Menu Plan

A look ahead at our week NOT in the kitchen! For the entire month of August, we will be grilling!

Sumertime Fun {Christopher}

Whew! Summer flies by when you get 2 sets of extra hands during those wile summer month.

Yesterday, we took my 2nd oldest of my 5 little brothers home. Christopher got his turn (he's the one that came up with this idea) to spend a week with us. YAY!
 

 First things first - food for the week! We got the grocery shopping out of the way, but needed to grab our fruits and veggies :)

 The next day we headed to the zoo! Another great morning with barely anyone else! I love having the zoo to myself LOL 

 I could not get the boys to take their eyes off the train for a second! 

 Ready to go go go!

 Spooky tunnel

 Christopher feeding some swans

 Mr. Alligator :)

 Hot and tired after a long day at the zoo

 Another day out in the sun

 The boys both took a wild ride around the yard

 Couldn't even get a clear picture because they were so fast!

 Doing a bit of seek and find before bedtime

 Got in a little time at the playground before it got too hot

 Swinging is a great way to catch a breeze that just won't happen

 Watching a movie :)

 Made some homemade cookies (recipe coming up in a bit)

While the rest of the cookies were baking, Andrew helped me shuck the corn for dinner. LOVE this little guy!!

 And! While Andrew was helping me do that, Alex fell asleep! GOODNESS! 

Of course, we had a few game nights (and afternoons). 

Christopher was a GIANT help this past weekend, too!! We had out Yard Sale on Saturday. He helped nap time on Friday to get everything labeled and organized. It was great! We got everything DONE in 2.5 hours! Thank goodness Brendan helped the weekend he was here so we could get everything to be sold into the garage. Now all that is left is to drop off the unsold stuff at the donation center. 

It was another wonderful week with another fun brother of mine! 

**linking up to**

The Simple Things

Creative Exchange

Wanna know what I have been up to?? Other than planning for a yard sale (post on that coming up soon), I have "met" a pretty cool person out there in bloggy land!

The Creative Exchange was put on by three terrific blogs - The Grant Life, Covered in Mod Podge, and Covered in Grace.It's basically like a craft pen pal-ish type of fun. You are paired up with someone and you create something special for them.

Kathryn is pretty amazing! I had TWO boxes waiting at my front door yesterday. And check out what was inside:

Wood Car/Road Set!

How cute is that?! LOVE IT!! And the boys loved it, too! They love getting mail, but this was a pretty cool gift/ They played with it all day and added more stuff to it. It is just so cute. Thanks, girl!!

The other box was my gift. Check it out!

Ribbon Tray!

Love! Not sure if you can see the ribbon color - it is navy blue. I'm thinking that I may put it on my kitchen table. Or I may use it in out room. I've been playing with it here and there. It is really great! Trays are always a great thing to have! Thanks, again!!

So, want to see what I made her? Well, you can't see the exact one...goofy me, didn't take a picture of it before putting in the mail.... Luckily, I got a picture of another one that I made. I hope you can't see the mistakes in the stitches. I just got back into crocheting again. Here's what I sent to Kathryn:

Crocheted Basket! 

Nifty, huh?  It is the same color. I bought waaaay more yarn than I needed. I clearly have been out of it for a while, right? I am definitely going to get back into this. 

This little project/event was a lot of fun to do and I got to "meet" a great person out it, too! I think I may do this little adventure again :D 

Play Time is the Best Time

Chick-Fil-A ROCKS!

No, we didn't go today, but WE LOVE CHICK-FIL-A!!!! We probably go every other week, and to the same one, too. So, the people that work their know our boys - pretty funny! They have OUTSTANDING customer service and great food! LOVE it!!

 image source

Reasons why we love CFA:

1. CLEAN play place

2. GREAT customer service

3. CLEAN restaurant

4. GREAT food

best reason of all

5. THEY STAND BY THEIR BELIEFS WHILE RESPECTING THOSE OF OTHERS!!!

Go, Chick-Fil-A!!

Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake Baker MEN!

Last week, I apparently purchased too many bananas and, well, I had to used them up or lose 'em. So, after nap time, Andrew and Alex helped me make banana bread and banana bites.

Andrew has become quite the little baker! He is now in charge of peeling the bananas and adding them to the mix. He's allowed to turn on the mixer ONLY when I ask him. He pours in the stuff that has been pre-measured. He is just so great! Alex, on the other hand, he is the best little taste-tester and observer!

Chores for Toddlers/Preschoolers

I just love that my little guys love to help out around the house. I haven't actually made any "chore chart" thing for them and am not really planning on it. Maybe down the road, but right now they WANT to help. Many times the job they are doing is something they just started doing on their own.

Andrew and Alex both help me with the dishes. Andrew is in charge of the silverware. Alex just takes everything out and hands it to me. Sometimes he knows where things go, though. 

Andrew and Alex also help with the laundry. Andrew will "drive" the dirty basket to the laundry room. And Alex will hand me stuff to put in the washer.

Other "jobs" they have:
- Picking up their toys
- Putting away the books
- Wiping the coffee table
- Putting away their shoes

They are pretty good about helping out, especially when one see the other doing something. Then it becomes this competition. That  can be a good or a bad thing... Thankfully, it is usually a great thing!

Wordless Wednesday