life at our house

the garden

2011-08-03T21:34:00.000-05:00

We picked these from our little raised bed garden this week. We used one zucchini already for zucchini bread. :)

butterfly footprints...

2011-08-01T15:21:00.001-05:00

My mom just emailed me this super cute idea....we had fun making butterfly footprints today! :)

brotherly and sisterly love... :)

2011-07-06T00:49:00.001-05:00

A Walk to the River

2011-06-19T09:31:00.018-05:00

Visiting day...

2011-05-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

We stopped in to visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa in their court yard garden today.

Nap time for ducklings..

We loved watching the ducks...This busy mama duck was sitting on 13 ducklings!

K and Grandma Bee...

Spring flowers

We also stopped in to see Miss Virginia...(The lady that use to live in our house) She was as sweet as ever and informed us that she will be turning 99 this summer! :)

Ready to dance...

2011-05-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

Rainy Day Play...

2011-05-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Very pleased with the worm he found...

A closer look...

Mud puddles are fun...and now it's bath time!

National Museum of Play...

2011-03-21T21:12:00.000-05:00

Kids, kids and more kids....

Little music lady..

Dance Party...

Little J in Tinker Toy Land..

Sesame Street!

And that's today's news...

Snowy day

2010-12-16T20:04:00.001-06:00

WelcomeToOurScrapbook

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

2010-12-16T19:40:00.000-06:00

Lots of little Indians...

R was very proud of the Indian pottery he made..

Thankful for wonderful teachers.

~WelcomeToOurScrapbook~

Leopards,Legos, Honey Bees, and Lady Bugs...

2010-10-31T16:33:00.001-05:00

Playing in the leaves...

2010-10-15T16:30:00.000-05:00

A walk in the woods...

2010-10-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

Our happy car full of kiddos..

Going on a hike...touching the soft green moss.

R was so excited...he told us that he had never been on a walk in the "jungle" before! He was wondering where the lions and tigers were... :)

L loved dancing in the crunchy leaves and sunshine..

We didn't see any lions and tigers but it was a fun family hike!

Amazing Arthropods Zoo Class...

2010-09-14T21:34:00.001-05:00

We love going to homeschool zoo classes! This time the kids learned about and got to touch a tarantula, a lobster, and giant hissing cockroaches!

L was very brave and pet the lobster!

Everyone made a paper plate lobster project to take home.

Welcome to 2 new little ones!

2010-08-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

Yeah, if you've been wondering....here are two of our precious little "reasons" that we haven't posted anything on our blog lately! :) In July our family decided to open our home to a foster son and daughter, R (a handsome and sweet 3 year old boy) and L (a beautiful and spirited 2 year old girl) increasing our family to 6! We don't know how long they will be with us yet, but they seem very happy to be with us and we are loving every minute with them.

At the beach...

2010-07-31T22:30:00.003-05:00

We enjoyed our little trip to the lake sooo much! This beautiful spot in the Adirondacks had a quiet peaceful beach with picnic area, sand, swimming, kayaks, and practically no internet or phone connection. How could it get any better? :)

New family member..

2010-06-29T00:50:00.001-05:00

Meet our newest family member...Angelina! She is a very spoiled Texel Guinea Pig and she loves to climb up to K's shoulder and cuddle. She started off looking like a hamster at 3 weeks old, and she is growing bigger every day! She is sooo soft and sweet and we think she is going to have long curly hair when she grows up! :)

She even fits in Daddy's shirt pocket...but probably not for long...

T-ball

2010-06-29T00:26:00.001-05:00

K loved playing t-ball sooo much this year! He really learned a lot and made lots of new friends. :)

Ballet..

2010-04-29T23:21:00.003-05:00

J was so happy to start her career in Ballet! ;) She told me that she has been practicing for this her whole life!

We wondered if she may be a little nervous for her first dance recital on stage...

but she wasn't at ALL! :0D

Saying goodbye. :(

2010-04-28T22:49:00.001-05:00

A recent, dear friend has just passed on. Squeaky Wilbert, the first furry friend of our family, contracted a sudden illness and, despite vigilant and prayerful efforts, the Lord called him home.
He was so friendly and patient with "his" kids, who are in deep mourning. His favorite foods were green peppers and orange carrots. He squeaked whenever the fridge opened, the vegetable drawer was opened, and/or a plastic bag was ruffled. He will be sorely missed. No visiting or calling hours. Donations to the Humane Society.

Rain Forest Zoo Class

2010-04-15T20:12:00.002-05:00

This week's zoo class was all about the rain forest. We learned about the different layers (the forest floor, the canopy, and the emergent layer), we got to see and touch several different rain forest animals and learned about which part they live in.

This is Joe the Hyacinth Macaw...isn't he beautiful? We learned that he lives in the emergent layer of the rain forest.

K holding the giant hissing cockroaches... (they live on the forest floor).

This is a rainbow boa constrictor...up to more mischief, he took the zoo teacher's keys out of her pocket! I'm pretty sure this is the same naughty snake that bit the zoo keeper here, but fortunately he had better behavior today. :)

Last, we made rain forest flowers out of paper and then we made a "rain forest web" with string to show how all the different things that live in the rain forest are connected and important to each other.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:38:00.001-05:00

egg-dye shirts...

2010-04-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what to do with that Easter egg dye when you're done coloring eggs?

We decided to tie-dye t-shirts... First we sectioned the t-shirt randomly with rubber bands.

Then we spooned the left-over egg dye onto the t-shirts until they were completely soaked with bright colors.

Then we removed the rubber bands and hung them up to dry...

We love how they turned out!

A lovely Spring walk

2010-04-02T19:10:00.001-05:00

It was 83 degrees today, which is warm for our area this time of year! On our walk we saw a musk rat, several turtles, geese and a snake!

Fun at the circus...

2010-03-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

Loving five...

2010-03-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

This is our blue eyed, spice of life, five year old otherwise known as "Babycakes". Her favorite colors at the moment are purple and green...but are subject to change depending on the day or her mood... She is a little fashion girl who LOVES wearing leopard print things, fancy dresses, sunglasses and hats.

When she grows up she wants to be a "popsicle truck driver" so that she can deliver popsicles and ice-cream to all her friends and family. She also would like to be a princess and...

most recently she is considering a side career in bee keeping (see bee keeping protective gear below)...so she can collect honey for her daddy's tea!

J, I love how colorful, imaginative, spicy, and sparkley you are! I love that you are such a great daughter, sister, and friend!

Life as a six year old...

2010-03-07T22:18:00.000-06:00

Have I ever mentioned how much we love this kid? He is such a little ray of sunshine wherever he goes! He loves life and can't get enough of it! He is the one and only morning person in our house... He is fun and playful and kind.. He is an amazing big brother...

When he grows up he wants to be a veterinarian, a firefighter, a teacher, a musician, a rocket engineer, and an angel....oh yeah, and in his spare time he would like to be a cashier at WMart! He is also planning to have 8 children (4 boys and 4 girls) and his happy family will live in a tree house in our backyard!

Although we love watching you grow, K , sometimes we wish you would stay six forever!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T19:51:00.000-06:00

Writing letters and making cards for grandparents and friends...

With lots of love...

A Valentine Party with special friends and goodies...

Happy heart day!

A Visit to The Carousel Museum...

2010-01-03T07:37:00.000-06:00

Grandma suggested that we go to visit the Carousel Museum...And we loved it! :) This beautiful Carousel was built in 1916.

We learned that at 10 rotations per minute, it was originally intended to be a thrill ride for adults! (Notice the wild looking faces on some of the hand-carved horses)

our new family member...

2010-01-01T23:59:00.001-06:00

Thought you'd like to meet our extremely spoiled little critter... This is, as K has been telling everyone, his "first real out-of-water pet". :) He has been getting tons of loving attention and has been feasting on all sorts of veggies, especially his favorite.. peppers.

The kids have been trying to decide on a name... J really wanted to name him "Squeaky", and K wants to name him "Wilbert"...So I guess it's Squeaky Wilbert....although he usually just gets called "Piggy".

Welcome to our family, Piggy! :)

Christmas Dolls..

2010-01-01T00:12:00.003-06:00

Did you ever have dolls like these? They were a favorite present given to me by my mom and dad when I was little. They came with the names "My Friend Mandy", and "My Friend Jenny" :) ...made by Fisher Price. My parents saved them, and I got to give them to MY little girl this Christmas. It just so happened that J put "doll" on her wish list this year, and she had not yet seen these...so it worked out perfectly!

They came with a little closet full of doll clothes that were lovingly made by my mom. J has been having fun dressing them in all the different outfits.. Maybe she'll be able to give them to her little girl someday? :)

Christmas Day At Our House...

2009-12-31T21:40:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful happy Christmas where we stayed in our pj's all day, opened presents, played games, ate yummy food, and relaxed with family..

Grandma Bee made an angel costume for J...she is SO delighted! Can you tell? :)

Under our tree we have a wonderful bunch of carefully wrapped "surprises" from K and J.. J had fun wrapping up a mint, and a beautiful heart and pipe cleaner bracelet, and pictures that she made.. K passed out some presents that he made.. a lego Christmas tree and star, a nativity picture with a sparkly star, and an angel with hand print wings. What special presents! :)

Reading stories with Mom Bee...

Grampy reading the story that J wrote..

Auntie Heather is a good photographer..

Uncle Matt..

Merry Christmas Barley! :)

and Ivy!

our happy little thanksgiving pumpkin...

2009-11-25T22:55:00.001-06:00

That tooth finally came out, and somebody is way too excited about the tooth fairy tonight ;)

A four year old day... :)

2009-11-23T23:53:00.001-06:00

Uh-oh...somebody has a loof toof! :)

2009-11-23T23:02:00.001-06:00

Take a look at this cute smile...it's going to be changing soon...and a certain little six year old is very excited about it!

Fall At Our House

2009-10-11T22:51:00.008-05:00

Hiking Trip

2009-10-03T19:43:00.002-05:00

Today we packed up apples and home-made granola bars, and went on a hike.

It was a little on the cool side, but the leaves were almost at peak and beautiful!

Our little hikers had so much fun exploring in the woods! This tree has rectangle shaped holes in it from pileated woodpeckers...

We ended our trip with hot apple cider.

Fall Leaf Window Decorations

2009-10-01T23:04:00.000-05:00

First we chose leaves from our yard, and traced them with a Sharpie on to wax paper.

Then we traced the lines with Crayola Window FX black paint..and filled it in with colors.

We let them dry and then stuck them to our window.

Want to earn money for surfing on the web?

2009-09-25T18:06:00.002-05:00

I just decided to try this widget. Sign up, and you can earn money to spend on gift cards, prizes, music and tons more. I've been on it for about 4 days now and have already earned 16. I think I'll save up for Amazon gift cards! :)

Butterfly Kisses

2009-09-08T13:06:00.005-05:00

Fun to be four!

2009-08-27T19:15:00.007-05:00

I will admit that some days it's hard to capture this one without a blur! Way too much fun she is!

Life is great when you're six...

2009-08-27T17:20:00.008-05:00

Swimming Lessons

2009-08-22T17:45:00.004-05:00

The kids loved swimming lessons so much this summer! K and J have learned so much from their teachers.

J likes being tied up in a noodle.

Back floating boy...

J found out that this was her last day, and burst into tears! :( We'll definitely be back next summer!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-08-11T18:50:00.000-05:00

We decided to try going out to a Japanese Hibachi grill for Jeff's birthday... We didn't expect it to be quite so entertaining! Our chef was very talented at juggling utensils...
and making "volcanoes" out of onions... He put on quite the show! K was entranced, and amazed, while J was not so thrilled about the huge flame at the grill. She hugged me tight and covered her ears most of the time, but LOVED talking about it afterwards!

The chef had fun making faces in our food, and loved making the kids laugh!

The food was delicious! mmmm. Avocado sushi!

Happy Birthday Daddy/Jeff! We love you so much!

Enchanted Garden..

2009-07-28T12:52:00.003-05:00

These Creativity For Kids kits are fun! This is the "Enchanted Garden" which is now growing magic beans in our window sill.

The little gnome loves to play in the dirt, and has daily adventures! :)

Write On Your Walls!

2009-07-27T10:32:00.012-05:00

Check out this fun and easy way to decorate and personalize your home, apartment, business, or dorm room! You can even design your own wall creations on this website! If you are decorating an apartment or a dorm room, this wall art is completely removable, and won't damage the wall!

I'm looking forward to doing this in my own home soon...I love it!

http://wallsthatwelcome.blogspot.com/

butterfly garden

2009-06-27T22:56:00.002-05:00

We love visiting these gardens. We especially love the butterfly garden!

J thinks the caterpillers are "soooo cute!"

K was very pleased to find a friendly butterfly!

a lovely spring day

2009-06-05T17:24:00.008-05:00

Backyard Critters...

2009-06-05T12:24:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day

2009-06-04T10:16:00.007-05:00

Our 6 year old boy...

Watching the parade with Grandma..

Grampy's Birthday..

2009-06-03T22:26:00.007-05:00

Making birthday cards outside in the sunshine... Grampy is going to love these! :) K is making his with lots of happy orange and yellow...J is very proud of hers...it has a picture of Grampy on it...fuzzies and all!

Doesn't it look just like him? :)

Happy Birthday Grampy! We love you!

dandelion magic

2009-05-12T22:04:00.008-05:00

Sunflower Project

2009-05-12T21:19:00.005-05:00

We decided to join the Great Sunflower Project this summer. It's a research project being done by some professors at San Francisco State University to study honey bees.

Planting seeds...

Add a little sunshine.... :)

After the Sunflowers bloom, we will watch for bees and then log on to the website to report bees that visit our sunflowers.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T19:25:00.000-05:00

We made pretty eggs yesterday...

Excitement!

Cuddle time with Grandma (Mom-Bee)

Reading stories with Great Grandma...

Daddy lovin'...

Happiness...

Bird Nest Cookies...

2009-04-11T23:07:00.010-05:00

These were fun to make! :) One 12oz pkg butterscotch chips and 1/3 cup peanut butter melted and mixed with a 6 oz pkg of chinese noodles.... Little speckled peanut butter m&m eggs in the middles. (Let cool in the fridge)

Happy Easter!

for the birds...

2009-04-11T22:38:00.003-05:00

Today we went to Lowes to do the Build and Grow Project...bird houses!

These kids are getting really good at pounding nails!We are going to have happy birds in our yard!

The big little race...

2009-03-25T20:49:00.000-05:00

K and J are so excited about the Awana Grand Prix! We went to Grampy's dental lab to have him carve out K and J's car designs with his special tools... Thanks so much Grampy!

K wants a flat car. He thinks that will make it very fast! :) J wants hers to be pink, and to have fast wheels!

At the race there were so many amazing cars!! K named his car "Rocket Shuttle 1000", and J named her's "Sparkle".

The race track...J showing
Look at those fast cars! Everyone had so much fun! Cousin C's car "Monster" won the fastest car award! Yay C!! :)

A sunny day at the river...

2009-03-24T13:28:00.005-05:00

A Friendly Rainbow...

2009-03-24T13:13:00.004-05:00

J was very pleased with the rainbow she found coming into Grandma's kitchen window this morning!

Books, Books, And More Books!

2009-03-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

With these little bookworms, we can't seem to leave the library with only a few books...

This book was one of our favorites this time...check it out, it was adorable!

Saint Patrick's Day Parade

2009-03-14T19:46:00.003-05:00

We took the subway into the city today...
These escalators are WAY too high for my taste!
What a beautiful, sunny day for a parade!
Tons of people, tons of green!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Chalk And Sunshine

2009-03-11T19:05:00.000-05:00

Silliness...

2009-03-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

J's Hair Salon

2009-03-06T17:53:00.000-06:00

Oh, Daddy, you're so cute, and your hair is pretty!

You need to go to work in ten minutes? No problem!

If I can make Daddy this handsome, just think what I can do for you! :)

I hope Daddy gives me a good tip! ;)

a new dress...

2009-02-23T21:05:00.007-06:00

We made one of J's dollies a new dress today..(this doll she named "Emmawahf"!) It's a very simple dress, but J is very pleased! She says that Emma likes her new dress too! :)

sleepover...

2009-02-22T22:19:00.000-06:00

We love having cousin C with us this week!

a little love...

2009-02-14T12:56:00.000-06:00

I LOVE taking pictures of my kiddos...can you tell? :) Luckily, they don't mind very much either!

Our Treasures...

2009-01-23T00:32:00.007-06:00

Our baby girl is 4!!!

2009-01-17T22:32:00.001-06:00

J has been talking about her "giraffe birthday" for months!

I usually just surprise my kiddos with a birthday theme... but this little request was just too cute! She wanted a party with family and friends, and cake with giraffes, and 4 candles! :) Mom Bee made these adorable giraffe cupcakes.

We had her party at the birthday party room, at a local church with lots of special family and friends.Lots of little monkeys next to the big tree...
What a happy, busy day! She was sound asleep by the time we got home!

Love you sweet 4 year old girl!

Once upon a time, not too long ago...

2009-01-14T00:37:00.002-06:00

Four years to be exact...This miracle baby girl was born.

And look how she has grown into such our "spice of life" girl!

Happy Birthday Babycakes!

Ten Years?!

2009-01-01T17:19:00.021-06:00

Ten years ago...

Ten years later, we went out to lunch on our anniversary. It's hard to believe that this much time has gone by! Mmmm...sushi! Kind of a tradition started on our first date. Bet you can't guess which order is mine, and which is Jeff's... ;)
See the beautiful custom made jewelry that my sweetest husband in the world gave me for our anniversary? He helped design it with 10 pearls, and a pretty locket... I LOVE it! :) Thanks Babe!

Family Time...

2008-12-27T16:07:00.002-06:00

slinky angel lady :)

slinky lady and candy cane man...

About 2 minutes after this picture was taken, the candy cane got stuck in J's hair creating much distress! We were able to save the hair, but not much of the candy cane!

More Christmas...

2008-12-25T15:39:00.007-06:00

Christmas Eve at Mom Bee and Grampy's

2008-12-24T20:44:00.001-06:00

Singing Christmas carols with Great Grandma...A birthday cake for Jesus...

Waiting, waiting, and waiting for cookie time!Yummy cookies that Auntie Heather made...

decorating our tree...

2008-12-22T20:25:00.000-06:00

J was very excited about "shining up the tree". :)

Toy Store

2008-12-20T13:01:00.006-06:00

We visited Santa at our favorite toy store today!

Special friends... :)

Snowy Night (video)

2008-12-19T19:41:00.007-06:00

We had so much fun playing in the snow storm tonight!

The next one is a video message for you...make sure you click play!

play phone...

2008-12-19T09:27:00.000-06:00

Now that we've replaced the land line with cell phones, our lovely vintage replica phone is a play phone!

Snow Day!

2008-12-13T00:54:00.002-06:00

Bundled up boy.

Look a all the little footprints in our yard!

A snow angel girl...

and a snow angel!

The Adventures of Baby Jesus...

2008-12-10T10:08:00.003-06:00

The little people in our nativity set have been having quite the adventures lately!
The wise men have been bringing all kinds of presents to baby Jesus including gold, candy, and of course, chocolate!
Baby Jesus has also been sledding with the angels today.... :D

No pink Christmas trees?!

2008-12-08T21:45:00.005-06:00

After a long hike, and an exciting adventure, we found our perfect Christmas tree! At first, J really wanted a pink one! But since the Christmas tree farm didn't have any, she seemed to be satisfied with this green one! :D We're planning to make a special pink tree out of paper later...

Our 2nd Thanksgiving this year...

2008-12-08T10:33:00.005-06:00

Our Family...

Dinner time..

J carefully guarding her apple pie from a certain dog friend...

Bedtime Stories With Grandma...

2008-11-27T23:58:00.000-06:00

making apple pie at grandma's house...

2008-11-27T22:24:00.000-06:00

Start with shiny red apples...

and some willing helpers.

Mix together Grandma's extra special pie crust recipe....

mmm....apple pie!

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ...

2008-11-27T22:00:00.001-06:00

It's so much fun watching my kids watch movies! :D

coupon inspiration...

2008-11-17T22:16:00.004-06:00

Wow, check out this video clip!

http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/the-coupon-challenge

Swimming Lessons

2008-10-30T09:47:00.007-05:00

Saving $

2008-10-20T12:08:00.006-05:00

This is really neat! Check out this story that was on NPR recently...

Playing in the leaves..

2008-10-18T17:19:00.000-05:00

My handsome boys, and below, a lovely leaf fairy...

kisses for you! (Video)

2008-10-13T12:32:00.000-05:00

Make sure you click "play"..this is a video!

At the park...

2008-10-13T00:06:00.009-05:00

Make Way for Ducklings....

2008-10-12T23:09:00.008-05:00

Out On The Sun Porch

2008-10-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

Autumn at our house...

2008-10-10T18:20:00.000-05:00

baby fix...

2008-10-07T22:32:00.003-05:00

The kids and I went to visit a new baby, her 3 big sisters, and her mama today... Aren't they beautiful? :)

Crayon and Watercolor Painting

2008-09-29T23:20:00.004-05:00

In the messy art room...

Incase you couldn't tell, K is painting ducks splashing in the water, a sunshine, birds, water lilies, and a rainbow. Can you see the Monet inspiration? :)

Abstract by J :)

Building Firetrucks

2008-09-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

We went to the building supply/hardware store today for their kids building event. The kids each got to build a firetruck...

It's that time of year again...

2008-09-27T17:28:00.003-05:00

Upside Down Kiddos...

2008-09-27T16:11:00.003-05:00

a melt my heart moment...

2008-09-22T22:29:00.008-05:00

J asked me the other day if she can have a giraffe birthday party, and a bowl full of ice cream when she turns 4! I told her that I that I think we can probably arrange that! :)

Then I said, "But wait! That's only 4 months away! You can't turn 4! You are growing too fast, and you are supposed to stay little!!"

J said, "But Mama, I want to be like you!"