Thursday, October 28, 2010

the year of '40'

It's official. Jeff is 40 years old.Earlier this month I planned a SURPRISE party to celebrate Jeff and all his wonderful-ness.Complete with cervesa, carnitas, and a variety of homemade salsas, and guac. dips, the mexican fiesta was not only a feast for the eyes but also the tummy!
Our friend Bridget made these gourmet desserts. Most guests indulged in more than one piece. (I'm not kidding. If you tried her desserts you would understand.)The mustaches caused lots of belly laughs!

I love Annie's (pic left) serious face - so contradictory! Not only did Peggy (pic right) look fabulous in her mustache she also got a free upper lip wax when she removed the sticky. While we were in hysterical laughter Peggy's 'wax' brought her to tears and blood to the surface. No worries for Peg, she won't need another waxing for at least six months.Jeff, may the year of '40' be a wonderful year!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Fire! Fire!

Caleb set the church on fire.

Yes, our dear son, aka the pastor's kid flirted with the candelabras and caught the church on fire.

The combustion happened just minutes before the start of the church service.

I was sitting at the piano wrapping up our Worship Team practice when my friend Peggy, one of the singers, yelled "FIRE!".

Completely clueless as to why she was yelling "fire" (let alone the fact that she was referring to my child) I said, "what fire?".

When I stood up from the piano bench my eyes darted to the glow on the opposite end of the stage. My curly locked son stood with his head turned down to the ground. I followed his stare and there it was...a sea of flames billowing at his feet.

Peggy, mom of 5 children (2 of them boys) ran over to Caleb while yelling to the masses "what should I do?". "Stomp it out!" they said. And within seconds Peg's church shoes stomped out the little bonfire melting the church carpet.

Meanwhile I raced over to Caleb and embraced him. He was astonished at what had occurred. He shuddered...crocodile tears fell on my shoulder.

He knew he had done wrong. He knew that his 'experiment' fizzled.

The aftermath was quick - I consoled Caleb and examined his burnt finger while the ashes were being shop vac'd. And seconds before our band started the opening song my friend Nancy, mother of 4 older PK boys gave me a word of encouragement: "Angie, don't worry, this will be just one of many fire stories throughout the years". (thanks Nancy)

After church I asked Caleb "what happened?". His answer was simple.
He wanted his paper airplane to 'Blast Off'.

And 'blast off' it did.

In an effort to entertain Caleb before the service, daddy helped Caleb fold a paper airplane from the church bulletin (Caleb has this weird fascination with the church bulletin).

In his imaginary play the airplane was 'blasting off' and flying through the air. I guess when he saw the candles he thought he could make his imaginary play come true.

Sadly I don't have any pics of the 'action'. But, Nancy said she might make me a memento with the ashes and the tiny piece of leftover airplane. If she does I'll be sure to share it with you!

In the meantime I'd love to hear any 'fire stories' from your sweet children.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Cinderella

When Nana came to visit she surprised Carissa with a Cinderella dress. Carissa was so proud she wanted to put her hair up in a bun (like her doll) and pose for beautiful pictures.
So, that's what we did.
I present to you.......................Princess Cinderella.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Breck


We surprised my Mom the day she arrived in CO with a weekend getaway to Breckenridge in celebration of her birthday. God's provision for our lodging in a beautifully quint town was an affirmation of His love for us. We are so thankful.

On the day of my Mom's birthday she awoke to the kids singing 'happy birthday' alongside many strands of crate paper and colorful balloons around the condo. The kids were so excited to celebrate with her and made her feel special the entire day.

After a yummy breakfast we rode the gondola up the mountain.
When we got to the top we took another chair lift up higher and rode the Alpine Slide down the mountain. It was thrilling!That evening I cooked an Italian feast for my Mom's birthday dinner. I made this delicious Chicken Saltimbocca alongside wine, pasta, salad and bread with homemade pesto sauce for dipping.
We topped it all off with mom's favorite chocolate brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was a par-tay!
We spent the rest of our weekend relaxing at the Lodge, swimming, trail walking, taking in the sights of downtown, and just spending time together in God's creation. It was a weekend full of sweet memories.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

ABC

"Preschool" is back in session. The twins started on Monday.
Mommy thinks summer vacation was too short and is still not feeling ready for this new routine.

The kids think summer vacation was way too long. They were ready to go back to school after one week. literally.

One morning midway through the summer Carissa even cried for her 'little tiny baby'. I'm not saying she just shed a few tears, I'm saying she all-out wailed for her favorite little baby doll from Ms. Vicki's classroom.

C & C love learning +
C & C love playing with other children +
C & C love Ms. Vicki =
------------------------------------------------
love love love preschool

Here's a couple more pics from their first day!
Here they are running to their classroom with great enthusiasm. Carissa's hiding a 'surprise' for Ms. Vicki behind her back (pictures of them for their cubby).Here's to a great year!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sunshiny Day

Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook
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I gift to you a smilebox of my two kiddos. I just couldn't resist.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Arizona

Yes, we returned from AZ about 5 weeks ago. I've been out of the blog-o-sphere but I'm back and will be posting some up-dates. In AZ we did a lot of swimming. It was great. Even if the pool felt more like a hot tub than a swimming pool!
My mom's sweet neighbor gave the kidlets these cute little beanie babies. Carissa was especially enthralled with "Spotter" the wild cat and Caleb with "Derby" the horse. Thanks Paulette!
The kids and I made a couple trips across town to hang out with this crew.
Carissa, Joshua, Eli, & Caleb had lots of fun with marbles and other toys in their basement.And had lots of fun hugging.

This is a clip of my brother, aka 'Uncle B' sharing what its like trying to have a coherent conversation over dinner with three little ones.