Lions and Tigers and BEARS oh, my

Cute baby bears- if you hand over the green stuff then you can bottle feed them. We didn't because I am cheap, we will do it in the spring when they let you hold them for free!

Emily feeding the deer.

Last week we went to bear world with cousins. It was half off (the only reason that we went) $35 a car load, which is a bargin compared with the $13-$16 per person. It was worth every penny! But the best part of all for me was the petting zoo. The had real baby deer! The youngest one would suck on our fingers!

The Bears were cool, but if you go I would suggest that you look really closely when you are approaching the 2nd bridge. There is a dead looking bear there 90% submerged in the water. As we were leaving we notified them of their dead bear but they solved the mystery for us by explaining that the bear was really old and stays there to hide from the wolves, of which there are three.

The other fun activity is the rides, which are included in the price of admission. The kids loved them especially Brie. But bring your own water, there are no drinking fountains but lots of water (and other things) to buy.

Change

This summer has been the summer of change for our family. We love our new house the kids like their new school, our new ward is awesome. We are enjoying our new neighbors and new community. The only real challenge I have had with all the change is that my body isn't liking something. I have been sick since we moved in. I'm not sure if it is the addition allergies living out in the country or the house's unfamiliar smells, the previous owners were very clean but used a lot of cleaning supplies I'm not use to. The house doesn't smell like my family. I also bought real apple cider from an apple orchard down the road, the unpasteurized stuff, yah, I don't think I'll take that risk again if that is what made me sick. Anyway it all led to pneumonia and feeling really awful. When your sick, clammy and running a fever for days you start to hate long hair, when my fever ran high, If I could have gotten out of bed I would have cut it off. So yesterday as I was feeling a little better I decided to get it cut. Since I only go to a salon twice a year, (once more than Heather) I usually have to be impulsive and just do it. That happens with paint colors sometimes too but thats another story. I wanted my hair to look like Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel but I couldn't get a good picture of it and then Heather posted that old picture of me and so I took that in because I knew my hair could look like that because it was my hair. Well the Cut isn't the same as before it actually looks more like Samantha Brown's cut which is good because I like her cut. So posted are the before and after pictures. The Stylist wanted highlights, I told her lets do low-lights (for winter) she was determined to put some highlights but nothing drastic. I like how the color turned out, Hubby likes it too, I can tell by the way he keeps looking at me. I guess I have looked pretty horrible for some time. So to go with all the NEWNESS in our life I get a NEW hairdo. OH I am also the Volleyball Coach of my daughters team, that is new for me too, coaching. We played today and did awesome, I have an assistant coach who is Austrialian, the girls on the team love his accent, it's great & keeps everyone smiling. Instead of telling the girls to get their hinies or bottoms out of the air we say get your "ends down" much better word to yell out. It is interesting how in coaching you need someone who knows the game well (thats me) and someone who can run drills and is great at encouraging and building up the girls, thats our Aussie.

Seven Top reasons why I love being a MOM

#1 I LOVE it when Ethan (14 on Saturday) gives me a big hug and tells me he loves me.  I say "thank you, I love it when you do that."  He says "I know that is why I do it."  I think he has me figured out.

#2 I love that Madi (12) tries to copy what I am wearing each Sunday.

#3 and 4 I love it when Emily (10) and Elle (8) give me wonderful foot rubs for only 10 cents every 25 minutes, it is quite the bargain and they are REALLY good, if you bring your pocket change they will give you one too.

#5 I love it when Leif looks at me with his huge blue eyes, and shows me his latest Lego creation!

#6 I love that Chase still acts like my baby even though he is 4 in a week.  He loves to be held and snuggled.  I love it too.

#7 I love that Brie (2) can do it herself, and most of the time she really can.

Did I mention, I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Doughnuts, Berries & Fractions

I love doughnuts, and anytime I see a doughnut sign or an add for a doughnut shop I have to go check it out. So it has become a thing I do with the kids, we search for the best doughnuts. Late this summer there was an add in the paper for apple cider doughnuts in Winchester Virginia, about 35 minuets away. Of course we had to check them out. So with our trusty GPS a must on the East Coast drove to Marker Miller Orchards FArm Market. When we got there their produce was fair, the doughnuts not my favorite but they did have pick your own raspberries and blackberries. So me and the kids picked a few ate a few picked a few ate a few till our basket was full. When we got home Mara baked an amazing berry crisp. Which leads me to another thought. One of the best ways to learn fractions is to bake. I love to bake! I don't care for cooking, but I like baking. Heather, now she is a great cook. By teaching my girls fractions in the kitchen, my youngest daughter has really taken to cooking and baking. For a busy mom like myself it is a true blessing to have daughters old enough to start cooking. They are still in training mode but they get better and more independent each time. It is truly a disservice not to teach children to cook. If you don't know how to cook yourself buy the recipe book "The Best Recipes" by Cooks Illustrated and American Test Kitchen. My father bought all us kids this book about 6 or 7 years ago. I have learned more about food science and cooking from this book than anywhere else. I have found, if I do exactly what they say in the book my dish will turn out fabulous. Another great thing about cooking with your kids is that it is spending quality time together. So when you are done catching up on your blogs, facebook, email, whatever drove you to the computer, sign off and go bake with your child whatever age they may be. If you don't feel like baking go look for a great doughnut shop and tell me about it.

The creative one

So my sister starts this blog, she is good like that, creative and everything. I barely know how to type in the address to find it. Well she walks me through and here I am. I must say that that first post of hers wasn't fair because I didn't know that this cute blog existed till today. So don't mind what my sister says, she is my sis and she has to say those kinds of things. But that doesn't mean that I can't say a little about her so here I go.
My Sister Amy
Amy is younger than me, by three years and five days, hence the name of our blog. She is the creative one, the photographer, the artist, the quilt maker, the egg decorator (the really cool expensive kind) I am sure she will show her art on this blog, it will be quite obvious who the creative one is. But besides being very creative, Amy is a mother of five children. Her kids get all sorts of creative juices flowing at her house. Besides my sisters creative flare she is my best friend. If you only get one sister in this world like I did, I am sure glad I got her! She is my SISTER and I love her forever! Thank you for making this blog Amy.

(Do you see how good I am getting, I figured out how to change colors, Amy will be so proud!)

My Beautiful Sister

We all have someone we look up to, someone who's strengths us, gives us courage and keeps a positive outlook on life. Though I have many people I admire my sister is one of the top. I could go on and on about her but I wont. I'm sure you will discover for yourself as you read this blog (if you haven't already) This will be a joint blog about two sisters raising a quiver full of children in this crazy, amazing world we live in. We hope to encourage others in their journey through motherhood. We hope to strengthen faith in Jesus Christ. We hope you enjoy and follow our blog (just select the button to the left, follow me) TTFN