My sweet friend Dominique is a baker, an artist, and can pretty much do anything!  She birthed these 4 children in less than 5 years and makes the most amazing cakes you’ve ever seen.  (Those 2 statements are totally unrelated.)  Here’s a cake she recently made for a friend’s party.

Anyway, tonight I made Dominique’s Cookie Cake Recipe.  It takes about 5 minutes to make…or less.  It’s SUPER easy and AMAZINGLY delicious!

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Chocolate Chips

Cream Butter and Brown Sugar.

Add Vanilla and Egg and MIX…I forgot to take a picture of this step.

Next, add Flour, Baking Powder, Salt (or let your little helper do it).

STIR ingredients.

Fold in Chocolate Chips.

After you’ve tasted just a few bites of dough, pour into greased and floured (or greased and sugared, which is my preference) 9 inch round pan.

Don’t spread it to the edges, because it tends to get too high on the sides when it bakes.  Spread almost to the edge.

Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes.

YUMMY!!!

This next picture is just pathetic!  It tastes so much better than this picture makes it look.  I forgot to take a pic in the daylight, so this is a bad pic i took before I ate the last one at 10:30. :)

Gooey goodness!

WARNING:  You will need milk with this Cookie Cake!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick Butter (Softened)
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet)

Cream Butter and Brown Sugar.  Add Egg and Vanilla and Mix.  Add Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt.  STIR.  Add Chocolate Chips and stir.  Pour into greased and floured (or greased and sugared) 9-inch round pan.  Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes.

Enjoy with a big fat glass of cold milk!

.

All I can say is that it’s been a LONG 2 weeks!  We got the world’s worst stomach bug, and I have changed more vomit sheets and poopy pants (and washed my hands) more times than I can count!  Let’s just say it was NOT a 24 hour bug, and it was vicious!  It lasted 5-6 days each for all 3 girls.  My sweet baby Georgia was already too small, and after that nasty bug, my tiny 13-month old weighed just over 14 1/2 pounds.

Praise the LORD, we are on the mend…I hope!

And thank goodness the Laundry Fairy has come to my house, because I certainly need help after last week!

So, that is where I have been.  I planned on posting this recipe over a week ago, but I was…occupied!

Moving on.

I have fallen in love with a new (new to me, anyway) way to cook green beans, thanks to my sweet friend Dominique.  It’s so simple, so delicious, so healthy!

Roasted Green Beans

You will need only 4 ingredients:

Green Beans, Olive Oil, Pepper, and Salt

And if you ever wonder what all my maniacs are doing as I cook, allow me to pan out…

In front of me, on the other side of the table, Preston was painting Styrofoam balls for his Solar System project.

And beside me, these two maniacs asked if they could paint…and in a moment of WEAKNESS, I said “Yes!”

It wasn’t long before I regretted that decision.  My bathroom sink may never recover, and I have a few towels that certainly will not!  I do not have just a ton of patience, and I have decided that painting projects with 2 little girls, requires a great deal of it.  Let’s just say they ditched the PAINTING, and just played with the PAINT!  They created their own color, which sounds real creative and stuff, but they used almost all of the paint, just dumping it and mixing it.

They called their color “New Purple.”

I would call it a shade closer to doo-doo!  Either way, it all ended in the trash when they tried to save it on a paper plate with a napkin as a cover.  Brilliant.

I digressed…sorry!

So on to the green beans.

Wash and drain the green beans.  Trim both ends.

Line them up.

Trim them.

Turn them around and repeat.

Drizzle the green beans with a small amount of EVOO, and toss to coat.

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Grind course black pepper on top of the green beans.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown, stirring occasionally.  As you remove them from the oven, sprinkle with salt.

Enjoy, and they are better than they look in that sad picture above.  And because we live on the edge, I let my kids eat these with their fingers.  For some reason, if they are allowed to consume food using their hands, they will eat happier and eat more.

Recipe for Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound Fresh Green Beans
• 1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Salt

Wash green beans and trim both ends.  Drizzle with EVOO and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Grind black pepper on the beans.  Cook at 350° for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When they are lightly brown, remove from oven and sprinkle with salt.  Enjoy!

.

-kate

.

I have not posted a recipe in FOREVER!  So, it’s time to post one!

But first…

My dear, precious husband knows how to make me happy, happy, happy!  Brad is truly the best husband in the world, and one of the sweet gifts he got me for Valentine’s Day was this coffee cup…probably hoping that I will wake up a little happy, happy, happy-er in the mornings than I do.

And just in case you have a child that decides she wants to

“Pwactice huh wettahs”

(Practice her letters) on your computer screen…

Windex doesn’t touch it.  409 doesn’t work.  BUT the Magic Eraser is truly MAGIC!  It took every bit of pen off of my computer screen, with ease.  And a certain little maniac will never make that mistake again!

.

Moving on.

We love salmon.  It was on sale.  I bought a lot of it!

I think salmon is one of the easiest things to cook, and it is hard to mess up!  I usually just put it on foil, put a few thin slices of butter on top.  Sprinkle it with Nature’s Seasons, Montreal Steak Grill Mates, and Garlic Pepper, then squeeze a little lemon on it and grill until it flakes easily.

We enjoyed salmon with baked potatoes, green beans, and this salad, but I had leftover cooked salmon that I needed to use.

So, I made Salmon with Jalapeno Caesar Pasta Salad…

Of course, you could use chicken or steak, but we prefer salmon.

You will need:  Romaine Lettuce, Penne Pasta, Parmesan Cheese, Tomatoes, Salmon (or chicken), and Jalapeno Caesar Dressing (Recipe for dressing below)

While you are cooking the pasta, make jalapeno Caesar dressing.  It is so easy, and adds so much to the salad.

Recipe for Jalapeno Caesar Dressing

You will need Caesar Dressing, a Jalapeno, a Lime or a Lemon, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper.

It is best if you choose a Caesar dressing that you are already happy with.  I used what I had, but a good Caesar would have been much better.  Also, a lemon will work, but a lime offers much more flavor, so use a lime if you have one.

I did not.

Roughly chop the jalapeno with seeds and place it in a food processor.

Add 1 cup of Caesar dressing, the juice from one lime (or lemon), and freshly ground black pepper.  Process until smooth.

Then you just combine the amount of lettuce and pasta that you want, and add tomatoes, Parmesan, Salmon, and dressing.

So easy.  So delicious!

Recipe for Salmon with Jalapeno Caesar Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
• Penne Pasta
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salmon or Chicken
• 1 Cup of good quality Bottled Caesar Dressing
• 1 Jalapeno
• Juice from 1 Lime or 1 Lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 1/4 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, roughly chop jalapeno.  Place jalapeno, Caesar dressing, lime juice, and fresh ground black pepper in a food processor and process until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine the amount of lettuce and pasta that you want.  Add the tomatoes, Parmesan, salmon, and dressing for your big, fat, yummy, Jalapeno Caesar Pasta Salad!

Enjoy!

Upon posting that last picture, my stomach has started growling.  It’s 12:30.  I have a cookie cake in the kitchen.  Hmmm.  I think I’ll have one little bite of it…just to make my tummy be quiet.  :)

Happy eating!

-kate

.

We went to Mississippi last week to visit my grandparents and cousins.  It was a wonderful trip, except that my sweet MamaSara is not doing well.  The very long drive was as smooth as we could have ever imagined.  The kids did so well, and I think Georgia only cried about 5 minutes total!  It was amazing!

I took so many pictures that I am going to make several posts, so this is the first leg of the trip.  We drove to Jackson on Saturday and spent some time with the Jordans.  It was so much fun to see them again, and their new home is just beautiful…and somehow already decorated!  They just moved a month ago!  My kids absolutely love the 4 Jordan kids and we like Jeff and Dominique alright, too.  It was a fun (very quick) reunion.

The boys were instantly playing!Jeff jumped at any chance to hold sweet Georgia.

The girls played with dolls…

then they took all their babies to the store while chatting on the cell phone.

BOYS!

My little mess!

The crew (minus Georgia) Jeffrey, Wells, AnnaLeigh, Henry, Caroline, Lilly Katherine, and Preston.

We hope to make many more stops at the Jordan house on our way to see family!

We only stayed in Jackson about 3 hours this time, then we were off to Grenada to spend the night with my cousin, Tyson and his wonderful wife, Danielle.  Tyson and Danielle have worked countless hours and put blood, sweat, and tears into building a beautiful home.  They did so much of it themselves, and Brad and I were constantly amazed at their beautiful craftsmanship.  However, you will have to trust me on it, because I have no pics!

I do have a few pics of the maniacs.  AnnaLeigh is such a ham lately!  She rummaged through Neely’s closet and dressed herself in this little get-up.  Then she told Neely to play a song for her on the guitar so she could dance.  She’s a bossy little 3 year old, but so cute that people always do as they are told!  Dangerous combo!

The kids.  Bryce, Preston, AnnaLeigh, Neely, Georgia, Lilly Katherine.

How do I have a child that is so white she glows?  I don’t know, but I sure do love her to pieces!

Thanks Tyson and Danielle for being such wonderful hosts!

More Mississippi to come.

-kate

.

I have mentioned my sweet friend Dominique a million times.  She is a precious woman, a wonderful mother, an inspiration, a wise woman of God, an encourager, a cooking/baking machine, and a dear friend.  I am so sad that she and her family are moving to Clinton, Mississippi, but I’m so thankful they will be so close to my Mississippi family that I will be able to visit!

My maniacs love their children, and we love them!  When you have a big family, it’s hard to find another family where the moms get along, the dads get along, and all the kids get along.  We found that kind of relationship with the Jordan fam!  We are very sad to say “Goodbye,” but we know this is a good move for their family.

My friends Elicia and Meredith and myself put together a little surprise going away party for them last week.  Our little get-together reminded me of a college mixer and it was a wonderful night, with wonderful weather and wonderful friends.

Here’s the surprise…

Party pics…

Meredith, Kellie, Tiffany

Betsy, Jenni, Dominique, Me, Megan, Ashley, Laurabeth

Kellie and Dominique

Tyne, Dominique, Ann

Elicia made Dominique this book and I wish I had taken pictures of it.  It was such a precious idea.  We each submitted a family picture and a family recipe and Elicia created a Shutterfly cookbook with all of Dominique’s friends and their fav recipes, then we all signed it (like a year book).

Kyle, Jennifer, and Ben looking at the “cookbook.”Elicia and Scott, Jeff and Dominique

I made them a little cake.  Actually, Mere and Elicia helped.  They kneaded the food coloring into the fondant.  Couldn’t have done it without you girls. :)

Jeff and Dominique

Dominique and Megan

The hubbies…Kyle, Brad, Scott

I just had to put this pic in because it cracks me up.  Thanks, Wade!

Scott and Elicia, Kyle and Meredith, Dominique and Jeff, Me and Brad

The girls.

Dominique, we will miss you so much, friend!  You better come back and visit, and you can count on many late night phone conversations from me in the future…especially on cake baking nights.  You have truly blessed my life, made me a better mother, challenged me, uplifted me, and made me feel “normal” more times than I can count.  You are beautiful inside and out and you and your family will truly be missed!

-kate

.

My sweet baby girl is 12 days old already, and I love her even more today!

She is so sweet, and rarely cries…except when I’m ready to go to bed.  Some of that is due to the fact that I simply can’t put her down.  I hold her 99% of the time.  Brad asked me a few days ago, “Did you hold Preston this much?” and my pitiful response was, “Absolutely not!  I was afraid I would mess him up if I held him too much.  I didn’t want to spoil him!”

Isn’t that sad?!?

My advice to any new mom is HOLD THEM!  I know what the books say.  Preston was a BABYWISE baby!  I worked full-time, he was in daycare, and I left work to nurse him twice a day.  He HAD to be on a strict schedule, so I read Babywise, used it, referred to it, stressed about it, and I just knew I was ruining his 2 week old life if I made any missteps.  Well, this is my fourth child and my philosophy has changed a little.

HOLD THAT BABY!

What I’ve learned is that your little angel (and my little Georgia) will be bigger TOMORROW!  They grow every single day.  One day you’ll look up and realize that you can no longer pick up that sweet little baby.  It’s a sad day.  I can barely pick Preston (8) up, and I know my days of being able to lift him are numbered.  Not that I lift him often, but just to know that I can never pick him up again makes him seem so much bigger…older.

So for that reason, I will hold this baby!  I will hold her, love on her, kiss her, squeeze her, and I will be perfectly happy to spoil her rotten!  Of course I want her to learn how to go to sleep without me holding her, but she’s 12 days old…I have time for that later.  Now, my house is the thing that may be suffering from my new way of thinking.  Eventually I will have to put my little bucket o’ love down and pick up my bucket o’ cleaning supplies.  Sigh!

The other wonderful thing that has made it possible for me to constantly hold little miss Georgia is that we have precious friends who have provided so much for our family!  Our friends have brought food every single night since we’ve been home from the hospital.  I cannot tell you what a blessing it has been to have so many delicious meals, and I have some new recipes that I can’t wait to share with you!  Thank you to all of you who have provided for us this past week!  Brad and I are truly grateful and appreciative!

Other than wonderful meals, we have received so many sweet gifts.  It’s been fun to see GEORGIA written and monogrammed on several little pink things.  I love gifts with my babies’ names on them, because we have so few of them.  I guess that’s because we never know what we’re having!

I just had to post a few pics of some of the gifts I have received that were cute and unique.  With this being my fourth, I was surprised at the things I had never seen before, like these…

A Stroller made out of diapers!  I’ve seen diaper cakes, but never a STROLLER!  Some of the precious women at Brad’s office, Sheryl and Penny made this, and I know it was a labor of love!  LK and AnnaLeigh think this is for their babies. :)

Dominique brought her fabulous cookie cake to the hospital the night Georgia was born for all of our family and friends to enjoy.

Meredith and Carrie brought a meal and these AMAZING cookies that our friend Amanda makes.  She brought 6 little (actually they’re big) pink crowns with Georgia’s initials on them.  I ate 5 of them.  I couldn’t help myself, they were just too darn good!

Michael and Lisa sent a cookie bouquet, and they were so sweet to have a cookie made for each child.

It made these 2 maniacs very happy, despite the forced smile on AnnaLeigh’s face.

When Laurabeth was born 6 days before Georgia, our wonderful friend, Peggy, brought Ashley these cute little panties.  I was a little jealous because I could picture a sweet little 7 month old girl crawling around with a tush full of ruffles, and I knew I wouldn’t have a ruffly baby girl.  HA!  When Georgia was born, sweet Peggy brought my baby girl her own pair of ruffle panties.  They’re MudPie, and they will be so cute on those 2 little bottoms!

Okay, now this is a gift that I know many of you will want to copy!  This great gift was given to me by Angie, a friend that I really wish I knew better!  Our husbands play basketball together in the middle of the night (4:45 in the morning) and we run into each other occasionally.  She is always doing crafty things for people, and I know if we ever got to hang out we would have so much fun!  This is called a Memory Can, and I’ve never seen one before, but I will definitely be copying her idea…you should too!

My two bestest friends in the whole wide world, Kimberly and Samantha came in town to meet Georgia last week.  That is truly one of the best gifts you can give!  More on that later.  They brought loads of monogrammed goodies for Georgia, and this was one little treasure that I’m sure most of you have heard of.  I have never had one of these little guys, but I’m so excited about it!

You put your wipes and a few diapers in it and keep it in your diaper bag.  As the baby gets older, this is all you have to lug around.  For me, this is a great alternative to having diapers bunched in my purse with goldfish crumbs smashed in them!

My friend Holly organized all of our meals, plus she made us  PW’s Cinnamon Rolls and PW’s Apple Dumplings and some yummy enchiladas!  And let me not forget to mention that one day last week my friend Amy called to ask what I wanted from Starbucks and she left a hot Starbucks coffee at my door.  That’s certainly a treat no mom would pass up.  My friend Elicia is also so good about offering Starbucks.  When you’re stuck at home with little ones, sometimes that’s just the pick-me-up you need.

Lastly, I have to tell you about the gift that my amazing hubby gave me.

(MEN: make a mental note of this!!!)

Brad had a bracelet made with 4 diamonds on it, one for each child.

It’s dainty and beautiful, and I love it!  It was a wonderful surprise, and the perfect “push present!”  My dear husband has been there for 4 babies now, and he has finally figured out that his bratty wife would like a little “thank you” or “good job” for carrying and bearing his children.  It took several children for him to learn (and maybe a little help from my friend Kellie), but I would say it was worth the wait!  Thank you, babe!  This beautiful gift was a true surprise and much better than flowers!  You went above and beyond and I love it!  I will wear it everyday, always!

.

Thank you to all of my sweet friends!  Thank you for blessing my life and my family!  We truly appreciate all the thoughtful gifts and meals you have given us!

-kate

.

Last week I celebrated…a birthday.  It hurts to admit it, but I guess with 3.5 kids I’m hardly 23 anymore.  I’m now 30-3!  I still feel like I could jump back into college (except for the 3.5 kids thing) and I have to say I do love my crazy, wonderful life…even if it does mean I’m “IN my THIRTIES!”

Deep Breaths! :)
.

The day of the party, I picked blueberries with the kids, and Brad had scheduled a massage for me for that afternoon.  I ran home nasty, hot, and sweaty from picking berries, jumped in the shower, dried my hair as fast as I could, kissed my babies and my wonderful hubby goodbye, hopped back in the car, drove like a mad-man to the spa, and busted through the doors of the spa (late, of course).

THE SPA!

Oh, it was like another land…a land I rarely enter.  A happy place.  Everything was beautiful and peaceful and quiet, with the sounds of dainty, calm harps playing next to a bank of trickling water.  Their was a delightful aroma of lavender, eucalyptus, and mint.  There were no smells of old milk or macaroni and cheese or Totino’s pizza.  No one was fighting or screaming or whining or calling some obviously crazy lady named “Mama!”

When my time in this happy land was complete, I hoped they wouldn’t notice if I hung out in the women’s lounge a few extra minutes on their soft white couches in the sunlit room, drinking some lovely orange juice concoction.  However, I felt like there was a different kind of happy land that needed their crazy mama back.  I slowly made it to the car and back home…relaxed and rejuvenated.

It was a nice, generous, much appreciated break from reality!  Thank you sweet, wonderful husband!

I was greeted with the warm welcome of 3 wild maniacs running at me with their arms wide open calling, “Mama!” as if I had been gone for days.  Then I realized I was in my happy place.  I belong with these crazy people.  I belong in this messy house, with these 3 loud kids and this maniac dog and this wonderful man.  A SPA break is an extra special treat, but I am truly so thankful for this crazy, wonderful life in which I’ve been so richly blessed!

.

So after my relaxing massage I wrestled kids for a little while, then it was time for dinner.  I hate washing my hair, and I was determined I was not going to do it twice in 4 hours, so i didn’t.  I’m sad my hair is in my “mom” ponytail for my birthday dinner, but the massage was worth the pony. :)

We had dinner and cake, played putt-putt, then had more dessert.  It was a fun evening with friends!  (We were missing one fun couple.  Brad had a crazy week and realized an hour before the party that he forgot to call some of our dear friends, Michael and Amy!  I’m so sorry, guys!  We love and missed y’all!)

I don’t have many pics, because I was apparently taking pics in Manual Focus instead of Auto and didn’t realize it.  Here are a few…

The birthday girls

The girls (minus Elicia, who had run home to put our cake in the fridge)

But here’s Elicia, in true form.  She found a jet ski machine at Putt-Putt.

Meredith had a hard time.  She ALL-Most got a whole in one.

Then her ball got stuck under an obstacle. :)

Love you, Mere!

Beautiful Dominique and her sweet hubby, Jeff.

I’m sure I’m giving Brad some amazing pointers in this pic!

Thanks to Jeff and Brad for a wonderful night out for our birthdays! Thank you, Dominique for being a precious friend!  Happy 29th (wink, wink) Birthday!

Thank you babe, for the massage and the great game of Putt-Putt!  I love you!

.

“He who walks with the wise, grows wise” -Proverbs 13:20

.

These posts are getting ridiculous!  I wanted to post more on the previous post, but I was cut short by two crazy women (ages 2 and 4).  I should know better than to do this when they’re awake, but I really wanted to get these pics up.  Oh well, lesson learned…until tomorrow. ;)

.

So, what else did we do?

.

We went to the park with some of LK’s classmates, Carli and Jenna (twins).  LK loves these girls, and after seeing them in action, I know why she loves them.  They are fun and spunky, and they just giggle, pretend play, and go right along with each other.  Sweet girls!

P took a basketball and found some “ballers” to play with.  The boy loves basketball!

Then Preston found a mud puddle…or a creek…or something with mud and water.  We can’t be at the park and not get soaking wet from something.  You can’t tell from the pic, but he’s wet from head to toe.

We went to little miss Molly’s house.  LK had fun with some new friends and one of her favorite friends, Sadie.

Then we went to Sonic.  Good times!

She’s a wild woman, I tell ya!

You can’t tell in this picture, but this is another wild woman.  This is Ella, and she CRACKS ME UP!

AnnaLeigh and her posse!  The boys LOVE her.  She always has at least one of these big boys picking her up, playing with her, or fighting for her attention.  She is their little doll.

Brody was getting very upset last week because he kept giving AnnaLeigh tater tots and he would say, “Now do you like me?”  She would eat the tot and say, “Nope!”  Poor little guy!

Girls, I know you’re going to love that I’m posting this pic.  Sorry!  These are my wonderful friends.  We get together every Friday afternoon and let our kids release some energy…while we refuel.  I truly cherish this time with fun friends and their crazy kids!  (Elicia, Kellie, & Meredith…and sometimes Dominique)Still more pics.  If you’re still reading, and you’re not related to me, BLESS YOUR HEART! :)  Thanks for hanging in there, but we have many more pics to go.

We went to the ballpark one night.  P had practice, so I took the girls to the playground with Elicia, Tiffany, and thier girls.

AnnaLeigh was sitting in one position with this worried little look on her face.  She was saying something, but I was taking pics of her and couldn’t really understand her.  Finally Elicia realized what she was saying, “Ma pinga tuck” (My finger’s stuck).  E rescued her as I watched with my camera.  Good mothering, I tell ya!

Ella, Lilly Katherine, Sara, AnnaLeigh, Katelynn

Ella and AnnaLeigh are the same age, 2.  LK, Sara, and Katelynn are 4.  My girls are just short petite. :)

Then we had a picnic.  AnnaLeigh is waving and yelling, “Hey, Daddy!”  So sweet!

We played in our backyard…

These two love each other!

I’ll have a few more pics and the recipes I mentioned earlier in the week in my next post.  Too much for today.

Adios friends!  Thanks for hanging in there…if there’s anyone still reading at this point. :)

Last week was so much fun, and so crazy!  I’ve decided that I just don’t like routine!  I love being free with my maniacs to do whatever we want to do.  I’m mourning the end of spring break and looking forward to summer!  My sweet little accountant is counting down the days until summer, and you better believe he has it down to the hour.

.

Spring Break is going to have to be SEVERAL posts!  We went absolutely nowhere, but we had a WONDERFUL week!  We played and played and played, and I sure wish the week hadn’t ended with stinkin’ Daylight Savings Time!  My maniacs are EXHAUSTED, and changing times never helps that problem.  However, I am excited for sunshine in the evenings!

.

Spring Break…we were the Backyardigans!  We traveled from backyard to backyard, enjoying great fellowship with precoius friends!

.

First Stop:  Jeffrey, Wells, Henry, & Caroline’s House!

My sweet friend, Dominique, has 4 kids (ages 2-7).  She is SUPERMOM, always throwing amazing bday parties, an incredible cook, a supportive minister’s wife, and she homeschools her boys on top of it all!  She has been an amazing blessing in my life.  We are planning on running a half marathon this weekend…if I can get my act together.  My kids ADORE her kids, and since we don’t see them at school, this was an absolute treat for all of us!

Caroline and AnnaLeigh had fun “picnicking” together.

We ate DELICIOUS pizza that Dominique made.  Homemade pizza with real, homemade crust…not canned biscuit dough. :)

Caroline is about 12 weeks older than AnnaLeigh, and they LOVE each other.  Can you tell that AnnaLeigh is going to be about as tall as me when she “grows up?”

Jeffrey is so creative and imaginative.  He challenges Preston to think outside of the box.

Wells is also very creative, but he loves sports, too.  Wells and P have fun wrestling and playing ball.

Henry is just a sweet little man.  He goes with the flow and LOVES Lilly Katherine.  Isn’t he precious?!?

Sweet Caroline.  Such a little lady.  AnnaLeigh loves her little playmate (so does LK).  She is precious and girly and ALWAYS, ALWAYS has a smile on her face.  What a joyful gift!

.

SO SO SO many more pics to come! :)

.