SO YOU THINK: August 2010

Bedtime?

Ashlynn's sisters love to be the "mom". Through out the day I hear "come on sweetie its time for bed". This usually involves them putting Ashlynn in their jammies

And than putting her to bed.....

Ashlynn is a good sport. She just lays there, hanging out. She waits for them to tell her its morning

Happiness is just moments away

I try my best to do a "keep the kids busy" activity before lunch. For 2 reasons, 1 to give them something to do with me. 2 So they dont kill each other.

Today we made caramel corn. They loved it. We talk about measuring, mixing, how things are made. It is so much fun. They loved it!

I thought I would share this fast, simple recipe. It is to die for!

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla

10 popped cups plain popcorn

Pop the popcorn. Keep it warm in the oven. In a sauce pan melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil, without stirring for 4 mins. Remove from heat. Add baking soda and vanilla.

In a large bowl pour caramel in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Spread out on a cookies sheet to cool.

If you like it crunchy: place popcorn in a roasting pan. Bake at 250 for 45 mins to 1 hour stirring every 15 mins

Our weekend at Whitney

We like to camp at Whitney Reservoir. It is usually pretty quiet, and has great fishing. The kids love to fish!

Kayann and Ashlynn "fishing".

Raymond wanted to teach Kobe everything he knew

Raymond was so patient. He was determined to catch a fish. The reservoir was over crowded and over fished. However Raymond caught our 1 fish!

The girls eventually ventured out to cast with Kayann's practice pole. Of course they had a snack in hand

I decided I would bring their suites this time. Good thing. The water was freezing. The mud was super deep. That didnt stop them. They got right in while Ashlynn and Derek took a nap

Than on to supper. Derek seems to think he is the dutch oven master. :)

My mom came up to spend the last night with us. Ashlynn loved playing in her tent.

The morning my mom came the rancher also brought his sheep down by the reservoir to drink and eat. They were right by our camp!

The rancher did let the kids ride his horse. Kayann was so excited. She thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I wasnt planning on letting Ashlynn ride, but my mom and Ashlynn insisted. Ashlynn loves horses almost as much as Kayann.

Normal, where?

This is a very normal look around our place.

Yes that is a mixing bowl on her head. Yes her baby has 2 blankets in the middle of the summer. And yes she is stinking cute!

Back to school

Raymond changed schools to the one in our neighborhood. He didnt like this for a few reasons. It is year round (so he started July 26), he doesnt know anybody and he has a new teacher. He is excited to maybe have friends in our neighborhood though.

As you can see he didnt want me to take his picture

First Day of School

Shiny, sharpened pencils,

Desks all in a row,

It's the first day of school AND

I DON'T want to go.

A very different teacher,

With a strange sounding name.

I WANT my last year's teacher~

Things will NEVER be the same!

I remember all the things we learned,

And all the things we made.

The TRUTH is,

If you really want to know,

I'm REALLY afraid.

The second week of school he had a little melt down at home. He was upset because he had no friends. I told him to hang in there and it would be ok. Now he has friends and is back into the swing of things

If them soft, them good!

A man in my mom's neighborhood has a HUGE apricot tree. He didnt want them to go to waste so he said we could pick some. The kids had so much fun. Kayann kept referring to herself as a "picker girl". She would tell Kaylee "if them soft, them good". Ashlynn even loved picking them. The ate a million of them out of the bags before we even got to the car. I think we ended up with 4 shopping bags full!

Raymond didnt want his picture taken

Old but good

This picture was taken back at the end of June. My mom was out of town. The kids were responsible for taking care of Scooter. Ashlynn just loves Scooter. Every time we would leave she would get so excited and clap. She loves to give him kisses. I wanted to send one to my mom and this is what I got:

It has been a year and a half already!

Ashlynn is 18 months! I cant believe how fast it goes. I know I say that with every kid but it is true. They grow so fast

Like usual here is a billion pictures for you entertainment!

Ashlynn recently went to the doctor. He said she is doing wonderful. She is still a light weight but very tall. She is still growing upward on the chart and that is all that really matters.

Ashlynn loves so many things. She loves to be like the older kids. She loves to follow them everywhere. Doing everything that they do. She still loves to eat. It is still one of the most heard words from her mouth.

She is just sweet and we love having her in our family!

OPS! Jedi Knight Training

Raymond loves Star Wars. We had Jedi Knight Training this year. It started with "star" tosses.

It was tricky to get the kids to understand it. They loved it though. The last toss was from Kobe to me. Straight in the air. Upon being caught it burst all over my face!