Hape Sat Patrix Daee!

Harrison made this decoration and taped it to the window. It says, "Hape Sat Patrix Daee." Pretty good for my little pre-K boy!

We started out the day with a stack of green pancakes. I usually make my green flapjacks with spinach, but my greens were looking kind of slimy today so we used food coloring instead. For an afternoon treat we enjoyed a refreshing glass of green lemonade. Actually, it was just going to be pink lemonade, but Harrison suggested we make it green. So we dumped it back into the blender and added half a box of lime jello. Very sugary, but fun to drink.

I also added some chunks of corned beef to the macaroni and cheese at lunch . No one really appreciated that though. Maybe I should have made the noodles green instead.

Daddy's 38th

We recently celebrated Ken's birthday. He awoke to the lovely banner painted by his children and Scandinavian Breakfast in the oven. We sent him on a scavenger hunt to find his birthday surprise. At each location a clue was found taped to a different kind of BBQ sauce or marinade. The final clue lead him to the computer where he viewed the website with the barbecue/smoker class that he we are sending him to attend.

He wanted to spend his day at home with little fanfair. So that's what we did. He grilled some amazing burgers for the family. Mmmm! And we had a scrumptious rhubarb pie ala mode for desert. Oh, and the children gave him a couple new blueberry plants for the front yard.

It was a low-key day; just like he wanted. Glad he enjoys being home with the family so much. We love you, Dad!

She's Seven Months Old Now!

McKinley turned seven months old on the 20th. She is such a precious part of our family and we're all loving watching her grow.

In the last month she has reached more milestones:

1) Eating "solids" (why are they called that when you can drink them through a straw?)

2) Holding her own bottle

3) Playing with her toys in the exersaucer

4) Sitting unsupported for longer lengths of time

**And in the last few days, she has just begun saying, "Mamamamamama!"

More February Fun

My mom came for a visit last weekend. She spent time watching Karsten for Angie and a day with our family. We were glad she was here to celebrate her birthday as well.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

National Pancake Week

It's National Pancake Week February 14-20. Enjoy some flapjacks with someone you love.

Here is my favorite recipe:

Apple Pie Pancakes

Dump a can or two of apple pie filling into your pancake batter. Pour, flip, enjoy!

Her First Basket!

Last week was Kennedy's 4th basketball game of the season.

It was the last few seconds of the game. Kennedy got the ball. Shot it. Swoosh! Two points! The crowd went wild.

I was so carried away in the moment that I only got her head and arm in the photo of her first score. But you can see her pride as she looked over to us just moments after the swoosh and the shot clock went off.

We celebrated our little athlete's accomplishment at Red Robin after the game.

I love how the hostess put our party of seven in the far back corner of the restaurant next to a family with four young boys and F A R away from the other customers. Cracks me up.

Upward Basketball

Kennedy is playing Upward basketball at our church. Not only is she learning the basic skills and rules involved in the sport, but she's memorizing Bible verses and and having a fantastic time. It has been amazing watching the girls' confidence and knowledge of the game grow each week. Already we have seen great improvement since the first game. Though I went to college in Indiana, arguably the basketball capital of the nation, I have never enjoyed watching the sport as much as I have these last few weeks. Three games into the season and five more to go!