Canning

Thanks to a couple of my good friends, I got some canning done this year. We canned diced tomatoes and salsa...
Apple pie filling...

Applesauce...

and peaches. This is only some of what we did. We got lots and lots of bottles of everything. I can't remember exactly how many, but thank you thank you guys!! My family appreciates it lots. It was more fun doing it with friends than doing it alone for sure. Plan on it again next year right? (Falls on the floor in an exhausted heap.)

Savoring every little thing.

So Owen had his very first ice cream cone and it was so fun to watch him savor every bite. Can you tell he loved it?

At least as they get bigger, some of the messes get smaller.

Erin's B-day Party

I know, I know. This is really late. I thought I'd blog about Erin's three-year-old birthday party. It was lots of fun! She invited a few friends over to Grandma's backyard because it's her magical place. We had a little tea party. Julie made cute king and queen cookies. (The pics on her blog are better.) Cute cookies. The kids looooved them.

The butterfly decorated table.

We made wrapping paper hats. Owen liked wearing his.

Here's Jamison getting his hat.

Liam even wore a hat. What a good brother.

I made PB&J, ham, turkey and PB and honey sandwiches and cut them out with cookie cutters (thanks Alicia).

We drank red Kool Aid tea punched up with a little Sprite.

A couple pics of the kids eating.

After they ate, we decorated baskets with lovely silk flowers and ribbons. I used a glue gun to put them on and decorate them and Owen was so amazed, he reached out to touch some of the glue I had just put on the basket and burned his little hand all across the palm. Poor little guy. We wrapped it up and it's looking really good now. That burn kind of put an end to the basket decorating though. He was not happy. The kids loved just playing in the yard. I think they had a good time.

The Good Samaritan

On Monday night we had Family Home Evening and had a lesson on being kind, hoping to stop some of the sibling rivalry going on in our house. So, of course, I told the story of the good Samaritan. I told about the man getting beat up, the two men passing him by and the one man who stopped to help. I asked Liam "What would you do if you came across this man?" Liam says without hesitation, "Run away." So I ask Erin the same question and she says "some strange man is hurt on the road." Um...okay. Liam frantically raises his hand and says "Oh, I know, I know!"
Yes Liam?

"I would pray that I don't get beat up too."

Appearances

The other day I was taking Liam to school. I hadn't had time to get dressed, (although everyone else was! Yay for me!) so I was still in my pajamas, which led to the following conversation.
Liam: Why aren't you dressed mom?
Me: I just didn't have time. I'll be dressed when I pick you up okay.
L: Mom, could you leave your hair down today and not put it in a ponytail or anything like that because I really like it down by your shoulders and you never put it down. (short pause) And can you wear your overalls? I really like them. (short pause again) And can you not wear your glasses, just your contacts, because you look better without your glasses (again, short pause) I know it's hard Mom, but you can do it! Try try again!
Oh man, he's only five and he's making specific requests about my appearance. I'm doomed!

Gone

We have been so busy lately. Birthdays, first day of school, playing hard and working hard. But the biggest change we've had is that we moved. We left our wonderful friends and neighborhood and moved, just a few blocks away. We miss our friends, but love the new digs. we were living in a two bedroom apartment that was roughly 700 square feet. Not much living space for five people. Now we are in a bigger place and love it. The kids have room to play and run around. It's been really good for our family. We went back and played with our old friends and got some cute pictures. Everyone else was climbing the tree, so Owen had to get in on the action.

Baby Lia, getting to be so BIG!! How did that happen?

Cute Bailey.

Liam channeling a monkey.

Our favorite Kora.

Liam (and Kora peeking over his shoulder)

Cute friends. We'll keep visiting. Miss you guys!!

Big Three Year Old

Look at me, me, me, I'm three, three three, and I'm as happy as can be, be, be!!! Erin had a birthday and she's very happy she's three. We sang Happy Birthday, opened presents and Grandma came over for cake. A fun time was had by all. Here's my cute girl!!

Grandma gave her a wand. See how she wields it like a sword? Brother's influence is strong in this one!

Ah, a bit more wand-like.

She got Belle, Sleeping Beauty and a Prince. A few weeks earlier, we found a Barbie car at the DI for $1.00. Sweet deal. Now the princesses and their prince go crusin' all over our house. (The prince never gets to drive.)

Here she is with all her loot. We're going to have a friends tea party on Friday. More pics to come.

We had a few setbacks with trying to get Erin to come to our family and a couple of scares during the pregnancy, but I am so thankful she's part of us. We love you Erin, so much! Thank you for coming to live with us my beautiful girl!!

Haircut

I'm so sad. Owen had this cute curly hair that I loved. My neighbor called him Huck Finn because he just reminded her of him. After much sadness and gnashing of teeth, I decided to cut the curls. So my baby went from this...

...to this. I hate that they have to grow up sometimes.

Kindergarten

Last Monday was Liam's first day of Kindergarten. He did so well! He was a little nervous at first, but warmed up pretty quickly. I walked in with him the first two days, but now I just pull up and he hops out of the car and goes right inside with all the other kids going to school. He goes in the morning, which has been a good thing for our family. Now we have a little routine in our lives. Get up, dressed, breakfast, etc. etc.

How did he get to be so big?