A slice of peace and quiet!

Actually, there's a very loud youth group running around in the halls as I type this, but it's not my kids so it counts as quiet!


We're so glad Domino's moved to this neck of the woods... (I used to take things like pizza delivery for granted. No more.)


Did you know they have a garlic sauce? Me neither. It's not too bad!

Tawnya, Beth, and Jasa keeping me company as I work!

Prepping for Kjersten's "real" party...

Kjersten is having her "official" birthday party (bowling) later this week. We found the perfect cupcakes for the occasion- bowling pins!

Anatomy of a cupcake bowling pin.

Looking a little more like a pin.

Necessary baby holder. Cynde holding Bjorn who is wearing one of Cael's outfits. Loved that one!

Amber's expert technique.

The ball.

The pins. Don't ask why "Fruit by the Foot" comes in stupid shape/designs... I don't know.

How Rhys eats pizza...

Yes. That's Parmesan cheese. Ugh! (And, yes, he ate it!!!)

Happy Birthday to Kjersten!

In the chaos of the weekend (extra kiddos, no washing machine, dead van, etc..) Kjersten's birthday took a back seat. We had planned pizza & cupcakes with our visiting friends. When they were unexpectedly picked up, we punted. Jason was still gone doing laundry at his parents. (Oh... don't feel bad for him. They have comfy recliners & satellite TV. He didn't want to come home!) Auntie Sara & cousin Taylor stopped by so we made cupcakes and had an impromptu little party!


Blowing out her candle. Couldn't fit eight on there!


Doesn't she look eight?!


Unwrapping a present with her feet?

Who knew the replica MacClaren stroller would be "Cael-sized"? Poor Lou. Now, we're looking for an eight-year old sized stroller. We're keeping this one for Cael. It's perfect!

Weekend with friends...

Our friends, Steve & Nicole, signed up for the Walk to Emmaus retreat. (The husband attends Thursday thru Sunday one week and the wife does the same the following weekend.) Sadly, Steve's dad passed away the Saturday he was at the retreat. He went to his father's hometown to tend to details and spend time with family. Nicole and the kids stayed behind at his insistence. His retreat experience, despite being shortened, impacted him in such a way, he did NOT want Nicole to miss her chance!

So, she agreed. However, the kids can't really stay home alone yet... That's how we got three extra girls for three days! My children loved it. Well... Rhys didn't like getting beat at Wii Baseball by a girl, but other than that, it was great fun!


Cael, Keona, and Kjersten playing with Play-Do.

Ocean boxing on the Wii.

Inexplicably, I took hardly any photos and none of Marie. She's eleven and a fabulous help to have around. I'm looking for a reason to have them back!

Grandpa Tom came for lunch...

Since Cael was rather ill this morning, I smartly cancelled our lunch out with Grandpa Tom... He offered to bring lunch to us. Of course, I said 'yes.' I'm no dummy!


Rhys was busy showing off his balancing skills on the Wii Fit. Here's a picture of his cheering section!


Cael wanted to sit by Grandpa until I got the camera. Obviously, Cael had kept the Tylenol down and it had kicked in. He was in a great mood for lunch. We could have gone to town after all...


Emptying the Wii stuff out of the ottoman.

Now, who's sick?

Of course, George is well again. But no bug in our home goes unshared...


Cael's only nap on someone other than the mama.


This is what 102.7 looks like... Poor thing...

Naughty little thing...

No, I don't know how he got in there and I left before he got out.


Do you know what he's getting ready to do? (I knew... his brothers have done the same thing...)

Well, of course... He picks up his legs and swings. Ack!

Learning to do "girl" hair...

Don't laugh. At my abilities or my picture.

I have a theory. I think if you don't learn to "do" hair before mid-high school, there is no hope. The skill becomes exponentially more difficult to learn with each passing year. According to my own thought process, I'm in big trouble. Kjersten is destined to look like a ragamuffin until she learns to do her own hair.

Well, I'm determined to overcome my inability. So, at her last haircut, I begged Betsy for some ideas. She helped me "do" her hair that day and sent me away with a few styles to try and a pocket full of bobby pins.

We're trying. She's getting more patient, believe it or not... And, the mama is branching out. The other day, I tried parting her hair from front to back and doing just two pigtails. I succeeded. Very cute. On a whim, following my shower, I did my hair the same way. Not so cute. But Kjersten LOVED it!


Here's the picture Rhys took. You actually can't see our hair. Just as well, in my case...

And, here's George who just needed his picture taken.

Still sick...

and the mama's taking advantage. He's actually perked up a bit, but he's still parked on the couch. I figure, by the time he's feeling energetic this afternoon, it'll be warm enough (56 degrees!!!) to send him outside! So, while he's not in trouble-making-mode, I'm trying to get some bigger projects done around the house.

Back to work....

One very sick little boy...

Here's the reason I am home from church and have time to post... Brennen woke this morning bawling. His legs hurt so bad he couldn't come upstairs and he was running a fairly high temp. Poor buddy. His head hurts and he's so tired.

I promised a movie of his choosing when the family left for church. It's been an hour and he can't make up his mind. He keeps opting to "take a short nap" with the plan of picking a video when he wakes. We've cycled through the "doze... try to choose... doze... try to choose" a few times with no luck.

For now, it's extremely peaceful in here and I'm caught up on blogging! Now, on to other project after a little snuggling with George...

Enjoying Saturday!

The thermometer read 60 degrees yesterday. Really. And, boy, did we enjoy it!

Cael out digging gravel and snow.

This entertained him mightily while daddy cleaned the garage.

George helping move rock. Or snow. Or mud.

Earlier in the day, Kjersten and Emma took Cael and the camera downstairs.

He doesn't seem to mind being a "live" baby doll for the girls...

Hugging Emma.

Looks like the girls snuck a picture of Evan and Rhys hard at work on their Lego catapults.

Is it us or the Wii they love?

We had Curt, Kerry, Paige, and Mikey over on Friday night. I think they love us... but maybe it's the Wii they love?! Hmmmm...


Kerry beating me at tennis. Again.


Curt being mauled by Cael and the crew. Don't worry, he asked for it!


Curt distracting the herd of children while we played...


Lou & George playing keep-away with Curt's hat. (Again... Curt started it!)


Cael taking a break and watching the chaos from afar!

Somehow, I didn't get pictures of Paige, Mikey, Rhys or Evan. (Yup, we borrowed 2 extra for the night... 6 kids weren't noisy enough! LOL!)

Summer (indoors)...

Last weekend, we went to the water park with Grandma Margaret. Ashley, Whitney and our kiddos had a ball splashing, swimming, sliding, eating, playing for hours while we tried to keep up with them! There was so much to do and it was so easy to be there. It completely wore the kids out. Everyone came home and napped. Cael slept for 3 1/2 hours! Wow! We need to do this more often! Thanks grandma! We had a blast!


Cael sporting his life jacket. Get a load of those fat little feet!


Jason relinquished the camera long enough for me to snap a photo of him with Cael. Above him, you can see an enormous blue bucket that fills with water and then... DUMPS the water all over. A bell starts clanging to summon (or warn) kids that it's getting ready to spill, and the kids come-a-running...


Here they are- all ready for the deluge. Cael flopped on his belly along with the big kids. He did NOT want to miss out! I was a bit worried he would have a change of heart...


And there it is! Nope. He thought it was great fun!


An unbelievable amount of water falls out of that thing!


And every kid (and most of the adults) love it!


Lou was thrilled to have other little girls to play with...


Ashley in the hot tub.


Kjersten swimming.

Rhys taking a turn with Cael, who did NOT want to be out of the water for any reason.

George playing in the wave pool.

Whitney, Kjersten & Ashley in the hot tub. (No worries: the kids are only allowed in on the steps.)

Cael running from one water thing to another.

Rhys crossing the lilly pads. He was so good at this. The teen-aged boys would shake those ropes to try and knock him off. Rhys never did fall. Everyone was impressed! Must be all that balance training on the Wii Fit!

George catching a wave...

And, finally, for your entertainment (at my expense)...

Rhys told me that the only way to go down was to scream all the way- so we tried! Except I couldn't help but laugh at his screaming. So I laughed as he screamed "like a little girl," as he says...