Peter is SIX!

Six years ago we welcomed Peter into the family!

Zoo, Boys, Grace and a Drink

Some weeks ago we headed down to New Orleans and the Audubon Zoo for a field trip with several other home schooling families from our church.  

We ended up being a small group compared to our trip two years ago.  I think the cool temperatures scared off a bunch of people, but we ended up having a great day.  

Andrew spies a white Bengal tiger.

Peter - not checking out the elephants.  

Jon selfie.

Grace was having fun on her first trip to the zoo.

Baby alligators in a tank in the gift shop.  The kids could stick their heads up through the tank.

Hmmmm.  

I think the baby alligators were scared.

I think if he reached over he could have grabbed one.

Brian found a cool walking stick in the gift shop as well.

Some ninjas we encountered along the way.

Alyssa and Matthew hanging out.

Bunch o' kids.

Peter.

In other news . . . 

The boys got dressed up fancy for dinner.  We were having bowtie pasta.

Grace is adorable and is walking now.  She has taken up to 18 baby steps in a row.  I know because at least 6 people are watching and counting her every step.

And finally, 

Andrew makes the best glass of ice water in the lower 48.  Just the right ratio of ice to water.  

Stay tuned for Grace at Chik-Fil-A -  you won't want to miss it.

Laundry and Haircuts

So, it was time to wash some sheets and blankets.  I decided to try and take three loads to the laundromat to get it all done at once and because one of the blankets is HUGE. 

So, Brian took James to a meeting and then took Jon and Andrew out for haircuts and I took the rest to wash blankets. 

Peter liked the front loading washers. 

And the front loading dryers.

Daddy's blanket is still washing.

When the laundry was done we went back home and soon Brian came back with the boys. 

Here are Andrew and Jon with their new hair cuts.  They're about to get wet on the slip n slide.

Here they are playing in the mud that results from any type of water fun in the backyard.   Jon is being a Mud Monster.  He said they eat turkey sandwiches - and people.  YIKES!

And here are a couple of close ups of the littlest boys from this morning. 

Peter

Matthew

Peter's Birthday

We celebrated Peter's birthday over the weekend. 

He used to say 'pizza, cake - eat it' every time we drove into the parking lot at Brian's work.  No one is sure why he said it, but we all thought it was funny.

So this year for his birthday I decided to make him a pizza cake.  

Here I am putting on the 'cheese'.

We even put it in a pizza box for him. 

He liked it.

Then we filled up a little pool

And the kids played outside for awhile.  The weather was beautiful!

Then it was time for presents.

It always gets a little crowded at present time.

Then we sang happy birthday and had pizza cake. 

Thanks for the gifts!  He had a great birthday!

P.S.  Stay tuned for continuation of the camping trip.  Finally got the pictures.

Happy Birthday Peter!

Today we celebrate Peter's 3rd birthday! 

Here we are in the hospital with Peter just after he was born.  I think this was the next morning.  I love this picture because you can see how young the other kids are too. 

Peter in the hospital.

Here is Peter when he was 1.  You can see he still doesn't have any hair. 

This is Peter in May 2010.  He had just arrived in Minnesota after his first airplane trip.  You can tell by his wild eyes that he was so very excited and impressed with what he found in the land up North! 

Here he is at 2.  Finally has a bit of hair there. 

Here he is in April of 2012.

He's quite a guy to hang around. 

Happy Birthday Peter! 

Stay tuned for party updates!

Word of the Day

Peter just brought me my driver's license.  I asked him where he got it from and he said "from your wocket pocket!"  He then went back in the living room and exclaimed "MONEY!!"  When he came back he had a penny in his hand.  Hahaha!  

wock·et pock·et   noun   \ˈwä-kət ˈpä-kət\

1.  a small purse to hold important papers and/or cards.
2.  a:  a small folding pocketbook with compartments for personal papers and paper money; also : billfold.
   
   
     b:  something that resembles a money wallet:  as a sometimes flexible folding case designed for carrying money.  

Examples:

• She carries her drivers license in her wocket pocket.
• He kept his dollar bills in his wocket pocket.  

Now get out there and use this word with confidence today!  Let us know how it goes.  ;)

Peter

Thought I would share a couple of cute pictures of Peter.  

He's something else!  

Chicken soup - or not.

I made homemade chicken soup last week.  From scratch - as in I even made my own stock.  First time for everything.  Anyway, because we didn't have any bread (the kids like buttered bread with their soup) I made dumplings to go with.  It was really good.  Everyone loved it - especially Peter.  I thought that was great - until I saw that he had lined up his chicken on the table.  

I guess he does like chicken soup - without the chicken.