August 2011

We can hardly believe that summer is almost over! Wow, where did the time go?? Here are a few pictures of what our last two weeks have looked like :)

Brinley is so in love with playing "dress up!" she's being very creative! my personal fav...
our neighbor gave us this little baby pool last summer, we decided to break it out one afternoon.
J putting the final touches on the kitchen paint... what a stud!

random place to sleep...?
I put this together for Will- so he could build his Leggos and keep the little 'maps' safe and in order!
Thursday night (July 28th) the Young Women in our ward hosted a baby sitting night! parents could drop off their kids at 6:30 and go have a date till 8pm! I think i was the first one to sign up! what a special treat it was for us to get out, esp since the kids and i were leaving to go to Pa the next day... my view from the table... *Sigh*
As always, we had such a fun time in Pa, we feel very blessed to be able to see my side of the family as much as we do... and also to be able to come up and help my mom before and during her surgery! It went fast but always so good to come 'home'.
Will had a good time with Papa mowing the lawn! papa even let him drive around by himself (on a very low speed, of course! Made Will's day!)
Caitlin and Enoch
Chester "The Pimp"... chilling in his window, Brinley shared the color pencils with him. O, how nice!
Will and Chester!


Uncle B
Mommy and Caitlin, she was helping me 'paint' gum paste on the leaves so they would stick to the cake!

Amy- working her fondant magic
Grammy cutting pineapple for the party
Papa all ready to go!
Caitlin, Enoch and Ada

treats for the kiddos
THE CAKE:
The Birthday Boy! Happy 7, Enoch!

Kevin... "Look at THIS!"


Grammy, Ada and Brinley
Emily helped the kids make Grammy a get well card to take and hang in her hospital room




We adopted Chester from my parents.... here he is all ready to go to his new home in VA!
Here's a little Flash Back: these two pictures were taken in the summer of 2001 after Brandon brought him home the first time! (they actually told us he was a girl. and "her" name was Tiger Lilly, Tiger for short. Then when we found out it was a boy, and we changed it to Tigger, and that lasted for 2 minutes. Then we thought an old creepy man's name would be funny... Chester! Then later Brandon nick-named him "The Pimp!" It's just kinda stuck over the years.

The kids and i drove home Thursday night and Friday afternoon we went to lunch with Daddy!


later that night, our cute neighbor Alyssa came over with some gifts for the kids, she was cleaning out her room and thought ours would enjoy her old things! For Will: a kid sized guitar!
For Caitlin, a collection of "American Girl" books! :) So, So sweet of her to think of us!
It's always exciting for me to organize something, Justin helped me hang these shelves in my craft room. :) now to fill them.
Brinley's back to dressing up... Mr. Potato Head's glasses are always a favorite...
the animals are all still getting used to each other, Chester and Dodger hanging out in our closet...
next week we have a family day trip to the beach planned- we can't wait! stay tuned!

Chilled Corn Soup w/ Fresh Nutmeg

Slice the kernels off 3 ears of fresh summer corn, Put the cobs in a large pot and top with 6 cups of water. Bring the water to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour. Strain, reserving the corn broth.

In medium-sized soup pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over med heat. Add 1 chopped Vidalia onion and 1 chopped shallot and sweat for about 10 minutes without browning. Add the corn kernels and stir for a minute or two to coat them in the butter. Add the reserved corn broth and simmer the soup until the corn is tender about 20-30 minutes.

With a slotted spoon (or strainer w/ a bowl to catch the liquid) transfer the corn and onions to a blender with 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid. Puree for 2-5 minutes or until completely smooth.

Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. Thin with additional broth as needed. Chill for at least three hours.

Garnish with toasted walnuts, if so inclined.

yeah, nothings changed with these two...

thought we could use an update...

whoa, we've been back from Utah almost two weeks! I'm still trying to catch up, but such is life. I've been tending some kids the past two weeks, and here are some fun pictures...

Caitlin, Gabriel, and Will (playing Wii)
Gabriel's brother, Logan (right.)
Brinley and Logan. She calls him "Gogen"
The kids really missed their friend, Adriana, while we were in Utah. Here they are playing dress up!

watch out for that snake!

Will was telling the Black Bear to stay from his Princess and Bee...
I found this funny picture on the camera. Caitlin or Justin must have taken it... (or maybe Will set up the tripod, i don't know!) I thought it was pretty funny, just look at his outfit! (wearing his Parker U of U outfit, cow boy hat, scarf and Boots- under his shorts-and a Home De Pot apron. haha.) Oh,- and he's reading his Lego "Map". (note to self. teach Will he needs to shut the door when going potty!)
We got Caitlin's old princess dress up clothes out of the attic... Brinley is in HEAVEN!



Senorita Tinkerbell and Logan

Thursday was Career Dress up day for Summer Academy. Caitlin would like to be a Veterinarian when she grows up! I took my old CVS One hour photo lab coat(from my first job in High School!) and altered it to fit her. It's still pretty long, but she sure does look CUTE!
She made these at school, hand puppet of herself (we might have to talk about that purple hair!)
and she wrote and drew this...
Thursday afternoon she took care of pepper, dodger and all of her stuffed animals! She'll be a GREAT Vet! (pepper also got a hair cut.)
Brinley thought this was really funny that Dodger was Chilaxing in her high chair one afternoon!
While we were in Utah, Justin painted the front room: we still need to hang some pictures. (it looks more olive in this picture... but it's lighter in person!) so pretty, J. Thank you!
Here are some Videos of Justin and Brinley...