Summer So Far - A Hodge Podge

A trip to Grandmommy's.
It's not a trip to Grandmommy's lately without checking out what new Angry Birds game she's got on her iPad.

A walk in the rain

Some carnival rides at Liberty Park

Some creative cooking experiments:  Chocolate Mousse and Key Lime Pie

Really tasty if I do say so myself!

Homemade bagels (I made doughnuts too but didn't take a picture).

A trip to Island Park over Memorial Day weekend with some family where we celebrated cousin Ty's birthday!

A little Wii playing

Jim and Josh got some fishing in (it was snowing).

Paige and I drove back home for church on Sunday so she could give her talk in primary.  She did a great job/  She drew this picture after we heard a lovely violin piece.  I love it.  I need to get her started on the violin.

Some new haircuts

A bunch of yard work, really un-doing yard work.  Jim ripped out the bushes we had here because we hated them.  I'll post after pictures, it's starting to look great but we're not done.

Nanny and Papa helping in their nice work clothes

We found an injured bird in our window well one day.  We tried to set it free but I don't think it could fly.   Paige took it on as her new "pet."  I made her wear rubber gloves.

Indie was surprisingly gentle with the little guy...I think she wanted to play, don't really think the bird was too excited about it.  It was either really calm or paralyzed with fear because it just sat there.

I don't think Indie would make a very good hunting dog.  She's too nice.

A bike ride/run around the riverfront with some very frequent stops to look at the mommy ducks and their cute baby ducklings

A very rare moment of sibling love.  We have to document it because the summer fighting, bickering, punching, yelling, screaming and torturing is in full swing.
Help me.

Christmas Day 2010

We spent the rest of Christmas Day at Nanny & Papa's house.
Cousin pile up.  The kids have so much fun with their cousins.

*Disclaimer: I must warn you that some of these photos are 

less than flattering but have to be used for purposes of documentation, note the crazy eyes above. 

Here's Hailey in the cute hat Aunt Anneliese crocheted (is that how you spell that?) for her.  She did one for Paige too in a beautiful blue that matches her eyes but darn it I didn't get a photo.  Not sure where she learned that hand gesture...I'm guessing her super cool Dad. 

Nanny got all of the girls the cutest nightgowns and robes!  

They are just like the one Clara wears in The Nutcracker, they love them!

*This is one of the photos I was referring to...not that it's bad, it's just ...weird.  

Crew got some really fun Duplos that he plays with all the time!

Nanny and Papa always give the kids a special book, picked out for each child individually with a really  nice inscription in the front telling them why they selected the book especially for them.

I got some super cute mittens made from recycled sweaters.  They are so, so soft inside.  The will definitely come in handy, it was -6 the other day! 

*I loved them, despite my weird expression!

And, every year, Nanny and Papa give everyone the neatest pewter frames, definitely heirloom quality.  

We are acquiring quite a collection. 

*Again, what's wrong with me? I almost look mad but I really loved the frame!  Everyone else looks great!

I love the look on Papa Red's face as he opened his present from Nanny.

*Ok, Papa looks a little weird here too...it's so funny the watch someone get mad when they open a present!

An iPad...he couldn't contain his excitement... ; )

Bryn, who is doing her residency in pathology in Kansas City along with her husband Luke (who was stuck working, he's also in residency for Family Practice) got a Madame Alexander doctor doll.  It was so cute, Marianna had a little doctor coat made for her!  

On top of being doctors, she and Luke are expecting a baby boy this Spring!

*Bryn is very photogenic and has an adorable little baby bump you can not see here!

After opening presents we sat down to a delicious dinner at a beautifully set table.

And the kids sat down to a special treat of dinner in front of a movie.  Look at Nanny's perfect homemade dinner rolls.  They're as good as they look.

It was a great Christmas.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2010 was spent...

Tracking Santa's path on the Northpole.com,

hanging out with family (Uncle Josh and Nanny pictured here),

and listening to Justin (one of Jim's cousin's son's) recite the entire "The Grinch Stole Christmas" story verbatim!  This picture doesn't really accurately portray how quietly and intently these kids sat listening to Justin recite the whole thing.  We were all amazed!

This is Justin and his dad Blake.  He did such a great job!

We also opened up Christmas pajamas and slippers (with President Obama who mysteriously appeared in Nanny and Papa's living room that night?!?).

We baked and decorated cookies for Santa,

and left out food for the reindeer too.

We had some pretty thick fog that night so it's a good thing we 

left food so the reindeer could tell where to come ; )

Fishing

We took the kids fishing the other night with Nanny, Papa, Bryn and Luke.

Jim really gets into a zone when he's fishing and is very intense.  The only thing I'm this intense about is maybe.....shopping???  How shallow, I need a new hobby.

Indie loves it.  All I can think about is that all that money we just paid to get her groomed is down the drain.  She always gets so dirty!

Crew fished for about 2 minutes and then spent the rest of the time playing with his worm.  We named him "Jerry."  Crew wanted to know if he could build a little bed of dirt next to his own bed that Jerry could live in.  He wanted to keep him "forever and ever and ever."

Jim caught a couple of fish and let the kids bring them in.  All I could think about was the poor, slimy, fish with that hook piercing it's mouth, struggling to breath outside of the water, terrified it would never see it's little fish family again.  Can you tell I'm not much of a fisherwoman?

Hailey, on the other hand, is a total fisherwoman.  She's got a great cast and stuck with it the whole time, she definitely takes after her dad.  Here she is when she thought she had caught a fish.  It was actually Aunt Bryn she had hooked, but it was fun to see how excited she was.

It was a nice night.  Good to be out in nature.  I love the weather here this time of year.