Dandelion Tea Party

 Benny brought me a HUGE bouquet of dandelions when they were over mowing our yard. I like the dandelions - Michael not so much. I made him promise not to kill them all until I could have a dandelion tea party. I did NOT know one can MAKE dandelion tea, and I'm not sure I'm ever going to try it. We've made dandelion salve...but I think the tea party may be the best way to put the dandelions to good use. A festive decorative touch. It's all in your perspective. 

The idea took hold. We knew exactly who we wanted to invite to our first dandelion tea party. I texted Joelle and told her I could offer lots of things for the kids to play on and tea treats as well. We had hoped to grab Jenni too - but she has a 9-5 job. Sadly, Allie is also working tons of hours this summer. We missed Allie and Jenni. 

Joelle, Lucy, Stacia, Hudson, Lucas, Hope

Waiting for people

We tried for candy dandelions, but the sticks weren't cooperating. Stacia said let's make more mature dandelions and it worked! LOL The recipe for the dirt cake made SO MUCH we're going to have to take dirt cake to life group tomorrow. 

We did have fun. The car and wagon came out as well. 

Lucy and Millie loved each other. It was cute to watch. Lucy was calling her "mimmie" until she heard Stacia call her "mil"...

It didn't take Hudson and Lucas long to figure out the wagon provided a fun diversion if one started in the high end of the yard with a big push. I laughed and told Stacia THIS is the fun we'll have when all our boys are a couple of years older. 

GG let me know I needed to wash the windows yesterday. I realized how much time he spends sitting in one chair and looking out the window. I cleaned them. I also set up the chairs and table. This may keep the dog from jumping up on the window. BUT we are making a concerted effort to get GG outside on the deck when the weather is nice. Even if he is not sure he wants to be outside. He did enjoy watching the activity in the yard today. 

Michael got a second coat of primer on the roof and painted the trim pieces of the playhouse. It's going to be cute. 

The chickens were quite fascinated with all the new activity. 

Joelle and the kids had to leave. I sent leftovers to youth group. Stacia tried a new creation. She was not impressed. I think she needs to tweak it and try again. Chocolate shells with graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow cream. She had piped the cream and sprinkled crumbs on top. They were darling; but they collapsed. Maybe adding some cream cheese or powdered sugar would help them hold their shape?

We all loaded into the car and went to church. We have enjoyed a set aside time to gather and pray. The guys came home to their crockpot dinner. Allie and Stacia went to youth group. I headed down to women's Bible study. 

Here are a few more food pics with thoughts so I corral them for the next outside tea party - which is bound to happen. We were blessed with sunshine at the exact time for us to be able to outside playing. 

Tiny cookies (big hit), chocolate flowers and lady bugs, brownie bites and mini cupcakes. We had WAY too many treats. 

Pots of mature dandelions (dirt cake). I made one recipe and it was WAY too much. Next time - 1/2 the recipe.  I was told these (below) would look like dandelions. Not so much but they tasted o.k. and were colorful and easy. Kid friendly. 

The plate of tea sandwiches was a good addition. Next time scones. Always scones. How did I forget the scones? I have some blueberry scones in the freezer. 

Tuesday Didn't Slow Down

Monday was lived at warp speed? Tuesday certainly didn't slow down. I started the day over at CoRielle's playing with the boys. Things started tame enough with a favorite read aloud. 

Later in the day I texted a few favorite photos to Arielle. She commented we did ALL the kits. Well not all of them, but the boys DO love to get into the closet with kits and games. The rule is one at a time. We worked through them and had a blast. 

Magnetic tiles

They love the construction kit. "Maam may I help you?" Such a kind gentleman. I asked for help finding a thingamujig to fix my whatzit. Benny was up to the task. LOL 

Exchanging kits - One of Little Buddy's favorite things to do! 

I'm not sure why pounding yourself is a hit with these guys...

Danny liked the filter from this tile.  About this time a bird flew right into the window. He was stunned and the boys got a close up look through the window at the little thing. He eventually flew away. 

The 2-year-olds and I played with the Ducks. My goal was to buy Benny a bit of peace to play with playdough. 

Bachan down! I developed a headache. Took a pill - on an empty stomach and got nauseated. LOL 

I visited briefly with Arielle when she got home before she had to leave for Little Buddy's therapy. I drove off to meet Michael and Ed for lunch. 

Michael ran an errand after lunch and I stole the time to do some shopping. I had great plans for getting a lot done in the afternoon. LOL 

I had just enough time at home to hug Allie, unload "stuff" and pick up Stacia. We went to get Lorelei, a friend of hers, from Bre's house where Lorelei's little sister and Mom were having a tea party with Bre and her kids. The girls had a great time exploring town. I sat in the car with a chai tea and caught up on text messages and did as much "work" as I could. 

Stacia and I created some fajita type concoction for dinner. Then she and I got busy making chocolate creations, cookies and treats for tomorrow's event. 

While we worked in the kitchen Michael worked on the playhouse. He's sanded, pressure washed, and primed the roof. When I got home GG was sanding boards on the deck. We need to find more projects like this for him to do. 

Michael is done with work for the day. GG is in bed. Stacia just went to soak her feet and go to bed. I'm ready to call it a day as well. It's been a full day. 

Oh - can you guess what we're up to? 

If we're not too tired at the end of the day tomorrow we'll share more photos and details. It's going to be fun. 

Monday at Warp Speed

 We had a list of social media things we needed to do for the church today. I knocked the ones out at home I could - just scheduling posts for upcoming events, sending reminders for this and that, and then we went over to the church. Michael started the uploading of the sermon. This takes a couple of hours to load, and as we don't live on campus, it involves coming back over on Monday. While he got that going, I began making copies for the new Ladies Bible Study. 

We headed over to the parsonage while the video loaded. I wanted to take some Old English to the wood furniture and mop the floors one more time. Michael washed windows inside and out.  You cannot beat the views from the parsonage! Michael got the entry level windows at the church done too. It was such a beautiful day. 

We got home and threw some food on the table. Stacia had a date at Nolan and Alex's and we dropped her off on our way to Benny's T-Ball game.  The wind was a bit chilly, but the weather is much nicer. We didn't give GG the opportunity to tell us he wasn't coming this week. LOL 

Papa and Danny

Cory, Arielle, Michael, Little Buddy, Danny, GG 

GG is not 100% sure what to think about T-ball. He can't figure out why they aren't calling outs or keeping score.  While we're yelling, "Great catch!" He's yelling, "THROW IT TO FIRST!" ::snort:: 

Back at home Michael finished this project for me. I'm happy to have a table on the deck. I have plans to get GG outside a bit more than he's been doing. It's not THAT cold. The table is from Luke and Krista's recent downsize/move. 

Down to the River

 It seemed to take us a long time to bust out of church this Sunday. Maybe the sun was simply calling loudly.  In any event, after we were all ready to go, we went over to a local diner with a young family from church. They had been cruising while we watched Jess's bunny.  It was fun to hear about their adventure over lunch. They came back to our home and collected their bunny. 

Stacia left during our church service to go watch Little Buddy and Danny while Cory and Arielle were busy with a New Members class at their church. I received a text calling me to the river, and I knew I would go. GG wouldn't be able to navigate the way to the river...Michael was tired and happy to stay home with him. Allie opted to stay home as well. I went to the river!!!

Benny, Little Buddy, Arielle, Danny

When I first arrived it was just Arielle, Stacia and Benny. Cory was resting at home with the 2-year-olds. 

LOVING SUMMER - 65*

Stacia, Benny and Arielle

It was fantastic to be able to sit in the warm sun after our long winter. BTW people who have grown up here have told me this winter DID really feel like it went on much longer than typical. 

Me and Stacia

Cory brought the little boys and things began to hop! For them. I'm Bachan. I don't have to chase little ones...I can soak up rays and smile at their antics while Cory and Arielle chase them. Sometimes I help. LOL 

While we were lazing at the river, Jamin called. He was about to put the paddleboard in at a local lake and wanted to know if we wanted to join him. It would have been so fun, but we would have had to go home and then back out...which led Stacia and I to decide we need to put some towels, the paddleboard, and a kite in the back of the van. 

Danny, Cory, Little Buddy 

Cory had to leave before we did as they were having baptisms at their church tonight. Stacia and I went home and joined the rest of the family for a bit of rest and screen time. 

And...while it's not REALLY Summer yet, if I don't claim it now who knows...fall my descend and it is very warm! When one swaps out the winter survival gear for towels and paddleboard it's about as summer as it gets up here. LOL 

If I needed any more proof of summer these photos sent from Larissa did it....

Cleaning Party

Summer may finally be arriving. We celebrated by having a cleaning party. ::grin:: We had a blast. Joelle and Jenni were just the spark of fun we needed to finish our list of tasks. 

I KNOW the lighting is off - but I sort of like the mood. ::snort::  We just have a few quick jobs left to finish - which I will take care of next week.  I think this photo is super cute and I have to share it....one just never knows where they'll find BGMC treasure! Joelle won the prize for finding MONEY while cleaning. We decided to put it into the BGMC barrels tomorrow. 

The conversation and laughter were great, but taking a tea break in the midst of the dusty afternoon...was priceless. I sat on the couch and remembered past tea with Lindsey and made new memories. Seasons, rhythms...look at me trying to seem like I embrace change. ::snort:: 

Not everyone can have a super fun cleaning party to celebrate summer's arrival. Some have to settle for taking their son on his first Alaskan hike. ::wink:: 

Jared and Noah📷by Larissa

A Full Friday

 The day began once again at the cafe; this morning with Allie. We also had a fantastic conversation. Some weeks things click better than others - I am going to label the conversations we had this week as heart discussions, more than simply the informational or even the theological. Good stuff. 

Allie and I stopped at the parsonage on the way home.  We sprayed down oven racks and tubs and checked to see what supplies were on hand and what would need to done later. 

Check out the NEW SNOW. Yep. It's raining at our house, but snowing on the mountain behind us. In JUNE. This can NOT be termination dust, I refuse to think summer will be over in 6 weeks. I like what others are calling it - another fake spring...in June. 

Stacia had some college papers to write. Allie prepped for work. I played with a new electric frother and Keurig the church purchased for us to use in our greeting/coffee ministry. This is a step up from the single size, no reservoir Keurig we've been using. Yes, I know, some of you have espresso bars at your churches...we started with what we have...and the emphasis is on the friendly greeting...not the coffee anyway. I've noted some stop just to chat and never get a drink. Which we love. 

Stacia and I went back to the parsonage for a few hours. We are simply sprucing things up...we will have a new pastor's family at some point....and this is a good time, with no one living in it, to get any needed repairs or maintenance done. 

We reached a point where we didn't have energy to tackle the next job - the entry way....and called it a night. We hadn't eaten and thought about going to McDonald's. We thought the lobby was open until 10 p.m. so we opted to go to the end of Benny's t-ball game before dinner. 

📷by Larissa

Danny was the first to see us park and made a break for the parking lot yelling, "Bachan's here." Jared, Larissa and Noah were also at the game. This was a bonus. We didn't think we'd make it to the game with all the other things we are trying to do this weekend. 

Jared & Noah 📷by Larissa

In a few years we'll be at Noah's t-ball games! Time moves quickly. 

Aunt Stacia and Noah

We joined JaRissa for dinner after the game. We "never" eat at McDonald's because, well because. We thought it would be fun to surprise Allie. The lobby was closed. We went on over to Dairy Queen.  It was fun to catch up with Jared and Larissa...and to know how better to support them in prayer in the upcoming weeks. 

I don't think I could have fit one more thing into this day. In fact, I had to move delivering eggs from today to tomorrow. LOL