How many licks does it take?...

We have all wondered how many licks does it take to get to the center of a lolly pop?! Well, I know I have never had the patience to actually lick until I got to the center, I ALWAYS end up biting it before I make it! Jessica is much more persistent than I am. The other day she decided to find out...and the answer 650 licks! She sat and licked and counted. Then just to make sure she turned the lolly pop around and did it again on the other side... 651. What do you think of her red tongue!

This is what I look like after only a few licks!!

Ta Da!

Rolling, rolling, rolling!

Roy learned a new trick the other day (Feb 25th). He dosen't stay on his belly for long now!!

going over!

Yeah, he made it!!!

Everyone gets to Paint!!

We are adding two rooms to our partially finished basement. A new bedroom for the older girls and a small office for me. Starting from scratch makes the painting of these rooms easy. So, while Deric is out of town for the week the kids and I took on the task. Everyone wanted to help so I decided to let everyone roll on some primer! They all did a good job but little arms got tired quickly and the only ones that have really done a lot were the oldest two. Here is a picture of everyone getting the job done!!!






Did you notice Wally's shoes, they are Sarah's. And Jess and Sam are both rolling on the yellow that they picked out for their room!

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

March 3rd was Dr. Seuss's Birthday. The kids could dress up like a character from one of his books. Can you guess who each one is.....

... Sarah is Thing 2 (because thing two shook Sally's hand in the book), Sam is Sally from "The Cat in the Hat". Carrie may have been the hardest, her book is newer. She is Sue Snue from the book "Who are you, Sue Snue?"

Baby Toes

I love these little piggies. I have always love little baby feet, and the best part are the little baby toes. Roy's toes are long and he will even hold onto your finger if you put it under them!

Free Tickets to Collin Raye

A few weeks ago Deric put our names in a drawing for a Valentine's concert special. Two days later I received a call saying that we won! I could hardly believe it! Actually I didn't believe it, I went online to check out the radio station to see if the man who called was who he said. It was legit! Her is a picture (not a very good one) of Deric and Me with Willie the radio man!!

The grand prize, which we won, included two tickets to see Collin Raye in concert as well as a 'meet and greet' before hand. He seems like a really nice guy. It was fun to meet him.

The prize also included...

A dozen roses, I couldn't believe how beautiful these are. I know flowers aren't practical but I really enjoy getting them!

...$40 dollars in chocolates from a specialty shop. This is the one thing I got a picture of. It was a caramel apple dipped in chocolate, yum! We also got chocolate dipped strawberries, white chocolate and coconut topped pinapple (which was my favoriet), and quite a few other treats!!

...also included was a one night stay at the Holiday Inn that we plan to use sometime in the future. And, a dinner for two at a yummy wings place. It was such a fun night! I feel so blessed to have been able to have the time with my husband at such a nice event!

Valentines Day 2012

I hope everyone had a great valentines day, we sure did! I woke up extra early to make the kids these special crepes. They are red velvet with a raspberry and sweet cream filling topped with chocolate and whipped cream. They were so yummy and so rich you could only eat one! (normally we eat 4-5 crapes in a sitting!)

Deric and I gave the kids a small box of chocolates. Roy got a new bib!!
Everyone wore pinks and reds. I also did Carrie's hair in hearts!
That morning I finished making all the cookies for the parties at school. I haven't made sugar cookies much before this so I spent a lot of time trying them out before hand. If you notice in earlier posts the kids decorated cookies for their birthday parties. I think I got the hang of it. I made just over 9 dozen of these and sent them to school for the kids to decorate with frosting and candies!
Nelson helped me make them!
I also put together this small craft for Carrie's class to do at their party.
Before hand Carrie and Sarah made valentine boxes to take to school.



Sam made her box at school, but all three girls put together homemade valentines to give out.Whew, it was a busy day full of fun!

Teacer appreciation week

The week of Valentines was also Teacher Appreciation week at the elementary school. Who ever decided to do that was a little crazy. I had lots of things to do to get ready for the Valentine parties, plus teacher appreciation... a cruel joke! I still had lots of fun with it though. This is the poster I made for Carrie's teacher (I am head room mom for her class). Each cupcake liner has a picture of her classmates dressed in a chefs hat.

On Monday I gave each of the teachers on of these. Each day of the week could be opened and there was a special note inside to go alone with the small office supply inside.

A candy gram.

A bookmark for Friday with a tag that said "you wrote the book on being a great teacher!"

Hand sanitizer is huge here. These have a tag that says "you deserve a hand."

I have to admit that non of these ideas are mine. I found most of them at www.skiptomylou.org They are all very fun though and the teachers really liked them.

Sammy is now in double digits!

February 8th was our sweet Sammy's 10th birthday. She was so excited for "her" day. Her birthday is the last one in our "birthday season." Here she is with a typical Sam look. She has been the queen of 'faces' since she was a little. All of the pictures of her opening presents are so funny. She has a new expression for each one. The one in this picture is mild compared to others! I love these sweet funny faces. I am so glad to have this fun girl in my life! Happy Birthday Sammy!

Samantha requested math papers and pencils as decorations for her class cupcakes. This is what I came up with. She LOVED them. I wrote all of the math problems and had ONE with a wrong answer. The child in her class that got that cupcake won a small prize. This ensured that all off the children actually checked their math before they ate their cupcake!!

You can always count on a fun reaction from Sam when she opens a gift! Here she is getting the mini tablet that she asked for!

Wearing a cute robe that Meme sent to her.

A few days after her birthday Sam had a few friends over for a small party. They decorated cookies, faces, and t-shirts. It was a fun giggly afternoon.

mmm.... cookies and candy!!

Carrie and her Duckie cupcakes!

My beautiful youngest daughter turned SIX on January 31st. I can't believe she is getting so big. She is such a cute girl with a fun personality. She loves pink and purple and all things girly. She dotes on her new baby brother and loves to entertain her bigger little brothers in the mornings while her sisters are at school. She is in the afternoon kindergarten and is loving school. She has improved tremendously over the year and is reading very well now!

Here she is with her birthday breakfast, pancakes and sausage!

After breakfast she got to open a few gifts. Here she is with her dad just before present opening.

All ready for school!! (This dress was given to Sam on her 5th birthday, it has been worn by all of the little girls on their birthdays too... this is Carries third year wearing the 'birthday dress', it is now ready to be retired!)
Carrie requested Duckie Cupcakes this year... I really like how they turned out. We took these to her classmates.

After school and before Deric went to work we did cake and presents. Here she is blowing out her candles.
A few days later Carrie had a few friends over to celebrate. They decorated cookies, did make up, had their faces painted, and had lots of fun. Over all her birthday was a great success.

Cupcake crazyness!!

In January I decided to let the kids decorate their own cupcakes. You see, I am a bit of a perfectionist and so I never let them help me when I am making cupcakes for parties or classes etc.. So, I decided to be nice and I let all the kids invite a friend over. I made 48 cupcakes (chocolate and yellow), lots of frosting, and laid out a TON of candy, sprinkles, and other decorations. Then I said... Have fun. I think that they did!!

Here are some of the results....

MMMM.... yummy cupcakes!