7.years

How did we go from this....

to this...

to this....(I remember thinking how old she seemed in this picture!)...

to Trident model....

to this....

Our Claire is 7. Seven sounds so old, doesn't it? Claire is turning into a little lady. She talks like us. She laughs at (most of!) our jokes. She's becoming extremely aware of the world around her.

Currently, she asks more questions than I can answer about electricity and the atmosphere and space travel. Thankfully, we're learning together! :) She asks so many questions that I have to answer with the words, "I don't know, but we'll find out!"

This girl loves to learn. Her helpfulness is evident on a daily basis. She loves it when I read to her. Her "throat starts to hurt" and she gets teary-eyed when she watches the sad parts of Charlotte's Web. A girl after my own heart! :)

Claire loves being the biggest sister. She's an excellent order-giver (even though she's not supposed to hand them out to her sisters) and on track to be a great contributor in this world. Her mother-hen skills are unmatched. Amelia loves her SO much that sometimes she prefers Claire over me. It's so sweet.

Claire, we are truly blessed to have you as our daughter. You are a beautiful girl filled with so much determination. We can't wait to see where you use your talents. It is so much fun to watch you learn and grow. We love you so much!!

question.of.the.day

"Mom, do all tornadoes have tomatoes?"

I think we've read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one too many times.

new.bike

Look who got a new bike! Her other one broke, so we gave her an early birthday present a couple of weeks ago.  Her favorite part?  The kickstand.

The bike is a bit big for her, but she got the hang of it so quickly! She rides up and down the driveway (just the part near our house) all the time! She is turning into such a big girl.

Who told Claire she could grow up?!!

poor.fletcher

Poor little Fletcher got kicked out of his own bed at the lake! Unfortunately, Claire's a bit big for his bed.

he.loves.me

My husband loves me. Do you know how I know? Cause he writes it in the food that I cook. My favorite part about these onions? He says, "Did you see the onions?" I said, "Yep...thanks for cutting them up." He says, "Did you look at them?" Me, "I see them from over here." I was trying to figure out what was so stinkin' special about the onions!!

...and I love him too....because then I have fun blog posts. :)

happy.mother's.day

This is my mom. She's pretty much one of the best moms ever, and everyone that knows her will agree.  I love you, Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms who read my blog! Keep up the good mom-work ladies! We're all in this together.

"Train {your children} up to be people that may one day lead nations." I can't remember who said this, but it inspires me to be a good mom! :)

mushroom.huntin'

The end of April/beginning of May is prime mushroom huntin' season! Josh wandered out into the woods and found a few really nice morels this past weekend. He was soooo excited! I'm sure this will be an annual tradition!

fun.with.cousins

We were able to spend a few days with Aunt Jill and Eden last week! We had soooo much fun! The girls all had their first sleepover at the lake, and little did they know that they all brought pink pajamas to the party!

It is so much fun to watch my girls love on Eden. Claire and Meredith just adore her!! And, well, Amelia really likes her, but we all have to be on the lookout when she's around!

Don't you just want to eat her up?! She's so sweet!

My mom took the day off last Friday to spend with all of her favorite girls! She spoils us rotten...all of us. We had chicken salad, donuts, popsicles, drumstick ice cream, and the list goes on and on.... We love you, Mom! Thanks for making sweet memories with us! :)

may.menu.planning

I can't believe that it's May already! What happened to April??! May will be a busy month in our household, but a fun one! May through September are great months for me because I don't have to cook nearly as much. It's lake season, so we get to bring a dish or two somewhere instead of having to make an entire meal. Gotta love that!

May 3-8
5/3: deer steaks/fried morel mushrooms (josh found some!!)
5/4: fiesta chicken burritos (new/crockpot)
5/5: turkey breast (crockpot)
5/6: stir-fry (josh!)
5/7: super burritos (better homes and gardens...missed it last month)
5/8: claire's choice (bonfire cooking): chicken patties, toast, egg salad and crackers, smores for dessert
**i've never made chicken patties over a fire before...should be an interesting experience!

May 10-12
5/10: chicken cordon bleu (crockpot)
5/11: sloppy joes (new recipe)
5/12: charley's slow-cooker meat (new...missed it last month)
5/13-5/15:  no cooking...this will be a fun weekend...did i mention that i love may?

May 17-22
5/17: spaghetti
5/18: jackie chicken
5/19: grilled smoked sausage (josh!)
5/20: deer and noodles
5/21: carribean chicken (new)
5/22: meredith's choice (bonfire cooking): hot dogs, mandarin oranges, chocolate rice krispies

May 23-28
5/23: fish fryin' (josh!)
5/24: roast (crock pot)
5/25: frozen pizza w/ the babysitter (we're going on a date to a baseball game!!)
5/26: chicken manicotti (makes 2, freeze one for next month)
5/27: claire's birthday meal (her choice): deer steaks, creamy corn, stawberry/grape/apple salad, chocolate cake
5/28: homemade pizza (hopefully the kids won't mind eating pizza twice in the same week!)

By the way, the picture at the top of the post is the skillet penne and sausage supper from last month.  All I have to say is yum!  It is so tasty.  It is going in our rotation for sure!!  The kids weren't huge fans (more for us!) and it was a little on the expensive side, but we'll be making it again for sure!  This will be a good late-dinner meal for the two of us.