Face Painting

While the older boys were at camp recently, the rest of the cousin crew spent hours having fun with face painting!  I love this kit by Klutz.  You can check it out at Amazon.com

 

The fun part for the kids is looking through the 50 pages and choosing which “face” they’d like.   The paint is water based and comes off the skin easily.  It’s a great gift idea for kids ages 6-10+.

The cousin crew left this afternoon.

We had a great visit and many memory making moments.

Not even strep throat kept this crew from having a good time!

Between all nine kids there is usually one needing medical attention during each visit . . . remembering the broken arm, ear infections, stomach flu and many a skinned knee.  (Thanks Cathy, for the extra box of band-aids!)

Now it’s back to reality and the thought of getting ready for a garage sale and organizing curriculum for the beginning of a new school year which is just around the corner.

Yikes!

Happy last day in July!

Heather

summertime fun

Our summertime activities have continued.

My sister and family have been visiting from Michigan and the kids have kept us quite busy as usual.

Altogether we had nine kids in ten years and it's been quite the adventure.

We keep reminiscing about the days of diaper changes, two naps, strict meal times and early bed times.

We are excited to announce we are diaper and "sipee-cup" free!

The past week we've been. . .

canoeing,

swimming,

kayaking,

go-carting,

fishing

::deep breath::

miniature golfing,

pontoon(ing),

tubing,

and

sleeping real well each night!

Today was miniature golfing. . .

The weather has been beautiful.

More pictures of our fun weeks together to follow.

In other news. . .

Miss Rachael made THE BEST Guacamole Dip this evening.

Here's her recipe. . .

1.  Smash your ripe avocados

2.  Add chopped onion

3.  Add chopped cilantro

4.  Add chopped tomato

5.  Add minced garlic

6.  Add a few squirts of lime juice

Stir all together and enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

Thanks Rachael!

Oh, and one other tidbit. . .there may be an upcoming "bun in the oven" (or two, or three) around here.

For Lucy the cat, that is. 

We'll keep you posted!

Happy Wednesday!

blueberry blast

Our vacation activities last week in Holland, Michigan included our traditional morning of blueberry picking (and eating). 

All in all. . . 72 pounds of blueberries were picked in 2 hours. . .  We’re getting more productive and efficient as the years go by!

No stroller in the blueberry patch this year. . . .Little A joined the pickin’ crew! 

I think her philosophy was pick two, eat one. . . then another.

This week we’ve eaten our fair share of blueberries as you can imagine.

We keep them on the counter and we all take handfuls throughout the day.

We’ve enjoyed blueberry pancakes and cobbler too.

The blueberry cobbler was delicious!

You can check out the recipe at AllRecipes.com

I had wanted to make a pie,  but the fresh berries disappeared too fast and I needed to freeze a few boxes to enjoy throughout the winter.

Hope you’re enjoying some summertime traditions too!

Happy Wednesday!

Heather

I Do

I do. . .love this summertime season and break from our daily home school responsibilities.

I do. . .love family vacations and the freedom from my daily mealtime duties.

I do. . .love watching my kids play in the sunshine and water.

I do. . .love fans & air conditioning (especially since these hot flashes have descended upon me!)

I do. . .love eating freshly picked blueberries! (72 pounds we picked last week!)

I do. . .love relaxing in the hammock in the backyard.

I do. . .love looking at the freshly cut flowers my neighbor graciously gave us.

I do. . .love having my sister and kids visiting this month.

I do. . .love the garden my husband has once again planted (and the 50 tomato plants!).

I do. . .(hope) I love to can jars of tomatoes!

I do. . .love traditional family time and fun at “the cottage” in Holland, Michigan.

I do. . .love a beautiful summer wedding.

On July 4th we watched my husband’s cousin, Marva, say “I do” in a lovely outdoor ceremony.  Everything from the wedding party,the reception “mansion”, to the flowers. . . was Beautiful!

Congratulations John and Marva!

We know you are having a grand time honeymooning in Thailand!

May God bless you with a long and happy life together as husband and wife.

Happy Tuesday in July,

Heather