Sous Chefs

I am so grateful for my kitchen helpers!

 

They are a blast to work with and I love to see their culinary creations!

 

 

Check out their beautiful pizza pies!

Now that's "amor'e"!

Fairy Tale Town

On a crazy Saturday I took all my kids (minus Gabriel), plus my nephew Jacob to Fairy Tale Town.

 

They had a blast climbing the treehouse...

 

...checking out the animals...

 

...climbing on giant stinky feet...

 

...posing as you-know-who...

 

...meditating...

 

...singing pirate shanties...

 

...and generally, reflecting on a fun afternoon!

It was quite the outing, and I was grateful for the opportunity for the kids to just be kids!

Construction Zone

We visited dad on the site of a construction project.

 The kids especially dug the hats, though Owen was constantly having to fix his.

Thanks for the tour!

Back to School Night

Back to School Night is generally a lot of explaining of things already outlined in the mounds of paperwork the teachers give you.  I'm not complaining, it's just that when you're alone with five children you tend to want to move things along.

 

As I suspected, Owen lasted through one presentation and only 5 minutes of the other...

 

...so out we went to play!

 

There was a lot of monkeying around...

 

...and it was a fun way to kick off the new school year!

Bath Time

When they're not slapping each other silly they do have an enjoyable time...

Belly Time!

We always loath the doctors advice to place our babies on their bellies to strengthen their back and neck.  It's not that we disagree with their advice, our kids just hate to do it and ALWAYS cry!

 

Except for Gabriel.

He squirms for two seconds and-boom!-he's out like a light!  He may not be working his muscles but at least he's catching some ZZZ's!

Labor Day Donuts

We spent Labor Day morning munching on donuts with my family.

 

Gabriel with Grandpa Jose' and Grandma Rose.  Gabriel looks so much like my dad, especially when you compare baby pictures.

 

Owen playing ball with Grandpa.

 

 Gabriel can only lay there and watch!

 

But he was able to get in some Grandpa time too.

 

It was a great way to start off the holiday.

Very easy, very slow...

like we had all the time in the world!

Gabriel Dodge

You are an absolute delight my son.

And I love you with all of my heart. 

What a privilege! 

What a blessing!  

What an honor to be your mother!

The Scooter

We visited Grandma after her foot surgery and the kids were delighted to find...

 

her roaring around on a scooter!

She doing much better now, and we are grateful for it.

Pizza...Family...Priceless

To say I needed a night off in the kitchen would be an understatement! 

Luckily, the kids couldn't have been happier.  

Later, we visited Dad's work.

Each member of this family is so precious... 

...priceless, really.