The Cutest Landscaper on the Block

I took these pictures the other night of my Connor.  Since Chris' knee surgery Connor has taken over the responsibility of mowing the grass! Anyone who knows my boy knows that he is the world's best helper.  (I also think that that the $5.00 he gets helps a little too!) As soon as he saw me with the

camera he stopped and posed. :) Is this machismo at its finest???

 "Mom, are you putting this on your blog? Get a picture of me firing the mower up!"

You got it buddy!

A totally unrelated picture but one that I love.  It melts my heart to see this sweet cat all snuggled up to my sweet girl. Somehow (probably by the grace of God)

Katie has fallen in love with Caroline. Anyone remember how she tortured this poor cat a few years ago?  Poor Katie would stop dead in her tracks whenever she caught sight of Caroline and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction! Now she looks for Caroline all day long~I guess miracles really do happen.



Caroline's First Sleepover!

Caroline had her friend Mia sleepover last night.  This was the first time that she had a friend spend the night-she was so excited and felt very grown up!  A few months ago Caroline and I

made flower clips and Mia saw them and wanted to make some as well.  So we did!  Each girl made three clips :)

After we finished our craft the girls gave me a concert.  They came into the family room and sang me a song.  Madyson sang me a Christmas song-ha!

 

 Mia sang me a song from the Disney Channel's new show Victorious.  She was

very dramatic with her performance....the "cape" came off halfway thru

her song and she showed me her best dance moves! Sometimes it

was very hard to keep a straight face.

Caroline was not as confident about this whole singing business so she sat on the floor and sang

me a song that she made up.  She sang it so quiety that I really had to strain my ears to hear it.

I loved their creativity and  their song choices but the best part was watching them out of the corner of my eye rehearsing what they were going to do in the foyer!



 The girls also gave me a dance recital--what a lucky lady I was :)  I played DJ, they danced like maniacs and I gave them a score.  (I find that kids will do anything if I time them or play judge!)

Here they are dancing to Walk Like an Egyptian.  Madyson really nailed this one...!

A little Jimmy Buffet got them into a tropical mood.  They are doing the hula and wearing the

flower clips that they made.



Every competition needs some strategy so they huddled up and came up with

a game plan.  This may have been my favorite part! Some other songs they enjoyed were Mr. Roboto, and Rock Star (Miley Cyrus).



No sleepover would be complete without a movie and popcorn.  This reminded me of all the sleepovers that I had growing up with my best friend Terri. 

These ladies didn't go to sleep until 11:30.  I loved hearing them laugh and giggle like teenagers thinking that I couldn't hear them. 

They are already planning their next sleepover~I'm glad that they had a great time!





5 Minute Ice Cream

Here is something fun that we did yesterday....

The kids made their very own strawberry ice cream!

Here they are shaking their bags for five minutes. Very funny to watch them do this step :)

They shook like mad people, and they laughed the whole time!

 Here's what we got after 5 minutes.  More strawberries than actual ice cream, but they didn't complain

so I won't either.  (I tasted like chocolate covered strawberries~yummmmm.)

I asked Connor what he thought and this was my answer.

Madyson said, "That was so good!  Get a picture of my empty bowl!" 

I forgot...

I forgot to upload these pictures and these are the things worth remembering.  I feel like I have a teenager in the house this year.  This is is the sign Connor made and taped to his door this summer.

It's reversible!!  I think I like this side the best :)  This is the first summer that this kid has discovered the joys of sleeping in.  I remember my Mom "accidentally" running the vaccuum and banging it against our doors at 10 am, but honestly I am enjoying the peace and quiet!

I found this on our refrigerator the other day.  I think this was Caroline's way of telling me that she is missing her friends Meghan, Kyle and Kinsey.  I miss them too...especially their Mom :)

Now I think that we are 100% caught up!

Picture Updates!

Here you go Mom!  My Mom informed me that I was slacking in the picture department :)  This post is filled with pictures so she should be happy!

Last week while my parents were visiting we decided to drive out to the orchard and do a little cherry picking.



So good....they ate as much as they picked.....we ended up picking over five pounds and these kiddos ate every last one of them.



Chris, my Dad and the kids spent an afternoon on the boat with my father in law while my Mom and I squeezed in a little retail therapy.



Our new house came with a trampoline.  I wasn't sure how I felt about inheriting this but I have to admit is has been wonderful!  The kids (and their friends) have spent hours jumping.  

This picture makes me happy...just look at Caroline and of course Connor is in action!



And this is how they look after jumping for hours on end :)  Hot and sweaty but still smiling!  Mia came to spend the day with us yesterday and the cutie on the right is our new neighbor and friend Madison.

Connor asked if he could make dinner last night and boy did he do a good job making "Aunt Pam's Turkey Burgers!"  (Thanks again Pam for finding this recipe, it is one of Connor's favorite meals!)



And here is a little house tour for Pam and my Montana girls Amy and Cindy! I hope one day that each of you will visit and we can sit around the kitchen table chatting and drinking coffee :)

Welcome to our new home!

A beautiful gift made by Cindy.  

Come on in!



Living room

Dining room

Kitchen

Family room

(that contraption by the sofa is Chris' machine to exercise his leg.  Not pretty, but hey..this is real life!)



Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Caroline's room

Connor's room.

Spare bedroom

Kids bathroom

Amy and Cindy....did you see this guy hanging out in the background of the family room picture?  Chris' friends bought it for us and we love it!  Reminds us of all the good times we had watching these beauties in our field :)