Cousins

The children got to visit with all their cousins while Dad was participating in a mission trip in Northwest MO. We spent two days with our Mid-Missouri cousins, and two days with our Southwest MO cousins.

Mid-Mo Cousins

We went to Shelter Gardens to take a few pictures. It was 90 degrees by 9am, so we didn't stay too long.

The girls worked on building a sand castle, and T worked on catching minnows in the lake.

Southwest MO Cousins

We had a blast at Aunt Kim's house. She had a BBQ for us, and set up two kiddie pools for the kids to play in, and Aunt Becca made homemade ice cream.

Daddy's Pancakes

Everyone in our home knows that Dad's pancakes are WAY better than Mom's pancakes. I (Mom) don't really understand why Dad's pancakes are so much better than mine because we use the same exact recipe, but it's true - his are better!

K is still cooking once-a-week. This week she wanted to make pancakes, bacon, and sausage for supper. We do breakfast for supper around here quite regularly.

K did a great job flipping pancakes. She's done this before, but this was the first time she really did it well! Hey - her Dad's a great teacher!

We used the strawberry jam we made yesterday as a topping on our pancakes, and let's just say these were the BEST pancakes any of us had ever eaten in our lives!!!!

Strawberry Pickin'

We went strawberry pickin' today and had lots of fun! T only picked the biggest and best berries, L picked whatever, and K did a good job of picking nice, red, ripe berries. The weather today was absolutely beautiful and perfect for picking berries. Our sweet friend, "Miss" Linda helped us can some strawberry jam, we froze most of the berries, and we're saving some to make Dad a special Father's Day dessert this weekend since we'll be travelling on Father's Day. We hope to be able to pick blueberries next!

Landscaping Take 2

We've been working pretty hard out in our yard this Spring. Do you remember this post I shared on April 3rd? Well, I have some new pictures to show our progress!

Remember, this is how the walkway looked when we moved in back in January...

This is what the walkway looks like today...

This was an old abandoned sand box. We are guessing there used to be a box. We dug up all the sand and hauled it off. Then we slowly started planting some plants who like the shade.

This is what the old sand box area looks like today. There will be more color as the marigolds, impatients, and hostas grow and bloom.

This picture shows you how the rock continues on around the house...

I really am learning as I go. I may have planted some things that won't do well in certain areas. But, I will learn from my mistakes and make some adjustments next year!

Fun Weekend

This weekend Dad put together a "Guard Your Heart Camp-out" for families in our church. The camp-out is a family event, and is centered around Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

On Sunday evening, we attended the AWANA awards ceremony. This is L's last year as a Cubbie and she will be moving up to Sparks next year. K has one more year left in Sparks, but T will be moving up to T&T next year.

State Park

This afternoon we visited the Samuel S. Lewis State Park for the first time. We had a lot of fun exploring and climbing on all the rock formations. Next time we visit we are going to pack a picnic lunch, climb some more, find the 1 mile hiking trail, and take a kite to fly! Today was a little on the cool and windy side, but the sun was shining beautifully!

Playing Catch Up

It has been a while since I posted anything here on our family blog, and I do apologize for that. We have been busy though. T and K are wrapping up their 2nd grade curriculum, and I have almost completed my two college courses as well. Since my last post L has enjoyed a Princess tea party with a few of her friends to celebrate her 5th birthday, we had a frightening run in with a short tailed shrew, and all three children raced in the AWANA Grand Prix. Here are a few pictures: