If I'd known you were coming I'd have baked a cake!

It was Levi's Happy Birthday and we made him a frog cake. It was green of course because with Levi if it is green it belongs to him! Here is Sam, Caprina and Peter "helping" put together the frog. The mouth is made from red licorice rope and I only needed a strand so we had fun munching on the ropes while we decorated. Caprina thinks they make a great mustache!Ben helping with the rope.

I must be lecturing. I do that don't you know.

Here is the finished frog. I loved how it turned out and Levi liked it as well. We didn't leave him out of the decorating fun, he had gone shopping one on one with his Mom and Dad which is a treat for him.

Sometimes I hate to carve into a cake I have put the work into. But after seeing the grandkids faces it is all worth it. Next we will have a pizza party and have some frog legs! YUM!

Saturday is a special day...a workday

Saturday is a workday and boy was it for all of us. Adam and Ben tackled reworking a bed into a trundle for Caprina. A thrift store find at only $10. What a deal and it worked like a charm.Ben

We are a family that loves our peaches. In fact our home canned peaches are called "Peaches made with love". Natalie started her canning this past week and finished up a few boxen on Saturday. I will start my canning tomorrow and Dana has her peaches in hand and is just waiting for them to ripen a bit. Last year I spent some time with the girls canning and now this year they are taking off on their own. What a great feeling.

Nothing prettier.

Sam helped by getting the knots out of this string.

My project was curtains, curtains and one more pair of curtains. The big boys now have their own room and new curtains needed to be fashioned. I went up to begin the project a couple of weeks ago and finished up this past weekend. Here are Dad and Nat getting the clips on for hanging.

We took the curtains from the previous boys room and enlarged and lengthened them to fit the new room window which is considerably bigger. (yes...that is an xray of Buzz Lightyear hanging in the window)

Caprina had an idea and it was PINK!
That means pink curtains in her and Reanna's room. I love all of the colored ribbons hanging from the tops. This idea Natalie had turned out really well. Just a little trimming of the ribbons and it will be done.

Levi and Peter now share a room and these are their curtains. This was truly a challenge for me to work out the even borders and mitered corners. After a shaky start at 10 pm I threw in the towel and went to bed. The next morning my brain was back on track and the curtains came along nicely. I think these are my favorites.

Levi turns 3 (or free if you ask him!)

Levi turned the big 3 on Saturday and we paused long enough to celebrate. Here he is with Dad blowing out the candle on his frog cake.Then we opened presents.

A Thomas the Train playhouse. The kids all loved it and Levi loved it so much that he took it to bed.

This train fits perfectly on Levi's bed.....so he slept in it all night. What a hoot. He is such a funny little guy.

Here he is being Batman.

We all had such a fun time. A little pizza, a few presents and family and friends. Who could ask for a better party?

Random Fun

Here are a few random pics from the weekend.
Caprina reading.Grandpa pumping iron with the two little boys.

Pumping iron with boys plus one! Wow is he strong! Has he been working out? YES!

Little Peter with a skinned up nose playing on the top bunk.

If you want to occupy Peter just put the stool up to the wall or a post. He has loads of fun.

Levi hiding in the pillows.

Granny and Caprina taking a well deserved rest. Actually Caprina was asleep until we took the picture and it woke her up.

Did you know Grandpa can multi-task? He can jump, play sudoku, and play with the grandkids all at the same time.

Knee update

My knee is doing really well....it just looks so bad. It took a few days for the bruising to surface and it will take a lot longer to get rid of. It is nice to have it fixed.

Knee Surgery

I had a bit of knee surgery this past Monday and all went well. My knee looks and feels pretty good and the doctor says I will be pleased with the results. They found some arthritis in there as well as the tear I created when I fell and they fixed it all. Notice the OK on the leg. There was some confusion as to which leg they were operating on and I felt a whole lot better when they wrote on the correct knee!Flowers from my sweetheart. I couldn't ask for anyone better to take care of me. My Richard has been both so sweet and so supportive. He and the boys have taken over the meals and clean up and I just sit around and watch. Life is grand :).

Flowers from work, thanks Shellie. They are gorgeous.

Nurse Richard....when the chips are down he is the one I want in my corner. He is the best.... and the cutest!

"BOB" the Buffalo

This is my friend "BOB" the Buffalo. He came to visit us in the office this past week and was our lunch companion for many days, though he didn't eat too much. Dave the owner where I work shot "Bob" this past January and his head arrived this week. I can say that this didn't bother me because I am used to stuffed animals; growing up in a hunting family as I did. Dave also keeps the meat and shares and I can say that Bob made a tasty dinner as well as a nice lunch partner!Did you know that buffalo horns are actually made from hair? I didn't until I could get up close and personal with Bob. His horns were peeling, sort of. I am sure he was a majestic animal. Too bad he was headed for a hanging this weekend in Dave's gun shop!

Sam's Birthday Celebration

Sam had his 7th birthday last week so when everyone was together we decided to celebrate a little. Here is the birthday boy opening some gifts.He loves puzzles and these glow in the dark! What could be better?

I always ask the kids what kind of cake they want for their birthdays. Usually I get the answer, "Strawberry or Vanilla". Not with Sam though, he always knows what character he wants. Last year it was Sponge Bob and this year he asked for Patrick, Sponge Bob's starfish friend. Did I know who Patrick was? NO, but after a thorough search on the web I got some ideas. Here is the finished project.

Everyone eagerly awaiting the blowing out of candles. You can't see him but Joseph kept trying to blow out the candles. (L~R Caprina, Peter, Alexis, Ben, Levi, Jacob)

Grandma Mathias cutting the cake. It had over 2 cans of frosting on it. Yuk.

Random Pics

We had Nat and family here this past weekend and here are some random pictures from the visit.
Ben in his new BYU shirt. I am trying Dana.Applesauce must be eaten with both hands! Here's little Peter. This was before he bumped his head and had a bruise and 3 lumps on his forehead! What can I say, It was a rough weekend on the kids!

Adam's mom, Loreen visited with us and here she is with a few of her many grandchildren.

Caprina....I don't know why I didn't think to get the crumbs off her face first.

Sweet Levi...this was before he fell and split his lip! Yikes.

We had Adam's brother Ammon and family over for dinner and to help celebrate Sam's birthday. Here is Jacob, Ammon, Kyle (Adam's nephew) and Adam at the dinner table.

Richard, Loreen and Adam.