The Hackney Four

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Rachel

Time for some updated photos for the little girl. These were taken at Holcomb Gardens on the Butler University campus.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday Grasshopper

No Reason......just because he was sitting on my mailbox. :)

Friday, August 24, 2012

In keeping with our continuing plan of more responsibility for the kids, Aaron had kitchen duty last night. He served up a tasty meal of Italian beef sandwiches, roasted potatoes, and green beans. Both of the kid's meals this week were outstanding! And it was nice to someone else to clean up the kitchen!! :)

OK...so the 14 year old is a little less enthusiastic about posing for the camera than the 7 year old.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Rachel's Diner

Tonight's dinner was courtesy of Rachel. She decided what we were having, shopped for the groceries, and made the lasagna and garlic bread. (With a little help)

But first let me back up. We had all been a bit lazy this summer...with the possible exception of Dusty. The housework had been neglected. the laundry backed up, and toys seemed to find their way all over the house. So 2 weeks ago we instituted what I jokingly referred to as "The New World Order"! I found a book called "Cleaning House: A Mom's 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her House of Youth Entitlement"

I highly recommend it! The author has 5 children and was tired of the attitude that everything should be done for them and they didn't have to do anything to help out. She came up with a list of 12 things the kids should know before leaving home. They were

1. how to make a bed and maintain an orderly room

2. how to cook and clean a kitchen

3. How to do yard work

4. how to clean a bathroom

5. how to get a job...outside the home

6. how to do laundry

7. how to do handyman jobs

8. how to host a party

9. how to work together

10. how to run errands

11. how to put others first through service

12. how to act mannerly

I gave both of the kids a jar. In Aaron's I put 30 one dollar bills and in Rachel's she got 50 cents for each day of the month. If they do what's expected for the day they get to keep their money. If not, I get the money. What's left at the end of the month they get to keep. The difference has been night and day. When they leave for school the beds are made, the bathroom and bedroom floors are picked up and their toys and clothes are not strung through the house. We will keep adding expectations. This week they were each expected to be in charge of an evening meal. Up tonight was Rachel. She decided that she wanted to make lasagna and garlic bread. I had her make a grocery list and took her to Kroger after school. She learned where to find things in the grocery store and how to look at the prices. She filled up the cart and scanned her items and then put them away at home.

She jumped right into making her meal and with a few exceptions she prepared everything. (I helped out with some of the cutting and getting things in and out of the oven.) She even learned about calling the neighbor to bail you out after you realize that you are out of foil! After setting the table, she was excited for everyone to dig in. And everyone had seconds so it was a success!

After packing up some leftovers for Daddy's lunch, she also learned that there are dishes to be done after the meal is over. :)

She was quite proud of what she accomplished. Aaron is up for Thursday's meal. If he had his way it would be steak, steak, and more steak! I'm giving him a budget! :)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The 4 day birthday extravaganza!

We are in the midst of the 4 day birthday extravaganza that began with a night out to the movies to see The Bourne Legacy on Friday evening, followed by a fun day sightseeing in Chicago on Saturday (Dusty's 40th Birthday), continued by german chocolate cake and pizza with friends today and ending with my 37th birthday tomorrow. We've had a ton of fun! We began our morning in Chicago at the Sears tower....excuse me...I mean Willis Tower. (Still can't get used to it being called that) We went up to the 103rd floor to the SkyDeck and stepped out on the Ledge. Being 103 floors off of street level standing in a glass box jutting out from the side of the building is a weird feeling.

But a fun one! And it makes for a killer photo op! :)

Just hanging out in Chicago....literally hanging out!

Yes, we were at the top of this!

It was a gorgeous day and the views were spectacular!

After that stop we hopped on the double decker bus for a little sightseeing

This was a lot of fun as well. Got to go all over downtown and could just hop off at the stops and hop back on when we wanted to. The guides were very entertaining....and we even learned a few things. :)

We hopped off at Millennium Park and followed the crowd to Cloud Gate....or better known as "The Bean"

Talk about a fun photo op!

We had a gentleman snap our photo and he had some ideas that he wanted to try so he posed us around to get our reflections. He was fun, but I think his wife was tiring of his...as she put it..."artsy fartsy" shots! :)

Lots of wedding parties in the park shooting their photos including this couple who decided to splash around in the fountain

We spent the rest of the day riding around sightseeing at the parks, Navy Pier, and all around downtown. Our bus hit several detours because streets had been blocked off for President Obama's arrival. His helicopter flew right over us.

The sign that Dusty had to point out and laugh about. Not sure what the german was saying. Even though he turned 40, Dusty still has some 13 year old humor in him. He pointed it out and chuckled....Bus Fart! :)

A wonderful day full of fun with my favorite guy!

Happy Birthday Dusty!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Reunion

Quick trip to Illinois this past weekend for a Lynn Family reunion. Peeps from my mom's side of the family. Lots of fun seeing some of my cousins and all of my aunts and uncles. Plenty of photo ops in the huge catalpa tree in the backyard. And also another chance to snuggle my new little nephew. :)