Alice the Camel

... has two humps. Really, she does. There's two throw pillows under there. And the yellow broom in the back is the tail.

Hiking in the Canyon

Last Saturday Uncle Trey was supposed to go hiking with us, but since he couldn't make it, we decided to go without him. It was a beautiful day in the canyon and we had the snow run-off filled creek to accompany us on our way. We saw lots of black lizards and plenty of dogs. And we played hide-n-seek along the way. Cute Girl and the Rocket Scientist really got us good - twice!Handsome Face almost walked the entire 1.8 miles. Our poor daddy had to walk back UP the canyon to get the car and our picnic when we were finished. The kids and I just threw rocks over the bridge and played I SPY. Hard, I know.

Rowing their boat

A stack of food storage boxes is just too tempting.

Blanket tents and static-y hair are so much fun.

What little girl do those cute feet belong to, you might ask?

Why, none other than our Handsome Face!
How do you explain to a two-year-old that polish is only for girls? And of course if you're trying to follow your mother outside as quick as possible, it's only logical to put your sister's big shoes on rather than your own tight ones.

Someone's Coming to Visit!!!

Want to see pictures of my cute little brother? Go here.

And he's coming to visit tomorrow!!!! Yippee!!! I don't know who's more excited, me or the kids.

Post Script: Correction. He's not coming tomorrow. He hurt his back playing volleyball at FHE and now he's got to go to therapy on Friday. We're all bummed.

Life this week

On Monday we had the Porters over to play. We love the Porters. The playdate was per Cute Girl's request. The kids ran around like crazies, I got some chit chat, and the Rocket Scientist even came home early enough to cuddle Baby Blythe. Did you know he loves babies and I don't? Although Blythe isn't really a baby, baby anymore so I kind of like her.

Tuesday morning we spent all day running errands. The kids were actually pretty good so I took them to McDonald's for lunch. On the way out I saw the worst tantrum I've ever seen from Cute Girl. She had to go to her room for nap time and was grounded for two days. So on Wednesday we couldn't go to the neighborhood picnic which hurt no one but me because I was the only one who knew about it.

We had a great St. Patty's Day. Everyone got up and wore their green and Cute Girl didn't match in the least. I made the kids green pancakes after their Dad was at work because he won't eat anything that's not it's natural color. Supposedly Cute Girl wanted to do a St. Patrick's Day craft but after I showed my suggestions we ended up making an airplane out of a diaper box and a boat out of a 2-liter bottle. Go figure. Dinner was beef stew but I nixed the Irish soda bread (my favorite part!) because we have so much bread in the house already. It is nice being married to a baker. And I didn't take a single picture all day.

Yesterday we went with all our neighborhood friends to a local ranch and had a giant barbecue, or pitch-in as we'd call it at home. I took only Indiana cuisine - sweet baked beans, broccoli casserole, and peanut butter fudge. I'm going to be in heaven at lunch time, eating all the leftovers. And I must admit that I felt a little like Ma in Little Town on the Prairie, making my baked beans and letting them sit in the oven all morning. Maybe someday I'll try making them from scratch.
Handsome Face had a ball at the ranch, seeing all the "mama cows" and "daddy cows" and "baby cows" and the horses and dogs. Cute Girl never left my side except to go check on her brother. If I was wearing a skirt I think she would have been clinging to it. Our lunch was delightful and fun and our host, Micaela, served us her grass-fed beef. So yum. I never did eat dinner last night; I was so full. I might go on a water fast today to cleanse my system.

My children woke up today and tricked me into watching a movie. Not sure how that happened...

But we're spending the rest of the morning outside. I've got to prep my garden for tomorrow I'm planting my tomatos!

Because I have nothing else to post, here are my cute kids reading their library books. I think Handsome Face needs a haircut, don't you?

If you feel like shopping...

If anyone wants to get some accessories from Sweet Abigail's I have some coupon codes.

I had a birthday

I'm a year older. Woohoo! My husband gave me the nicest birthday. I didn't have to cook once (did you know I hate cooking?) or touch a single dish and the kitchen was still clean when I went to bed. Priceless.
My grandma's chocolate sheet cake was my brother's favorite and Chase's 18th birthday was the day before mine so we had the cake for my birthday. It turned out yummy. In fact I just ate another piece.

I got tons of lovely cards and gifts from all my best people but this was definitely my favorite. My husband got me a necklace from The Vintage Pearl.

Why? Why? Why?!!!!!!

My baby has a fever. Again. Will it never stop?

More Family

Great-grandma Ray, Aunt Merri, and Cousin Cameron came to visit while we were in Indiana. The kids always like it when Cameron comes.

Opening presents from G'ma Ray. The doll moves, laughs, and cries. She LOVES it.

Visiting Grandpa's fire station again. Of course we had to try driving the trucks.

Riding the go-cart around the fire trucks
The kids with my cousin Cameron
All the girls