Wordless Wednesday

Good Family, Good Eats

My wonderful Brother Nate and I have been working on our lack of grilling expertise. I am thinking that this meal shows no such lack! AND it tasted as wonderful as it looked! Mmm Mmm!

Nate found a smoker for an awesome price, cleaned it up and modified it (as per his name 'Nate Mod Anderson'), then asked if he could store it here while he hones his skills. Seriuosly!! HE ASKED!! Gotta love that guy! I have always known him to be a special gift from God, he just seems to be out to prove it these last few years :-)

Little Man LOVES to work on his 'Vooms". Spends hours doing it even. I think he is striving to be like Uncle Nate :-)

Here is a picture taken at church with some of Mini Chips buddies.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday - July 4th Style

Monday Musings

I baked a cake for a friends baby shower.

I love baking but it is not really the time of the year to get too carried away. It was 112 degrees outside when I seriously thought about skipping out and heading down to pick up a Costco cake. I am glad I stuck with it though. It turned out pretty cute, I think :-)

Grandpa and Grandma Cookie arrived and promptly got to playing and teaching the young ones. So grateful that they had a safe trip and are here to visit. :-)

Too cute! We were at our Pool Day with our Homeschool group and Mini Chip was getting tired. He built his own bed and tried to take a nap :-)

VBS Wrap-up Night's singing made the boy's eyes open and make him appear awake, but that doesn't mean he had to act the part. But Daddy sure makes a great recliner to safely check out the noisy business from. 

Mini Chip is plain pooped from all the learning, playing, and sweltering temperatures.

The big kids (including Mr. Cookie) swimming with Grandpa Cookie. After swimming around for a bit, Grandpa informed us that he had never been in a pool before. WOW!! The girls sure had fun showing him how fun it was to get a little excercise in! :-)

Grandma Cookie receiving singing lessons from the littlest one.

Sometimes random pictures turn up on my camera... LOVE IT!!

Oreo hanging out with her best buddies at Pool Day>

BOOTS!!! GOTTA LOVE 'EM!!

OH, Does this boy LOVE his BOOTS!!!

 He just keeps walking...

... and walking...

...and running...

 ...oops!!!

...stablizing...

He LOVES these Boots!!

$1.00 at Goodwill!!!!!!!!

A DOLLAR!!!

I love a Great deal!

Back to School...

This week we started back at school!

Welcome Schoolyear 2011-2012

:-)

We REALLY LOVE school!!

Oreo Cookie is always the first to rise and shine!

Happy and eager to see what the day brings!

Not too far behind her is Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Always bright eyed and bushy tailed!

The girls got some exercise via the WII.

Not sure how I didn't get a picture of Chocolate Chip at her desk.

Much later...
and not very bright eyed...
and certainly NOT bushy tailed...

The sweet and adorable Butterscotch Chip Cookie rolls out.

If she wants to wake up happy, she can. And she is really focusing on blessing her family in the morning this way during the month of August. When September arrives, she is going to have it mastered!

Mini Chip had a very full morning and couldn't quite make it through lunch!

CUTE!!

Before lunch he had plenty of vim and vigor!

He has turned into something of a peanut butter caper!

Influences of his big brother I'm sure!

Loving life, Christina

Christina's Cacklings

I have much on my brain today and thought I would type it instead of write it and create a post and organize my thoughts at the same time. :-)

Cactus in bloom.

My family is a very snacky family.

I aim to change that!

Mommy's Little Helper.
Organizing books by topic on the shelves.

This morning I woke up and decided to make some of the changes I have been thinking, talking, and dreaming about a reality.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

For starters, I made hard boiled eggs and celery/carrot sticks for the refridgerator, and washed some grapes for the counter. I know, you are thinking that this is encouraging snacking... TRUST me! We are already snacky and fast foody thanks to our recent Minnesota trip. My idea is to take the junk out of our snacking first and make our meals more nutritional and filling which in my mind will automatically reduce the snackiness of our lives.

Time will tell.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Then, I have this crazy idea that my family needs to love beans... must be something southern... or something. In Minnesota, we called them legumes. YUCK!! I do NOT want my family to love legumes! I want them to love beans. Beans are so nutritional and filling and just good for you.

I also have this idea in my head to make chili flavored pinto beans. I can find no recipe for them, so, I made it up. I'll let you know if it works out. Anyways, these yummy and filling beans can also be in the fridge for quick meals in tortillas, cheese topped, or whatever.

Hiking while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Today, I definitely need to get more school planning done. The trip back home was not very good timing for school planning type things. It was very good for other things, just not for school planning. Which reminds me, please be praying for my Dad, I do not want to explain it right now, but he is not in good health and has started chemotherapy last week.

I purchased a new curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. I like to make my own curriculum/schedule but this is such wonderful curriculum and so flexible and covers so many levels and... I think it will help me to not stress out about covering everything. Also, I LOVE that all of my children study the same thing, at their own level, and that their writing, reading, etc. is all based on history. Last year it seemed that history and science were the first to go if something else came up, which was often. This year, they are in a science co-op with some members of our AWESOME homeschool group and the rest of their studies center around history.

I love the exciting feeling of a fresh new year!

Oh, the potential!!

:-)

Anyway, I also purchased the teacher training cds for Tapestry of Grace. That is what I am trying to get through yesterday and today. Then, I will finish planning the first 3 weeks of school so we can go school shopping and get started on the 15th. It feels very rushed, probably because it is, and like not enough planning, but by only doing the first three weeks, I won't throw away any planning if I decide to change things up... learning curve :-)

Hiking and shooting while on our camping trip June 24, 2011.

Also, decluttering needs to happen this week. Closets and dressers are overflowing! This frustrates me and needs to be remedied. We usually do this kind of continually, but it has really backed up around here. It frustrates me because everything takes longer to accomplish if there is excess clutter. Laundry, room tidying, and there is not a home for everything. Even the games and books are crazy.

One thing that is harder for me is that my wonderful husband has asked us to not have garage sales and to just donate everything instead. He feels that with being new to homeschooling 3 kids, new to Arizona, and a new baby boy it makes more sense. I do agree with him, not that I have to, it is just hard for my brain to adjust to the idea.

Sweet little monkey boy
Camping June 24, 2011

Okay, I feel the need to DO something now, so, wish me luck! :-

 I think this is going to be a new heading for me to simply ramble about whatever... I am thinking that in this case, less boundaries will mean less stress.

{{HUGS}}

Christina :-)

Adventures in April

The girls love to have friends over and swim.

It is still pretty cold at this point, actually, but they are having fun and making memories anyway!

 Little fella is wearing his lucky shirt... well, that's what it says :-)

See his two cute little teeth there on the bottom :-)

He is into standing up on things now. He is still having mercy on me and is not walking! Yeah!

 The girls practicing archery with...

...the best coaches ever!

 Uncle Nate and Mr. Lloyd

The little boy really loves to do all things "climbing into"...

...even the oven drawer!

 And he LOVES it!

 AND he's super cute about it too!!

Yes. He turned right around and climbed back in!

BOYS!!

LOL!!

:-)

:-)