a toast to friends...

I have been busy in our blank-canvas-of-a-yard.  We (and when I say we here, I mean Mars Irrigation and Landscape and I) put in a patio last November... just before the real cold came.  It is lovely.  The kids like to pretend it is a castle.  Anyhow, I am now preparing flower beds around the patio, in the corner of our yard, and along the back of the house.  A few days ago I was ripping up sod and the girls were playing in our yard with neighbor kids.  They seemed happy, so I didn't pay much attention.  Next thing I know, there is a crowd of kids on our patio... and more flocking to the patio.  Alli was serving toasted bread with a thick topping of Nutella to all of the neighborhood kids!  And this was the second tray she had made!
I try to teach our girls to be independent.  Each can get her own glass of water.  They can all reach the sink in the bathroom.  They can all put their own shoes on.  Alli can make toast by herself.  And so she did.  For everyone.

And she served it piled high on a petite silver tray.  Classy.
By the time I grabbed the camera, the kids had run off with their toast.
All the neighborhood kids had dirty little faces for the rest of the afternoon... mine included.

PS- If you have never tried Nutella on toast, you really should try some.  Or better yet, try it on freshly baked bread.