Kid Day

My sweet monkeys have been working extra hard since we've had the baby. I could see in their faces that they were tired and starting to have a hard time doing all their chores. So, we came up with the great idea of "Kid Day". The first rule of kid day was NO CHORES!! Not only did they have no chores, but I would do them for them. Second, they didn't have to eat their vegetables or finish their meals.

We started the day with a big breakfast then daddy took them all up the canyon to hike to Timpanogos Cave. I unfortunately couldn't go with the baby, so I stayed home. After the hike they got to watch a movie and drink hot chocolate. Then we went to the dollar store and everyone got to pick two things.We ended up having a lot of fun and the kids can't wait until next year for the next kid day.
After seeing this picture, I thought it was best that I couldn't go because I would have been a nervous wreck with the kids this close to the edge of a cliff.Here they are at the entrance to the cave.
And here is my most favorite picture. Bella is wearing the glasses one of the kids got at the dollar store. She really wanted lip liner for one of her choices which in itself is funny, but then she had the great idea to put it on without a mirror. Isn't she pretty? :)

Meal Time Bliss

OK maybe bliss is the wrong word, perhaps I should have said meal time with less of a headache. Having a lot of young kids I need them to help around the house as much as possible. So when they started showing interest in cooking I instantly created a plan/scheme to get them cooking.

Here is how we do it...
I like to go to the grocery store as little as often, last time we were there I caught Joshua eating broccoli and Tess eating cabbage, those two make my life eventful. Anyway, I write a list of dinners that we will be having for the next couple of weeks. Each child gets to pick a meal they would like to make. Then we make our list of all the ingredients we will need for that meal.
I do not have set nights for the kids to make a meal I just randomly rotate them through myself. On their night they help prepare the whole meal, it's great! They can boil the noodles, cut the veggies and so on.
Sometimes their meals are a bit odd, Ethan just wanted plain noodles one night, so I do have to help by suggesting things like, "Would you like sauce on those noodles?"
They also have to pick a vegetable. The other night Porter picked broccoli. When I got him the pan to cook the broccoli he asked, ""What are you doing? I don't want those cooked." To my surprise all the kids loved them raw and ate them up.
Kids do have good ideas...sometimes :)

Here is Ethan presenting his lasagna he made.