Puzzle Time

After a breakfast of homemade granola, we're doing a 1000 piece puzzle and watching Twelfth Night. What a cozy morning.

A Christmas Party

The Younger Crew, a couple of cousins and a neighbor kid had a bunch of fun last night decorating sugar cookies. They also enjoyed some homemade pizza, sparkling ciders and a movie. It was a fun little Christmas party!

California in December

Missy and Troubles would like to show off the leaf candy cane that they created this evening. Our leaves finally started falling a few days ago. They've been waiting not-so-patiently until there were enough to rake up and play in. Tonight was the night they got to play!

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

Moosey's Birthday

Today Troubles declared that it was Moosey's birthday. Moosey is now six years old and it's high time for him to have a birthday party! Troubles made invitations with GirlofGod and invited all of his brothers and sisters, along with their favorite stuffed friends. They all brought gifts for Moosey. They sang "Happy Birthday" and cheered for him. Fun was had by all, as Troubles' imagination was fed by loving siblings.

2011 Costumes

Here are the Crew's Halloween costumes this year.

We had a great time trick or treating with a couple of friends and their children. They made quite a long line as they traipsed from door to door!

Jack's a Lego Maniac

Jack has been a Lego maniac again lately. This time, Polly and Troubles and he are separating all the Lego people out of the tubs and arranging them on base plates. I didn't know we had so many Lego dudes! Most were in pieces, so they were carefully rebuilt, with much attention paid to proper uniforms, expressions, attachments and accessories. Details matter to Jack.

Today Jack built a gym.

He created barbells, weight stacks, a bench press station, pull up bar and more. He is so creative! I can't imagine raising this boy without Lego.

Chocloate Taffy

EmBlem, GirlofGod and Trixie are going to a swim party tomorrow. They wanted to bring something special to share so they were browsing recipes and kicking around some ideas this afternoon. They decided to make Chocolate Taffy. It was messy, it was fun, it's also pretty tasty! I love the skills they are developing in the kitchen.

Humid Friday

It was 102 today. Not too bad; in fact, that's a rather nice temperature for August for us. However, a layer of clouds rolled in this afternoon and things got sticky. What's better for a humid afternoon than a spin in the sprinkler? I'm happy to report that the humidity was forgotten and fun was had by all Littles present.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

We made our very first visit to Six Flags today. We had such fun. However, I need to remember to bring a camera and not rely on my iPhone for pictures. Sadly, the battery ran out much too early. Overall impressions from my point of view.....X2 was not worth the wait, Ninja is not to be missed, Colossus is best ridden as many times as possible. Here's a first person POV of Colossus and one of Ninja for you to enjoy. I can't wait to go back!

Larry-Boy!

Yesterday Polly made this funny little creature with her play dough. I thought it looked a bit like Larry-Boy in disguise.

Play Dough Day

Today, we made play dough! It's a good summer activity that is easily done. Here's the recipe we used:

Homemade Play Dough
4 cups cheap white flour
4 cups water
2 cups cheap salt
1/2 cup cheap canola oil
8 tsp. cream of tarter
food coloring and essential oils as desired

Mix everything together in a large saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon, over medium heat, until the dough forms. This only takes a few minutes. When the dough forms, plop is out onto a counter and knead a few times until smooth.

If you want different colors, wait to add the food coloring until now. Separate the dough into as many different colors as you want and add different food coloring to each. Knead it in and add drops until the color you want develops.

Zombie Abe

My sweet little Missy surprised me with this beautiful rendition of Honest Abe during the Zombie Apocalypse. I think she's got him pegged, don't you?

Yep...

...we start 'em early round these parts, but only on the good stuff.

The Whole Bean

We've been enjoying Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean on Netflix Instant. It's just too funny! He's a great intro to British humor. Take a peek at this clip. I love it!

More Park Fun

Here's a shot of my Honey playing with the Lambies at the park the other day. I love that he loves to play!

Jamberries!

We had a great day today! Poppy was home from work for Memorial Day. We slept in, had french toast made with homemade bread, then went to the park. After playing a couple of hours, we came home and my Honey BBQ'ed. Later, my strawberry lady called and I went and got six gallons of strawberries, four pints of boysenberries and she also gave us some cherries. This evening, I made up these 10 pints of strawberry-boysenberry jam. I put an additional half pint in to the fridge for quick eating.

I'm so thankful for our free, prosperous nation. Thank you to all the men and women serving in our military, and especially to the families of those who have given it all for our nation.

CyCo Cycle

Our friends at church blessed us today. They gave this odd cycle to the Lambies! It looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully it will outlast all the attention that will be given it over the next few weeks! Thanks, S and B! The gift is wonderful!

Math Game Time

Missy's favorite school activities are copywork and math. This is a game she likes to get out once in a while. She nearly got the whole box matched up before she was finished!

Building Project

Daddy and Troubles built an airplane today. Handicrafts....check. Daddy time...check. A new toy to love...check! It's an all around win!

MUS Tower

After completing school today, Troubles asked to play with the blocks. I thought he meant Lego, but out he came with the Math-U-See blocks. He built this tower. It stood all day and was deserving of a picture on the blog. He told me so!