Letters of the Week - DEFG

D...E...F...G!!!


D is for Door!


E is for Egg (Cartons)!


F is for Feathers!


G is for Glitter!
(Pretty sure I'll be vacuuming up glitter for many days to come!)


Click here to see our letter projects for A, B, and C!

Meredith's Turn

If you look back to this post, you'll see a cute video and some cute photographs of an 11-month old little (not so little!) Caleb learning to walk, with the help of "Mr. Lion."

Well, it's Little Sister's turn. She actually doesn't seem to have too much interest in walking. She is a crawling maniac, and loves to climb (up the stairs, over toys and people, etc.). She does enjoy walking while you hold her hands, and "cruising" around furniture, but overall seems pretty content to get around on all 4s, at least for now. We know that will change, and a whole new world will open up to all of us when she does decide to take those steps!

In the meantime, we are just enjoying this stage!

Letters of the Week - ABC

A...B...C!!!


A is for Alligator!


B is for Bumblebee!


C is for Caterpillar!


Click Here to link to the No Time For Flashcards site...this website has been a great resource for us. It has lots of great ideas appropriate for toddlers/early preschoolers.

Check back next week for our D,E, and F creations.

Pizza Night

On Mondays, Kris goes in to work late, and stays at work late. So, that makes for great Monday mornings, but looooong Monday nights without him! It makes me very thankful that he has a job that does not require him to be out of town frequently.

Since today was our first Monday night with 4 kiddos in the house, I wanted to do something fun for dinner with the littles, in the hopes that the night would be a little easier without Kris being home.

I had the kids make their own min-pizzas. Caleb and U worked hard, and although Meredith and S weren't able to make their own, they seemed to enjoy reaping (eating) the benefits of their older siblings' hard work!

Sauce...



Cheese...



Caleb's pizzas (check out all the cheese!)...


U's finished product (she piled on the pepperoni)...


Baking...


Bon Apetite!

Melting Pot - Ladies Night

Last night, all the Mommas from our playgroup got together (without kids!) and enjoyed some yummy melted goodness at The Melting Pot.

L-R: Katie, Lisa, Shauna, Me, Jessie, Tanya, Natalie


I am so thankful for this group of women!

A Few More

Here are a few more photos from Hayward that my Dad took.....

This little guys (and 2 of his siblings) spent the night in a tree just 50 or so feet from our cabin! They were SO cute, but we were cautious not to get too close, as we knew that Mama Bear was probably not too far off!


The Johnson and the Phillips clans...


The girlies on the 4th of July...


For the original Hayward post, click here.

Hayward 2010

Our trip to Hayward was so much fun! The kids had a blast, and it was wonderful to have this special time away with our family.

We spent our days boating, fishing, swimming, playing games, and eating. =) The weather was beautiful and it was great to spend so much time outside, although I could have done without the mosquitoes and incredibly large biting flies!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for treating us to this wonderful family vacation.

11 Months

Meredith turned 11 Months old today! We spent most of the day in the car, as we traveled home from our family vacation, but I did manage to get a few photos of our baby girl early this morning, before we left Hayward.






I can't believe that she'll be ONE in a month!

Trip Down Memory Lane

This weekend, we are heading up to Hayward, Wisconsin. We will be staying at the same "resort" where we went for many summers during my childhood. While it has been many years since we have been up there, I anticipate that many things will be the same....at least I hope they are! Ice cream snickers at the lodge, "I Wish They All Could Be California Girls" on the jukebox, the pontoon boat, that really cool tire swing, a weekly singalong, and of course...fishing! I suppose there are a few memories I hope to not recreate this time around....namely, getting lost in the woods. Seriously, Kir, weren't we lost for like 10 hours or something?

I have lots of great memories (well as many memories as a girl with an awful memory can have!) of this place, and I am sure many more will be brought up over the course of this upcoming week. I also anticipate playing a lot of games of "Celebrity", spending much time trying to prevent Meredith from eating dirt and leaves and sticks, and teaching Caleb to put a worm on a hook.

It should be a great time for all.

Just for fun, here are a few photos from back in the day...

My sister and her catch of the day...


Me (rocking the bandanna around the neck) and my little brother with Mom...oh, and a really big fish that I am pretty sure now hangs in my parents' screened porch!


Our sweet ride...how cool was it that we could just lay the back seats down and hang out in the back the whole ride up...sans seat belts?!