K is getting so big :(

I know, I am so happy to watch them all grow up!  I really do love it!  Being able to hold conversations with them and do things with them you just can't do as newborns.  But at the same time I miss being able to hold their little bodies in my arms!

So all in one week K is getting his stuff to start Kindergarten, learned to tie his shoes and now has a loose tooth!

New family evening fun/learning

I have a few blogs that I read pretty religiously(seriously only 3 but hey!).  One of them had posted about a FHE(Family Home Evening) that they do once a month that I decided we would try!  Once a month you pick a new destination in the world, you learn about it and then you have a whole meal dedicated to their authentic food!  Dad and I decided to really focus around our areas of family origin, but last night(our first night) was Asia, because well because I was craving it! :)

So we picked Asia to start out our monthly meals!  These meals all have to be homemade by us, which actually went way smoother then what I thought it would!  We made rice, beef and broccoli stir fry and sweet and sour chicken.  It all turned out so amazing!  I couldn't stop eating the beef and broccoli!  K and D were not to fond of our meal and only ate the chicken(seriously not even the rice!).

They did however LOVE the Pocky sticks!   They were super great.  These are small bread sticks dipped in dark chocolate.  I probably should have bought them each their own box!

Then to end our evening we watched Mulan.  Now I know this is a cartoon and a lot probably is not that spot on; however, having little kids I doubted we could get them to watch Anna and the King or something like that!

So if anyone has any great authentic recipes from Germany, Denmark, Scotland, England shoot them too me!

Blooming and growing!

We are getting even closer to my favorite time of year...FALL!  I love the season so much!  Our gardens are telling us that we are getting even closer!  We are being over taken by squash!  Which, if you were wondering, we are totally OK with!  I have so many recipes running through my head every time I go out to the garden!  Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, acorn squash baked with brown sugar and walnuts, sweet squash pie....mmm my mouth is watering!

K's Pre-K teacher gave them each pumpkin seeds last fall, well we saved them(I am becoming a master seed saver!) and planted them this year.  K is so proud of his pumpkin!  It has only produced one, but one is enough for K.  We made a deal with him that when we carved this one we would save the seeds every year.  That way we will always have a K pumpkin!  I hate to say, I think we have to break the news to him that this pumpkin will be ripe way before Halloween! 

Our beets are also doing pretty amazing!  We have learned(this is our 2nd year doing a garden by ourselves) that we need to plant way more rows of beets for our family!  We make pickled beets, I would be the first one to tell you that I never would have guessed that I would like them let alone my kids!  However, they are amazing!  And my kiddos are obsessed with them!

It is not just our veggies that are growing like crazy, our flowers are also!  These are all outside of our living room window.  So on days like today, when the windows are wide open with a breeze, we smell them!  I don't want to leave our living room!  The hydrangeas are amazingly fragrant, but I need to work on the coloring of them!

Friday Phone Dump

Where has the week gone!  This is our week according to my phone!

School Supplies

OK I have been strong all summer, saying I was OK with D going to school this year.  He is ready, he is old enough, he will be fine, but....I DON'T WANT MY BABY TO GO!  ;)  I am just kidding, of course I want him to go and have an amazing time like his brothers and sister, but it is definitely harder this time around.  He is my baby!

So the other day he was SO EXCITED because he got to go school shopping with his siblings!  That made my day, to see the look on his face when I told him.  To watch his excitement as he ran from aisle to aisle picking up his supplies.  I think with the folders, he changed his mind 50 times because he wanted to have the same ones as K!

Their excitement gives me excitement.  J is getting to the age, where school is not as fun and more work.  So he was a little harder to convince to be excited to go shopping, but I think secretly inside he is!

Next step is getting school clothes and shoes, and then it will be time.  We will see how much I cry that day! :/

Let's go Fly a kite!

The other day we had a fun surprise planned for the kids, we were going to take them to the zoo for a fun day!  Hang out with friends and family, but......D ended up with his own surprise, he started throwing up at 3am!  :(  He really had us worried, for such a little body, how was he able to keep getting sick like that?!  So needless to say, we stayed home and he slept ALL DAY!

So Dad came up with a good idea, he had me run up to the store and pick up some kites for the other 3 kids(we got one for D in case he felt better, but never did go outside).  So J, C and K spent the afternoon outside with Dad(and me long enough to take pictures and hear their excitement!) flying kites!

C and K were learning the simple steps to keep a kite flying.  J was trying some amazing maneuvers with his kite!  I love how something simple like kites kept them so entertained!