David Attenborough would be proud

Nature at work on my kitchen table.

Playing at "the field"

About a block from our house we have a "field" in our subdivision. I used to call it the park, but the kids would be disappointed every time I told them we were going to the park and we ended up there. Park, to them, means swings and slides. So, we went to the field a few days ago and soaked up some of the last bits of good weather.

Mascara

I swear she was only out of my sight for 30 seconds. I found her in my bathroom with makeup spread out all around her. She had sampled the mascara, put the lid back in the tube and put that back in the makeup bag. She was busy digging her finger into some eyeshadow and rubbing it on her eyes. I am impressed she knew where to put things on her face. She is an observant little thing!

Where did you put the makeup Essie? "Eyes."

No Mistakes Allowed

The erasers are gone. An hour before taking this picture, these pencils were waiting in an unopened package in my desk drawer. Waiting for a special day when I was ready for some pretty new pencils. Well, Estella found them first. Found them and devoured them. I found them under the piano bench...not one eraser left whole. I only found about half of the erasers...I'm sure I'll find the other half in her diaper. Silly girl!

Somewhere over the...

RAINBOW!!! A few days ago Jackson called me seconds after he walked out the door to go to work. "Jen," he said, "Grab your camera and RUN outside right now." I did as directed and was rewarded with this. Within a minute it had nearly disappeared. Imagine how many beautiful things happen and go unseen by so many! I hope this brightens someone’s day.

The Chocolate Store

Last week Nicholas earned a trip to the chocolate store. We went as a family and had a great time ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all the yummies. Nicholas went with the biggest, most colorful item in our price range. Yum, yum!

And here is a photo of Thomas holding a sweet little ladybug he found in the garden.

Yee Haw!

My boys LOVE Uncle Jake!!! These pictures are from our recent trip to Fillmore. My dad used to be the "horse" and try to buck us off. Jake did this with Thomas and Nicholas and they loved it.

Blankies

I am taking an online 4 week photography class. The last assignment was this...If you had to leave home and take only one item (besides people and pets) what would it be? Take a picture of it in three different types of lighting (ex. indoor, midday, and late afternoon). I decided the one thing (which is actually three things) would be my children's blankets. I don't know what I do, but all three of my kids are attached to a blanket. Not just kind-of-like-it attached...they are seriously I-won't-go-to-sleep-without-it-and-want-to-take-it-EVERYWHERE attached. I just photographed Nicholas's blanket for the assignment, but it inspired me to take a picture of all three of them with their blankets. (excuse the red processing...we have also been encouraged to try some new things with photoshop for the class).
This bottom picture is the one I submitted for my class. This is actually the second blanket for Nicholas. It's a long story, but basically the first one was lost, my mom made a replica (she had made the first one) and then months later the first one was found in tatters in a horse corral). Thanks Mom! You're the best!

Swinging

Whenever we go to the park, the first thing Estella wants to do is swing. ...and swing, and swing, and swing!

Making Apple Cider

Last week, while we were in Fillmore visiting my family, we pressed apple cider at a family friend's orchard. We did 6 gallons using apples from my parent's trees, and another 6 gallons with apples from their trees.

You send the whole apples into the chute and it chops them up really fine.

There is a slatted wooden board, then a wooden frame which you cover with a special fabric square. When the frame is full of apple chuncks, you fold the fabric tightly over the apples, take off the frame, add another slatted board, and do it again.

When you have enough layers you slide it over to the pressing end of the machine.

It slowly presses down and the juice pours out the bottom into a bucket (a very clean bucket).

Then you pour it through the strainer to catch any chuncks.

Fill the jugs and enjoy!

I am not a fan of store bought apple juice, but this...this was incredibly tasty and satisfying!

Essie's First Haircut!

We went to Fillmore this weekend (more pictures to come). All of my siblings were going to be there, so we couldn't miss it. While we were there my sister Kara gave Essie her first haircut! It was really just a trim, but it made a big difference.

Before church fun

This past Sunday we were all (mostly) ready for church and still had time to spare. (We still ended up rushing to get out the door...why does that happen?) The kids were playing outside, so I took a few pictures of each of them while their faces were clean :)