Discovery.....

Ice Skating

 SOME of us enjoyed it......

(Tara and Taylor rocked it!  Secret: They got all of my mom's talent - I mean skating backwards!! Really!?!)

SOME of us felt a little twisted and turned around..........

Some of us whined about aching feet.....

and backs

and knees

and hips.

But we all enjoyed every moment together!

Eden Lee Dunne

Eden Lee Dunne

November 15, 2010 at 3:43 am

8 pounds 6 ounces, 20.5 inches

"Sweet as can be, and certainly attracts the attention of our whole house.  If we can pry her from Charlotte’s arms, Bently is a great protective big brother promptly replacing the pacifier when the crying begins.  Keira confidently displays her mothering instinct and wants to hold Eden always.  And no one does as good a job as Tess at identifying all of the body parts with a firm poking finger (Baby’s nose…baby’s mouth…baby’s eyes…).  We all love her very much and are blessed to have Eden in our Family."

~Dakota Dunne

We Have Pigtails

This is a big deal at our house!  

Keira feels like it is some sort of right of passage......

I am just glad that after 20 months she has this much hair......

Tessa could care less.  And doesn't love us touching, brushing or anything else to her hair.

However, you want to look at it -
she's one of the cutest sights I've ever seen!
(hair done or not!)

I can Fly!

This monument/museum

with this family

Loads of FUN!!

Outer Banks 2010

We took our family to the Outer Banks and had a blast!  We stayed in a hotel right on the beach which was so beautiful!  And the next day we went to the Orville Wright Museum.  I thought we would zip in and have a look and then be back out in an hour.  Boy was I wrong.  If it hadn't have been for the basic need of FOOD (which Dakota and I and our kids reach long before these die-hards:) ) we would have stayed the entire day!  The museum and especially the little historical story and outline is so intriguing!  These two put in a lot of hard work, effort and means to invent what I take for granted today - flight.  The risks they took, the courage they mustered, and the passion they realized has changed the world in such a short time.  Sorry about my rumbling belly Grandpa!  Come again and I will take you back for Round 2!

We also took a hike over to the sand dunes in the area.  It was beautiful weather, we bought a new kite and were ready to play.  Wow!  As we started climbing upward the wind was simply amazing.....and unbearable. We did get to the top - barely.  But was it super fun?  No.  Another memory to look back on with a smile I suppose!  Each kid was wrapped from their heads down to protect them from the airborne sand.  And screaming.  I could barely stand up against the wind.  Deep ex-foliation spa treatment.  However, at the top of the dune my dad coaxed me over to the edge and the sight was truly something I had never seen before.  No, not a breathtaking ocean view or extraordinary city-scape - but the earth moving right before our very eyes.  A wall of sand being picked up and blown to who knows where!!  Kinda cool!

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it

Words from one of my favorite hymns.
And oh, how I need the reminder......

So many wants to be had in my little life - a prettier kitchen, another vacation, a new computer, a playroom, new bathrooms, a trip to Disney World, an early retirement for my Dakota ....it just doesn't end.

But really?  Why?  I have everything I possibly need and want here in my arms.

I really am so very thankful.  I need to pause - remember what is most important to me.

"Here’s my heart, O take and seal it"

World Peace Starts in My Mini-Van

I heart this in the backseat of a mini-van full of kids!

Swimming Lessons

I signed Keira up for swimming lessons and was debating between Level 2 and Level 3. 

We did Level 3.  And then the teacher suggested Level 2.

We did Level 2.  And we will probably do Level 2 again!

I told Dakota about my debate and he just laughed. 

His comment: "Are we talking about the same girl?!  This is the girl who is afraid to get her eyes wet during bath time and asks for a dry washcloth to cover them!  Level 1 or Level .5 would have been great for her!"

Abbey and Keira

In the locker room

Abbey:  Sometimes I pee my pants.

Keira:  Me too.

Abbey:  Remember I wore your underwear because I peed my pants at your house.

Please always be this open, honest, loving and accepting of each other!!

(Keira and Abbey LOVE wearing each other's underwear!  And it is hilarious!)

Everybody on Wheels

This is the first year Keira and Bently have loved their bikes! 

You may have seen us practicing - so far the track seems to be the best - because at a moment's notice they could be done ......... and we're sick of carrying bikes the rest of the way home.

"Dresses are the best kid of riding clothes because they whoosh and fly in the wind when I am fast."

~ Keira

Bently loves to hang with Dad pretty much always.  That doesn't just mean do the same thing.  In this case, it meant ride at the same pace.  Or else....

And Tessa, you make me laugh all day long!  When you aren't cozzied up to one of us, you are on an adventure.  Usually a death defying one at that.

Oh that face!

Dakota found this Big Wheel from our previous home owners under the house.  It is not in great shape but still works - and speaks straight to Bently's heart! 

I have to laugh when he rides it because the front wheel is so worn on one side that is flattened.   When he peddales the whole thing bobs up and down as he passes over the flat side of the wheel!

The Return of Frosty

Like everyone else in the country we have had some pretty cold weather this winter. 
This was our second really big snow - and much prettier than the first.  You know, the kind where the snow is really sticky and when you wake up every little branch and surface is covered with snow.  My favorite!

And good for making snowmen!

Dad helped and it was quite a success!  Complete with charcoal eyes a carrot nose and buttons!

 

(if you look close at Dakota's finger you may think that he he slit his finger to get the rosy cheek effect.  no worries though, he just didn't realize that red food coloring is so vicous!)

Yum (and a half!)

Spinach Pasta

(Thank you Krista - it was delicous!)

1 lb. multigrain pasta

2-4 cloves of garlic

4 oz. goat cheese (chevre - not feta)
6-8 oz. Cream cheese

1 1/2 t. salt

1 t. pepper

6-12 oz. spinach leaves (I used frozen spinach and it was fine)

2 T. parmesan

Half and Half (or cream, or milk) to taste

Cook pasta to al dente.  Then mix garlic, goat cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and spinach leaves in food processor.  Ad milk until desired consistency and then mix with pasta.

SO SO YUMMY!

PS  -  Sorry you missed this Ben - we made it the afternoon you left, and it was even better than Cook-Out.

And that is saying a lot!