August update

Had a quick get away to Chicago - 4 hours on the train w/ 3 littles & we actually enjoyed most of the trip ;0) Little guy here cried the last 2 hours but it's all good - we had an awesome time with the Cheese Monger peeps!

I did a bit of painting & woodworking to update the hollow core doors upstairs - I'm happy w/ the results

I found this end table in the burn pile & made it into a play kitchen for Mac! The old one was pretty nasty after having 6 kittens use it for a litter box BLEH

Our wild garden....love it

Our 3 awesome boys soaking in the lake - Zach was giving his beloved some swimming lessons

I guess I was busy or feeling creative or something??  Made these sallopettes for Mac out of an old silk skirt.  Wears GREAT for playclothes & is solf as...oh wait....

another Chicago pic - "The Farm at the Zoo" in the park by JG & AG's apartment (not AJ anymore!).

    Do those handmade backpack thingies make them hipsters?

Papa J getting in his cuddle time

Let's all go buy westies & combis & live on the road, ok?? ;0)

End of November & most of December 2014.....

Honey Bunches got out the art books for Tweeters!  Just what she needed :0)

Science experiments!  Homemade lava lamp...

Happy boy!  His very own Tonka truck!  At 40% off we couldn't resist...

Poor man's Hanukkah Menorah - plastic cups w/ beans from the sensory table & birthday candles!

Homemade jelly donuts - very delish. 

Finished my braided rag rug!  It gets used every day & we love it - oh yeah & that's my huge o pregnant belly! Due any day, just waiting....

Tweeters making chocolate dipped pretzels with Daddy Pops

Jam's turn

HB & the littles having a snuggle

Sunshine cake for the winter solstice - days getting longer now hooray!!!

Winter table

Flash & Jam having a lego night

Flash's turn to snuggle littles

Papa J's bday is the 24th....

...& this is what we got for him!  The how to play manual is like 30 pages long.....

Flash made an awesome dinner for us one night - marinated steak wraps!!  Love the garnish & home grown sprouts, too.  Notice the homemade plate?  Honey Bunches made that for me when she was 4 :0)

Crazy JG came for a visit....had a super hard time getting here & back home & was sick most of the time...but I hope he had a good time hanging out w/ us anyway!  Always great to see one of my 'lost boys'!

What HB has been doing for 2 weeks....the sickness just kept getting passed around...

Lovin' this awesome man!

Train play & coloring

Yippee!  Finally sunshine & warmer weather!!

Making bark boats to float in the mud puddles

4-wheeling with Papa J

How Flash prefers to read

These boys :0)

And, a snuggle with Grandma L

Making our own candles from old beeswax

Overlooking the creek from the hill behind the house - gorgeous

They even brought their lunch!

The homemade gingerbread candle!

Flash showing Charlie & the littles his huge o Marvel comics book/poster that JG gave him!

So now we are just waiting on Baby J #5....he was due 5 days ago....but they come when they come I guess!  Happy New Year everyone!!!

October 2014

Ben's creations get more & more elaborate!

Little brothers are great for hugs, even if they are a foot taller than you are ;0)

The candles Tweeters & Jam made at the Heritage Festival!

Ben started really getting into writing letters this month - so exciting :0)

Good friends all grown up!  We were the "Clarvis's" for a long time!

Of course, little brothers are also good for wrestling matches....Honey bunches & Flash are experts!

Water color in the park

Mama J & Jam

Tweeters putting a clover flower necklace on me :0)

Tweeters showing Jam how to make flower necklaces

BRUCE!

Tweeters at Countryside Playschool, telling about the digestive system ;0)

Jam also started drawing very identifiable pictures this month

Ezra & Ben making black playdough!

Gma & Gpa's new house is just down the street!  Papa J & Flash helped build the whole garage!!

Lovin' the dirt

Papa J & Gpa L on the roof - ack!

MJ, ZK, Flash & Papa J got to go to an awesome Cards game!!

Tweeters had the best sweet potato harvest yet this year :0)  She's been doing these since she was 2!

Fall leaf fun

Reading w/ Gma L

Helping to braid a new rug

Ben set up this tea party during naptime, instead of sleeping!  Very clever though & they played this for a long time!

Me & my girls crafting: Honey Bunches is working on knitting a hat for a friend, Tweeters is finger knitting, & I'm working on the braided rug

An awesome shiner - a leaf raking casualty

Fall fun w/ our "Z" friends!

Tweeters has learned how to darn Papa J's wool socks - yippee!!

Our fall nature table

Montessori ish math - matching roman numerals with arabic numbers & the cursive words

Jam loved the sawdust & big trucks at His Ranch open house - no interest in horseback riding though ;0)

Tweeters loved the horses - and would really love to bring a pony home - been there done that!

A beeswax sculpture of Boris the Dragon :0)

Jam thought of this one on his own - tracing around the numbers & then matching them up in order

Dipping lovely fall leaves into beeswax to preserve them - gorgeous!

One of the trees we collected leaves from :0)