Corny

Corn. I love it like Bubba Gump loves shrimp. I love Creamed Corn, Cut Corn, Salt and Pepper Corn, Corn Bread, Cornmeal Pancakes, Candy Corn, Pop Corn, Kettle Corn, Corn on the Cob....you get the idea.

Corn on the Cob is one of my summertime favorites, after watermelon and of course, bbq chicken! As summer is coming to a close, I've been making sure I find some good ones each week or so, as my kids love it almost as much as I do.

I thought I'd share my hard and fast Corn on the Cob rule with you.

And it's really simple. Two words. SEVEN MINUTES. That's all. Easy peasy, and it's perfect every time! The water boils (I always add a dash of salt), you plunk them in...just barely submerged....seven minutes. Drain, stick them back in empty, hot pan! Do not leave them floating in the water or put the cover back on the pan - - they'll get overdone...just eat them as soon as you can without burning your fingers. YUM!

You're Welcome.

Finals

I always think that the first day of 1st grade is like a Final Exam. On that day, you find out how well you have prepared your child to be away from you the majority of their waking hours. A lot of this depends on their personality, I know, but I believe that the time you spend with them from their infancy through toddlerhood and on to preschool years can also impact how they feel about going out into (what can seem like) the big scary world.

And I'm so relieved to say, that WE TOTALLY ACED IT!

I always walk into the school with the kids on their first day, just to make sure there is no confusion about where they need to line up, who their teacher is, etc. Today, I did the same thing. EXCEPT, as we're entering the school, Gunnar says, "My teacher showed me where to line up Mom, you can go now...." BEFORE we're even close to where the line is. He didn't need me to see him into the building, he was F.I.N.E.
Of course, he didn't get off easy - - I told him "Too bad!! I'm watching you line up with your friends!"




I always thought I'd be THAT Mom. The one that is weepy as she sees her baby off to school. My kids are my world. I LOVE being with them, seeing them develop, enjoying their sense of humor. But, I'm not. Much to my surprise..

I'm so happy that they are confident, social creatures. They both have been looking forward to school SO MUCH. They love books, they love the routine, they love learning, they love making new friends.

I really hope this is a lifetime reality for them.

My critters ready to embark on a full day of learning and fun!

Not used to his backpack...this is what I got when I asked him to *smile*. It looks like he's constipated..
And Savi, yesterday, her first day of 3rd grade!

It's School Year's EVE!

...and my resolution is to be a better blogger. Among other things!

Is it just me, or does it seem like Summer was WAY TOO LONG? We've had enough "togetherness" and now I'm craving a routine. Boring? Maybe. But to enjoy the fun times, we need the normal...bring it on!

Is there anything better than new school clothes?? I think not. We basically raided The Children's Place outlet this year. So nice to get it done in one session, especially now that the kids have "opinions" about what they want to wear. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT??!? They each got 4 tops and 4 bottoms, plus shoes. Sydney even got a couple pairs of jeans....so cute on her! (I love The Place's ruffle bottomed jeans....I got some that have a pink tinge in the blue wash.)

Check out the wardrobes!

Sydney - "Take a picture of MY CLOTHES Mommy!" :) She is so much fun, attitude and all!

Happy Back to School, Back to Normal, Back to Life!

Turkey-pants!

Today the league-girls and I got together for a coupla' games to warm up for the new season. They're being kind enough to let me sub on the team until I figure out WHEN we're moving. I'm happy to have that to look forward to. Especially after today!

I bowled my 1st TURKEY ever!

AND, I blew my high out of the water - - it was 130, now it's 165!!

I'm stoked!

Cousin Playtime

Our Arizona cousins were in town(ish) last week for a Reunion on their Dad's side. We were thrilled when they offered to "detour" for a day on their way home! We haven't been able to play on each other's turfs, what with them living all over the Eastern States the last decade or so! We did a fairly good job of meeting at Grandpa & Mommom's though, so at least they know each other!!

We had 2 nights and 1 day, and we really squeezed a lot into it.

Saturday we got up and I made my now famous blueberry-cornmeal pancakes (a batch and a half) and sliced lotsa fruit....breakfast lasted 1 1/2 hours. It's funny how when you add a family of 7 to a family of 5 it comes out to more than 12....not sure how that works exactly, but I swear there were 20 of us in the house!!

We were all set and psyched to head up to Snowbird and get a daily attraction pass to do the zip line, bungee, jumpy houses, lift, etc. We arrived, and to our dismay the place was PACKED on top of a 100 person party that had reserved the majority of the attractions.

So we took our picnic to our old stand-by, Silver Lake..

We had lunch and walked around the lake. Luckily, Chris had thought ahead for just this circumstance and brought his fishing poles. (Look at my cute sister, Sara!) With the pole in her hand and the little one in his, Sophia almost looks like the catch of the day!!

Uncle Chris headed up "casting practice" and unwound many a tangled line. The kids casted and played and looked at the duckies to their heart's content.
Samo finding more gravel to "feed" to the ducks. It's really hard to get a picture of this guy - - always in motion!

Matthew tells me he was voted, "Most Likely to Become a Paleantologist/Archiologist" by his class....as he is trying to unearth a huge rock. I believe it! He spent alot of time doing this.
Here's a shot of most of our group enjoying the sunshine and scenery.

Spencer, above. Matthew below...the oldest of the cousins.

Savi and Mia. They are so sweet together, hard to tell they're 14 months apart....I'll always remember taking a just-walking Savannah to see Mia in Toledo just after she was born.

And the other girl-cousins, these ones are only about 4 months apart. Sydney had a lot of practice sharing her toys with Sophia. She didn't like it at first, but she adjusted. :)

At dinner time, we had a sitter come supervise Movie Night for the kids and the adults went out to Epic for dinner. Good food, even better company!

We love having family come to play! So much fun, and my kids have fond memories of their cousins from times like these. Thanks Sara and Mark for letting us enjoy your fantastic family!

Hopefully we'll get a chance to come play on your home field soon!!