Awwww... Saturday mornings

Why Saturday mornings are nice:

You can romp and play in the bed together:



You can watch Saturday morning cartoons:



Mommy makes strawberry muffins:





Have a nice Saturday!

Yum Yums

Chloe and I made these this evening, so tasty!

Yum Yums
3 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups peanut butter
1/4 cup butter (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
semi sweet chocolate chips (I used one bag and had just enough), melted

Stir together peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar. Add Rice Krispies and stir. Roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate. I put them in the fridge to harden.

Yum yum yummy!

Another Choir Show

This evening was Chloe's school Choir Show. The choir did a wonderful job! They have a good teacher. Chloe had a solo part and was great! I didn't get very good pictures though. She's in the front row, seventh from the right.

Canada trip

We went to Canada over the long Memorial Day weekend to visit our friends in Stratford, Ontario and then we went to Niagara Falls. Stratford is a beautiful town and we had fun seeing our friends and touring their town and meeting their family and friends. (Thanks Rosie and family!!) Niagara Falls is an amazing sight. We looked at the Falls all afternoon and then walked around and looked at everything nearby. We shopped and ate with Brian, Rosie, Alaina, and Trent. After dinner they had to head home, and we went to our hotel. We swam at our hotel and then went and watched the fireworks over the Falls. They illuminate the Falls at night too with colors, so pretty!

Chloe among the flowers in Stratford:



In the beautiful gardens in Stratford along the river:



Chloe, Alaina, Trent, and Owen



Owen in the park there:



Chloe at Niagara Falls:





The five of us. It was very windy and misty off the Falls, so we look a mess in most of the pics. :) Phoebe said it was raining but it was the mist off the Falls.



Close view of the Falls:



The American Falls looking into New York:



Owen didn't get too close, which was good:






Me with Rosie (Again, the wet, windblown look)



I would have a heart attack if I were to get on this Maiden of the Mist boat. Everyone on the boat had on a blue poncho. When we looked down on it Owen said "Look at all the blue people".



Phoebe is yawning here, I think we wore the kids out:



Horseshoe Falls:



Phoebe swimming and saying "cheese":



The hotel was extremely nice. Our room had a window seat to look out onto the Falls, we all loved that.



After we watched the fireworks we went to Applebee's and Owen fell asleep:

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All County Choir

Chloe tried out for the All County Choir and made it, and she has been practicing after school every Monday for a month. She enjoys the Choir at school and the All County Choir is made up of kids from every Elementary School in the County who have been chosen from their school choirs. They sang 6 songs and did a great job.


Before we left:











With a Cheif Cornstalk statue at the Riverfront Park where the concert was held:



A girl has to have a Dairy Queen treat after all that singing:



Phoebe wouldn't even take a bite of ice cream. (Perhaps she isn't my daughter!) She was more interested in playing in the dirt.



Owen liked his ice cream just fine. He always only gets a vanilla cone.

What a shame!

Yesterday I was telling Mom about when Phoebe poops on the potty she says "Yuck" every time. Owen was listening and said, "It's a shame Phoebe's potty doesn't have a flusher". Why, yes it is!

A sentence!

Phoebe can say a lot of words, and can put two words together, but in general she's pretty quiet. She also says a lot of gibberish. ;) Today she finally put three words together. She wanted milk (as she does three hundred and fifty seven times a day), and I asked here where her cup was. I was hoping she would get the one she was using earlier. She opened up the drawer where I keep her cups, pointed at them, and said "There it is!". Thank you very much.

Every time Phoebe says a new word, or one Owen hasn't heard her say before, he always exclaims, "It's her first word!". Too bad he didn't hear her say her first sentence!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. 13 years ago it was a beautiful sunny day. The sky was bright blue and the clouds were so big and white. When we left the church, instead of throwing rice everyone let go of a red or white balloon. The sky was full of over 100 balloons. My scanner isn't working or I'd post a picture. I'll never forget that sight. Days with beautiful skies like that remind of me of our wedding day. Danny is a wonderful husband, I am very blessed. He had to work today but we did get to go out to lunch at the Wild Horse. The food was yummy! We hadn't been there in awhile.








Danny got me this necklace:



Wonder what the next 13 years will bring???

Mudslide

We we were all outside playing this afternoon, and Phoebe went chasing Daddy down the hill in the backyard down a path in the woods. I yelled for her to come back, but she ran even faster. Then she slid down the hill into the mud. As you can see, she did NOT like it.

What nap?

Phoebe woke up from her nap today and came in to find me. I was laying with Owen on the couch watching cartoons. I lifted her up with us for a snuggle. I said "Did you take a nap?" and she said "No No" (she never just says no, it's always "no no"). Owen said "She was asleep, she didn't know it".

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

My Mom and I (and the rest of us, but especially Mom) love to buy Oatmeal Whoopie Pies at a fleamarket we go to once a month. Some Amish ladies used to set up a table with all their delicious baked goods. This year they aren't setting up to sell anymore, and Mom has really missed the oatmeal pies. I stopped at our Bible Bookstore to buy some things and bought a book by Wanda E. Brunstetter that I'd been wanting to read (love her books about the Amish). When I was getting the book I noticed that Wanda Brunstetter also had a Amish Friends Cookbook. I flipped through to see if the Oatmeal Pie recipe was in it, and it was! So I bought it and made some for Mom. They are just about exact to the ones we bought from the Amish ladies at the fleamarket. They are SOOOOO good! I'm making some more today. Here's the recipe:

Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

3/4 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
3 T boiling water

(I skipped the soda, salt, and water because I used self rising flour.)

Preat oven to 325. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder and add to creamed mixture. Add oats and cinnamon, mix well. Stir baking soda into boiling water, add to batter and blend well. Drop by teaspoons onton greased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 mintues. Cool and fill.

Filling
5 T flour
1 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup shortening

Cook flour and milk until mixture forms a paste. Cool. Add remaining ingredients and beat until mixture resembles whipped cream. Spread between two cookies.
(Can freeze them and eat frozen, but I've never done that.)

No more Cartoon Network!

I overheard Chloe say this while she and Owen were watching Tom and Jerry today:

"I just love animated violence, don't you, Owen?"

Calgon, take me away.

While I was on the computer hunting for Chloe a white sweater, this is what Phoebe did to herself:



She sat in the kitchen floor and painted herself green. Then an hour after that, she got a round brush tangled in her hair. Owen alerted me to this and brought her to me and said it was a nightmare (his favorite quote he picked up from me).

Now I've discovered there are ants in the computer room. I'd want to live here too if I were an ant. This place is a mess! Calgon, take me away...........

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I woke up to sounds in the kitchen. I could hear the microwave and banging around. Chloe and Owen (mostly Chloe) made me mini microwave pancakes (though not microwaved quite long enough ;)) with blueberries on top and syrup. There was also buttered toast and a muffin left from yesterday. To drink I had milk with two straws. I also had a note reading (in these words by Chloe):

Happy Mother's Day!
Reasons Why I love you
1. You take care of me
2. You love me
3. Your pretty
4. YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND Special MOMMY!






Chloe made me scavenger hunt too,(which ended outside in the rain inside of Owen's tricycle trunk) to find my present she made, which was a cup she colored at school. (Actually they started it at school but she had to finish it at home because she didn't get it finished.) She wrote me a poem too. At church this morning she decorated me a flower pot with a pretty flower in it. Owen made me a picture at Story Hour with his picture, and a little book today at church.





We had a Mother Daughter Tea at church yesterday. Danny bought me a watch and a bracelet and sent me a sweet email this morning. It's been a busy weekend and not at all relaxing, but I'm still very grateful to be a Mommy on this Mother's Day!

The Star!

Today Chloe's class put on a little play that was in their Reading book called Little Red Writing Hood. Red was a writer and rewrote different classic stories and everything turned out a mess. It was funny and Chloe did a great job. She was Little Red Writing Hood.




Today is my Dad's birthday and we went and had Chinese this evening. This is Mom, Dad, crazy Owen, Chloe, and my sister Betsy. Phoebe is running around and I'm taking the picture. ;)

Weekend of Camping

We went camping over the weekend and had such a great time. The kids had a blast and we had fun just hanging out together. It was a beautiful campground and not crowded since it's early in the season. Here are a bunch of pictures.

Owen on his trike:



Chloe loved riding her bike everywhere:



Phoebe wouldn't let anyone sit in her chair. When Owen or Chloe tried to she said "Mine!" and pushed them out.



Chloe loved riding her bike with Daddy:



Three pairs of dirty crocs:




Who needs a slide when you have a hill of dirt? This was great entertainment for all three of them:



Phoebe loved showing us all the things she found:




These trees were at our campsite. Chloe found them fascinating:



Blowing bubbles:




Phoebe thought the water fountain was hilarious. We had a hard time keeping her away from it:



Owen fishing:



Daddy and Chloe fishing:



Chloe caught this rainbow trout. She's caught a lot of fish before, but this was her first trout. Danny was so proud.



Phoebe taking a nap:



This was the coolest playground toy ever. I came home and ordered one for Owen's birthday:








Owen said this playground was like McDonalds. (I guess because of the red and yellow.)



Chloe swinging:



Phoebe loved the slide:



Phoebe in the lead:



Up the slide again:



Phoebe loved the bath. It's a good thing, the kids were SO filthy.





Owen sleeping in:



Heading home: