Kimberly's 10th Birthday Party

Kimberly had a fun out doors party and sleep over. First, everyone played in the backyard (of our new house). Then they had dinner and she openned her presents. Finally, they went in the front to play in the sprinkler:) After they dried off, the girls came inside. It was movie time and homemade popcorn before bedtime. What a great party!

We didn't do the sprinkler earlier because it was quite cool...but as you can tell, nobody wanted to miss out on getting wet:)

Afgan time

My mother decided to make each of her children an afgan (with them choosing the style and colors they'd prefer). No matter where she'd go, Mom would take her sewing bag with whatever she was working on. Today--it happened to be Kimberly's birthday party. Mom had come to "be my other adult" and while waiting for the guests to arrive...she sat outside and crocheted:) This was her Zen time!

Thanks, Mom. It turned out beautifully! We love it.

A sister's friendship...

...isn't it wonderful to share such special moments together. What amazing friends we have living right within the walls of our own homes! I love you, sister.

A Reward for hard work.

I have always wanted a fire pit since moving into our new house. So, Jerry and the girls got me one for Mother's day/early birthday. Since it was perfect weather, we decided to use it one Saturday after they finished their yardwork.

Now, we had to have a Boy Scout present when having our open fire pit. (So, gladly Jerry volunteered.) We got out our scuwers and cooked the hot dogs. This was the girls first time experiencing out door cooking:) It was fun.

After dinner, of course we had to make s'mores too. They were delicious!

This is what they had been working on all day. Nice!

This is our first spring with our large yard. Jerry and the girls did weeding and mulching in the front lawn island. They spent the better part of their Saturday working together outside. What a beautifully colorful picture they created in our yard!

Backyard fun

Natalie, Courtney and Kimberly all did so great on their report cards that they each got a prize as a reward. These were the prizes: walkie talkies, a Pegasus, and a Michael Jackson CD. Since Mommy had done such a superb job assisting WITH homework this year, she got a prize also. She chose a Badminton game. Daddy set it up and everyone went out to the backyard to play! It's been a lot of fun...oh, even for Mommy:)

Our Easter Traditions

The spring season is beautiful!! Daffodils galore, cool weather, and bright lovely eggs to HIDE. My brother and sisters families always come together at the Dirle's house for an Easter Egg hunt with the cousins. Grandmommy out does herself with not only making "Granny's chocolate eggs" but she also sews for her grandchildren!

This year she made matching Easter dresses for all the cousins (NY girls too). Natalie and Caroline's dresses were alike and Courtney and Johanna had the same pattern. Kimberly got her OWN pattern. (Being older does have advantages sometimes...) Kimberly was wearing her new glasses too:) Thanks Grandmommy! They are beautiful.

While spending this time together, we have a wonderful time sharing and talking of that Easter morning . What a blessing it is to teach our children of our Savior, Jesus Christ and all that His life means to each of us! Such a splendid day.

"Home" made Eggrolls

One Sunday afternoon Jerry and the girls decided to try their hands at making homemade Eggrolls. So, everyone rolled up their "pajama" sleeves and grabbed a wrap. The girls did a great job measuring and sealing the eggrolls. (They had never eaten one before.)

We didn't have pork so we substituted it with ground beef. It still tasted really good!

Jerry taught the girls to keep the wraps wet so they wouldn't tear.

Jerry was sooo ready to cook and eat the eggrolls after working hard to make them that he forgot to read through the WHOLE recipe before making the eggrolls...they needed to be refridgerated for 4+ hours prior to cooking!! UGH

To say the least, the eggrolls still tasted awesome--the next day. Jerry loves trying news things...and the girls love to help Daddy try new things. Here is the finished product! They were delicious.