baking

Brenna and I spent the day with my sister-in-law and nieces, baking breads and cinnamon ornaments.

The girls were very "hands on"

Here are a couple of Brenna's ornaments after they were dried and decorated

Fun on the Fourth

We spent the holiday with my brother-in-law and his family. Lots of good food and family = great time.

My nieces:

Declan always gets lot of attention from Annie:





The grillers:

Sparklers:





Watching the fun with my 2 little rascals:

summer fun

This summer, we are trying to set aside two days a week to spend completely at home. This is to save on gas and also just to encourage the kids to spend time being creative as a family. And also give me a chance to catch up on the mundane: laundry, housekeeping, etc.

The other 3 days we have various activities. Today was a park day with our homeschool group. The older boys played flag football and the younger crowd just enjoyed playing with each other and on the playground. Then we had a picnic lunch afterward.

I'm also blessed to be able to have my nephew and two nieces join us a couple times each week. So that makes 8 kids I've had with me. Today at the park I was asked if I run a childcare. LOL Kinda. =)

Zoo crew