Plattner Ranch: Current happenings at the Plattners

It's been awhile since I have given a photo update, between being busy with school and travels, and now my laptop has been out of service for several weeks, I haven't had the time or convenience "Windows Live Writer" to update.

I can't move any pictures right now, so where they landed is where they stay! So here is the update in reverse order!

First up ~ any guesses before you read further?

I had been upstairs and when I came down I wondered what I was smelling. When the microwave beeped at me I opened it up to find a melted food cover. My first suspicion was Jonas, nearly 4 years old, wants to be like the big boys... Jonas, did you push the buttons on the microwave? No. Are you sure? I didn't do it Mommy. I had this feeling that he was being truthful so I questioned others. I received the same response and started having this nagging feeling, something about starting a timer for 15 minutes to remind me to check my beans. In the mean time I had gone upstairs and so didn't realize that what I actually did was start the microwave for 15 minutes instead of the timer!!! SO, I am the guilty party. It is only fair that I post it on myself because I most likely would have posted it if it was Jonas fault! :)

Johanna likes to help with the dishwasher. Unfortunately she doesn't know the difference between loading and unloading. I have the main dishes where children can easily put them away which includes Johanna. Yes, I have found a dirty dish or two in the drawer.

Jared's job is to load the dishwasher.

Jonas and Jubilee unload the dishwasher together. Jonas does the plates, bowls, cups, and helps with the silverware. Jubilee does the rest. Anything they can't reach they put on the counter for me to put away for them. They do a great job... Most of the time.

The men in our family have been doing push-ups lately. They keep adding one or two and Jesse and Javan have really built up how many they can do. I'm not sure how many Jared can do, I guess I need to ask.

Not to be left out - Jonas joined Javan for his push-ups! :)

This is one of my favorite kitchen tools from Pampered Chef. I fry 20-40 pounds of hamburger at a time (5 pounds per pot - 2 to 4 batches) and freeze it, some with taco seasoning so it's ready to reheat and eat. This tool makes it easy to chop the meat without having big chunks.

Here Jolene was helping with one of the batches. I believe Jared got in on the action for awhile also.

I'm not sure how Johanna got so many dishes at once... needless to say she needed some shampoo after this meal!

Playing with counting bears and another sorting game.

No shoes are safe so if you don't want to have to hunt for one or more of your shoes, better keep them behind closed doors!

SCHOOL!

Johanna's first taste of a lemon. At first she liked it, but at Olive Garden one of the boys gave her one and she didn't want it.

This picture is a small glimpse of so much of what I love about our family and home. Daddy cutting wood to heat our home, the older children will stack some of it on a palette to take to the barn to keep dry. The wood shed will be filled with large pieces of wood for the central boiler that heats our water and a few rooms that have floor heat.