Thursday, March 24, 2016

A CHILDREN'S Tea Party!!


Wednesday was our Tea Party Day!
I had the table all ready!


Each child would have their very own tea pot!



Pardon the jerkiness of this video!!
The kids are always so excited when they first get here and so are WE!!


We spent a few minutes sitting out on the driveway visiting with Amber!
I am amazed she doesn't run out of here like her hair's on fire!
'Free' time is  valuable and she always has so many things to DO!


Still, it's nice to catch up and Harrison enjoyed getting to play in the front yard, gathering sticks and his 'precious' stones while we were out there!!


I introduced the kids to JACKS this week!!
Thanks to a thrift store purchase, I have a dozen balls the perfect size to play Jacks with! 


It's not as easy as it looks, is it?


I still have some metal jacks!
 Most of the new sets are plastic now.
Remember how it feels to step on one?
Yup! It happened to Kailey!

Wednesday was a good one to play outside. The temps went up to 84 degrees!


The kids are still upset about the tree falling on the gazebo!


We did a small art project together.


Stencils are a great thing to do and they turn out so pretty.

The morning flew by and it was time to put on tea dresses and have our party!


It was a short day and the quads would be leaving not long after naps so our High Tea doubled as lunch! It had all the components!


Sandwiches - PBJ, Cream Cheese/Olives and Cream Cheese/Strawberries.


Tea biscuits - Lemon Thins and Cookie Butter Cookies!
Harrison took one look at this platter and announced, "I am TOTALLY going to have some of THOSE!!"


Fresh fruit.....


AND pastries!!!
This plate was emptied!!
I didn't have time to bake so Louis Dean went up to the local donut shop and picked out the prettiest ones he could find!


It was a fun party!!


Tea Party Fun!!



They poured their own tea and would you believe it??? Not ONE spill!!!
No, not ONE!!!


You can see they use their napkins! Such good manners!!


I sat at one end of the table.......


and Louis Dean at the other.
The kids asked Louis Dean why he took his hat off before coming to the table.
I love the teaching moments that simply 'happen!'

Sure enough, we were home alone by 4:30!!
Amber had already warned them that they would be eating dinner at their own home so it didn't come as a surprise! As long as children know what is going to happen, they are pretty good about it!


Granddad used his extra hours working on taking down more of the gazebo.


The quads were upset this afternoon when he nicked his hand, and since he is on blood thinners, he bled - a LOT!


I used my time to stitch up a denim Bible cover for Rayne.
I'm going to give that to her for Easter,
Normally, I host a Good Friday dinner every year but, what with the gazebo being destroyed and me promising Louis Dean that I would not schedule anything that would put pressure on him as he takes it down and cleans it all up and then starts over again complete with a new deck, I reluctantly told the family I was not hosting anything for Easter this year. Amber came to the rescue and said SHE would!!! So I am thrilled that we will still have a time to celebrate Easter with family.
I chose Good Friday several years ago since most of the family had the day off and that left Saturday for the other family activities and Sunday for church. 

Today was cold and windy outside and I'm sure glad it wasn't this way yesterday!!
Rain and hail swept through the are last night but, once again, it went around us! We got rain but no hail and I am so grateful!!! I don't think we can handle any more repair projects right now!


We lit what may well be one of our last fires of the season this morning as we had our coffee.


We spent pretty much the entire morning in the den! We got up at 9:00 (I know!! Early for us!!) and didn't get started on our 'day' until after 2:00.
I watched back to back episodes of Fixer Upper as I cleaned and puttered around.
I put the puzzle down where I could work on it - but never put in even one piece!


Louis Dean had put a big chicken in the pressure cooker as soon as he got up this morning and the house smelled so GOOD!!! Chicken Salad is on the menu for this weekend but I thought some comfort food like Chicken and Dumplings would be perfect for today!
It WAS!


Poor fellow is used to me taking a picture of something before he can eat!!


It's been a slow day for us.
I never even made the bed up as I kept going back in there to 'rest' a bit!
Even so, Louis Dean managed to get the last bit of the gazebo down!
It's hard to break old habits so when he asked me to join him in a glass of wine 'out in the gazebo' - I said yes! We sat where the gazebo USED to be!
It is a work in progress. Now that it's down, LD will prepare a new 'home' for the freezer. For now he has it covered with a tarp. There's a good overhang at the back of the house and he is thinking he will level the ground back there and lay a deck for it to sit on. This is unused space and has a fence in front of it. The sandbox, walkway, fence and then on the other side will live our freezer!
Win! WIN!!
THEN he will have to find somewhere to put the fridge temporarily. That will go BACK in the new gazebo, once we get it! THEN he can have a professional come in and make the tree doesn't cause us any future problems! THEN he can tear up the deck and start working on a NEW one. And THEN we can buy a NEW gazebo!!!
I'm tired just writing this!!

15 comments:

Linda said...

Oh my goodness, what a job. Louis Dean barely gets one big outside project done before he has to start another. Loved the tea party, super cute.

Penny said...

Linda I have so enjoyed catching up on your last dozen (!) posts this morning! It is Good Friday here, we are having a family celebration meal here on Sunday which I will start preparing for today, so a busy day ahead. Happy Easter my lovely friend, to you and Louis Dean, with much love across the miles! X

Hootin Anni said...

Oh chicken and dumplings!!! Wow...I haven't had that in YEARS, and it looks scrumptious.

A tea party with their very own, individual, tea pots. How wonderful. And the feast?----fit for all the princesses and prince!!

Love the easter prints the kids did. I can understand why they all LOVE going to your house.

Susie said...

Linda, I have to write of LD first. He cuddles the grandkids upon their arrival. Takes his cap off before tea/lunch. Takes down the old gazebo, helps cook dinner, and still makes time for his lady and a glass of wine..Damn ! that's one sexy man. :):) I love coming by to visit you guys. I love that you both teach the children. I see how much they learn there. I like that cover for Rayne's bible. Linda, I know what you mean about "one" more project...yikes, my hair stands on end if I think of all we need to do here. Wishing all of you a blessed good Friday and happy Easter. xoxo,love all of you, Susie

Kathy said...

There's always something to do when you own a house. I'm finding that out all too well here lately. Take your time fixing the gazebo. There's no time limit on it.

Loved the tea party. You are making such wonderful memories for those kids. I would like the tea biscuits too but I would TOTALLY have liked some of those pastries from the donut shop.

MadSnapper said...

I got so focused on the FOOD at the tea party and the DUMPLINGs that I love, I have trouble remembering what I wanted to comment on.. I am thinking Amber stays to talk because she needs adult conversation added to her busy life... hope that gazebo is finished soon and that you enjoy your dinner at Ambers house

Pondside said...

The tea party will make the most wonderful 'remember when' for the quads. You two just pitch right in with them!
The gazebo removal/replacement looks like such a lot of work, but I can imagine that you wouldn't want to be without one in your climate. Happy Easter Linda!!

Nancy Chan said...

Linda, it is always a joy to visit your blog and read about your happy family especially with your little quads. You are a great grandma, preparing a special tea party for the quads and they are learning so much from their grandparents. You sure are a blessing to your family. Have a Blessed Easter weekend!

Nita said...

I love the tea parties, the kids will always remember tea parties with MeeMaw & Granddad. This has taught them so much. It's always fun to see.

Sweet Tea said...

Wonderful Tea Party! So sweet.
So many projects. I know how happy both you and LD will be when it's all done. Have a wonderfully blessed Easter. "He is Risen"!

White Lace and Promises said...

There you go again, making each child feel special and creating a memory for them all! I love it and I'm doing better at that although right now I am wearing myself out to make sure each mommy and daddy knows and feels that I treasure each of them.

BeachGypsy said...

You got a good man there! Im sure you already know that! Love seeing the yummy high tea! Im just so sorry about your poor gazebo and all the time and money and work it will take to fix it.

peggy said...

Those children are so precious and they have such wonderful role models in you all, no wonder. Happy Easter Linda, LD and all the family.

shortybear said...

fun times.

Carole said...

Happy Easter Linda - to you and LD and everyone including your precious quads. Greetings all the way from Auckland from Carole's Chatter