Looking Back and then Ahead

August is almost over! It flew by in a blur of back to school madness and a massive heat wave. Last night I felt the first hint of relief from all of the heat. I was able to open the windows while we slept and the house was nice and cool this morning. Hopefully the nights continue to cool down and maybe we can get some fall baking started soon! As far as school goes we are now in the full swing of things. I am starting to get pretty good at packing lunches the kids will eat and our schedule seems to be working out well. 

I have all sorts of plans for September. I want to get some holiday planning done, craft with the kids, plan birthdays for Zack and Mia, paint a room or two in the house, read a good book, and have a few more late summer cookouts with friends and family.

What are your plans for September?

Chocolate

We have decided to ignore the heat today and bake these brownies from  Journey Kitchen.

Mondays could use a little added sweetness anyway.

Weekend wrap-up

The weekend is over!

It went by quickly. Ty went golfing for the first time with a group of docs and CRNAs from work. He works in Palm Springs so it was only a matter of time I guess! He had a really great time and would like to continue golfing. Who would have thought that Ty would be a golfer??

This weekend was hot! 100 degree weather hot. Too hot to cook hot! I am hoping that by the end of this week I can enjoy being in my kitchen again.

We have been eating a lot of leftovers and crackers with cheese.
In spite of the hot weather Zack is sick with a bad cold. Ty stayed home with him for the first 2 hours of church and I took over for the last hour so that Ty could teach his Young Men's lesson. Zac started antibiotics this morning so he should be feeling better within a day or two.
I am 26 weeks pregnant now and feeling it. Kind of like someone hit me in the head with a bowling ball and then strapped said bowling ball to my stomach......but it's okay.
I am excited to have this little baby in our lives!

Ty will be working long hours every day this week so I am making plans without him for the next 7 days. I am sure we will survive, but it will be a long week.

Back to school and schedules tomorrow!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Despicable Me

The kiddos in this house are big fans of the movie, "Despicable Me"

Ty and I like it too!

We all especially like the minions in the film. Ty and I were at the store picking up some milk and Ty asked if we should buy a box of twinkies to make our own minions.

 It seemed like an awesome idea! Zac was excited :)

 We dove into our project on Friday night, because we are wild and crazy like that.

Ty used amazing precision with his frosting application. (That's just what a twinkie needs is a good layer of extra frosting.)

 Max spent a lot of time on his minion as well.

And here are the finished minions:

 Max's minion.

 Ty's minion.

and little Mia's minion with rainbow hair.

We made a big mess and everyone was high on sugar afterward, but it was fun! To complete our minion filled evening we watched Despicable Me.

It was a great Friday night!

Wednesday

Hurray! Halfway through the week!

Here's 5 thoughts for the day!

1. We are having the missionaries over for dinner tomorrow night. I have decided to make P.W.'s chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Now should we have rolls or cornbread?

2. I am 25 weeks pregnant and thought for sure I was over all that morning sickness.....I was wrong :(

3. Mia's first day of school yesterday went great! It was strange just having one little person at home for a while. (I was able to get all sorts of things done at home, however!)

4. I spent a lot of the morning working on the music plan for Sunday and I am almost done! It always makes for better weekends when I can plan ahead.

5. Pinterest is awesome! I have so many ideas and projects. Love it!

First Day of Pre-K

 Today is Mia's first day of school! She is attending Pre-K classes at Cherry Valley Brethren School.

I made baked egg cups with ham and cheese for breakfast. I wanted her to have a good start. She was really excited to go to school. She was sporting her Hello Kitty backpack with it's matching Hello Kitty lunchbox.

I was worried that she would be nervous and have a hard time saying goodbye but she did great!

It always feels so strange to drive away without your little one on the first day of school, but I know she is going to have a great time. I hope she meets lots of new friends and gets excited about learning.

We love you Mia! Good luck :)

This Afternoon

Ty is working late tonight so it looks like cookies and milk for the kids and I!

We are making these Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Girl Who Ate Everything.

Happy Monday!

Miz Mooz Boots

 Miz Mooz Hugo Boots

Miz Mooz Kailia Riding Boots

I love my boots and I need a new pair for this fall and winter. These are great looking and pretty affordable.

Now if we could just get the weather to cooperate!

Hashbrown

Zackary is not a big fan of our busy school morning schedule. He would prefer to wake up, sit around in his pajamas, watch cartoons, and eventually enjoy a leisurely breakfast of waffles or pancakes.

This morning there was time for a little chocolate milk and then we were out the door. After dropping Max off I had to make a stop at the store. I told Zack that if he was good we could get him a Mcdonald's hashbrown after. I knew he was starting to get hungry!

He was great! 

After our errands he got his hashbrown and he was very happy. Now we are home again and he can relax and drive his cars all around the house!

Max's Birthday Celebration!

 Ty picked Max up from school 1/2 hour early so that we could meet up with my parents at John's Incredible Pizza for Max's birthday fun.

 After eating way too much pizza we headed over to the rides and the games.

 Max had a blast!

He tried all sorts of games. He did a great job in this little bowling alley.

 Ty helped him improve his skills and by the end of the game he was pretty good.

 Max and Ty did some games together and then Max, Ty and my Dad got together to do the bumper cars!

 The lights and mirrors made it hard to take pictures, but they were having so much fun!

 Mia and Zack had a great time as well. There were games and flashing lights everywhere. Kind of like a casino for kids!

 After all the play and pizza we all headed back to our house for cake and presents.

 The pirate ship cake was not as easy to make as I had hoped. I had one failure yesterday, but I was able to recover with a pretty decent cake.

 It was pure chocolate goodness anyway!

 My parents got Max a brand new skateboard.

 I know Zackary will enjoy pushing himself around on it while Max is at school!

 Ty and I got Max some Heelys. He has been asking for a pair.

I think they are going to take some getting used to and I kind of feel like he needs to wear his helmet while wearing them, but after a while I think he is going to be great on them!

We love our Max! We are very proud of him. He is a great brother and a great friend. He is our most favorite first grader!

Happy 6th Birthday Max!