For Grandma Sharon (Single R)

Get well, get well soon, we want you to get well.... we love you and hope that you have a quick recovery. Big hugs and kisses to you Sharon, wish we could be there to help you. HOpe your office brings you in a cake.

Oktoberfest

You know when it's the end of August it's time for Oktoberfest! Doesn't Siobhan look like it's so fun! Doesn't Hans look so German! We met up with Ryan and Trisha and really did have a nice time. It was soo nice and and cool in the mountains. Siobhan and Lexi had fun doing the chicken dance. Speaking of dancing, I'm trying to fix the DDR video. Hopefully it will be working soon, it's worth the wait. Well, I have lots of preparation for Grandma and Grandpas visit this week. I hope to get some good DDR footage of Grandpa....

Dance Dance Revolution

Well, we are into school a couple of days and it's going pretty well. Both Siobhan and Oscar are happy with their classes and are making friends. It's been a fun week for them with their dad here. They are being spoiled rotten! They have presents waiting for them everyday after school and are loving it. All told Oscar probably has about 20 new Star Wars guys and Siobhan just got DDR today( Dance Dance Revolution for those of us over 12). Which brings me to the video.....

First day of school

Today is the day. First day at a new school in a new state. I am so glad their dad was able to be here. They were so excited to wake up and find him here with soooo many cool new things. Original first day outfits were scrapped for new ones. They looked great and were so excited. I felt bad when I left, they were so nervous and seemed so little to me but I'm sure they will do great and make some friends and fit right in.
Hans is happy because he was given permission by Oscar to play with his toys while he is at school and his dad just brought him several new star wars figures. It is so quiet here without them and Olive taking a nap. I can't wait to pick them up and hear all about the day!

Preparations

We have shaken our wiggles out. We have found size skinny jeans that are long enough.
We have straightened hair.
We have baked bread for lunches.
All that is left is a good nights sleep, tommorrow is school!!

School BBQ

Last night was the school bbq and the kids were really happy. They both met their teachers and they found out they are across the hall from each other. They were really happy about that but mostly excited that they are upstairs. We had made some friends at the park earlier in the day and met up with them at the bbq as well. They are also in their first year at Hawthorne and live just a few blocks away. It was nice to make a friend close by. Also she is from California as well and she and her husband love wine about as much as Pete and I.
Anyway, I made my first attempt at making my own jeans. Five needles later I was really happy with them except the waist is too big so I may have to do some alterations. I also made the top which I really,really like. I think I will make a couple of these in some different patterns to have for the fall.
Now, as per Sharons request I would like to post the recipe for the tofu bites previously mentioned. They are delicious.... First off I like to use the extra firm tofu and I press and drain it really well. Then you cut it into little squares and in a shallow dish marinate it with crushed garlic, grated ginger, about a Tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of soy sauce. Cover it and refrigerate a couple of hours. Then drain it well. In a mixing bowl mix a cup of sesame seeds, a Tblspn of corn flour and 2 Tblspns of wheat flour. Coat the tofu cubes and then fry in a frying pan. I used a mix of olive and walnut oil and it had a really good nutty flavor. You can use any kind of sauce to dip them. I hope you like them as much as we did.

Olive is sooo smart.

RIP Jetta 1985-2006

It's finally, really over. I've only been a witness to the last half of the era but the Jetta has been good to Pete. He has spent countless hours working on this car. He has poured his blood ,sweat and tears into it and it has always cooperated. There have been many times that I have thought there is no way it can come back but it always does and Pete never doubts its abilities. I will miss this car because it is such a part of Pete and it holds great memories for me. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Pete, he's putting up a brave front but he's hurting inside. I have to wrap up with something a little lighter. Olive with her headphones. Enough said.

No more monkeys jumping on too few beds

We have all made do with the space we have the last few years but it was really time for another bed with all the kids here. (If only Olive would really sleep with sissy.)
So after searching for something affordable I found this awesome loft bed. FOR FREE. I love craigslist. The boys could not be more thrilled.

I also had to add this great thriftstore find. I absolutely adore this scottie lamp. You pull his tail up and down to turn it on and off. Isn't it great!!

One week to go !!

The last few days everybody has had rotating colds so I didn't get much done. We did go to the zoo and the last day of the childrens museum. I love this picture because these two are twins and are so unimpressed. Also, check out Hans hiding in the corner. Today marks the week countdown to school. Today we are having a practice day. So far Siobhan slept through 3 snoozes. They were up by 7:30 so I guess that's a start. This afternoon we're going to walk to the school so they can look around. At registration it was mostly closed because they were cleaning everything so they're excited to get a good look at everything. I'm curious to see how long it will take us to walk there. Four blocks isn't far but two looky loos can significantly slow us down.

Sushi and tea

Tonight we had sushi and tea for dinner with sesame tofu bites. Guess who liked the tofu? EVERYBODY! Oscar and Siobhan fought over the last piece. I wanted to add this photo in case Grandpa was thinking Olive was getting soft.
She very much enjoyed pouring the tea but was not so into the drinking of it.
I found Oscar a scout uniform at the thrift store today and he is pretty excited. I finally got to speak with the scoutmaster of his troop and he will be starting very soon.

Double R produce stand

Yesterday was Granma day and we came home with more peaches but I really wanted to show how HUGE these zucchini are. I think I can probably get about 4 or 5 loaves of bread out of these babies. I also brought home a whole bag of cherry tomatoes which Pete has just made into salsa and it is probably the best I have ever had. I finished the second of my back to school projects, Oscars cowboy shirt. I am glad that he likes it. I think it came out kind of wonky around the neck but he's pretty pleased with it except the snaps are hard for .
I think we are going to skip preschool for Hans this year and just keep up Grandma day for another year. Mostly I just want to have one more year of him being all mine. Plus we have so much going on with Siobhan and Oscar's school so I think that's not too selfish. Hans and Landon are getting to be better about playing with each other so I'm sure they'll be happy to play every week.

Registration Day!

Today was registration day for school. I am so glad that Pete met me there on his lunch break. There were about a thousand papers to fill out! But, they are done and the kids are now officially Utahns!! They are both so excited that there are lockers. Just to make things a little more interesting I am going to also volunteer for the PTA. So now we are down to two weeks to enjoy the last of the carefree summer days of the year.Siobhan just can't believe it... And lastly I just liked these last two pictures so I am adding them.

Olive and her shadow

We went to the childrens museum today since they will be closing after this week until the new museum opens in the fall. The kids always have fun there but the best was today when Olive discovered her shadow for the first time. She was really concerned that it was staying on the wall and not going to go away.
Siobhan is staying over with Grandma Double R tonight so it was just the boys and Olive. They have a lot of fun together and I have to say there is a lot less fighting when Siobhan lets them alone. Tommorrow is school registration so tonight is haircuts and baths all around!

Housebound

Hans and Olive both have summer colds so besides a trip to the doctors office we were housebound today. Being inside I was able to finish the first of the back to school projects, Siobhan's lunch bag. Oscar is still debating if he wants store bought or homemade. Hans was excited to pick the first harvest of our Roma tomatoes. Our cucumbers are still going strong and I don't know what to do with all of them. But tonight we will have homemade pizza with fresh from the garden tomatoes.Yum!
Hopefully the babies will be better tommorrow and we can get out.Hans is pretty pitiful when he is sick. I look forward to him being back to his goofy self!

FINALLY!!

I am so excited to announce that Siobhan and Oscar will be staying with us for the school year. I am really looking forward to it as are all the kids. I am hoping that we can keep everybody feeling connected by updating this blog so that you can keep up with them. We have had a really fun summer but they are counting the days down until school begins and are hoping to make a lot of new friends. 17 days to go!!