Buffet

In celebration of surviving the 2015 Niblet Challenge (Journal Writing), Kristina, Greggie, and I took the Utah niblets for dinner at a buffet restaurant. The little people had never been to a buffet before and it kind of blew their minds.

Milo had a plate of equal portions of popcorn shrimp, mac and cheese, and baked beans ... all covered with keptchup. He followed that up with some ice cream and cotton candy.

Ruby's first helping included chicken legs, shrimp, mashed potatoes and jello with whip cream. Next she took a cotton candy break, then decided to go back for a "healthy plate" made up of pretty much any vegetable she could reach, including Brussels sprouts.

Jonah's first plate was pretty buffet-typical, then followed it up with some ice cream. Pretty normal, right? It was round three of the Jonah vs. the Buffet that really stood out: Strawberry pancakes and popcorn shrimp. On the same plate. At the same time. Bless his heart.

Max loaded up on real food first, then hit the salad bar. Pretty impressive for a newly minted 12 year old. He also made good use of the chocolate fountain for his dessert.

Bentley, ever the wise eldest child, tried a bit of everything on what appeared to be themed plates: American comfort, fresh garden produce, Asian-American fusion, etc. Not one of his food combinations impacted any of the grown-ups gag reflexes. Truly impressive.

I think they enjoyed their first buffet experience. I know I sure enjoyed watching them enjoy their culinary adventure.

I hope they wrote about it in their journals....

Summer Adventures With the Niblets

This summer has flown by! Luckily, I got to spend quite a bit of it with my favorite little people.

Kenna, Kylie, Bubba, and Kristie visited the last week of my school year. They were in town for their Aunt Bev's wedding but, when they weren't taking care of wedding business, they helped me celebrate the start of my vacation. We popped popcorn...

... and then munched it while watching quality programs like Aqubats.

How cool are my niblets? Seriously. They are awesome.

When July rolled around I got to see this little cutie. Mojo only gets to visit Idaho twice a year, so it was so, SO much fun to see her (and her parents).

All eleven of the niblets came to Grandma's house for the 4th of July weekend. 

We engaged in the traditional family events like swimming at Heise...

... and watching the parade in the grandparent's front yard. 

Later that month my mom and I went to Utah to babysit Jenny's kids while she and John took an anniversary trip. We taught the kids to make jam...

... and bread animals.

We also got to watch Bubba and Kristie while their parents went on an anniversary escape (Kenna and Kylie were at a super fun reunion at Bear Lake with their other grands).

 We took a break from Camp Grandma to watch Grandpa take the school board oath of office for a second term.

 Bubba enjoyed watching Netflix in his "nest" before falling asleep.

 Earlier this month, the Utah Niblets made their annual trek to Cow Town. Their first stop was, of course, Taco Bandido.

 It was Alton's first time to visit my cute little town - and his first time to eat at the restaurant his mama has loved since she was little. He seemed to enjoy it.

 Half of the kids stayed with me and their mom in my cute little hobbit hole, while the rest roughed it with their grandparents at the Marriot.

Jenny's kids usually come up during fair week, but had to come up early this year because they start school the same week we start fair. I was worried about coming up with enough fun activities to replace the fair and rodeo, but thanks to some good friends (who own horses, buggies, and boats) there was never a dull moment.

 The only downsides - Jenny and Grandpa had to watch the fun from the docks...

... and Milo, while enjoying the rural life, did NOT enjoy the rural smel

Other highlights from the trip included Alton's first movie theater experience (We saw Minions, but Alton did manage to take in a little bit of Mission Impossible as well)...

... eating a lot of junk food...

...and shopping Kings, a real blast-from-the-past for Jenny and I.

I got to visit with the IF niblets a little more last weekend. We got snow cones and spent some time on the rides by the zoo.

 I will see those little darlings again this week when they come over for the fair and rodeo. Then, after watching the rodeo with my folks (and maybe Greggie and Kristina) we will make a quick Utah trip to see Maxwell get ordained a deacon.

That trip will bring the summer niblet adventures to an end for another year, but the new kidlet adventures will just be starting...

Irony

The time is swiftly approaching when the bobkittens will be returning to the junior high.

But this week we had full grown bobcats living in our school... Madison High School Bobcats who, for the last three years, have traveled to Cow Town for their high school band camp.

Between the huge marching band and the army of parents who came to cook and chaperon, a good chunk of the school looked like a refugee camp. There were cots, air mattresses, and sleeping bags everywhere - including the stage right outside my classroom - but I was very impressed with how neat and orderly they were.

The band marched up and down the streets in our neighborhood, practiced their show on the high school field, and the different sections rehearsed their pieces in hallways and classrooms.
Except for the percussion section, who set up shop in the media center.

That's right, the PERCUSSION section spent the week practicing in the LIBRARY. Our former librarian would be turning in her grave. If she was dead, which she isn't. Just retired. But still...

Drums in the library. The kidlets will be so sorry they missed it!

Home Sweet Homes

Guess who came to Cow Town last week!

After a very productive days working on lesson plans and camp songs in my home, my sweet mother and I decided to drive up the road a piece and look at some other people's homes.

I have lived in this cute little valley for almost eleven years and had never been up to the annual Victorian home tour. We started out at the opera house, one of two places in Oakley I had been to before.

The, using the handy-dandy map that the very nice lady at the opera house gave us, we walked the dusty streets to explore very old, very cool homes.

The townsfolk were super excited to have visitors. Each home on the tour had a gaggle of knowledgeable family members who served as tour guides who were so very, very happy to tell us all about the homes and the pioneers who built them.

The tour was a very educational and entertaining experience. At one of the homes, three generations of family members dressed in Victorian-era clothing. Super awesome.

So if you ever find yourself in Southern Idaho on the third Saturday in June, you should totally check it out. The townsfolk will be so happy to see you! I don't think they get many visitors...

If you were to come on a home tour of my cute little hobbit hole this week, there wouldn't be a whole lot to see. While I am hanging out with family for the 4th, my apartment is getting decked out with new carpet.

I love just about everything about my little home, but I will not shed a single tear for the 37 year-old blue and gold carpet that is being kicked to the curb in the next few days.Tears were very nearly shed, however, when  I realized that the new carpet process would require the relocation of all of my stuff. Because I have a lot of stuff. Like, A LOT.

And where is all that stuff now? In my kitchen, of course.

My poor, poor kitchen.

So, while I am looking forward to a not-extremely-extreme home makeover, I am NOT looking forward to sorting out that whole mess when I get home this weekend. But once I get everything back in its proper place, I will be happy to give you a virtual home tour of my cute, newly refurbished digs.