our sweet beaner beans; *5* times around the sun...

this past saturday, we celebrated bean bean's 5th birthday!

the day began with the biggest stack of french toast the world has ever seen...

 and, of course, the birthday boy!!

 and a birthday breakfast of his choosing... french toast, with blueberries & cream, & sausage links. ;)

 knit gifts from mama, including a new pair of duds for master rudolph...

 & it turns out that the marshall holiday parade fell on ehren's birthday as well.  what a *special day* !

 i LOVE madison county...

 where else would semis & 4 wheelers be in a christmas parade??  i LOVE living here!!

 ev got loves & hugs from sparky the fireman dog...

 my favorite part of the parade???  easy...

 i LOVE it!!

the littles, with their littles...;)

side note, check out the wool pea coat i scored for ehren @ the clearance center.  mama is TOTALLY jealous!!

ah, yes...ehren's favorite rainbow cake in the making...

gorgeous & magical, though not made from scratch...but hey, this is a special day & who doesn't LOVE rainbows??

so, get a white cake mix, follow direction on box.  then divide batter evenly into 6 bowls & add food coloring until desired colors are achieved....

 in 2, round cake pans, layer the batter from bottom up.  so, pan one would have violet on the bottom, followed by blue & green on top.  pan 2 would have yellow, orange & then red on top. 

bake according to directions on box.

 orin found a tub of frosting that had a bonus of rainbow sprinkles...perfect, right??

 time to blow out the candles & make a wish...

the just desserts...  (get it??  punny, right?? ;)

*4 times around the sun* (rewind)

our sweet boy was born on december 10, 2006 (his due date, no less!)

1 year old...2 years old... 3 years old...our sweet boy ehren has turned 4!

his birthday was in the midst of the holiday hustle & bustle so i am a bit lagging on getting photos posted, but nevertheless, here they are...

this cake is amazing!! and relatively healthy to boot...

he received a super cool lego train for gramma & grandpa...

along with legos to build a little town...

brothers worked on the town, while ehren & evyn remained mesmerized by the train...;)

happy birthday, bean!! xoxo

june bugs & picture frames....

our yard has been swarming with june bugs all week...

as you know, we have 10 chickens. AND as you might also know chickens LOVE june bugs! so, we spent the morning chasing down & catching june bugs as a special treat for our chickens. they go crazy for them!

our mail lady drove up while we were all running around with our various tubs & saucers & asked what we were doing. when we showed her the jar & told her that we were catching june bugs for our chickens.

i said, "it's kind of mean, isn't it??"

to which she said, "no, when i was little, we sued to catch them & tie a string around their legs & turn them into a toy."

seriously! (i don't feel so bad now. :)

our daily rhythm for friday is "project day". we will be spending the afternoon adding watercolors to the back of our photos frame from last week & then adding a treating them with a bit of mama kopp's beeswax finish.

these frames really have turned out quite lovely.

i spotted them on our last trip to michael's (craft store), they were unfinished & only $1.00 each. so, i picked up four, one for each of us (well, not bebe) to paint. and conveniently enough, 1 for a grandmother's birthday & 3 for father's day (i know, we are a bit late.)

we soaked then for about 5 min each as i wanted our watercolors to blend on the wood, but as they were only $1.00 each, i did not want them to end up warping.

i think i may well get quite a few more next time we are in town & stock them away for christmas gifts!

happy crafting!

*10* times around the sun!

today is orin's birthday... he is now *10* years old, can you believe it?? i cannot...

we celebrated his birthday with a party/sleepover this past saturday.

yesterday we gave him his gifts from us...

a birthday bolga basket (inspired by childhood magic)

hand knit sushi & a mini wooden sushi serving plate (mama made :)

and eagle boffer frog (sword sheath thing) from brennos, on etsy

and, of course, a handmade, fair trade bolga basket (which i have been meaning to get the boys each for a while now...they are extremely well-made & amazingly versatile)

today we had a wonderful picnic with friends @ the library courtesy of kith & kin of madison county.

needless to say, he has had quite the celebration/welcoming to the world of double digits...

a final word from mama...

*10* reasons that you deserve a most amazinlgy wonderful birthday!

1. your love for all of mother earth's creatures, great & small.

2. you devour every book that enters our home!

3. inspiring me to be a better person...

4. being our 'guinea pig' for the past 10 years! ;)

5. the way you have listened to me over the years, pouring my heart out about everything from life changes to a new knitting pattern...and acting interested for the most part, even if you weren't.

6. a friend to anyone & everyone.

7. always willing to help out your younger brothers & sister.

8. because you still try to squeeze your skinny *10 year old* butt in to the bathtub, even though your 3 siblings are already taking up all the room.

9. your unending thirst for knowledge.

10. because you were our first child, the one who welcomed us into the amazing world of parenthood!

we love you so much, orin...happy birthday!