Quiet Times with Cousins

It's always FUN to get together as a family.  Here are 12 of the 22 Crippen grandchildren (plus a darling Gleason cousin)  enjoying one another.  Sorry, I should have warned you to turn your volume down.  If you'd like more of this (it's even better live!), ask me for a calendar of our summer get togethers.  We're expecting the Chris Crippens here in CA very soon, the Lows in May, Hopoates in June, and since we don't get to see each other much, a family reunion in July. . .  

Bunch of Fools

Growing up Mom frequently treated us to theme dinners on the holidays, one of our favorites being April Fools Dinner where we ate messy foods with crazy utensils, tried to drink colored water out of cotton filled straws, wore toilet seat cover bibs, ate babyfood squash dressed up as butterscotch pudding. . .  Thanks Mom!  She's always made everything so fun.  I want to be a fun mom too now and then!

Here are the fancy fools waiting for their delicious dinner and the lovely waitress bringing them their first course.

And the meal:  the rice crispy sushi was by far the hit, though Kaela devoured two meatloaf cupcakes once I removed the mashed potato frosting and convinced her that it really was the meatloaf she typically loves.  The disquise really disturbed her.  Leneah was quite surprised that the "dirt" Angie dropped her apples into smelled so good.  Could my kids really be this gullible?  

Harvey got home from work late and didn't eat his dinner but opted to bring it to work the next day and received a few strange looks.  Boring accountants!

Poor Michael

Pretty sad, isn't it. . .but, everything is cuter smaller, don't you agree? We spent a nice day at Disneyland for my birthday and ended the night having Michael fracture his leg while dangerously walking on a newly dumped pile of crayons on the kitchen floor.  Yes, he really lives on the wild side.  For all of the crazy things he does (and survives w/out a scratch) he breaks his leg slipping on crayons!  Thankfully it isn't a bad break and he will only be casted for 3 weeks.  He was quite the trooper through it all and has started hobbling around on his cast the last few days already.  We'll be anxious to have him healed up soon.  I must admit that it has been much easier to keep up with him, but no fun to put up with his frustrations nor try to give him a bath while keeping his leg dry.