every morning

it's the same thing every morning.

my first born is a creature of habit.

"what do you want for breakfast, sweetheart?"

"BURNT TOAST mom!"

and so every morning, i proceed to burn her raisin bread in the toaster oven.

i then present it to her and hear,
"perfect mommy... it could even be MORE burnt next time!"

it's the little things, i suppose?

cookie making and little girls

the other day was just one of those days that i felt a failure as a mom.

you know the days...

nothing seems to go right.

you're frustrated.

the kids are frustrated.

you do or say things you shouldn't.

to help combat those moody blues, what better option is there than to bake?

and what could be more appropriate with three little girls than to bake cookies in tutus?

for those that know us in real life... tutus are a fashion staple in our house, ahem... for those 7 and under!

saw this recipe highlighted on julie's blog and had to try it!

scooping cookies is where it's at!

i mean, who doesn't like to sneak a mouthful of tasty cookie dough while working?

with three little helpers it takes a bit more time and it's a little bit more messy, but time well spent, indeed.

waiting for the gooey goodness!

mmmmm... cooling.
i was surprised how tiny these cookies were.
they didn't flatten out like most recipes.
but we LOVED them!

 now tell me... what is better than a warm and melty chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven?!

 i can think of 3 things that are better, personally!  xoxo

cheers to a bad day, turned good... by chocolate, naturally!

boots

These boots are made for walking, 

and that's just what they'll do

one of these days these boots 

are gonna walk all over you.

Are you ready boots? 

Start walkin'!

my week in pictures

i was too lazy to instagram my pics this week.

(is instagram a verb?!)

so you'll just get straight off my iphone pics.

at least they'll tell the story of my week!

the tomato harvest has began.

and wow... i swear there'll be thousands of these red gems!

just wait 'til we start canning!!

this is just one short morning picking.
oy!

went out for dinner with some wonderful girl friends from high school.
i do not see these ladies enough!
but when we do get together, the conversation is fluid and with depth.
love you, K and A!!

we ordered yummy pizzas!!!!
too bad we had to retreat inside once our pizzas arrived for all the wasps buzzing around us.
boooo!

trying to get those appointments in before school starts.
big K got her teeth checked out.
no cavities!
hooray!
(and what is that thing going to grab her on the bottom left side of the pic?!?! what the?!?!
i think maybe it's baby's hand and with the camera speed and her pulling her arm away it looks alien like?! CREEPY!!!)

here's a new way to ride in the stroller!

i guess that's where you gotta go when your big sis is in the front!

future mardi gras goer?!
i should hope not!
but she does look kinda cute... as long as she doesn't start lifting her shirt up!  ack!

my good pal charmaine has 3 kids that are the same age as mine.
don't you just love that?!
makes for some great playdates!
the two littles are starting to 'play' together now instead of just beside one another.

these two are pretty close, literally and figuratively.

and these two... well, let's just say, a wedding might be in the works one day!  ha ha ha ha!

my poor neighbor across the street.
her kids are grown and out of the house but her backyard is like a children's oasis.
playhouse, play structure, this chair swing, bouncing horses.
the girls LOVE to play there!
and she's so hospitable and offers her yard to the children any time.
so, once in a while, neighborhood kids (and cousins) head on over there for a bit to play.
it is a highlight once there.
how many kids can we get on the chair glider?!

ok, i lied, i have two instagram pics.
however, they were taken by my friend and her phone and just sent to me.
these were taken watching daddy's slowpitch game the other night.
first, the girls...
this is one of big k's best buds.
friends since birth, seriously.

and little k's future husband (i know i'm setting all my kids up before they're in 2nd grade).
these two are little sweeties!
and yup... they've already kissed.  multiple times.
can you blame 'em?
look how adorable each one is?!?!  hahahahahaha!

just a few highlights from my week!
enjoy and link up!

instafriday... this i can do!

jeez, i've been a terrible blogger this summer.
maybe i can get back into the swing of things once school starts.
at least that's what i keep telling myself.
i need inspiration.
but all i've been getting this summer is perspiration!
ha!
(ok, i'm not that funny, i know)




i was driving home after doing some errands one afternoon and look what i saw:

it's kinda grainy b/c i had to zoom in but i couldn't help but sneakily snap a picture.
this is what it's like living in our small town... old meets new!
rollerblades and a skateboard plus kerchiefs!
who knew it was such a stellar combo?

little K learned how to ride a two wheeler last weekend.
she is doing amazing!
she's a lot more brave than her older sister was at the same time.
(we had to force big K to ride a two wheeler... and little K basically forced us to teach her!  who has time?!  ha ha!)
case in point, she's almost a whole year younger learning to ride on two wheels!
now, it's ALL she wants to do!

aren't these the CUTEST baby shoes, like ever?!
not worth $55 price tag... but cute enough to try on.
it's probably a good thing babester hated them b/c they were difficult to get on.

date night... 3D style!
we are probably one of the last peoples to see transformers 3.
we just don't get out too often on our own.
i bought a big bag of seasoned popcorn for supper and enjoyed the 2.5 hour show!
(i gotta say though... i wouldn't want MY almost bare bum on a huge 3D screen to start the movie!!)

sigh... look at that long beautiful hair.
(don't tell me how ugly the ends look, just sigh with me please)
this is right before we went into the salon to get haircuts.
they insisted they wanted short hair.
i insisted to cry.

sniff, sniff...

look at those lovely locks.

wasted away on the floor.

all those perfectly highlighted strands cut off.

why can't i have naturally perfect highlighted hair?

you know i wouldn't be cutting it off!

the aftermath.
ok, it's not too bad.
they're actually pretty cute with their short hair.
and brushing through it won't force me to the looneybin anymore.
but i'll miss that long hair of theirs.
they are pleased as punch with their haircuts.

no haircutting for this baby, just yet.
she's content to stay cute as EVER in her carseat.
yum... i just wanna eat her!
look at those adorable buck teethies!!!

i love evening runs.
yeah, i'm tired from a long day with the kids... but there's just nothing like running as the sun is setting.
the air is much cooler, i can run without sunglasses, the streets are quieter.
plus, running with a pal don't hurt either.
thanks for the good chat during the run, b!

hmmm... boys will be boys.
can i hear an amen?

isn't it nice to have a friend with a pool?
these girlies had a blast!

and the littles had some fun too!
it's ok to be timid of the water when you're 2, or almost 2.

that's bits of my week!
what does next week have in store for us?

family reunion

a couple weeks ago the relatives from my dad's side of the family held a reunion at a lake area about 1.5 hours away.
i gotta be honest here... i was kind of skeptical about the whole weekend.
what was it gonna be like?
how were the accommodations gonna be?
would there be things for us to do?
was everything going to be too scheduled?
i have to admit that i definitely ate some humble pie.
i was blown away at how great of a weekend it was.
we had a fabulous time, chatting with cousins and family members we hadn't seen for a long time,
eating great food that was made for us 3 times a day, enjoying the sights and scenery of the local area,
and best of all... gathering our awesome family for over 3 days of fun!
my girls had the time of their life.
how could they not?
there were 26 great grandchildren to play with!
my oma and opa would have been thrilled at a weekend away with the 'ganze familie'.
they were german through and through and the most social people you would have ever met.
first, they loved the Lord...
and secondly, they loved and adored their family!
they obviously could not be there because my opa passed away in oct '96 and my oma passed in sept '04.
but the family remains strong in a blessed Christian heritage and a zeal and love for people and life!

some of the highlights of the weekend included:
kids olympics!
here's the kids getting instructed on how it's all going to work.

notice how my baby is holding a random piece of toast?
she got quite angry when i tried to take it away.  ha ha!

big K's team!

little K's team!

and babe'ster's team!

my cousin deb did a fantastic job of organizing the kids into separate teams that had all ages involved.
the kids had SO much fun playing games and 'getting to know' one another.

water games?
but of course!  it was scorching hot that weekend!

yup, even the baby got to participate!

i LOVE this action shot!!
auntie (one of my cousins) was there to help her the entire time.

this was a common scene over the weekend.
everyone was lovin' on the 'baby' of the family!!

sliding down rapids.
we just brought our oldest girl along because it was too dangerous for the littles.

we're those awesome kind of parents who wear life jackets... and fail to put one one their child.
(just kidding, of course)

yup, we sat on the flat rock surface and slid down.

this was equally thrilling and painful.
as noted by my bruised and cut up leg!
(guess i didn't heed the guide's instructions well enough when he kept yelling, "keep to the right... keep to the right!!")

some of the "braver" ones (note, NOT me) did some crazy jumping in the more dangerous section of rapids.
yes, my husband was one of them.
here he is trying to get under the falls to see them from behind (in a little rock crevice).

there was a ton of fun had by all the kids (did i mention that already?) the entire weekend.
here's a few random snapshots of some of these times.

auntie pam thought it was a great idea to have wheelchair races.
so did the kids, apparently!

coloring and cousins?!
what could be better?

an older 'favorite' cousin was doing my girls' hair.
this is pretty neat and nostalgic for me because her mom (my cousin) used to do that to me when i was little!

little K became a bit obsessed with cousin g, calling her, "my teacher helper".
this was b/c she was little K's leader in the kid's olympics.
much of the weekend you could find little K sitting on her lap or latched onto her arm.

these 5 girls are all born within 21 months of each other.
they had a blast hanging out, playing and eating with one another.
it's a shame we are spread out all over the country and not living in the same town. :(

and these three of the five are born, in standing order, july '03, jan. '04 and nov. '03.

we also hit up the beach during the weekend.
we kinda overtook the sand from the other beach goers.
oops!

there was a floating dock which made for some fun times...
case in point.
(can you find me?! optical illusion... i'm not actually jumping off, just UP!!)

the kids caught minnows in styrofoam cups.
then proceeded to observe their captives.

one evening after dinner we were lucky enough to go river rafting/tubing.
if you can believe it... we piled all the kids under 10 into that raft with all the grandmas, a couple moms and a few strong men to guide it.

as we were piling the 'women and children' into the raft and trying to find space for each and every person, we couldn't help but remember the journey our oma and opa had to make almost 60 years ago.
interestingly enough, oma and opa had to flee east germany with their 5 children.
my uncle and my aunts and dad shared some of their memories with us one evening.
of course we all couldn't help but relate this to our rafting adventure.
"today... tomorrow is too late!" was my uncle's title to his 'essay' of sorts.
what do you think?
was it was fitting for our rafting trip as well?

even my sweet baby came along!
happy, for some of the time at least, to sit on omi's lap.

the rest of us were floating on the inner tubes, all tied together and attached to the raft.

the ride wasn't as rapidy or exciting as we had anticipated.
however, we still had many humorous moments.
including the time my friend went under in her tube and no one noticed because two of the 12-13 year old girl cousins got lodged on a rock.
ha!  it was funny... and yes, you had to be there.
oh, and the time the rope snapped and half of our tubes went loose.
people were off floating on their own.
i guess had it been more wild, there would have been some freaked out children.
it was perfect the way it was. :)

we also managed to get a little canoe trip in.
i've forgotten how in our regular life, there are muscles in my arms that i don't use too often.
luckily (?) this canoe trip reminded me that i still do indeed have triceps.

two dads, one mom (me) and a bunch of kids ranging in age from 5-13.
we actually made it across the lake.

we docked on a little place and the kids explored.
instead of finding neat treasures, they found leaches.
and poked at them.
i guess, for them, it's just as fun!
ewwww... leaches!!!!

even these two got along the entire weekend.
surprise, surprise!
i guess they had enough other children to keep them from constantly fighting!

a weekend like this wouldn't be complete without family pictures.

if you can believe it... EVERYONE showed up for at least part of the weekend!

everyone!

i'm still in shock.

i love all these people!

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children.
Psalm 103:17