Silly food that's FUN to eat!

I found this website that has all kinds of kooky ideas to do with you kids, and this one really struck me.... I HAD to try it myself, and it actually was a hit!

First, you cut a hot dog into quarters.  

Then, break spaghetti noodles in half.  

Poke the spaghetti noodles thru the middle pieces of the hot dog.  

Cut the two ends of the hot dog several times about 3/4 of the way up.  

(When you see the pictures, that last step will make a lot more sense!)

What you are trying to achieve are SQUID and OCTOPUS!!!!

Pop those suckers into boiling water.  The octopus (the ends of the hot dog) will curl within a minute, and really only need about 3-4 minutes each.  The "squid" takes a bit longer to make sure the noodles cook through.

And TA-DA!!!  Squid and Octopus for lunch!  Mallory thought these were so funny!  She dipped each leg of the octopus into ketchup and bit them off one at a time!

A better picture of the "squid" once it is cooked.

For dessert, nothing beats good ol' Jello jigglers!  Mallory loved the mini cookie cutters Grandma had to use.  She made lots of different shapes!

Mallory was very careful to place the cookie cutters just right....

And of course, any good chef always tastes their final dish!  YUM!

Mallory Loves School!

Mallory just started her THIRD week of school- where did September go, anyway?  I guess the saying is true- time flies when you are having fun!

And Mallory sure HAS been having fun at school.  Every day she comes home with some new craft and/or song she has learned.  She also brings home LOTS of paperwork for Mommy, so I can stay in the loop of all she is learning every day.  It is so nice, and this school has already become such a blessing to our family in so many ways!

Grandma's fridge is full of school information- we all enjoy reviewing what is coming up next!

They even list the Chapel themes and Books they read each month!

Parents are invited to Chapel on Wednesdays, too.  It is 30 minutes long, and so cute!  The Pastor sings songs and plays the guitar.  All of the songs have hand motions so the kids can follow along easily.  They give an offering, and say, "Peace be with you".  He even does an interactive "sermon" with hand motions and sounds to keep the kids attention.  It is so cute!

The second day of school, Mallory came home with this in her bucket- SUCH a thoughtful gift from the teachers!  Mallory painted the frame the first day of class, and they took a picture.  They developed the pictures and taped in the photos by the next school day!  If you look close at the picture, you can see that this really is Mallory's frame- all the colors line up!

This is one of the other art pieces Mallory has brought home.  

We have been told this is a "spaceship" and that Daddy is driving it!

Look how cute- they line up all the buckets outside of the classroom when we pick them up!

One of Mallory's new outfits we got for school- but she was SO HOT this day!  Even with overcast clouds and rain, it is in the 90's.... sure look forward to fall!

Fun Times.... Great Friends!

Labor Day Weekend could not come soon enough!  I have known Jocelyn since moving to Idaho in 2007, and we both agree that our friendship is one of the best things about living in Mountain Home!  We spent many an afternoon at Grinde's, eating cornbread and baked potatoes- Jocelyn with a Dr.Pepper, and me with a Grape Squeeze.  We became such regulars, the waitresses would know our drink orders even before we sat down!  We also frequented the Boise scrapbook store, Archiver's, and did many a card-making class together.  There is nothing more cherished in all the world than an unconditional friend who knows everything about you- good and bad.... and loves you in spite of it all!!!!  I feel so blessed to know Jocelyn!

Fast forward 3 years later, and we are both living in Texas!  Jocelyn is up closer to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and me in San Antonio.  Back in May, we planned to meet in Austin (which is close to halfway) for Memorial Day weekend, and that is when I got that horrible case of food poisoning, and we had to cancel.   I was SO bummed!  So, when it came time for Labor Day, I was so excited to plan a "Girl's Weekend" and meet up WITHOUT Mallory for crafting and relaxing!

We arrived on Friday, and checked into the La Quinta.  Jocelyn had picked the perfect location- just 1/2 mile from Archiver's, where we were going to enjoy a 6-hour crop from 5pm-11pm.  I never thought we'd stay the whole time.... but we sure did!

The hotel was brand new!  Only a month or so old.  The beds were sooooooooo comfortable, and I loved sleeping in past 7am!!!

We enjoyed lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, then decided to get pedicures- perfect girls weekend, for sure!

Ahhhhh.... relaxing!

That night, at the crop, I worked on an album for Mallory, and Jocelyn worked on a travel album.  We were too busy crafting to take any pictures!  The next morning, we enjoyed a 2-hour (ahem....make that 3.5 hour!) card-making class to make these 9 mini cards.  They are all 3x3, and there are ALOT of steps!  It took alot of time, but it was worth it, and super fun!

Then, we both made the drive back down to San Antonio.  Since we took so much longer at the card-making class, we decided to skip the San Marcos Outlet Mall (I know- shocker!) and head to lunch at Rudy's Bar-b-que instead.  (sinful... but wonderful!)  Then, we stopped by the house to see Mallory, tuck her into bed, and headed out to see "The Switch" with Jennifer Aniston.  Chick Flick.... check.

The next day, Jocelyn joined my family at church.  Afterwards, lunch at Chili's- Mallory was so excited to spend time with Miss Jocelyn!

My parents love Jocelyn, too.  We all really admire how independent and strong she is.  SUCH an amazing woman!

After lunch, we did some SERIOUS shopping at The Container Store, Toys 'R' Us and La Quintera.  Jocelyn had never been to La Quintera before, and we both found some great deals.  It was pure heaven to have THREE days of shopping without Mallory- and I have Grandma and Grandpa to thank for that! As far as I can tell, they all had a great time, too- thank goodness!

I know a forever friend when I see one, and Jocelyn is definitely one to me.  Here's to many more fun-filled adventures together!

Mallory's Kitchen Decorations

Mallory really misses her Daddy, and talks about him all the time.  He sent her some postcards from Korea, and she was carrying them EVERYWHERE!  Finally, I suggested she put them on the fridge, like Grandma does with special things.  And we both decided they should go on MALLORY'S fridge!

So we got out some tape, and taped them to her little kitchen.  The top photo is a picture of her and Daddy in Hawaii.  She walks by and kisses it several times a day.  Makes me feel bad for not thinking of doing this sooner!

Thanks you for always thinking of us, Daddy!  We love getting letters and cards from you- can't wait to add more treasures to the fridge!

COOKIES!!!!!

The other day, Mallory got a fun box full of things from Grandma Peg.  We love all the clothing and NC State gear, and of course, the precious porcelain tea set.... but I must say there is one thing that has stolen the show.... sweet Cookie Monster.

Charles thinks he remembers playing with this puppet when he was little, too.  It is so cute, though I can't figure out how you are supposed to move the hands and mouth with just ONE hand.... Mallory focuses on using the mouth, of course!

Cookie Monster joined us for dinner one evening, and after dinner, Grandma gave Mallory a cookie for eating so well.  

Mallory decided that Cookie Monster looked hungry, too.

"Open wide, cookie Monster!"

Mallory made chewing sounds, just like Cookie Monster does on Sesame Street.  It was too cute!  But I am pretty sure the cookie ended up in HER tummy!

A Little Gymnast in the making....

As much as I would love to see our sweet little Mallory in a pink tutu and playing "ballerina" in a little dance class, I must admit that with her independent spirit, it seems that individualized activities are much more up her alley!  She thrives with make-believe on her own, and very rarely finds enjoyment in just "following along".  That is why swimming is a good choice for us right now.  She progresses at her own pace, and only has to follow what the coach tells her, and not with anyone else in the class.

I think she would really like gymnastics, as well.  Friends have invited to places like The Little Gym before, but never have been able to go, for one reason or another.  Finally, the week before school started, we were able to go meet our friends, the Cranstons at a great place in New Braunfels called J&R Gymnastics.  It is a real gymnastics studio- with uneven bars, balance beams, trampolines, and all sorts of other things!  Twice a week, they offer an "open play time", and young kiddos have their run of the place for a couple of hours.  There are of course, a few rules in place for safety, and all the kids (and PARENTS) do a pretty good job at obeying the guidelines so no one gets hurt.

For the first hour, I was so busy chasing Mallory around that I didn't get the chance to take any pictures! But the last 20 minutes, a "leader" gathers all the kids together by laying out a giant parachute and blowing bubbles.  This helps all the kids start to wind down, and understand that play time is over.  I was finally able to get out my camera.

The kids all tried to pop the bubbles.  Mallory is in the white shirt and pink shorts in the middle of the picture.

Mallory was fascinated by how many bubbles the pipe made at once!

She preferred popping the bubbles that had already landed.

Helping us spread out the parachute, so everyone could run underneath.

You can barely see in the background of this picture, but we are all underneath the parachute, making a "mushroom house".  The parents all sat on the edge of the parachute, and the kiddos were in the middle.

All the kids made as much noise as possible by banging on the floor.

When it was time to go, the leader brought over a monkey named "Bingo".  All the kids got to kiss him good-bye.  Here, he is kissing Jillian.

We had SUCH a great time, but unfortunately, the open play is only on Mondays and Fridays, when Mallory is in school.  We are super sad about that, but we'll see how swimming goes.... maybe gymnastics will be our next activity!

Back to Swimming Class!

Not only did Mallory start school this week, she went back to swimming class, too!  She had such a great time this summer during her 2-week session, that we decided to forego dance class or gymnastics for swimming once a week.  Mallory really likes it, and she L-O-V-E-S Coach Beau!  I was so happy we lucked out and got him again.

Mallory swims for 30 minutes every Thursday morning.  Our weekly schedule is spread out, but still packed with stuff to do!  I hope I get the hang of this soon..... scheduling is never my favorite thing!

This time, there are 3 kiddos in the class.  

Claire goes to Crown of Life, too- but is in a different 3-year old class.

Mallory actually kept her goggles ON for most of the class!  She was having a great time!

She had to pull up her goggles to pose for Mommy!

This green thing is a giant kick board Alligator that Coach Beau uses to pull the kids through the water.  It's hard to tell in still pictures, but he goes FAST!  He lifts the board out of the water, and splashes them down again.  Then he shakes the board really fast to make them all hold on tight, tight, tight.  No one has fallen off... yet!

Getting ready for lift-off!

The all have such a great time!  Mallory is almost complete with level two.. she just need to do nose bubbles with her mouth closed.  Then, she'll move onto level three, and the PINK bracelet..... maybe I should just tell her that as the incentive- she loves ALL things pink, after all!