New Picnic Table

Phil made this picnic table last weekend. It's big enough for lots of company, so stop by if you're in the neighborhood and we'll have a little BBQ!

Batter Up!

Lily played baseball with the boy next door after dinner tonight. As you can see, she dressed up for the occasion.

Antiques and a Good Friend

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.

What to do if you don't have a cell phone...

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.

I Love Being a Mommy

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 on Parenthood

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."

Spring is Finally Here

Having Too Much Fun!

Spaghetti for dinner...


...and sliding down the spare mattress on Gramma's knees.


Don't you wish you were here?

Fun with Gramma

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).

Weekend in Seattle

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.

Movie, Pizza, Popcorn and Push-ups

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).

Time for School

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?

New Shoes

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!

Best Buds

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!

Summer Clothes

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).