beanbags, blankets, and buddies…what more does one need?

Okay, you all know i love her…

I got a shout out on tip junkie…january 7…because i have promoted her site through blogging. I’m not sure little old me is worthy of being mentioned in “big blog” world…

Nathan tells me its ridiculous to blog about her blog mentioning my blog…but i don’t care.

I’m doing it anyway!

Thanks for the shout out tip junkie! Keep on doing what you’re doing!

And congrats on the 1000th post! What an accomplishment!

Heirloom earrings by Twisted Silver

Wouldn’t you love the chance to win these?

Aren’t they awesome???

Head over to http://sevenclowncircus.com and give it a shot!

Inevitably when the whole family gets together, there is one photo we always try to get…the grandkids.

Whether it be the grandkids together…or the grandkids with grandma and grandpa…its going to happen.

And why, oh why, is it so hard to get a good one?

Take this one for example…

One of my children’s hair always makes her look homeless. I can’t get a handle on it…I did recently decide to cut three inches off. It helped a little. This time of year, the static, however, does not care how many inches i cut off.

My other child looks like a giant in this picture…and he wasn’t even looking at me. Now, I’m not usually one of those people that has to have everyone looking at the camera. Most times, I prefer not, but in this case…its what we were looking for.

And my beautiful niece is the one who looks the by far the best in this photo…with her pigtails and her big cheese smile!

Does anyone out there have suggestions for group photos of small children? I think I only got Ev to sit there after bribing him with a cookie…

I can’t even believe how long ago this was already. Mid-December…where did you go?

A friend and I took in the Phelps Youth Pavilion (in Waterloo, Iowa for the non-locals) in mid-December for her boy’s birthday. If you’ve never been, you must go. It is a wonderful way to let kids explore art and just have a ball. Ev was the youngest kid among the four, but there were still plenty of things for him to touch and explore, and he had a great time too!

Everybody gardening…minus Ev. I think he was dragging around a watering can at this point…

Yep,..there it is!

Ellie and T getting ready to explore the “cave” and use chalk to make cave drawings. They ultimately decided it was too scary…

Ev exploring the fruit market. This kid is really into food, can you tell?

and lastly, little L exploring China in the multicultural section. The noodles were made out of a rubbery string. She was trying to pick them up with the chopsticks. Seriously cute!

Wonderful day! Wonderful friends!

Four kids really kept us hopping though. We decided next time we may just bring one for each of us…maybe then we could explore some more too!