T and Anna

When Anna is old enough to know better, she will have some words with her daddy!! Look at what he likes to do with her... and take pictures!! (and yes, then I post them on the blog!)

This one is my favorite!!

Owen's 1st Swimming Lessons

Before his 1st lesson, I asked him to pose for me...
Love love love his smile!! The scab on his forehead is from a tattoo that he tried rubbing off one night himself. (no more tattoos on foreheads from now on!!)
Owen already is a little fish... he knew a lot before his first class. But he did learn how to float on his back and belly much better! He loved his teacher, Nate, and learned some fun games to play in the water! (Animal in the basket, alligator alligator, chop off limbs)

The Leprechaun Came!!

No, it wasn't Anna! When the Leprechaun came to our house this year, he not only left green & gold, he played some tricks!! The kids woke up to chairs turned upside down, milk turned green, green frosting on their banana cake, and the table even upside down!! Anna & Owen both thought that the Leprechaun was pretty darn funny.

Owenisms

So most of these funny little things Owen has said in the past are on my sidebar of my blog... which I have found do not make it into a "blog book" if I "slurp" it over...

So I am copying all of them over to this post so I don't lose any of the great little gems! Most of these are probably when he was 3 or 4 years old.

If you wake up early in the morning, you have more time to play before lunch, right?

Mom, your toes look OLD!!

Mom, I was the Har Hudent today! (meaning Star Student)

I'm a dog today, just call me Rufie.

Mom, me and Macie are going to grow our hair all the way to our toes.

I'm going to lift up the dogs ears and tell them not to play with people toys.

(Yelling from the bathroom...) I have another mushy poo mom - because we're out of cheese!

When I grow up, I'm going to be a fireman, a doctor, an astronaut, a cookie giver, a Halloween shirt giver, a missionary, a mountain lion hunter, and a roley-poley saver.

Mom, I want you.

I ate a lot of candy, mom, and now I'm all wounded up!

I'm going potty - don't eat my cereal while I'm going potty.

It takes 18 minutes to cook that, mom?

When I get bigger like dad, I'm going to put a new light in when the power runs out of it.

Heavenly Fader, please help my dandelions so they won't die (he picked a big bouquet of dandelions that day).

Heavenly Fader, please help the dogs so they won't bark at everyone.

Mom, what day is it today? (Me: Monday) What does Monday mean? (He asks me this every single day!)

Man of the House

Owen is such a kind little guy! I have a horrible cold, and hardly have a voice. So here is a little list of things he has done on his own to help me out:

-He offered to feed the horses so I wouldn't have to be out in the cold and get "more sick." (he took one load out, then went inside where it was warm!)

-He said that on Little Bear, when he was losing his voice, hot chocolate with marshmallows made him feel better... so he reminded me to make some, and was sure to check my voice after the first, second, third, and fourth sip to see if it had worked yet!

-He read 2 bedtime stories to Anna and himself last night (since I really can hardly talk)! It was so cute to hear him actually reading (memorized) "That's not MY monster... it's horns are TOO rough!" "That's not MY monster... it's eyebrows are TOO hairy!" Etc etc. I loved just listening.

So he has been my little helper lately... he's especially great when T is at the station for 2 days. He has the "man of the house" thing DOWN to a "T!"

Two Cookies in exchange for some more Snooze Time...?

OK, so I woke up to Owen saying, "Good Morning" to me. Then he says, "I'll let you sleep in if I can have 2 cookies!" I mumble, "whatever..." and he holds out his pinky - "Pinky promise!" he says. PINKY PROMISE.

A few more minutes of sleep for 2 cookies?

You don't have to ask me twice!!

(for the record, I realize this is not healthy... but it's not going to kill the kid, either - so don't judge me!)

I Can't Stop Myself...

I have been baking like a maniac lately! I don't know why... other than my mind & body are not agreeing to the fact that I need to lose 10 lbs.!! Oh well! Thought I'd share these two recipes - they are WINNERS! If they turn out good when I make them, then anyone can make them!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (from my friend Kaisa's Kitchen)

2 C. shortening

2 C. brown sugar

1 C. sugar

4 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 t. baking soda

2 t. salt

4 1/4 c. flour

12 oz. chocolate chips (semi preferred!)

1 c. oatmeal (optional)

Mix shortening & sugars together. Then add eggs & vanilla. Combine the rest and bake at 375 on a greased cookie sheet for 9-10 minutes. Wa-lah! They turn out GREAT every time! I sometimes half the recipe 'cause it makes a lot! Kaisa puts some of hers in the freezer and gets them out later and they still taste terrific!

Blueberry Muffin Tops

1/2 c. shortening

1/4 c. butter

1 egg

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 tbs. milk

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)

Preheat oven to 375. Cream all wet ingredients together. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Then add together until just mixed. Fold in blueberries, careful not to crush them. Batter might be crumbly. Drop by 1" scoops onto greased sheet or parchment paper. Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before taking off cookie sheet. (Side note: I don't love whole blueberries, so I mixed everything together with my beater for 1/2 of the recipe. The first batch I made according to the recipe turned out delicious - like a shortbread cookie with chunks of blueberries. The 1/2 where I mixed everything together & smushed the blueberries turned out yummy too! More cake-like and overall blueberry tasting! I would recommend trying both!!)

Optional glaze: 1 1/2 tbs. butter, 1 c. powdered sugar, 2 tbs. lemon juice

Enjoy!! Let me know if you use these and how you liked them! And just for the record, the Blueberry Muffin Top recipe was found in a novel. I didn't create it!