The stage

We went to mom and dad's after church yesterday for my birthday dinner (it was super yummy...even the cornstarch cobbler dad...thanks, Love you guys!). But before we could leave the kids wanted to do a show for us on 'the stage'. The first one is of Rachel's solo performance doing the "mommy and daddy one!" The second is the kids singing us a song, I don't think Rachel got the memo of which song to sing, but it's still super cute! :) Let's just say she marches to the beat of her own drum...

*I'm having a little trouble getting the second video up...so give me a little bit to get it figured out

The Treehouse

Thursday last week we went to the Tree house Museum with my friend Kalynne and her daughter Reagan. This was Benjamin's first time going when he could walk around and he loved it! They had a rodeo exhibit in honor of the pioneer day celebration out here and I would have to say this was by far Benjamin's favorite spot. He wore a cowboy hat and bandanna for a very long time, which is strange because we can't get him to wear any other hat for half as long :) There was also a mechanical sheep that would move it's head and say "baa" who Benjamin enjoyed 'talking' to. It was so funny to watch! He grabbed a couple toy animals and sat in front of the sheep for like 5 minutes just jabbering away. Maybe we are raising a cowboy!!

Benjamin enjoyed both chess sets, the life sized one and the one he got to climb on a chair to reach. Benjamin and Reagan switched royalty seats for the day...you know the phrase "walk a mile in another persons shoes." :)Rachel enjoyed playing with the Knights and she really enjoyed acting out the story Cinderella during story time. I didn't think she would really do it, but my little girl is branching out and becoming more social! Well most of the time. She was one of the guests at the ball and she did a great job at listening to directions. She kept saying "I'm Rachel Cinderella!"

Salsa!

Friday I spent the morning making salsa from the garden goodies. I will be doing more when we got more tomatoes but so far I have 10 pints of hot and 9 pints of medium salsa. All but one sealed so we were able to taste it right away and if I do say so myself ... it's really good!! :) Because we have had so much squash I ended up putting squash in the salsa to make it chunkier. When we planted peppers a few years ago they turned out small and bitter and well just plain gross! So this year I planted 12 pepper plants (bell, mexi-bell, jalapeno, chili and chili red) hoping we would at least get something out of it. Much to our delight and surprise we got plenty! Even after using the peppers for the salsa we still have 4 2gallon sized bags of peppers in the freezer and the garden is still producing more!! Good thing peppers freeze :)

CAUGHT!

Okay so he wasn't standing on the table clapping but I think you get the idea. On this particular day I was trying to knead dough and he kept getting up on the table, over and over again. I finally got smart and took all of our dining room chairs and put them on our bed so he couldn't use them to get on the table...he was crazy angry with me when I did that. But at least I was able to finish the bread without having to worry about him hurting himself. I also think it's hilarious that his shirt says 'good boy' on it...

Anything to Play...

Benjamin has learned the art of using a chair, step stool or even a pillow to get to what he wants. He will push or carry it over to where he wants to go and climb away!

This time he wanted to play the piano, so he climbed up...

got a little stuck...

figured out how to push the chair back, sat down and played me a tune. A few days prior to this I found him standing on the dining room table, clapping and saying "Yay!" What a little stinker! :)

4 Years ago...

Today is our actual anniversary but we celebrated it by going to a B&B on Friday evening. We dropped the kids off with Joseph and Amy and the cousins (so what was it like having 6 kids?!) and headed on our way. I do admit it was pretty strange and sad watching Joseph drive off with Benjamin in the back seat...but after a few deep breaths and fighting back a few tears I was just fine. We first headed to the Hines Mansion to check in then out to dinner. The mansion was so beautiful, quaint and quiet. I loved it! This Mansion was built in the late 1800's and has seen many things in it's 'life' time. It has been a home, restaurant, brothel, store, and now B&B to several different owners. There is also a rumor that Butch Cassidy used to frequent the home and it's first owner, Kitty Hines. We had the Whispering Willow room (one of the 8 different themed rooms) which came with it's own private entrance so we could come and go as we pleased without disturbing the other guests.

The room came with sparkling cider, a large jetted tub, huge shower, a lovely comfy bed, there were in house movies you could borrow and robes you could wear. There was also complimentary cookies and hot cocoa in the kitchen, which I literally just had to open the door and reach my hand around the corner to grab some...it was awesome!! In the morning we had breakfast with 2 other couples and breakfast was divine! We had yogurt with fresh raspberries and granola, hot cocoa, orange juice, stuffed french toast topped with strawberries, bacon, and a fresh fruit cup! The 'cooks' chatted with us while we ate too and served our meals right to our seat...I felt like a queen! It was a very wonderful experience being away from the kiddos for a night. We both got some good sleep...granted we still woke up at 6 am but it was so nice not having to worry about the kids! And ever since we've gotten the kids back Benjamin has been sleeping through the night! YAHOO!! Let's just hope he continues to. As for the mansion we will be going back again for sure!

3 years old and SO much wiser!

Well after much anticipation Rachel's Brachiosarus birthday party happened! Let me tell you...it was not such an easy thing to plan along side of our anniversary get away but it happened and the kids had a blast! But before I get into all of the party details I have to tell one little story. While we were decorating we had the blown up balloons outside and they were popping like crazy!! (No more dollar store balloons for us) At one point I told Rachel to get the balloon under the table and when she did, it popped in her hand. Well of course she started crying and freaking out, so I went over there to comfort her, then all of a sudden...she starts to pee!! I know I should laugh at my child's expense but that was just too funny! Naturally I picked her up, hugged her and got her changed but after that she freaked out when anyone touch the other balloons. So anyway...on to the fun (without pee) details of the party. We had Dinosaur Bones (blond brownies) and Baby Brachiosaurus cakes. The cakes didn't turn out quite like I was hoping but they tasted good and to a 3 year old that's all that matters! :) First the kids played "Stick the Pterodactyl in the Sky" and all of the kids did a great job. After that they were given their Paleontologist tools (paint brush) to dig for dinosaurs in the roped off construction sight. Everyone had their own little spot to look for their 5 dinosaurs which they placed into their bag of party favors.

When the paleontologists were finished washing up at the hose they all sat around while Rachel opened her gifts. She was very spoiled this year! She got dinosaurs, coloring books, crayons, books, clothes, a tea set, chap stick, clips for her hair, band aids, and a doctor kit!! Oh and how could I forget the best present ever!? We finally gave in and got her a bike (and helmet of course)...she has been asking for one for a year now. So we kept our eyes open and I found one in a dumpster that just needed a little TLC. The week before her birthday I took it apart, painted it, put it back together and greased it up. I think it turned out great and she was super excited...that is until we put the helmet on. I think I pinched her skin a little when I snapped it on...once that memory fades I'm sure she'll love the helmet too. :)

Grandpa's Surprise!

Marc's dad got the grand kids a surprise after our family pictures were taken. I guess he saw this 'double canon' water slide up in a neighbors yard and asked if he could rent it from them...well the nice people they are said you can just borrow it, and he did! It was a super fun surprise for everyone and all of the kids (even the 'grown up' ones) loved it.

At one point David and Marc tried to get Joseph into the pool because, well boys will be boys :) It was super hilarious to watch! They even enlisted Nicole and Dad to help and well, Dad was the one that ended up getting soaked instead! But they did get Joseph with a bucket, not quite the same but maybe next time :)

At first Rachel was scared to go on the slide so I threw her up there a few times (don't worry she wasn't hurt) and eventually I think curiosity won out. She climbed up there and went down like a pro...like a gazillion times! After she did it the first time she said "I just did it and I just loved it!!"

Yes, Marc went down in his clothes. David was the only smart one, he brought swim trunks. Ah well...his clothes dried...after they came out of the dryer :)