Kathryn and the Polar Bear

Saturday, Matt and I took the kiddos to the zoo. It was very hot, but we had so much fun. This was Matt's first visit, and the family's first visit as official "members" of the zoo! We finally purchased a year membership. Quite the deal, and I know we'll take even more advantage of it once the weather cools off!

Did you know Matt is quite the photographer? Here's our favorite photo from this visit.

And this was my feeble attempt at picture taking...but isn't it a cute picture!

And on a final note...can I get a big WAR EAGLE!?!

Muffin Tin Monday

Just another Muffin Tin Monday! Today, I thought it would be fun to focus on circles. So here's the run down...hot dogs sliced in circles, string cheese sliced in circles, peanut butter crackers, mini rice cakes, english peas and dried apricots. Sadly, even the muffin tin didn't convince Walker that it was ok to eat meat. He focused on his peanut butter crackers and opted to dip them in the ketchup instead of the hot dog. That boy!!

As a surprise for dessert, I gave them one of Daddy's round powdered doughnuts. Even if they didn't like them (which, let's face it, who doesn't like powdered doughnuts), they were determined to eat them because they were Daddy's!! That made their day even more than the muffin tin or all the cirlces!

The Weekend in Recipes

The Lazy Days of Summer

I haven't really figured out why this is so much fun to Walker and Kathryn or, for that matter, when this became a part of our morning routine. But as of late, as soon as I get the kiddos out of the bed in the morning, they gather up all of their pillows (including Kathryn's fox which she pronounces "fock." I wont' even try to explain how that word sounds coming out of her mouth), their blankets (and the Dora and Diego towels they like to use as blankets), and their stuffed animals and snuggle up on the floor in their room.

Maybe they are trying to tell me that they need big boy and girl beds?!? But God bless them, that's not going to happen for another year! Unless, they actually do move to the floor:)

Muffin Tin Monday

We finally participated in Muffin Tin Monday. I first learned of this fun idea through Ashley A. who saw it on this creative mommy's blog. I hadn't participated up until this point because I only had one muffin tin! Finally, on Saturday, I broke down and bought a second tin on a Wal-Mart run.

Today was especially exciting because it was Rainbow Challenge Monday. I had so much fun chosing foods from all the colors of the rainbow. Here's how it turned out...
Red: Strawberries
Orange: Carrots
Yellow: Banana
Green: English peas
Blue: Blueberries
Indigo: Grapes
Violet: Tico the Squirrel gummies (from Dora the Explorer gummy snacks)
White: String cheese
Brown: Peanut butter crackers
Pink: Strawberry yogurt
Black: raisins
Rainbow: Rainbow goldfish

So, what did Walker and Kathryn think........They LOVED it!! Here's proof.


Their favorite thing to do was turn the muffin tin around so they could more easily get to each compartment. They would keep it one way for a few minutes and then say "turn" and turn it around the other way which made for a lengthy lunch. They were having so much fun that it didn't matter. Definitely a great idea for picky toddlers!! We can't wait for next Monday so we can do it again!

Summer Reading

Remember those days of mandatory summer reading?

13 years post high school graduation, and they're still not enough years between now and those aweful memories! Let's see, A Separate Peace, Lord of the Flies, Cry the Beloved Country are just a few I recall, but I know there were more! I think I have just tried to forget those painful days of trying to read anywhere from 3 to 5 books in one week, maybe two! Of course, I had the entire summer,but why would I waste time reading when I could be relaxing in the summer sun!

So, let's see how good your memories are! What were some of your favorite summer reads during school or after (I am currently reading the Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury and loving it. It's the book Kathryn is holding, I mean "reading", in the picture). I am confident I wasn't the only one pulling out the Cliff's Notes at the last minute (did I just admit that??)

The Fourth in Photos

A wonderful birthday

Even though it's been almost two weeks, we are still cherishing all of the fun that was had and memories that were made at Walker and Kathryn's second birthday party. We were so excited to have Kidz Kountry Petting Zoo bring all of their fun animals plus Thomas the Train. There were ponies to ride, goats and a cow to feed, and silky chickens, ferrets, and turtles to hold.

We were thrilled to have so many of our friends there to celebrate with us, and we were especially blessed to have almost all of our family (Val, you and your boys are included in this category) with us (all from out of town, I might add!). The five cousins sported coordinating farm outfits thanks to Nana. Nana and Amy were even able to get a picture of all five grandkids sitting together (they may not have all been looking at the camera, but with little ones ranging in age from 10 months to 3 years old, you take what you can get:)

And what would a party be without the all important cupcakes! Ashleigh at Uptown Sweets outdid herself on the adorable farm animal cupcakes--pigs, cows, sheep and hay bales. Absolutely adorable and yummy too!

The PAP (or party after the party) continued well into the evening after some much needed naps. Walker and Kathryn had so much fun opening all of their presents. Boy, are you guys creative? They received the most "practically perfect" (to snag a line from Mary Poppins) gifts from all of you. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. The Lord even blessed us with an overcast day(only a few raindrops) which kept the temperatures a bit lower than normal. Thanks to all of you for celebrating with us. We had a ball!!