I'm having so much fun in my kitchen! I enjoy cooking and baking, but I think it helps that I enjoy being in my kitchen.
My friend Brooke and I like to scour antique stores for hidden treasures. Last week she found this shelf when we were shopping! A couple of weeks ago she found the creamer and sugar bowl on the top shelf. I also found this great book!
The kids and I are enjoying the songs in this book.
Phil and I don't have cell phones--strange, but true. This morning he had a dentist appointment about a mile away from our house. The kids and I dropped him off and went to a friend's house for a play date. On the way home, it would have been convenient to call him on a cell phone to see if he was ready to be picked up, but here's what we did, instead:
He decided to pick leaves off of a certain bush and place them in a pile on the corner of the sidewalk. If the leaves were there as we drove by, he was through with his appointment and had already started walking home. If the leaves were not there, we were to wait in the parking lot for a few minutes before heading home for nap time. I will add that this was Phil's idea, and not mine.
What job could possibly offer the following benefits?
*Snuggles after nap time
*Free entertainment
*An excuse to buy goldfish crackers and play with Play-Doh
Jared: "Mom, do you like having four kids?"
Me: "Yes, why?"
Jared: "When I'm a parent, I'm only going to have one, because that's not so hard and I don't want to work a lot for the others."
Spaghetti for dinner...
...and sliding down the spare mattress on Gramma's knees.
Don't you wish you were here?
Gramma Phyllis arrived last night! The were very excited to pick her up from the airport. Usually we pick our guests up at the curb so we don't have to park and take all of our the kids inside, but this time we thought we'd surprise Gramma. The kids made welcome signs and stood at the bottom of the escalator near the baggage claim. We had a sweet reunion and then we were off to Chili's for dinner.
When we got home Gramma unpacked her suitcase, and, of course she came bearing gifts! Aunt Corinne sent this great game called Whac-a-Mole! 
Today we played outside and enjoyed a picnic lunch (today is supposed to be our only sunny day this week).
I was able to spend the weekend in Seattle with my friend, Emily. We had a wonderful time relaxing, visiting friends, eating, sleeping, watching movies and going to art galleries. One thing I particularly enjoyed was going to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time. I ordered tiramisu cheesecake...yum! It was so filling that I wasn't able to finish my slice.
I would love to share a few more pictures, but this one took 40 minutes to download. It just happened to be the only dark one, too...sorry!
I'll post again tomorrow. Hopefully our Internet connection will speed up. Phil's mom arrived tonight! I wanted to post some pictures of her with the kids, but I'll have to try again tomorrow.
We had a picnic dinner in the living room tonight while watching Clifford's Big Movie. On the menu: olive pizza, popcorn and grapes.
To top off the evening...Push-ups (at the kitchen table, though).
While Jared was in school this morning, Caleb, Gracie, Lily and I worked in their new workbooks. Caleb has The Little Einsteins Colors and Shapes. He enjoys pointing out primary colors, so he was excited to see a whole page on mixing primary colors to make secondary colors.
Lily's book is My Friends Tigger and Pooh Colors and Shapes. 
Gracie's book is Strawberry Shortcake Phonics. I LOVE THIS PICTURE! Gracie was bothered that someone was using the color she wanted. She was actually huffing and puffing while resting her head in her hand and looking away from all of us. Dad, if you're reading this, does she remind you of me at 15 or what?
I tried to get the girls to pose for pictures wearing their new shoes. Lily wasn't in the mood, as you can see.
When she finally agreed to cooperate, she insisted on standing in this box. I really wanted you to get the full effect with the sweater and tights.
Gracie was busy watching Curious George. This was the best that I could do!
I could not have thought this up if I had tried! I love having twin girls and two boys close in age. I love that the boys are becoming best friends. I'm glad that they're older than the girls and I'm thankful that they love to protect their little sisters. I enjoy watching my girls communicate in their own little language. "Jabber jabber jabber" sounds confusing to me, but Gracie seems to understand her sister's requests and quickly retrieves any item for which Lily beckons. I'm really beginning to enjoy the closeness in age of our four children. Yes, it has been difficult, but just look at these sweet pictures. 
Last night after dinner, the girls took off downstairs and were gone (and very quiet) for a good 15 minutes. They came up the stairs, both wearing fire helmets and their brothers' Diego backpacks. I would have loved to see which girl orchestrated the whole thing (I'm guessing that Gracie probably did). Did they help each other put the backpacks on or did each girl do her own? Whose idea was it to wear the helmets to complete the outfit? Oh, how I wish I could have watched them do this!
Jared and Caleb decided to play baseball this afternoon. They've been playing outside during quiet rest time this week, because the weather has been so beautiful!
I rummaged through my summer clothes yesterday. I was very discouraged to see that several things didn't fit me like they did last year. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but is it possible that as you age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain one's figure? I don't lead a sedentary lifestyle by any means--in fact, I exercise almost every day--yet, every year I have to work that much harder than I did the year before (sigh).
It's so good to be outside, enjoying the sunshine once again! We're thankful for our beautiful, fenced-in yard.
As you can see, Lily's still dressing for cooler weather. She loves her tights!
We had a nice picnic lunch outside.
Jared is trying to warn Gracie of the tree straight ahead.
I love the look on Lily's face in this picture.
***Southwest Airlines is running a special right now: Flights from Sacramento to Spokane are only $79 (each way). Anyone want to come visit us?***
We're headed outside for the day, because there's talk of temperatures being in the '60s! We've waited many, many cold months for a day like today.
Here's the finished product. Phil did most of the work with his staple gun and air compressor.
This morning I'm watching 2 children from our church, so the ages of all of the kids in my house right now are 5, 5, 3, 3, 2 and 2 (yes, the T.V. is on). It's not as hard as it sounds, so please don't feel sorry for me. :) My kids do very well when other children come to play.
The boys and I like to do special things after I put the girls down for their afternoon nap. Sometimes we play board games and sometimes we read from chapter books, but today we drew ladybugs. First we practiced by drawing a few shapes, then they drew their sketches entirely on their own. 
Jared is so intense when he colors. He enjoys using the new box of crayons from his Easter basket when the girls are sleeping. It's his first box of "skinny crayons." 
Just look at my sweet boy! He's so proud of his drawing. 
Jared did a great job, too. 
Here are my sweet boys, hard at work with their skinny crayons.
I need to recover our basket/box tables in the living room. I'll leave the bottom of the boxes in tact, but I'm going to place padding on the lid and cover it with fabric. Here's a "before" picture:
I went to a new fabric store here in Spokane called The Top Stitch and found way too many fun fabrics to choose from, including one of my favorite designers, Amy Butler!
I chose this fabric for the box lids.
I found pieces of these two designs in a scrap box!
I was very excited to find this pattern! Phil and I have wanted to buy beanbags or large pillows for the kids' playroom, but they're so expensive! I found this pattern that only requires 2 yards of fabric per pillow. This will be my next project.
I love this time of year--when I can buy Girl Scout cookies, that is.
The girls are enjoying a Thin Mint cookie. I usually buy a box of Thin Mints and a box of Samoas. Which are your favorites?
The boys look forward to Friday nights. They work hard all week to complete their job charts, and on Friday night we have a prize drawing.
Jared and Caleb picked their prizes. I wrote each idea down on slips of paper and placed them in a bucket. Each week we omit the prize chosen from the previous week so that eventually all of the prizes will be chosen.
Jared and Caleb are finishing up their job charts before bedtime.
This week it was Jared's turn to draw a prize from the bucket, but he wanted Caleb to "hold the paper right away so it's fair."
This week's prize: Milkshakes at Jack-in-the-Box! He's been waiting for this one.
Here's a list of their ideas for prizes:
*Go to Sonic
*Go to Jack-in-the-Box for a milkshake
*Go to Mobius (our children's museum)
*Go to "Thrift" to buy something (this is what Jared calls a thrift store)
*Go to the soft playground at the mall and then to the Christian bookstore to read books
*Go to Baskin Robbins
*Go to the park by the library
*Go to Yoke's (a grocery store) to buy bulk candy
