Barry's 38th, Pretzels, and Icicles

Barry turned 38 last week. Can you believe it???

We were wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over budget for the month, so I took the kids to the Thrift store to go shopping for Daddy's birthday. A while back we borrowed a VCR from my Dad, so I took the kids to the Thrift store to check out(buy) movies. At 50 or 60 cents a pop, It's cheaper than Red Box, and we can keep them if we like them. The kids picked out to give to Daddy,  ET(they loved), the Sandlot(they super loved), Miracle on 34th Street (hated). I picked out Ever After(Ellie loved) and Holiday Inn(Everybody Liked).

Oh, and Barry picked himself out some much needed new ties.(not from the thrift store)

SO we had a heck of a movie night for less than 3$. The kids helped my make orange cupcakes("Because that's his favorite color." James will explain.) for Daddy.  Barry doesn't actually care for cupcakes at all, but the kids enjoyed them, and Barry and I really enjoyed not having to share his special blue berry I make him every year.

 Barry's basketful of presents ....presented by Lauren.

 Don't you love Lauren's pink dipped curls? So pretty.
No, I'm not sure what Ellie is doing.

 Happy Birthday Barry, I love you more everyday.

 SEE!!! I was there too. Not quite IN the picture, but I was doing my job.
What's that you might ask?

 Whoever cut up our wood, doesn't know how big wood stoves are, because the wood doesn't even come close to fitting. So I have to keep a real close eye on it.
(P.S. People with IQ's higher than 100 don't do this. You could very likely burn down your house, or at the very least, get horrible burn marks all over your carpet that you have to cover up with a rug...)

 Made these today. I now know a secret substitute for browning pretzels and bagels instead of a Lye bath.
So yummy! Incidentally, don't eat more than one in a sitting, and DEFINITELY don't eat THREE at once.
Owww Belly ache.

 "Please Sir, can I have smore." Each of my children has at one time developed a strong love for raisins. See the Brazen Raisen Thief
Lauren takes measures into her own hands and climbs up in the pantry, get the raisins, gets out a measuring cup and fills it up. Why a measuring cup, you ask? Because one little time in my cooking-dinner-rush, I gave her raisins in a measuring cup, and now it has been deemed by her as the ONLY way to properly contain the much desired dried fruit.





Barry brought in a large icicle from off our porch.
  

For Ellie it was a Septur for a Queen

For Lauren it was a spear to jab with...

              

                                                           and for James, WELL..poor JAMES didn't like it at all.