the sky is pink

Nearly four years ago, Taylor helped Jackson learn how to ride a bicycle . This week Jackson helped Spenser learn to ride a bicycle. She still needs a little more confidence, but she has one of the best (and most patient and loving) teachers.

Joe was going to be out of town this past weekend for an Army training conference he was planning. And since he was going to our favorite hotel (near my favorite thrift store and ribbon outlet ), I told him we were coming. All of us. It was so nice to spend two nights away. The Army paid for one room and the hotel gave us an adjoining room for free. (See why it's our favorite?) The kids went swimming after breakfast, after lunch and before bedtime. And then they ran straight into our bathroom to the jetted tub. (The indoor pool is just steps away from our sliding glass door.) And while we were in the area (after Joe's Army conference was over), we took the children on a tour of Antietam . I love the rich history in our area. And, while I certainly didn't love it when I was younger, I'm hoping the children will learn and appreciate where they live. Part of the tour had us visit the Mumma Cemetery. Joe has ancestors buried here. These four headstones represent the Ecker f...

A week ago on Sunday I made chocolate chip scones .* They were heavenly. The kids loved them, but not as much as I did. At that time I thought it would be a nice Valentines morning treat for the children ... Too bad I didn't remember until nearly 11:00 p.m. last night. I tried a different recipe this time . They are good, but I think I'll stick to my tried-and-true Joy of Baking recipe. It must be the stick of butter that makes the difference. Last night after the scones cooled, I packaged each in a cellophane bag and placed one at each stool at our kitchen island/breakfast bar for the children. (And I stuck one with Joe's wallet and keys for him to take to work this morning.) While the scones were baking, I remembered that I bought a bag of M&Ms for the kids' lunch treat. I bought some adorable red-polka-dotted treat bags at Michaels last week for the very occasion. I cut the treat bags and attached some Valentines scrapbook paper to the top. I wish I would have ...

Last Friday the three elementary-school-aged kids in our house had early dismissal from school. (The two older boys were not happy they had a whole day of school.) Knowing that the minute my children walk in the door, they start arguing and fighting about who is getting on the computer first, I was armed with ideas. I printed some Christmas word searches and mazes for each of them. The website I found had different levels, so each child got the appropriate-aged puzzle. And that kept them quiet. For a bit. Spenser then worked on addressing her class Christmas cards. And then we decided to break out the new Cricut cartridge I had bought on clearance the week before: Paper Doll Dress Up . Now, I have to admit that this was as much for myself as it was for Spenser. I'm not going to lie about this. I felt a little giddy when I saw it. And I seriously cannot believe I waited a week to break it out. I should also admit that it was my first cartridge purchase. ( Although not the last .) An...

Yesterday was a busy day. We went to church and then attended a huge family Christmas (reunion) party . Santa was supposed to come through town on the fire engine last night , but rain kept ol' Saint Nick home. (He's rescheduling for next Monday.) I tried to console the children that they had just seen Santa (on a fire engine no less ) at our family Christmas party just two hours earlier. I think they're cool with it now. So we had some "down time" last evening. As always, I turned on my Christmas music and everyone just kind of did their own thing: playing, making, creating, etc. For Advent I had picked out a few crafty things to do throughout the month. Sadly, our busy family life has us going in different directions on most weeknights, so our Advent has mostly been drinking hot chocolate with a candy cane (or cool snowman-shaped marshmallows); drinking eggnog; family movie night (on a school night! with popcorn); and other holiday treats. Last night was the pe...

The end of summer break flew by. I'm just going to recap (very briefly) for the sake of journaling. Spenser got a new haircut. My neighbor and fellow council member owns the hair salon in town. It was Spenser's first trip to a salon. (My friend, who cuts my hair, gave Spenser her very first haircut, when she was about four, but the other two or three times I've cut it myself.) Joe took the boys camping. All of the boys (plus his father). Our church had its annual Father-Son Camp-Out at the end of summer, leaving the two girls alone for the night. (Incidentally the same day she got her hair cut.) We had a great time together. And she dressed up for the occasion. We did a few three-legged races (she didn't get to play at Mason's birthday party .) We didn't play against anyone, so we won each game. We then took a walk and walked to dinner. We came home and played Toss Up and Bunco . Then we watched a movie and ate popcorn and homemade salsa and chips. She fe...

Mason's party was a huge success. It was hot outside, but I don't think the children minded it a bit. The top two pictures are out of place, but Blogger makes it so difficult in rearranging photos (and I forgot to add these two in order), so we'll just have to look at them first. And explain later. Here is the candy stand in all its glory. This was our old lemonade stand that was yellow. I had the idea to have an old-fashioned birthday party for Mason and had visions of the lemonade stand becoming a candy shoppe. The children eagerly helped me scrub it clean and put the first coat of white paint on it. I filled up a few jars with treats. We had circus peanuts, candy buttons (on paper), Dum - Dum lollipops, Peanut Chews, pink wintergreen mints, Andes mints, Atomic Fireballs, and rock candy. (The rock candy was actually "lump sugar" that I picked up at the Asian grocery store. I bought it for my herb tea, but decided we liked to eat it instead.) The lollipops...