We're growing rabbits!

The kids have loved having a mini garden this summer. They have begged us to let them pick food. This past week they came running in all excited about a tomato they had found. All I could hear was, "Mom it is a rabbit tomato. Look it has ears!"

They still won't let us eat it. Instead we have a produce pet.

Birthday Cake, Plenty of Games, and a Little Chaos

If you remember Midge's birthday is August 14th. At that time I was in the middle of my morning sickness and knew there was no way I could host an 8 year olds birthday party. We convinced her to wait until school started and this Saturday was the first available weekend.

We had about 7 kids RSVP so that is what we were expecting. When everyone arrived (including Leo and Midge) we had 14!

We started off by having everyone write their names on the cups and then decorate their gift bags. That lasted a whopping 5 minutes.

Right about this point I knew we needed to get some games going.

I don't have any pictures of the indoor games because...well come on Ken and I were referring, and protecting all of our glassware.

It had been raining all day, but luckily we caught about a 30 minute break in the party to go outside and play capture the flag.

Ken was with me and said doesn't this game take awhile. I looked at him and laughed, "that is the point".

The sign is made out of cloth and was made by my mom. I love it!

So Midge drew a picture of what she wanted her birthday cake to look like this year. I tried to come close.

I had read about friends of mine on their blogs doing marshmallow fondant so I thought I would give it a try. All I can say is that this will be the last fondant cake I will be making. Ken said maybe I just needed to experiment with it. Well the next time I have 4 hours and I don't know what to do with my time I will try making another fondant cake. Hee Hee a 4 hour block of time. That is funny. I am weeping from the laughter...

OK grab a tissue. Whew let's keep going. So anyway let's just say there is a reason there are no close ups of this cake.

Thanks sweetie for taking over the camera. See I was at the party.

Oh peace they are stuffing their faces and all is quiet. At least for the next 5 minutes.

The whole gang!

Showing their true colors.

Midge with her loot. Little spoiled sweetie.

Warning Gross Stuff

Be prepared if you can't handle gross stuff don't look.

Midge got a major boo boo this past weekend.

She was helping me in the kitchen make crepes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her grab the pan and start to rotate it to distribute the batter.

In the process she ended up bringing the hot pan up against her arm and gave herself a second degree burn.

We immediately put ice on it. It blistered and popped about an hour later. We called the doctor and he told us how to treat it. The following photo was taken several days after the burn and it is already starting to look better, but it is still pretty gross. Ken said 1st and 2nd degree burns are the most painful, but they don't leave a scar. Well if you can handle it go ahead and look.

Leo's Big Day - Finally!

Leo has been waiting for this day for so long. He keeps saying, "when can I go to the big kids school"?

Midge has been so funny about showing him the ropes and being very protective of him. At least when they are not arguing

Leo was so excited to get Mr. Jordan. This was Midge's old teacher and we love him. He greeted every child at the door as they came in.

Mr. Jordan plays the guitar and has the kids learn a lot of songs. Here is Leo getting his name tag.

The day before Leo went to school Little Miss was enjoying the sunshine and Leo pulled up a chair next to her and the two of them sat there and talked to each other.

It's Been A Big Week

It has been a big week for our oldest. She started 3rd grade on Wednesday. She really likes her teacher, Mrs. Frederico. At first she had heard she was mean, but on the first day she leaned over to me and said, "Mom I just heard her say a joke. I think she is going to be nice." I have heard that as long as your child is obedient she is a great teacher. The one thing about Midge is that, while she may challenge us at home she is always a shining example at school.

My mom bought her this outfit and this is what she wanted to wear to school on the first day. She was also very specific about how she wanted her hair done.

I got this backpack from Land's End around Christmas last year. They gave me free shipping and it was on clearance. I got a great price for it and it is an amazing back pack. I am so sick of all her other back packs falling apart usually after just a month. Hopefully this will last her a couple of years.

Here is a photo of her brand new school. They are still finishing a few items around the school. The inside is beautiful and Midge loves that is is air conditioned. Leo is starting kindergarten, but much to his dismay he doesn't start school until Tuesday of this coming week. It has been hard for him because he has been waiting to go to the big school for so long and he has had to start almost a week later than Midge. The great news is that we found out he is getting the kindergarten teacher Midge had, Mr. Jordan. We love him and Leo is so excited, plus he will be in the class with several of his friends.

This week Midge also started soccer. Today she had her jamboree, so she had 3 games today. Ken went on a back packing trip with the scouts. (He backpacked in his own tent, a raft, oars, his fishing gear, a foot pump - his pack weighed 60 pounds). As a result of him being gone and the weather being so hot today I knew I couldn't handle 3 kids so I hired a babysitter. That was the best money spent. I was able to focus on Maddy's games and not worry about everyone getting dehydrated. It was so hot, but the big killer today was the nearly 50% humidity. Midge did really well we loaded her up with fluids, brought an umbrella for her to sit under, and a spray bottle to spray her and her teammates down. As a result she had three awesome games and played amazing.

She would charge out on the field with such energy.

She ended up scoring two goals. Her first goal won the game for the team because it was the only goal scored. She is the only 3rd grader on her team, because Midge is a young 3rd grader. I could have insisted that she be on the 10 and under team but there are 17 girls on the team. She would rarely play and I like the fact that on this team her confidence is stronger because she is a valued player.

Hanging out in the shade. Look at all those pink cheeks.

I always love that they line the girls up after the game and make them congratulate the other team.

The boy to the left is Midge's coach. We think he is about 15 - 16. Midge has had a lot of fun with him. He is very patient with the girls. The girls have come up with a nickname for him Mr. Fluffy. I'm sure he is delighted to be coaching a pack of 12 girls.

Baptism Day

Yesterday our oldest and first born was baptized. As I thought back on the past 8 years I was shocked at how quickly this time has gone by. During the program I made a movie for Midge that showed the span of the past 8 years and where she is going in the future. I put the movie to the song "What Heaven Sees in You" (the three white dresses song). I enjoyed making it because it helped me get ready for this day. I was able to reflect on where we have been and express to Midge all of the dreams we have for her.

Ken baptized Midge. I was surprised at how nervous she was. She said she just didn't want to do anything wrong. We kept assuring her that she didn't really need to do anything.

Got to love those 70's jumpsuits. It is so great that they have made them out of indestructible material so they will be around for another 100 years.

The bow Midge has in her hair is what we put on her wrist when she was blessed.

These pictures crack me up. We were trying to get a picture of Uncle Patch with the kids.

Little Miss was just doing her own thing.

With Little Miss you get one shot when you tell her to smile and then you just hope that everyone else is ready and smiling - they weren't!

When she did decide to cooperate she wasn't looking at the camera.

And then she's done!

My parents were able to come down. My mother played the piano for the program and my father gave a great talk to Midge on baptism. I liked how he spoke directly to her.

This is a picture of Midge's bishop. Bishop Richardson conducted and gave her the baptism interview. There were a lot more people at the baptism, but we were rushed out afterwards and didn't get pictures. Darrell Hunter gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. When we asked Midge what she remembered from the night she immediately told us about the talk Brother Hunter gave out about Jerry the mouse and Tom the cat, and the decisions Jerry had to choose which way to go. Midge also asked her primary teacher Sandra Hatalla to give the prayer, and our family friend Harvey Carlisle to give the closing prayer.