Doll Cakes

Princess Sparkley requested a doll cake for her birthday a few months ago. You know, the kind you see at the grocery store with a Barbie sticking out of them. That got changed when she decided to have her pretend sleepover party. But we'd already borrowed these mini doll cake pans from Grandma M so we made these the other night.

Princess Sparkley's princess cake.

Boy made a pink ghost.

Trying to eat that through all the icing.

Daddy's decorated doll cake.

Not Early Birds

Waking the kids up to take B to school on rainy mornings this is what they look like waiting to be carried out to the car.

Princess Sparkley can read

For Princess Sparkley's kindergarten Phonics lessons we've been learning all of the different sounds letters make. Yesterday she was introduced to her first three site words: the, is, and and. And she read her first sentence sounding it all out: "The cat is at the mat" (which she's since memorized.)

B had already taught her the word the when they read stories together at night. So she informed us that she knows that word, and that it's on the Lewis and Clark map hanging on the wall of her top bunk bed so she reads it all the time at night. Then she said, "It's like the, the, the having a party in my head." Funny. (She's been using the word "like" a lot lately when she talks.)

She also told me yesterday, while drawing a long line of brown circles for Rapunzel's braid that sometimes when she's drawing (which she loves and does constantly) that she wishes she had a machine that could draw for her.

B's new bike

Here's B's actual new bike, rather than the fancy schmancy picture from the bike company's website that I posted before.

*note: he's just ridden home from work like 5 miles on a hot afternoon when we met him outside to take his picture.

Princess Sparkley "dressed like a mom"

Or more specifically, her mom. Here she is wearing my new shoes I just bought on ebay and carrying my bag.

B's new glasses

B recently bought two new pairs of glasses online to replace the ones (well, two pairs that are identical) he's had forever. The ones on the bottom are indestructible. One of the pannier bags on his new bike fell off while he was riding and got run over by a car. All that was in the bag were these glasses in a case. The one arm is a little tweaked. And if you look through them closely you can see some stress lines in the lens from having been run over. But they still work. And they didn't cost us a billion dollars. He bought them online because they were cheaper than elsewhere.

Prego Update

Here I am at 24 weeks.

B's new bike

He doesn't get home until dinner time, and after we've eaten, it's too dark to take his picture on it. I'll try to remember to take his picture as he is riding home tomorrow, nice and sweaty.

Father/Son Camp Out

We finally got to use the new tent we got for Christmas. There was a church Father/Son Camp Out last weekend. Princess Sparkley was quite devastated. But we stayed home and painted toenails and watched Princess movies while eating popcorn, etc. Daddy and Boy roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and tried out our new tent.

Boy next to our new tent.
(He just saw me post this picture and said to Princess Sparkley,
"You want to see our new tent? It's beautiful.")

Boy in the tent. He just said to me, "And when we were walking in it it went "crunch crunch crunch crunch." They were set up on some really tall grass.

Daddy spent 15 minutes rubbing Boy's head trying to wake him up the next morning.

Breakfast in the back of the car... a banana and a cereal bar.

Apparently our tent has a doggy door. This was perfect because Boy's newest comfort object (added to his two baby burp rags turned blankeys) is a black lab stuffed puppy that we bought before Princess Sparkley was born and named Pork Chop. So here are Boy and Pork Chop peeking out our tents doggy door.


This picture is from Boy's first Father/Son Camp Out in California when he was probably just over a year old.

Fingerpainting in Pudding

I'm not sure if I'm sold on this Joy School preschool curriculum. We'll see. Last week was my first time teaching. We were learning about our senses which involved making pudding, and finger painting with it while we licked our fingers, etc. It was so funny to watch the difference in a the kid's comfortableness with getting dirty. Some only dipped in one finger and painted dots. Others basically had chocolate covered saliva left on their wax paper square.

The group. Princess Sparkley is included on the days that I teach.

E. 4 months younger than Boy. Chocolate colored saliva.

E. 4 months older than Boy. One fingered polka dots.

Boy. Chocolate polka dots. He got a tiny bit messier later on.

Princess Sparkley. 20 1/2 months older than Boy. Somewhere in the middle finger painting-wise.

E. Or Big E as I've heard the little kids call her. She's a few months younger than Princess Sparkley and thus, more than a year older than the other girl E of the same name. Everyone here except Boy has a name that starts with "E." Interesting.

Who do YOU think this looks like?

Who does this look like?

I missed my exit in Topeka the other day on the way to the library and ended up a few streets further north than usual where I saw this billboard. I had to circle back by to get another look. Then the next time we were in Topeka I drove B past it. And finally I remembered to bring my camera with me.


Up close, not so much. But from about a block away, I could have sworn it was Hannah Smith.

First Day of School

This is Boy's first day of Joy School preschool. Princess Sparkley started her homeschool curriculum through Lawrence Virtual School and K12 a few days earlier but we dressed her up and took her picture as well.

The cousins have puppies

We went to the cousin's for Labor Day to see our newest nephew blessed with the added bonus of getting to play with their new puppies. Here's Princess Sparkley holding one of them, Spots.

Princess Sparkley's 5th Un-Party

So, I was trying to do the every other year birthday party thing with our kids. Princess Sparkley had family parties for birthdays one and two. At three I figured she was old enough that she had friends, etc. So we had a Strawberry Shortcake party with a few friends from church. That was in California. Then for number four we were in Kansas and a friend had a July birthday party just before her. So I talked her into an art party, figuring it would be easy and inexpensive, which it was. Then five rolled around and I told her we could have her friends over for a play date and cake, but no presents. This turned into a pretend slumber party. At least no one brought gifts. All the girls came in PJS and brought sleeping bags and pillows. We watched Cinderella III and ate popcorn. Then we had a sleepover themed cake and sent them home. Not too overly party. I hope.

The invitations were pillows.

The table.

The table... alternate view.

The door.

The slumber party cake.

Watching the movie. That's boy at the top right in his Thomas sleeping bag.
He was a guest as well. :)

Princess Sparkley is five.

Blowing out the candles.

The party guests awaiting their cake.

Nauvoo

Sorry that it has taken so long to post again. I can't get my pictures to upload and that, obviously, is the basis of this blog. These are pictures from a trip to Nauvoo, IL the first weekend in August that I've finally been able to upload.

* * * * *

We were supposed to go to Utah this summer for a family vacation/reunion of sorts. My parents have a cabin in the mountains above Cedar City they built in 1969 or so. Now they are getting ready to build a new and improved cabin in the same area. So far it's a driveway. We were going out to see my parents, possibly my brother's family, and the new cabin. But the way dates worked out, we were going to miss my brother's family, and there is not yet a new cabin to see. Add to that the gazillion hours in the car to get there, the fact that our car is a lemon, the cost of gasoline, the cost of missing a week of work... we ended up going to St. Louis and Nauvoo instead.

Our kids were reconciled to this idea because on the other two occasions that we've visited Nauvoo (or Nannoo, as Boy christened it on this trip because it's hilarious to them) it's been off season. Either September or April. And off season, the pioneer dress-up area is closed. Knowing that she would be able to dress-up like a pioneer in Nauvoo about made Princess Sparkley's summer.

Here are the pics:

Princess Sparkley and Boy in front of the Nauvoo Temple

Princess Sparkley finally got to dress up in the pioneer girl clothes


Princess Sparkley, new pioneer outfit


I think it would break her heart to know she'd probably wear
that one dress for months if she was a real pioneer girl


Have you lost count of the costume changes yet?While Princess Sparkley is dressing up, Boy and Daddy are playing pioneer games.Cute Boy spinning a top.



Princess Sparkley and Boy riding "sheep"



Princess Sparkley and Boy in front of Schofield's Bakery in Nauvoo.
We've done this picture every year, I need to track down the other versions to post.



We had a bet on the drive from St. Louis to Nauvoo that whoever fell asleep had to kiss an ox. Only the girls fell asleep. We refused, but Daddy kissed one on the head.


Pretending to drive a covered wagon.

Sorry, still now new posts

I have so many things to post. A months worth of pictures including a family trip to Nauvoo, Princess Sparkley's 5th birthday, school starting, preschool starting, etc. But I can't get the pictures to upload. It pretends it's going to do it, but it just times out or give me an error message. I'll keep trying.

Princess Sparkley's Birthday- St. Louis style

4 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 1 day old

We were in St. Louis the weekend before Princess Sparkley's birthday, so we had a Princess cake that Grandma bought and celebrated her birthday with some family.

Quick Trip to Chicago

I got to go to Chicago for the first time the weekend of August 5th. We left the kids with their grandparents in St. Louis and B and I hurried up to Chicago Saturday and Sunday. B had an audition with Jeopardy! It went well. He's on their possible contestant list for the next 18-24 months. He auditioned for Jeopardy! when we lived in California and made it to their contestant list but they never called... so we'll see.