My first time ever baby-sitting:)

I baby-sat for my first time:) and guess who i baby-sat and put to bed, almost changed her diaper, and held?

KATE...

yes i baby-sat kate:)

I kind of knew how to put kate to bed(because i had watched miss nora do it:), but i asked her just in case. She said that you sway back and forth,and say "shhhhshhhhhshhhh". So i knew how to do it, right? pretty easy, right?

When miss nora and mr. travis left, and it was time to put kate to bed i did the exact thing miss nora said to do:) It's really fun to baby-sit kate:)

i just wanted to let you know that i love baby-sitting kate. It is so much fun:) 

this baby-sitting story was written by: 

minnie:)

Flag Football!

Two weeks ago, almost all the boys from church and their dads began the flag football season. Even though the thermometer still reads 102 degrees, the spirit of fall has made its entrance through this thrilling sport. Two fathers from the church organize a league for all the boy at church 8-15 years old. The boys practice every Saturday morning. A game follows. 

Chip was bumped up to the older kids. And reminiscent of the days of winter basketball in Maryland, the Dad is his coach. They haven't won a game yet, but they have quite the fan club (namely Twinkle) who cheers them to touchdowns. 

Mickey is on a team with a number of good friends and he has won all of his games. Even though he scored three touchdowns the first game and at least one the next game, Mickey is keeping quite humble. 

And the girls? 

Twinkle and Minnie complain slightly about "getting up so early  on a Saturday". However, they soon forget their pain once they arrive at the intense games. Twinkle is convinced that Chip's team scored the touchdown because of her cheering. Minnie watches with an expert eye. But, she keeps her opinions to herself. The sign of a true genius. The Mom faithfully takes pictures and buys extra water bottles for all the teams. 

When the cat's away, the mice eat curry!

or something like that:)

Truth be told, whenever the dad is out of town, we are all sad.  So we bury our misery by cooking and eating all the foods he generally doesn't like.  The dad has some serious aversions to casseroles (except lasagne, is that even a casserole?), curry, and all things lentil.

So.  Whenever the dad is away we are sure to eat some of the things above--or all of them if we are feeling particularly sad or if it has been a while since the dad has been away.  We also try to eat very simply.  And that is mostly because I like to have a little easier day when the dad is away.  So if it is not cassseroles, curry and lentils, it will probably be pancakes, eggs or cereal;)  

I am not alone in this endeavor...a dear friend serves her family popcorn and apples and cheese when the dad is away.  We are not odd.  We are just opportunists.

Anyway.  The dad was away for a long day a few weeks ago and we gorged --yes gorged-- ourselves on lentils and cheese casserole.  Two dad aversions in one!  and boy did we love it!  We--meaning mostly connor--ate a full 9X13 inch dish of the famous Jansen- Less-with-more-cookbook :Lentils and cheese.  Yum.

We sent pictures to the dad and his response? "yuck. glad i missed dinner"  We reminded him not to yuck someone's yum  and his response?  "yuck."  

Oh well.  we loved it and ate heartily.

Then more recently, the dad was away for a few days so we ate again--but this time he was a bit sad to miss our first yummy dinner.  We made Hawaiian Breakfast. Sound exotic, eh?  well.  It  is.  Sort of.  In a 'isn't that intersting' sort of way.  

The hawaiian breakfast was first discovered on our tip to maui  last year.  We found this little eatery that served yummy breakfast at a great price.  Lots of locals.  So wanting to experience the full hawaiian way of life, we ordered up and chowed down.  we all loved  it!

wanna know what it was?

pineapples?

no.

poi?

Uh, no way.  we aren't that interested in cross-cultural experiences...

we chowed down on this:

Rice, corned beef hash, egg over easy, all covered in brown gravy.

yum.

So that is what we had our first night.  The dad was sad tomiss it, but didn't mind missing the  chicken masala (indian style), the chicken pot pie or other yummy curry, casserole or lentil inspired meals that followed.

Yum.

(don't yuck it!)

Calling all students!!!

Yes, we have embarked on the sometimes dangerous and often rewarding journey called...The School Year. So, beware for the lurking hammer-head sharks and the enemy ships. Just grab hold of a pencil or two and a notebook and you're ready for any adventure through the Land of Literature, the Mountain of Math, and the Way of Writing. 

Come! It's sure to be an amazing journey! 

I have nothing else to say. 

Good-bye. 

Twinkle

TIme Flies

Whew!

It has been awhile since we posted on our blog.

Things have been busy around here....school, school, sports, swimming (still)...

Yup. It's been so long that Twinkle finished nursing school and has begun working at a local hospital. don't believe me? want proof?

OK...





alright.

you got me.

I kid. I kid.

This past week Twinkle had the wonderful opportunity to go on a 3 hour tour of a local hospital campus ('Huge", she said) with a friend/nurse we know. Twinkle loved it! I'll have her fill you all in on the details some other time. Suffice it to say, she was inspired at the vast opportunities in the medical field. We'll see where it lead.....


The Mom

OH, and don't you love the scrubs??