tie dye cupcakes

we have had such fun making the rainbow cake for different birthdays we decided to experiment with cupcakes.   little man and m1 successfully cracked eggs into the batter... this was m2's attempt. she is only three so we have time for her to learn. below are my helpers working on the food coloring; part of the fun is layering as many different colors as you can into one cupcake.

nice puffy crowns perfect for homemade icing... but for some reason i have no picture of them completely finished. this is the mess that remains... why is it that fun sometimes equals making a mess?

colorful utensils in the dishwasher... i should have gotten a picture of the colorful tongues that licked the utensils.

she's three and she's bold

the time: 11:00 a.m.

the scene: chick-fil-a (mom wied, auntie a and i were discussing groceries for an upcoming trip ~ the children were playing on the playset)

after playing for 1 1/2 hours all three children came out thirsty. i said that i would get them courtesy cups of water within the next few minutes. a few seconds later i heard a little voice loudly ask "can i have a curdy cup of water?"  m2 had walked through the restaurant, cut about 17 people waiting in line, and was on her tippy toes trying to get the attention of a worker. by the time i reached her she had her cup in hand had said "thank you" and was on her way back to our table.

lake fun

broken a/c

when we woke up saturday morning our upstairs was 83 degrees. we turned the air conditioning off, reset the breaker, checked the outside unit and then turned it back on ~ within the hour we had gone up another two degrees and by late afternoon it was 93 upstairs.  the downstairs unit is working so we have been camping out with the children. other than showering upstairs or running up to get a toy or book we have been mainly downstairs, in the family room, together. they are coming tomorrow morning (wednesday) so we are enjoying one last night of camping out. on a positive note the upstairs is fairly neat since we have not been up there... but the laundry is piling up because it is too hot to complete a load.  

have potty will travel

 m2 and aunt sissy ~ when you gotta go, you gotta go. 

it's against the law

to kill a rattlesnake in this state.  i will neither confirm nor deny that there is a dead rattlesnake in the woods next to the lake house. sorry for my lack of pictures... that was not the first thing i thought about upon it's discovery under the clothes line.

..don't stop believing..

don't stop believing from sandi wiedmaier on Vimeo.

can't you tell micadoodle has done this before? m1 and m2 are just along on her crazy ride! the first take was actually much better because it was completely spontaneous... we had a wardrobe issue (the girls were in bathing suits and this overly protected mom had an issue with that). you have to love the bass player who leaves the stage in a "celebrity huff" demanding a sip of water.

donuts on the deck

the children and i got to the lake a day before anyone else. after dinner we took our dessert down to the pier to enjoy the sunset.

these girls

m1 and micadoodle

compassionate, merciful, positive, bright smile
witty, boisterous, trendsetter, charmingfive years separate them but for now that does not matter

they giggle and cheer each other on... and antagonize the boys.

what does the future hold for them? a career, motherhood ~ we don't know yet. i pray they will be women who love God and are faithful. women who know they are set apart and have a pure heart.

but for now we will savor the moments we have. i recently read that we only have 18 summers with our children and then they are "grown".  i want to make the most of that time!

these boys

little man and dude 

best cousins, lego masters, soccer enthusiasts, kick ball kings

what will their relationship look like in the years to come? i pray they grow into men that love God, love family and are accountable to one another when they have struggles. they both have great fathers as examples.

during the school year they don't get to see each other much, but that all changes in the summer when we spend several weeks with them. when it is time to say good-bye they hug and hug and hug ~ and when they think us mommies are not looking they quietly wipe away one stray tear.

i think his tractor's sexy...

it really turns me on.

heard that song on the radio the other day... sorry.