New Mexico

We went camping with my parents in New Mexico. The girls loved it. This is a few shots of our campsite, lunch in Angelfire, plus the girls swimming in Taos.

Last Day of Big Trip

I never got around to posting pictures of some of the things Kerri and I crafted. And by Kerri and I, I mean mostly Kerri. She is freakishly speedy when it comes to a sewing machine. Anyway, I wasn't able to get good pictures of the pillowcase dresses and bloomers, but here's what I did get.

Day 3

We graduated into "big girl" carseats...it made the trip SO much better!

Swam with Molly and Troy

And had our first slumber party! Emma wanted me to leave and come back for her...how sad.

Day Two at Jody's House

Addison immediately got a sucker stuck in her hair.

Splash time in the back yard.

Day One

We stopped by my aunt's house on the way to see Kerri. Here are a couple of pics from Day 1.

Conversation between Emma and myself this morning while fixing her hair:

"We don't touch the dirty corn. It will hurt you!"
"Dirty corn? Where did you see dirty corn, Emma?"
"On Jesus' head."
".........................?????????????
Oh, you mean the crown of thorns?"
"Yeah. The dirty corn."

They also think that Jesus threw rocks at Stephen. Makes me wonder what their vision of Christ is.

As promised, VBS decorations, before they were put into action...

Of course, there's more, but I don't feel like uploading them all

VBS

The girls started going to VBS yesterday, and are LOVING it! I've been preparing for decorations for a month now, and it is rewarding to see how much fun they are having. Here are a couple of pics of their first night. I hope to get some decoration pics up (if M.K. will ever email them to me...ahem), so that you can see what has been consuming my time.

Twin Moment

Shack-Tastic

If you've never been to my tool shed, then you will not fully appreciate what I am about to reveal. It has been a year since I moved into the shed, and I finally started making some changes.

First, the shelving has long bothered me. So I got some baskets to hide the clutter. This may not be a big deal to you, but it is to me! I still need a few more baskets, but it's a start.

Second, I got curtains!! Hopefully this will help with the summer heat!

And finally, I would like to introduce my new BFF...the Hoover FloorMate. This thing is amazing. We've actually had it in the house for a while, but never used it since we have Pergo flooring (and you're not supposed to get it wet). I don't know why it never occurred to me to use it in the shop before, but now that I did, it's great!

In totally unrelated news...check out my tomatoes!

I know it's not Mother's Day anymore, but since it's still May, I figure I can still post this video. It pretty much says it all.

Okay, so I can't figure out how to post it, but here's the url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_rBidCkJxo

Beach Day 2

Taking the camera to the beach is a total bust...so no more pictures from there. But here are a few from the Moody Gardens Pyramids. The girls were totally camera-uncooperative...Addison especially.

Beach

We're vacationing in Galveston this week, here's a couple of quick pics. We're all red like lobsters. If I can make myself take the camera today, I may post more pictures.

Playing With Photo Correction

Jody (Dacus4) sold me some photograph editing software from Creative Memories Digital line. This is my first attempt. Not perfect, but pretty cool, still.

New Pics

Couple of graduation (finally!) pics, and some of the girls. The girls are dressing themselves now, and Grandma sent them some new boots. Addison was ready to stomp some bugs, and Emma just thought she was cute.

Remember that garden we planted a couple of months ago? It's coming right along, putting out veggies like crazy. The squash aren't doing too hot, though...I think they have some sort of fungus. Here are the first 4 beans I picked today, as well as our upcoming bell peppers and cilantro...yum.

Easter

The girls had a good Easter...this was the first that they really got to enjoy the hunt! Of course, it was rainy here on Sunday, but Saturday was a big day. We hunted eggs at GG's house, and then with the church group. On Sunday we had 12 people in our tiny living room and dining room for lunch. It was an interesting culinary experience...leg of lamb, corned beef, and some other kind of bean I had never heard of.

Today was interesting...the bank next to the girls daycare got held up. They had not found the guy by the time I heard of it (4 hours later). The daycare was on lock down when I got there...it was all a little freaky.

Not too many pics of the girls' Easter, just a dress shot. Sorry :(

Mother of the Year, 2009

I'm going to go ahead and announce it...I am the Mother of the Year for 2009. If tonight's dinner doesn't solidify that, then I don't know what will.

Plan A: CrockPot roast with vegetables, at the table, as a family
---roast was still too under cooked to serve by dinner time

Plan B: Frozen pizza (with spinach and chicken), at the table as a family
--- dropped the pizza as I was taking it out of the oven. I actually stomped my feet and screamed "NO-o-o-o-o-!"

Plan C: Popcorn, in a bowl, outside, inside, everywhere, not as a family

And for dessert? I found my new favorite recipe, which is why I'm blogging in the first place....cake in a mug (a la Betty Crocker's Warm Delights). So, I thought I would share:

1 coffee mug (I used a really large one, but if you don't have a big one, it will just cook over the top a little)
4 T. cake flour (I used bread flour)
4 T. sugar
2 T. cocoa
1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. oil
1 splash of vanilla
3 T. chocolate chips (optional)

Add dry ingredients to the mug; mix well with a fork. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix well. Add chips

Microwave for 3 minutes on 1000 watts. Let cool.

And on another note...I passed my teacher work sample! That means I am DONE!

The Garden and First Swimming "Soups"

The girls tried on their swimming suits today and played in nasty sandbox water. They've been waiting for this day for 2 weeks. J. worked on the garden, which is nice to see against all of this brown we're currently surrounded by.