Zoo Time!

We spent Saturday at the zoo with Grandma. Every time we go, we take a picture here, in front of the flamingos. One of these days, I'll print out all of them and frame them together!

Dice Shooting

I broke out an OLD homemade game tonight. My Honey found these sturdy cardboard rolls many years ago. We bought clear and white cube shaped pieces and little shooters. The goal is to shoot your opponents pieces off the board, while keeping yours safe using the cardboard rounds as protectors.

Missy Helps Momma

I wanted EmBlem to smile at the camera, but she wouldn't. Missy took matters into her own hands. She told Em to "smile" and tried to make her.

It worked! Behind the arms Em is grinning.

"Here's me smile!" Em shouted from behind Missy's smiling face.

At least I got one BIG smile tonight!

.31 Night!

.31 cent scoop night was Tuesday! We went and enjoyed 2 or 3 scoops each of yummy, creamy goodness. There were four firetrucks there, too, along with a myriad of firemen and explorer scouts. We got the details of the Fire and Emergency Services Explorer program from the Fire Chief. Sounds like it would be valuable experience for any teen, even one not looking at joining the Fire Dept.

Resting up......

....in the van after a visit to Chuck E. Cheese. We're having a great time with Grandma!

Birthday Dessert

My Honey's birthday fell on Resurrection Sunday this year. However, because of the mass consumption of sugar following the candy hunt, we opted to have his birthday dessert today. I just LOVE strawberry season!

Candy Hunt

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of the Lambies in their Easter dresses and shirts. How could I forget?? :Sigh: All I have are candy hunt pictures, and most of those are blurry. I do have good memories, though!

Carrots, Tomatoes and Corn, Oh My!

My carrots are getting nearly big enough to eat. Volunteer tomatoes are popping up all over the place and the corn my daughter planted in the fall suddenly decided to come to life. Things are getting crowded in the Crew's garden.

Batman Central

Troubles got out all his Batman stuff. Later, when he finished playing, he went off to do something else. Later I found one of my teams playing around with it. :) I am not at liberty to mention that person's name, but I do love seeing them still childish sometimes!

The Elusive Smile

I caught a pic of my Honey smiling today! I love that elusive grin. <3

A Game, Anyone?

I played a game of cards with GirlofGod and Trixie today. Any guesses on the name of the game?

It's a birthday!

It was Troubles birthday! He was led in to the living room with his eyes closed, set in front of his big present and given his smaller presents. He did not seem to notice the blanket covered bike behind him. When he was done unwrapping gifts, Daddy said that he thought he'd missed one. He looked around, puzzled, and finally caught sight of the blanket. He said, "You mean this one? Is it a bike?" He pulled off the blanket and posed:

He loves two wheeled machines, just like his Daddy!

A Cousin Visit!

Cousin D visited for the weekend. He lives about four hours away, so we only see each other a few times a year. All the kids had such fun together! Thanks for coming, D.!

Lovely Girl

We had a great time at church today. One of the ladies brought these lovely flowers and my daughter held them for her for a while after service. She and her friends were making clover chains together.

Are You Done Yet?

Though she didn't really want me to take her picture, I'm so glad I got this one. This is classic EmBlem, tolerating me with the camera. She's such a beautiful young lady, though. I want to get as many pictures as I can!

Maxin' and Relaxin'

Love this weather we've been having! Almost all our free time is being spent outdoors. We've been biking, running races, playing basketball and just hanging out. We've got to enjoy it while we can! Grandma will be here in a little more than a week, so that means we are in store for an unusual "early" heatwave.

Shoe Sorting

We brought down all the shoes from the attic to sort, pair up and thin out. Favorite shoes that were 'lost' were found. Others were found to be too small. I heard groans and squeals at the same time.

Here they are all sorted. Any too small for my youngest boy and girl went to the garage sale box. I also thinned the number of any size smaller than Women's 8. How many pairs of shoes could Missy possibly need? She's the only one with reasonably sized feet around here! Every other girl in the family wears an 8 or above. Boys shoes get worn out so fast I buy every pair I can find at a decent price. I don't mind keeping more of them.

He's a Reader!

Troubles finished reading "Hop on Pop" today! What a big guy he is....all of five-almost-six already and reading! Makes a Momma's heart proud.

Just for the Halibut

My friend Nichole blessed us recently with some fish her husband caught. I have to admit, I have not cooked fish all that often. My husband is an avid fisherman, but most of the places he goes are catch-and-release. When he does bring home a catch, he cooks it up himself. I am a fish-cooking-novice. The fish called my name nightly from the freezer, but I had no idea what to do with and was a more than a bit afraid to ruin it! However, this halibut, covered in a seasoned breading, baked up just perfect. It was De-licious! Thanks so much Nichole!

Breading Mix For Fish

1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt

Mix together. Coat fish with egg, then dip in breading mix. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet at 350 for about 25 minutes or until flaky.

The Bike-Gang Crew

This has been the activity of choice for most of the Crew lately. My little bike computer tells me that I have been biking about five miles every afternoon. The little legs above must be doing more than that. They go so fast and for so long!

Pound Cake Season!

Or rather, it's strawberry season! We usually pair strawberries, homemade whipped cream and this pound cake together during the spring. It's SO yummy! It's so good, in fact, that I didn't get a picture of a serving before they were all devoured!

Incredible Pound Cake
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or almond, if desired)
6 eggs
3 cups flour

Blend together cream cheese and butter for 2 minutes.
Gradually add the sugar and beat for 5 full minutes.
Add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
Gradually add the flour, mixing on low. Mix until blended, but do not overbeat.

Grease and coat with sugar a 10" tube pan. Bake at 325 for 90 minutes. Cool about ten minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.

Taking Garlic

Jack had to take garlic the other day. He has chronic kidney disease and his protein count was elevated.

He's a tough kid! He just does what needs to be done.

Milk and Greek yogurt helps it go down. He's also been known to use applesauce or saltine crackers.

The milk has something in it that cuts the hotness of the garlic.

All done! His count was down to normal the next day, despite the runny nose and sore throat continuing.

Book Sale Pics

I'm getting the "Books For Wilson" sale all ready!

Boxes and boxes of books for sale! However, nothing on the shelves is for sale so watch those grabby hands!!

I'll be so excited to see how it turns out! I'll be having local homeschooling friends over all week, then have a garage sale/book sale on Saturday.

Party Day!

We've been planning a party for several weeks. However, things keep coming up to force a date change. Yesterday, we finally were able to get it put together successfully. Here's the girls hanging out together...

...and here are the boys playing basketball. The kids had a great time hanging out together. Thanks, C. and B. Families, for letting the teens come over for a visit!

Sweet Dreams!

Troubles had "bad thoughts" last night. He climbed in with us around 4 AM. That almost never happens! He had sweet dreams till 8:30 AM while Dad had to get up for work at 6 AM. Good thing he's so cute!

*Turns out the bad thoughts were a scene from a Jimmy Neutron movie we let him watch while we watched Tron. He told me he doesn't want to watch that show ever again! (Bad Momma!!)

Monster Chard!

One of my daughters snapped this pic, without my preparing myself for a photo, I must say. I used just two Swiss chard leaves in our dinner salad. See why I only needed two? I'm so glad chard doesn't go bitter when they get enormous!

Garden Bounty

Here's the basket of greens that I brought to church Sunday. I have copious amounts of Swiss chard and several kinds of lettuce. My second and third sowings are coming up, so it's time to share!

Bike Mechanic Daddy

Daddy put on his bike mechanic hat today and gave all the bicycles tune-ups. We also found a nice, older Trek at a garage sale for only $20, so we snagged it. My Honey got five bikes finished, one almost finished (we can't get a rear derailleur until Monday) and plans to do the new Trek tomorrow. It will need more attention than today's set. We need to watch garage sales for a couple more 20/24" bikes for growing Lambies. We have several bikes have been outgrown and will be sold when we have a garage sale of our own.

Summer's Coming!

Time to prepare for camping! We got a new tent today to complete our collection. We are changing from using a large tent to several smaller ones. I can't wait to go!