Our Ducks in a Row

A^4 had a great low key week and then we had a festive weekend with family and friends for a "Duck Off."  Daddy loves to cook and he sure got his fill on Saturday!  The boys cooked 8 ducks and Daddy also made a huge batch of gumbo.

During the week, we worked on "digging out" another dinosaur.  Addie REALLY wanted to help but there was not much for her to do during the digging stage...



So Mommy distracted Addie with kinetic sand (Addie calls it squishy sand :)



The boys wearing their safety goggles



Building castles with dominoes



TaDa!!!  The finished T-Rex!!!  After Ayson dug him out, Addie helped clean him up, and then Mommy snapped him together.



On Saturday we had the gang over for a "Duck Off."  Daddy,Grandpa Chuck, Uncle Dan, and Uncle Jay cooked EIGHT ducks: 3 in the oven, 3 on the grill, and 2 in the deep frier.
6 of the 8 ducks all in a row:



The kids and Grandpa Chuck supervising Grandma Collene's cooking while Ruby stood on guard :)



Tapas included: beef tongue (Mommy refused to try it), deep fried duck skin, venison jerky, 2 kinds of foie gras, 2 kinds of caviar, 3 kinds of brie, blue cheese, clementines, avocado, olive oil with seasoned salts, candied pecans, fruit, and baguette...and lots of wine.



Daddy also made a big batch of gumbo and Grandma Collene made mac and cheese and candied carrots (a big hit with the kiddos)!



Uncle Jay with a perfectly fried duck!



The kids:  Addie, Jacob, Curran, Ryliegh, Kaela, and Ayson.



Aunt Sally (Ric's sister) and Baby Doll.



Auntie Jen (you can see her arm on the left side of the quilt) made this amazing quilt for one of her daughters.  Jen was able to finish hand stiching the edge of the entire quilt while chatting with everyone that evening!



The big girls hanging out in the fort



While the boys hung out on the couches



This time around, the girls did an oatmeal mask...the boys did not want to join in.  Addie did NOT want her picture taken but she also had a bit of the oatmeal mask on too.  Not too much though as Mommy did not want to mess with her perfectly soft baby skin.



On Sunday, Ayson was all about his army uniform (from cousin Dane) and he wore rain boots and the camo hat around the house most of the day Sunday and Monday.



The temps got up into the low 40s on Sunday so A^4 took a stroll through the orchard.  Daddy tied the sled to his belt so he would not have to hold on to the  string the entire walk.  Mush, Daddy!



Mommy had Monday off and it was nice to have an extra day after having our family and friends over for the weekend.  We played with squishy sand, games, watched movies, played outside, and when Daddy got home, the kids broke out the Legos!