Build Your Own S'mores Bar.

I love Choices. My fridge is full of sauces, mustard and condiments.
Choices for S'mores. Now that is - Brilliant. Delicious. Sticky.





We had multiple flavors of "chocolate" chips.

(because they melt better than a big chunk of chocolate bar anyway)

and we had some choices for fresh fruit.

White Chocolate and Raspberry was very nice.
Banana and Butterscotch was super tasty too.
Teeny Tiny Peanut Butter Cups - Awesome.

Interestingly, all the kids wanted to try some of everything on their s'more. Now, why didn't I think of that?

Mother's Day

Sweet Kids at the Zoo.

They make me a Mother.

Even when I want to run away from them and hide.

Even when they are smelly.

Even when they give me the EVIL eye.

and Attack things with sticks.

and Scream. (that's Baby E's new special skill.)

Even then they are still my best most amazing gifts.

Gardening and Sunshine

Today we got some very nice spring weather.

All the E's were out in the freshly tilled earth.

We even had some friends over.

I aimed to clean the odds and ends around the yard, weed the strawberries, mow under the blueberries and plant the vegetable garden.

I pulled out five weeds. . .

Big E and his friend did some stick collecting. And tractor climbing.

Miss E played puppies with her friend.

And Baby E tried to eat a slug.

What a great day!

Easter Pictures

Easter

mmmm...

Breakfast in bed.

Chocolate Easter Eggs with little Chocolate Chickens inside.

Thanks to Great Grandma Maggie for those.

Followed by cute outfits, great morning at church, and a delicious lunch.
Baby E decided to sleep through hunting eggs,
and the big kids got to play with cousins most of the day.
A beautiful celebration.

Happy New Year

Our 2009 Word Cloud...

Wordle has provided us a visual representation of our year in text...

Exactly what have I been sharing on this blog?

Well, it's mostly photos...

But I think the words are as pretty as any picture...

God has blessed us!

We have had an amazing year.

I hope that your 2009 was wonderful as well.

Love and Kisses

from Alyce, Billy and the E's

Merry Christmas

Christmas House

tree cutting day.

unhapp - e's

sometimes they get sick of my photo-shoots.

Autumn Leaves

our october news..

☼ Big E ☼

Doing well in school. He has surprised me with a natural math sense, that I do NOT possess. He is smart, smart, smart. It's amazing to watch him be challenged and then to be surprised at his own ability.

This month he lost his top front teeth.

That's six teeth gone now.

It's changed his face from a little guy face to something bigger,

older and a little sillier.

His love to cuddle and have his back scratched remind me that he is still my little guy...

☼ Miss E ☼

So girl.

Most conversations include "pretty" and most projects include glitter.

She is crazy smart just like her brother,

and enjoys listening in on the more advanced lessons

and blurting out the answers. Or just loud guesses.

She loves to help - with cooking, baby watching, closing car doors, shopping...

It can become a crisis of disappointment and drama if a job is not available.

In general Miss E is all sweetness or all tears.

Searching for attention in a busier year and a bigger family.

We make sure to have time with the kids as individuals,

for small things like a trip to the hardware store with Dad

or playing at a friends house without siblings.

I'm sure it could happen more often...

Any other ideas?

☼ Baby E ☼

Smiles at everyone.

This month has been full of big milestones.

This month we are

six months old,

scooching around the floor,

getting our first two teeth,

trying out solid foods,

sitting up unassisted,

making new intentional noises.

And he rediscovered that he can stick his tongue out.

All the time.

Baby E also had his first solo adventures as

Mommy and Daddy did some celebrating at a wedding.

A triumph! And a might big shout-out to our brave friends

who took such good care of him.

VEGETABLEmania

Beautiful things are getting ripe in our garden!
Purple Carrots! Round Carrots. White and Yellow Carrots!
Striped Cucumbers. Giant Red Potatoes!
Beets! Beans! Tomatoes! Peppers!
It's a veggie picking party every day. The kids love to harvest.
(except for the spiders...) (and the webs...) (I attempt to be brave.)
And I can't get enough pictures of chubby hands washing dirty veggies.
or chunky babies teething on purple carrots.
It's picture overload.

Past the Five Month Mark

Teaching Baby E to Crawl.

So far he can roll, wiggle, sit up for a little while and scoot backwards.

He is FASCINATED with cups, straws, spoons and all parts of the eating game.

We plan start to solid foods in a few weeks and I have no doubt that he is READY!

He saves his biggest smiles for brother and sister.

I can't imagine a better little guy for our family,

he's a dreamboat!

#4

caramel apple,

lost tooth number 4,

Big E !

Longest Post EVER. part three

PART THREE

What else has happened...

Little E turned 3 Months Old!

We started doing Cloth Diapers. (saving some CASH dance!)

and he's just beginning to giggle...

It's going to solve some world peace problems!

Our area is having a Heat Wave.

Pink cheeks are the new look around here.

Sitting in the creek is the new hangout.

Mom also got a paid photography job.

Hello, Senior Portraits!

umm, apparently I should make it clear that

is graduating senior not senior citizen . . .

and Dad even watched our sweet nursing baby.

who hates the bottle.

and the binki.

Big E lost his third tooth. And THREE more are wiggly.

He's drinking all his food through a straw this fall...

Dad is starting a project at church,

leading a team of men installing the sprinkler system!

Mom is helping by putting the yummies in the tummies.

(also called bringing lunch -by people who don't get as much time with the Good Doctor Seuss...)

Longest Post EVER. part two

PART TWO

Dad went on a long business trip.

And we missed him.

And Mom forgot to brush our teeth sometimes...

But there were no unbearable situations.

We enjoyed some free video calls ( thank you skype ! )

We had some visits from friends and family.

We had a picnic by the creek...

And the house was not a disaster when he got home.

(which is quite unusual...)

Longest Post EVER. part one

Dearest Blog, I have been meaning to post all month.

It seems like we have been busy for a while.

What have we been up to?

SO MUCH!

PART ONE

Vacation Bible School.

" All Aboard "

God provided such a super-awesome-fun-healthy-exausting distraction while Dad was out of town ! ! !

The E's got the energy out, played with friends and learned fun songs.

Even Little E had a good time with plenty of arms to hold him.

And we can't forget SNACKS – Every night Miss E amazed Dad with a detailed description of every treat she received that day!

And as an added bonus Mom got to be the photographer for TONS of kids having a blast!