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This video was taken about two weeks ago.  I've since tried to get a better quality video (this was taken on my phone), but Ella hasn't been too cooperative with performing for the camera!

Hop on Pop

Tonight, Arin read Hop on Pop to her daddy and Ella.  I love these moments!

New Pet

Andy has been wanting to get the girls a pet for several months now.  While we were visiting my parents last week, my sister kindly agreed to give her dwarf hamster to them.  Arin named her Princess.  The hamster is still timid when it is held, but Andy has been working with her and holding her often.  The girls love it when Princess is in her ball.  Otherwise, the girls are not able to hold her.  She is very quick and constantly tries to make an escape if she is not in her cage or her ball.  So far the girls love having their new pet.  Thanks Aunt Candace!

Dry Ice Fun

Today, the girls had their first experience with dry ice.  Andy tried to explain Sublimation to them (when a solid turns to a gas), but Arin preferred to call it a volcano!

Photo Bloopers

We just arrived home from spending close to a week with my parents.  Whenever we go home, we like to get together with my friend, Lynn and her family.  We always try to get pictures of our kids together, which usually doesn't work out so great.  This time, we were taking pictures about seven o'clock at night, on a day that the girls had not napped, due to being out of our normal routine.   Do these make for nice display pictures?  No.  Do they make for a good laugh?  I think so!

We weren't just snapping natural pictures, we were actually trying to get the kids to all look at us and to smile.  I have a new found appreciation for children photographers!   This is the best picture I got of the kids together.  Yeah, it's not that great either.

Lion, Eat Me?

My friend's mom recently acquired a very large marble lion statue.  We had told Arin about the statue a couple of weeks ago and she was anxious to see it.  We were finally able to go to their house for a visit.  Like I said, Arin was very anxious to see this lion, so she kept insisting that we go to it. As I was putting Ella's shoes on her, she kept saying, "Lion, eat me???"  Poor thing had anxiety about the lion before she even saw it!

Arin was thrilled to see (and climb on) the lion.  Ella wanted nothing to do with it and stood a far distance from it.  You can see why, it is massive!  Ella is just a tad shorter than Tyson.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

We worked on the letter Jj a few weeks ago, but at the time, we did not do our "More Blessed to Give Than Receive" Lesson.  We have family members whose names start with the letter J and we wanted to make them a special treat, but at the time, I could not think of something to make for them.  Yesterday, I saw this post for Jam Thumbprint Cookies.  The recipe looked simple, which I knew would be perfect to use when working with the kids in the kitchen.

While Ella napped, Arin and I made these cookies for Aunt Jessica.  They were so good that we also made a second batch to have here!

Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies with Jam


1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup quick oats
jam (we used strawberry All Fruit)

Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of a food processor (we don't have a large food processor, so we used a mixer and it worked just fine), combine butter and brown sugar. Pulse until blended. Add vanilla and egg yolk. Blend until smooth. Add flour, salt, and quick oats. Pulse until blended.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Arrange on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie, making a depression.

Bake for 10 minutes. Fill depressions with small spoonful of the jam. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container, separating the layers with waxed or parchment paper. Can be frozen.

 

I think this was the first time she's turned on the mixer.



We've had our grain mill for three years.  It claims to be "The Quietest Mill" on the market, but it is still pretty loud.  This is the first time that Arin was brave enough to pour the wheat into the mill.  She normally has to have both hands free to cover her ears!



 



Arin was so happy about her accomplishment that she insisted that I take a picture of the flour!



Rolling the dough into balls was a lot of fun!

  

Making thumbprint indentions was also fun.