Chicken Noodle Soup

A lovely lady at church gave me this recipe.  It’s the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had. I’m not exaggerating. It really is the best. This lady happens to be one of my favorite people as well.  I probably shouldn’t have favorites at church, but I do.  Well, I actually have a TON of favorite people at church.  What can I say.  The Lord has blessed us with an incredible congregation.  I love just about everyone there.  Okay, enough about that.  You’re looking at these photos wanting the recipe now right?  I’ll try my best.  It might be a little confusing.  Sorry no detailed pictures this time.  I’m getting lazy in my old age.To start off bring a large stock pot of water with a little salt to a boil.  Then grab some chicken and add it to the pot.  I believe that thighs and wings have the most flavor to them.  If you are extremely lazy just go to Sam’s Club or Costco and grab one of those rotisserie chickens that is already cooked.   If you decide to do this you’ll only need to debone and deskin the thing.  For those of you doing this the old fashioned way, simmer the chicken until the lovely aroma fills your home and your neighbor comes over and tells you that your house smells really good.

While your chicken is simmering, chop up carrots, celery, and onion.  If you have texture issues, then keep chopping until all the pieces are super tiny.  Stick that in a separate pot and cook until almost tender.  Strain the vegetables and dispose of the water.

Next you want to pull the chicken out of the pot to cool a bit.  Then debone and deskin it.  Set it aside.  Save the broth from the chicken. Add a couple cans of cream of chicken, or one large can, to the broth.  If you got your chicken precooked just get some chicken broth and mix it together with the cream of chicken.

Then grab a stick or two of butter. REAL BUTTER.  None of that fake stuff.  It doesn’t have enough flavor or goodness to it.  I start with a stick and that is usually enough.  It depends on how your cholesterol is doing.  Melt the butter then thicken it up with flour until it’s nice and creamy.  Thicken it up to the consistency of cake icing.  Then dump it into the broth and cream of chicken.  Mmmm…

Next, add the vegetables and chicken to the soup.  Stir it gently, so the vegetables don’t break and get all mushy.

Now this next part is the cheater part.  Either pull out your pasta maker and make a ton of egg noodles from scratch or get some of those frozen egg noodles from the grocery store.  Cook them up according to package directions.  Then shred the bag, so no one will know that you didn’t make them from scratch.  Add the noodles to the soup, stir it around a little and let it sit for a bit so all the flavors mesh together just right. Grab your bowls and serve it up!  This soup is also great the next day, you know kind of like lasagna, the day after, almost tastes better because all of the ingredients have settled in nicely together.

• Chicken (thighs and legs are best) or Rotisserie
• Salt
• Chicken broth
• Carrots
• Onion
• Celery
• Cream of Chicken
• Butter

Sorry I can’t give you exact measurements.  It’s one of those things that you have to taste along the way and figure out if you should add more of this or that.  Good luck.  Let me know how it goes if you try it.

***I’ve changed the layout of my blog, so if you get emails, I’m not sure you will be able to read this email.  This will be a test post.  If it doesn’t work I will change the color of my font.  If you want to see this recipe you’ll have to click on the link at the bottom of the email and go straight to my blog.  Sorry for the inconvenience… if there is one.  :)***

I Heart Faces

With all the snow we have been receiving it feels as though Autumn doesn’t really exist. However between snow storms we had a warm, sunny day and the kids were able to play in the leaves. The ground was still mushy and muddy, but that didn’t bother them. I was even able to capture this photo before the Fall season disappears for the rest of the year. Check out some more “Autumn Beauty” photos at I Heart Faces by clicking on the button above. *On a side note: The snow continues as this morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow. Two days ago we were in the 70s. Gotta love Colorado!

Seventy Pounds of Apples

When I got all of those tomatoes I also picked up some apples-seventy pounds of apples.  I couldn’t pass up a good deal and we like apples!What does one do with so many apples?  We made applesauce and apple butter.  Then I let Rebecca make an apple pie.  That was good! This simple little apple corer/slicer is a great little tool.  It helps the process of making applesauce a little quicker.  You want things to go as quick as possible when you have 70 pounds of apples. Once we sliced the apples we boiled them all to soften them up. Then the girls got to have all the fun.  They tag teamed together putting the softened apples into the Kitchen Aid and smashing them down the strainer.  This attachment is the best for applesauce.  You don’t have to peel the skins off the apples.  It gets rid of them for you. .

 

The attachment spits the applesauce out one end and the peels out the other.  It’s great.  We do this right over the sink so the peels can go straight into the garbage disposal.  This makes for easier clean up later.Here is my cheesy Thomas. He wanted to help to, but for now it was more of a two person job, so he watched until the girls got tired.  It takes awhile to get through all the apples, but it is definitely worth the work.

  

Finally it’s Thomas’s turn.  He loved helping.  He didn’t want to stop, but we had to.  We ran out of apples.

So I forgot to take photos of the whole jarring and canning process of the applesauce as well as the end result, but you can look at some old photos if you’d like.  You can also refer back to my tomato canning for canning photos.  Well I’m off to search the ads for some more apple sales.  Until next time make it a great day!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

When it comes to cooking, I’m all about things that are quick, easy, and flavorful.  Sometimes I pull things together at the last minute.  This was one of those times.  I searched the fridge to see what I had laying around.  Here is what I came up with.Grab some chicken breasts.  Pound them down a little, so they don’t take too long to cook. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on both sides.  Then pull out you skillet.  Add a little oil.  (Or you can grill them.  In the summer I stick these on the grill.)Cook the chicken until it’s brown on both sides, flipping the chicken once during the process.  What I like about doing this in the skillet is the nice, caramel crust that forms on the outside.  Yum!Pretty, right?  Remove the chicken from the skillet and place it on an oven safe platter or dish. Now grab some cheese.  Just about any kind will do.  I think I used Colby Jack here. Sprinkle it over the chicken.Is your mouth watering yet?  Remember that incredible salsa you made with all the tomatoes you bought?  Go and get a jar. Dump a few spoonfuls over the cheese that you put on your chicken.  You taste buds are getting jealous now.  Your stomach is starting to rumble.  But wait.  You need to stick this into the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.When you pull the chicken out of the oven the aroma from the salsa of onions, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro will overwhelm you.  You’ll just want to eat it straight off the platter. 

It’s not dinner time yet, but now you have your dinner planned out.  Enjoy.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Cheesy Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Chicken Breasts
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cooking oil
• 2-3 cups of shredded cheese
• Jar of salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Pound chicken breasts down to 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in skillet.  Brown chicken on both sides.  Remove chicken and place on oven safe platter.  Sprinkle cheese on each chicken breast.  Then spoon salsa on top.  Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.

A Little Water Bath Canning

My friend Amy and I have been discussing canning, so I thought I’d post this for her.  Here you go, Amy.  I hope it helps a little.  Maybe it’ll help some other people too.  I’m no pro at this canning stuff, so for all of you who know what you’re doing please feel free to leave comments and tips for us.First you need a massive stock pot.  I like this one because I can fit seven jars in it at one time. I’m getting some salsa made up here.

 

A tool that I have grown to love is this funnel.  Actually, for me, it’s magical.  I didn’t use one last year.  I did a lot more cleaning last year.

This little lid lifting tool is pretty neat too.  I didn’t burn my fingers getting lids out of the hot bath they were sitting in.  It’s pretty much a magnet on a stick.  My kids liked playing with it.

Here, my jars are enjoying their nice hot water bath to seal their lids.  Once they sat in their bath for awhile I removed them with my jar lifting tool.  I highly recommend getting one of these.  You’ll have to trust me when I say you need one these.  Last year I used pot holders.  The pot holders got wet and the wetness was hot and still burned my hands.  Or if you don’t have much to can you can leave the jars in the water until the water cools.  Then you won’t need a jar lifter.

It’s kind of a fun tool to have anyway.   :) Maybe I’ll try and find some other good uses for it.

When it’s all said and done you end up with some beautiful jars filled with salsa and pasta sauce.  Come back later and maybe we’ll do some things with some apples.  I have a lot of those sitting around.

Tomatoes

We had twelve tomato plants this year. They ended up producing quite a bit of fruit, however they were slow to ripen. We were expecting a freeze at the beginning of October, so we ended up picking the remainder of our tomatoes while they were still green. We wrapped them in paper, stuck them in a box, and a few weeks later some of them had turned red. We have a few green ones left, so they are still in the box.

I like tomatoes, so when they went on sale at our local grocery store I went a little crazy. I bought 30 pounds and added them to what we already had. Then I got home and didn’t know what to do with them. I decided to do this:I boiled them. Look! The skin is already starting to come off.Then I stuck them in an ice cold water bath and peeled the skins off.Just hanging out in their ice cold water.

Those skins just wrinkle up and pretty much fall off on their own.

Yikes! Naked tomatoes!

Then I stuck them in a meat grinder.

If you’re the type of person with texture issues, then sticking them through the grinder is perfect for you. If you like chunkier tomatoes then don’t stick them through the grinder. You won’t like the texture.

I decided to make salsa and pasta sauce! Now we’ll see how long it all lasts.

Two Months

  Here’s Anna again.  She turned 2 months on Monday.  She’s growing like a champ.I’m having a hard time deciding which photos to post, so I’m just going to post a hundred.   She’s too adorable for her own good.  She’s getting to be a lot of fun.  She loves cooing.All you have to do is look at her and she’ll flash you a little smile.

She’s trying to grow those cheeks so she can store stuff up for the winter.    I can’t complain. Anna sleeps about 8 or 9 hours at night now.  That makes me one happy, well rested mom.It also makes Anna one happy little girl.

Adventure with The Pioneer Woman

Monday night my friend, Katie, and I went to the Tattered Cover Bookstore to meet The Pioneer Woman.  She’s a blogger.  If you read her blog then you almost feel like you’re her best friend.  She has a way of drawing people in and then you get hooked.  That’s probably why there were about 500  other people there wanting to meet her as much as Katie and me.She was telling us how nervous she was and how she couldn’t get her Spanx off in the bathroom.  “I’m just a blogger, not a public speaker.”

Missy and Nan came along for the tour.

“This is taking a long time.  Why did you bring me with you, Mom?”  Anna did amazingly well.  She’s pretty laid back.

We’re getting closer.

Finally!  It’s our turn to meet The Pioneer Woman.  She has a thing for babies.  If you read her blog you probably already knew that.

She’s so nice, witty, and funny.  Just like her blog.  People really think that they are her BFF.  They brought her gifts, cake, cookies, you name it, and it was probably there.  See the pile in the background?  There’s a ton more on the floor.  I just brought a baby.

The Pioneer Woman loves babies.  Can you tell?  She loved Anna.  Anna made her want to have another baby.

I was all star struck and got all tongue tied.  I asked Ree if I could have her Spanx.  She told me they were all sweaty.

I told her that I needed her Spanx more than she did.

She asked me if Anna was my first baby.  I told her that Anna was number seven and that’s why I needed her Spanx more than she did.

She asked me if I gave birth to all seven babies.  I said, “Yes.”

She said, “Really?  No way.”

Did I tell you that she loves babies?  Anna started cooing at her.  It made her start tearing up.      The Pioneer Woman loves babies.  She saw Anna and now she wants to have another one.  She told me so.

    Here’s Katie with Ree. 

It was a long night.  We arrived around 6pm.  We knew there would be a lot of people, so we tried to get there early.  We got a couple of the last chairs in the back. The Pioneer Woman arrived at 7:30pm.  When we got into the car to leave it was 10:15pm.  Did I mention that the bookstore didn’t realize that Ree would draw so many people that they weren’t prepared?  There were a ton of people standing and wrapping around two different staircases.  It was a little out of control.  My friend Colleen was also there.  Colleen has a great story to share.  All in all Katie and I had a great time.  We were able to just sit and chat with no interruptions.  We got out of the house with no kids for a few hours.  For me it was kind of relaxing.  I’d do it again anytime.  Oh, and the cookbook is great!  Go out and get one.

Trick or Treat

Though the trick or treating didn’t begin until dark the kids couldn’t wait to get into their costumes.  It turned out to be an incredibly pleasant day for trick or treating.  Besides a little left over snow you never would have known that we just had a big snowstorm.  The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 60s.

Our kids with our new neighbors. Thomas is in his “roaring” mood again. This kid just cracks me up!   He kind of reminds me of Max from the book/movie Where the Wild Things Are. Yes, Thomas is wearing flip flops.  He didn’t want to wear socks because it’s a lot easier to just slip on a pair of flip flops.  Can you blame him?I don’t think this costume could fit Rachel any better.  It’s perfect.  Thanks so much to Katie for letting us borrow it and to Marcia for creating such a great costume. Dorothy and her scarecrow friend John.  Again, Marcia did an amazing job the scarecrow costume.  Aren’t they cute?

David was so cute in his costume that he got double the candy when he said, “Twick o tweat.”

I Heart Faces

  The theme for this week’s challenge at I Heart Faces is “Balloons.”  I love this photo of little Anna just after she was born with her announcement balloon!  She has come a long way from being this tiny.  I don’t think she fits in that basket anymore.  Check out some more entries or enter for yourself by clicking on the button below.

Another Snowy Day

We woke up Thursday morning and it was still snowing and it was 21 degrees outside.  I believe that it did stop snowing for a little while.  I think it stopped just before we went to bed.  Then it started up again shortly before we woke up.  I tried to measure the snow later in the day, but my ruler wasn’t long enough.  I got the tape measure out.  It measured 18 inches here, 16 inches there, so I think we got close to 20  inches of snow.  HELLO! It’s not even winter yet.  I wonder if this is a new thing, kind of like how stores put out Christmas decorations before Halloween.  Maybe it’s a sign of how our winter will be.  Or maybe we’re getting all the snow now and there won’t be any this winter.  It kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?  Okay enough rambling.  If you’ve got your hot chocolate in hand, or not, because the weather is back into the 60s, get ready for some photos of our second snowy day.

Here’s my Preacher again doing what he is so great at doing, clearing a path for us all. David is starting to ponder why he thought he wanted to come out into the snow.  It’s a little deep.  It’s a little difficult to maneuver around. It’s even a hard for Thomas to walk around in this stuff.It’s too hard to walk in the snow, so let’s just try swimming in it. Why not just sit here and throw snow at each other.  They tried to build a snow man, but it was hard getting the snow to stick together.  It need to melt a little more first. Thomas likes to roar.  Just randomly he’ll let out a big “ROAR.” This little princess is thinking about taking a nap.

The kids enjoyed our fall snow.  Be sure to come back for our Halloween edition coming out soon!  Things warmed up by Halloween.  Whew!

Snow

The snow began falling late Tuesday night.  When we woke up Wednesday morning everything was covered in white.  It was beautiful and the snow was still falling.  I measured the snow shortly before lunch while the snow continued to fall down around us.  It was almost 11 inches deep with no end in sight.

When we lived in Indiana I remember driving by an Amish home one day.  It was a cold and snowy day and laundry was out on the line.  Freeze dry?  Have you ever tried it?  I haven’t and have no intentions to try.  Look how much snow is stuck to my clothes lines.  Imagine if I had clothes hanging out there. EEEKS!!

I don’t think we’ll be using that swing or eating outside anytime soon.

  

Our poor trees!  Some were still green.  Our Apen still had some fall left in it.  Now it has winter all over it.

    

Look at my Preacher hard at work!  Gotta love him.   He does more than just sit behind a desk all day.

Poor little pumpkin.  It can’t see anymore.  :)

You’re looking at these photos thinking that I left something out right?  The kids?  Oh, yes.  They had a little fun out there as well.  We’ll save that for another day.  Go grab some hot chocolate.  I’ll wait.  Until next time…

Some days...

we are a little slow in changing out of our pajamas. What's the rush if we aren't going anywhere?

"ROAR!" I am lion. Hear me roar!

David is our "Linus." He doesn't go anywhere without his blanket. Boots and backpack? That's his new thing. Our neighbor gave us some boots. He likes wearing them...all the time. Same thing with the backpack. Rebecca put a bunch of heavy books in it and he still wants to wear it. It's a little heavy for him. If he leans back just a little bit he automatically falls over. It's pretty funny.

"Moooo!" Oh, now he's a cow!

14 Months

Elizabeth turned 14 months old a few days ago. She is getting hard to keep up with. She is always on the move which has begun making it difficult to get a decent picture. Getting into EVERYTHING has been keeping her quite busy. The kitchen is where Elizabeth spends a lot of her time. She enjoys opening cabinets and pulling out dishes and cups. Walking has also been a favorite activity. She has become more steady on her feet and should be running in no time.

I heart Faces

Can you guess the theme at I Heart Faces this week? Did you say "Halloween Dress Up?" That's right! I pulled out some costumes for my boys to try on. My boys are BOYS! They are wild, crazy, rambunctious boys! They sure had fun trying on costumes. Who will win? The lion or the dinosaur? They wrestled all afternoon like this. :)

Check out some more entries at I Heart Faces or enter for yourself.

Chocolate…

That grabbed your attention didn’t it?  I’d look at anything that started out with the word chocolate too.  As life has been speeding by around here, this blog has been left in the dust.  School has taken on a mind of it’s own filling our days and adding a new baby into the mix has left many other things neglected.  I’ve got a ton of things to post, but I fear I am a little blogged out.  Slowly, but surely I shall return.  How about we start with something delicious? 

Do you know what you’re looking at in the picture above?  It’s a morsel of chocolate yumminess surrounded by a layer of crunchy, golden brown sugar.

That’s right.  You have got to make this chocolate cake.  Then eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Did I mention that it’s healthy for you?  Well, kind of healthy.  I mean it’s healthy because I put zucchini in it.  Does that help?Here’s another look at this little piece of heaven.  The inside is so incredibly spongy and moist that it just about melts in your mouth.

  Now go on, take a bite.  What are you waiting for?  An invitation?  You need the recipe?  Okay, I’ll share.  See that little shred of zucchini hanging down?  That’s what makes this cake healthy.  And the chocolate?  Well, that’s what makes the cake so pretty and flavorful.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour milk (don’t have it? use 1 tsp vinegar, then add milk)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6-10 ounces chocolate chips
• walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter, oil, and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in milk and dry ingredients.  Carefully fold in the zucchini.  Pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  For the topping mix brown sugar and chocolate chips together.  Then sprinkle over the top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean. 

Thank you to my great friend, Regina for sharing this recipe with me.  It’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes I’ve tried!  Now go make this cake and then come back here and leave a comment telling me how wonderful or awful it was.

I Heart Faces

In honor of Breast Cancer awareness month I Heart Faces is having a “pink” theme.  This is my sister in law, Nicki with her mom, Chris.  Chris found out she had breast cancer a little more than four years ago.  She fought the cancer and went into remission.  This past summer the cancer came back with a vengeance.  She lost the battle on August 17.  We are thankful that the pain for her is gone and continue to pray for her family as they deal with this loss.  Nicki, we love you.  You are in our thoughts and prayers daily. 

There are some incredible entries this week.  Be sure to check them out by clicking on the the I Heart Faces button above. 

I Heart Faces

After missing a week,  I am back for this week’s contest at I Heart Faces.  This week’s theme is “Excited.”  With little ones it doesn’t take make much to get them excited.  Elizabeth is proof of that.  When she learns something new she likes to show off her new skill over and over again.  She gets so excited and then starts clapping for herself.  It’s so incredibly cute!

Head on over and check out some more entries at I Heart Faces.

Casting Call

Every year The Gap holds a casting call for their ad campaign. They select a top twenty to narrow things down and then finally choose four finalists. This year they have a “Fan Favorite” where anyone can go to their site and vote for their favorites. The child with the most votes wins a family vacation. Here is where you, our super awesome family and friends, come in. I entered our kids in the contest. If you could please go and vote for our kids we’d really appreciate it. You can vote once a day, everyday until November 17. Click HERE to go and vote! If the link doesn’t work you can go directly to The Gap website and click on the casting call banner. Then do a search for our kids. Our member name is just_imagine_heaven. I think we are about 10,000 or so votes behind, so tell anyone and everyone you know to vote for us!! We’d love to win a family vacation. Thank you!

Wall Art?

Jared says that I paint this picture (on my blog) that makes our family look almost perfect. Sorry if I ever gave you that impression. Our family is no where near perfect. We have our good days and we have our bad days. (I usually only remember to take photos of the good stuff.) Our home is almost always chaotic. Having six children at home is a lot of work. I can't keep my eyes on all of them at all times. This leads me to the photos below.

Sometimes things get left out. They don't make it back to their proper places. Things like Sharpie pens. That's not something that should EVER be left out. I can't recall when this drawing took place. It was probably over two months ago. None of children have confessed to drawing this lovely picture. We have narrowed it down though. We believe the culprit is Thomas. In fact, I am almost certain that he did it. Elizabeth and Anna were eliminated right away. Then we have Rebecca and Rachel. They are much too old to draw like this. They draw with more detail. That leaves Thomas and David. David doesn't quite have the skills to draw this intricately. So the only person who could have done this is Thomas.

I'm thinking about purchasing an open back frame and just putting a frame around it. What do you think? That way I won't have to bother finding the time to scrub it off. It's been on the wall for over two months. I'll get to it some day, I know I will. Maybe when things are less chaotic, but for now I'm enjoying the chaos. After all it's just a wall right? You should see my basement. That should be an art gallery!

By the way, this should come off if you scrub it with a Magic Eraser. I know this because a few years ago one of kids decided to draw on our piano with a Sharpie pen. :)

One Month Old

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, but a fun one, mostly.  Anna turned one month old on Friday.  She is doing really well and fitting into our family nicely.  At the rate that she is growing she and Elizabeth may be sharing clothes sooner rather than later.  :)  Here are some photos of her first month with us.

10 days old.

 

12 days old.

16 days old.

 

1 month old!

13 Months

Elizabeth turned 13 months this past Saturday.  (That means that Anna will be one month old this Saturday!)  It’s hard to believe that this little cutie pie is not the baby of the family anymore.  Strange as it may be, Elizabeth has moved into the role of a big sister!  Funny, right? Would you believe that this cute little face knows how to get what she wants?  She has learned that she can let out this really loud, shrieking, scream and someone will come see what’s up.  She doesn’t like her personal space invaded by her brothers and sisters, so she will scream when they get too close.  If she doesn’t get her way, she screams.  For the most part she’s a pretty happy go lucky little girl, but every once in awhile watch out!

 

It may appear as though she has started walking.  That’s not the case.  Though I am completely sure that she knows how to walk I believe that she is being stubborn.  Elizabeth will stand up wherever she is and dance, play peek a boo, or wave.  In fact I think she prefers to stand because she can reach more things.  She has taken a few steps, but only when she doesn’t realize that she is actually walking.  When she realizes that she’s walking she’ll get down and crawl.  It’s pretty amusing to watch this all transpire. 

I Heart Faces

This week’s theme for I Heart Faces is “Blue.”  When I saw that I immediately thought of a pool shot.  We spend a lot of time at the pool during the summer.  Here is my entry.  Thanks for looking!  Click on the button above to see more entries or to enter for yourself.

9 Days Old

Okay.  So now I am up to day nine of Anna’s photos and she is actually almost four weeks old.  Yikes!  Some virus has run rampant through our house, so I haven’t kept up on photos or blogging for that matter.  Even little Anna got a touch of it.  I think we are almost through it. 

Sleeping is still one of Anna’s favorite past times.  :)

Uncle Jay and Aunt Nicki got this balloon and stuffed animal for Anna.  Doesn’t she just look tiny?

     

I have so many photos that I can never decide which ones to post.  Sorry.

I have plenty more.  It looks like I may need a new header first though.  Any ideas?

Day Camping

Labor day weekend my family came out for a visit.  On Labor Day, Jared took everyone out to the secret camping spot!   Well everyone went except me and Anna.  We stayed home and tried to have a quiet and relaxing day.  I think they all had a great time.  It was camping, but without the tent.  My mom, or as the kids say, Yei, took all these photos for me.

Cousins, Elizabeth and Lola.  They’re just two days apart.

Thomas looks like he wants to get a fire started.

They even got an exciting game of baseball going.

Kailen and Rachel.  Can you tell that they are related?

And lastly  here is a photo of Nicki, Jay, and Lola!

5 Days Old

Okay, so Anna isn’t five days old anymore, but here are some photos of when she was five days old.    If you only knew how many photos I still have to get through.  I’m only at day five and she is  now three weeks old.  Enjoy.

Sleeping.  She seems to do a lot of that.  I never get tired of photographing a sleeping baby.  They just look so peaceful.

Anna

Did you want to see some photos of Anna?  Were you getting tired of seeing the other kids and wanted to see some photos of the baby?  Well here are a few.  I take so many that I can never decide which ones to post,  so you may get tired of seeing so many.  Maybe I’ll just post a few at a time.  Maybe that’ll leave you wanting more…if I only only post a few.

Here are some photos of Anna when she was just two days old.

  Three days old.

There.  Until next time….

Day at the Park 2

I’m not sure why I even try to attempt taking photos of all the kids together.  It’s really a lost cause… at least at these ages. 

Everybody smile now!

Someone is always distracted.  “Hey Thomas, look at this booger on my finger!”

   “What’s wrong Elizabeth?”

I Heart Faces

The theme for this week’s challenge is “Completely Candid.”  Having kids, most of my photos are candid.  When I saw this theme, however, I thought of this photo.  I just love it because you can almost hear the kids laughing and having fun.   It just makes me smile. 

To check out more entries at I Heart Faces or to enter for yourself click on the button above.

Day at the Park

I’m doing some back tracking to before Anna was born.  Just a few days before Anna’s arrival the kids and I ventured out to this really neat park.  It was mid morning and we had the entire playground to ourselves.  The kids went wild and had a great time.  It was such a pretty day that I, of course, shot way too many photos.  Since I have so many photos I couldn’t decide which ones to post!  Here’s a bunch!

 

 

They all loved this platform, rocker thingy.  What is this thing actually called?  I have no idea.  There were two of these and they actually fought over them after they fought over the swings.  Then they decided to all get on one platform together.

Elizabeth went along with everything.  She’ll go anywhere and just hang out.  I think she has to be our most laid back, easy to please child.  Do you like her hair?  It’s all natural.  I don’t have to do anything to it.  It just sticks straight up on its own even if I try to get to stay down it just pops back up.

When David is in the right mood he wants to have his picture taken and he’ll even pose for you.

Don’t worry I have even more photos to post from the park.   I’m not done yet.  It’ll have to wait though.  I need a nap.  :)