Fun in the Sun

The rain is gone and it was a bright beautiful summer day! The kids splashed and played in the wading pool all afternoon. After the storms and flooding we have seen so much of lately, it felt so nice to play outside and soak in the sun!



For snack we had a real summery treat, watermelon! The perfect swimming snack, because it is just as messy as it is tasty. After they finish I can just toss them back into the pool...no cleanup!








The yard is so pretty right now. We were treated to all sorts of nice surprises blossoming from every corner of the yard in the spring and earlier in the summer, but there are no flowers right now. Nevertheless while I was mowing today I enjoyed so much how green and full everything is.


I tackled a rather big (for me) baking task today...I baked a from scratch Chocolate Butter Cake (recipe from The Joy of Baking-here's a link: Baking & Dessert Recipes & Photos - Joyofbaking.com). I like to cook very much but I do not bake nearly as much as I cook. And yes, it was as good as it looks! Want some?

A Rainy Saturday

We had a very rainy and very fun day today. First of all the kids and I built a fort in the grown-up room. I pushed the couches together and draped blankets over it and they thought it was such fun! You can see the outside and the inside of the fort in the pictures, as well as the sign that Maya posted on the top of the fort after I came in to take pictures. I don't know if you can see it in the photo or not, but it says "KEEP OUT"!

When Mark got home from work we went out for lunch at Carlos O'Kelly's. As you can see, it was still raining pretty hard...
we even had a chance to use our umbrellas!

Then we went to Bass Pro Shops here in Springfield. That is always an interesting place to spend a few hours with the kids!

We saw the big bear!We played on the ATVs and boats!



































The moose head was puzzling!











All in all it was a very fun day. Hope you all had a great Saturday too!

Sidewalk Chalk

Wanna see how Mark Jr. plays with sidewalk chalk?
He crushes it up into dust and uses his toy tractors to scoop it up and dump it back out.
And of course, in the process he gets covered with it.
How cute is that?

Dinner Music

Last night at supper I was treated to a lovely little song about the tractor at the landfill that compacts the garbage.


Just beautiful.

The Trouble With Squirrels

Can you see the low level of seed in the feeder? I had just refilled it 2 hours earlier. It's my fault, the feeder is easily accessible so of course they are helping themselves. Yes, I do think they are cute, and the kids enjoy watching them too. But I wish they wouldn't empty it out so fast and make such a big mess. If you look closely you can see how it's toes are all spread out to hang on with the feeder with just it's feet and tail. Clever little thieves!

Fun with cousins

Today was my nephew Logan's birthday party. We enjoyed a chance to spend time with family. I have included a picture of each of my three nephews (my younger sister Beth's boys). There is Levi with the hat pinata, Luke with Pop (my Dad) and Logan with his birthday cake. Although we don't live very far from them we don't see them as often as we'd like. Long ago when Beth and I first had Logan and Maya we lived right down the street from each other in Ozark. Maya and Logan spent a lot of time playing together in their baby days. I saved my favorite picture for last, Logan and Maya together:

The New Toy

Last night I picked up a new toy for the babies. (for those of you who don't know I do home daycare...I currently have two 1 year olds) However, my kids can't leave it be. The age recommendation on the box: 9 months. In reality, 5 to 7 year olds will be entertained for hours!
Everyone enjoy your weekend!!

Stormy Weather

A storm system rolled through Springfield this afternoon, and brought a tornado and thunderstorm with it. There was no destruction to be seen on this side of town, we didn't even see any high winds. Praise you Lord for your protection! We enjoyed the sound of the rain, it sure made for a cozy nap time for the babies.

Tonight is date night! I am excited to be going out and the kids are excited to be staying in because Nana is stopping by on her way home from work to sit with them while we are out. Thanks Nana!

Hi y'all!

This is exciting for me, something I have been thinking about for a good long while. Today I have finally found the drive to sit down and figure this blogging thing out. Way easy!! I will be able to keep updated pictures and family happenings up so everyone can keep tabs on us LOL! If you are an experienced blogger and have any advice, please share! Oh yeah, and leave a comment...I want to know who has been checking up on me...

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!