Apple Picking

My wonderful friend, Emily, is visiting us this weekend! We took the kids to pick apples this morning. The weather was beautiful, the apples sweet, the kids adorable...it made for a perfect outing.

This Makes Me Happy...

If my memory serves me correctly (but it usually doesn't), I think it's about that time for Starbucks to start serving their Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Just to make sure, I checked my blog archives for last August and I found this post. It just so happens that I enjoyed my first one of the season a year ago today! Anyone want to go have a cup with me?

Eeek!

As many of you know, I hate rodents of any sort. But since I love Jared, I said, "yes" when he asked me to make these little mice puppets featured in Gracie's Disney magazine. From left to right: Gracie's mouse, Caleb's mouse, Jared's mouse, and Lily's mouse. She said, "I do myself" only about a dozen times.

They really did have a great time. They only look annoyed because I forgot to take pictures while they were working and I made everybody get back into their chairs for a quick shot.

I would have to say that Lily enjoyed this the most, because she's in love with her purple glue stick...

...as you can see.

All Tucked In

Phil called a bit ago and reported that he arrived safely. I had a sweet evening with the kids tonight. We miss Phil, but God is good, and He filled our day with lots of nice surprises. Some friends of ours from Phil's class stopped by to visit this afternoon and then stayed for dinner.


We've been reading from Little House in the Big Woods at bedtime. Does anyone else love this book to pieces like I do? O.k., maybe the whole series?



I found this great full-color edition at the library. Look at these sweet pictures! We read from the Christmas chapter tonight. We were so happy when we read this portion:

"The day before Christmas they came. Laura and Mary heard the gay ringing of sleigh bells, growing louder every moment, and then the big bobsled came out of the woods and drove up to the gate. Aunt Eliza and Uncle Peter and the cousins were in it, all covered up, under blankets and robes and buffalo skins...when they came in, the little house was full and running over."

It reminded us of our first Christmas here in Spokane! Aunt Corinne came to visit us the week before Christmas, and Aunt Becky and cousins Morgan and Lindsay arrived Christmas night in the snow, all bundled up. Aunt Becky's "sleigh," though, was a 10 passenger van! Although a mistake on the part of the rental car company, it was just what we needed. There just so happened to be 10 of us here, all snug in our little house.

Before reading this chapter, I put a little of this peppermint lotion on each of the kids' hands.



I noticed them sniffing their little hands while I read of peppermint sticks and making pictures in the snow. And they all gasped and clapped when Laura finally got her very own doll!

Thank you, Lord, for these sweet moments today.

Eight Days

Phil left for New York today. He'll be gone for 8 days. The boys are outside in the backyard right now watching for their daddy's plane to fly overhead. I have to keep reminding myself that it's only 8 days this time and not 8 weeks that we'll be apart, like last summer. So for every day that passes, I'll just tell myself, "Be thankful that was only a day, and not a whole week."

I'll let you know if it works. :)

Movie Night

Well, we didn't get away with it, Phil and I. Jared was the first one to spot the pictures on the blog of mommy and daddy's outdoor movie night.

So, one bowl of popcorn and several blankets and pillows later, we were outdoors under the stars--I mean, the clouds--for a family movie night extravaganza! Notice the tablecloth over the laptop, just in case it started to rain.

The kids chose to watch Bugtime Adventures.

Anyone want to snuggle in with Caleb? I'm sure he'd share that piece of popcorn under his chin!

The movie wasn't our only source of entertainment.

Early Risers

If you're a mother of young children, most likely you're an early riser. I used to like to get up before my children, but since we've moved to a house with creaky hardwood floors, it's nearly impossible to move about freely in the morning without waking up any of the little ones. I've tried a few times, but each time I do, I wake somebody up and spend my entire quiet time keeping him or her in the bedroom. Now I wake up when my children do, but I feel like I rush to get breakfast on the table. I enjoy being in my kitchen and I love to make special meals for my family, but when I rush through this time, I know it sets a negative tone in our home for the whole morning.

This past week over at The Homespun Heart, Monica posted instructions to create a great recipe book and I made one specifically for breakfast recipes. Waking up before my family, providing a nice breakfast for them and even planning the night before have been on my mind a lot lately. What a blessing it was to read her post based on Proverbs 31:15: "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." It's just what I needed!

Click here to see her instructions and to download her cute recipe cards.

Lost and Found

Jared lost another tooth tonight during dinner! This is his second. He lost his first tooth in California this summer while we were camping. Sorry, I couldn't get a good picture of him. He didn't like the flash in his eyes. And Phil found this great retro toy fridge at the thrift store for only $2.50.

Hmm...what's for dinner?

Isn't this great?

Club Powerhouse

Phil and the boys made a great fort outside this afternoon called Club Powerhouse. Unfortunately, anything "boys only" around here has to be done during the girls' nap time. Phil's Grandma Joe would have loved to see him using one of her quilts to make a fort for his boys.

This will be the sign for the entrance to the fort.

A New Fence

Phil's at it again with another great project! He tore down the chain link fence on our patio and he's replacing it with beautiful cedar fencing.

Power tools and little helpers can make a mommy nervous.


Good job, Lily!

We had a few problems this morning...

The girls made a girls-only fort in the living room...


...and Jared turned his attention to sabotaging their efforts by spying on them with his periscope.

I heard screaming in the living room while making lunch. I went to investigate, and this is what I saw upon entering the living room. How could I tell him to stop?

Slip 'n Slide

Remember these? My Auntie Clara gave me one for my ninth birthday. I used to love my Slip 'n Slide!

Tonight I made one out of garbage bags for the kids. It took the boys a few tries to get the hang of it. They would get a good running start and then stop right in front of the slide instead of take a dive (I would, too!).

The girls, on the other hand, sat down on their bottoms and inched their way down the entire slide. The boys were very patient with them. I guess we won't need to water the lawn tonight!

No Babysitter? No Problem!

As you can see, we're really enjoying our new swing in the backyard. Tonight Phil downloaded the newest episode of Monk, I made a bowl of popcorn and we sat outside and watched the episode on his laptop computer.


Can you see the full moon between the trees in the background? It was so nice to sit outside and cool off after such a warm day. I believe today was our hottest day so far this summer. It was still 103 degrees at dinner time!

Tic Tac Toe

Gracie and I played Tic Tac Toe this morning. I was "x" and she was "o." Didn't she do a good job? Yes, I did let my 2 year old daughter win. :)

Seasons

Winter...

Spring...
Summer...

Fall...
Isn't God's creation amazing?! What's your favorite season?

Our New Swing

How do you like our new backyard swing? We were very happy to find a good deal on it at the ranch supply store.

Come on over and swing for a bit. We promise that there will be lots of entertainment, and maybe a glass of lemonade!

Kids' Day in the Park

We had a great day at Riverfront Park! Each year the park hosts Kids' Day in the Park with a special show hosted by Gordon from Sesame Street and his friends, Elmo and Cookie Monster. It was so much fun for this mommy to sit on the lawn and sing songs like "The Sesame Street Song" and "Sing, Sing a Song" along with my kids and Gordon (songs I used to love to sing when I was young).

There were several game booths and activities for the kids to enjoy before and after the show. Lily's trying a few gymnastics moves as Gracie waits in line for her turn. The boys were on the giant slide in the background.

Here they are after a long day. Time to go to Sonic for slushies!

Anne

Tonight our local PBS station will air part 1 of the Anne of Green Gables series. Part 2 will air next weekend. I wish my sisters were here to watch it with me. Liz, what snacks shall I prepare for the evening? Raspberry cordial? I'll pass on the chicken salad (mostly because of my aversion to mayonnaise).

Watching Anne always makes me miss my friend, Katie, from Jr. High. Our weekend sleepovers consisted of watching several hours of it late into the night.