Boys in a Tree

Cowboy Sam

I think he makes a cute cowboy. He was so excited to have his cowboy picture taken. He was wearing his eye patch that day.

Kitchen Progress

Here are some updated shots of the kitchen remodel...in progress.

Our IKEA "Corner"

Here are the first few cabinets hung in the corner of our kitchen along with a shot of Ben and I assembling them late last night. He was so excited to help that at one point when he didn't have a job he offered to support my back while I leaned over to drive in a screw.

I'm really pleased with the cabinets. I think they go together easily, and the quality is very good. We hope to get the new floor started this weekend so we can get some base cabinets installed.

Breakfast Casserole

Yum!

Mix these together:

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 t salt

1 t ground mustard

Divide and layer these ingredients (2 set of layers):

1/2 lb browned sausage

3 cups cubed bread

1 cup cheese (or more)

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms (fresh are best)

small diced tomato

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/2 t pepper

Pour egg mixture over the top and bake at 325 for an hour. Makes an 8x8 pan. Double for a 9x12. We eat this for dinner or breakfast. Also, it freezes well (before baking).

IKEA Pilgrimage

We returned Sunday around noon from a 2-day driving and shopping marathon. We went to pick up our new kitchen cabinets and a few other things at the IKEA store in Chicago. Here are a few pictures we took. Note the absence of any of Chicago's tourist attractions in our photos. We literally drove there, shopped, slept, and drove home. The kids had a great time because, as far as they're concerned, spending the night in a hotel is the ultimate vacation adventure. Who needs Disneyland?

First day of school

Today was Ben's first day of Summer School Kindergarten. He rode a school bus for the first time, and had a great day. He was talking a mile a minute when I met him at the bus stop, and I wanted to hear every word. He has a nice teacher, Mrs. Hertzog. He loved recess (so excited that they get to play TWICE!). He had chicken nuggets for lunch. He saw two of his preschool buddies in the hall. He gets on the bus with another kindergarten boy named Caleb and a fifth grader named D.J. (These pictures were taken the second day, and our neighbor girl, Tiernan was also at the stop). He says he doesn't want to go tomorrow...but he said the same about preschool, every single day. As long as I don't push the issue, he is ready and excited to go to school when it's time. And, in case anyone's wondering, I didn't cry. I had a nice quiet day, and appreciated him more when he got home. Sam, however, balled when the bus pulled away. He was crying Ben's name for about a block on our way home. Later, in the car, he said "Where's Ben?". I said, "He went to school on the bus, remember?" Sam said, "I want school too." I guess that's a good sign that he'll be ready when I put him on the bus in August.