Kids Working Hard

I thought I'd document some of the service the kids have been doing lately.  For a few Saturdays, we signed up to help clean up the ward house that we go to church at.  We've had so much help this past year that we felt it was the least we could do.  The kids actually thought it was really fun to see church when it was empty and dark.  They loved the mother's room especially for the fluffy chairs.  Here's them acting like "Grandma and Grandpa's."

It was a rainy day so we played in the rain with our umbrella's a little too! :)

They wanted to earn money for some of their summer activities.  So we all voted and decided to make some of Doug's famous BBQ.  They earned enough for swim lessons for all, boy scout camp, girl scout camp, a trip to the ice cream store, and movie tickets for the whole summer!

They all helped with the menu.  Louis did the bread.

Haleigh and Miles did the utensils.

Miles did the BBQ sauce.

Wyatt and Carter helped with clean up.

I cut lots of onions.  The kids thought it was funny. 

Haleigh and I made potato salad and cole slaw.

Louis helped with corn on the cob. I did the fried okra and lemon cake.  Here is the final product:  A dish of sides, a dessert dish, and a three meat plate made by Doug.

Another project the kids helped with was making Dad an office.  We moved the playroom down to the empty basement and moved all the office stuff we had into the old playroom and the music stuff we have into the old library room.  It took a LOOONNNGGG day but now he has a space to work from home.  It needs a good decorator but that will come later. 

Carter surprised him with this poster on the wall.  He's such a sweetie!

The new table in the kitchen...

The new entry way...

The new music room...

My office...

The kids also helped get the garden planted, weeded and watered.  We replaced three dead fruit trees and fixed all our garden signs with free paint sticks and free floor samples stapled together.  They are very cute!