Oscar Stew

Sometimes…I am mean to my kids.

I told him I’d give him frosting. I just didn’t say where. Even the innocent received no mercy. Eleanor couldn’t keep her eyes off those delicious browned butter rice krispy treats.

We continue to reap the benefits of the hail-storm. (ha!)

 

Say hi to Sal. He and two of his bro’s were in one of our window wells looking mighty thirsty. After putting them in water and watching them double in size we knew they were ready to be released from captivity. Sal & Co. are working hard in the pond near our house to demolish the mosquito population, or so we hope.

Your corn stalks are supposed to be “knee-high by 4th of July” but we are running behind. It’s better to be late than never! We plunged ourselves into getting a garden going as quickly as we could. We even contracted out for more help, but this one wouldn’t name her price.

This little worker was quite content as she churned the manure into the tough Colorado clay. She may have added some manure of her own…

Fuzz-head decided she could at least supervise. How’s our project lookin’ boss?

 

Where would we be without our right hand man? We wouldn’t have anything growing yet, that’s for sure!

Even the boss seems to be happy with the progress! Can we get a raise?

Which girl got dirtier? Either way, both are gonna sleep well tonight!

It’s fun to watch these two get closer to being the buddies they’ll be in the years to come.

Day 2: Is it really? Feels more like 8 or 9. Let’s start off the day with lots of color. Looks like the supe is noticing their handywork.

That day was a hot one. Cloud cover was not to be found. Then a sprinkler came sneaking up from behind…

Bam! Forget Waterworld! The sprinkler swing is tops!

A quick cold blast in the 90+ degree heat was all these little mud diggers needed to get back on the job.

Ok, maybe it took a few cold blasts. Again! Again!

Now that we’re cooled off we can stand the heat for a few moments while we make something out of this box of dirt. Ready…Set…Plant!

 

 

 

Cheddar took a turn supervising. He wanted to know if any catnip or tuna seeds were being planted. How about salmon beans? Bummer dude.

A hard week’s work is finally finished! The payout? Homemade peach ice cream in a cone! We’re rich!

 

…And exhausted. All that supervising knocked this girl out!

 

Now that school’s out and the temperature is rising, feel free to sit back, enjoy an ice cold lemonade, grab a good book and pass the day in the lap of leisure! errrrr!!  Not at this house bucko! Welcome to Sweatshop Vocational Academy, now get to work!

We’ve been fortunate the last month to have several visitors stop in and stay a while. We used their finest skills to our advantage and spent the time they were here working, cooking, sewing and having a rockin’ good time. Just don’t ask about the game of Monopoly, it’s still a sensitive subject…ha!

The best way to start the day is with a nice sweat-drenching grind on the sweet patio set we got at a yard sale on the cheap. Way to put your back into it Scoob!

Ding! Second period: Culinary Arts. Today’s task: Divide into groups and create Banana Fudgecicles. Uncle Dan was brave enough to teach this class…all three students were enamored by his technique!

Third period: Advanced Confections, taught by Aunt Kelsey. For those with a discerning palate, we present Mango Sorbet…AKA tropical paradise in a cheap IKEA bowl.

With Kelsey’s help these little elves graduated from Culinary Arts to Advanced Confections and dove head first into creating a tasty masterpiece.

The Eclairs scored an A+ all around the board. Chocolate-y, puffy, crispy, creamy, banana-y…need I say more? And don’t you dare call them doughnuts! That’s offensive!!

There’s only one eclair left! How do we make it fair who gets the last one? How about a nice game of Hot Dice? Looks like Ryan’s luck is running out, and Elle is unimpressed… 

After lunch break it’s back to Wood Shop for Brinley. Scrape it like you mean it!

Drew moved on to interior design and painted styrofoam that the teach needed for the quilting seminar coming up later in the week.

Here’s what the semi-finished product looks like. Behold, the wall of woven wonder!

Got an owee? Dr. Dan will see you now. He cuts with precision!

 

 

 

 

This happy camper loved all the action as siblings, parents, uncle & aunts moved from one class to the next. Not to mention she was a ruthless hall monitor…

Jambalaya Jenna schooled all of us in creating flavors that were enough to make anyone drool. Care for some pesto straight out of the ground? The pesto was essential in our creamy pesto pasta dish…dangerously delicious.

 

 

How about some homemade corn-diggity-dogs and french fries? Ohhhhh yeah!

Up on the second floor the quilt shop was working overtime. Quilting [kwil-ting] -noun: Cut fabric into small shapes, sew back together in random order, deny accusations of insanity…

Kelsey the Quilter seems to have left a permanent mark on the quilting industry with her own mug printed on a square in this quilt. Or maybe she’s trapped inside the quilt? She is smiling…

Twenty minutes have gone by, how’s the baby? Well she’s the one who’s  actually in the lap of leisure!

Alright everyone, dinnertime! There should be enough chairs for everyone…

Tell her to shake it! Shake it! Shake it! Shake that healthy butt! Baby got back!

Time for night class: Bowling 101. You will now observe the master in his element:

He’s so awesome! He’s beyond awesome! He’s be-awesome!!!

 

As for the rest of us…well let’s just say we have our own “unique” style…

This tournament is about to get stepped up to the next level Ro! Hurry quick and get juiced before the judges notice!

 

Cosmic bowling is cool. That is all. Class dismissed!

 

The blog is dying, no question. I’d really like to fix that, but summer break, a dying camera and a massive to-do list is keeping us plenty busy and undocumented. Sometimes I feel like we are still adjusting to the busy-ness of 4 kids. We’ll get there, or maybe we won’t. Either way we’ll die trying. Here’s to optimism!

Rowan’s birthday was a few weeks ago, and since turning two is most definitely blog worthy, here we go…a little late, but better than never!

T’was the night before and all through the house, two birthday fairies stayed up late decorating the house.

A royal throne they did create, topped with a coffee filter crown for Ms. “10 minus 8”.

OK, enough rhyming. As the sun rose at the zoo, Rowan discovered she was locked in a cage with a bunch of gas…and you thought she was smiling.

See, what did I tell you? You don’t want out, do you Ro? Set that animal free!

Hey batter batter, hey batter batter, hey batter….Queen!

Good thing we didn’t have any guests to share that cake with, eh?

You want some? Ya can’t have any!

 

There might be enough batter left for a cake…maybe…

We had to detox with the anti-ox. Rowan’s favorite snack is blackberries. Lucky for her, they were affordable that week!

After her first class snack, Rowan cashed in her miles and jetted away on Backyard Air.

 

What’s more fun than an underdog for the Ro-dog?

You’d think she’s been flying for years, but no. She is a rookie that looks like a pro! Argh! I rhymed again!

Once she had arrived at her favorite tropical destination she enjoyed a nice run through the fountain of youth. You don’t see old geezers running through sprinklers, do you? I rest my case. 

Then she took a break from the fountain to enjoy the frozen delicacies the cabana boy brought out.

What’s that? That’s a baba posss-ickle? NO. WAY. way…

And how tasty is that popsicle Ro? Tell us how you really feel, because we sure can’t tell from that scowl on your face…

Move over Pantene! You know it’s been a good day when you’ve lost a pig-tail, and your hair is looking mighty frizzy. It’s her birthday and she’ll frizz if she wants to!

 

She huffed and she puffed, but the only thing that blew was her bangs. Aw dang.

Blowing out your candles is over rated anyway. Eating the frosting off the cake is a much better tradition!

We attempted to make the famous zebra cake, but when you have three little kitchen elves helping, getting precise zebra stripes is somewhat difficult.

What was most important was that it was tasty, and gone in 20 minutes! Rowan, you’re the girl of the hour, and we’re so glad your ours! Mmmmmwah!