Clarissa is 10!

 Clarissa decided to have a swim party this year.  She invited Cailin, Jericca, Jessica, Brooke, and Makayla.  They had a blast.

 After the pool they all came back to our house for pizza...

 presents...

and cake.

Some of the things we love about Clarissa at this age are her big, beautiful smile, how easily she makes friends, her love for animals, her creative stories, her optimistic view of everything in life and the way she gets messy with anything from markers to paint to chocolate to dirt to make-up...

Happy Birthday Clarissa!

What a Difference Four Inches Makes

 I love Amber's long blonde hair.  Her hair is thick and naturally has some wave to it (not in this pic because it is damp) and is always pretty...except for when she wakes up in the morning and all those long locks are in snarls.  I finally decided that I need to simplify my life and one way to do that is to spend less time combing her hair. So...

Four inches later it is a much more manageable length and still beautiful, even if not as wavy as before.  I was worried that I would be sad, but I am actually quite happy with it and seem to be the only one who can even tell it's shorter.

Pregnant and Freezer Crazy

 

I am 28 weeks along in the pregnancy now and feeling pretty good.  I have had some rough days of pain and low iron where I've had to lie down in between getting things done, but I've still been able to stay very busy, which is a good thing.  The last two weeks that Chris was in China I found myself going crazy missing him and decided to pass the time by baking and cooking and then freezing the proceeds.  I made 6 freezer meals, 4 loaves of bread, 2 loaves of carrot bread, 2 double batches of baked oatmeal, a double batch of pancakes, 24 orange-berry muffins...

 

and then cooked up 6 quarts of chopped chicken, 8 lbs. of ground beef with veggies and 5 containers of chicken broth for the freezer.  I could do more, but our freezer is getting full.

 It might have something to do with the head in the freezer and the fact that I need to defrost it, and have needed to for a looong time.

Another crazy pregnancy habit that I have picked up is eating things I don't normally eat; mainly, Bavarian/Boston cream doughnuts, Girl Scouts cookies, and any sugary candy like lollipops, Swedish Fish and especially Hot Tamales.  I normally don't care for candy unless it's chocolate, but with this pregnancy, I just can't seem to get enough.