Between two birthdays and Thanksgiving all in the same month, Novembers are busy with celebrations around here. Because we’ve settled into life here in Oregon, our family calendar was a lot fuller this past month. I volunteered in Silas’s classroom twice and hope to do it more. His teacher’s love for her students and love… Read More Around Here
Cheese has long been one of our delights, hobbies, interests, indulgences. Stephen decided to try his hand at cheesemaking, so he ordered a starter kit off of Amazon. Early in September he gave it a go, following this tutorial. Cheese curds were a lot of work! He used one gallon of milk, and created a fun… Read More Say, “Cheese!”
Cooper: “I saw a daddy mosquito.” Me: “How did you know it was a daddy mosquito?” Cooper: “Because it was bigger than a mommy mosquito, and it wasn’t wearing a necklace.” This was my conversation with Coop as we picked blueberries last Saturday. Stephen (of all people!) saw the signs for the U-Pick blueberry farm… Read More Blueberries and Babies
July 1st was Move In Day. We filled up on waffles and coffee for breakfast and then drove to the Charlais neighborhood to get the keys to our new home. Our woodland cottage is adorable! It sits on a cul-de-sac that backs up to a greenway with a bike trail, community garden, and playground within… Read More The Day We Moved to The Shire
Peeps These are my peeps. My people. My marshmallowy sweet, squishably loveable (and often sticky) people. My peeps. Pete’s Fish & Chips Rachel was our tour guide for our first visit to Pete’s Fish & Chips in nearby Tolleson. Apparently the restaurant and downtown Tolleson had recently been given a facelift. It was super cute! Pete’s is somewhat… Read More P is for…
Happy 2016! We rang in the New Year, little-kid-style–and it was a very stressful New Year’s. Mommy and Daddy were irritable and the little guys were hyper. Don’t let these pictures deceive you–we were moody Moodys, and it was all we could do to make it to 8:30pm! The boys helped me filled yellow balloons with… Read More A Moody New Year’s
My Indiana boy turns 35 this summer, so I surprised him with an early celebration over Christmas while David & Tammy were in town. So fun! I planned an adventure game for us and eight of our friends at Escape the Room AZ. Some friends of mine did it and gave good reviews. As soon… Read More Escape the Room–Indiana Jones Style
Mom and Dad Moody came for five days before Christmas! We introduced them to the meaty deliciousness that is Miracle Mile Delicatessen and then drove up to a lookout on South Mountain. The road to the summit was closed due to storm damage, but the view was still impressive. Silas was thrilled to be “climbing” on a… Read More Christmas Collages
Our Thanksgiving weekend was full of get-togethers and activities, so we reserved Thanksgiving Day for just us five at home. Wednesday night was the annual Pie and Praise at church. I took my signature sugar cream pie, and we remembered how last year’s Pie & Praise was the first service we held in our new… Read More Thanksgiving Weekend
Moms! MOMS! You’ve got to try this. It will change the way you grocery shop and thereby change your life! Two words: Walmart Grocery. I always do the majority of my grocery shopping at Walmart. I know where everything is located, you can’t beat their prices, and Walmart will price-match any lower advertised price. I also… Read More Revolutionizing Grocery Shopping