Happy Birthday, Mammie!

For Mammie's birthday this year we decided to surprise her and have a cookout! What's more fun that family and a bonfire!

Felicity got her first experience with hot dogs. I don't know that she's a fan. The bun appealed to her much more than the meat.

The boys really liked the fire. What is it about boys and watching things burn? Thankfully, only the hot dogs were smoked this time!

I used Madisyn's craft cutter to make a stencil for the top of mom's cake. The recipe for Hershey's chocolate cake and frosting is amazing!

It's a good thing a group of little girls knew how to open gifts. They saved Mammie all the labor of doing it herself.

Her gifts all received "little girl" approval!

Thanksgiving Feast

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving THREE times! I didn't manage to get pictures at two of the parties so shots from just one will have to do. My sister hosted Thanksgiving and did a fantastic job on decorations. She not only had a kids table but had a girls and boys table.

A bunch of little girly girls loved sitting with each other and the boys had a wonderful time coloring their placemats and tablecloth. The boy table was surprisingly quieter and had much less giggling.

Madisyn and Ty were promoted to the adult table. I'm still trying to keep it from going to their heads. ;) I didn't think to get a picture of all the wonderful food. The kids really enjoyed having turkey and ham. And we won't even mention how many desserts we had!

Felicity was worn out from traveling and the effects of Tryptophan. She found Aunt Ra's couch to be a great place for a nap.

The giggling girls didn't stop when lunch was over. They found lots of babies that needed loving, dress up clothes that needed wearing and food that needed cooking.

Then the dads {and me!} loaded up in the Rangers/4 wheelers and headed for the golf course?!? Robin's subdivision has a golf course layout that isn't being used. If you follow the cart path to the edge you find an awesome wooded area perfect for some mudding.

Those smiles lasted a long time! The kids loved getting a little dirty and their daddies slinging some mud.

Raegen has his own little 4 wheeler and some boys were impressed that he got to drive himself. He did a great job!

Isaac and Uncle Justin served as scouts. They helped us find which way to go when the side by side trucks couldn't fit through narrow openings.

The stairs seemed like the perfect place for a "Baker's Dozen Cousins" photo shoot. Getting 13 kids to look at a camera isn't as easy as it sounds!

Thanks Aunt Ra, Uncle Billy, Raegen, Lynden and Ellison for having us over!

Four never looked so good

Today is our girly tomboy's 4th birthday. We've joked for sometime that Mary Claire likes to get just as dirty as the boys but she wants to do it dressed to the nines and with a hair bow.

Mary Claire is our first girl after four very rough and rowdy boys. We just knew we finally had a princess. We just didn't know our princess could hold her own. Since her surprise breech birth, Mary Claire has been changing all the rules.  Kent frequently says that if you can say "My child never . . ." or "Kids don't . . .", then you didn't have enough children. Mary Claire definitely taught us this!

She is the life of the party, the perfect blend of sassy and sweet. She has her own ideas and she's not afraid to share them. Apparently, turning four is when life begins. She's convinced that she will get bigger and her hair will grow today. She's also planning a wedding to "Numbody".

We have loving referred to her as our runt. They say that tiny packages are the most powerful and dynamite doesn't even hold a candle to all that is packed into Mary Claire. Papaw used to call her a little pistol and it's a very fitting nickname.

She was our first child to really pinpoint her older siblings personalities. When she wants another Mommy, she runs to Madisyn. If she needs muscle, Ty is her guy. Griffin is lots of fun when she needs a tv watching buddy. Finding hidden treats is a job for Ben. Henry is great at following her orders and Liberty is the best dress up friend in the world!

She is a lover of all things pink and Minnie Mouse is the most stylish being of all time. Mary Claire is just at home hosting a tea party as she is digging in the dirt or attempting scooter stunts.

I can't imagine how boring life would be without this perfect for us little girl that always keeps us on our toes.

Happy Birthday, Mary Claire! 

I pray your life is packed with as much awesomeness as your personality.

Ready, Aim, Fire

Ty received a new pellet gun for his birthday. What better way to enjoy a birthday gift than to go target shooting.

We also grabbed a couple of BB guns and a two .22s. All the children wanted a turn with each.

The little girls had a great time pulling the trigger.

Liberty thought it was tons of  fun!

Ty has great potential to be a sharp shooter. His method is very focused and determined.

Griffin just enjoys squeezing the trigger as soon as possible.

I think he's proud of himself. :-)

Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake Your Butter

I recently found a source for raw cow's milk. We are really enjoying it. It tastes amazing but it can be used for so many things.

My first use for the milk other than drinking and cooking was to attempt to make butter. My first attempt taught me a few "not to" tips.

I began by scooping the cream off the top of the milk. This gallon yielded me about 4 cups of cream. The other gallons had closer to two cups each. I left the cream out on the counter overnight to culture.

The next morning came the fun part. I rounded up the seven best helpers I could find and let them shake the jar.

And shake.

Giggle and shake.

Shake extra hard.

A little gentle jostling.

Extreme shaking.

A little light rolling.

Shaking and grinning.

Some more rolling.

Here's where Mommy got a little impatient. I read on the Internet you could also put the butter in the blender. I tried that and overchurned it. We ended up with 4 cups of full fat buttermilk. So we tried again.

This time after shaking, we shook it some more. And then a little more. The first time we had butter to work with we used cheese cloth. The next time I strained the buttermilk off using a spoon to hold the butter back. The cheese cloth was just an unnecessary step.

Then the butter needs to be rinsed with cold water. I added water to the jar and . . . you guessed it shook it some more! I added water 3 or 4 times and poured it off until the water was clean. The cold water helped the butter stick together. After the milk was all rinsed away, I added some salt as we prefer salted butter.

All together we netted about 1 lb (4 sticks - 2 cups) from two gallons of milk (around 4 cups of cream).

Up next, homemade bread!

Life on the Homestead

A fall favorite around our homeschool is visiting Parker Homestead. We enjoy walking around and learning how rural pioneers survived way back when. It's also fantastic to spend the day with our homeschooling friends. This year our group represented seven families! The Tims' Family attended and Mr. Don jumped right in to show the kids how it's done.

Trying to use the cross cut saw is always a hit. Maybe I need to get a saw and some logs and help these kids burn off some energy. Cutting wood warms you twice!

Of course, the best station is the old fashioned games area. Boys and girls alike enjoyed firing the sling shots and playing with marbles.

This gentleman shared some of the weapons and gear used by the military during the civil war. This fit in well with our recent studies in year 5 {1850 to Modern Times} of My Father's World.

Liberty and Felicity had the best seat in the house. Liberty needs to work on her exit though. Several times she had to be rescued from a trapped headstand. She never did figure out that bailing out head first wasn't the best method.

This boy cracks me up. He loves to rough house, be Mr. Rough and Tumble, get as dirty and sweaty as possible, and then come to me and say, "Take my picture, please."

Liberty's favorite part of the homestead was the playground in front of the school. She and Mary Claire are very close in weight and the see-saw proved to be lots of fun!

We can count balancing the see-saw as math, right?!?