Hey Big Brother!

Hi, Bubba!!!

 We love you!!

and

We miss you!!

HEY BIG BROTHER!

Why didn't you tell me that when you are not quite 5 months old...

...a Baby Einstein movie is very suspenseful!!!

Love,

Mini Chip

Our Week

Monday we took school pictures, carved pumpkins, and roasted seeds.

I know it's hard to believe, but I forgot to take pictures of their finished pumpkins! :-} Butterscotch Chip's has a castle, Oreo's has a funny face with hello in the mouth, and Chocolate Chip's was BOO with a ghost in the second O. They were pretty cute. And the SEEDS, oh my!! Love them! We saved Mini Chips pumpkin and the pie pumpkins to carve later, maybe next week, so we can roast more seeds! LOL! They really are that good! I think the secret is to not rinse them. The pumpkin juices, strings, and pulp give such a nice flavor. Here's my recipe, if you think you don't like roasted pumpkin seeds, I dare you to give this recipe a shot!



Spread the seeds (About 1-1/2 cups) in a single layer on a cookie sheet. (Do not rinse the seeds and it's okay to leave some strings and pulp; they add flavor.)
Drizzle with 1/2 Tablespoon melted butter
Sprinkle with salt or other seasoning
Bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes or until the seeds are golden brown. You really want to roast them until they are REALLY crispy, maybe even a little on the darker side, but not burnt.

Tuesday we went on a field trip to Chino Valley. The kids got to experience ear popping while driving up the mountain. The first elevation sign we pointed out was 2000 feet and we had already been driving for a while.
Chino Valley is at 5200 feet.
It was fun to be able to live the lesson, not just teach the lesson. :-)

This is a work trip for Mr. Cookie, so, this is how we often find him. He is the hardest working man I have ever known. He is very thorough, knowledgeable, problem solver, and he has this wisdom about him that is hard to explain. He is truly amazing and I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to accompany him on these trips where the kids and I can learn so much and be able to enjoy more time together too. We are so lucky to have him! And he's SOOO handsome too! I'm a lucky, lucky lady!

You may recall a picture like this one from a previous post. You may or may not know that I have had a thing for crosses since having found Him. This one in particular seems to draw me to it. I think of it often and strangely couldn't wait to see it again. Jim surprised me by pulling off the road on the exit ramp to look at it and take a good photo. He told me that one day he would make me one like it, on a smaller scale, for our yard. He said he used to really like welding and this would give him a project ~ so exciting!

This is the project that he had to visit and what brought him up the mountain.

The thing that brought me and the girls up the mountain was closed ~ very sucky! I was very sad! I really wanted to see my friend from the Old Farmstead. And I really wanted to show the girls the awesome bookstore ~ also closed on Tuesdays. :-(
Instead, we went to a thrift store called Oohlala that we had seen on our way into town. It really looked like a fun place to check out. When we walked in the front door, I couldn't believe it, but that voice was unmistakable! My friend, Natalie, was checking out! Thanks God! Anyway, we had a wonderful visit with her and then had to head home. We stopped for a late supper in Prescott and headed back home. We had to drive separate on the way back because we had to transport another vehicle back. It worked out okay though because Mini Chip and Chocolate Chip fell asleep and The older girls and I laughed ~ ALL the way home!! TeeHee! Still funny too! Something about Beethoven... I think you had to be there!

Wednesday night the girls went to AWANA. It was Calamity Night. The kids dressed up in bandages and slings like they had been hurt in an accident... kind of goofy, but the kids loved it!

Thursday we had well doctor visits for all of the kids. I searched and found a doctor who is willing to do a well baby visit without pestering me about no shots for the little guy. It is a 30 minute drive to get there but we will be using it as a reason to go on a field trip across town every couple of months. :-)

Here are the stats:

Butterscotch Chip - 13 years and 8 months old, 92.4 lbs (21%), 62.2 inches tall (40%), with a BMI of 16.78 (16%).

Oreo - 11 years and 7 months old, 67.7 lbs (7%), 55.1 inches tall (13%), with a BMI of 15.66 (15.8%)

Chocolate Chip - 7 years and 8 months old, 52.9 lbs (43%), 48.8 inches tall (38%), with a BMI of 15.61 (48%)

Mini Chip - 4 months and 19 days old, 16 lbs 12 ozs (71 %), 26 inches long/tall (71%), 17 in. head circumference (81%), and healthy as can be.

Yup! That foot is good! MmmMmm!!  
 :-)

Friday was a normal day, plus catch-up, plus get ready for the Chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat on Saturday. Also, I have decided to try baking Artisan bread (aka French, Italian, etc.). My first batch was started on Thursday and will be ready to eat on Saturday... can't wait!

School Pictures ~ Proofs

Talk about tough decisions!

This is as narrowed down as I got so far and I think I may take more...

...we will see.

Maybe I will do a vote and you all can help me

(since decisions are not exactly my strong point!)

Be looking for that post after I take some more!

Fun! :-)

 You giggled didn't you! LOL!

Me too, every time I see it! LOL!

Gorgeous children! I know! They are so awesome!!

Some of these are a touch blurry because I took the pictures a little too far out. My camera is not fixed yet and I have been using Oreo's. Her camera is awesome and I love the compact size of it and for everyday pictures, it rocks! Thanks for letting me borrow it Oreo! For portrait type shots, I sure could use my camera. I think I will have to find somewhere to take it for repairs. I need to update my GPS too. Sounds like with those two and the other computer, I need an electronic repair errand day. YUCK! Sounds dreadful!! LOL! I'll let you know how it goes.

{{HUGS}}

Christina

A Picture is Worth...

A picture is worth a thousand words...

A picture speaks volumes...

A picture cannot do it justice...

Yesterday evening, while driving home, the sunset was SO BEYOND beautiful! The words to describe it are hard to find... big, whispy, clouds, almost like fluffy pick up sticks, scattered across the horizon, turning undescribable shades of pink and... beautiful.

Mr. Cookie was still at work, so, I called him but he could not go outside to see it. So, I took a picture, not good enough. :-(

So, I moved and got it at another angle, and another, and another... nope. The photos do not even come close to showing how beautiful and wonderous God's creation was right then.

Today, all of this reminds me to be grateful for the opportunity to learn, teach, and experience life and all of it's "stuff" with my children, hands on and in the thick of it. With pictures and books for sure, but head out the window, hiking up the mountain, jumping in the ocean, ears popping...

you get my drift! :-)

Lovin' Life, God, and His Creation,

Christina

Desert Botanical Garden

Last week we did a mini unit on the Monarch butterfly and it's migration habits to Mexico.

At Desert Botanical Gardens here in Arizona, they have a Monarch Butterfly Exhibit right now and are also studying their migration habits.

In the spring, we will do a more thorough study of order Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and skippers).

 

And so, on Sunday, we went to Desert Botanical Gardens, signed up for a membership, experienced the Monarch exhibit, and attended their Pumpkin Festival where the kids got a free pumpkin. We will carve them later this week (mostly so we can roast those fabulous seeds... oh, yum, yum, yum!)

We discovered this and a couple of other blooms, but the desert is not in bloom yet, Mom.

We will let you know when! :-)

After the Gardens we went to the store and purchased a digital antenna for the TV. When we got home Mr. Cookie installed it...

while Mini Chip and I took a little nap... he is just sooo snuggly!

We woke just in time for the Vikings game kickoff!

Baby's first football game!

(Yes, it is sooo sad it is the 10th game of the season, but...)

What a GREAT game to watch!!

Sucks the Vikes didn't win, but it was entertaining to watch! :-)

Bountiful Saturday and the big 4-0

We went to Bountiful Baskets again this Saturday morning.

We LOVE it!!

This is our friend who told us about it.

She is awesome and we are so grateful to have met her.

We went to breakfast at one of those mom and pop shops... SUPER YUMM!!

Oreo thinks that Mini Chip is just SOOO cute!

Butterscotch Chip loves him too!

Sooo snuggly!

Mrs. Cookie's oldest brother Joe turned 40 today! :-)

Happy Birthday Big Brother!!!

Hope your day is as awesome as you are!

LOVE YOU!!

Kleaning Krew

On Thursday and Friday this week, we cleaned Uncle Nate's office at his shop for a couple of hours each morning.

Before we got there though...

we had to make a stop... 

 to watch the conveyors...

 and the assembly line method...

 of making those super yummy...

gotta eat 'em fresh and hot... mmm!

Nate working hard (and I do mean hard and long hours) on this HUGE boat.

For the siblings who have not seen his shop... a few photos...

 the front office

 the back office

 the inside shop

 the outside shop

(yup! those are puddles from the rain - thunderstorms three days this week)

the front of the building

(see his white truck there on the left - very nice)

The little sleeping prince... sooo big!