To know the difference...

Wow. It has been FOR-EV-ER since I've posted. So I'm not even going to attempt to catch you all up because frankly, it gives me chest pains to think of doing it. :-)

Besides, tonight I'm writing with some thoughts. Happy thoughts? Mmmm maybe not. I don't know.

(Remember when I said I started this blog so I could talk to myself in a more socially-acceptable way? Yeah, you can stop reading NOW if you want.)

Tonight I'm feeling spent. Frustrated. Bewildered. I'm feeling the heavy load like this guy...

...except with fewer muscles and a lot more clothes. :-)

I'm sure you don't want the details...But, what it boils down to is this: the heartwrenching feeling that I've worked so hard on something and the results are not what I've hoped for. Has this ever happened to you?

I guess that sounds really lame. Of course that's happened to all of us!

But what I'm thinking of is more along the lines of this: you've done what's been asked of you, always tried your best, and put your heart into something and PLOP.BLAH. nothing.

I guess I've always believed that if you work hard, you can accomplish your goals. And any problems or roadblocks are just more challenges (aka learning experiences) to overcome. This is a positive attitude, right?

But, lately I've been thinking maybe some problems aren't always there to overcome. Maybe they are to be endured, learned from, but not necessarily overcome.

At a recent church meeting, a counselor in our area leadership said,

"God doesn't judge us on results. He judges us on our efforts."

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Yes, that still, small voice can feel like a ton of bricks sometimes.

I realized that my problem is that I focus on results too much. I realized that sometimes you have to put forth the effort JUST BECAUSE. Because it's the right thing to do; because it's what God has asked; because you can't give up.

I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off lately thinking, "There must be something I can do differently...There must be something MORE I can do...There must be another solution...If this isn't working, there must be a better way."

And sometimes (probably a lot of times) that IS the answer. But, tonight I'm thinking maybe that is not the case for me right now. After all, there are times in the scriptures when God did all he could and because He's given us freedom to choose, the "results" were not what he would have wanted. So who am I to have my pants in a wad because I'm experiencing this feeling?

Right now I'm realizing that my answer is not a different method or a better way, but just continual effort with a determination not to give up.

My favorite verse from my favorite hymn, "How Firm a Foundation":

That soul, that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will not, I cannot desert to his foes!

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never

I'll never, no never

I'll never, no never, no NEVER forsake!

Isn't that great? I love it.

And this poem comes to mind:

The Serenity Prayer

by Reinhold Neibuhr

God grant that I might have

The courage to change the things I can,

The serenity to accept the things I cannot,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Sigh...I'm feeling better. Isn't talking to yourself grand?

Maybe next time I post it won't be so serious and melancholy.

Whenever that will be...

5 more months maybe. :-)

Hoodies!

It all began one beautiful spring day when my Mom came home from the store with a jacket that she got for a killer $5. A gray hoodie. That's when it started-my love affair with hoodies.

I mean, they are the best! They are cozy and comfortable. They cover baby bumps or stains on your shirt. They are perfect for fall or spring or any time you just need a little added warmth. And they have a HOOD which is almost the same thing as an accessory.

Who doesn't love hoodies?!

But, even good things can be taken too far.

APPARENTLY, I wear hoodies too much. We (my hubbie and I) had this revelation last Christmas. Or maybe he's known for a long time and has been too nice to say...

I had decided that a formal winter coat would be a good thing for me. You know those cute little pea coats? I guess I was getting tired of wearing hoodies to church.

So, we went shopping and I could not be satisfied. I looked weird or too old or just NOT ME in all these coats I tried on. Finally I verbalized my frustrations and Sam said, "Do you know why you don't like any of these coats? Because your style is....HOODIES! That's all you wear, you know."

It hit me like a bombshell. Is.it.really?

Then, I thought...and realized....yes. It is true.

Now I am taking fashion tips from my husband. Sigh.

AAAnd I didn't really take any action.

Not much changed.

Then we pulled out old family videos one night. The lamest one is an old VHS with little clips of me conducting music for my Conducting Class in college. Little clips from 5 or 6 different days during the semester. I kid you not-every single clip had me wearing a hoodie!!

I felt properly chastened.

Then, I started looking at old photos....

Hoodie (with a hole in it)

Hoodie while sewing!

Hoodie on 5th anniversary!

Black hoodie on Birthday...(please excuse the scary face)

Brown hoodie in Canada...

HOODIE!!

So, I am appalled. Not that I ever thought of myself as a fashion guru or anything. I'm too cheap for that. But, this????? It's a little embarrassing.

So, I'm going to make a painful change. But, it will be slow going. It will be hard to give these babies up. Not that I'll give them up completely since they are still the most comfy cozy piece of clothing ever! But, maybe I'll just wear them less..

Anyway, I know you ALL wanted to know this.

Oh-and there's a new poll to go with this post so Go Vote!

OBSESSION

My latest obsession:

• Leafy greens
• with Craisins
• and peeled, chopped orange slices
• and slivered almonds
• and....

THIS! There is something magical about this stuff. Y'all should try it.

WEEK 4

WE DID IT!!!

We finished the month at last!!!

During our last week we tried to get through our cans of grapefruit. Horrible stuff. We'd each put our allotment into our mouths, flex our muscles, and try not to scream. Don't buy this stuff. Actually after a few cans, I almost liked it.

So, January 31 we went to Olive Garden to celebrate. (Courtesy of our lovely credit card rewards) Can I just say Olive Garden salad is the best?!

Then, we went to a grocery store!
Here I am at the brocolli. My husband pleaded with me not to post these pictures to the public. But, really-wouldn't your face look like this if you hadn't seen brocolli for a whole month? I mean-COME ON-who's gonna judge? Plus, anyone who reads this already knows how weird I am.

Our cart only half way through the produce section. Life is good!!!

You know, there's nothing like going without something to appreciate it more. Sam thinks we should do this lil' experiment every year. I'm thinking I would be OK with that. Maybe...

WEEK THREE

Enduring....

WEEK TWO

Happenings from WEEK TWO:

• Sam made a slammin' good pie tonight with reconstituted dried apples, craisins, and a yummy crumb topping. Mmm. MMmm. goodness.

• My dear brother and his wife sent fruit leather and lots of snacks and ingredients for microwaved smores. We have enjoyed these!

• We've had Shepherd's Pie with canned vegs, the fake potatoes, and freeze-dried cheese.

• We've had 7 light bulbs burn out since we started our experiment. I guess I never really thought of light bulbs for home storage. Lesson Learned!

• Last night a family invited us to dinner. Sam and I were giddy with glee, anticipating eating fresh food! They totally delivered. Cucumbers-it's been too long!

What we ran out of this week:

• potatoes

• cough drops :-( and yes, we've needed them this week)

• cheddar cheese

• light bulbs

What we've learned this week:

• Freeze-dried peaches are disgusting. There is just no way around it. We've had multiple brands, and yuck-o to all of them.

• Freeze-dried apples and strawberries are delish.

• Freeze-dried, grated cheese is surprisingly wonderful. It even melts. I could eat handfuls. Think of that crispy cheese that gets grilled to the pan when you make grilled-cheese sandwiches. Yum.

• Powdered milk tastes like chalk dust...Oh wait. I already knew that. Fortunately, the kids haven't even flinched about chugging it.

• A batch of powdered milk with a few tablespoons of cream added makes it so much better. And actually, I like the Kiss of Cream brand, but it is more pricey than the kind we get from the Cannery.

Well, that's week 2!

Lastly, I did enter a store to cash a money order my daughter got from school. WOW! It's amazing what 2 weeks away from any grocery store can do. I was just blown away by all the variety and I salivated on the oranges. But, it's also reset my thinking about what we really NEED from the store, and what we can live without.

OH, and really LASTLY, I forgot that Sam came up with a name for our experiment.

SUPERMARKET MORATORIUM

Halfway there!!

WEEK ONE

Thoughts from Week One:

• I really miss green salad.
• I do not miss going to the grocery store.
• In fact, I feel liberated.
• I would love to never have to go to another store again.
• Life is actually simpler this way.
• More freezer space would be nice (we have only the fridge freezer)
• I like having an excuse when my meals are not so yummy. (For surely, with the proper ingredients, this would taste better!;-)

WHAT WE RAN OUT OF THIS WEEK:

milk
Enter powdered milk goodness (or not so goodness). mmmm....
fresh fruit
Enter dried apples. These actually are yummy.

eggs.

I used the last few eggs wisely. I made brownies :-) and cut them into bite-sized pieces and froze them for the long weeks ahead. We do have egg powder for pancakes or other things.

BREAD!

Oh my-we've been baking and baking bread like crazy. It is a wonderful perk to have yummy homemade bread all the time. After all, if you don't have a lot of food around, you can always make bread and have something to eat.

We've made white bread, multi-grain bread, whole wheat bread, english muffin bread, and sweet cinnamon bread. I have enjoyed this. While I don't like cooking, I do like to bake.

Oh-and the calendar ran out. So, I figured I'd just draw some lines on a 12 x 12 piece of paper and glue it onto the "old" January. I will enjoy my scenic pictures of Italy all over again!

(I might do this every year.)

And last but not least: baby food.

This I am REAlly going to miss. Sure, I can make my own from our meals, but that always takes more forethought and time. And when you're already confined by fewer ingredients, it's even harder. Fortunately Jack is getting old enough for more textures than just pureed.

I have to say I am enjoying this challenge....so far.

And I am looking forward to eating that green salad again.

Until next week!....

New Years Experiment

So, we're doing an experiment. We are not going to the grocery store for the whole month of January. Not going to any store actually. We are stocked up on diapers and such. The thing I'll miss is fresh fruits and vegetables. (I know...this isn't super healthy, but it's just one month, right?)
When we first talked about doing this experiment, I anticipated getting a bunch of fresh food to hold us over the first week or two. Alas, Jan 1 was the day we drove all day from visiting family to arrive home late at night. No stocking up. We had one apple left.
But that makes it much more exciting, right? Stocking up would have kind of been cheating.
So of course I've decided to document it, hoping that will motivate me not to wimp out before Day 10.
Why are we doing this? We want to put our food storage to the test. Find out what we'd miss and thereafter stock up on that. We also want to save money for a month now that my Hubbie is making a career change. (That's sounds better than jobless doesn't it?)

So, Day ONE:
Guess what happens? My curling iron breaks while I'm getting ready for church!
People-I really need this piece of equipment. You see, I can't DO wavy. Only one chunk of my hair goes wavy and the rest is kinky or stick straight. It's a horrible look; let me tell ya. And my vanity won't let me blow-dry it straight cuz I just don't feel finished.
Here's the villainous iron:

Really, what is up with Revlon? Have you noticed how their heating elements just go kaput after not long enough?
Anyway, I went to church and received wonderful news!!
Two friends said they each had an iron the same barrel size they don't use that I could have. Yay!
Another piece of good news: One of these friends said that they know of a sectional someone is planning on getting rid of and WOuld I be interested in it?
WOULD I!!!!!?

These beauties have done us well for almost a decade. And before that, they did other family members well, for-I don't know-maybe 25 years. But, they are really done. I think my friend suggested the new sectional because she had to sit in my couch last time we hosted Playgroup. Yeah-IN my couch. One cushion sinks down about 2 feet when you sit on it.

Anyway, I will keep posting about our adventures, obstacles, temptations, etc. relating to our 1 month experiment. Maybe I should come up with a catchy name for it? Anyone?

Time for Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

I had to post the above in order to review this curriculum. I've never done this before, so we'll see how it goes.

sorry for the boring post:-)

I Just Can't

Tonight is one of those nights when I just can't.
You know, there's wet laundry in the washing machine that needs to be moved to the dryer.
And clean clothes that wait on your bed to be folded.
But you just can't.
I should really do myself a favor and pick up the books and shoes and children's drawings of star wars battles and princesses scattered all over the living room floor.
Because don't you love waking up to a clean living room, ready to start the day?
But I just can't.
You know the saying, "whether you think you can or you think you can't, You're right?" Henry Ford or someone really ambitious and perseverant said it. I don't think perseverant is a word, but it should be.

Well anyway, tonight I think I can't so I can't. And I'm enjoying "can'ting".

So I waste time on the computer and eat two granola bars and a handful of chocolate chips because they are the closest things resembling sweets that I have in my house right now.
(I'm on a diet) A handful-or-two-of-chocolate-chips-a-day-diet. The granola bars were an Indulgence because I've been so good lately. Just eating chocolate chips.

Isn't mediocrity blissful sometimes??

Usually when I feel like I can't, I look up homeschooling stuff because I'm a nerd and that's fun for me, or I read a good book. But, I just finished my book a few hours ago and tonight even that sounds too productive for me.

So, I let the can'tness wash over me. And I enjoy seeing the squiggly, red lines under all my misspelled, made up words.

And I just can't go to bed on time even though we just resolved two days ago to go to bed earlier. I have to admit I felt a little discouraged when I woke up at 5 am sharp the first morning of the "early to bed and early to rise" goal only to hear my 6 and 2 year old cheerily carrying on a conversation about spiderwebs. What's the point when it just means two more hours of one-sided spiderweb conversations instead of the quiet, meditative time you were hoping for?
(I did manage to tiptoe past their room and stay downstairs for a 1/2 hour while my wonderful hubby sat on the couch with said children and (as he put it) "just listened".)

Anyway, I'm done can'ting. My heart is willing to can't all night, but my body is weak and even can'ting is taking it's toll. Can'ting can be work too, you know.

So, I can go to bed now.

And I have to confess that I CAN actually move the wet laundry over to the dryer before heading to bed.
After all, I "just can't" do mildew-smelling clothes even more than I "just can't" get off my lazy bum to put them in the dryer.

Good night!

Trusting

Olivia went to school on Monday.
Yes. School school.
I know! It was unexpected to me as well.
I feel....like my right arm has been cut off.

I feel like a duck trying to peel a banana.

I feel out of sorts.

Sigh...

It started about a week ago when I had this nagging, persistent feeling that there was something I was supposed to be doing that I wasn't doing.

I know I'm not perfect, so I could think of A LOT of things it COULD be. But, nothing gave me peace until I prayed and said,
"OK! What is it?"

And clear as a bell:

"Olivia needs to go to school"

Um...excuse me?

But.I.homeschool. WE homeschool! We love it. And this year has been the best year yet!

"Well, Olivia still needs to go to school"

But homeschooling is a good thing, right???

You know all the reasons I homeschool and don't send her to school, right??

Yes, He knows because He knows me.

But He sees something better or best.

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, thus saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I had my plans.

Yes I did.

And my plans never included public school.

And I mean never.

At least not completely. Sure, maybe sports or choir or band in the upper grades.

But all day, 9-3 school?

Nope. Not for us.

I had my plans.

But His plan is better than the cleverest, wisest, most inspired plan I could come up with.

So what do I do?

I trust.

I trust that everything I see as a disadvantage to public school will work out.

I trust that Olivia will thrive.

I trust that I will be able to "let go" to a degree.

I trust that someday I will understand the WHY.

And honestly, the hardest part hasn't been sending her to school.

It's been hearing all the "Oh-was she falling behind?"

"Oh-was it for the socialization?"

"Oh-that will make everything better!"

Um...

Sorry. But she was AHEAD of the game, and the "socialization" is a DISadvantage in my book, and tell me-How will this make things better when they were already going GREAT?

I've had to swallow my pride.

And keep trusting.

So please don't sound excited and tell me this is a good thing.
I know it's right.

I know it's His will.

But, I'm still grieving.

And trusting...

Harvest Festival: Day 3

And here's the final installment of our Harvest Festival...the harvest part!

There's a great farmer's market down the road from us with fantastic peaches. Mmmm......Could peaches be the most beautiful fruit ever? They remind me of a sunset.

So, we can peaches every year. Here's the results. Our peaches floated this year. I'm not sure why, but my friend said hers floated too. So I am blaming it on the peaches. :-) No, my syrup was not too heavy. It was lighter than light. So? I don't know. But, they still look nice, eh?

This is actually a cheese that Sam made in February that has been curing in our fridge since then. We decided to break it out in celebration of...Cheese and things. It was great. It tasted like mozzerella. By the way, that blue stuff is not mold. It is food coloring. You have to coat the cheese in wax to protect it from mold, and we tried to dye the wax blue to look cool. Well, wax and food coloring don't mix...apparently. So, speckled weird blue is what we got.

Sam's chalk art. Ok...this.is.funny. Remember my Hawaiian sunset scene from Day 1? Yes, well Sam was just blown away that my chalk art was prettier than his (he did some carnival scene that day). I mean, he was standing there staring at my sidewalk square just stupified. BECAUSE, like I mentioned in Day 2 post, he is better at everything than me. So, what does he do when I'm gone for an hour the next day? Create this Cat in the Hat masterpiece. The funny thing is, I knew the day I saw him jaw-dropping over my art that he would have to contest. I knew he wouldn't be able to take it-me winning.

We're not competitive or anything...!

He ran out of chalk before he could finish, and this picture was taken after the water fight. It looked a lot cooler before.

Remember the balloon chamber? Well, here are all the balloons out in our yard for the whip-cracking event.

Junior having a go at the balloons...

It was taking a LONG time cracking all those balloons, so we eventually put the poles on the ground, and let the kids stomp on them.

Then, wheel-barrow rides. Yes, those are extra kids of a friend who just had a baby.

Sam had quite a work-out wheeling them around the house over..and over again.

We ended the night with a movie that Sam made. It was called, "Something to Celebrate" and it consisted of pictures from the past year put to music. I might set up a link to it if he publishes it online. But, it was like 40 minutes long. You'd have to REAAALllly love our family to want to watch it.

Anyway, it was a great festival.

Thanks, Sam/Dad for all of your devotion to our family! You're the best!

Harvest Festival: Day 2

ahem...
So, a week later I'm finally posting about Day 2 of our Harvest Festival. Ha ha. That's life.

We started the day with abel skivers-a yummy Danish dish that basically tastes like pancake balls.

Mmmm.....
Then, we went for a hike down to the river.

Whoops. Forgot to rotate this, and I'm too lazy to change it now. Me and Jack in the Moby.

We found some tracks....raccoon, I think?

Next up...waterfight! If you ever ever ever buy waterguns again in your life, buy these! They were so much fun. They refill in seconds, and they shoot out large amounts of water at a time.

The "littles" preferred to just jump in the refill buckets.:-)

We also had a pie-making contest scheduled. It sort of happened. Last time I totally won with a killer blueberry pie, so I think Sam was a little intimidated. He is pretty much better than me at everything in life EXCEPT making pie crusts (oh...and having babies).

So, basically it turned into me making 3 different peach pies over the span of 3-4 days. I was trying to find the best recipe. Suffice it to say, I didn't fall in love with any of the recipes...and Sam didn't make any pies. :-(

We also had a strobe dance in the evening...you know-the good ol' strobe light days? Yeah, they actually make me sick now that I am old and no fun anymore. So, the kids and Sam danced away while I hung out with baby upstairs. The pictures of that didn't really turn out.

Well, that's Day 2 of the Festival!

Livin' the Dream!

Harvest Festival: Day 1

About 3 years ago, we had a "Harvest Festival". It's kind of a "Celebrate our family and have crazy fun for three days" kind of thing.
We planned on making it an annual tradition, but two babies later and some other "life" stuff and...we missed a few years.

But, this year we are back on track. So, here's the lowdown from

Day #1 of the Harvest Festival!

We love food at our house, and we like to take pictures of food, too. I'm not sure why. So, here's breakfast!

We started the day with some yummy homemade doughnuts and fresh fruit.

Next, we were off to get Family Pictures. (if this doesn't take you to pics,
you can enter my first and last name with LTTT0799107601TAR as the password to view)

After every meal we had a raffle where the lucky winner got to pick something from the raffle box. No, the workout video was not for the kids.

Here's Emily in the Balloon Chamber! This is our downstairs library/guestroom filled with balloons. I think this was the favorite for the kids.

The "Chalk Walk". Here's Olivia working on her "purple mountain majesties".

My finished sidewalk square. I think my inspiration came from the cloudy, cool weather we've been experiencing a lot lately...in AUGUST!

And we ended the day with shishkabobs for dinner. It was a great day and I was wiped out by lunchtime, so we must've been having fun, right?

I have to give most of the credit to my wonderful man for putting everything together. He planned it all and we just showed up!

The egg sac

There have been two spider egg sacs next to our front door for several days.
On the underside of the siding.
So, last night my hubbie and I went out to water the blueberries. I decided this would be a good time to jet off the front entrance and zap those egg sacs (along with all the other bugs that have made their home there).

I don't enjoy killing living things. But...if little critters are on my turf, they just have to go. It's as simple as that.
So, have you jetted an egg sac lately? They are tough little cookies. I had to spray for a good 3 minutes before the things would come free.

I don't enjoy killing living things. And when it takes longer than a few seconds, I start to feel sick inside. It gives you too much time to think....
I started thinking about the mommy spider who worked so hard to make a safe sac for her babies. She did such a good job securing them to my siding! They were well protected. But, I am a big, bad human with a powerful stream of water, and I won.

So then I came inside and got out Charlotte's Web to read to the kids. What chapter are we on?

"The Egg Sac"

That's right.
Charlotte, the loyal and selfless friend of Wilbur, creates her "magnum opus" in that chapter. 514 baby spiders wrapped securely until spring. It took all she had left in her.

There I sat reading this beautiful and sensitive writing. Me! The one who just pulverized not one, but two "magnum opi".
Sigh...
I felt horrible.

But, then I thought of 1,028 spiders by my front door and I didn't feel quite so bad.

BUSY BUSY

I'm a country farm girl at heart.
I WANT to be a country farm girl....
even though I'm not one.
I fantasize about being Laura Ingalls Wilder or Anne of Green Gables,
even though I like my curling iron and I kill most plants I come in contact with.
Animals? no experience with them.
so Why do I have this dream?
Well, one reason is because "back then" life was simpler.
Quieter, slower, thoughtful, peaceful.
People knew how to appreciate real entertainment back then.
Like a sunset.
Or a string of notes slipping from violin strings.
Or a book being read out loud...while the fire crackles...and mom knits in the corner.

Can't you see it?
Perfect, right?

But I was born when I was born and honestly I'm happy to be here now, at this time.
It's exciting, this time on earth.

But I do pine for simpler times sometimes.

Today I had a revelation while reading this article about BUSYness
in my monthly church magazine.

The revelation was simply that I choose exactly how simple or busy my life is. Not necessarily just how many activities or events I fill my life with, but my FRAME OF MIND.

Do I truly listen when my 6 year old spouts the 100th dinosaur fact of the day to me?

Am I wholeheartedly playing a game of pretend with my 3 year old, forgetting any lists or obligations?

Am I taking time to meditate on God's will for our family and myself?

Do I look into my childrens' eyes every day and think about how amazing they are and how precious they are to me?

Do I do something small each day to show my husband how crazy in love I am with him?

The things that show I'm not too busy to listen, to care, to know what's most important.

If I face the facts, I have to admit that my A personality back in the 1800s could be just as "Busy."

I could be baking bread, washing clothes with a washboard, harvesting my bountiful garden, and never take the time to memorize every curve of my baby's face.

So, since Heavenly Father has been tapping my soul about this lately, I'm guessing I'm not the only Mom out there who has to fight the same balance: relishing each day but also doing the things that must be done so everything doesn't fall apart.

So to all you Moms out there, here's a great poem that is now on my fridge to remind me NOT TO HURRY my way through life.

Duties are pressing upon me,
And the time for work is brief,
What if with purblind vision,
I neglect the very chief?

What if I do with ardor
What a thousand could maybe,
And leave undone forever
What was meant for only me?

--Charlotte Fiske Bates

I love kids...

Apparently, I took too long in the bathroom to receive this gift in person.

A Wedding, A Birthday, and Sightseeing

Recently we went to Utah for some family fun. Most of our family lives there or is kind enough to travel to Utah whenever we do. :-) It was a lot of fun.


Sam's brother got married to a beautiful girl. We all agree he married up:-). And that's saying something since he's quite the guy.

Kennecott Copper Mine.

We toured Brigham Young's house in Salt Lake City. We've done this a few times before, but the kids keep getting older, so it's always a new experience through their eyes.

Brigham Young's Dinner Bell that inspired us to get our own dinner bell. (One of the best purchases we've ever made!) Bells work to summon husbands, too. :-)

The entertaining room in BY home

My dear Papa with baby Jack

Adorable brother and his wife. Talk about marrying up! :-) Just kidding Dr. O. But, not really.

We invited family to come to a bouncy house for Kevin's birthday.
Emily on the big slide.

Poor Kevin fell and smashed his nose the morning of his big day! But, that does seem an appropriate way to start being a 2 year old (officially), doesn't it?

Me and my sis. I'm planning on being just like her when I grow up....Hmmm. I need to hurry.

Awesome brother-10 years my senior. So good with the babies! I also got to see him graduate. I'm going to have two brothers with doctorate degrees by the end of summer. Crazy.

It was a fun trip. Sorry my posts have been a little picture-happy lately. I promise I'll settle down into my boring life now and you probably won't see many pics for a while:-)!

Livin' the Dream!