Harry Potter Clue in the Treehouse

Pictures taken Aug. 19 ~

We played Harry Potter Clue in the treehouse. (It was Bellatrix Lestrange with Petrificus Totalus in the Potions classroom!)

Playhouse Picnic (puppy included)

 Pictures taken Aug. 18 ~

Elli's Mask Boutique!

Pictures taken Aug. 17 ~

Another treehouse adventure ~ Elli's Mask Boutique!

Elli's old crib spring made a cute display for our mask boutique! I propped it in the corner and secured it with wire. We pinned up the masks with little heart clothespins.

Video ~

Brady's 23rd Birthday! (Video)

 Pictures taken Aug. 15 ~

We celebrated Brady's 23rd birthday early since Kaitlyn was leaving for grad school the end of August. We had a Dungeons & Dragons theme!

Brady loves cheesecake for his birthday!

Video ~

I did a watermelon carving with the D&D symbol.

Kaitlyn made paper D&D dice decorations.

Party games!

Watching Moana in the Blanket Fort

Picture taken Aug. 12 ~

Kaitlyn and Elli made a huge blanket fort and watched Moana on the projector.

Zoodles and Zucchini Muffins

Pictures taken Aug. 4 & 9 ~

My sister gave me some homegrown zucchini, and I've made zoodles and chocolate zucchini muffins so far!

Video ~

Campfire Cones

Pictures taken Aug. 8 ~

Saturday night campfire cones and piano/guitar duets. <3

Summer Nights = Trailer Rides

Picture taken Aug. 5 ~

Sister's Day Tea Party

 Pictures taken Aug. 2 ~

Kaitlyn and Elli had a tea party in the treehouse to celebrate National Sister's Day!

<3

We made mini blueberry crumb muffins.

Playing La Vie en Rose on the accordion.

Wax Seal

 Pictures taken July 26 ~

Kaitlyn helped Elli put a wax seal on some very important correspondence. (Sending Brady a note inviting him to pizza and family game night on Saturday. Haha)

Tiny Flower Vase

 Picture taken July 24 ~

Found a perfect tiny vase for the flowers Elli brings me from outside ~ a recycled Bath and Body Works wallflower fragrance bottle.

New Pool Games!

 Pictures taken July 22 ~

Coming up with new pool games!

Video ~

Yesterday: a treehouse. Today: a pirate ship. (Video!)

Pictures taken July 16 ~

Video ~

9th "Gotcha Day" Anniversary

Pictures taken July 11 ~

We celebrated our 9th anniversary of "Gotcha Day" a little different this year: stayed home, ordered Chinese food, had a quick dip in the pool, and even set up an outdoor movie theater!

We love our baby girl so much. <3

Elli had sweet and sour chicken.

Kaitlyn did an amazing kitchen chalkboard sign.

Brady and Elli took a quick dip in the pool since we couldn't go to the water park like we usually do for Gotcha Day.

We set up our new outdoor projector movie screen on the playground.

Elli had a concession stand with popcorn, marshmallow twists, and Sonic slushes!

Elli in the concession stand holding the movie tickets.

We watched Maleficent, which is the Disney movie based on the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty.

Kaitlyn made our cute movie tickets.

This was so fun and will be a memorable Gotcha Day!

"Gabriel's Oboe" on Piano

Video taken July 7 ~

I decided to buy the sheet music for Gabriel's Oboe in honor of the Italian composer, Ennio Morricone.

Video ~ one minute excerpt

Video ~ entire piece

4th of July ~ 2020

July 4, 2020 ~

We had a great 4th of July!

Kaitlyn decorated the kitchen chalkboard sign.

Dessert tray - angel food cake with raspberries and whipped topping, and gluten-free chocolate cake balls.

A little archery before fireworks.

Videos ~ Fireworks!

Archery Target (Video!)

 Pictures taken July 2 ~

We finally got a target for Elli's birthday bow!

Video ~

Homemade Waterpark

 Pictures taken July 1 ~

Elli + her bike + her puppy + homemade waterpark.

Video ~

Recipe - Chips and Guacamole

 Picture taken June 29 ~

I found a recipe for Chipotle lime chips and guacamole and it was so good!

Below is a link for the recipe. I left out the cilantro and used slightly less onion.

Chipotle Lime Chips and Guacamole (Copycat)

Backyard Tent and Walnut Soup

Picture taken June 25 ~

The day's summer activity: set up a tent in the backyard and cooked walnut soup over our "fire" on the iPad.

Princess Elliana on her Magic Carpet Swing (Video!)

 Picture taken June 23 ~

Video ~