Odds and Ends...

Not too much going on around here lately....at least not anything MAJOR.

 

Of course, a new chair isn't exactly major, but it was  noteworthy to me.

 

So anyway, some happenings:

 

We made a craft in MOPs the other day....

Painted plates.

 

I thought it was super easy and fun, so we thought it would be a great gift for Landon's teacher at the end of the year.

 

He loved to paint!! 

 

All he kept saying was "This is for Miss Mowfah"......Ms. Martha. 

 

Turned out pretty good!

I did the design then he painted all over to add his own touch.... 

 

Bailey finally got a haircut....she looks so purty! 

 

I wish I had a before picture, but some may turn me in for animal neglect.......

 

I am sure you all have seen the posts and comments.....we are having unusually winter-esque weather right now.

 

Makes us feel a little cooped up and tired.

 

One side of me wishes this was NOT part of our daily activities:

Yes, that is him snowblowing after a blizzard....yesterday.

 

But, there is still a small part of me that wishes we could just skip the spring and wet season, since under all our snow is this for a backyard:

We extended the yard and brought in TONS of dirt last year.  As soon as the mud is semi gone, we will bring in grass and make it an actual yard!

 

Avery's new thing is accessorizing these days.  She is a girl, after all.

 

Her favorite is the bungee cords....

 

But anything, like even a dish towel, will work as well.

 

Speaking of dish towels, Landon can get pretty wild and will start whipping it around.  Usually he is told to stop and if he doesn't I start counting.  The smart booger has decided that now that he can count, he will beat me to 3.

Here he is telling me "two, fwee!"  

 

We went to the circus yesterday.  It went well; no huge issues and Landon seemed thoroughly entertained.  Of course, that was partly due to the large quantities of cotton candy.....

Nonetheless, here are some highlights:

 

Avery saying "Mom, Mom, Mom....." I think that meant to come on and let's check this place out!

 

Landon met the clowns.  As soon as he found out they gave candy, he was rather bold!

 

Watching the ponies take kids for a ride..... 

 

Landon had his turn on a pony, too.....not as fun as the elephants he really wanted to ride, but fun enough! 

 

In our seats, sitting nicely....... 

 

....for a minute at least!

 

Remember the cotton candy??  It was everywhere by the time we left! 

 

For just about all the show, Landon sat and watched.......I think it was a sugar coma! 

 

Luckily, Avery gave some relief and napped through most of the first half and intermission!

 

One of the thoughts I have been having often these days is "what am I going to do with the kids once our activities are over for the year and we STILL have snow outside??".

 

Well, we have one option for Thursdays......open gym at the gymnastics school in town!

 

Avery loves the mats.....

 

Landon could spend the entire day on the trampoline!

 

And they both have such a blast on the bouncy house! 

 

 

Hopefully, we will have sunshine soon and we can just play outside!!

 

I have to tell you some of the new phrases around here, too.......

 

When Adam left for work one day, Landon says to me "You misses Daddy?"

He was asking if I missed him, but the way it sounded, I said "Yep, I am Mrs. Daddy".

I liked it!

 

Landon has been making "fowats" under the coffee table......."forts" for those who missed that!

Avery loves to make him mad by pulling them down!

 

Lately, this kid has been wanting to be thisclose to me ALL day long!

The other day, I was sitting down to fold laundry and he sat on the other side of the couch and said "I am sitting here to be wif you......my hat is here too.....on my head".

Good thing the man of the house is keeping me safe!

 

And this one.......Oh my!

If the pantry isn't shut, she is right in there to grab bags of cereal.

Does it look like she has missed any meals?! 

 

Her newest thing, though, is to bounce up and down when she is standing or holding on to something.  I asked her "Are you bouncing?".

She replies by bouncing up and down saying "Bow, bow" with this huge grin on her face.

Stinker!

 

And finally, since I can't exactly get outside to get some color, I have purchased some of this lotion:

 

While it is working to give me a slight bit of color, it stinks to high heaven!!!

 

So if I run into anyone in the near future, I apologize for the odor.......

.....but feel free to tell me I look sun-kissed!

 

Happy Monday!

Isn't she Lovely???

My living room is finally complete!!!  For now, at least!

 

First, I have to show you these amazing pillow covers I got through Feather Hen at Etsy.....you can personalize them however you want and get all kinds of sizes and everything.  Love!!

Check out Feather Hen here.

 

Now, here is the final piece for the room: 

 

Isn't she just lovely??

 

I found her online through Amazon and knew we were meant to be together!  

 

Now the living room is much closer to the image in my head!  

 

Of course, if I keep stopping by Hobby Lobby, I will have redecorated again by next week! 

Call me Lucy

You remember Lucy making the wine on "I Love Lucy"?? 

 

Smooshing the grapes with her bare feet and dancing around with her dress tied between her legs?

 

Hilarious, by the way!!!

 

When the neighborhood ladies put together a wine making evening, I had immediate images of toes in grapes and awkward faces as the fruit squished between each of my toe crevices.....

 

But, good thing it was much more modern and sanitary....and FUN!!

 

It all started with some sampling.

 

Now, lemme tell ya, I have never been a fan of wine and I wasn't expecting this time to be any different, but I may have been converted!!

 

Especially when you make what you like yourself!!

 

You start with the cures and preservatives...

 

Then you add the flavor and yummy stuff... 

 

And you stir, stir, stir.....NOT so much like Lucy with the bucket of grapes and toes.... But a fun apron, nonetheless!

This flavor was the Strawberry Riesling.

 

Deb mixed up the Blueberry Acai.....yummmmmmo!

 

And Katie did the Banana Pineapple....sounds odd, I know, but ooooooohhhh! 

 

Once they are all mixed, we labeled them and then we wait about 2 months. 

 

In between mixing and tasting, we had time to goof off and take some "selfies".

Deb was having a reeeeeally good time!

 

Smile, Tina! 

 

We are an awesome group, I tell ya!! 

 

Hahahahaha, it was a blast doing this!  I can't wait till we get to go bottle it up and bring it home.

I think there will be a block party that day.... 

 

After making and tasting all the wine, we went out to eat (and maybe to take further advantage of our babysitters.....)

 

Liz was a hoot!!!

 

Stay tuned for Part Two when we get to bottle it and bring it home! 

 

Yeah, I know you all wish you were part of the Kingsbury Peeps now!

Bird Whisperer

I am glad my kids like animals.....and birds are apparently no exception!

 

We went to the Home Show today and the main attraction was the Parakeet Place.

 

You get to go in this big room/cage thing and there are hundreds of parakeets!

You buy a stick with birdseed on it and then let the fun begin!

 

Avery was sooooo enamored with the birds! 

 

Believe it or not, Landon started out a bit scared (I mean, birds flying around your head, I would be too!!) but before you know it, he was right in there! 

 

Even on the floor to get more birds to visit.... 

 

And more birds did come!  At one point he had about 10 or 12 over by him and he was loving it!  I wanted to get a picture of him with all his birds, but they all flew off when Hurricane Avery came running over!

 

She went all over the place trying to grab the birds! 

 

I will tell you, that just after this picture, she did grab ahold of one's tail feather and she was shaking it with the biggest grin on her face......kind of cruel, but she just though they were so neat!

*The bird was not harmed with her extra "love" by the way* 

 

Happy faces!!  Notice Landon in the background running by with a huge grin on his face too! 

 

But sorry, kids, no birds for our house!  :)



Taking the Challenge

At the beginning of the year, our church put out a challenge to read through the Bible in a year, 6 months, or 3 months.

 

I started out veeeeeery hesitant, just because I never stick to things, but ended up choosing the 6 month option.

 

I am proud to report that I am half way through!!!

 

And I have to tell you, it has not been very easy, not because I have not found it interesting, or because I haven't learned anything (I have learned A LOT!!), but because I was having trouble keeping up and putting names together and forming a mental image.

 

But, 5 weeks ago, the History Channel started a mini-series called "The Bible".

 

It was AMAZING!!!!!

 

Not only did it personify a lot of the names and characters throughout the Bible, but it gave a much clearer timeline to the whole thing.

 

I don't know if you all realize, but the Bible is not written as a continuous story from cover to cover.

 

The first good bit of it is a story, but then you have several books that are written by certain people who are recounting their specific experience within an event that already occurred. 

 

And there aren't any directions that tell you that when you read!

 

So, I wanted to tell you all that the Bible mini-series has come out on DVD for purchase.

 

And I want to encourage everyone to check it out.  Maybe buy it yourselves, maybe borrow one from a friend or the library, but make sure you watch it!

 

Christian or not, the stories, lessons, and images are wonderful.

 

Don't get me wrong, the movie spans Genesis to Revelation, so there are some unsettling moments, especially the crucifixion, obviously.

 

But it gives such a good explanation of the life of Jesus and the early formation of Christianity as we know it. 

 

If you have questions about the life of Jesus, this is a great starting point for finding answers.

 

Happy Wednesday!

Hoppy Easter....just a little late!

Ok, grandparents, I have not forgotten the required Easter posting!

 

We had some technical difficulties with the computer, and after talking to TWO tech support people (in India, mind you) and BOTH telling me I needed to spend at least $300 for support assistance, I was a bit scared of the computer.

 

But, luckily, we have a great friend who works in IT and after just two clicks of the mouse (seriously, two clicks!!!) we were all fixed up.  And all that cost me was a 10 minute phone call. 

 

Thanks Ryan!

 

Ok, so on to Easter.....

 

The Easter Bunny delivered...

 

Landon was very impressed with the candy IN the eggs...

 

Avery went straight for the candy that was just floating around in the baskets and started eating! 

 

Notice the full cheeks and the extra in the hand! 

 

Soooo not a morning person, but the candy helped! 

 

My little bunny.... 

 

We put a few eggs around the living room for them to find....Landon clearly found them first! 

 

Avery wasn't worried about finding eggs....she knew where the candy was!

 

Then it was time to get dressed up all purty.....

 

Landon loved his purple suit!

 

And Avery was too cute in all her frilly pieces!

 

She didn't care what she was wearing, as long as the candy was accessible!

 

The boys....so handsome! 

 

And the girls...

 

I did manage to get one good shot of both kids, both looking at the camera, and no one pulling parts of their outfits off! 

 

I was hoping to get a shot with both kids, but clearly that was not happening... 

 

Try again....still not happening.  Oh well! 

 

After church, we went down to Mora to visit and have dinner with Jeremy and Sarah, Kevin and Pam, and Mandy, Justin, and Eli.

 

Avery instantly found more candy.... 

 

Landon made sure Uncle Kevin wasn't going to miss out on anything by taking a nap!

 

And he watched Eli skateboard outside.....he was sooo excited to see Eli!!! 

 

Avery the Bunny bonded well with Justin....I am signing him up for babysitting!!  Hehehehe!

 

Well, that was it in a nutshell....now we are just enjoying the leftover candy and treats!

 

Hoppy Easter!