We fit!

We outgrew our cool, blue SUV about a year or so ago. I promised I would never become a minivan driver, but after a day of driving it around, I'm convinced that we should have bought one a long time ago.

It's so much easier to get in and out of. Aaron can climb into his seat all on his own. Sam can get in and out of the car very easily in the pickup line at school. Up till now he has been climbing all the way through to the front, stepping on the passenger seat and getting out the door... that was going to be a nightmare in the winter with the mud and muck!

The boys decided they loved the new car so much that they were going to marry it... hmmm!

This is the trunk after a Sam's Club run. Seriously, this would have been stacked up higher than the seat backs in the old car... this is amazing. It's going to be great for our camping trip coming up this weekend!

S is for S-s-s-snake!

Seth is adamant that he in no way likes school or EVER wants to do school. I'm okay with that... I don't really want to do school myself :). Sooooo... today we worked on an art project (because that is certainly NOT school). We made spiral snakes. In this project he was able to practice tracing, painting, and cutting... I guess we could have thrown in some pattern lessons too (alternating colors and such), but I love his randomness. Sam would have totally had a pattern going because that's just how he is, but not Seth... he likes to keep you guessing. We talked about the letter S and the sound it makes and he practiced writing several Ss. He's actually quite good at them (after all, it is his initial letter), but he needs to work on it a little more.
Anyway, it was a fun project for both Seth and Aaron. I love how proud Aaron was of his final masterpiece.

Meanwhile... Adalie kept herself quite busy, just being her cute little get-into-everything-imaginable self :)

And finally....... THE BEST SALSA RECIPE EVER!!!

2 cans of diced tomatoes (drained, I always reserve the juice for my Mexican rice.)
1 pretty small onion
2 garlic cloves
8 or so big fresh cilantro leaves (Adam doesn't like them, but I LOVE them!)
8 or so slices of jalapeno (I used the nacho slices that come in a jar)
A sprinkle of creole seasoning, salt & pepper
A couple squeezes of lemon

Stick it all in the blender and blend... it's so GOOD!

I love Mexican restaurant chips and salsa... one of my most favorite things in the world! Adam told me this was very "restaurant-esque." I think so too. I have been trying to come up with a good recipe for ages and I think I finally got it.
Hope you try it!

The BEST Day of his life!

This past week we started off on a new journey... the Second Grade. So far, so good! The first day of school, Sam was all smiles and couldn't wait to get there. Aaron, though, was very disturbed that we just left him there. I had to include the photo of him walking to the car after leaving Sam in his class... it was so sweet!

Sam is really loving it! I knew he would -- he just loves being around people and is a magnet for learning. His teacher, Mrs Lorenz, is so great! She sends home detailed newsletters each weekend stating what they plan to work on in each subject the following week... I love that! He'll have gym twice a week, as well as computers, art, and Spanish once a week. I really think it will be a good year, and I am so excited for him.

While it's been a good week for us, it has also been pretty exhausting. Anybody who knows me at all knows that I am NOT a morning person. Lucky for me, none of my children are either (7:30 is about the earliest they've ever awaken... seriously!). We have had to adjust to getting up and out the door by 7:40 each morning... not an easy thing for me. I am learning that organization is key... having lunch packed and clothes sitting out the night before.

My Favs

So, we just had our family portraits done... and I L.oOVE them!!! Usually it is so easy to choose the one I like best b/c there are blinks or frowns or wardrobe malfunctions... something wrong in each photo. Not the case with these... I guess I just have beautiful kids!

12 Month Checkup

Adalie had her 12 month check-up yesterday. She's healthy as can be! She was 19 pounds and 29.5 inches tall. She's a tall and slender one (15th and 60th percentiles). She had to get 3 shots and really let the nurse know just how she felt about that.... not too happy about that at all.
Her gums are pretty swollen up front so I think we've got tooth #4 on its way soon. It's amazing how much she has grown and changed in the last few weeks... there's really been a transformation. It's so fun to watch, but at the same time I wish she'd just SLOW DOWN! She's just the sweetest!

We went the the park a few nights ago. It was so hot and muggy out... not really the best day for it. The kiddos enjoyed playing on the toys for a few minutes and then began wandering as usual. They found a really great bush that was completely hollowed out... the perfect little fort! As you can see, Sam sent his little brothers in as the guinea pigs to make sure it was alright to venture in. Well, it wasn't! They woke up about a bazillion mosquitoes so we packed up and left the park within seconds. It was awful!!! Oh well..... another time :)

Breakfast Pizzas for Dinner!

I made these for dinner a couple nights ago and they were YUMMY!

I used:

1 can Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
A few spoonfuls of Tomato Sauce
Grated Cheese
Cooked Sausage
Eggs

I flattened out the biscuits to a 5-6" circle, leaving the edge a little thicker to contain the runny egg. Then, I layered on the ingredients and baked it at 350* for about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the eggs (like I did!). Even though they look soft and runny, they are pretty hard, almost too hard.

Next time, I'll definitely make them with my own biscuit recipe or pizza dough... we are not big Grands fans around here, just had them on hand for Monkey Bread. I'm thinking we might throw in some veggies too... broccoli might be tasty.

Our 4th Fun!

We had a great 4th of July. First thing on the schedule was a quick trip to the Tosa Parade... which turned out to be a 3 hour long adventure. That was the loooooongest parade I've ever been to, but it was fun. That night we went to the Butler fireworks show. Butler is a tiny village that we pass through rather quickly on our way to church, but man do they have good fireworks. The grand finally was amazing! It was Aaron and Adalie's first time and they both did amazingly well... I was expecting them to freak out. The boys got a little frisbee time in while I chased Addie around trying to keep her off all the neighbors blankets... such a friendly little child.