Yummy Sunday Treat

We did something fun after church today...Brianna got a good recipe from Ciara when she was here staying with us. She and the boys decided to make it for us. It was easy homemade ice cream in a bag.

The recipe is:

1 tbs. sugar

1/2 c. milk or half and half

1/4 tsp of vanilla

pour sugar, milk and vanilla in a quart or sandwich bag.

(add three drops of peppermint extract and 1 Tbs. of ground up chocolate chips for mint chocolate chip.) Seal bag and place in a gallon bag about 1/3 of the way full of ice and 1/4 c. of rock salt. Shake up the entire thing for 7-10 minutes. Take out the small bag and rinse off the salt then pour into a bowl.

It was delicious and the kids could do it all on their own so it was fun for them.

YUM!!

Homemade Bread

Ciara and I had to return something to my Mom's today and she was just getting ready to make bread. I wish I had a wheat grinder!! She ground us some wheat so we could make some too. Ciara has never made bread before so watching it go from wheat to flour to bread was pretty fun. I haven't made it for a LONG time and my kids all love it. It was a good treat for when they came home from school. Thanks for your help Ciara, the bread was deliciuos!!Allen helped too. He was very proud of his tiny bread dough beard!

First Day of School

I can't believe that the first day of school is already here. The usual level of excitement just wasn't here. Normally all of us are ready to get back into the routine and swing of things, but I think we all could have used an extra week. It seemed like summer just started and now it's over. Maybe it has something to do with the weather. It was so cold here clear until almost the end of June. That's probably why it seemed so short. Don't get me wrong, once all was said and done, the kids were excited to go this morning. We just never had the couple of weeks of summer dragging on that makes you really can't wait to go back. That's a good thing I think. The morning ran pretty smoothly. Brianna has to be out of here no later than 7:30. The other 3 need to leave by 8:30. They all had backpacks and their new clothes. I remember the feeling of new clothes and new schedules. Kind of a nervous excitement. They all seemed pretty excited and once they saw friends they hadn't seen all summer, they were just fine. Since Ciara is here visiting, I took her and Allen to the Jr. High to have lunch with Brianna. Ciara got to meet Brianna's other friends and they were all happy to meet her too. They hear her name enough that it was probably good to put a face with the stories. Allen sat on Brianna's lap and she and Ciara chatted the whole lunch period. I wanted to take a picture of them, but that would just be too embarrassing I was told. Brayden and Tanner took off with their friends the minute we entered the school grounds and I was told hugs were off limits. (I guess I will have to steal one next time before they leave the house!) I got to walk Rachael to class though and luckily she isn't too big for a hug goodbye. She got a little lost at lunch time and couldn't find her class. She didn't know you were just supposed to go outside to play. Other than that, they all seemed to have a great day. We should be set for a great year!!!

The Last of Summer

It was Back to School Night tonight. I can't believe that it's time to go back already. We got to meet the kids teachers. Brayden has Mr. Jorgensen who Brianna had also, so we know he is great. Tanner will have Ms. Bradley. She seemed very nice. We were kind of hoping for Ms. Checketts because Brayden had her, but I hear Bradley is just as good. I guess they are friends and have the same teaching styles. It should be great! And Rachael, who has been waiting all summer found out she has Mrs. Hayter. She just moved here from...I want to say Oregon, I think and seems very fun. It made Rachael feel better and get a little more excited knowing where she was going and who her teacher is.
When we came back, we had a last little party with our neighbors. Laura made a lasagna and I made corn on the cob and salad. Then we went to her house to roast marshmellows and eat smores. Her husband is in Texas too so it was nice to be widows together! Plus, what better way to end the summer than having smores over the fire?

give me a minute

Kirk is finally home!!!! We only have him for one week so you won't be hearing from me for a minute. As soon as he goes back I will be back on this place. What else am I going to do right?

Lawnmowers

You know, lawnmowers and I have never been friends. Up until a month and a half ago I didn't even know how to start one. Kirk gave me and the boys a crash course right before he left for scout camp. (Literally...right before he left, in the driveway as the scouts were loading into the car.) My two boys handled it while he was gone for the week, thank heavens. Well, now that he has been gone to Texas for the past 3 weeks, I figured I better take a turn. I mowed for the first time all by myself last Saturday. Really, in all my years, I have never mowed a lawn before. I even edged it, which was another first for me. I was quite proud of myself. I thought it looked quite nice. Maybe the lawnmower and I were progressing in our relationship. So, considering that Kirk is coming home tomorrow, I decided to mow and edge again to make the yard look nice for his return. Stupid, stupid, stupid!! I had my boys do most of it, which was a good decision; I should have stayed away and let them handle it. They were done and went in to get a drink when I noticed that the parkway hadn't been mowed. My big head is saying "I did it all by myself Saturday, I can do that little bit." Idiot!! Pride comes before a fall right? I mow one side and am going to finish the last swipe when I come to the sprinkler box. I've seen Kirk wheel partially over them and so I try to do the same. Only apparently I got too close because the next thing I know is the lawnmower jerks out of my hands, makes a terrible sound and shuts off. CRAP!! Are you kidding me, did I just break his brand new lawnmower!? I quick and look around to make sure there is no one watching me, kind of like when you fall down. Jump up quick and act like nothing’s wrong. I don't see anyone so I try to move the lawnmower. Stuck!! Brayden comes to help me and we realize that the lid to the sprinkler box is stuck to the blade. There is no way to get it off. The blade is clear through the middle of the lid. We have to lift it off and drag it across the sidewalk. So I am dragging the lawnmower with a lid attached to the bottom, onto the sidewalk, praying no one is watching. There was nothing I could do to fix it so I called my dad. Now I have the mower tilted back and Dad is on the floor with both feet bracing it and yanking on the lid with all his might. It’s not budging. When you have a man, a truck, tools, and something obviously broken, what do you attract? That’s right, all the neighborhood boys. One of my neighbors little boys is standing there with his bike looking very perplexed. He looks at me and says “you don’t know how to mow a lawn do you? You know, you’re not supposed to run over those things, just the grass.” I kind of chuckled and then he said, “If you ever need to mow again you should call my dad, he knows how to do it REALLY good.” Long pause, and then “Actually, even I could do better than THAT!” And he points to the lid on the bottom of the mower. Now I am cracking up because he is so CUTE! You could see by the look on his face that he really felt bad for me. Before he rode away he ended with, “Anyway, aren’t dads supposed to mow lawns?” Yes, Jaxton, I agree with you. Dads should be the ones to mow lawns. I don’t know if I will ever want to try again!!!
By the way, the lid eventually came of with the help of a hammer and my dad straightened out the blade at work, so all is well. The mower works just fine now, I didn’t break it after all. The lawnmower and I, we still aren’t friends!

The Sidewalk's Fault

So I was fixing dinner last night while Allen was outside playing in the rain on the driveway. Suddenly he busts through the front door all upset and yelling that he's bleeding. (He really has a hard time with blood, big or small.) So I go to give him a hug and see what I can do. He has a very small drop of blood on his baby toe. Still, he's pretty much beside himself because of the blood. I just say "I'm so sorry Allen, what happened?" He looks at me with with his big, teary, brown eyes, as serious as ever, and yells "It was the stinkin' stupid sidewalk what did it to me!" (He always says "what" insead of "that".) I had to hurry to hug him so he didn't see me laughing. Could it be that he was riding his scooter barefoot? Naw...it was the sidewalk's fault.

Whoops!!!

Here's a funny story for you. A couple of weeks ago I decided to touch up the boys hair. Their buzz had grown out so I thought I would re-d0 it. Tanner had decided that he wanted a regular haircut from my mom, so I did Allen's hair, then Brayden's hair and then cleaned off the buzzer. I was just putting it all away when Tanner changed his mind. So I set him up in the chair and did my first swipe and then yelled OH NO!!! He was shaved to the skin! I felt terrible. He asked what was wrong so I told him that I had forgotten to put the guard back on and he said "oh, so it will be a little shorter than the rest?" Yah, a little shorter....that's it. I'm just glad I didn't start in the front! (By the way, this picture is after a week of growing out.) Sorry Tanner! :(