Back to School Feast 2014

This was our 2nd annual "Back to School Feast" and it has quickly become one of my kiddos favorite traditions.  We decided to keep it outside again this year, which I was worried about with the heat in Texas, but we made it work.  

We had them close their eyes before unveiling the table setting...

Then they found their seats, according to where their personalized hats were... 

This year I made a teriyaki stir fry that turned out really good in my dad's electric wok.

I usually have a surprise gift for each child at their seat.  This year, the gift introduced the theme "Love one Another."  Each child got a game that we could play together as a family.  The idea is, even though games can get competitive and emotions can run high (that come from the Anderson side, haha) - we can all play together and have a good time working to love and appreciate our teammates.  So Carver tends to get grumpy when he is promised a gift or surprise and it isn't the biggest most fabulous gift a boy of his age could ever dream of.  I'm not sure why he still gets this way, since he has never been promised a little gift or surprise and actually received the biggest most fabulous gift a boy of his age could ever dream of.  Nevertheless, disappointment ensues.

The disappointment is often accompanied by tantrums.  And yet, we soldier on.

Our theme for the year, as mentioned, is Love one Another.  The idea behind this is that our little fam has developed the habit of getting into some serious fights for not real serious reasons.  I suppose this sort of thing should be expected when you have a group of 4 children in less than 4 years.  Nevertheless, we are making a huge effort to kick this habit to the curb and try to establish some peace in our home.  The success rates on this little experiment have yet to be determined.

As a side note - I think Ryan looks seriously handsome in these pics.  I also think I look seriously pregnant in my stretchy non-maternity dress.

For dessert - I let the kids look on pinterest with me for some fun ideas.  They chose this summer sand dessert, made of ground vanilla wafers and oreos, with a cream cheese/pudding layered in between.  It really did look like sand!  It tasted pretty good too - although I am not a pudding person.  

Look who perked up for dessert!

Here's a happy shot of our people loving one another.  At least the speech had positive short term results.

We really do love each other.  Establishing lasting peace and love at home, I've decided, is a life long journey.  On that note, it can never hurt to be reminded and make better efforts to Love one Another, as Christ did.

When our feast was complete, we headed inside so that each child could receive a special father's blessing for the beginning of the new school year.  What a blessing it is to have the priesthood bless our lives.  I am excited to carry on this tradition each year.  At this point, I don't think the kids would let me forget it, even if I tried.