Summer starts!

Summer has started!!  

We've got cousin Lincoln here most days, 

no car, and not a lot of funds.

So we'll be taking it easy these next few months!

We'll find some fun though!!

Snuggling boys in the morning (those blankets make good forts too)

Painting!  Mason had flour/water/food coloring, I knew he'd want to taste the paint.

Movies and popcorn!  

There are a few parks we can walk/bike to and even the pool isn't too far.  Wish us luck, no one wants to hear the word "bored"!

Ummm, Easter?

So, I was all set to put up a new post when I realized I haven't taken a picture since EASTER!!
And I never even posted them!  So here ya go :)

Saturday we dyed about a dozen hard boiled eggs using the vinegar/food coloring method.  Damen wanted to mix all of the colors and by the end everything was green!

I was taking this pic with Mason in my lap, trying to get the eggs in the background, you can see the egg carton. . . 

Sunday morning the boys were up bright and early, as usual!  We enjoyed our Easter baskets and had them search for the dyed and plastic eggs.  We put something special in the "sports" themed eggs just for Damen.

Lego candies!!  He was SO excited about these, and it took him about a month to finally eat them all.  


After the fun we went to church for a spiritual reminder about why we really celebrate this day:  

Luke 24:

 6 He is not here, but is ^arisen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

The love of a six year old

This morning, as I poured the last of the apple sauce into Mason's bowl I asked Damen if he wanted any for breakfast too.

He eyed the empty jar suspiciously but said yes.

I went to the cupboard, got out another jar and started to dish him some when he said, "You have TWO jars of apple sauce?"

"Yes"

"Hey guess what mom?"

"What"

"You're the best mom!"

Feeling the love.

Growing up

That's what my boys are doing, growing up!  

Seriously, in the blink of an eye these boys surprise us every day.

He gets taller, and smarter, way smarter every time I look at him!  

This is him with the robot he made at school.

It's name is April.

And then there's the baby.  Umm, maybe baby's not the right word anymore :(

He's a climber, a stubborn, do it my self, kind of a kid.  He can do things at this age that the other one hadn't even thought about yet.  

My eyes are on him every second!  

He does have the cutest bed head of any 17 month old EVER!!

They're growing up faster than I knew was possible.  

I'm grateful that they're healthy and strong, but sometimes I wish they'd just stay small, snuggly, and unblemished from the world.

My heart swells with unbelievable love for these two precious boys, how lucky are we to have them!

Cookies

Damen wanted to help me make chocolate chip cookies the other day.

He was SO excited to make his own "special" cookies.  He ran to his treat/snack drawer and pulled out a variety of candy to add.  

We had starburst, sweet tarts, and some weird block candies from China added to this special batch, he was very proud!

They didn't taste awful. 

 And here's a random pic of Mason snarfing melted chocolate, I had just made some chocolate candies.  

I like making treats for my family to enjoy, and they don't seem to mind either!

Zoo!!

For President's Day we took our nephew, Lincoln and ventured to the nearby zoo.

It was COLD, but we had a good time, the boys loved this slide, it's a LIFE SIZE giraffe! and the other playground like animals around the park.

 Cutest hatchlings ever:)

Giraffe anyone??

WHY do they have this in the exhibit I do now know.  The real ones were inside, it was too cold for them.

 The lion came over to say hello, it was awesome.

Ready to go home.

Fruit snacks!!

I did it, I made these fruit snacks!

I found the recipe on Pinterest, and couldn't wait to try them.

A few things had to be altered because I ran out of plain gelatin, so I used 1 Tbs. raspberry jello from a box.  I think it helped with the flavor, but it also added lots of other things like color and preservatives:( 

 I used a small flower cookie cutter to cut them out, soo cute!

The recipe doesn't make a whole lot so be careful when letting your family "taste" them, they might just eat them all.

Click below for the direct link to the recipe, YUM!

Fruit Snacks