Post-Taxes Celebration

I finally--after banishing the project for weeks and dreading its inevitable return--finished our taxes! We get an automatic extension because we live overseas, but I worked really hard back in April to get it done by the 17th. When I realized it wasn't going to happen, I put it aside for a few weeks. And today I finally pushed through! I still have to print, sign, and mail the returns, but that's the easy part. :-) Feels so good!

We wanted to have a celebratory meal at our favorite restaurant in town, but the kids were so grumpy I couldn't bear to take them out (ha! I punned without even thinking about it). So we made Mexican rice, refried beans, and papitas, and savored every bite! Come to think of it, maybe I'm even a little bit glad that the kids were bears and kept us home. :-)

So now that taxes are off my mind, I'll give you a peek at what we've been doing over the last week or two.

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Abbie somehow managed to chip her two front teeth without my finding out about it. Seriously? How do things like this happen? She definitely has her share of falls, often with the "help" of her rambunctious big brother, but I don't remember a particularly traumatic one. I have a picture of her with perfect teeth, and 3 days later, I noticed they weren't perfect any more. Here's what she looks like now. Can you see it?

I took the kids outside for a surprise "picpic" one day. Toby loves surprises and he loves to play picnic, so it was a hit with him. Abbie thought it was great fun, too.

Yes, I know this is a weird angle. I'll do better next time, I hope.

Toby is smashing ants, his new favorite hobby.

Abbie discovered a new game: running under the clothes on the clothesline. Such sweet, simple, innocent fun!

I've been experimenting with different breads lately. We can get whole wheat flour here...sometimes...when it's available in Papua New Guinea and flown in here on special order. It's a bit pricey, so I'm trying out other options. This is my first attempt at soybean bread. The recipe is fairly simple; you just use cooked, mashed (or pureed) soybeans instead of some of the flour. I really like the flavor, but I think I'll increase the yeast next time so it rises a little better.

And--just so I don't end this post with a picture of boring old bread--I snapped a few shots of the kids peeking around the corner of the house. Love how they turned out!