Apples, Apples, Apples

Okay, so Kevin bought me a dehydrator a few Christmas's ago and well, umm, I have never used it. Kevin was getting a little annoyed so he finally pulled it out and put it to work. He really loves apple rings so we got a bunch of apples and we borrowed my sister-in-law (Jennifer's) apple, peeler, corer thing.(?) It's really cool! I have seen it demonstrated before at a few Shar classes that I have been to. (Cooking and baking classes for those who don't know). It is truly an amazing contraption. The kids couldn't get enough of it so pretty much all Sunday that's what we did. The kids also really liked the peel. As the apple was being peeled, they would yell..."The skin!" And they would grab it and eat it like it was candy licorice or something. We probably went through 10 apples that day. (at least!) The kids just loved it!

Here is Kevin showing us how it is done...with his hairy arms. (Funny side story) We were driving in the car the other day and I glanced over at Kevin and his arm hairs were "blowing in the wind" from the AC. I started laughing and then Kevin told me how his brothers have been teasing him lately.
I was downloading this pictures onto the computer and Teagan walked in and said "Oh cool, the apple thing...is that daddy?" "Yes," I said. Then Teagan said "He's hairy!"
Then a few minutes later Kevin came in and saw this picture and said "Dude, I'm hairy, you can't put that picture on there! I am going to shave my arms right now."
We shall see! :)



Here is Teagan grabbing "the skin."



The apple peeler turns the apple into a slinky. My kids like to call it "boing, boing."
(Notice "the skin" hanging out of Maylee's mouth.)



Here is my dehydrator. Doesn't it look brand new? Pretty good for being a few years old, huh? :)

Maylee's Birthday!

Maylee had her 5th birthday this past week! I can't believe how fast time goes. My little Maylee-Moo will be going to Kindergarten this coming fall...so crazy! Well, she had a little birthday party with a few friends. She and I had came up with alot of different ideas, but we decided to go with a "Garden Party." It turned out pretty cute. We just did a few simple games and crafts that had to do with bugs or flowers...something garden-ish. We played pin the bug on the flower, and we had a bug hunt...I hid pretend bugs in the living room while Teagan read the girls a story about Lady bugs. Oh, and they each got to decorate a little pot to put all their goodies in. They also painted sun-catchers that were different bugs. I was going to have them each make a flower pen but I figured I would probably just go around helping them anyway, so I just made them ahead of time and put one in each of their pots to take home. And no birthday is complete without cake and ice cream. Maylee wanted a chocolate-zucchini cake (which I used the zucchini from our garden, not that any of the 4 or 5 year olds cared). And then I just put a few pink flowers on the top.

Here are some pictures from her party...

If want to see some more cute pictures, look on Mandy's blog :) She was my official photographer. She was a huge help with the party! Thanks Mandy!

A few of the girls coloring different pictures...

Kaylie, Maylee, Sydney, and Amberlyn.

Opening presents...this bag matches her party perfect, not to mention Maylee's shirt!

A fairy Barbie...one of many girly things that she got for her birthday.

Blowing out the candles...it took a few blows, but she finally got them all out.

(Cute little Bethany watching in anticipation)

Her actual birthday was 2 days later, so Grandpa Lichlyter came over to help her celebrate. I asked her what she wanted for dinner and she said "fry bread." So, I got out my wheat dough from the freezer and made some fry bread. We sang "Happy Birthday" again and ate the rest of her cake.

I decided to make her an "Artwork book" to put all her pictures in. She LOVES coloring and making pictures and cards. She really likes her book and has already put a few papers in it. :)

Happy 5th Birthday Maylee!!! :)

Craft Time

During the summer I try to keep the kids busy with different activities. On Mondays we have craft time, Tuesday is school time, Wednesday is water/swimming time...stuff like that. When I said it was craft time, Teagan asked if they could do his finger painting kit that he has had for awhile. I said sure and he was very excited. It's been awhile since the kids have painted and it was fun to watch them.

After the paintings were dry we decided to hang them up somewhere. I thought the back door would be a good idea, and it was. I love how the light shines through and brightens the pictures. It's really pretty. You can't really see the kids in this picture...they are pointing to their pictures that they painted.

A few weeks ago it was Kevin's birthday. The big 34! I made him french toast with strawberries for breakfast and made him wear this new birthday hat I bought. The kids each picked out something for him at the $1 store. Livia picked out Fiddle Faddle...so Kevin thought she deserved a kiss. :)

Okay...so here it is! The pool I wanted. I finally found one when I was at the store this past week. Since it wouldn't fit in my van, I called Kevin and asked him to come pick it up in his truck. He was in the middle of studying, but he knew how much I wanted it, so he came and picked it up for me. The kids have played in it everyday. It's not Huge...but it keeps them busy for awhile. It's something for them to do during the hot summer days.