Gingerbread Houses

Last year after Christmas we bought these gingerbread house kits. Boo bought her own & I bought one for the boys to share. Sweet Pea didn't want one & Princess was too young. It's taken us almost a year but they have finally been made. To be honest I'm glad we waited because it's more fun as a prelude to Christmas.

Bugs starts to frost the house. Elvis sulks because Bugs gets to go first. Lol.

Boo is hard at work on her house.

A snow covered roof.

My 3 men.
Elvis joins in & is now a happy boy.

The purchase.

Princess wanted to join in too.

Bugsy's favorite part was the candy.

He swiped quite a few pieces when we weren't looking. LOL!

Boo carefully plans her design.

Taking turns.

Ta-dah!

She added some more later too.

Proud artists.
*******

These were such fun!

I may have to find some on clearance again this year & hide them away for next year. =0)

Apples & More Apples!

We are having lots of fun making our apples into tasty treats. The first treat on the menu was applesauce. Elvis was eager to get started. He still talks about the time Grannie took them to an orchard with a friend of hers to pick. Afterward they made homemade applesauce together. That was 3 years ago.

We had to buy a new apple peeler corer as ours was worn out.

I think these things are fantastic.

Elvis took a turn at it.

Princess saw Boo & Elvis helping and didn't want to be left out. She pulled up a chair & got right to work.

She enjoyed handing me apples to peel & core.

She was very good at taste testing.

Boo got a kick out of the way Princess jumped in & took over.

She made an apple snowman by stacking them up. She was very proud of herself.

Two crock pots all filled & ready to cook.

Our house was filled with the heavenly scent of fall all night long.

It made a little dent in the bushel but not much.

More Tabernacle

Whoops! Somehow I forgot to include these pictures in my last post.

Daddy shows Elvis the ropes before giving him the reins.

Our artist at work.

Dave was very pleased with this box he created from folding up thin cardboard.

It is such fun when Daddy gets to work on projects with the kids. I know he enjoys it too.

Tabernacle Part 2

And the fun continues!

Elvis glues construction paper to the bottom of the box. This will represent the sand.

Daddy explains how the layers of cloth & skins are placed on the tabernacle. In the background is the photo from the website for referral.

Bugs got a little bored & out came his Gameboy.

Elvis was happy to make some sheep for the courtyard.

Of course Princess wanted to be in on the action! =)

Daddy cuts the felt for the outside of the Tabernacle. We used felt because we didn't have any fabric in these colors in our scraps. To buy them would have been out of our budget so felt it was!

Next we'll put together the Tabernacle & do a little more painting!

Strawberries

Dave, Elvis, Bugsy & Boo went strawberry picking. They actually ended up going twice. That is because after putting up the first round we realized we needed more if we wanted to try our hand at making jam this year. The berries are amazing! Big & juicy!

This photo cracks me up. She couldn't get enough of those sweet berries!

6 gallons


Yum! Yum!

A bowl of red delight.

Mama hulls the berries.

All ready for the freezer!

Some are mashed, some are whole & some are sliced.

Elvis is proud of his hard work.

This pan is all ready for the freezer.

CHOMP!

Now for some relaxation time.

Bugs couldn't stay awake. It was a big, full day.

Boo kicking back.

They ended up picking 10 gallons in all. We snacked on some but most were put up in the freezer. We plan to make jam & the rest will be for delicious treats such as strawberry shortcake, strawberry pancakes & ice cream toppings.