Cousin Camp ‘13 {day 1}

When you can get 7 kids (ages 7-12) under one roof, you know it is going to be a party!! 

Today was officially day 1 of Cousin Camp!  It has been so much fun.  I planned lots of stuff for us to do each day, but I really did not realize how well all these kids would play together!  They have played Risk too many times to count, they cleaned off the ping pong table and had a few rounds of that, and there have been many games of Fussball too!

We have made some garden stones and the kids always love that!  Hopefully the parents will enjoy them too!

Our apron sewing project was started today – we cut out the fabric and got it ready to sew some ruffles tomorrow.

My favorite part of all my days is our Bible Study time, here I snapped a pic of my gang praying before our morning kicked off -

Here we are making garden stones

Here is Matthew feeding our sweet calf

Another Garden stone making pic – they were trying to work together and help each other

A shot of 4 of the kids playing ping pong (yes the school bldg is trashed) – oh my the giggling, laughing and fun they were having!!

Here they are playing stratego – it was either this or risk over and over.

 

Praying things continue to go well, night times have been hard since my boys think it is a free-for-all.  Hoping my boys can get their act together and we can continue to do the fun things that Cousin Camp brings!!

Kids & Cooking

I love to get my kids into the kitchen cooking!  With my oldest now 12, he is able to get in there and do more and more!

I always think I will be more intentional about teaching my kids in the kitchen, and so often I am in too much of a hurry to slow down and include them!!  I hope that is going to change!!

I am going to get my hands on a copy of this e-book in a few short days!!

{on MONDAY as a part of

THE ULTIMATE HOMEMAKING EBOOK BUNDLE}

 

What is inside this book?  (Just a few highlights – go HERE to see everything inside)

What’s in the Real Food Kids eBook?

• All 19 print versions of the lessons in our popular Real Food Kids online class.
• Suggested schedule.
• Nutrient-dense recipes which incorporate the principles of traditional cooking — like soaking, sourdough, sprouting, little sweetening, and healthy fats.
• A selection of recipes that kids can make — breakfast, lunch, dinners, snacks, and desserts!
• Many, many recipes to help your children put their knowledge into practice in delicious ways.
• Help for organizing the kitchen around little helpers.
• Links to more information to help you take it all further.
The best part though is that there are E-classes that I can let my gang watch – they get to learn from another great cook, another mom passionate about her kitchen!  And then I can take them into the kitchen and let them loose (until they need help)!

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I am thrilled to empower my kids to take what they learn and run with it.  I am looking forward to letting them plan and execute more meals in the weeks to come!!  Stay tuned!!And don’t forget to come back MONDAY and check out

THE ULTIMATE HOMEMAKING EBOOK BUNDLE

Mini-Trip

We had a great trip this weekend!!  As a family, we trekked down to Washington on the Brazos to do some sight seeing.  The next day we headed to A&M to compete in District Livestock Judging.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Washington on the Brazos, honestly I had no idea what would be there or what we would learn.  Washington on the Brazos is where Texas became a Republic. 

We were able to sit in a building that is built to mirror the original building where a group of men met and signed the Declaration of Independence.  We heard how these men met while the Alamo was being over-run by Santa Anna and how the call for help came. 

This place is rich in Texas history, between the museum that chronicles the history of Texas, to the working farm that gives a picture of what life in the 1850’s in Texas looked like. 

Birthday Fun

We had so much fun this week when we trekked up to Dallas to visit the new Perot Museum.  We were able to get in for free since we have a Tyler museum pass – this was awesome!!

So we planned to check out the museum, and then drive over to Grand Prairie to eat at Mix It Up Burger with friends!  It was so much fun!

The museum was great.  the kids enjoyed the 3rd and 4th floor, but once we got the the second floor we hung out a while.  You take an escalator up when you start straight to the fourth floor.  Then you work your way down as you go through each floor.  The second floor was all the hands on science fun!

Museum Fun VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I personally enjoyed the 4th floor bird area the most, where we met a volunteer who is a birder  - lots of good conversation!

 

Lunch was very yummy, not so healthy – but we all had fun!  We met up with friends and there was certainly not a quite moment while we were there!!

It was a great way to celebrate our oldest son’s 12th birthday!!

A little R&R

I can honestly say I have never spent more than a few hours in my home alone.  Never.  Until this week!

My sweet husband took our brood of children camping and I got to stay home.  I almost tried to talk myself into going, really guilting myself.  I mean, I do not want them to go off and have all this fun without me!

But the reality was that I knew I would get more out of being home alone than going with them.  I knew a little quiet time, a little sewing time, and a little napping too – would all equal a much happier mom!  So I did stay.  And I spent two and a half days doing just those things.  I sewed a few Christmas gifts for my kids.  I read a whole book on Wednesday from cover to cover!!  How cool is that? 

I also made some yummy chili for my gang to come home to, and a pumpkin pie will be made tomorrow for dinner as well!

Quick Trip

We got a chance recently, to get away for a few nights!  We enjoyed some great hospitality at the Benson Home!  It was lots of fun to watch our kids play with Robert’s cousin’s children!  They all have lots of fun together!

We played in the pool, we played in the lake and we played in the air conditioning too!  It was lots of fun to get away from farm life for a brief time.

		Houston Trip VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We chuckled about the lunch served on the boat!

We packed lunch on day 1 (we, as in mommies) included sandwiches for all (2 for Matt), boiled eggs (already peeled), carrots,  cheese sticks, cucumbers, and grapes.  It was great.

Day 2 daddies packed lunch : Granola Bars.  Think the kids rioted??  Nearly!!

Where to start

Recently, my dear husband and I have felt like we need to back up and start some things over.  What prompted this?  Well, when you realize you are still falling into destructive patterns, say when you fight, it is not a good thing.  Not when you are on the brink of your 15th anniversary.  You know?  So we had to go backward a bit, dig up some of the yucky and ask ourselves how can we do this different?

Well, one way is to get away more often.  The past, say two years, we have had about 6 dates I think.  Especially if you do not count the company Christmas Party, or similar things.  Because, honestly, who talks about deep stuff at the “crazy” company Christmas party?  Not me. (it is hard to get my husband to talk about deep stuff anytime, but especially not in front of people who know him!!)

Spring Garden : In

 

I love this part of the garden, not as much as the final product, but I still love the planning, the excitement of what we are going to put into the ground, the hope of what will spring forth from the ground in the coming weeks and months!!

We had a wonderfully productive day on Sunday!  We arrived home from church, and after we ate some lunch we all headed out to work in the garden!  The weather was so nice, almost 70’s, even though the wind was blowing like crazy!

We planted 2 rows of three different kinds of potatoes, hope that is enough this year.  Then, we also planed lettuce (bibb and romaine), Swiss Chard (my favorite), radishes (a family, minus me, favorite), beets, onions, and some Pak Choi, not really sure what that is!

Everyone planted something, which is another favorite part – they are all so excited about getting seeds in the ground and planting things!  They love to watch their row grow and occasionally help weed too!

Revolving Door

It has been a great few weeks at the Cole Home!  We have had so much fun seeing so many people!  It started with Memorial Day – we hosted Robert’s brother & family and our good friends from Irving the Byerlys!  Then, my Uncle and Aunt arrived for about 6 days, followed by the Lewis family for a couple days.  Then, today we said good bye to cousins from Houston!  Whew!

What fun!

We enjoyed the slip0n-slide on memorial day, blueberry picking & baseball with my uncle, hanging out here with the Lewis family,and the last 2 days we played on the lake with the Bensons. 

My kids are going to start really start acting spoiled after all these fun visits!

And pictures, oh my!!  Here are a few from my camera roll from the past 3 weeks or so :

With Uncle Ed & Aunt Wren

		Baseball fun with Uncle Ed VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

With Lewis Family

		Fun with the Lewis Family VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

		Boating with the Bensons VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL