Neighborhood Sleepover

 I'm really enjoying summer this year!

There's never a shortage of neighborhood kids around.

Yesterday a bunch of them made a huge mess cupcakes in my kitchen. Then they took them over to the new couple that just moved in down the street. Probably a bit overwhelming for that young husband and wife but at least they'll know the neighbors are friendly ;-)

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They also love taking selfies on my phone when I'm not paying attention. 

I love that they feel comfortable here :-)

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Taylor talked me into letting them have a sleepover. I ok'd it as long as they didn't keep me up late or wake me up early. I was actually excited that we could have the kids' friends over again.

Someday I might blog about the challenges of the past year+ but for right now, I'm just reveling in regular life again.

This morning while the kids were still sleeping, I drank coffee on my front deck and listened to the birds. Then I called my mom in Kentucky to chat. Eventually the girls got up and requested pancakes. I was going to say no but then I thought why not? I have the time today.

No box mixes for us. We love fluffy homemade pancakes!

So I gave some of the girls some baking tips.

They learned how measure, mix by hand and fold in egg whites.

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I filled a plastic container with batter,

showed them how to make designs

and then turned them loose on the griddle.

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A few years ago when I was complaining about explaining why I didn't like to let my kids do things that were messy in our house, my wise friend told me words that I still hear repeating in my head. She let me know that it's not about the end product or the mess.

"It's all about the process."

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