Monday, September 15, 2014

Summer (according to my phone)

                   STOP!                    Emma's first chocolate chip cookie! No cameras please!


(Sorry these pictures go backwards in time, so you'll notice the kids get younger, but HECK!, I'm not going to spend the time to rearrange them all, so start at the bottom if you want. :)   )




 She loved it, but was still wanting to share with her momma.
 Lots of these.
 Made several batches of this oven caramel corn, but no matter how much I made, it never lasted more than a day.
 The mermaid
 My good friend made us two gallons of chicken noodle soup when we were sick. Emma loved it.
 First day of kindergarten. I know, nice picture.


 I was sick, but Emmie has on her brave face. She was such a sweetheart for the doctor when she got her 6 month immuzations. (at 8 months :)
 We rode on a wagon pulled by BIG draft horses for the Filer Fun Days Parade. (Interesting to note, we had never heard of "Filer Fun Days" until that morning when Barry went on his morning run and a friend asked him to bring his family and come be in the parade! :)  )



 Our friends bought a pool ....and then they left and went on vacation. :) :) ;)

 We went and stayed in Boise for a few days. Barry had a conference, but the kids and I went all over. They loved the River walkway. They found this big chessboard at the hotel Barry was meeting at. The pieces had water in the bottom to hold them up, they were pretty heavy. :) Ellie and James love to play chess. James made some crazy good moves and won. Lauren would move your pieces ...if you weren't paying close enough attention.


 Ellie threw pieces of cookie to some geese along the riverwalk, they charged her!There were about 100 of them. She's jumped off the path and went running and screaming through the parking lot, with a 100 fat geese honking and running after her. It was quite the sight! :) :) A man with a dog came and scared them away back down to the river.  I was able to get picture of her with the few that remained. (From a safe distance)
When Barry went walking with us later that evening. Ellie said to him, "Dad! whatever you do, don't feed those geese!"
Emma loves this castle. It's actually Lauren's, but Emma has laid claim on it. :)
 Barry brought these babies home from work. There was a box of Real Fruit Loops too. I offered James some and he wrinkled up his nose and said. "Mom, isn't that the cereal that makes you throw-up?" I said "Yes, yes it is." He enjoyed a few bowls anyway.

THIS girl is FULL of mischief!
 Lots and lots of homemade pizzas were made this summer!
  A giant Banana squash from our garden.

 Partners in Crime.




 Lots of these were made as well. I still have not perfected it. Practice, practice, practice.
 Coloring pictures for Grandma and Grandpa at the library. The TF library is AWESOME. We spent many many days there this summer.
Too many sick days.

 Lauren is wearing my butterfly necklace I got for my birthday when I was her age.

 Don't worry Em, I didn't GIVE it to her.
 We were up in the mountains and we came around a corner and saw a beaver drag a tree across the road and into the water. It was pretty awesome. I tried to get a picture of it, but I was too slow.

 yep, that's her cute pinky finger.
 At Grandpa Pate's house, hanging out in the barnyard.

 We found a treasure trove of currant bushes at our favorite lake, so we picked a ton of them and made a delicious, but crazy-time-invested pie. I think this is in fact a picture of a strawberry rubbarb pie, we made quite a few of those as well. :)
 Baby blue after her run with Daddy. :)

nuff said.


 Doesn't she look like a doll? I know these pictures are getting older. Emma is wearing the dress Natalie gave her for Christmas.




 Lauren threw a huge tantrum and popped blood vessels all over her face. They stayed red for about two weeks. She looked like a cute freckle face. I'm pretty sure she learned her lesson though.


 Emma hanging out with Daddy. Barry said. "I believe I have spent more time with Emma than any of our other babies." She sure loves her Daddy!




Ellie's 9!

My lovely Eleanor turned 9 this month!

Crazy, crazy, crazy!

Eleanor is the most wonderful daughter a mother could ask for. Perfect in every way.
We love her so much and have missed her a TON since she's gone back to school.

Ellie is an artist. She draws and colors beautiful pictures
Ellie is BEAUTIFUL inside and out.
Ellie is a fantastic reader! She has read hundreds of books this past year.
Ellie is good at almost everything she tries. She is a crazy quick learner.
Ellie is super genius smart, scares me sometimes.
Ellie is softhearted.
Ellie is CREATIVE.

I love you my El Bug. I could not do without YOU!

We took Ellie to the County Fair for her birthday, she got to ride rides alllllll day (Emmie, Lauren and I left early) and until the parked closed that night. We met up with our friends at the fair, so it was twice the fun for the kids. Ellie was a dare devil and went on the scariest ride at the park. Crazy kid! :) I know I took some pictures, but I haven't been able to find them yet. :(


 She got a mermaid costume from Grandma S for her birthday. She was very very happy. I will take a better picture later. This one is with my phone.

My pretty girl.