School Started!!

School started 3 weeks ago. You would think that I might update my blog a little sooner. What can I say it's been a busy 3 weeks. Especially when I've subbed at least twice a week. I have been getting a little knitting done. I'm working on a cropped striped sweater for Mal. Hopefully she'll like it, if not I know Audrey will wear it.

Here's the mandatory 1st day of school picture. I had to threaten Mal with taking away her phone if she didn't smile.

It's amazing what a threat can make a teenager do. We couldn't take the picture outside because of rain. What kind of first day of school starts out with rain? I'm sure the teachers were wishing for some sun to get the kids out for recess. It eventually brightened up and they were able to go out to second recess.

Our fall will be a little busy this year. Mal is in Cross Country again and has really upped her schedule for babysitting (It's about time she started earning money.). Audrey is playing volleyball, taking piano lessons, and playing in the church bell choir. Miller is playing flag football and just being his regular active self. Plus the nephews are playing football so there goes our Friday nights. (We love watching them play though.)

Breakfast Picnic

We had our annual breakfast picnic this last weekend. My sister Meriam and her family came up to visit. The kids had a ton of fun. We ate, swam, ate, played, ate, slept, ate, went to church, ate and talked. Food seems to play a large part in our gatherings.

Tiger really liked the meal. He was tired afterwards though. Well I think all of the kids were tired. See for yourself.

We had the standard breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, fruit salad and cinnamon rolls. Needless to say we were working pretty hard over the grills.

Dad and Tate had a good time talking about wrestling and teaching. It was also a plus to have Kane and Keil with us to eat. They seemed to chow down on the pancakes. They are growing boys.

It was a great weekend and we always have a great time with the Thompsons. Yet on Monday I wasn't very active. It felt like I was hung over from the entire weekend. I definitely had a few naps.

A wedding and western Kansas

We went to a wonderful wedding last weekend. One of the girls I babysat when I was young got hitched. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. Luckily, the rain held off and made things a little cooler by bringing in some cool breezes.

Here's Carrie and Tiaan saying their vows. It was a lovely ceremony and there is just something about having the prairie as your backdrop.

Of course Carrie's nephew was at the wedding and we all had to get a little Liam time. He really seemed to like hanging out with Mom. She kept him pretty happy and I think he kept her pretty happy too.

Of course Audrey couldn't say the same thing. She loves babies so much, but they have a tendency to cry for her whenever she holds them.

Crying babies really didn't hold Sugar Booger back. She had a good time at the wedding and tried to get into every picture I took.

Kevin had to be the "creepy" guy at the wedding. I just love when he makes our pictures look so loving and respectable.

Finally I was able to get him to be normal for a few photos. It was tough, but I won the battle.

I really don't try to dress Kevin and Miller alike, it just seems to happen. That's Miller's only dress shirt that still fits and well Kevin has like 4 green striped shirts. (Don't even get me started on all of the striped orange shirts. I've lost count.)

I just love this picture of the kids and Carrie. We had a wonderful time with her family at the wedding.

On our way out to Garden City we noticed a new lake had cropped up between Jetmore and GC. On the way back Kevin decided to check it out. Little did we know it was the opening weekend for Horse Thief Reservoir. It was beautiful and will eventually have camping sites. The kiddos thought it would be great to camp there. I told them this was a little far for us to camp at since we have 3 camping sites within an hour from us. Three and a half hours to go camping is just a little too far for me to travel.

I know people complain that Kansas is just a flat piece of land that you drive through to get from Kansas City to Colorado. Yet I don't think those people have ever really just looked at the beauty of Kansas. How wonderful to see as far as you can. I miss this landscape, we've too many trees in our part of Kansas. I guess in some ways I'm still a western Kansas girl.

How could I not be?

"Summ...Summ...Summer.... Summertime." - The Fresh Prince

Our summer is off and running. We're at the ball fields 3 days a week with Thursdays giving us a doubleheader. Both Audrey and Miller are playing and having a great time.

We went and saw Caitlin and her uber cute son Liam. He's one of the babies that I made booties for. Here's a picture of the kids and Liam.

It was so wonderful to see such a beautiful, but BIG baby. He made Miller as a baby look small.

Before school ended Malorie had her Night of the Stars and she looked beautiful. This was her Easter dress, but it did a great job for occasion. It took all of the curlers and bending rods to get the curl in her hair. Unfortunately it was raining that evening, so it was really hard for the curls to stay in.

We celebrated Father's Day a little early this summer with the Miller clan. It was a good time, with good food and kids swimming the afternoon away.

There will be more pictures to come as we go along this summer.

Booties, Soccer and the 1940's... What A Post!

I have 2 friends who are getting ready to have baby boys in the next week and a half. Finding baby boy stuff to knit isn't always easy. Sometimes it gets down right hard. Either it takes way too long to make or it's way to fussy for any respectable mother of a boy to use. Well, I found the boy booties pattern that every baby boy I knit for will now receive.

Forget the baby kimono, the baby bib and never ever do the baby blanket. This is what all the fashionable baby boys are wearing now.

Super Cute Baby Chuck Taylors.

Could anything be cuter and so very little boy but these? I wish I was knitting when I was prego with Miller. He definitely would have had a pair. It even has you make shoe laces. The pattern calls for you to make a felt star patch to go on the top. Yet Kevin in his ever so wise knitting advice suggested that I "just use some white yarn to make the star." It worked. I guess I'll keep him for a little while longer.

The mommies-to-be loved the pair they received. I can't wait to see their little boys in them. Now if I could only come up with a pair of wrestling shoe booties I would be in business. Here's the link to the pattern.

Baby Chucks

Our April was filled with soccer, soccer and a lot more soccer. Yet Miller loved it and the girls didn't seem to mind going to his games. I must say his 3v3 league was a lot more fun to watch than his rec league "mob ball". His 3v3 team won the league tournament. These little guys are super cute and are so excited still about the medal they received for winning.

Yet again too cute!

I can't leave the girls out of this post. One of the schools in town just was place on the National Historical Registry. To celebrate this, the school had a birthday party celebrating the 68th year of the school. During this party they had kids dressed in 40's attire. Well, the girls were asked to dress up and here they are.

1940's cute. Though, Mal wasn't too happy about getting her picture taken. Ha Ha Ha, I won that battle. 

C is for cookie . . .

Today was the annual Junior League Luncheon. Since I'm a member I have to make cookies for the event. (Luckily, we have out-sourced the making of the chicken salad. I'll gladly pay for someone else to make that much chicken salad.) Each member has to make 7 dozen cookies for the event.

These little orange semi-circles were a big hit at the luncheon. Of course this is just the start of what they looked like.

Here's how they turned out. Little slices of oranges.

It's amazing what a little orange food coloring and orange flavored frosting and a bamboo skewer can do. I was really proud of these little bite-sized cookies. They were very good and very easy to make.

This next little one is a cookie I came up with a few years ago for the luncheon. It's a mint chocolate cookie. Tastes like a thin mint, without all the chocolate or Girl Scout packaging.

Here's the lonely little green mint cookie. Setting there all alone. No one to play with, not a single other cookie in sight.

But add a little chocolate ganache to our little green cookie friend and see what we come up with.

Lots of green mint chocolate cookies.

Lots and lots of green mint chocolate cookies. It's like an army of little imposter Girl Scouts lined up ready to be oohed and ahhed by little old ladies who want to have a tea party.

And I had to have at least one more type of cookie to take to the luncheon. My momma didn't raise any slackers when it came time to bake for any event. (Even Nancy has Mom make something when she needs a baked good.) These little things are Almond Snowdrops.

They maybe called Snowdrop cookies, but they look more like Snowballs. Kevin had a few right after they came out of the oven.

"These are great warm, can't you serve them straight from the oven?"

Yeah, Kevin and we will pass out the hot towels right after we serve these. I think he just wanted me to make more so he could eat this batch.

In the end I took 146 cookies that were taken to the luncheon. Of course some had to be taste tested before they were Junior League Luncheon ready, but Kevin and the kids are always ready to take one for the team.

Easter Outfits . . .

I'm not too sure how much longer the kids will let me take a group photo. Each year it gets tougher and tougher for them. I think they always look wonderful, but they are getting too cool for this kind of photo.

This was a photo from the first day of school in August of 2008. See Miller isn't too happy to have his picture taken.

First day of school this year. Malorie looks so excited to have her picture taken. I think I may have a theme with her. Of course Audrey is always smiling in every photo.

Malorie was complaining about being cold this morning. Audrey is wanting to smile, but knows we will be taking another photo because of Malorie's complaining. Miller is just looking up thinking what kind of sisters do I have.

And here is the final picture.

Great smile on Miller - check.

Smirk on Malorie's face - check.

Audrey showing her natural self - check.

Maybe next year I can get a decent photo of the kids all smiling.