Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What a fine looking bunch of ladies!!


Saturday my Mom and I hosted a baby shower for my sister. We went for a monkey theme, based on the crib bedding Rendi had picked for the baby's room. I made the invite and this is about my 4th invitation and baby announcement for various friends and family and I have to say I really like making those. I created a PDF and had them printed on photo paper at Walgreens.

Anyways, fun was had by all. We had lots of family from out of town (a BIG thank you to everyone for driving up!!) and Mom and I cooked for a couple days. Rendi had requested cream puffs, chicken salad puffs, and stuffed mushrooms. I made sour cream coffee cake, chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (I love Barefoot Contessa's recipes for above mentioned), lemon poppy seed muffins and some frittatas and fresh fruit. Mom found some decorations that were perfect with our colors and everyone had a good time. We did it outside in the morning so it wasn't so hot. I had a Rendi-trivia game for everyone and of course we had to do the string game-guess how big the momma-to-be's tummy is. I really wasn't going to do that one but I totally forgot to get the stuff for the third game. But that is my little secret :-)



GARDENING
I am not any kind of gardner like my mom or grandma, but every summer I can manage to do some containers on the porch. When we lived in Seattle, I LOVED the hydrangeas there, so when we moved here I planted one. Idaho is apparently not the right zone, or weather to grow hydrangeas, but good things come to those who wait because after FOUR years, it has bloomed. I should have taken a picture when it turned a lovely purple/blue color but I haven't, so here it is early and green.


WATER FUN: We took the kids swimming at the local pool. Am I the only one grossed out by being in the same water as all those kids and babies and...yuck. I think it stems from the fact that Hannah got a parasite from the waterpark two years ago and somehow I just can't leave that memory behind me. GROSS! I'll stop all that and say the kids have had fun swimming and we visited an awesome park with all kinds of cool water fountains, the best playground I've ever seen and even outdoor instruments to play.


I LOVE to play hide and seek with my kids. It's a game that has kept them busy ever since they were just toddlers (modified). But lately, my kids have been outsmarting me!! They are getting old enough and they are skinny enough to find some great places to wedge themselves into. It used to be that I was the last one found, but here is where we found Hannah after searching a LONG time. No worries-after Mike heard about it, he gave her a strict talking to about the safety issues. I'm still giggling.

Saturday, July 11, 2009




motley crew post slip-n-slide

Aren't I just the biggest slacker of all? My last post was June 27? Wow. Sorry. Life is so busy and yet it's summer so I really want to enjoy it. That means I'll be a slacker. But, I also think that it is good to take time away from my computer. I find that I get way too sucked in checking out blogs, and facebook and websites and my work and children and spiritual time gets sucked dry. So I am trying to be a little more aware of wasting time, and if that means I don't post as much oh well, I'll take it.

With that said, we had an AWESOME 4th of July. We were so happy last week to see Laura, Katie, Kody and Jacob pull up in our driveway. I had worked hannah and Taylor all day on Thursday cleaning house and beds and rooms, that they were REALLY excited for the kids to come and play!

Friday, we went to the waterpark ALL DAY (our sunburns are all in the peeling stage in case you had to know) and everyone went home with a burn, but we had a great time. The boys all got to go on their own and experience some freedom and doing the rides, and the girls stayed together and happily did what they wanted with a parent.

The lost ones (this is the portion of the story that gets a little hairy and long)
It was working out great until it was time to go and last we had seen Taylor and Brendan was an hour ago. So we wait, dry, thirsty and burned. Rendi and I had Mike, Laura, Kody, Jacob, Hannah and Katie go home (they started dinner their blessed selves!). Finally, after circling, watching and walking the park, we saw the boys and I told them it was time to go. Taylor runs in the bathroom and Brendan disappears around the corner as I'm running after him...uh kids did you hear it was TIME TO GO? Finally after more rounds of Rendi waiting in one spot so we had at least one base, and me doing about 8 laps around the park, I find Brendan, by himself. Another hour passes as I do 8 more laps looking for Taylor, getting madder and madder. Finally I decide to take advantage of the park's security system and put out an alert for Taylor. So I give them his description and walk around the park, and after 10 minutes I'm starting to get that fluttery bad feeling that mom's get in their tummy when something doesn't feel right, and they called over the radio that they might have him up front in the office. I was so glad to see that sunburned kid! I made him apologize to everyone and then I took him out of the office to go home. I stopped and asked him what happened and those big blue eyes filled with tears as he told me he had gone to the van after coming out of the bathroom and not seeing me (I was chasing after Brendan and he didn't see Rendi at the table 20 feet away) and the van wasn't there and he had been waiting at the entrance gates for over an hour. All that time I thought he was goofing off! Oh, humility and tears for me came and we had a hug and went home! I was really happy he was safe and learned an important lesson about having kids check-in regularly if you let them off on their own!!!



Jacob trying out the slip-n-slide

4th of July was full of friends, family, delicious food, uno games, water balloon fights, a jumper house, slip-n-slide and of course-FIREWORKS!

Watch out! Water balloon fight!


Mean game of UNO

Laura and Mike filling tons of water balloons!

There are kids in there, I promise!!