Behind the Blogging Times

I realize that most people have long since printed books of their blogs. Well, I haven't. I finally ordered books from our blog we started back when Nate was born. One book per year. While flipping through our blog from years ago, and then getting it printed, it really made me want to put more on my blog just for that book! So here are some odds and ends of our week here at our house! 

 Anna and Audrey. They are smiling more and more and we can't get enough of it!

 Audrey and Anna

 We have a new thing going on around here. The kids each take a night to cook dinner for the family. I let them pick whatever they want to make. Problem is -so far they have picked things that require some help from mom! The idea was to help out so mom didn't have to cook dinner every night!  Oh well, I love spending time with my kids in the kitchen. Nate chose waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. He had sides of homemade sweet potato fries and eggs. He so carefully manned the waffle station.

 He was so serious about his meal and wanted it to be like a restaurant. He made this menu, took orders, served, etc. He even asked me "Where should we sit during the meal?" He didn't think  it was right for the chefs to eat with the guests. But then he changed his mind and decided we could eat with our guests. Our guests were waiting to bless the food. Nate told me in a whisper "We don't bless the food when we eat at restaurants, so we aren't going to bless the food today." It really gave me a good laugh.

 Ash had a Mother/Daughter activity at church. There was a slideshow with pictures from the moms and daughters when we were younger. Then they had a "find the most gummy bears out of the whipped cream with your mouth" game. Yuck!! I'm not a fan of the spray whipped cream and yet I'm a big fan of my daughter…who REALLY wanted her mom to participate. So I stuffed my face in the cream and dug for gummy bears. Audrey helped me. I had more cream on my face, but I had wiped most of it off before the picture.

 Ash and Sadie have decided to cook their meals together - so they get two nights. They chose BLTs. True to form, Sadie was cranking away in the kitchen while Ashlyn was carefully peeling the lettuce, cutting tomatoes and arranging the lettuce/tomatoes to look like a flower. She finds art in everything she does.

 I think the father/son campout each year is the highlight of Nate's life. He talks about it for days. He woke up at 5:37 because he was too excited for the campout to sleep. When I came out of bed he said "Mom, I already did my morning chore, the girls' morning chore, my morning routine and my copy work." He was trying to pass the time while we were sleeping. He could hardly wait to camp with his dad. They had a blast, minus the pouring rain, hail and wind all night.

 Anna and Audrey. I love Audrey's eyes and the look on her face.

 Audrey couldn't stop smiling and we couldn't stop taking pictures.

 Blanche is the best. She's a 94 year old friend at church. We've talked about having her over for a while but today we finally did it. She is the most fun 94 year old. She is so spry and such a fun dinner guest! Nate played the piano for her and here she is giving him a good job hug.

 Blanche adored the babies and wanted to hold them so badly. She was worried she wasn't strong enough so I helped her out a bit and she loved it.

 Anna and Audrey

 Christina is our favorite babysitter from Missouri. We knew her when she was 13 and she babysat all the time for us. Now she's finished her first year of college and she's staying with us for the summer!  We love having her and she's a wonderful, wonderful help!

 Today Dave said "I'm like Nate…I love these babies a lot more than I thought I would." I love how much he loves them.

 Today Ash and Sadie were making a chicken pot pie. We made three pies and they were nice to let Nate decorate one of the pie crusts. He took the job seriously.

 They each made a different design with different cut-outs on top. Sadie and her hearts.

 Nate used a cookie cutter chicken but then added an eye and wings. Perfect for a chicken pot pie!

 Sorry for the blurry picture, Ash! She made a cute flower pie.

 Blanche grew up on the farm. We love hearing her stories of being a young girl and having the job to hop on her horse and ride a while to gather the cows for her dad. Nate was showing her the different colored eggs we have.

 Cute Audrey!

Nate with his dad and his waffle dinner.