First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for our three eldest kids.  Ellie told both Jason and I last night that it would be a good idea to wear earplugs because she was going to scream (in excitement) when she woke up. 

Look at Toby and Risa in this next set of pictures.  Toby starts out fine and then starts telling me that his eyes feel "funky" and his expressions get stranger and stranger.  Risa looks like it's painful to take pictures.  Either that or she needs to go to the bathroom.

What would kids pictures be without someone making a weird face, eh?

I'm excited to see how their day went this afternoon.

Bedtime stories

When I was little, my mom and dad made up stories at bedtime for us.  I loved listening to their stories.  Now that we have kids, I've wondered if they planned the stories ahead of time or just came up with them on the fly because I've learned how hard it can be to come up with them.  During Cory and Ellie's preschool year, they wanted me to make up stories every single day on the way to school.  I was able to come up with good stories for a few weeks but after awhile felt like I couldn't come up with something new and interesting every day.  At that point I started retelling fairy tales.  The kids had favorites and those I would tell over and over.  If I ever forgot even one detail they'd fill it in for me.   
Now we mostly read books.  Jason is gifted at reading and telling stories.  He gives the characters interesting voices, pauses at all the right moments, and doesn't need every story to have a moral (like his wife does).
A few nights ago we started a new book.  It's called Sir Fartsalot hunts the booger.  Our kids think it's hilarious.  I picked it in an effort to get Toby reading books at or above his reading level, rather than the super easy books he picks out at the library.  We still haven't finished it so I can't say whether I think it's a book worth reading yet but so far we're enjoying it.

   

Homemade Hummus

When Jason and I got married, many of our friends and family shared their favorite recipes with us.  We have loved having this treasure trove of meals at our fingertips.  One of the things I make most often from the recipe cards is my friend Amber's hummus recipe. 
You can vary this recipe by adding minced garlic or red pepper.

2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tahini paste
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
lemon juice
cumin
salt

Using a blender or food processor, blend chickpeas and olive oil until mostly smooth.  Add tahini paste, lemon juice, cumin, and salt and blend again.
Serve with pita bread, pita chips, or veggies or use as a spread on sandwiches and wraps.  Delicious!

Trip to the Dairy

Sometime about a year ago we decided to try out raw milk.  I had read that the synthetic growth hormone, rBGH, given to cows could cause girls to enter puberty early.  I started researching the pros and cons of raw milk and realized that finding the truth is difficult in this case because so many people on both sides of the issue have an agenda.
Raw milk is milk that is not pasteurized or homogenized.  Pasteurization is a heating process that kills off all the bacteria (good and bad) and prolongs the shelf life of the milk.  Homogenization is a process that keeps the cream from separating from the milk.  From what I've read, the main benefits of raw milk are the fact that it is a nutritionally complete food (meaning it contains proteins, vitamins, fats, and carbohydrates), it has more calcium and other nutrients than pasteurized milk, and supports the immune system with good bacteria that helps out in the intestines.  The question about rBGH still is not definitively answered for me, both because of conflicting studies and because even cows that are not given the synthetic hormone still produce it naturally.  How it affects puberty is undetermined.
So, armed with all this confusing knowledge, we decided to go ahead and try it.  Jason and I drink skim milk but raw milk proponents recommend only drinking full fat milk because most of the immune boosting nutrients are in the fat.  We couldn't bring ourselves to switch to full fat milk and, after trying raw skim milk that had separated, Jason said he wanted he and I to go back to milk from the store.  We still buy whole raw milk for our kids. 
The taste of raw milk is a little different than store bought milk.  I think the taste is better.  Our kids seem to like all milk, raw or pasteurized, whole or skim. 
Another thing that keeps us going back, in all honesty, is the experience.  The drive is lovely, the dairy is small and family owned, and if you get there at the right time, you can see the cows milked.  They also sell delicious raw and pasteurized cheese, cream, and local honey and jams.
A friend and I take turns driving out each week (although ideally we'd have a few more families to share that task with) to save time and gas. 

These photos are from our trip today: 

Summer Sleepover

Last night we did a sleepover with friends.  The twins went to spend the night with their girlfriend while the boys came over to spend the night here with Toby and Risa.  I didn't have the camera out last night but the highlights of the night were 4 kids devouring 2 boxes of macaroni, carrots, pickles, yogurt, 2 boxes of candy, and 2 bags of popcorn, choosing to watch the 1966 Batman movie, Risa and her friend pretending to be "old people", Toby and his friend playing Legos for hours, and the tooth fairy making a visit.

This morning has been filled with more Legos, dress-up, breakfast, and baths.

 

Zoo day with friends!

With the temperatures soaring, we haven't made it to the zoo in awhile.  We went yesterday and had a wonderful time. 

Many of the animals escaped the heat by hiding in their dens, but there were several animals that we got to experience close up.

The Grizzly Bear

An Alligator

and a few Monkeys

To make the heat bearable, the zoo had cooling stations along the walking paths with cold water and shade.  They also had big water inflatables from Bounce Pro Rentals.  The kids loved playing in the water with their friends.

They also enjoyed the jungle exhibit.

This was a wagon we found after playing with the goats and sheep in the petting zoo.