10 Feet of Trouble

 This might be the only way I can get Savannah to wash clothes. She was the only one of my kids with long enough legs to pedal this bike.  She said it was very hard.  The kids enjoying the sno cones from the Kiwani's. If you are ever in Black Mountain during the month of August, this is the festival to attend. So many great booths to enjoy. I love it!

 Before school started back up, Savannah decided she wanted short hair.  She was quite adventurous in her choosing of hair styles. She went for something dramatically different and layered, so I could not do it for her. We had to get a professional to do it and Savannah had fun.  Ta da.  These pictures don't do it justice. It really is a cute hair style for her.

 This summer, Ethan was able to go to Denzil's for 2 weeks. Of course he had a blast, and came back a new boy. He learned to ride a bike, and came home darker if that s at all possible. To drop Ethan off, we met Jason & Sheba , in Knoxville. Sheba's GPS found this neat park in rather a shady area of Knoxville. Emalene is a good model, always willing to pose when I say smile.  Here is my little Ruby in deep concentration.  Ethan did not even look back when he left me.  Gator with the big boys.  Emalene in her favorite color, and Ruby in hers. How cute are they?  A group shot at the drop off.  These monkey bars, kept the kids entertained for a while. Each one tried to make it across. Not sure any succeeded.  Here is Gator trying to reach.  Finally he found a sucker.  Look at him hang by himself.  Denzil looks very unsure about this. We thought we could get a group shot, but the wheel kept spinning and little arms got...

 Last spring, I became a little experimental with some of our families favorite recipes.  My kids love home made chicken noodle soup.  I thought, why not make home made chicken pot pie. Thank you Throw Down with Bobby Flay for the idea. So I boil my chicken and veggies in chicken broth on low for a few hours. I then shred the chicken and add cream of chicken soup to thicken.    I buy one box of puff pastry sheets, not the shells. Make sure they are defrosted and roll out on floured surface. I then line my sprayed baking dish with one sheet of pastry. Load it up with my chicken and veggies and thickened broth. This is shown in the first picture.  Then you lay the second sheet on top.  Poke a few holes and dab with butter.  Bake at about 425 for 30 minutes or until dough is golden. Allow to sit about 15 minutes so your chicken broth layer can thicken. Then enjoy. Savannah & I made this one as a personal progress goal.

 This summer, we had the annual Christmas in July. A sister in our branch puts this on, complete with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It is quite a treat for the kids. This year, she chose a city park with paved paths for the kids to bike and ride scooters....  Well, wouldn't you know one of my kids would flip over his scooter and land teeth first on the pavement. Of course when kids were coming to get us, we were told he hurt his leg, he hurt his arm, he hurt his hand, but never any mention about broken teeth.  Passed the blood and shock, Xander survived and had to wait all weekend to see the dentist.  He was proud of his new gap tooth smile.  This is him with numb lips. New partial crowns.  Lucky for him, they were quite inexpensive. You can't even tell he had an accident.

 This year, Savannah got to attend her very first girls camp. Here she is with Morgan, another first timer.  Not sure how Savannah would have done without Sister Skroski. She showed Savannah the ropes and really took care of her in my absence.  Savannah all excited to leave. I can only guess what these last few pictures are. Savannah had a great time and Larry was there as a priesthood chaperone so she was not completely alone. This summer was a summer of firsts for my girl. She had her first girls camp, her first youth Temple trip and her first talk in sacrament. Wow!