We Are Family

Growing up, I was always proud of the fact that I am #10 of 12 children.  I adored my older brothers and sisters and wanted to be just like them.  I loved the stares (and glares?) of strangers as we went on vacation together.  Nothing has really changed.  I'm still proud of my family, and love being with them.  I still want to be like my brothers and sisters and admire them in many ways.  This last weekend, I was once again reminded just how awesome we are.  We had our First Annual Reunion.

Friday morning was spent at Mom and Dad's doing projects around the farm.  We sanded and stained the swingset and deck, bricked in a portion of the milking barn, fixed the roof and the rain gutter on the old barn, weeded, pruned, installed a ceiling fan, cleaned and changed lightbulbs in the chandelier, cleaned out and refilled the sandbox, and began the project of changing out the old wood on the scales.  Did I miss anything? 

 Oh my goodness, I could not have a happier boy.  He got to ride on the tractor.  He loved it.  He didn't want to get off.  He kept tugging on my sister's shirt throughout the rest of the weekend and asking to "ride tractor?" 

That afternoon we had several activities going on at my brother's house:  volleyball, an inflatable water slide, and this inflatable obstacle course:

 Everett carried this tractor and trailer around the entire weekend:

 I think Nick won.  I'm pretty sure the adults had more fun on this than the kids did.  We had a few stiff necks from landing on heads, and a set of very bruised (broken?) toes, but no serious injuries.  We played like we were 12 years old again all weekend long.  It was awesome. 

 Everett was so pooped (he was up until after midnight with the excitement of sleeping in a tent, after all) he found a nice place to sleep on the front porch. 

Cotton candy?  It's a real party now!

 Daddy was pooped too.

That evening we had a program and some games.

 Minute to Win It.

 I had to put that photo in because my sisters are awesome.  (I think that's the third time I've used the word 'awesome'.  Sorry, it was, and they are. :)

Some people stayed up to watch an outdoor movie, the rest of us crashed our weary bodies for the night (afterall, we haven't been 12 for a long time). 

Saturday morning we went to the park for some Ultimate Frisbee, softball, and some face painting:

 And an Uno Championship:

 After lunch, we went for a little hike together:

 With the exception of maybe one or two, I can claim all these people.  And really, this is only a small portion of us.  Our family, with my sisters:

That night we got together with my Dad's extended family for a dinner and program.  We had such a fun time!  We played hard.  Family, I love you all!  Thanks for the awesome time (had to throw it in one more time)!

Around Here

The girls have been in swim lessons this week.  They love it, and I'm so proud of the progress they are making.  Ellie especially.  Last year she went to lessons kicking and screaming, so when I see her just bouncing in the water because she's that excited to be there, it makes me happy.

 These last few days we've all enjoyed spending time with my sister and her family too.  I took lousy photos, but we took the kids to a splash park and braved Target with all 6 littles (and the moms survived!), besides the normal hang around the house thing. 

 Lainey is giving Everett a big 'ol sloppy kiss.  She's a good kisser, that one.  I'll have to watch that a little more closely in the coming years. 

 My poor boy.  It kind of looks like we beat him, but truth be told, he's just 2.  He tripped at Grandpa's house, smacking his forehead on the way down on a metal bench, creating the big bruise (and you should've seen the huge goose egg that immediately sprouted!).  The scratches under his eye, I just have no idea.  Remember?  He's two.  And a boy.  It may have had something to do with his sisters.  I wouldn't put it past them.  Oh, and that hair.  It looks so handsome when he's freshly bathed, but golly, it makes such great bed-head.  So, it usually looks like this.

And, the big part of the reason I got on here was to post these: 

 Our Lainey Lou is 9 months old.  I really have a hard time wrapping my head around that one.  Probably partly because she doesn't really look it - she's tiny for her age, but really, where does time go?  I really need to know because I want it back.

 She's crawling now, which means I have to keep the floors picked up and vacuumed, because she also puts everything in her mouth.  I got a gold star the other day for changing her diaper.  Really, a gold star, right there in her diaper.  Truth be told, I'm terrible about keeping things off the floor, so I'm constantly fishing things out of her mouth, and those are the things that I catch before they go down the pipe.

 She is so much fun.  We love our NeeNee Mae (as Everett calls her).

July 4

My kids, all decked out in red, white, and blue (and purple):

 I'd like to say we did something really exciting for the fourth of July.  We didn't really have much planned, and Dad spent a good portion of the day working in the yard.  We finally got away to play at the park for a bit.  Nature made her own fireworks this year:

 These fireworks are pretty cool to watch, but not so fun overall, ya know?  Thankfully, nature also provided a good rain the next day and doused the flames (answer to prayers? I think so).

We sat and watched the helicopters dropping water for a good while.

We also had a nice family gathering at my brother's and then hung out with Grandma and Grandpa as we watched their neighbor's firework show.

Oh, and a year ago we were super busy packing up house.  Where does time go?

Our Weekend

Over the weekend, we spent some time at the Gardens.  My kids love three things the most:  feeding the fish, playing in the fountain, and rolling down grassy hills.  Check, check, and check.  We had a good time.

 I'm thinking those fish hadn't been fed in quite some time.  ;)  We could pretty much drop the fish food right into their huge, waiting mouths.  $1 well spent.

 Feelin' just a little wet, here!

 Maren and her silly faces.

 Saucy, Ellie!  I didn't meet to get such a photo, the wind just came up at the right moment.  Isn't my girl beautiful, though? 

 Saturday morning was spent going at a parade with our good friends: 

 And Saturday afternoon we met with my sis-in-law and neice to see Brave, which we all loved.

Sunday evening, at book group, we discussed our chosen book, Glamour in Glass, with the author, Mary Robinette Kowal (she's the red head in the middle), a real treat.  It helps to have a friend with connections for such things.  Thanks Em, for hosting such a wonderful evening.  And, I would highly recommend Mary's books.  I enjoyed them very much.  A little romance, some 'swashbuckling' (as Mary would say), and some glamour (or magic) all thrown into the Regency time period.  Really, you'll like it too. 

Ok, enough procrastinating laundry, sweeping, and a malodorous diaper.  Go ahead, look it up.  It means what you think it does.  :)

What's for Dinner?

Monday - Shepherd's Pie (I need to make this more often - my kids asked for seconds!)
Tuesday - Monster Burgers (this just means we pile a whole bunch of yummy stuff in there - fried egg, grilled onions, grilled pineapple, avocado, cheese, lettuce), tator tots, fresh pineapple
Wednesday - BBQ dinner with our friends at the park
Thursday - Peanut Butter Chicken (a recipe that sounded like it had promise, but unfortunately my family just didn't go for it), rice, green salad, fresh pineapple
Friday - Bean burritos or Nachos
Saturday - Toasted beef and swiss sandwiches with grilled onions and peppers, green salad
Sunday - I went to book group, so I missed out on this one, but Nick made a delicious chicken fried steak dinner with mashed potatoes, grilled butternut squash, peas, and rolls (and then ate it without me!! Can you believe it!  We're having the leftovers tonight for dinner to make up for the injustice.)

Tips:
*My sister mentioned this in a previous post's comments, but I'll rehash it.  We buy the uncooked tortillas at Costco, divide them up into family-sized portions (like, 11 instead of 44), put them in gallon sized Ziplocs and freeze them.  Now, it says right on the bag that freezing them isn't the best choice for quality sake, but we've never been dissappointed.  We love these so much more than the pre-cooked ones.