Little House in the Big Woods....

Luke's 4th grade class is reading the book "Little House in the Big Woods" and he made this project for his class. He chose to create a scene from the book..... Can you see the log cabins, and the fire pit?? the trees and stagecoach??? He's a creative guy.....this project is due next Monday and he had it done 2 nights ago..... Impressive....
Here's a close up......

Have a great weekend!!!!

Tasty Thursday-- Fruit Dip

Andrew had a few friends over after exams yesterday. Some of them were here for lunch and we had "make your own subs", chips, fruit and dip. The dip for the fruit was FABULOUS....too bad the kids thought it was a bowl of mayo........ thanks Wendy for the recipe :)

Fruit Dip
1 (8oz.) block of cream cheese, softened
1 small jar of marshmallow creme

Mix the ingredients together until smooth and then refrigerate. If you're making this for a crowd, you might want to double the recipe.

Wordless Wednesday- Study Buddy

What did I do to deserve this???

(say this in your most poetic voice)

Oh, how do I love you......let me count the ways......

You load the dirty dinner dishes......

You load the washer and dryer.......

You allow a pup that you really weren't crazy about......

You remove the mattress and box springs to vacuum under the bed.....

You even move bedroom furniture to vacuum BEHIND it.....
and then dust the baseboards....... all because..... you love me (or could it be that you're sneezing a lot)........... How Great is that???

8th graders take 1st place!!

WOW....What an amazing weekend!! Most of the weekend was filled with tournament games for Ben, and then Luke had a game on Saturday too....it's all about sports here!! Poor Anna.....
Anyway, here's a shot of Ben taking the ball around the court in the Championship game....
and then there were a few defensive plays too.......
Ben ended up making 2 (3 point) shots and having 4 assists...... Yea!!
The team was amazing....everyone was working together and things just fell into place. The game really wasn't even close. We won 52 to 24---taking 1st place in the tournament.
Here are John (Coach) and Andrew(Asst. Coach) claiming the team trophy....
Here's a father/son shot......
and the shot of the 1st place team!!!!!! Yes, that's Ben not looking at the camera......John and Andrew are on the top right....... We're so proud of these guys!!!!!
We celebrated the win by taking all of the guys out for pizza......YUM!!!! It was a GREAT Night!!

Look at this.....

The doorbell rang yesterday, and there was a woman on my porch handing this to me......It's a Cookie Bouquet....Isn't it just the cutest thing ever???? My friend sent it to me as a thank you for watching her kids for a few days last week. So fun.....and the cookies were delicious too!! Thanks Tonie, Howie and boys!!

Tasty Thursday--Favorite Fruit Fluff

This is Ben's absolute favorite side dish when we grill brats and burgers. I know, I know, I've shared it before.....but it's worth repeating....and it's so easy to make!! Try it!

Favorite Fruit Fluff
1 (20 oz.) can of crushed pineapple--do NOT drain
1 small instant pudding (I use banana cream)
1 (15 oz.)can fruit cocktail, DRAINED
8 oz. Cool Whip

In a large bowl, dump crushed pineapple and then dry pudding mix. Stir until mixed. Drain the Fruit cocktail and then add it and the Cool Whip to the mixture. Refrigerate until served!!!

Wordless Wednesday--Luke

What to do??

So...what DO you do when there are no basketball practices or games at night????? Well, you head down to the basement and play some wild games of ping pong!! It is especially good for taking out your aggressions because Mom and Dad have banned all electronics and computer games this week....it's almost the end of the semester at school, and our kids are going to finish STRONG....

A Swell Weekend

Our weekend was swell....but full of awkward moments. For example, we ran out of ice cream as the bedtime snack, so Andrew had a huge bowl of corn pops.... (Can you see Ben's head over Andrew's left shoulder? He's ready to pop out and make a silly face)
I got a shot of Coach Peterson putting away our "white clothes" after folding them...Who knew such a manly- man slept in such a pink (mauve, actually) and flowery room???
and here's Ben and Minnie......but Min closed her eyes at just the wrong moment...
and who knew Bella could make a ball stop in mid-air??
and last, but not least, here's a picture from the game when Ben sunk a 3 pointer at the buzzer to put us within 1 point of the other team.....too bad the game was over......
On a positive note, Ben (#12) did score 13 points in Saturday's game. He was "on". He hit 3 "3 pointers" and 2 regular shots....not bad for a player who is only 5 ft. 3, playing against 6 footers.

T.G.I.F.

LUKE IS HAPPY

Luke is happy that 2 of his friends are staying with us for 3 nights while their parents are out of town. What's even better is that we've had "snow days" yesterday and today....more time to play!! Here's the group on Thursday morning playing Scattergories.....you should have heard all of the laughter!!!

Tasty Thursday...Caramel Rolls

My friend, Michele gave me this recipe....it's not exactly healthy, but it's easy. Michele moved to Michigan and I miss swapping recipes with her :( Enjoy the yumminess!!

Caramel Rolls
1 pkg. frozen dinner rolls (20-24 rolls)
1 pkg. butterscotch pudding (not instant)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 stick of melted butter

Grease a 9x13 pan. Place frozen rolls in the pan. Sprinkle with pudding. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans together and sprinkle over rolls. Pour melted butter over the top. Place pan in a cold oven overnight. Remove the next morning. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes. Turn over onto a serving platter. Try it, you'll like it!!!

Here are some random pictures from the week....because Gramma's need pictures to see.

Minnie Moo

and Luker too.

WE DON'T HAVE SCHOOL TODAY....I GUESS IT'S TOO COLD.....

Wordless Wednesday--Bella (taken with my new camera )

Check out the igloo...

I told you yesterday that Anna went to a friend's house to play on Sunday. Well, look what they built outside (with a little help from Ali's Mom and Dad). How fun is that????

A Winter Weekend

Our weekend flew by as we stayed comfortably busy.....
Anna had a very social weekend, and played with Madison on Saturday.
and then Ali on Sunday....
We watched Luke's 1st basketball game of the year. John got me a NICE camera for Christmas so I had a chance to experiment with some of the lenses. Here's Luke's first 2 points of the game.....
and there's always lots of doggie lovin' around here....
We're heading into a VERY BUSY week, so hold onto your hats!!!!

My Buddy, Andrew

Poor Andrew.....he was diagnosed this week with Graves Disease. We discovered that he had a "Hyper thyroid" and had to figure out the cause. Luckily, it was Graves Disease and not a thyroid nodule or cancer. Anyway, he's been through lots of testing, including taking radioactive iodine and then a scan....what a trooper!! Here he is while he was getting his Thyroid Scan. It was grueling....laying absolutely still for about 45 minutes. Ugh!
F.Y.I. Graves Disease is an autoimmune disorder in which his bodies cells view his thyroid as the enemy and then attack the thyroid, causing the thyroid to enlarge and overproduce. There is no cure, you just try to get the thyroid to stop overproducing. The options were to have him take anti-thyroid medication, or destroy the thyroid with radioactive iodine or surgery. As of now, we have decided to try the medication... at least until he stops growing-- then we could possibly have to decide on the radiation or surgery.

We 're so thankful for great doctors, our families, the Great Physician :) and the support and care from wise friends.....

Tasty Thursday... Smoothie

Anna and Luke made the best smoothie the other day. They added so many wonderful ingredients, I couldn't help but think how many vitamins/minerals they would be getting in a serving. I almost jumped for joy!!! Shhhh, don't tell 'em that it's good for them!

Smoothie
In a blender, combine:
2 cups of vanilla yogurt
10 frozen strawberries
handful of frozen blueberries
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup orange juice

Blend until smooth......Enjoy!!