Saturday Fun

I first heard the kids start to stir at 6 am on Saturday morning. Really? Really! The one day we can sleep in during the whole entire week, and they have to get up early. I can't wait until they are teenagers, so I can wake them up early just for the heck of it! The good thing is they stayed relatively quiet for that first hour, and then you could tell they were just itching to get up and really play. So at 7 am I went to their rooms to give them the ok to get up, and by 7:17 am, this is what they came out to the living room in:

So this was the kick start to our day. We spent the rest of the morning getting some last minute preparations done for going out to my parents house. The kids and James sent me to my craft room for a little bit so they could work on some Mother's Day cards, and I gathered the supplies for the kids to make my mom a Mother's Day painting. This is what they did (photo courtesy of Daniel!):

I was so happy with how it turned out. Now I need to have them make me one for my wall! We had a nice BBQ late lunch/early dinner at my parents house. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and I made angel food cake with strawberries for dessert. The kids had fun presenting me with their treasures they had made in school - my absolute favorite kind of gifts!

Austin was too busy playing with Auntie Melissa's new goat to come over and have his picture taken with me! Oh well, cute picture of Austin and the goat! He had fun with her!

All of my kiddos and I - just love it! 

Gardening Ideas

I have found some gardening ideas this year that I really want to try. I wonder how many I can actually get done?

Planter Wall

Square Foot Gardening

This is going to be my happy spot this summer! And when it comes to planting veggies, this will be how I start: Top Six Veggies

Good Friday - in lots of ways!

Today is Good Friday, and it is also the last full day of Spring Break for the kids. Auntie Brenda decided to treat the kids to a special day with her for a combined birthday present. After James and I dropped off the kids at her house, we went to enjoy a nice lunch at Hunters Restaurant and do some shopping. Brenda took the kids to a bounce house for a lot of jumping and running, then to Dairy Queen for ice cream treats, and then took them to a park for lots of exploration and fun. It was a great day for the kids and James and I got to spend some time together just the two of us. Thanks Auntie Brenda - you are the best!

Snow Mud Day

Today was a beautiful day! Finally saw lots of sunshine after a mostly dreary and cold and windy week. After a morning in church, playing basketball at the YMCA, and catching a movie (Big Miracle) we came home for some Sunday relaxation. The kids decided to go outside and play - and their choice of outfits made me laugh! Shorts, rainboots, stocking cap and baseball cap. But heck, they had fun!

Batman and Hearts

I got a day away today to sew with my quilting friends. I left the house at 8:30 and didn't return home until 3:45. I got quite a bit accomplished, too, and had a good time chatting with all my quilting friends. James stayed home most of the day with the kids, but then had to take them all to a birthday party in the afternoon. Quite an accomplishment for him, since he hates crowds and especially hates going into social situations where he doesn't know anyone. But the party was a great success, and the kids got their faces painted. Austin chose not to have his done, but of course Gretchen and Daniel did.

My little ballerina

Gretchen has been taking another ballet class at the YMCA during February, and she loves it! She's more focused this year than last, so she has actually remembered the moves and positions. I think this might be something she is going to want to stick with for a while!

My new hairdo

Happy Leap Day! Did you do something fun to celebrate this rare holiday?

I got my hair colored red today. It was time to hide the nasty gray hairs that kept sprouting up overnight! A hairdresser from church was offering half off reds this month, so I took advantage of it. And she did a fabulous job. I can't believe how long my hair is getting. I'm liking the long locks lately!

Our new little chicks

The chicks arrived at Big R last week, and I decided to let the kids each have two brand new baby chicks. They were only 3 days old when we bought them, and now they are a little over a week old. They each got a yellow chick, which will turn red, and a black chick. Right now they are living in my craft room, keeping warm under swing arm lamps and my space heater. They are doing well, and since the weather is getting better, they will be able to move outdoors when they reach about 6 weeks old, hopefully sooner!

Little House in the Woods

It snowed again, and it coated our property in the prettiest snow. I took advantage of the setting sun tonight and took some pictures outside. I loved how this one turned out - our nice warm house nestled in the snow surrounded by trees. Home sweet home!

It's Santa Time!

For the first year ever, Gretchen likes Santa! She has been excited to see Santa, and at three different places, sat on Santa's lap and talked to him. It's so fun to see her finally get over her fear of Santa. I of course didn't have my camera with me to capture her first successful visit with Santa, but I did get photos of the second two Santas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent the day at my Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving. Very small affair - just them, our 5, and my sister and her daughter. It was a nice afternoon, and except for the pumpkin pie, it was full of yummy food! We had a lot to be thankful for - the previous weekend my dad had been in the hospital having two more stents placed in his heart after having some very high blood pressure and pains on Thursday night. So we were all extremely thankful to have him there at the table with us.

I hope that you found lots to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I know God has truly blessed my life with gifts beyond measure!

Beautiful Eyes

The challenge on I Heart Faces this week is Beautiful Eyes. I had a few different photos that I wanted to enter, but I finally chose this one of Gretchen. We had gone camping one weekend this summer, and in a little town near our camping area they were having a festival. We drove in for it, and I found a great little fairy headband for her that perfectly matched her shirt. I took this photo as we sat to have some lunch along the river. I love her beautiful blue eyes, and the sparkle in them when she smiles!

Please click on photo to see it larger.



See more photos of beautiful eyes at I Heart Faces.

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa!

We celebrated Dad's birthday today. The kids painted a birdhouse village for him, and it turned out really cute! Dad loved it.

Water Play

We have not done as much water play this year as last year. The weather has not been cooperative for us! But we did find a nice little wading pool in our new town. It's in the main city park, and is right next to the big pool. But this one is perfect for the kids to just get wet - at the most, it goes up to their knees. The kids were very excited to discover it recently.

Daniel

Austin

Gretchen

My three musketeers!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours! Here is how we celebrated the day.

Coppery Beetles

Uncle Chet helped the boys find a bunch of these coppery beetles on the bushes around our property. They came back from their little nature walk just covered in them - and giggling the whole time 'cause the beetles were tickling them and pooping on their hands! It was a little on the gross side for me - eww! They wanted to come into the house with them, and I told them not a chance in, well, you know! But, boys being boys, they thought the whole bug thing was pretty darn cool! Gretchen thought they were neat too - but from a distance, and not on her hands. Smart girl!

Sports Camp - Final Day

The kids just complete two weeks of Sports Camp, where they got to learn the basics of basketball, flag football, soccer and t-ball. They had a great time, and made some new friends. And surprisingly, Gretchen did good too, but did really well when I left the field for a while. If I stayed to watch, she just kept running over to me to sit and cuddle. But if I left to go run a few errands, she stayed in the mix of it all with the boys and the coach and did well. They all got new shirts and hats, and had a great time! Here is a pic of all the kids and coaches on the final day.

Farm Chicks Antique Show

I am a huge fan of the Farm Chicks. I went to a couple of their sales when they used to do them in Fairfield, and I loved them! But since they moved their show to the fairground, I haven't been able to attend - something always gets in the way of me going. But this year, I was bound and determined to go. After attending my Relay For Life event all day Friday, overnight, and into Saturday morning, I headed out to the fairgrounds. Holy buckets - there were a ton of people there - it was amazing. By the time I got through all the bays of beautiful booths - say that three times fast! - my poor brain was on overload. It was already mush going into the show, after getting only three hours of sleep on Friday night - or really Saturday morning, since I didn't go to bed until 3:30, and was up at 6:30. But after seeing all the fabulous ideas and items, I was really done for. I did manage to snap a few photos, and I did buy a few things, but mostly I got ideas of how to use what I already own. Now, to just get busy and remember all the ideas!

I will try to load up some of the photos later.