Fun company!

May I introduce you to Trixie and Wrigley. They are Grant & Barbara's and Kay's puppies. They are both Cavilier Prince Charles Spaniels. "wink"

Admit it, you can't resist that face either!

The very best toy that a dog could have is . . . . . . Matthew!
He loves playing with puppies. (Don't we all??)

It's okay to say "Awwww" now.

Let's all pile on the couch.
I MUST be getting soft in my old age!

They are fun, cheerful, happy to sit still on your lap and really laid back.

They are waaaaay too cute.

Guess who we visited last weekend??

Great Grandmother Sisson

Barb and Grant stopped in on their way to vacationing.

It was delightful to have four generations together.

LORD, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psalm 90: 1

History Day 4

Tomorrow is our fourth History Study Day. As always we are excited to get together with our friends and make history come alive. We've set out all our material for the activities and laid out our WW II clothing.

Tomorrow we will be doing a variety of activities; playing games from the time period, doing map study and map games, working on our time lines, and making silly putty, among other things!


Did you know that silly putty is something you can make in your own kitchen! Here's a little silly putty trivia:

During World War II, Japan invaded numerous rubber-producing countries, cutting the United States off from the rubber supplies it needed to manufacture truck tires and boots. So the War Production Board asked American companies to develop a synthetic rubber. James Wright, an General Electric engineer, invented a gooey, bouncy substance. He didn't see a use for it, but marketing whiz Peter Hodgson thought it would make a great toy. He was right. When Hodgson introduced it to American kids it was an instant hit.

Well making silly putty will be a first for us. There's one more thing that we set out for another interesting first for the kids: Spam!


Many soldiers lived on it. We'll see how the kids like it! "Grin"

Sleeping like a baby!

I got these adorable pictures from Gretchen. She was trying to get some creative pictures of Alaina.

GJ - I was trying to get Angel Baby awake, and figured it was a good time for pictures!

"What are you doing?"

"Oh that again."

"Fine, I'm going back to sleep!"

Today

I need to drink out of "Pretty".

Visiters

While I was staying with K&G&A they had some visitors. Unfortunately I was distracted showing off little Miss Alaina and only managed to get my camera out for the Henry's visit! My apologies to the other dear friends who stopped in!














Kyle and John



Greta and Alaina
(She slept soundly through their stay. Where are your friends at 3AM???)

John sang the most interesting folk and cowboy songs to Alaina and the rest of us. It was fun. Some we could join in with like "She'll be Comin' Around the Mountain". However there is one disparaging verse about Grandmothers in that song which Alaina should never learn! "wink"


My personal favorite was: "Froggie Went a Courtin"

Froggie went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Froggie went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Froggie went a courtin' and he did ride
With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door
Gave three loud raps, and a very big roar, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee,
Said Miss Mousie, will you marry me, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides, uh-huh
Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides, uh-huh
Uncle Rat laughed, and he shook his fat sides
To think his niece would be a bride, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Where shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
Where shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
Where shall the wedding supper be
Way down yonder in the hollow tree, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

What shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
What shall the wedding supper be, uh-huh
What shall the wedding supper be
Fried mosquito and a black-eyed pea, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Little piece of corn bread layin' on the shelf, uh-huh
Little piece of corn bread layin' on the shelf, uh-huh
Little piece of corn bread layin' on the shelf
If you want anymore you can sing it yourself, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Now if that doesn't put a baby to sleep . . . . . I ask you. . . . . . what will???

John and Greta thanks for the fun evening.

Christmas --------------- before Alaina

The day after Christmas we headed down to Oakland to visit you know who. It was her birthday! (Yes the day after Christmas.)


She has always enjoyed Fondue and it's become rather a tradition with us. Off we went with Christmas & birthday presents and our fondue stuff. We forgot the Sterno and couldn't believe that the little grocery in town had some. (that place is amazing, you can't believe the variety of things they stock in such a small space!)


Once we got it home, we discovered it was too tall for our pot stand. All that to explain the creative use of tuna cans in the next picture. "goofy grin"


The menu was Cheese Fondue and Pizza Fondue (salad and other unimportant things). Pizza won out over our Taco Fondue this year. . . . AND since it was the day after Christmas we opted out of all our "worth drooling over" dessert fondues.



Lest you think that we are just total sluggards, I have to stick in one picture of "Ken the energetic" painting the rest of the living room. (two coats!)
We all did help . . . . a bit. Ahem

We took this picture to show off Gretchen's baby bump and thought that we would be able to post it before they delivered. HA! Well here it is after the fact.

We had a sweet and wonderful time together. There is nothing to compare with the loving fellowship of family. Thank you Lord.


Pizza Fondue

1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
2- 10.5 oz can pizza sauce
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Italian Bread

Brown onion and ground beef in sauce pan. Drain. Add pizza sauce and seasonings. Stir until heated. Add cheeses by handfuls. Stir until smooth. Pour into fondue pot; keep warm while serving. Serve with chunks of Italian bread or bagels.