One Day of Fun

To beat the 90 degree heat

(in May)

the kids got to enjoy this fun

sprinkler!

Emma tests the water.

Ben runs in for a cool down.

The best part of the sprinkler...

...is that it comes with 4 balls....

...that you put down the twist...

...and the powerful center shoots it out the top!

Scrambling to pick up the balls and

do it again and again!

Keira...on the other hand...

enjoys to watch from here.

Away from anything that might possibly

spray her in the face.

She'll even go out of her away to avoid any

possible contamination by walking

under the trampoline.

She's definitely has her own

perspective on things.

"Mom?  Let's play ball!"

And why do we call it "one day of fun"?

Because after 1 hour I moved the sprinkler

to a different part of the yard and

the stake on the bottom of the sprinkler

broke off.

I guess we'll be returning this little gem.

Sydney's Epiphany

While out and about doing errands and spending time as a family I always have kids shouting " I'm hungry", " I'm starving" or just generally "whaaa, whaaa, whaaa".  Sometimes I keep a stash of crackers in my purse for such instances but usually find my purse running low on such supplies.  On such a occasions I usually dig out my back up of gum or tick-tac's to secure 10 mins of peace.

Yesterday I gave all the kids a sliver of mommy's "gum" to which Sydney replied...

"This changed my whole world!"

It's like her whole perspective on life changed in that moment in time.  Who knew what a few minty crystals and gum paste could do for a 7 yr old?

Carmel Popcorn...in the microwave!

A quick, easy, delicious treat!

Serves	10
Prep Time	5mins
Cooking Time	5mins

Ingredients
3 (3ounce) bags of plain or light microwave popcorn 1/2c butter 1/4c light corn syrup 1c brown sugar 1t vanilla 1t white vinegar 1/4t baking soda 1 lg brown grocery store bag
Method
Pop all bags of popcorn in micorwave and remove uncooked corn. Put popcorn in paper bag. Set aside. Heat butter and syrup in microwave proof bowl for 1 minute. Add brown sugar and stir until smooth. Add vanilla and white viegar, stir, and then microwave for 3 minutes. Add soda and stir at least 1 mintue until foamy. Take paper bag with popcorn and pour microwave syrup on top of the popcorn, stir until popcorn is coated. Roll bag closed and put back in microwave for 1 minute. Take bag out and shake vigorously. Microwave for a 2nd time for 1 minute. Take bag out and shake, then microwave for a 3rd time. Shake again (it should feels as if the bag may rip, this will ensure all the popcorn is covered with the syrup). Pour onto wax paper and let cool.

Every Story Needs A Good Ending

But in Ben's case...

...every prayer needs a good ending.

When ever Ben says the prayer, be it

breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime, etc...

He always finishes the same way.

..."In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

(then yells)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

One Tuff Girl

I think a little bit of boy,

has rubbed off on this girl.

IT'S WRESTLE TIME!!

Get him Keira Jane!

Ben gets her for a take down!

Although it looks more like

Keira enjoys hugging her brother...

...more then actually wrestling him!

Either way, I think these 2 are going

to have fun together when their big

sisters are off at school!

Living Scriptures

I'll do anything for free stuff!

One Thing Leads To Another

Famous words, right!

Well today I vow it's completely true.
Especially for a mom.

This is how my last hour went.

Grab a rag to wipe off Keira after lunch.
Notice the high chair needs a scrub.
Grab the bleach spray.
Wipe down high chair.
While cleaning notice I'm stepping on something sticky.
Bend down and wipe up mess on floor.
See under the table....WOW!
Grab broom and sweep kitchen area.
Move chairs around table to sweep under the table.
Once again step on many sticky spots.
(didn't I just mop 3 days ago?)
Grab bleach spray and rag again.
While on my hands and knees scrubbing sticky spots...
Notice the walls around the trash can are cruddy.
Wipe walls around trash can and consequently wash
outside of trash can and take out full trash bag.
As walking through kitchen notice all walls 4ft
down have cruddy spots on them too.
Finish taking out trash, come back to wipe and
spray all walls in kitchen area.
Then see loads of dust built-up on bottom vent of
refrigerator while on my knees scrubbing walls.
Grab the vacuum and hose connection.
Vacuum under refrigerator and then turn around
to vacuum out the last of the crumbs at the
bottom of Keira's high chair.

Now I'm done.

Our Thumbs Are Changing Color

We've done it.


With Larry's wonderful plant box in the yard.
And his dedication to filling it and planting
all the plants (with the kids help).
And with ALL of our minds working
to remember to water those
thirsty plants.

We're really proud of ourselves!
Who knew?

(mind you we aren't showing you the photo
of the juniper plant that started dying in
the front yard for no good reason!)

Dad Is On Duty

When Dad wants to keep the
kids entertained...


he takes our largest bucket of
toys from the closet
(the Lego's)
and dumps it on the floor.

And why doesn't mom do this?

Because she knows what clean up is like.

Much Needed Entertainment

When Daddy is gone ALL DAY on
a Saturday, what does mom
do with 4 active kids?



Hand over the camera
for dress up time and
a fashion show!

I believe Keira stayed in her pj's
all day.

Strike a pose.

Luke Skywalker fighting fires in the North Pole?

Or not.

She makes boy scouts look goooood.

Wiggle it.
Just a little bit.

Did someone put deflated bread dough
to rise under my shirt?

Hungry?

Jazzersize!

say what?

Simply Beautiful.

Caught in the act!
No climbing up to the table, missy!

A New Stage

I've officially hit a new stage in my pregnancy.

It's a very popular stage.
Although very few women admit it.

It's what I like to call,
"THE PAPER STAGE"

How do you know when you've
entered this stage in pregnancy?

When the dishes stay in the sink for
more then 2 days.

Yep.

It's time.

When you no longer have the
energy for them,
when your feet are so swollen
it hurts to stand there that long
and your belly girth is more then
your arms length.

Yes.

It's time.

When your husband has to pick
up so much of your slack that
he no longer has the energy
for such foolish indulgences.

Oh YEAH!

It's time!

But as long as I recycle
the abundant amount of paper products.
I absolutely do not feel guilty.

I blame this!!

What the girls call: "baby Dan"
and Ben calls: "baby brother"
(quite arduously)

One Lucky Gal

When your husband says...

"do you want me to paint the
bathroom for mother's day?"

You don't hesitate.

Although it took an extra few days,
it's still an amazing gift!!!

But Larry gets extra credit
for going above and beyond by
doing touch-ups around the house
and by using that extra paint
to do the kids bathroom, too!!

Now it's official...
every room in our house has been
painted.


(with exception of closets and the laundry room)

Graduating With Honors

Just ask any of us Teachers/Moms...

these kids were top of their class!!

And were rewarded with a pool party
for all their hard work.

Good job Emma-pie!!

Keira's Favorite Pastime

When the kids want Keira to leave them
alone and stop touching the toys
they are playing with,
they sit her in front of the computer and
turn on her favorite show.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Weird as it is,
but the songs are pretty useful.

P for Projects

This is my beautiful daughter,
Sydney.

This is Sydney home from school
on a Monday to do her science project.

We had been waiting for a SUNNY day
all week and of course it came on a school
day.
(don't hate me because your jealous!)

With solar "absorption" as her goal,
she painted these bottles,
filled them with H2O and
set them in the sun to soak it up!

Can't forget the quick trip to Wal-mart
for a proper thermometer.
(candy thermometers don't go below 100...sigh)

Now time to document her findings
every 30 mins.

That is until it started to rain 1/2 way
through her experiment....sigh.

So we'll try again tomorrow,
but this time Sydney can test the
temps when she gets home.
I doubt her teacher would approve
of 2 days off to complete the project,
let alone 1!!