Family Pictures

More Fruit!

Blueberries, Blackberries, and Cherries

"Chicken"

Blackberry lipstick

The cherries were up high in the trees so I had to climb a ladder to get them. Blake was bummed he couldn't pick them but settled for catching them in his bucket as I dropped them.

After we were done Blake said, "That was some good berry picking."

Eric is 30!

Since Eric was going to have his birthday when we were out of town, we gave him his surprise before our trip. Eric has wanted a flat screen tv for forever and so I saved up my work money and totally surprised him. I asked his brother to help me pick it out. When it arrived we built a fort around it and Blake was a big helper. Janie just wanted to climb. When Eric walked in Blake took him under the fort and Eric was shocked and so excited. It is now mounted on our wall and we love it.

On his actual birthday, Eric went golfing with his dad and brother-in-law. I bought him his favorite donut that he always tells me about (vanilla long). Everyone went swimming and then just the two of us went out to dinner. I made him one of his new favorite desserts for his cake. He had a great birthday if I do say so myself.

Carmel Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x9 inch square pan. Combine the 1 cup flour, baking soda, oats, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. Mix to combine, mixture will be very crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then sprinkle over the crust the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Mix the caramel ice cream topping with the 3 tablespoons of flour and drizzle over the chocolate chips. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. You will need to break it into small pieces to cover. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Let bars cool before cutting.

Back to St. Louis

We flew back to St. Louis and stayed there for 4 more days.

Chuck E. Cheese. Janie would climb on a toy then look up at me and say "money."


This might be my favorite picture from our trip. At first Blake was so afraid of the water. He clung to me so tight but would scream with delight. After he snatched Janie's inner tube he felt more comfortable. He would jump of the diving board and then haul that thing out of the water over and over agin.

I hardly saw Blake all week because he was fighting monsters with them in the basement. I love how much fun he has with his cousins and wished we lived closer.

Blake said some funny things on this trip. One of my favorites happened when he was playing blocks with Marita. He said something to the effect of "I'm going to go play upstairs with my cousins. You stay here and build a tower and I will come back and check on you."

Happy Birthday to Me

We celebrated my 28th birthday in Texas. We went to Pump it Up earlier that day which was fun for everyone. That night we had cake and played Just Dance on the Wii. Then we said our goodbyes as we left the next morning.

Texas Outside

Marita is a cool Grandma.

I love walking shots.

Janie did not want to leave the park and threw a fit. She wouldn't walk with me as I headed toward the car. Blake saw that she was alone and he ran back to get her. I love when he is sweet to her.

Tired kids watching a movie.

Texas Rodeo

Last week we flew to Texas to where Eric's older brother lives for a Jensen family reunion. I had never been to Texas before. The first night we were there we went to a restaurant called Love and War and then on to a rodeo. Who knew that rodeos were so cool? I loved it. Before the show there was music playing and people were filmed and put up on the jumbo tron. Our group kept getting put up on the screen, especially Janie. I learned about why horses and broncos try to buck off the cowboys, hence the name bucking broncos. And I learned how hot Texas is.