Our New Winter Hats

Boy yesterday was just one of those yucky days where nothing seems to go right. I had just gotten home and crashed on the couch just ready for bedtime to arrive, and Jason comes in the kitchen and says, "hey honey were you expecting something you have a package" I knew right away what it was. And talk about perfect timing, I was really in need of a pick me up.

My friend Neva hand made knit hats for the kids and she even made one for mommy too. They are so nice! And the boys were absolutely thrilled with hat of their favorite colors red and blue. Thank you so much Neva!! We love them and have already gotten good use out of them. Last night was cold and wet and we were our hats out to dinner! Just in time for this chilly season in Whidbey.

Order up!

I just love having Noah at home by himself sometimes. He and Gabriel play together really well, but Noah tends to be a follower of his Big brother. But when he is by himself he is soooo creative. Last week I found him making dinner for his stuffed animals. He had to get them situated just right as they were a little short for the table, but he figured it out. And then he got a book from the shelf so that he could "follow a recipe" and followed directions carefully while he put together a hearty banquet for his three friends.

Nerf Fort

Well after two weekends of cleaning out the office we had a bunch of boxes in the garage. So daddy decided to build the boys a fort to play Nerf Battle with. They saved up there bonus bucks(the money they get for extra chores) a couple of weeks ago and bought nerf guns. Boy what a great way to get them outside this weekend, they spent hours battling. And were VERY sad on monday when the recycling truck came and the boxes had to go.

Five and a half months old

Blackberry Pickin'

Jason found a HUMONGOUS blackberry bush close to our house, so on saturday we walked to it and picked enough for a blackberry cobbler.

Don't they look yummy!

Does mommy look a tad pale? Gabriel gave me his cold and I was feeling pretty yucky, but being out in the sunshine really made me feel better.

RECIPE FOR GLUTEN/DAIRY FREE BLACKBERRY COBBLER/CRISP

About 3 CUPS of Fresh Blackberries

Sprinkle 1 Cup of Sugar on top of the Berries

In a separate Bowl Mix

1 or 2 Cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Bread mix

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

1 Stick of Dairy Free Butter Softened

About a Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Sprinkle the "Crumbly" Flour Mix on top

of berries. And Bake until Crisp.

Serve HOT... MMMmmm!!

It was DELICIOUS!!

Summer Reading

Okay you will have to excuse the kids messy hair and messy shirts. I should have done this on another day. We took this picture on Friday of back to school week, when they were both home sick. But I couldn't leave out the picture of their summer reading chain. We had a goal of 100 books and we ALMOST made it. Having read 79 books with 2 of them being chapter books and we are halfway through a third. So even though we didn't quite make our lofty goal I think we did really well. And the boys were soooo proud!

First Day of School

Well this year everyone was headed off to school. Even Abby sort of...

Noah started on Thursday the 10th. He is in Kindergarten this year!
Gabriel didn't start until the following Monday because he came down with a cold the day before school started, poor kid.
And this is Abby on that Wednesday her first day of daycare :)

Triple Feature at the Drive in

This weekend they had three movies at the drive in. Two kids movies, Up and G-force, and an adult movie last, The Proposal. I am telling you movie theatres are for adults, if you want to take your family to a movie find a drive-in. It makes for a great family night. You have to get there early enough to get a good spot, so we usually get there around 6. This last time was the best because we finally got smart about it. We emptied out the back seat and put a foam mattress and a bunch of pillows and blankets. I brought a bag of books and games for us to play before the movie. And a ball for the kids to kick around and get all their wiggles out. I WISH they had a family set up like this every weekend. By the end of the first movie the kids were pretty wiped and the second movie did them in. When it was time for the adult movie we tucked the kids in to "bed" and turned the car around. The kids slept in the back while Jason and I watched The Proposal. The only thing that bad moment we had was when Abby woke up about 5 min. before the last movie ended. She was confused because she wasn't in her bed, and completely out of sorts. She screamed furiously until we left. But all in all it was a GREAT time!! (oh yea, and Gabriel was the photographer for the first picture. )

Farmer's Market Blooms

this last pic is of a band that was playing at the farmer's market last weekend. It was so neat, but I didn't catch the name of them. If anybody knows please send me a comment. The kids loved it and so did I, I would really like to have a CD.

Just being home!

I usually post pictures of us going places and doing special activities. But a lot of the time we just hang out at home and the kids play outside or in their playroom. Just recently the boys have gotten to know the neighbor boys on either side of our house and they love riding bikes and playing Nerf together. Although as always happens when you get a group of kids together... just gotta fit in. Well both of the neighbors have a collection of Nerf guns. Gabriel and Noah, who were perfectly happy with their lightsabers, now are INTENT on getting a Nerf gun of there own. That's okay they are learning a lesson about working for and saving up money because of it, and eventually they can go buy one for themselves.

Here are some pics of us just hanging out at home.