BUrke and his Science experiment

I will post pictures of the finished project after Science Extravaganzza night January 27 6-8pm

Hooray for Thanksgiving

Colby had a thanksgiving play at school.  He was the narrator and did a great job.  The play was awesome.  The boys just finished their Christmas play at church as well.  COlby was mouse and BUrke was a sheperd- he had some lines.  They are getting so big!!  No pics of the Christmas play you can see some at FCC.com

Halloween 2009

scary skull man

micheal and shrek

puppy and china doll

cleopatra's crew

army man

conjoined twins

dog and beth

H1N1 vaccine

swine flu

micheal and janet

3 little pigs

jedi, little pig 1, big bad wolf

shrek and fiona

Who are we?

K.P.

Mom has been getting frustrated and overwhelmed with her duties since last year so at the start of this year we've begun a chore chart. The kids have always done chores so this was more to remind MOm to remind them what they need to do. They receive points and they are trading off every other week between Yard duty- i.e. dog pooper scooper, feeding rabbit, cat and dog, putting outside toys away, etc. and Kitchen Patrol - i.e. emptying dishwasher, drying dishes, setting table, clearing the table, helping make cookies or breads etc. Mom has made it clear that whether on KP or Yard Duty all tasks in the house are everyones and you need to do what is asked of you. This has helped Mom immensely as well as teaching them the responsibilities of the house. The great thing is... they have been so motivated and willing to help it is refreshing!!!
The kids of course had to have fun with the idea of Kitchen Patrol and made themselves, helmets, swords and shields while putting the dishes away forme. It was too cute. I had to take a picture of it. They were pretending to protect princess Elle from the chores! Of course Elle just wants to help, because she wants to do anything the boys are doing!

Jack-o-lanterns

mom's pumpkin getting sick
Grandma Pam's ghost pumpkin
Colby's pumpkin bleow Burke's pumpkin above

Grandma Pam was down this last weekend to visit and see Colby play soccer. We got to do lots of fun things include carving pumpkins. Here is what made.

Oktoberfest

We have celebrated Oktoberfest all month with different German recipes. The kids loved the Linseneintopf I made. It is a lentil dish with carrots, bacon , onions and spices. We added "Weinerwuerstchen"- smoked sausage as well. WE also had bratwurst and sauerkraut with schwarzbrot. It has been fun to make some new and old recipes to share with the kids from when I spent a year in Germany!!!

Indiana Jones BIrthday Cake

Here is the Birthday Cake I designed for BUrke's birthday, He wanted a camping Indiana Jones theme. We made Banana boats for his sleepover party but on his actual birthday I made this. It is hard to see but it is a whole scene. A large fallen redwood log with ants and a river flowing by, Indiana Jones camping out and fighting the bad guys. Okay Mom was a little silly.

Making Models

The boys received these models as gifts at different times during the year. the summer seemed the perfect time to make them. So now back from vacation we spent some time sanding, painting and putting them together. A stealth fighter and a helicopter.

Banana Boats

The highlight of the night were banana boats. My mom taught all the kids how to make them. She learned in girl scouts. Talks about an old recipe! What a fun treat!
All you need are banana's, marshmallows and chocolate.
Cut the banana open. Slice the banana across and remove every other slice. Replace with a marshmallow. Sprinkle on chocolate chips. Wrap in foil and throw on the campfire. Let cook. Remove carefully, open foil and eat with a spoon. Yummy!!!

Apricot Jam

I made my first attempt at canning last week. Our apricot tree had such a plentiful harvest. Sheral came over and helped me make apricot jam. I looked for directions on the Internet and found a cool web site . It gave me step by step directions to follow with pictures. I had a great time and most of jam turned out perfect. I also made and canned apricot syrup and some apricot pineapple jam- hasn't set up yet. I don't think it is going to. Oh well. I am excited to try to make some orange marmalade and blueberry jam as well.