Thursday, July 28, 2011

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars and Surviving Vacation


I tried a Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bar recipe I found at Smitten Kitten for some friends I had over a couple of weeks ago and they just loved them, I promised them I'd share the recipe.  But between kids on summer vacation, our vacation, and niece number 15 being born I've been running just a wee bit behind.

Honestly I'm not going to miss my home away from home, while it was fun; I spent most of my time clicking my ruby slippers together and chanting, "There is no place like home."  I was looking forward to packing this house up and putting it into deep storage in the garage.


There was lots of fun to go with all the whining (from yours truly).  We found this little spot on the lake  and named it "Vulture Island".  On it we saw about a dozen Vultures and one huge Bald Eagle, must have been some good eating over there.  We stayed clear of the birds so we didn't end up on the menu.


I'll miss watching the kids pluck huge fish monsters out of the lake; well maybe that is a bit of a stretch.  They all caught some and we decided to free them rather than having one bite fish tacos for dinner.


I'll miss watching the kids tear it up on the tube, not to mention some pretty epic wipeouts from the big kids.  


This photo sums up just how much my nephew was enjoying himself.  The day before he fell asleep in a chair it was so adorable but I couldn't find the camera.  Who puts me in charge of these things anyways?


Some things I'm not gonna miss at all; such as my friend the "S.S. Relief".  That's not something you see everyday, huh.


I'm pretty sure I won't miss the seven loads of laundry we brought home or the sunburns either.  I think camping is like giving birth; it's hard as hell, but you forget about it soon enough and eventually you are ready to do it again.

As for those lovely Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars, I made the recipe per her directions and I added the juice and zest from one lemon to the crumb mixture.  Also I baked mine for only about 30 minutes, but I know all ovens vary.

You can get the recipe here, hope you are having tons of fun this summer.

Enjoy,

Gina




33 comments:

  1. Holidays is not always a pleasant idea for us Mum's because we have to do all the hard work. Yeah, we do survive it and do it again the next year. Being forgetful helps. Lovely bars. Says, Its's nice to be home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like a beautiful place but I know what you mean about home! There is nothing like it! The vacation photos are beautiful and so are these blueberry bars.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Loos like a great vacation! Great memories for you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gina, you are soooo brave to go camping! But you did make it sound like fun...sort of! Now on to the blueberry bars; I'd camp out for a few day just to get my hands on one of them...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome back! Sounds like it was a quite an experience. Please tell me that ISN'T the potty on a floaty in the middle of the lake...

    Scrumptious lemon blueberry crumb bars, darling :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, camping has it good with the bad but over all it sounds like you had a pretty good time. One bite fish tacos-ha!
    These crumb bars look awesome, I am going to pop on over for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Welcome home! I think you'll love the pear riesling sorbet as much as I did. That's going to be the first one I make - at least today that sounds best. But, there are so many good recipes it's like Christmas! Hugs, Kate

    ReplyDelete
  8. Welcome home Gina!
    I mad these same bars last week with a little tweaking, they are good!
    Pretty shot of the lake, looks like everybody had fun, can't wait to go on vacay,ps. I'm making the macarons tomorrow;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh yes P.S., that is exactly what you think it is, eeeww - lol. Thanks everyone, so glad to be home.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like you had a blast and congratulations with niece nr 15! I love holidays but I can imagine that you are happy to be home. There is no place like home! No matter how big/small/clean/dirty it is home!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Welcome home to civilization...missed you! Yeah...I'm really not an outdoor girl...I much prefer four-star hotels to tents :lol:! I haven't been camping since I was a kid, actually. These bars look wonderful...love lemon and blueberry together!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those look so great! And, your camping trips remind me of my childhood!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome back to civilization, Gina! You did get some good pictures to remember your camping trip.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Too funny, Gina! Sounds like your family fishes like my family, but all in all looks like you had a ton of fun :) And your blueberry bars look fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love the pictures of your vacation, Gina. I know what you mean about surviving, though :) And congrats on niece #15! The blueberry bars look great... I love anything with a crumb topping! Must try.. Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. welcome back Gina. the photos are so beautiful. looks like a wonderful place to visit. lots of fun for the kids and grown-up also.
    give a big warming hug to your newest member of the family.

    the bars look great, don't think you happen to have any leftover for me ..

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, camping. I'm never good at that whole tent/nature ordeal but I try really hard to be for my husband. I think I do a lot of wining too. These bars miiiight shut me up though. I adore the lemon blueberry combination.

    ReplyDelete
  18. These crumb bars look delicious! Love the lemon and blueberry combo. Looks like you had a fun vacation too!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Welcome home! Looks like you had a fun time and I agree it is always nice to come home, especially to your own bed. These bars look amazing. A must make!

    ReplyDelete
  20. The pic of that blue water is beautiful! Welcome back to civilization and your own kitchen....the lemon blueberry bars look fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love this post and so jealous of all the fun involved..
    Thanks for sharing..

    ReplyDelete
  22. Glad to hear you survived! What's up with the floating latrine??? Yummy bars, they look great.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Gina,
    When you go camping your are building memories with your kids. they always have fond memories, even if you don't, Great pis and gorgeous bars.
    Glad that you are back!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Gina, so glad you're back, and that you made it home in one piece! I really enjoyed your stories about the vultures, floating potty and those monster fish...so much fun. And those lemon blueberry crumb bars? Oh, sooo happy you're home again!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lots of work after vacation, I bet!
    Love those crumb bars...very pretty too!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hahahaha! I love this post ... mainly because the camping rant is just perfect! Camping's sweet ... like the lemon blueberry bars, but man, it's hard ... unlike the lemon blueberry bars! Keeping all the gear together and folks happy when it gets hot and dirty ... well, you know! Not to mention nightitme bathroom trips ... I am always ready my bed and my bathroom (oh and the shower and washing machine), when the car pulls into the dooryard!

    ReplyDelete
  27. hahaha "camping is like giving birth:))" I totally agree on that one..:))) you got me laughing so hard:), but looks like you had some fun after all! Your goodness above "bars" looks so amazing, and very very delicious Gina!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Looks like fun! Love the photos! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sounds like your vacation was a blast! The lemon blueberry crumble bars look excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Your so brave!!! Love looking at it through photos though :) The bars look delightful and glad your back home and safe, sorry about the laundry though.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a fantastic adventure you had; love all those special photos you shared. I also made a blueberry crumble; good stuff.
    Rita

    ReplyDelete
  32. Looks like you had a wonderful vacation! I haven't taken my kids to camping yet. This place looks really nice!!! I love your lemon blueberry crumb bars... they look so delish!

    ReplyDelete