I'm back!

Well we got back from camping on Saturday. I have to say it was good to be back home- in my own bed and in my own shower!
We did have a good time and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather!
This is going to be a couple days worth of pictures so bear with me over the next couple of days!
On Tuesday the ladies all go shopping and the men take the kids to the beach. The lake was very cold at 52 degrees. Uncle Brett made a race to see who could reach the marker first and whoever won got to have a special ice cream cone on the way back. Nick won!
Look at Halle's face- that should show you how cold that water was. Then you see the picture of the race.
The next picture is Arianna attempting the water- the water won!
The last picture is of Nick sailing with Grandpa and Mark. They had a great time and he got to steer the boat for awhile which he thought was great!!
Stay tuned tomorrow for more pictures!

Vacation

Well we are off for vacation till Next Saturday. We will be camping with Mark's side of the family. I am looking forward to the quiet and no stress (ok- less stress)
Since I started doing this real estate assistant position I have been under High stress and I'm hoping this will be a relaxing time.
See you after the Holiday!

Works for Me Wednesday

We have a family trip coming up soon so I've been researching ideas for car travel with kids. We have a long car ride ahead of us so I really needed some ideas.
I came across this website:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/vday/val_mem_game.pdf
I'm so impressed. They have all kinds of printable games for free. They look like they will work for various ages and they're FREE!
I also came across a suggestion about buying a polaroid- Izone mini camera. The camera costs $25. The film is sticky on the back side and it prints out immediately. The pictures are mini and
then the kids can take some pictures and I'll buy them a journal and they can document their trip with their own pictures. The film is kind of expensive so we won't be taking all kinds of pictures but I think that's a great way for them to feel involved in the trip and it takes time for them to print so it'll use up some time as well.
If you want to check out other great hints go to Shannon's.

Hard at work

Nicks job in the summer is to take care of the garden. Yesterday he ended up getting some help weeding. Mark told him he needed to get a couple of rows of beans done yesterday since we're gone next week. The girls came out and helped and then I came out to check on them and I did the row of onions. They did 4 rows of beans and Arianna stayed out and did the rest of the beans. The first row she did I thought I was watching her but then all of a sudden I came back from my onions and saw that she made the job of picking beans SO much easier for Nick later on. There were only about 6 plants left in the first half of the row! She felt so bad but I told her it was OK- that's how you learn and Nick was quite happy about it. She did great after that.
I remember well being young in the summer time and waking up each morning and finding my list of chores for the day. It's kind of nice not to have to do "those" chores anymore- that is why I had kids you know!!!! Just kidding.

Birthday Bash Concert

Mark and Nick went to the Birthday Bash Concert on Saturday. They had really nice weather for the concert- thank goodness because Mark forgot the sunscreen! Nick didn't get burned and only Mark's leg by his knee got burned. He does however have lovely tan lines on his ankles where his tennis shoes were!
They had so much fun and really wanted to go again Sunday but I said 1 day was enough!
They left Saturday morning around 7:30 and got home around 11:00 at night and they left before the concert was done. That's a full day!
This is when they got there- waiting for the gates to open

Mark and Nick:

All the people at the concert- this would SO be something I am not interested in- crowds and heat- ughhhhhh!

This is Jason Michael Carroll:

You might recognize him- that's Bucky Covington from American Idol- last season

This is the Wreckers

This is Dierks Bentely:

They had really good seats and I'm so glad they had a good time! They will remember their time at this concert together for a long time to come.

Give Away

Here's a great give away. Check it out here

We can all use a new ice cream maker right?????

Laundry problem

So I'm doing laundry- I've got a couple loads done already and then I go to put my last load in the dryer. I open up my washing machine and start pulling the clothes out and this is what I find:



At first I'm thinking what is that all over those shorts and then I get to Halle's dress and I knew what it was!
It's enough that I have to check all the kids pockets for everything and now apparently I have to check Mark's pockets as well. You see he had just asked if any of us had seen his good work pen. Well now I can tell him exactly where it is- all over his shorts and Halle's dress.
I've tried hairspray- anyone got any great ideas on how to get ink out of clothes???

Alert- bragging mom post

If you don't want to read a bragging post don't go any further! I know I've posted before about how good Arianna can draw but this week she has blown me away. She's been spending a lot of time drawing lately and here are her latest masterpieces!

This was a picture in a magazine that she saw:

Here's her rendition- she didn't draw them all in order but they're all on there


This is a picture of a dragon that she drew earlier in the week:


I really think she has a talent for drawing. She does better when she can look at a picture and copy it. I love watching her practice all the time- I sure wish I could draw 1/2 as good as she can!

International Space Station

Space shuttle, space station visible at night
Both the Atlantis orbiter and the ISS were visible across the sky Tuesday night.

Did anyone see the space station last night? Mark called me outside around 10:30 because he saw it and was taking pictures. Here's what we saw:


We were dissapointed with the pictures but when I went to a local news station's website their pictures looked exactly like ours.
What a fun thing to actually witness!

Works For Me Wednesday

With summer here and school out I feel like I am constantly sweeping my kitchen floor. I sure don't want to miss anything when I am sweeping so I spray the broom or dust mop with my favorite furniture polish and the dust and dirt is easier to collect when I sweep.
I do find this helps get everything the first time around and makes my life a little easier!
For more great hints go visit Shannon!

Kids photography

The other day Nick and Arianna took the camera outside to take some shots.
Arianna took the one of Mack- Nick took the rest!

Fathers Day

It was a nice Father's Day today. For dinner we had bbq chicken- everyone loved it! The girls picked out a shirt for Mark and it was a success. He really liked it. I forgot that I was going to get him a fertilizer spreader that he wanted but he was still happy with the shirt.
The kids spent time in the pool- they have really become water rats. They are constantly in there- that's great- good exercise and fresh air = tired kids at night.
I hope someday when the kids are grown they appreciate the dad God has blessed them with. He loves them dearly and although no father is perfect- he does a great job!
Happy Fathers Day !

I've been Tagged

I've just been tagged by Angela. So here goes....

My 4 favorite jobs:
Mom and wife
working at the Dr's office
planting celery- definitely not weeding
hopefully being a Real Estate Assistant- so far so good!

4 movies I can watch over and over:
Walking in the clouds
Top Gun
Cutting Edge (It's an ice skating movie)
Grease


My 4 favorite TV shows:
Dancing with the stars
Amazing Race
Survivor
Baby Story

My 4 favorite dishes:
Pizza
chicken pockets
chicken kabobs
lasagna

My 4 favorite vacations:
Russia- (saying this was a vacation is a stretch)
South Dakota
St. Louis
Maine

4 websites I visit daily
My real estate web page for work
many many blogs!!!
msn
Arianna's teacher's blog

4 places I'd rather be
bed- it's getting late
Hawaii
church- singing along with the praise band
Huron House Bed and Breakfast

Anyone REALLY hungry?

OK by now you've heard me talk about how much my daycare kids eat. I decided to prove my point. Here is what was packed for my 3 year old daycare child for lunch yesterday.


So in the picture you will find the folllowing:
2 sandwiches- made with 2 pieces of bread each, 2 pieces of bologna each
1 banana
1 tray of chips and cheese
1 bag of cheese curls

Now keep in mind that this was JUST for lunch and there was also an applesauce and cookies for snack 2 hours later. Wednesdays are my short days and I have them from 11:30 till about 5:00. Can you imagine eating all that in that short time span?!?!
What really kills me is that this was for a 3 year old! I'm glad my kids don't eat that much- I'd go broke in a heartbeat!

Works for Me Wednesday

Now that school is out and the kids are around each other 24/7 the issue of sharing (or not sharing as the case may be) is rearing it's ugly head at our house.
After a couple of days of arguing over not sharing I came up with a plan. I told them they could each pick 3 things that were very special to them. Everything else was fair game to everyone. If I hear them complain about sharing the punishment is that the other child gets to play with their special thing 1 time.
So far this has really helped the issue and it works for me!
For other ideas head on over to Rocks In My Dryer.

Water fight anyone?

Sunday we had a birthday party out at the lake so the kids got to go swimming again in the pool at the campground.
Garrett got squirt guns for his birthday so everyone took turns and they had a water fight. I thought Mark got some great shots!
It looked so fun I almost joined in the fun. Later on Ruth did get Mark pretty good- unfortunately I didn't have the camera available for that one.

Shipshewana

Well it was time to make a run for the border- Indiana that is.
We love going to Shipshewana- they have a grocery store there that I really love to shop at. They have such good deals and stuff that you can't find at home- so I love to go there and stock up on things. I also love to go to the bakery's there. You can't beat fresh home made amish bread and baked goods!
Here are just some random shots that we got.

This little horse and buggy was so cute- couldn't you just see some little kids riding around in that?



Arianna and Halle decided to take a horse for a ride!



Laura- this one is for you! There's a store here that always has puppies for sale- it was boxer puppies this time!


I wish my garden looked this good and I just love the whole picture of the garden with the laundry blowing in the breeze!

This is a spot that we always go by and it's always so pretty!



This is my favorite picture of them all. These little kids eating their snack on the porch. They waved and smiled at us- they were so cute!

Wedding bells are ringing!

Well over the weekend I got the best news! My dad is getting married!
We couldn't be happier about this news. He's marrying the sweetest lady- what a blessing that God brought her into his life! Her family is just as excited as we
are so I think it's great news all the way around!
We don't know when it's happening yet but we're assuming it's soon.
It's such a blessing because ever since mom died we worry about him being by himself and I think Ann's family probably felt the same about her after her husband died. They are so happy when they're together- it's just so cute to see them acting all young and in love!
I guess Arianna was right when she asked after our Christmas celebration if she was getting a new grandma and we couldn't be happier!

Whoopie Pies

Here's the recipe for whoopie pies that I was asked for. Enjoy!

Cake:
1 c. crisco
2 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 c. flour
1 c. cocoa
2 tsp salt
1 c. sour milk
2 tsp soda
1 c. hot water

Filling:
2 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
4 T. flour
4 T. milk
4 c. confectioners sugar
1 c. crisco

Cake:
cream shortening and sugar; add egg yolks and vanilla. Mix together flour, cocoa and salt, then add alternately with sour milk to shortening mixture. Dissolve soda in water. Add this last. Drop from spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Feather out to 3 inch diameter. Bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Spread 1/2 of the baked cakes with filling and cover with remaining 1/2 of cakes. Makes 30.

Filling:
Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add remaining ingredients, beating thoroughly at medium speed after each addition.

What a night!

I have the best husband in the world! I'll back up and explain and I'm sure you'll all agree.
I woke up around 1:00 this morning hearing strange noises. They seemed to be coming from the basement so after hearing them for awhile I finally went downstairs around 2:00 to see if I could find out what it was. I couldn't find anything but I still heard them. Every time I would fall asleep it would wake me up again. I was still awake around 3 when his alarm went off (yes I said his alarm went off at 3!)
I told him good I'm glad you're awake- I keep hearing noises and I think we have an animal in our furnace. He listened for awhile and it was every time the wind blew. He figured out it was a branch or something brushing up against the air conditioner.
Phew- at least we don't have an animal stuck somewhere.
So I finally fall asleep around 3:30. I'm sleeping nicely and then I'm woken up by Mark running into the room telling me Nick just threw up downstairs.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
He made it to the bathroom but not to the toilet.
Mark and I are looking at each other wondering who's going to clean it up.
I'm telling him- I can't I will throw up myself- (and I would!) so my wonderful husband went and started cleaning it up. Now they say you have to have humor in a good marriage and we do because let me tell you- I went down to at least offer moral support and we were both laughing almost hysterically (fatigue was probably playing a part in this!). Mark would go in the bathroom and come running out gagging himself. I'm telling him- don't you dare puke out here because it's carpet.
As of 8:30 this morning poor Nick has thrown up 6 times and has diarrhea too! To add insult to injury- he was supposed to spend the night at a friends house today and that's not going to happen now.
I can't believe this garbage is going around and it's JUNE!!!!!
Please, please don't let any of the rest of us get this!

A little landscaping

We discovered we had a new tree in our landscaping in the backyard last year. We let it be over the winter and the time came last night to transplant it to a better location. We moved it to the front yard where we've wanted a tree for quite some time. We have tried 2 other trees with no success. This tree at least didn't cost us anything as it grew on it's own. We would be so happy if this tree survived the move and did well.
Here's the tree where it started:

Here's the finished product (I took the picture before we staked it up to support it-it looks better all on it's own)- what do you think?

The field trip

Last week was the Arianna's field trip that Mark went along on. Here were some of the highlights for Mark:
At the Museum the parents that went along were assigned groups of kids to be in charge of. Mark got 5 kids in his group: Tyler- the naughtiest boy in the class and ???(I'd rather not name the name-it's not Arianna- most of you will figure it out when you look at the pictures of his group) the naughtiest girl in the class and 3 others- he was so excited about his group!!!
Just to prove the point the teacher had to bring Tyler back to the group once- and the girl for sure had her wheaties and her energy was not lacking!
After the museum they went to the park. It went fine there but there were 3 other schools there so it was hard to keep track of everyone- it was also "very hot" in Mark's words so you know it was VERY HOT!!
Mark was on call that night for work and he had the work cell phone with him. Much to his dismay on the way to the park he realized it was missing. He got home and called and they still hadn't found it so he took off down there and walked right to where he thought it was and found it- very much to his relief!
Arianna had a great time so that's what counts- Nick had a good time on his adventure that day also and didn't even get burned!
Here's some pictures for you:
Arianna and Meghan at the Museum

Mark's group of kids

Arianna at one of the interactive displays

Arianna and if you look closely- her best friend Lisa- seeking shelter from the sun

New Roomate

This snapper turtle showed up in Macks kennel yesterday. We had to get him out so Mark got that pleasant job. I promise no turtle were harmed in the filming of this video! He ended up going under the barn. Thank goodness Mack wasn't in the kennel when he came in- he was a mean turtle- how would you like that for a room mate??

Arianna's prayer

Last night Halle and Nick were outside playing and it was just me and Arianna inside.
Arianna came up to me and asked me to pray with her. I prayed first and then she started. Her prayer went like this:
Dear God,
Thank you for my family- Thank you for giving me a mom and a dad and a brother and a sister and that I'm not all alone anymore" She went on to pray about other things too but it was such a sweet tender moment, I had to hold back the tears.

Today she is very excited because it's class trip time. Mark is very excited also- because he's going along. I know they will have a good time once things get started. I just hope it's not too hot while they're at the park. I'll be thinking often of them while I'm in air conditioning! hee hee!

Last night we had Andy's graduation- I'm very proud of him- Way to go Andy!!
Today Nick is also at his class trip- we'll just say it's at a amusement park- I hope he has a great time and the weather cooperates!
I think that's it for today- have a great weekend!