On this day, six years ago...

A sweet little boy was born into our family!

 He started out as an average size baby.

 Morgan would ask to hold him and then quickly say he was TOO heavy. Sometimes she would tell me that Brittany wanted to hold him just so I could hold her. She wanted a girl. She wasn't too sure about this little boy. But she learned to love her baby brother.

 And then he grew...

And he grew, and he grew! One day, the doctor told me I could feed him less. Nope. This boy was hungry!

(Scott, Grandma Verna, Morgan, and Zane)

He was loved by all his family!

I think it was the LOVE that made him grow so big.

Adventures in Cooking

We continued our measuring discussion the next day as we learned to use measuring cups and spoons. We found a yummy recipe for peperoni pizza, monkey bread style. The recipe used pre-made refrigerator dough. Where's the fun in that?!

Measuring flour is the most fun! Morgan and Zane fought over who would get to do that part. Morgan helped me calculate we needed 6 - 1/2 cup scoops to get the 3 cups of flour the recipe called for. Luckily they each got to scoop and measure 3 times. Phew!

Once the dough was ready, I pinched off little balls and Morgan rolled them in the pizza sauce. We piled the GOOEY balls into the pan with chopped up peperoni and grated cheddar cheese. Then we topped the whole thing with more cheese. (You just can't have too much cheese!)

We let it rise for a little bit but we were anxious to get that thing baking. We were surprised when we pulled it out of the oven and it had nearly crawled out of the pan!

The kids were amazed that what started out as scoops of flour turned into such a delicious dinner. Served with a side of salad, we couldn't even finish our pan of "Monkey Pizza" in one night.

Home Ec Class

As part of our Summer School adventures, we learned to sew. I could never get Brittany interested in sewing. She always had other things to do. But Morgan has been begging me to teach her to sew.

We learned about measuring and using the right tools when we measure. (You wouldn't want to use a ruler to measure the distance into town. Zane said that would take us all day.) I sent the kids on a scavenger hunt and they had to find things outside that matched the list of measurements I gave them. We mostly have sticks and rocks it seems, but they easily made the sticks the right length and easily completed the scavenger hunt.

Then, we measured fabric and Morgan cut out some rectangles. She helped me stitch them together to form tabs. 

 

I stitched on the velcro and then stitched them onto the curling iron, blow dryer, etc. cords. I have one very tidy basket now with all the cords neatly contained.

We finished another baby blanket for a new baby in our ward. It looked a little plain so Morgan helped me make pink yo-yos to attach to it. Spiced it right up! (I'm grateful to all the Relief Society sisters that helped stitch this one together!)

 Since the sewing machine was out, I grabbed an old t-shirt and turned it into a cute skirt for Morgan.

 

 I love the stripes!

Hopefully Morgan will continue with her love of sewing as she gets older.

Summertime Joy

The summer is going too quick! It feels like every day is busy but we have done nothing at the same time. Taking all of our vacations at the beginning of the summer has made the rest seem... routine.

We did take a break to take Dad swimming. (The first time in 12 years he has gone swimming with us!)

We found a quiet little reservoir with a somewhat sandy beach. A little bit of paradise on a hot day!

 Zane does not like to get water in his face!

 He was sure that Dad was trying to drown him. I assured him we worked too hard to bring him into this world.

Zane was brave enough to try again.

Morgan loved the water! She suddenly turnned into a fish and had no problem with the water in her face.



 Proof that I was there too.
Cute wind-blown hair, I know.

 We found some shade for a picnic under REAL trees! Zane asked if we were in the forest again. He was a little concerned about wild animals but we didn't see any. Nope. Not one bear in those woods.

 It was a long drive but so worth it! Maybe next time we'll take the tent and camp.

Not exactly a wild animal but the kids thought this flat toad was pretty cool. He's been run over a few too many times!

"Oh, what do you do in the summer time when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool to keep yourself cool or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I."

Childrens Songbook #245



Fair Time

We're usually in Oregon when our local fair happens. This year we were actually here and decided to take the kids to enjoy the festivities. You have to have fair food at least once a year!

It was SO hot! We started with dinner and then went to the animal barns while we waited for it to cool down a little.

 The kids loved seeing all the animals! Morgan wants to to 4-H rabbits next year. Scott was encouraging her to do horses so she said maybe she could do both. Ambition!

 What is your favorite animal? The pigs!

 As the sun was setting, we let the kids enjoy a few rides.

 Morgan and Zane rode the roller coaster together. Then Morgan picked the parachute ride with her friend and Zane found one that he could do by himself.

 

You have to ride the ferris wheel at the fair! (Except for me. Even this ride makes me sick now.) The kids were so excited to ride with their dad.

Hooray for a night at the fair!

Quilt a Little JOY

In between all of our adventures, I managed to put together two baby quilts. I have not made a quilt since I was pregnant with Morgan. (And that one is in a box still not finished.)

I thought, how hard can it be... cut out some pieces and stitch some straight seems. And a baby size shouldn't take long. I even had a friend use her quilting tools to cut the strips for one of the quilts. 

I learned two things - I'm not so good at stitching straight seems and even a baby quilt takes time.

 First, a stripey quilt for a special baby boy. This one I machine quilted.

Next, one that could be for a boy or a girl. This one was a little more of a challenge but so worth it!

I might even try to make another one, someday.

Independence Day Joy

 Morgan and Zane made some 4th of July flowers! Zane liked polka-dots and Morgan liked the tie-dye look. (These were so simple to make using coffee filters and colored water.)

 Our town does the fireworks on the 3rd and we actually drove in so we could watch them this year. We had a code red alert thunderstorm just a few hours before the show was to begin. With our extreme fire danger, I was glad we got so much rain in a short amount of time. (I thought we would need a boat to get into town but the dry, thirsty ground soaked up the water quickly.)

 I discovered that my camera had a fireworks setting. Who knew! It was fun to play with and I actually captured a few of the bright flashes. The kids wanted a video so we could hear the BOOMS too. Hummm... Maybe next time.

 On the 4th, we headed over to a little town nearby to meet up with some friends. 

We watched the parade...

 Gathered lots of candy!

And then went to the park for a BBQ and free train rides. 

It quickly reached over 100 degrees and I was fading fast. We devoured snow cones, and popsicles, and slushies, and LOTS of water and I still felt like I was about to pass out. We headed home.

After a relaxing BBQ, the kids informed me this was the best day ever. 

I am so thankful for the freedoms that we enjoy in this country!