Ahoy, Mates!

Gracie would like to show you the boat she made this morning in her Sunday School class.

Lily is using the Play-Doh from her boat to make a snake.

Aaaahhh!

What's for Dinner?

I always get a kick out of hearing what my kids want to order when we go out to eat. I realize only Grandmas and Aunties will care about the contents of this post, but here's what they ordered for dinner at Chili's last night:

Jared: cheese pizza, Mandarin oranges and apple juice

Caleb: macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli and lemonade

Gracie: corn dog, fries and Diet Coke (thanks, Gramma!)

Lily: grilled cheese, fries and lemonade

And then we had See's Candy for dessert!

Pumpkin Patch

We spent a very chilly, but fun day at the pumpkin patch!

As you can see, summer is officially over in Spokane.

Caleb thought the green pumpkins were "decaying."

I think Gracie wants this one.

That's a Twinkie in Lily's hand. She wasn't really interested in the pumpkins. She just wanted to eat in peace. She did, however, pose for me so I could get a picture of her with a pumpkin.

Corn Maze

The girls were very happy to join the boys this year in the corn maze.

Some of us are not too sure about this fellow.

"Is he real?"

"Don't worry, I'll check and let you know."

Which way now?

We finally made it through the corn maze to the pirate ship.

Daddy and Lily steer the ship.

"Arrrr!"

Caleb was very brave to stand here while his sisters tossed bean bags.

Benefit Concert

For the past year, Phil has been working with an agency called International Assistance Program (IAP). IAP offers micro-loans to the needy in third world countries.

Most of his efforts have gone toward planning and organizing their first benefit concert, which was this evening.

The evening consisted of dessert and a musical concert with guest artist, Joel Weldon, at The Service Station here in Spokane.

Phil said the benefit was well-attended and people seemed to be very receptive to the ministry of IAP.

White Coat Ceremony

After nap time today, I loaded up the kids and we met Phil at school for his "White Coat Ceremony."


Here he is reciting the Physician Assistant Professional Creed with his fellow classmates.

The kids did a great job sitting through the ceremony. Caleb is disappointed that he couldn't have 2 pieces of cake. When I downloaded these pictures, I noticed a huge fingerprint right on the lens of the camera. So the whole time I was taking these pictures, the camera was focusing on that fingerprint. I'm sad that the pictures turned out blurry.

Off to Chili's for a dinner celebration!

Tammy and the Bachelor

I remember watching Tammy and the Bachelor on AMC when I was in high school. I found it on DVD, along with 2 other Tammy movies, when I returned Little House on the Prairie today. Now that Phil is back in school and studying in the evenings, I have to keep myself busy so I won't be tempted to talk to him every 5 minutes. You may laugh, but it really is very difficult for me! I think this may help.

Family Fun Activity: Working Together

Jammies on? Check!

Teeth brushed? Check!

Then join us in the living room for our Family Fun Activity, but don't forget to bring your pillow!

The floor in the living room is a swamp. Try to get from the couch to the kitchen, but you're safe only on your pillow!

Jared tossed his pillow out into the middle of the floor. He leaped onto his pillow and made it, but he couldn't get to the kitchen without falling into the swamp.

Back to the couch to try again!

"Let's make a bridge with all of the pillows!" They figured this out on their own--and with much excitement, I might add. Look at all of the commotion. A literal blur!

Lily was the first to place her pillow down on the floor. She sat on her pillow, cupped her hands to her mouth and called out to each sibling by name, "Gracie, toss me your pillow; Jared, toss me your pillow; Caleb, toss me your pillow." They were safely on the other side in no time!

Sorry about the dark pictures.

Jared's Diorama

Last week in school we read Corduroy. This morning I told Jared that we were going to make a scene from that book in a shoebox. His response--"Oh, you mean a diorama?"

"Yes, Jared, a diorama."

Here's a close-up of the scene-in-a-shoebox.

We chose this quote from the book.


Here's a list of the items he needed written in his reading journal .

A Few Random Thoughts

As if having two sick kids wasn't enough...my face is turning green, yellow and purple. Ugh! Two days after my surgery, I got a black eye (from the surgery), and now the right side of my face is showing signs of bruising, as well.

With the kids being somewhat tranquil, we had lots of time to sit and watch the rest of Little House on the Prairie tonight. I became very thankful for all of my modern conveniences. Whatever did Ma Ingalls do when her youngins' became ill? I'm thankful for my washer and dryer, Clorox wipes and yummy smelling candles to burn in order to hide the stench.

You're probably wondering why I'm writing about sick kids when I've posted a picture of an apron. I wanted to show you what I made tonight. It took longer than I expected, because I didn't have a pattern (please don't look too closely). I found two cloth napkins this weekend in the clearance section of a store. As soon as I saw them I thought, "Those would make a cute apron!"

History is Destined to Repeat Itself

Well, it was just about this time last year when the flu invaded our home. So here we go again! First one down is Lily, who threw up in the car on the way home from church.

Monkey Bread

To make yummy monkey bread, you need lots of cute little helpers. First, knead the dough,

...then break off bits of the dough,

...and roll it into balls.

Continue rolling the dough until the balls are smooth and round,

...and then pop them into the pan.

We did it! Now we're ready for the caramel sauce.

Now what?

Clean your hands,

...or maybe spread the extra flour around until Mommy comes to wipe off the counter.

All done!

Log Homes Show

Phil was off from school today so we took the kids to the Log Homes Show at the Spokane Convention Center. How did we get the kids to want to go? We aptly named it "The Little House on the Prairie Home Show." The kids enjoyed touring the mini log homes and all of the free candy from the vendors.

On the way home, we picked up a Papa Murphy's Pizza with olives for our family movie night. We'll watch part of Disney's Little House on the Prairie miniseries.

Pardon me while I brag...

...but I have the sweetest husband! These past 2 days have been very difficult for me trying to recover with little ones underfoot and with Phil gone all day at school, but he comes home in the evenings and cleans up dinner, does the dishes, puts the kids to bed and does all of the laundry. Tonight he brought home these beautiful flowers and my favorite ice cream, Breyers Vanilla.