Coming Soon . . .

Makenna received a coupon for her birthday to send for butterfly larve. We waited until school was over so she could watch them a little more throughout the day.

Here are a few pics of the progress so far: (I took pictures at the end of each day.)

Day 1: Small larve arrived.

Day 3: Larve had almost doubled in size.

Day 4 1/2: The larve were moving to the top of cup and starting to turn into chrystalids.

Day 5 1/2: We moved the chrystalids to the Butterfly Garden canopy where they will turn into butterflies within a week.

Butterflies . . . coming soon!

Madi's Funny Story

Daddy has been working late the last few days which means the kids do not get to see him. Their behavior tends to change, and we all get a little testy.

I am trying to keep their sleep schedule from getting off too much during the summer. Meaning I wake them up at a certain time in the morning although they would love to sleep in. If they do sleep in, they are not tired when it is time to go to bed.

Wednesdays are hard with church especially since Mommy had to practice afterwards. Madi was at the end of her rope when we returned home. I instructed them to get their pjs on, eat a snack and do all their bathroom activities. Afterwards, I walked Madi down the hallway to her room because she had already had a partial meltdown over her pjs. As we walked, I quietly told her to go to sleep right away so she wouldn't be crabby and tired tomorrow.

Daddy didn't get home too much after I got the kids laid down, so when he walked in the door, I asked him to go tell the girls good night. I even said I'd let them sleep in if they wanted to get out of bed to spend time with him.

It was only a couple minutes until Daddy returned from their room. He said he had given Makenna a hug and said goodnight. Madi was next. He asked if he could give her a hug and say goodnight. She said no. He asked why and she said that she was tired and crabby and needed to sleep! (Too funny!)

Pictures like this make the hard days worth it!

Happy Father's Day!

To Daddy, Pappy & Papaw --
We love you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for all the time and prayers you have invested in our lives. May God continue to richly bless you!

In addition to Father's Day, today is Isaiah's birthday. We dressed him up in his new shirt and tie. He got a lot of attention at church -- what a handsome little boy!

He was playing hard to get and wouldn't sit down for a picture. I had to take what I could get. Do I see a future in music??

There were a few presents to open for Pappy and Daddy . . . one of the things the kids got Daddy was a golf club cover to use when playing golf on the Wii.

Pappy & Nana bought Daddy a small air compressor that he has been wanting for a while. The girls will be thrilled because we can now fill up their pool so they can go swimming.

Isaiah is 2!

Happy Birthday Bubby!

Friday, we had a little get together with family & friends for Isaiah's birthday. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. (He loves to yell "O Toodles" and dance a little hot dog jig when watching the show.)

This years cake is Toodles (from the show). Isaiah picked what box cake mix he wanted -- white cake.

So much for a decent picture of the three of them together!?! This is one of three or four.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you."

Isaiah thought it was fun that we sang to him. He clapped when we were done.

"I picked a good one. This is yummy!"

Gift opening was a bit difficult. Once he opened his first toy, it was all over! We had to coax him to open most of the rest of the gift even though there were more toys.

He did like the work bench! We found it at a consignment shop for almost half the price.

Before his birthday, he had a power screwdriver and 'fixed' everything. He'll have a lot more fun with all these new tools!

The happy birthday boy!

Cousin Halle was wondering why Uncle Rick was taking her picture.

Aunt Jean and Aunt Pat helping Isaiah figure out his new tools.

The weed wacker was a hit! I'll spare him the embarassment of showing the picture of him with the matching goggles. He also received this chair complete with cup holder!

The kids enjoyed some time on the swings thanks to the daddies and Pappy.


Our neighbor, Ellie, joined us. What a big girl swigning on the big swing!

At the end of the night he was ready for bed in his new Mickey Mouse jammies and blankie.

Thanks everyone for a great time and all the fun presents!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink!

It looks like there will be a few installments of 'everything but the kitchen sink' posts to help me get caught up on sharing what has been going on around here. These photos are in no particular order although these are mostly from April. I have just randomly picked photos from my picture folders to share my favorites.

Madi loves learning. She can write the names of pretty much everyone in our family with us only showing her one time. This is a note she left for Isaiah while he was napping.

Isaiah was outside while Daddy was stacking wood. He wandered over by our vehicle that had been moved from it's normal spot. He kept looking at it as if he was trying to figure out how he could get in it and move it back to where it belonged.

We usually let the girls sleep together in each other's bed or on the floor on non-school nights. One morning I found them laying sideways in the top bunk!

Around Easter, Makenna's class had a few contests the few days before break. The students had to guess how many items were in a jar. Makenna won two of the three contests. Another way she is like her Dad -- a numbers guru. Here she is holding her winnings.

I'm making an effort to teach the girls how to help out more so I can accomplish more things in my day. This particular day I wanted to clean my room. While I was working, the kids asked for a snack. I told Makenna they could sit at the kitchen table and have some pudding. A few minutes later Isaiah showed up in my room covered in pudding. Something was lost in translation regarding the "sit at the kitchen table" part. I think it had something to do with the TV being on.

This is one of Isaiah's newest obsessions: picking the fuzz out of his toes. If nothing else, it keeps him occupied for a while. For another instance of this fuzz picking hobby, see this post.

Again trying to take a few moments to work on a project leaving these two to their own devices . . . Isaiah found some chips to snack on by himself since he was hungry.

Just thought these two were cute sharing a couch (a big feat in itself) and reading books -- some much appreciated quiet time!

Okay so this is totally not family related . . . some friends of mine shared this recipe with me, and I had to pass it along.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Bread (your choice)

Banana

Peanut Butter (crunch or smooth)

Butter

Cinnamon Sugar

The idea is the same as a grilled cheese sandwich. (I'm still perfecting the technique of assembly. If you figure out an easy way, please do tell!) So the outsides of the bread need to be buttered. Make sure you sprinkle some Cinnamon Sugar on top of the butter! Peanut butter and sliced banana are layered inside and topped with another buttered and sugared peice of bread. "Grill" as you would a cheese sandwich. Eat warm for best results!

Isaiah is a good eater -- not only in what he eats, but how he eats. He pretty much taught himself. Child #3 gets handed a spoon and is left to figure it out on his own. Don't know if boys do easier with eating than girls, but after my trying to teach my two girls to use utensils, I had figured if he was hungry he'd figure it out. And he did! This picture shows one of the few times he gave up trying to use the spoon. He usually doesn't want to get dirty so he uses a fork or spoon.

Just in case she had to go into emergency surgery (we're guessing), Madi labeled her foot. The O and N are a little faint, and I have no idea what the other letters mean. Don't know what possesed her to do this, but then again, we don't know what causes her to do most of what she does.

Gramma occasionally sends the grandkids money in a card. This particular time she sent $2 for each girl. They each picked something from Walmart to spend their money on. Makenna tried silly string for the first time . . .

. . . and Madi got a "flute". The pjs are my fault, but the dancing, that's all her!

Remember the Free Italian Ices on the first day of Spring? Here are the girls -- freezing to death (it literally as only 30 some degrees outside)! We decided to sit in the heated car to enjoy our ices. What we won't do for free food! Reminds me of the free KFC grilled chicken that we've yet to received, but that's a whole other story.

Isaiah went through a phase where he would remove the couch cushions every morning when he woke up. He and Madi often enjoyed playing on the couch and cushions.

Madi loves to play with my camera. Here she is taking a few pictures of herself. I can't even imagine what is going through her mind . . .

. . . especially with this one! (Reminds me of a few pics Makenna took of herself at this age. I should post a few to compare the two acting silly!)

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Well, there it is! I only posted a portion of what I have to share. But I will have to save more for another night. It's late, and I'm beat!

Aunt Mel's Bridal Shower

Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm! I've created this post twice already, and it mysteriously deleted!!

Going back in time . . . I'm embarrased to say the shower was April 4th. I'm trying to get a few posts out and catch back up. If it doesn't happen this weekend, I just won't have time to post -- with the upcoming wedding on July 4th!

Here is the Briday Party -- Back Row: Becky and Beth

Front Row: Me, Mel (the Bride, my sister) Mary and Katrina

Another FRUSTRATION!! I've edited and rotated this photo a bunch of times.

This is a picture of the table setting. You'll just have to turn your head -- sorry!

The cake -- although not as ordered, it served it's purpose.

The food table

This was taken before the shower with people mingling and not all the food ready. The shower was at Cleveland Baptist Church in the Fellowship Hall. Growing up, I attended this church and my parents and sister still attend there.

"Oh, please let me get this one right!"

Instead of the usual shower games, we asked Josh (the groom) questions ahead of time and during the shower asked Mel how he would answer them. To make it more interesting, Mel had to chew a peice of gum for every question she answered wrong. She did have a mouthful at the end.

Anna my brother Steve's girlfriend and Mom (Gramma)

This is my first grade teacher, Mrs. Engle and my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Jones. It was good to see familiar faces from my younger days. At the beginning of the afternoon, we asked everyone to introduce themselves and say how they knew Mel. It was a very touching time as people shared how they have been friends and part of my family's life for years. My parents have attended CBC since before they were married almost 38 years ago.

Makenna's Birthday

Even though this happened a month ago, I still wanted to post the pictures.

Makenna had a few friends over on Sunday afternoon for a birthday lunch. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we proactively took some Tylenol as soon as we arrived home before the giddly girls started playing.

Makenna's requested cookie cake

On her actual birthday, Nana & Pappy came over for dinner. We had to sit at the party table we had set up the day before for all the girlfriends.

The official "Happy Birthday to Makenna." This is the first year we "push" the actual time. We figured she was old enough to handle it =) No "I'm 8" until 7:28 pm. We took a picture by a clock to document it!

Ice Cream Cake -- her favorite!


We had to switch Isaiah's ice cream out -- poor, lactose-intolerant boy. He really likes his ice cream though! Thank goodness someone makes lactose-free!


I think he asked for "mo" (more) at least twice!

Nana always makes sure the other kids don't feel left out even though it's not their birthday. Zaya received a tractor trailer. (Notice the huge knot on his forehead? Having a boy isn't going over so well for me. Seems like every day there is a new boo-boo.)

Madi received a "bug" latern. I wished I would have taken a picture of the girls going out to put the cat in the shed that night. It was too cute -- them with their little lanterns.