly frozen, transfer half of it to a storage container. Add half of the chopped Oreo pieces and fold in gently with a rubber spatula. Add the remaining ice cream and Oreo pieces to the container, and fold once more until the mixture is evenly combined. Freeze until completely hardened.

Cookies and Cream Icecream

INGREDIENTS 
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONSPlace the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat. In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

Chocolate Ice-cream

Internet Safety Tip:

Myspace Code Generator

Internet safety

Websites for children are not permitted to request personal information without a parent's permission. Talk to children about what personal information is and why you should never give it to people online. If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting in person with anyone they first "met" online. Talk to children about not responding to offensive or dangerous e-mail, chat, or other communications. Report any such communication to local law enforcement. Do not delete the offensive or dangerous e-mail; turn off the monitor, and contact local law enforcement. Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your home. Get informed about computers and the Internet. Let children show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites. Have children use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.

Dog Fun Facts

All dogs can be traced back 40 million years ago to a weasel-like animal called the Miacis which dwelled in trees and dens. The Miacis later evolved into the Tomarctus, a direct forbear of the genus Canis, which includes the wolf and jackal as well as the dog.g Ancient Egyptians revered their dogs. When a pet dog would die, the owners shaved off their eyebrows, smeared mud in their hair, and mourned aloud for days.b Small quantities of grapes and raisins can cause renal failure in dogs. Chocolate, macadamia nuts, cooked onions, or anything with caffeine can also be harmful.c Apple and pear seeds contain arsenic, which may be deadly to dogs.c Rock star Ozzy Osborne saved his wife Sharon’s Pomeranian from a coyote by tackling and wresting the coyote until it released the dog.d dogs have sweat glands in between their their paws Dogs have sweat glands in between their paws.e In 2003, Dr. Roger Mugford invented the “wagometer,” a device that claims to interpret a dog’s exact mood by measuring the wag of its tail.d Dogs have three eyelids. The third lid, called a nictitating membrane or “haw,” keeps the eye lubricated and protected.i A dog’s shoulder blades are unattached to the rest of the skeleton to allow greater flexibility for running.e Puppies are sometimes rejected by their mother if they are born by cesarean and cleaned up before being given back to her.c

Dolphin Fun Facts

Compared to other animals, dolphins are believed to be very intelligent. Dolphins are carnivores (meat eaters). The Killer Whale (also known as Orca) is actually a type of dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common and well known type of dolphin. Female dolphins are called cows, males are called bulls and young dolphins are called calves. Dolphins live in schools or pods of up to 12 individuals. Dolphins often display a playful attitude which makes them popular in human culture. They can be seen jumping out of the water, riding waves, play fighting and occasionally interacting with humans swimming in the water. Dolphins use a blowhole on top of their heads to breathe. Dolphins have excellent eyesight and hearing as well as the ability to use echolocation for finding the exact location of objects. Dolphins communicate with each other by clicking, whistling and other sounds. Some dolphin species face the threat of extinction, often directly as a result of human behavior. The Yangtze River Dolphin is an example of a dolphin species which may have recently become extinct. Some fishing methods, such as the use of nets, kill a large number of dolphins every year.