Thursday, December 16, 2010

Dates with an Angel

I am sure my boys have no idea how lucky they are. Our wonderful Angel decided before she went back to school she would take them each out on a date. HOW FUN!
The boys were all really excited and looked forward to "their day" with much enthusiasm. In fact at the end of the week there were a couple who asked to go again. It's just fun to spend time with our Angel. I would have liked some time with her too. (I did get an hour or so the day before she left, so I guess I can't complain.)
She took one of the boys out each day for six days. What a fun week for my boys. The best part was the fact that she really took into consideration what each of the boys would like, and really made the dates special for them. She is so cool!
So Monday night she took out Star. It really was a nice thing for him. The demands on his time lately have been really stressful. With school, scouts, the play, church, lessons, etc...it was so great for him to go out and just have fun for a while. They went bowling, had some dinner there at the alley and had a great time. I think it was a much needed night for our Star.
Tuesday she took Puppy. They went to paint. (The nice part about that was that I got a present out of the date. A new Gravy Boat! Whahoo. Thanks Puppy.) He still is talking about how he got to go painting with our Angel. He also got to go over to her house for some dinner . (Just him... A HUGE-LY COOL event in his mind.)
Wednesday Sage doesn't have school, so they went during the day to a museum just for kids. HE LOVED IT. He got to play, and dress up, and play some more. I think he must have been in heaven. This kid doesn't nap often, but he napped all the way home and then slept like a baby that night as well. He had SO much fun!

A lot of thought had to go into EZ's date. He is one tough customer. If he doesn't like something he will tell you straight to your face he wants to go home now! I knew he needed a new winter scarf and suggested they go find one he liked and then Angel had a plan. They went to the mall and ended up spending quite a lot of time there. Angel was great, instead of trying to lead him she followed. He went in a ton of stores, not only stores that would have scarfs but a ton of others as well, and some he just walked in simply to walk in and then out again. He stopped at the play area a couple of times and finally the last store they were going to go to they found a scarf. YEA! THEN...EZ loves their convertible... So, (even though it is the dead of winter) they drove with the top down through the County's Christmas light display. HE LOVED IT! And even insisted they drive with the top down on the way home. Needless to say they were all Popsicles, but he sure had fun.
It wasn't hard to decide what to do with Spike. CD shopping!!! I think in his mind that is the best thing in the world. Angel took him to the book store and they had some goodies there, then she bought him 2 CD's. And then they went to another store and found another one (from Grandma and Grandpa Crimson). He bought these three CD's. He is one happy guy.
Last...but definitely not least...Blue Tiger. One of our local fire departments has a seasonal display of model train towns. They went to see the trains. (He was thinking he was going to have to ride a train and kept asking Angel to make sure they didn't do anything that would go too fast. ~so cute~) They also went to the store and bought a Pokemon toy (the greatest thing in the world) and went back to her house for a little Pokemon game. Whahoo!

So, that was my boys week with an Angel. My how we do miss her when she is gone. Fortunately she knows how to make great memories. Thanks Angel! We love you!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Fun Day

We had an awesome day today. We started out going to see Tangled. How fun!
Then we went and did some music lessons followed by family pictures and ice-cream. (May I just say that I have the coolest friend in the whole world. I called her up last night and asked her to come do some pics for us today. She was not only willing but happy to do so. She is wonderful!) These were two of my favorite pics. No, we're not putting them on our Christmas cards, but I am posting them here. I hope they make everyone happy!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving to my Mom and Dad

It's Thanksgiving Eve...well, no not any more... it's after midnight.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Today...er... yesterday and today I did two things. One thanks to my Dad, the other thanks to my Mom.
Daddy, guess what I did all by myself. Yes it's the back-splash for my new kitchen. Even though you taught me how to do tile, I have never done it alone. You have always been there in the past to walk me through the hard cuts and measuring and such. I missed you terribly and thought of you throughout the whole process. I still need to grout, but the tile is all in and I feel like it came out beautifully. YEA! Thanks for being a great teacher. (Check out my edge on the long wall. It started out with perfect halves on one side and ended with whole tiles on the other. Good planning or just luck? Perhaps it was just a good teacher...) I am especially pleased with my edging. You know me I can't do it all boring and blah. So I made it pretty. The cuts weren't as hard as I thought they would be, and they sure make it fun. I think I need to replace the blade on my tile cutter. Remember how we debated about buying it? It's been worth every cent we paid for it.
Mom, guess what I did. I made pie. Like real pie from scratch. And I couldn't resist making little ones for Dad and the boys, I think I will even let them eat them for breakfast...hey, it's a vegetable! Yes it's aunties crust recipe. (Thank you again for making me that cookbook, I love it and when I want to do some REAL cooking I always pull it out first. I'm also using one of your salad recipes, and of course your stuffing.) I also have an apple pie in the oven right now. It doesn't look as cool as yours always do, but it's from scratch. I can't compare with the master, but I love that you gave me the tools to at least come close.
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I'm thinking of you both in so many ways today!

Friday, November 19, 2010

My Birthday Present

It's almost done! YEA! My whole house is a disaster area, all aside from the kitchen that is. This is what our living room/dining room has looked like the last few days. And there are boxes of dishes and food everywhere. I feel like I can't get anything done simply because the kitchen is in transition. Proof that the kitchen is indeed the heart of the house.I wish I could get better pics, but the space in the kitchen in REALLY tight. Those of you who have been in my kitchen know what I am talking about. It's called a galley kitchen. In other words...tiny! But it sure is beautiful. Here is the microwave and a sample of the cupboards. They have an antique finish I just love. I wish you could see it better in the pics. You'll just have to take my word for it. Here is my stove, some drawers and my beautiful granite counter top. The color is just yummy to me.
My cool faucet. I love these kinds of things, different and just fun! It's on the left side of my "D" shaped sink.
And last for today is my beautiful new light. I hated that old rectangular florescent thing. I love this. It's just pretty.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

We're so lucky!

The other day we were all together somewhere and someone commented on all of our boys. When we got in the car Blue Tiger said, "I think our family is the luckiest family in the world."
I asked him why he thought that.
"There are three reasons. Because we have all boys in our family, because we are Christians, and because we get to stand in a different place in the carpool line at school." (This is because often I am being pulled to the side of the carpool lane to have parent/teacher conferences on a regular basis. I didn't realize it was a cool thing for the boys.)
Then last night he told me. "We have so many blessings, we don't have any more room to receive them."
YEA Blue Tiger. I am grateful that I am lucky enough to have you as my son.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Moon

EZ has been studying the moon in science class. We have been keeping a record of what the moon looks like (at least on the days/nights that we can see it). I always have to look up in his notes or ask the older boys which way is waxing and which is waning. I told them yesterday that I just needed a song or something that would help me to remember. So Star and Blue Tiger came up with one for me.
(It's to the tune of Jingle Bells.)
Waxing's on the right, waning's on the left,
These are phases of the moon you'd better not forget.
Oh moon phases, moon phases,
they are really great.
Oh what fun it is to learn how the sun affects us....
(or something like that.)
The funny part is...it really did help. I can remember now that waxing is on the right and waning is on the left. Too funny.