First Quad Wednesday of 2016 and a Quiet Thursday!

Quad Wednesdays are back and we were ready!!!

Granddad had been sick most of December so he was especially glad to be able to enjoy them after missing several family gatherings over the holidays.

These 'babies' have know his voice all their lives - even before they were born.

Louis Dean bonded with them before birth and the bond just grows stronger all the time.

Kailey has a way of saying things backwards. She's been worried about her Granddad and was so relieved to see him 'Not SICK, G'and Dad??'

She told me, "G'and Dad has been worried about me!"

That meant SHE had been worried about HIM!

I figured this out when she told me, "Lucy is worried about me."

Later she said she worried because Lucy was in her kennel for barking. I told her she could let Lucy out and Kailey felt much better!!

We are actually seeing some improvement with Lucy and her barking at LD.

Since we returned from the ranch, Louis Dean has been the one to let her out of the kennel, then if and when she barks, he's the one to put her back in. He leaves her in just a little while and lets her out. This is the first thing we have tried that seems to be working! I stay completely out of it!

Now back to Quad Wednesday - 

I was outside waiting for them!!

I am so happy THEY are happy to see me!!!

My sweet daughter with one of HER sweet daughters!!

Amber thoughtfully brought Sonic corn dogs, tater tots and onion rings for lunch!

We scarfed them all down!!!

Harrison loves giving and receiving his KISSES!!!

He is one of the most affectionate little boys!

That reminds me of my son, Benjamin, who is 3 years younger than Amber.

I was a month shy of my 40th birthday when he was born. When he was about 8 years old and I was kissing him goodnight, he put his hands on the sides of my face and said, "Mama, if I could, I would make you a little bit younger so I could keep you a little bit longer!" Wasn't that sweet?

I keep that moment in my heart.

I had a surprise for the quads - TWO new tea sets!!

Service for eight! Now I get a tea cup and Granddad, too, if he wants!!

After lunch, I went out to fill our bird feeders and the kids played with their stick horses.

All kids love playing outside!

Our Sweet Stephanie heard them and came out to say hello!

She has the cutest little dog named Sam. The kids love him and wanted to know if he could come out and play.

Stephanie said to look in the window and they could see him lying in a pool of sunshine!

This generous offer of hers - inviting the kids to look in the window - backfired later that afternoon when they were back out in the yard looking for 'firewood' aka as STICKS!

A couple of them went right next door to the window to see if Sam was still there.

Instead, Stephanie's husband was resting on the bed reading the paper.

Let's just say HE was surprised to see little faces pressed close to the window watching HIM!

Nap time! A favorite part of the day for me!

I freely admit, I NEED a nap on Wednesdays and I always sleep right along with the kids!

I darken the den and throw a cover over the lamp I use to read Little House on the Prairie by and I light a couple of candles. It makes it warm and cozy and as soon as the last page was read, they were ready to drift off to sleep. So was I.

I had promised them a tea party after naps and a tea party we had!!!

This time I put sugar in the small sugar bowls and we had tiny teaspoons to stir it!

They loved watching it DISAPPEAR!!!

These are just the best little kids!!!

We could NOT do what we do with them if they weren't so good!!

Out 'tea cakes' were Banana Mini Moon Pies and they all seemed to like them.

I had ONE Miss Debbie Tree Cake so I cut it in four pieces plus we had a cup of Dilly Bits to round out the tea menu. Harrison wanted to use a tray so he wouldn't spill his tea!

Trystan is a little lady pouring her tea so delicately!

Kailey loves to pour more than drink!

We have a rule now:

You don't pour tea back into the tea pot!

Logan's favorite thing to do was spoon in the sugar.

When I washed up the tea dishes, I noticed one cup was half full of wet sugar.

It was a GOOD tea party!!!

The kids had play time while I did a few chores.

They have their favorite toys to play with here plus my daughter in law, Leigh Ann, had given us some extra toys and books and such that the older grands had grown out of. The quads were excited about all the 'new' toys!!! Harrison is always the most grateful of all and he thanked me profusely for the little truck that held tiny cars inside. The sides were clear and had compartments for those little matchbox cars. He kept saying, "THANK you, MeeMAW!!!" Melts my heart!

Granddad watched Paw Patrol with them.

We always watch TV with the kids!

Then it was Game Time!

In December, Luann and I shopped The British Emporium and I bought a clever Tea Party Game.

We LOVED it!!!

Harrison WON by getting a complete set:

Plate, tea cup, creamer, utensils, fruit, sandwich, and dessert.

The kids learned the game so well that Trystan and Logan played another round all by themselves.

Kailey and Logan are my cooking helpers.

Kailey cut up some carrots using a case knife.

Then she and Logan helped me make garlic bread.

The day went by fast and by 8:30 everyone had their baths and shampoos and were dressed in warm flannel footed pajamas!

As soon as their daddy picked them up, I turned lights out and headed straight to bed!!

I was exhausted! It must be my age because they were as good as gold and NO ONE got in trouble or had to be disciplined! 

I was in bed at 11:00 and didn't even THINK about getting up until after 10:00 this morning!!!

What woke me up then was the sound of HAIL!!

It has been  cold rainy blustery winter day here!

Perfect for a pot of pinto beans!

They simmered all day with a juicy ham bone I found in our outside freezer.

The added garlic, seasonings and jalapeno pepper made the house smell so good all day long!

Late this afternoon I baked up a big iron skillet of cornbread to go with them.

Of course, we had to slice up an onion - our very last one! 

It's just about time to go to the grocery store!!

I have the best stepson EVER!!

He's always putting clever things on my Facebook page!!

The saying was:

This is just genius right here!

Grill with a built in beer cooler!!!

I asked him if we might see one when we come down to the ranch next month!

He said possibly TWO!!!!

He's always thinking about us!!