A Step Back In Time

The Valhalla Renaissance Faire. One of the best places to people watch. Syd and I went in costume, so this year we were the recipients of the people watching us. Clay and our little guy also went along. I so enjoy listening to the banter that goes on and how so many of the people that attend dress up and really get into their character.

Only bought something at one booth, but what a find - for me, anyway. A lady was selling dyed wool - roving - as well as knitting needles, crochet hooks, wool accessories and spindles. I bought some roving, a mini spindle, and she gave me a free lesson in how to spin. I've been taught before, but it's been quite some time, and the way she taught me I was able to get a much thinner yarn.
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Some of our babies have hatched! As of yesterday, one baby bird has emerged, and as of today all but two of the butterflies have hatched. They seem to do that when we're gone so we haven't actually seen them emerge.

Spring has Sprung, Welcome Summer

Yes, I haven't posted in forever. I know.

Yes, I should catch my blog up with what has happened in the last four months. I know.

But do I really want to spend all that time typing about what has happened in our lives in one blog? I....no.

So I'm posting a few pictures that I took yesterday that make me smile. And today, especially, I need to smile.

We're expecting! Butterflies, that is. Bought the butterfly kit before Christmas last year, sent away for the caterpillars, and this is what they look like today. We should have butterflies in four days or so.

Looks like I won't be using my clothesline for a while. A mother bird decided my clothespin holder looked like the perfect place to build her nest and lay her eggs.

She laid six beautiful eggs! Ouch.

Happy Heart Day

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. These are some things that come to mind when I think of things I love:


I love making valentines with my kids. I love watching them open their valentines and reading each one - every one of these valentines are special to them. I was able to go to Adam's class and be there while the kids opened up valentines and got overloaded on sugar by way of cookies, brownies, and rice krispies treats.


Although I can't really say that I love pizza, I like that Papa Murphy's makes a heart-shaped pizza that we can enjoy to celebrate the "love" holiday. What I do love is that Sydnee is able to have the pizza made and can deliver it straight to our house!
*
We ate the pizza on Saturday night, since Clay planned to make dinner on Sunday. That same evening - Saturday - some old friends of ours from out of town came to visit. They live in Winnemucca so we don't see them as often as we should. I have known Candice since Kindergarten. It was a great visit, and we all agreed that we should see each other more often. Did I get a picture for my blog? Of course not. So I'll just have to find something on the 'net and insert it here.


Ha - the inserted picture above is from Kevin's facebook page. Bet he never thought it would land up on a blog!




Of course, I love these kids! I also love the way they get excited over Valentine gifts from Grandma!



I love this little guy, too!(the little one holding the dog) I really wish I could show his picture, he is such a cutie! But privacy laws prevent me from doing that, and I totally understand. This is a little heart doggie that my mom "Gamma" gave him as a Valentine gift. No chocolate for this guy, since he is allergic to nuts and - as we're finding out - lots of chocolate is manufactured in a plant that also processes peanut products. He's sharing his apple with the dog!

Clay and I have been exchanging Valentines since 1983. Our very first Valentine's Day we celebrated I was a poor college student, and so I baked him sugar cookies, boxed them up and gave them to him. He gave me a diamond necklace. In case you're wondering, yes, I did feel a little cheap giving him just cookies, but I had no idea of the gift he would give me back then.

I love these flowers Clay gave me. Even though we talk about how flowers are a waste of money because they just die and you throw them away, I must admit I love getting them as a gift. I love these two colors together - Clay picked the colors out, and I love them.


Whether you celebrated with traditions, or something new, we wish you a very happy Valentine's Day!

Getting Back to "Normal"

Our little guy has been sick. Probably got it from Adam, who probably got it from the zillions of germs that float around a public elementary school. Only our little guy got it worse. A lot worse.

The past few days I've:

learned how to work one of these

Gotta love Youtube! Amazing how many videos come up when you search "How to use a nebulizer."

I've seen - in my opinion, not his - too much of this

Fortunately, Netflix runs 24/7. Why do fevers always seem to spike in the middle of the night?

Waking up every hour will do this to ya. Take sleep where you can get it!


Goldfish are our friends! For a while, it was the only thing he'd eat :-(


What makes a sick two year old feel better? Why, a bath and his favorite "shoap," of course!

Happy Birthday To You!

It's the second birthday in a week that our family celebrated. Can you believe our little girl is now nineteen?!!

When she was little I thought, I love this age. They grow so fast and you see so many milestones so quickly. When she was in elementary school I thought, I love this age. We send them off to school and get to see them learn, to make friends, and to grow into their own person. Middle school is more challenging, but I thought, I like this age. To see her become more independent and more confident made us so proud. Then high school - I love this age, too! She became her own person, and liked who she has become.

Now she is a college student, and I don't see her as often as I used to. She has grown up into a beautiful person. She is independent, and confident, something I have always lacked. I love this age.

Lest I get too sappy, I'm adding this picture! The day after her birthday, Sydnee had some friends over. There Adam is in the middle of her friends. They let him play seeing as he was the one who know how to hook up the games.

Happy Birthday

Syd!

It's The Little Things In Life

It's always fun to celebrate a birthday, but our little guy's was especially fun. He has come into our lives and found a way into our hearts. We will be forever grateful that we have had this time to spend with him. Happy Birthday, little guy!

Erin decorated the cake and we were all glad she did - it looks great! As I've said before, I am not a cook. We joke that I should be on the show, America's Worst Cooks (see picture below).

I can't even boil water - ha! This WAS supposed to be sweet potatoes. Maybe that part about being on the Worst Cooks show isn't such a joke after all.


We made a separate cake just for our little guy. He managed to put quite a dent in it. The plate was a Thomas The Tank Engine plate. He loves "choo choos" right now.

Surprise, he got a train set for his birthday. He has played and played - and played - with this set. He even wanted to take the train to bed with him. I just love this age.

Celebrate Friday

It's Friday! Here are a few things we're looking forward to
this weekend:

No homework! Erin had finals this week

so is taking a break from the books. Adam has had enough of

the dictionary for a while. Here is why:

He opened up the dictionary this week to

look up his spelling words

and this is what he found. Eeewww!

Our little guy is turning two!! With nut allergies the choice of store-bought cakes is hard, so we're opting to make his cake at home. I am by no means a cake decorator, so this cupcake is more pleasing to the eye than my cake will be I'm sure.

Adam is having a friend over

for a sleepover. Can you tell he is excited!

Pizza for dinner!

We're going to watch a high school basketball game tonight. Why oh why did our little guy choose today to not take a nap?!

Freeze Your Meals

Today's List of

Ingredients:

$60 worth of groceries

Two good friends

Six kids (5 boys, 1 girl)

Six recipes

Two large skillets

Three saucepans

Foil

Aluminum pans

Ziploc bags

Food Processor

Toys

Wii

Snacks

*

Add these ingredients over the course of the day, and you get:

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Parmesan,

Grilled Pork Chops, Family Chicken Casserole

Cheesy Double Baked Potatoes

Lasagna

*

As if these great freezer meals weren't enough, we even got to see:

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Legos, Legos, Legos

Is it really that amazing that five boys can make this much of a mess in a few short hours? Not really. Just so you know, they did pick the mess up before we were done.


And here I thought it would only take a couple of hours! More like almost five!

>**<

Thank you, Mariann, for a

wonderful day!

You are a great

friend!

Catching Up, or Return from the Crypt

Has it really been four months since my last post?! I am embarrassed to say that yes, it has. So, with the new year, here is a new post with a New Year's resolution to post more often.

This week Syd and I tried out a new restaurant, Off The Hook. It's a little restaurant close to Sparks Blvd. and Prater Way in Sparks. Syd had the coconut chicken, and I opted for the fish and chips, made with the tilapia. You can choose your choice of fish, and how it is prepared. I really liked the fish - the fish was cooked just right, and the batter was light and not greasy. We ordered our food to go, and by the time we got home, the fries had cooled down. I think they would have been better if we ate them while still hot. They make the fries fresh for each order. I REALLY liked Syd's food - the coconut chicken. It's made with coconut milk and real coconut. The chicken is served with rice. Yummy! I believe this is a father and son business, and I know how tough it is in this economy to keep small businesses up and running, so I am writing about this restaurant. This restaurant got varied reviews (see the link above), but if you're in the mood for fish, try Off The Hook for yourself and let me know how you like it.

Off The Hook, 1351 E. Prater Way #102, Sparks, Nevada

Coconut Chicken (they had Coconut shrimp as well) $6

The Fish and Chips - $7.00, included a small serving of coleslaw (this isn't my favorite coleslaw, not much flavor)

Zucchini Brownies

SERVINGS: 15-18
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 35 min. + cooling
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini

FROSTING:
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in yogurt and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. For frosting, in a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Spread over warm brownies. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

*** Since our little guy is allergic to nuts, I won't be using this frosting, although if it's as good as the brownies are, it will be oh so yummy. I plan on just frosting them with store-bought chocolate frosting. That's IF they last that long.

Ma'am, You Have a Beautiful Baby

Sheesh, time has flown by! I looked at the last blog post dated June 24, and I am amazed at how much our lives have changed since that time.

Our little guy turned eight

We went camping at our property near Graeagle, California for the Fourth of July weekend.

See the mustard smiley face on the hamburger?

Sydnee with her friends, Alex and Stacie, at the Civil War Re-enactments at the 4th of July festivities in Graeagle.



Good harvest this year!

and...

The biggest change in our family. In July our family became an official foster family. We have a beautiful 19 month staying with us. He is such a happy little guy, he holds such a special place in our hearts. All the training that we take tries to prepare you for this time, and it does in many ways. But I know of no way to completely prepare you for how you will feel for these children that come into your home. It's an overwhelming feeling for me to know that we are trusted enough for a precious child to be placed into your home to love and take care of. Our days are now filled with doctor's appointments, diapers, bottles, and scattered toys. By the end of the day I am exhausted like I have not been in such a long time. I absolutely love it.

Sharing our love of music- which he loves, too.

We went to the state fair last Wednesday. Adam, Erin and her friend were off riding the rides, and I was with little guy. Someone comes up to me and says, "Ma'am, you have a beautiful baby there." They just see a content and happy child. I look down and see a child that is not only happy, but has bonded with our family. I see a child that may have a rough road ahead of him, but has happy memories that we are a part of. I smile and say, "Thank you."

Syd's fair isle hat gets the Grand Champion ribbon in the knitting division

Summertime!

We've had a busy month leading up to summer. We are now the proud parents of a high school graduate! Syd's graduation was held at Lawlor Events Center. There were around 400 graduates - quite a big difference of 54 for me. I really thought that I would cry at the ceremony. I brought Kleenex, ready to bawl big time, but I only got teary-eyed once. I think there was so much going on, I was busy taking all that in. Plus, I got a lot of crying done the week prior to the graduation.

Can you believe she is graduating?! Seems like not so long ago I was tucking her in to her little toddler bed, and reading her Mother Goose. Life goes by too fast.

That's me, Syd and Adam after graduation.

You can see that Erin has been busy shopping and sewing. The boots she got at Prism Magic, the purse was a gift from Grandma, and she made the skirt. This ensemble makes me think of how different our tastes our. But I also see how creative and talented she is and am very proud of her ability to put together an outfit and wear it proudly.

Syd entered the Reno Raunch-o-Rama "pinup" girl competition. Erin and I made the dress, but I really think the petticoat makes this outfit. What d'ya think?

The same day as the car show was World Wide Knit In Public Day. Soooo, we had to knit in public, even if for just a little bit.

Every year in the winter months before Spring and Summer, I think of how this year I'm going to make the best garden ever. This year we ordered seeds, even planted them indoors to start growing them, but planted them outside a little late. Our poor little plants are not doing so well. Of course, having one of the wettest springs I can ever remember with little sun and very cool weather sure isn't helping them. We're finally getting warm weather but I don't think they had a

Clay put in an awesome sprinkler system for our garden. Now we just have to turn the faucet on to water the whole garden.

Beans and peas,

Poor garden! Maybe it will perk up with more sun.


Ok, so this isn't the garden, I just like these two pictures.