4th of July

This was my best picture from about 2 dozen attempts to take a picture of the great aerial display fireworks. In my mind pictures sure can't do the beauty of them justice. After shooting the 'daytime' firecrackers at home, we drove to town and watched that display, then it was back home to finish up.

The Sound of Music to my ears

I am listening to one of my favorite sounds in the whole entire world. My kids are laughing and playing and having generally a good 'ol time. Not sure the game, but it involves Sam making roaring noises, Jenna giggling, and Seth alternating between the giggle and the roar. With Cody thrown in here and there, telling them what to do, how to do it, etc........ I am guessing if it was a little quieter, I might here the soft buzzing of their father 'watching TV' (aka asleep in front of said TV)
I love those lazy summer days, where there really isn't anything that HAS to happen, today was one of those. I did some laundry, some dishes, picked up, made beds, all those things that happen everyday. But I also............ planned the design for the tiles we are going to 'install' on the wall at the end of the cabinets in my kitchen. (no pictures till the project is complete remember) Hemmed the edges (and hung them afterwards) of two curtain panels that will serve as Jenna's closet doors and add glam to the fashion shows that regularly occur in that room. I cut out pieces to quilt top that for some reason I thought I needed to make, it's cowboy themed and like most projects that I start, I have no idea what size the finished project will be, who it's for, etc etc
What else? Grocery shopping.......... "thirsty" for a new mixed drink that I found the recipe for, so a stop at DC's in town helped me gather the 'spirits' for the recipe. Stopped by my NEW FAVORITE store, 'Material Girl Quilt Shop' for locals this is in the old 'Farmer's Crafts' building, for those who know where I worked at Blattner Furniture, it's just around the corner. It's recently opened and owned by a friend of mine, Meredith (Romine) Stidham. She isn't fully stocked yet, but getting more goodies everyday and I have already added some 'punches' to my frequent customer card! :) She is working on a website, when it's up and going I will add the info on here, as I hope that she does well and am willing to do my part and tell anyone who will listen, to stop in and see her!
We bought fireworks on the way home, so that will be the question of the day ALL DAY tomorrow, looking forward to time off from 'Can we place Playstation?' which is the other popular question of the day at this house. Anyway, that's what's going on here. Hope you and yours are enjoying your lazy summer days.
And I didn't forget, just wanted to save the BEST for last....................... there's a FOXY fellow in Fouke Arkansas who had a birthday today, not saying how old, but a little (or alot, but who's counting) over 30.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE TERRY!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!
From Tulip~
KH

I absolutely love...............

being a wife, a mom and a daughter and a granddaughter, you get the picture, but for the last two and half years of my life I have entered a new stage that I LOVE! I am an Aunt. First came Riddick, with his brilliant blue eyes, chubby cheeks that I love to kiss and my newest little buddy Marshall who has a pretty kissable set of cheeks himself, but now the fun is coming!!!! We learned yesterday that Riddick's little sibling is going to be a sister! That's right I am getting a niece. I am very excited. I love my mother so much, but I LOVE my aunts alot too and it's a different kind of love, friendship, mom-like and MORE. So now I will get to experience that love on the other end and look out Trinity (the planned name as of now) here comes Aunt Kathy! So there I have 'announced' the big news. (had to announce it somewhere, seems some parents and grandparents have about todl the rest of the world! ;)
From Tulip~
KH

Marshall and Jenna

See even 'baby' Marshall likes the big ol' tire!

The greatest toy in the world

Forget shopping at ToysRUs and spending hours trying to find just the right thing to entertain your kids. Just stop by the local tire shop and buy the biggest intertube you can afford. The above 'example' is a tractor tube that the guy who repaired the 'actual' tire, was so kind to patch this old tube so the kids could play on it! All four of our kids absolutely love it, they play on it constantly. I have even caught David lounging on it as well. This particular shot was posed, as they are usually running and jumping etc etc and I wouldn't have gotten a shot at all.
Just thought I would share a pic of my littlest sweetie.
From Tulip~
KH

David and his sweetie pie

No I don't think there's any concern of competition. Here's my goofy husband and one of his crazy friends. David and Dwain (Shelton), take a few minutes and pose for the camera at the wedding reception we attended Saturday night. Dwain was the best man for Shannon Jesse a neighbor who got married last weekend. The guys were talking and goofing around and so I told them to pose and this is what I got. I told them to say the Corn is planted, which made them both smile, since that's finally done.

Summer Stuff

Hey there,
I don't seem to find as much time to blog it seems with Summer in full swing. So here's some tidbits:
Last week I am going to assume Cody and Sam enjoyed 4H Camp. I got when I asked how was camp? Okay and good. Even my chatty oldest child was pretty tight lipped. They both admitted to dancing with girls the night of the dance, I think they came home with most things that they took and I am fairly sure that they actually used the soap and shampoo that was sent. They also both came home with those great extension cords that REC donates the supplies for so 4h campers have a day to learn about electricity. Sam did say if he had more supplies he could make more, maybe I will send him shopping with Grandpa Charlie before Christmas and have him make some for the rest of the family.
Let's see, Thursday last week, the old washer finally totally quit spinning any water out of the clothes, and as luck would have it (sarcasm intended) it was the same day that the dryer decided to quit working as well. I of course had washed a load of clothes that I REALLY needed and needed quickly that morning. So Seth Jenna and I wore jeans that day. My birthday gift from Mom and Dad was sitting but a few feet away, so washer replacement was an easy fix. The dryer only needed a 'tune-up' kit as per the advice of Gary Ennis (Ennis Appliance, Bus Loop 70 in Columbia, the only place to buy appliances, IMO) so forty dollars later I was back in the laundry business, a necessary evil at this house and one that must be practiced constantly, or we will all have to dress like Seth and the rest of us don't look near as cute running around in undies only.
Now for the other excitement of the morning and an upcoming potential visit with Gary, our refridgerator is about to poop out as well. So while picking up the parts and after texting David a hateful message about appliance (s!!!) for Father's Day, I did browse the 'fridge' section. The 'ol stimulus check from Uncle Sam and 'Dubya' has a definite use at this house.
Other projects so far this summer have been painting. Jenna's room is now 'Satin Doll' pink (big shock there, huh?) It still is getting some new curtains and a little detail/decorative painting before the 'big reveal' pictures will show up on here, but it's CLEAN (always a plus) and organized (close to box full of outgrown toys, Happy Meal junk, etc was culled out and she hasn't missed any of it, which always leads me to wonder how much more could I have gotten away with?)
There's more paint to be 'spread' the hallway and the bathroom are the next victims, will update on the progress as it happens. I've been alerted of potential black mail photos as the barbies are out and Jenna isn't playing alone, so I have some re-con to do.
That's all for now.
From Tulip~
KH

I've been baking

Well today I have been baking. David is on a county farm service committee that meets about once a month to review various county farm programs. I have gotten in the habit of sending something to the group to snack on while they are meeting. (It's been good for my catering biz, as you can imagine!) Anyway today I tried a newer recipe that I wanted to share.
Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake, which sounds like a mouthful, so I decided to name it Hawaiian Pound Cake, and here's the recipe:
1 1/2 Cups Coconut (I used the sweetened flake type and a 'generous' cup would probably be enough)
1 stick of butter (it called for unsalted, I used regular butter, but I bet that margarine would work as well) at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups flour (it called for extra to flour the pan, which I forgot to do)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 Cup sour Cream
1-20 oz can Pineapple (the recipe said chunk, but I wasn't satisfied with the results, crushed works much better, in my opinion) well drained
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a cookie sheet. Bake until lightly roasted, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring maybe once or twice. Butter and flour the loaf pan. (I only sprayed it with Pam and had good results) Use the larger 9x5 loaf pan! Combine flour salt and soda, set aside.
2. Using mixer on high speed beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream (three parts flour, two parts sour cream, beginning and ending with flour, does that make sense?) Mix until just combined.
3. With a rubber spatula fold in pineapple and about 2/3's of the coconut. Spoon into the pan. Sprinkle remaining coconut on the top. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes (mine took 75+ but I was doing two, and my oven is a little off) Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The recipe suggested covering with aluminum foil halfway through, which I would definitely do, it helps to keep it from getting so brown. Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then cool completely on wire racks. Store at room temperature wrapped in Saran wrap. The recipe says up to two days. It didn't last that long here, but I think if you thought it might last longer at your house, you might want to store it in the fridge, it's a VERY MOIST bread. The texture is somewhere between pound cake and a quick bread. VERY GOOD! Try it.

Okay well the guys are at the 'Red Power Roundup' in Columbia. The big boys are at 4H camp till tomorrow and currently the little kids are helping grandma Gladys (as Seth would say RAM-MAW) with the baby chicks. So before they come looking for me, I should close.
From Tulip~
KH

Baby Marshall

Our sweet little nephew is growing fast. Last night he and his Mommy came to see what was going on at our house. Liek most little fellas his size, he was mostly interested in looking at the leaves in the trees and keeping a close eye on where his Mommy was. At the time David and the boys were leading calves and Aunt Beth went in to help, which left Marshall to hang out with Jenna, Seth and I, which of course we HATED, ha! Not!
From Tulip,
KH

Summer has begun around here

Well, I guess I am not going to be good at blogging in the summer months. Will try to catch everyone up. I think the last time I blogged it was mid May. Well since then, we've gotten out of school. Had gobs more rain, won't even go into how David is feeling about that. THe above picture was taken Memorial Weekend. With gas being so reasonable and our LARGE SUV, we didn't go anywhere. So Sunday afternoon we took a short drive. We ended up in Moberly and Rothwell Park. On sunday afternoons there are rides to be taken on this little narrow gauge railway. For a $2 ticket and a few minutes time, we entertained the gang with that. As you can see Cody and Sam were only so so about our choice of entertainment, but we reminded them that 'in the day' they too were big train fans. We are enjoying the 'beginnings' of Summer and all that entails, Strawberries from our Amish neighbors, getting the calves ready for fair. Seth and I are bucking heads with potty training, but making progress. We are sleeping at night with every window of the house open, all that 'good stuff'
Anchor Fest has been and gone. I have to say that I never stepped foot on the square. I worked both night for Dad at the Pool Hall. David took the kids to the carnival, the closest i got was the early morning Anchor Run that the boys enjoy participating in. Rain was an issue for the 'fest-ers' Friday night, but Saturday more than made up for it.
From Tulip,
KH