Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was out turn to have cooking camp at our house.Elizabeth had seven of her friends over and we had a ton of fun. The girls helped make everything themselvesfrom scratch. I think mastering the can opener was most challenging. We started with picking some fresh basil and parsley from the garden for our spaghetti sauce and garlic butter. As soo as we got our sauce bubbling on the stove we got to whipping up the garlic butter. I helped each of them take a turn to chop with a real chopping knife. I think this was the highlight. They kept saying it was like a "real chef".Once the garlic bread was in the oven they each popped a handful of pasta into the boiling water to cook. Then they all helped clean up the mess. That's right they did do EVERYTHING. Their moms should all be proud they cleared up and wiped the table down very well. Then they all dished up their own plates, and had their own made garlic bread. I was amazed at what they could put away! Little girls, big appetites! Even Ethan got in on sampling the goods. It was a fun morning, mom's wiped. You can bet it will be pancakes for breakfast tonight.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Jenny and the Picky Palate, I caught wind about the strawberries two for a dollar at the farmers market. I must say a produce market out here has yet to compare with the ones I miss back in Cali!! But it was time to make more babyfood too so I ran with the kids and got two flats of strawberries for $4 each. YEAH. So I called Marie and she came over to hit up the freezer jam with me. Shout out to Candace for sure for lending the food processor. My first experience with one, and it's now #1 on my "need to have list". We cranked out 48 cups of strawberries and in just a couple of hours we had tons of jam. My family eats this stuff up.Dad's coming out in a couple of weeks and he loves it too. The funny thing was Elizabeth and her friend played animals the entire time, while Ethan and Cooper helped in the kitchen. Tons of fun!

 

 

 

 

Check out the hottie at the bbq. Sorry he's taken!hee hee. So we had dinner the other night at the pool.Kerrie stopped by with the kids so they jumped in clothes and all and joined us. I know Ethan looks like a nerd,but the vest keeps him from drowning himself. Elizabeth has gotten so good at swimming this year. My favorite is to watch her do the butterfly. She really does it good. Big arms, and a cute little bootie popping up out of the water. How'd she get so big?

 

 

 

 

So I am feeling great this week. I can pick the kids up and go again! Thank goodness! Last week I was wondering when I might feel normal again. So i have do some fun things with the kids. I have been trying to do some fun things with the kids. Monday we saw a fun puppet show at the library. Eric went nuts over it! He was histarical. Ethan and Elizabeth enjoyed it too. On Thursday we met up with friends at Peter Piper Pizza. Andrew always likes to meet up with us for the lunch buffet. It had been a long time since we'd been there.Last summer I think. I let Ethan just run wild there. He went crazy. Running from one video game to another. Pushing buttons, climbing, he loved it. Eric was thrilled because Nikki fed him pizza, she always gives him the good stuff. elizabeth had fun with her friends and was so proud of the dolphin necklace she traded her tickets in for. I thought it was so cute when after not even five minutes in the car Ethan and Eric were out. Ethan with pizza in one hand, sippy cup in the other, and sauce all over the face! Thank you Peter Piper!!!

 

 

 

Okay so a few weekends ago we had a surprise visitor. Andrew found a young dove inside the garage at our back door. He tried picking it up and taking it outside to fly away, but it just sat there. This put Elizabeth our aspiring veternarian to work .She was rushing around, found it a box got it water, and fed it something. I don't remember what. We got on the phone to animal rescue, and found a local lady who cares for the birds.Andrew took Elizabeth and the little dove to her home, where it could be cared for. Meanwhile Julie and I are cracking every joke we can towards Andrew. The irony of the avid dove hunter having to spend his afternoon saving this little dove with his daughter was pretty funny.

 

 

 

 

Okay so our attempt at a garden this year wasn't extremely successful. But it was a learning experience, and a lot of fun. The kids loved watching it grow, and harvesting the food. Here Elizabeth picked one of the only three carrots that made it. We have enjoyed some tomatoes, tos of basil, peppers, rosemary, and more. We hope to have better luck, and just as much fun with it on our next attempts. We're also open to any advise!

 

Happy Independence Day!!

We had a nice relaxing 4th of July. Andrew's parents, and brother drove out early Thursday to spnd the weekend with us. With the heat,two babies, and Elizabeth's dislike of fireworks, we spent the day here. We all went over to mthe pool and had a great time swimming. This was my first time in the water this summer.It wasn't quite warm enough to swim, in my opinion, until the week I had my surgery. We stayed over there until we were all wrinkled like raisins. Then we cam ehome and had a bbq with too much food. Isn't that the only way to bbq? We did catch a few fireworks out the front window, as we are right next to the field so we get a clear shots of a show or two. We stayed up late playing board games. Saturday was a blast we went to the new Children's Museum in Pheonix. I highly reccommend it to everyone. Even with the museum slightly incomplete they have opened to the public. Everything there is hands on for the kids. They get to touch, and play with EVERYTHING!!! There's even an art studio where the kids got to make an art project to bring home. Even Eric had a blast!! The kids were exhausted by the time we left. It was easily three and a half hours of fun. I am so excited to have found something fun and new to do here in the valley!! It was a fun weekend. We're always glad to have family come visit. It gives the kids, and us , a chance to spend individual time together with them .Everytime we go back to Cali we have a blast, but feel like we're spinning in circles trying to get a minute with everyone! We love our new home, but miss so many!! Happy 4th of July!