Kid banquets 'n' stuff

the cute chick on the harp was at our table (I mean, she's not at our table in this picture but...). That's Maggie. Her family (Mom and two brothers, surrounding her with all their musical magnificence) played the special music at the Phos/Ontos Broken Hearts banquet. (they also played at the Kaleo banquet but I wasn't there). Talk about sheer talent! And can I tell you, I wish I could play the harp? an amazing instrument...a talented harpist!

This is the table that David, Levi and I served....what a nice group of young people!

Melanie, Sarah, and Annie, as they prepare to leave for the Kaleo Broken Hearts Banquet. Tammy, Bobby and Caroline served a table at this event...Lovely young ladies.

These events actually took place on the weekend before Valentine's Day and yes, I'm way behind.

Sooooo, how are ya?

After a little taste of spring last week, I'm feeling just DONE with winter. it was sooooooo nice around here last week. Birds were tweeting, ice melted, sun was SHINING! it was simply magnificent.

This week, we are back to winter. which is only right, considering it's only FEBRUARY 22nd. seriously?

I hope to get my pix from our trip to the Indiana Repertory Theatre last week to see the Diary of Anne Frank. THAT was amazing. We were four rows from the stage and boy, it was like being in the Secret Annex. When the Nazis raided at the end, whew! it was almost too much...TK and I were sniffling and sobbing. David even shed a few tears...wow.

I'm exhausted tonight...so I'm going to sign out but hope that this finds you well and healthy...enjoying Winter's last attempt to keep hold of us. Until next time...

Levi's All About Me book and a fall delight...

This will be on the favorite toy page in Levi's book....each of my kids has made an All About Me book in their early school years...I think it's funny that Levi chose his $5 Kohl's Boynton animal.

This is the "in front of your house page"...and we will always remember the unfinished aspect of our house. And ya know what? we like it. It makes us appreciate every little step of improvement. And dontcha love my zinnias? ok, got off track...This is Levi's house.

This is for the favorite thing to do page...Levi has been buggin' his dad to put the tent up for about 3 weeks now. It's been sitting in the middle of the lower level floor since then. David is a peach...even though he was getting up super early to work (for the first time this week) today, he slept out in the tent with the olders. You rock, Daveyboy.

And this little bugger? Marks the beginning of Autumn in my book. Nothing gets your house smelling like falling leaves like a pumpkin muffin with butterscotch chips inside! And some crooners softly playing somewhere in the house...ahhhh. Fall, I <3 U! I do. You are glorious. You are welcome at my house any time. (yes, I am talking to a season)

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Can it be official yet?

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Can autumn be here now?

It was actually a really good summer here in Indiana. Very mild. But fall/autumn is less than 3 weeks away and it always catches me by surprise...I always love it. The smells, the soundtrack that goes along with it in my mind....Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, anything from the 40's and 50's. Though the Jerome Kerns CD that Emily gave me so long ago is nifty too....ahhhh.

Get out there and enjoy these beautiful days. I plan to as soon as I wrap up my 8 mi. at the YMCA with my sissy!! Outta here...

deer in headlights goes to lunch

My 3 sons
Said deer (aka dear) in headlights with lovely girl

who is drinking (shhhhh) coca-cola!

Levi and Molls
A great wall plaque

Good Monday morning to you! I know it's cold, and you had to drive to wherever it is you have to drive (Beck, I don't even know where you drive to)...but your long, chilly drive was worth it, you can now view my weekend's worth of posting...ahhhh, does it get any better?? I mean, really, does it? (it is actually late Sun. night, early Mon. morning when I am typing this)

Before I forget, here's a shout out to my pal, Carolyn, who turned one year over 40 today...Happy Birthday to you, girl!! We enjoyed meeting your "friend" at soccer on Saturday. "he's real cute" as we say here in the midwest.

We got adventurous today...went to our worship service, took some lunch to some friends and then went and had ourselves some yummies at Grindstone Charley's...we rarely go out to eat at a sit down place...but we did it all for less than 50 bucks and that is feeding 6 peeps. I am such a blog nerd...I want to take pix of everything and put it on here for the whole world to see. most of the whole world, anyway. The picture of David and Mel is kinda funny...he really wasn't high, he was in quite a friendly mood also!! he just looks funny in these because, quite frankly, he is high...ON LIFE!! The best part about the lunching out?? The above plaque (am I spelling that correctly??)...so true. in so many ways.

I really need to get to bed...tomorrow is going to slam me...and I have got to start planning for our Feb. 7 homeschool club on the American Revolution and the times around then...so if any of you have any good suggestions, say, craft&food ideas, how to dance a minuet or if you could give a presentation on those times, to a bunch of 4-14 yr. old kids, I would be most appreciative...that is my full plate right now...help. heeeeeeeeeeeeelllllp.

nighty night.

(O yeah, Beck, i meant to call you but I had fallen asleep this afternoon and woke up when D. went to work...and by then, had too much fog in my head but I'm so proud of you for working out, pilates-ing with out me...you go girl!!)
this pic is funny because M. really goes to town on my chin...I wonder what she is thinking but I love it!!

Cereal with bananas

good groceries
look at her serious expression...
ah hey, why aren't you feeding me the rest? (I love grabby phase)
Such a big girl!!

Nothing quite like it, really. at least in Molly's book. She had her 2nd experience with rice cereal today...the first was not so productive a few weeks back, as she gagged on it and acted like she was going to toss her cookies. But today....ah today, she ate a little bowl with some organic baby nanners in it and she pretty much yucked it right down! Ohhh, my baby is growing up. She has survived on only her mother's milk for the past nearly 6 months of her life (and before that, off of me as well)!! She seems to be going thru a bit of a growth spurt of late, always hungry-ish, gnawing on her hands and such, thus the introduction to Earth's Best organic rice cereal. A new chapter in her new little life.

Ok, she's crying right now. upset tummy? hope not.

enjoy these fresh from the "farm" pix! outta here...

More from the weekend

yes, this is Ethan...he was kinda far from me but action all the same
My omelet king...working his magic
David makes a mean omelet!!
Here is the one he made for me, with tomatoes & I got to use Mel's plate
This is actually from last weekend but how cute is she?

So I had a few more pix that I wanted to post! I know it seems I really do have too much time on my hands. But I don't. This is my stress relief. Therapy if you will.

We had a really busy but nice weekend. Yesterday, we went to the church service at Life Point...David and the big boys went to help Jeff move into his house and I went home to clean. Yah! It was such perfect weather for walking the canal downtown so we planned to do that later on in the evening. Before we left, we all ate some steel cut oats...mm mmm good. no. and I think all they did was make us even hungrier when we were out walking (3 miles, mind you). The canal is beautiful. I will have to post some pix of it on here...I will check my archives and see if there are any pix you might like. Anyways, David blessed us all with an omelet when we got home. They are sooooooo scrumptious! Lots of tomatoes, cheese, and hashbrowns in 'em. Love' em, love 'em, love 'em.

Ok, I'm outta here...hope this finds you well.

p.s. I just realized that I didn't post any pix of Melanie...we still love her...she just never combs her hair so I'm not taking anymore pix of her. just kiddin. about not taking anymore pix of her. but she really doesn't comb her hair often.

A loverly Autumn treat...a scratch and sniff post.

dressed
Undressed and ready to eat...

My good friend, Donna, made these for us...a spicy harvesttime treat. and it makes your house smell spectacular!

Ya take one spice cake mix

Then ya take one can of pumpkin (not the pie filling, since the cake mix has all the spices you need).

Then you moosh them all together, stirring the mixture up very well and put them in cupcake tins, preferably with the little muffin papers, so you don't have to scrub your cupcake tins (right, Donna??)....

You could add just about any sweet treat to these goodies but take them out of the oven (after cooking them at 350 degrees for at least 15 minutes, watching them, of course) and put a nice sized dollop of cool whip on top and oooooooo the smells and tastes. My cousin walked into the house while we were baking them and said it smelled like autumn in our house...it is so stinkin' easy too...you will love it because it's not too strong either way in the spice cake or pumpkin department. I don' t usually like pumpkin flavored stuff either. nor does my lovely sister, who gobbled one of these bad boys right up...you go, B. (you are growing up, my dear) :) ;) :P

all right...just wanted to share this with you all! wish you could smell it right now! chow...