Swimming and Sewing
July 25, 2008 at 4:26 pm | In Craft Projects, Events, Family, K's Posts, Photos | 4 CommentsThis week, us older six kids started swim lessons. The class is two weeks long, so we have all of next week to go. We’ve had lessons before, but our mom just wanted us to perfect our skills and become stronger swimmers. Swimming is, of course, exhausting when done for 45 minutes straight, so the remainder of our days have been spent doing lazy summertime activities. (Reading, watching Little House on the Prairie and Tales from Avonlea, knitting, and sewing.)
Just for fun, I wanted to include some “sneak peeks” of a few of the aprons that are being/have been made for the apron swap. I won’t mention the names of who made them or who is getting them so as to keep it a secret. 
Aren’t they turning out lovely? Great job, ladies! For those who haven’t already done so, please don’t forget to take some pictures of your aprons (in progress and/or completed) and send them to us so we can compile them and make a gallery.
Water Park Fun
July 19, 2008 at 3:11 pm | In Events, Family, K's Posts, Photos | 7 Comments
On Wednesday, to celebrate the twins’ birthday, we went to a new water park here. They have a deal where it’s free for kids under 14 on Wednesdays, so we took advantage of that and invited some of M&M’s little friends to go with us.
The water felt so cool and refreshing! The weather was nice until about 2:30 or so when it started raining. We had already decided to leave, so it wasn’t a big deal. Everyone was exhausted at the end of the day. We had a blast!
Favorite Authors
July 15, 2008 at 6:00 pm | In Books, S's Posts | 4 CommentsI have been tagged by the authoress of Rose Petal Tea to answer these questions.
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~ Who’s Your Favorite Author and Why? ~
My all-time favorite author would have to be Martha Finley. I started reading the Elsie Dinsmore series when I was eight or nine and I am up to book fifteen right now. I hope to read all twenty-eight someday. They are wonderful stories, and, after the Bible, they are the books which have most influenced my life.
Numbers two and three are definitely Lucy Maud Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables and much more) and Louisa May Alcott. My favorite Montgomery books are the Emily of New Moon series and my favorite Alcott is An Old-Fashioned Girl. I also like Frances Hodgson Burnett for The Secret Garden and A Little Princess.
~ Who was Your Favorite First Author and Why? ~
My first favorite authors (both of them are still high on my list, though) were probably Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie series) and Lois Gladys Leppard (The Mandie mystery series).
~ Who is the Newest Addition to Your Favorite Authors and Why? ~
Jane Austen is my most recently discovered favorite. I have read Emma and part of Pride and Prejudice so far. The movies are pretty good too.
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I’m sure both K and A would echo my opinions on authors. In addition to these, though, K would add Joni Eareckson Tada, and A would add Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye, authors of the Left Behind: The Kids series.
One more thing: I just realized that all the titles on my list are fiction! I have read and enjoyed plenty of non-fiction books too, however, so I’d like to add these as my favorites:
Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally, So Much More by AnnaSophia and Elizabeth Botkin, Daughters of Destiny by Noelle Wheeler, and Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by Sarah Mally.
If you’d like to post your answers for this tag, feel free! Most of the blogs I read have already participated in this one, so I won’t tag anyone.
3 Years Old!
July 13, 2008 at 9:36 pm | In Family, K's Posts, Photos | 4 CommentsTomorrow, July 14th, our little baby boys turn three!
After church today we went to our favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes, to celebrate.
M&M have brought our family so much joy in their three short years with us. I will never forget the day they were born. I feel so blessed to be their sister.
“Two are better than one…” (Ecclesiastes 4:9a)
Free Chick-fil-A!
July 11, 2008 at 5:10 pm | In Baby C, Events, Family, Frugality, Humour, Photos, S's Posts | 6 CommentsOur whole family loves Chick-fil-A, so we were very happy to hear about “Cow Appreciation Day.” Today, if you show up dressed like a cow, you get free food! A full costume will get you a combo, and if you wear only one cow accessory, you get a free entree.
So, this morning, we got to work cutting spots out of felt and construction paper and taping (or safety-pinning) them to our white clothes. Most of us also wore horns or ears attached to headbands and caps. Mom even sewed some felt onto a onesie for C. You can see some tips for costumes here.
When we got to our mall Chick-fil-A (we don’t have any free-standing ones near us), the employees looked a bit bewildered. But, they got their manager from the back and he knew what was going on. He said “Free meals for everyone!”, and the employees rang some “cow” bells. So we ended up receiving eleven combo meals; the register rang up $100. before the cashier started inputting the discount! Yes, we have some food left over. 
It was fun eating lunch in the mall dressed like cows, and pretending everything was normal. We didn’t see any bovine friends other than the ones in our group.
Here we are all decked out as cows – I’m sure you will enjoy the sight:
We <3 Tammy’s Recipes!
July 8, 2008 at 11:25 am | In K's Posts, Photos, Recipes | 1 CommentIf you haven’t been to TammysRecipes.com yet, you need to go there now! She seriously has the best recipes! (And great photos of the food!) Every single one we have tried has turned out delicious. Our newest favorite of her recipes is the one for Chocolate-Bottom Banana Squares. We recently made them for company and they were absolutely scrumptious!
If your family likes banana bread and chocolate, you must try these. Here is the recipe…
Yield: 24 squares
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions:
1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and bananas, beating thoroughly.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Divide batter in half. Add the cocoa to one portion of the batter. Spread that portion in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Spoon remaining batter on top, swirling gently with butter knife if desired, and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until batter tests done with a toothpick or fork. Cool and cut into 24 squares.
Independence Day
July 5, 2008 at 2:53 pm | In Events, Family, Movies, Photos, S's Posts | 3 CommentsI hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! We all did!
Dad took us to the movies that afternoon to see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. We had all been looking forward to it, especially C, who owns the Kit doll. (See photos of all our dolls here) The movie was great – we would definitely recommend it! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Kit, she’s a 9-year-old girl living in the 1930’s with her family, as well as with some boarders that they take in to help pay the bills. In the movie, some money ends up being stolen and they have to solve the mystery.
After we got home, we ate dinner and then watched fireworks from our backyard. We also played with some sparklers.
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