The bonfire

EJ has family land not far from us.

They were digging out some ponds and needed to clear a bunch of cedar trees.

Once that work was done it was time for the biggest bonfire ever!

Of course a bonfire requires a hot dog roast and some s'mores.  Even though the fire doesn't look that way it was still very hot!

B man being silly eating chips

Q is a man with style.  I mean not everyone wears a tie to a bonfire.

W taking a break from running all over the land to pose for a picture.

Lil' Ruthie is ready for dinner.  Sippy cup in hand and chips near by.

Papa and Grandma deliver the dogs.

D is happy if he has his sucky finger.

E is still trying to figure out why he has to get in this ridiculous car seat and go places.

 Sister is pretty impressed with those hot dogs.

The marshmallows were pretty good too.  

"I'm sticky" she says.

Me and my man.

 Papa and baby D.

The whole crew.

This time on the land is extra special to my man.  He brings the big kids out here to play regularly but rarely are we all there.  These acres mean a lot to him.  He has dreams of building out here one day.  We talk about it often.  If God allows, we will build in a few years.  

But for now, it is time to head home and tuck our six blessings into bed.  Perhaps in a few years we will just walk to our house on the land.  I bet my man will be dreaming about that tonight.

My girls

We are three of five but the other two live a few hours away.  

These are my girls.  

The goddesses by name.

We have been friends for a really long time.

We don't get together nearly enough.

They came today to meet baby E.

My heart is fuller after their visit.

I love you girls.

I missed you other two!

Looking forward to the day we are all together!

It was a very good day

Two happy things.

First of all, Mommy got out!  We went to Target.  See that coffee in my hand?  See that crazy hair?  I'm not sure when I showered last but that is not the point.  EJ won my heart when he said, "Why don't we go to Target?"  He hates Target but he loves me.

By the way, we have officially hit freak show status.

We got a whole lot of looks while we were out and about.

Secondly, Baby D rode in the front of the cart for the first time!  Look how proud he is!  I can't believe he is such a big boy these days.

Super Daddy!

He loaded up the two middles in our fancy stroller.

He got the two big boys set up on their bikes and away they went!

Fun was had by all (Pay no attention to the grumpy look on Lil' Ruthie's face.  She hates all pictures these days.)

Way to go Daddy!

I love homeschooling for many reasons

This is one of them.

Grandma and her big boys.

Not everyone gets to have their Grandma as their substitute teacher.

Precious.

Fegos

Our boys are really into Legos these days.  They had been saving their money to purchase some super hero mini figures.

EJ got on ebay and found a pack of mini figures for a really good price.  The boys still needed a few more dollars to purchase the set.  They worked hard on extra chores to make enough money.  They were so excited!  B was particularly excited to get a Wolverine mini figure.

EJ made the purchase and then realized it was going to be a LONG time until they arrived.  Several weeks.  That is a long time to wait when you are 8 and 6 years old.  

It wasn't until a week or so later that he checked the status of his order.  It was then that he realized they were coming from China.  Oops.  Perhaps this is why they were so cheap.

Fast forward another week or so.

The much anticipated package arrives!

Joy all around!

The mini figures are opened.

EJ and I realize that these are not Legos.  These are Fegos.  You know Fake Legos.  

(Remember Keds?  You could buy the cheap version at Wal-mart.  We called them Feds.  You know Fake Keds.  Come on...I know I'm not the only one who was sportin' Feds.  Don't get me started on fake Cabbage Patch dolls.  Those were not right.)

The kids had no idea they were fake.  They just heard us say they were from China.

As they were playing with them they noticed that there were certain differences from their other Lego mini figures.  I heard one of them say, "Oh so this is how they make them in China."  Such a sweet, innocent statement.  

EJ and I tried not to giggle.  We made a pact with our eyes.  We were NOT telling them we bought bogus Legos.

To add insult to injury, the package was not as advertised.  There was NO Wolverine.

The look on B's face when he realized he didn't get the Wolverine was awful.  All those extra chores.  All that waiting.

So...

I went to work to make it right.  We were going to find a Wolverine mini figure.  I got online and started looking for him.  Turns out he is not an easy guy to find.

In the end, I found a Lego set with Wolverine.

Oh yes I did.

I also paid WAY too much for it.

Lesson learned.

It's happening...again

I finally pulled back out the 'ol cloth diapers.

I cloth diapered Q for over a year.

When life got crazy with a move to our new house in 2011 I stopped.

I have occasionally put lil' Ruthie in cloth hoping I would get back into it.

These days I have three in diapers and one who uses a pull up at night.

That is A LOT of diapers.

So I am giving it a whirl again.

I haven't decided if we are just going to do cloth at home or if we are going to jump in with both feet and do it all the time.

I shouldn't say all the time...we are using disposable diapers at night.

I have tried a few of my diapers on baby E but he is too small just yet.

I have some on order to try with him and he will be bigger before we know it.

So here we go again.

Wish me luck!

Let's get this party started

Before the gals arrived I was doing my usual multitasking.

Here I am rocking baby D with one foot while feeding baby E.

I've asked Mom and the sisters to come once a week for a while.

This serves three purposes...

1. Instant play date for all the children.

2.  They help me out with babies, laundry and dishes.

3. Coffee talk with my mom and 2 of my sisters.

(DW needs to move home asap)

Let's get this party started.

By party, I mean play date with 11 children, 3 mommies and 1 grammy.

Pretty Princess shows up with coffee for all.

She is a good woman.

Grammy arrives with groceries and keeps the kiddos busy in the kitchen making some delicious guacamole.

Time for some yummy lunch.

I swear lil' Ruthie loved the guacamole.  I guess she didn't want her picture taken.

 The big boys found a place to keep their Lego sets safe from the little ones.

Q and Super Girl played puppies.

The kiddos love play time with Grammy.  I think this was some kind of jam session.

Then it was time to play cars.

Lil' Ruthie talked her cousin into playing princess castle with her.

Baby E didn't mind all the noise.  Baby D is much more mature so he took his nap in his crib away from the noise.

 The sisters minus DW.

Here we are on the phone with DW.

Grammy getting in some snuggle time with baby E.

 Time for nails!

It was a wonderful day!

It sure helps our cabin fever to have the party come to us.

Thanks for the fun Grammy, Rock Star, Pretty Princess and kiddos!

My baby boys

Baby D is 6 months old & Baby E is 1 month old.

They are exactly 5 months apart.

Oh the fun they are going to have!

Here are a couple of shots for size comparison.

I adore matching outfits.

  

Adore them.

The big boys are starting to have opinions on their clothes.

But not these guys.

Not yet.

I see many matching outfits in their future.

Just the thought makes me giddy.

I love the way they just stare at each other.

I think D is telling E all kinds of baby secrets.

E is wide eyed taking it all in.

 I love these sweet boys!