Family Recipe with a Touch of Hate

My kids love Phineas and Ferb. A couple of weeks ago they watched an episode where Dr. Doofenshmirtz was making his favorite family recipe: meatloaf. The key ingredient in the recipe, to make it delicious, was a touch of hate, not surprising with Doofenshmirtz's evil background. Well, since then they have been begging me to find that recipe and make it. I never thought my kids would go for meatloaf, so I never make it. After days of asking for it, I decided to find a meatloaf recipe and go for it. As I mixed it up I pretended to be very angry at the meatloaf mixture, even saying mean things to it. My kids loved it!! They ate up every bite, and when I asked them the next day what we should have for dinner, they asked if we could have leftovers. It was weird, but hilarious. I will definitely be making my hateful meatloaf again, and who knows, maybe I'll be adding a touch of hate to some other favorite recipes.

First Day of Preschool

 

 

The next week after the big kids started school, James started preschool for the first time. Mitchell and Catherine both went as three year olds, so they could get two years in, but I didn't send James last year. I guess I didn't want to admit he was big enough. He was so excited to go to school and loves it so much. Whenever I pick him up he asks me to take him back. The other day, a non-preschool day, he asked me to take him to Miss Bekky's house. He said, "she told me I'm a good boy, so I know she wants me to come over." It was hard having him start. The first day I cried after dropping him off. He has been my little buddy for so long now, and it feels weird being alone, even for a little while, but I'm glad he is so happy there.

James' Birthday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On August 2nd my baby turned four. I can't believe how big he is. He is reading really well now, and is phonetically spelling EVERYTHING. We have notebooks full of his writings and drawings with captions. It is amazing how quickly he grasps things. For his birthday he got several new notebooks, and all sorts of fun things to write with. He couldn't have been more excited. He also got some fun Batman toys; we have to encourage other things to play with than just educational items. He has been actually playing with them; which is a big deal, but he spends most days sounding out and writing down words. It makes him very easy to entertain. A notebook and pencil can set him up for hours. What a cutie!! I guess daddy was taking the photos, because I don't see him in any of the pics. We also had Kristin, Mark and their kids, and Kaitlyn here. James loved being the center of attention, and started making faces at us while we sang. He was so excited to have a cake of his own to blow out, having recently witnessed Mitchell's, Catherine's and mine.

First Day of School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos of Mitchell and Catherine on the first day of school. They were pretty excited to get back into the swing of things. It was a sad day for me. My oldest is now a fourth grader, which means only one more year of elementary for him. They both loved their teachers. Catherine really wanted to have that peacock shirt on the first day, as they are her favorite. She was so disappointed when Old Navy didn't have her size. Luckily, dad saved the day and brought the shirt home from work the night before. He was sweet and stopped at the Old Navy near his office. It's amazing how fast things like that become important to little girls, and how easily they can get daddy to do whatever they want.

My Birthday

 

 

 

Here we are celebrating my 33rd birthday. Wow, I'm getting old!! I wasn't going to make my own cake, so Catherine did it all for me. She was amazing. I was impressed at how well it turned out. Surprisingly, it tasted perfect, and there were no egg shells to be found inside. The boys helped with the decorating, and it looked great. Thanks Catherine!!

Driving Home

 

 

 

Here are some photos of the drive home from Idaho. Wow, was it ever long!! We stopped in Rexburg to check out the BYU Idaho campus. I had never been there, and it had been a really long time for John, so it was pretty cool to see. There were a lot of recent additions; it was a beautiful campus. The bottom photos are of the three kids sleeping in a tiny pull out bed at a hotel in Elko. Kind of a tight fit.

Reunion Photos

 

 

 

Here are some photos of all the kids at the reunion.

Snake River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the second day of the reunion we decided to take the kids canoeing on the Snake River. The guide took us up river about 8 miles and dropped us off. We made our way back down to the starting point. It was so much fun. It was beautiful, and we were even able to see some moose, two moms and two babies, make their way through the river just behind us. We had a great time.