Adminswife

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!!

2012-02-14T16:30:00.005-06:00

TOMORROW our little boy turns 14, yep, FOURTEEN!!!!!

We celebrated his birthday today at lunch. He ordered Baked Potato Pizza, Dr. Pepper, Coke Zero, Vanilla ice cream, and Chocolate Cookie Dough ice cream. He also asked for English Muffins, but they didn't make it out of the freezer. He asked for Lembas Bread too. I told him to make it (which he has several times), but he didn't feel like it. So, we left that out of the celebration.

A few weeks ago, he bought a new set of strings for his guitar. After a few days, the smallest string broke. So, today he got that new string, plus a complete set of strings, and (his favorite part) a tuner. The salesman tried to sell us a ukulele tuner - thankfully, Erin caught that. Now that Erin is leaving, he doesn't need her cell phone anymore to tune his guitar. YAY!

Waiting for presents...

Opening...

I think he likes this one...

Using his Christmas present to play "Monster Intro." Compare this to Skillet's "Monster." Did he come close?

Compare this to Switchfoot's "Dark Horses." Did he come close?

Heading out to Z's basketball game! Hoping for a win!

PART OF THE FAMILY!!!!!

2012-02-04T19:49:00.001-06:00

Thirty-five percent of our family:

Aren't we gorgemous? Wish the rest of you were here!

WHAT?????

2012-02-03T11:39:00.002-06:00

Guess what Bristol does when Elyse is in charge? Fun times!

GO BLUE!!!!!

2012-01-27T13:04:00.002-06:00

A true Michigan fan!

USING HIS GIFT!!!!!

2012-01-21T11:43:00.003-06:00

This is just the intro - but he is working like a mad dog and doing a great job!

That means 2-3 hours a day! He LOVES his gift - thanks!!

The proof is in the pudding (aka: fingers)!

TWO INTO FOUR!!!!!

2012-01-18T22:03:00.004-06:00

Since Erin & Bristol are moving in, we had to rearrange some of the bedrooms. We will be putting Bristol's crib in Elyse's room upstairs. We moved Zachary from the "school room," into the laundry room. Yep, you read right - the laundry room. Zachary didn't mind at all sleeping with the dirty laundry, clean laundry drying and the washer/dryer running all day. He did a really nice job arranging his things. Take a look:

Clean clothes hanging on the left. Zachary's "closet" down the middle of the room. His bed on the right.

Zachary decorated his walls with pictures from his Sports Illustrated magazines.

His bookshelf - all neat and organized.

His "dresser" is under his bed in rubbermaid tubs.

Now instead of a two-bedroom house, we have a four-bedroom house. What do you think?

FRIENDS!!!!!

2012-01-15T20:33:00.002-06:00

What do children do when they have friends over? A scary thought...

Chatham & Emma came over to go sledding with Zachary & Elyse. When they were inside warming up, the girls played with makeup and nail polish. The boys, however, played with the guitar, keyboard and drum set. It was a little loud in here.

I hope the neighbors appreciated the noise. Maybe it is called payback time - I have been listening to hammering and sanding for two days - morning, noon and night.

Friends are so much fun!

PRESENTS!!!!!

2012-01-10T15:07:00.002-06:00

How's it look, ladies? I am SOOOO excited!

Thank you so much! I LOVE IT!!!!!

LAST ONE!!!!!

2012-01-01T15:40:00.002-06:00

This was the hardest one yet! But, I did it!

Thanks L & L - you gave me several day of doing something I enjoy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

PUZZLED!!!!!

2011-12-31T10:45:00.003-06:00

This puzzle was a real challenge. I must give credit where credit is due. Dad helped straighten out the border (I had pieces in the wrong place and couldn't figure out where I went wrong). Zachary & Elyse both put in a couple pieces. Otherwise, it was all mine. I was determined to finish it. It wasn't an easy puzzle. But, I finally succeeded. Thanks L &L's family for a good challenge.

I will start puzzle #5 soon - maybe tomorrow!

Tonight is family movie night. We will be watching "Dolphin Tale." I will let you know if it is any good. BTW, last night we watched "Herbie Fully Loaded." Don't bother, it wasn't very good. Just in case you need suggestions of movies not to see.

TOO MUCH HOLIDAY!!!!!

2011-12-27T08:15:00.002-06:00

Too much celebration for a little girl. Pink eye, congestion and coughing have kept a little one from sleeping through the night.

All that makes for one tired Momma:

Get well, Bristol!

FOR CALEB!!!!!

2011-12-25T20:36:00.005-06:00

Caleb - you were a HUGE help in putting a puzzle together. Just thought you would like to see the one we started together all finished. Thanks for all your help, Buddy!

Then I did another one, just for fun!

A third one all done. Sorry about it being sideways - I can't fix it. It shows up on my computer as turned the correct way - just the blogger won't let me change it.

Thanks Luke, Lacey, Grace, Caleb, Ava & Jaden for a GREAT present.

READY FOR COMPANY!!!!!

2011-12-17T18:05:00.001-06:00

Presents bought - check
Tree bought - check
Tree decorated - check
Windows lit with candles - check
Presents wrapped - check
Presents under the tree - check

We are done and ready for company! Hurry up and get here!

ADVENT DAY 16!!!!!

2011-12-16T16:14:00.009-06:00

Our activity for today was to drive to Chicago and see the decorations, etc. We decided to go cheap, so I bought $2 subs from Subway yesterday. I took some snacks from the house, bananas and popcorn that Zachary won at youth group.

Our first stop was Macy's. On the outside walls, they had these huge horns:

We walked all around the outside of the building to read each window design. Usually, it is a well-read story, but this time it was for "Make a Wish Foundation." Each window had a Christmas ornament from some famous designer (a real let down, I tell you). But, we read each one anyway.

We had an hour to kill before Christkindlmarket opened up on Daley Plaza. So, we decided to check out the INSIDE of Macy's store.

We rode the elevator to the 8th floor and checked out the tree from the top.

The star:

Two cute kids we saw on the way:

The 'rents:

Looking down:

Looking up:

Looking down while on the escalator:

At the bottom was a fountain - I love fountains! Some day, I will have one in my backyard (after we win the lottery).

Elyse and her magic (I hate my picture taken).

Another shot looking down while on the escalator:

Macy's had "Santa Land." We walked up to it and the lady said it would take 40 minutes to reach Santa AFTER you got to the door. The line outside the door was about two blocks long. There was NO WAY we were waiting in line to see Santa. So, we just skipped it.

Finally, Christkindlmarket. Aren't we cute?

Our $2 subs:

$2 subs:

The wall inside the library where we ate lunch:

The other side of the room:

Looking down the elevator shaft in the parking garage:

We had to walk about two blocks underground in the parking garage to get to our car. My legs were killing me. Dad, Zachary & Elyse walked to the car and came back to pick me up. Here is a picture of how far they had to walk. After watching too many detective shows, I was sure someone was going to pick me off while I was waiting for them to come back to get me.

It was a GREAT day for me! I love going to Chicago during the Christmas holidays. We didn't take the train in order to save money. Next year, you will have to join us on our annual trek through downtown.

DECORATING!!!!!

2011-12-13T17:45:00.006-06:00

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches...

We tried to get our Christmas tree yesterday (Monday) after school. School went extra long which ran us into basketball practice. After basketball practice, Dad had to tutor. So much for getting the tree.

Tuesday, we decided that we would start school, take a break and go get a tree. Finding many of the shops closed, we finally found two open places. The first one wanted over $100 a tree - not for us. A little bit down the street was much more reasonable. We liked two different trees. But, the cheaper one got taken home.

Dad & Zachary getting the tree straight in the tree stand.

Removing the netting:

A wreath made by Darcy from PCS found its new home in the dining room (where there was already a nail hole in the wall).

Elyse hung my handmade wreath on the front door. If any of you want one like this - I have one finished and the parts to make a third one (but you would have to make it, not me).

Lunch break!

Dad found two strands of lights that weren't working. He replaced MANY bulbs to get them working. While he did that, we went downstairs to finish school. The kids weren't too happy about that.

Phone interruption:

Our finished tree! Why the walls look yellow, I'll never know.

Elyse thought the lights looked cool in this picture.

Our nativity scene is up:

Stocking were hung by the railing with care...

From the outside:

All the empty boxes are downstairs waiting for someone to organize them in the closet. We have plenty of needles to pick up, put water in the tree stand and put on my homemade tree skirt that Claudia made me. Such a treasure!

Hope you enjoy our hard days work!

MANY CHRISTMAS ACTIVITES!!!!!

2011-12-10T07:56:00.004-06:00

Zachary, Elyse and I drove to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to see the play "A Christmas Carol," put on by CYT (Christian Youth Theater). It was a special homeschool performance during the day. After our 40 minute drive (which google said would take 55 minutes), we had to figure out something to do to waste time. It took awhile to find a parking place (actually, the same spot we parked in to see "Robin Hood"). We spent about 30 minutes waiting inside the building for the doors to open. While waiting, I decided we needed a group picture. With my arm outstretched, I took about eight pictures - all of them wrong. I either cut Zachary's face in half, or it was blurry. Then the lady across from us (having watched the whole eight pictures being taken) said, "Would you like me to take your picture?" DUH! She got a pretty good one:

After lunch, we headed to Gurnee for Zachary's basketball game. We got there a little early too (but not early enough to have driven home). Zachary was to play one game and he wanted to stay to watch three other games. It was a long night of basketball for him. After his game, Elyse & I headed to Zion, Illinois, another 20-30 minute drive to see my friend, Jane Shutske. She has chemo every three weeks at the Cancer Center of America. Jane's daughter, Christie, and Christie's two daughters, Nizaria and Xenniyah, were there too. Elyse LOVED the girls.

In order to get into the hospital, we had to have name tags. We entertained Nizaria by sticking our name tags on her face. She loved it! That's Christie in the background holding Xenniyah.

Outside the hospital, all the trees were decorated with a zillion lights. It was amazing.

These trees were my favorite:

All that took from 10:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. It was a long day and night. But, oh, so much fun.

On Saturday, our church held its annual Christmas Dinner for adults only. The kids stayed home and had pizza, popcorn and a movie night. We asked Zachary to take our picture before we left. He took about 10 of them and only one was good enough to put on here. I had asked him to take a picture sort of close up. The first few pictures we either weren't ready, or he got our whole body in the picture. The next one, he got only our noses. Silly kid! He finally got what I wanted and I picked out the best of the bunch.

Yes, Dad wore his "Grinch" tie.

The dinner was amazing. We had a salad, stuffed chicken, red potatoes, vegetable and three desserts to choose from. We had several people play music for us or sing. Then we had a few songs to sing. One of them was "The Grinch." When they announced that one, they made Dad stand up and model his tie.

We sang the "Twelve Days of Christmas." On each day, those that had a birthday in that month had to stand up and sing. Dad stood up for day one (January), I stood up for day two (February). It was definitely an exercise program. After about three times standing up and sitting down, I quit - my knees were killing me. I guess I am getting old - things don't work like they used to...

One of the activities was pastor handing out silly gifts to certain people. Because we have such a large family, he gave us a table game "Keys to the Kingdom." The games says, "Where players help each other to win!" Don't know if it is fun or not - we'll give it a try when you all get here for Christmas.

Dad & I signed up for the clean-up committee. I knew my feet would get sore, so I brought my slippers and an apron. We were at the church until 10:00. Another long night for us!

Our Saturday Advent activity was to make 36+ poppy seed breads to pass out at church tomorrow. It will include pastoral staff, SS people, Youth Group leaders, Growth Group friends and friends from church.

Measuring:

Greasing the pans:

Greased:

Pouring the batter:

Ready for the oven:

The finished product:

We make 12 of them at a time. The reason only 10 are in the above picture is because two bombed. Too bad - we'll have them for lunch!

Zachary did help with the baking - he was our photographer, so he didn't get a picture of himself. Did you know that it takes five hours to make 36+ loaves of bread? We did and do!

Z's GAME!!!!!

2011-12-05T20:05:00.003-06:00

Tonight we played Lake Forest Country Day School. Their coach was very critical and demeaning of his team. We felt bad for the boys. Every time their boys made a mistake, he called time and said, "Whose fault is that?" What a jerk!

Our boys did GREAT! At the end of the first quarter, we had 22 points. Nick made 16 of them. He was really on fire.

Instructions from the Coach:

Zachary throwing the ball in:

An action shot - Zachary is #44:

Another action shot:

Yes, we won - 44-20. The boys did an amazing job! We were proud of them.

Elyse was the photographer. I always forget to take the camera out of my purse. Dad has missed and probably will miss most of Zachary's games. His tutoring hours are during game time. Sad for both Dad & Zachary.

Maybe I will remember the camera the next time and get some close ups! Don't hold your breath.

THANKSGIVING!!!!!

2011-11-25T16:16:00.002-06:00

Here's our lovely faces leaving Gma Laga's house today (Friday).

Hope you all had a great time with your in-laws!

MY FIRST DIY PROJECT!!!!!

2011-11-23T06:40:00.010-06:00

First, a picture of the birthday girls' dinner. We had Bulgogi, Cosmic Brownies, Vanilla ice cream and root beer. Quite a feast! Unlike her twins' choices (remember grapes, grape juice and peanuts?). At least Dad & I didn't have to raid the fridge after children's bedtime!

All right, just what you have been waiting for all these weeks: my first DIY project.

To the scrapbook store we go, buying a package of 6x6" colorful paper.

Print a template from a friend's blog:

Cut 24 copies from different colored paper:

Fold:

Trim each one:

Glue the edges together (my partner in crime):

One finished:

Twenty-four finished (actually 25 finished, because we can't count in our school):

Finished with the gluing:

Put the envelopes in colored order and glue numbers 1-24 on the front:

I typed up 24 things we could do each day in December. Dad & I checked our calendar for days we could do long projects. The other days were simple choices that could be done any time of day (we had to be careful of tutoring, school, basketball practices and games, church activities, etc.).

We hung the envelopes on the wall with green ribbon and cute little clothespins from Walmart.

I guess you could call this a family affair. My amazing photographer was Zachary.

The finished product, our Advent Calendar:

Have an amazing Christmas season remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior!

TWELVE YEARS OLD (almost)!!!!!

2011-11-22T14:46:00.005-06:00

Tomorrow is the actual day, but we celebrate today! Our little girl is growing up. Twelve years old, can you believe it?

For her birthday, we gave her this:

She had no idea what the point was. She thought it was for making t-shirts like she did in Chemistry class. Nope!

We decided to let her get her ears pierced.

For her earrings, she chose her birthstone - Yellow Topaz.

Happy #12 Elyse! You didn't even cry (but it did hurt, she said).

PIZZA, ANYONE?!!!!!

2011-11-09T12:19:00.002-06:00

What happened? I don't know! Makes me so mad!

We are eating it anyway, wouldn't you?

Any ideas, I would love to hear them!

I took a fork and punched four holes around the side of the pizza and slowly pushed the crust down. It didn't crack, just pushed air out the sides.

The finished product:

It tasted fine! Go figure!

MISS CRAFTY!!!!!

2011-11-07T21:09:00.003-06:00

Elyse has been knitting away. She decided to make a "Messenger Bag" for her friend, Emma. Emma's birthday was in October. Sorry this first picture is a little dark (I forgot to turn the flash on).

When the flash is working, you can see the bag. She did a GREAT job!

I hope Emma likes her present!

Elyse is going to buy some more yarn and make one for herself.

PCS & FAMILY TIME!!!!!

2011-11-05T16:08:00.004-05:00

Dad, Zachary, Elyse & I went to Portage to see PCS's gym. How do we entertain kids for a road trip? Here is how:

What does Dad do on a field trip? Get cheaper gas (35 cents a gallon cheaper than VH).

Stone Ave. is under construction. They are putting in drains and redoing the road. It will be really nice when it is done - but now, not so much...

Ta-da! The new gym. The cheerleaders practicing - no more octagon practices:

Our precious tour guide:

Dan, Emily, and Betsey ran in the "Hot Chocolate Race" in Chicago today. Zachary, Elyse & I decided to go down to meet up with them, have lunch, give them Grace's B-day gift and just see each other. Walking to our lunch establishment - "Potbelly."

After a great lunch! Dan-O is pretty good at taking pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dan-O! Hope you enjoyed "some" of your day!

FIELD TRIP AT LAST!!!!!

2011-10-26T17:54:00.013-05:00

We attempted a field trip on Monday. After driving 30 minutes to get there, they said I had to have a coupon to get the discount. Even though, our name was written down to attend the 12:30 demonstration. So, we went home. Bummer!

Reservations have to be made two weeks in advance. The next time we would be able to go would be December. Unless, we could get in today (with one day notice). WE COULD! So, we went!

Thirty minutes of driving and we arrived at Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg. Upon entering the center, I thought I would get a "hug" from a friend.

These pictures aren't in any order, just enjoy them. Everything was made out of Legos. The first thing we saw was the Chicago Skyline. It was AMAZING!!!!!

Since Halloween is just around the corner, there were spiders, bats and skeletons on all the displays. Here are five friends doing the can-can.

Buckingham Fountain...

Elyse "loved" the spiders:

Always making faces...

When you stuck your head in the back of this lion, he roared. Scared the puddin' out of Elyse.

We got to meet Indiana Jones in person...

Free with our ticket, was a "Tall Tower Workshop." We learned to make a sure foundation or your tower wouldn't stand up to wind, storms or earthquakes.

Here is our tower on a machine that shakes like an earthquake. Do you think ours stood the test? Yep, we made it!

Salute!

We made cars and ran them on a track. Reminded me of AWANA Grand Prix...

There were two rides. Elyse & I rode on this one, while Zachary took pictures.

A little blurry - but proof Elyse rode the ride...

A famous friend:

A more scary friend:

We saw three 4D movies with such cute glasses...

The other ride was a smooth ride through tunnels with different lego displays. King & Queen...

Bats...

A cute bathroom sign. While taking this picture, an employee said, "I never saw anyone taking a picture of the bathroom doors. We just laughed and moved on...

Poor Geoffrey from Toys R Us got his head stuck...

When we got back home, we had an hour before the kids had to be at Youth Group. After dropping them off at church, I drove to Zion to meet up with Jane Shutske, her daughter, Christie, and Christie's two children.

Here is Nazaria Renee (1 1/2 yrs old).

And Xenniyah Michelle (3 months)...aren't they beauties?

I am exhausted, but it was a very good day! Hope yours was special too!

WHEATON!!!!!

2011-10-18T17:44:00.005-05:00

Today we went to Wheaton College to see the Billy Graham Museum and other cool things. Our friend from church, Evy, was our "tour guide." We started our morning with a HUGE traffic jam (not unusual for this part of the country). We were 40 minutes late getting to Evy's house. We arrived at the Billy Graham Museum and started our tour.

The four of us at the beginning of the tour (except that this picture was actually taken AFTER we finished our tour).

This is a replica of a painting that was 40 ft x 195 ft. This copy is about 30 ft x 20 ft. It was awesome with the light shining behind the painting. If you look closely, you can see the glow around Jesus' body.

Yes, we let Elyse have the camera at one point. She always likes the jewelry, pottery and outfits of the time.

We have so many pictures of Elyse preaching:

Elyse tried to get Zachary to preach, but he was more interested in the clocks, sermon notes, and other gadgets in the pulpit:

At the end of the tour, the walls were cut out to make it look like a cross. You walked through the cross to a cross hanging on the wall.

Our friend Evy staring at the cross:

At the end of the cross, was a room called "heaven." It was a wall of clouds with mirrors on the ceiling and floor. It made you think YOU were flying up into heaven.

In this room, the music that was playing was the "Hallelujah Chorus." It was awesome!

Elyse being goofy in a very serious room:

After the museum, we ate lunch in the cafeteria. It is rated the best in the country. It was really good and we ate far too much. The kids had fun making ice cream cones out of a machine. Zachary had it on his hands and Elyse had a pretty good one-inch ice cream cone. When we took our trays up to the dishwasher, we all piled our glasses on Zachary's tray. It looked like he drank 12 glasses. Aren't we nice?

Next was the Wade (something) building. It held information about seven different authors. One of them was C.S. Lewis. They even had C.S. Lewis' original wardrobe. The kids thought about seeing if they could enter Narnia from it:

Many of the things in his books were on display and some from the movie. Here is the helmet from the Miraz's army. Do you recognize it?

Evy decided to take us to a popcorn store in downtown Wheaton. The whole store is only as wide as a door. It is about 30 feet long and only a door's width. They had candy on one wall (it used to be penny candy, but now it was a dime, quarter or a dollar candy). After the row of candy, a man was making fresh popcorn. We got a medium bag for $1.25. Such a deal. Elyse enjoyed it very much.

I happen to mention that I lived in Carol Stream, Illinois, before Dad & I got married. Evy decided that we had to find it and get a picture of it. I was amazed that I could remember the address. Nostalgia:

Evy took a few pictures too. If she sends them to me, I'll post them later. It was a very good day.

A NEW RECIPE!!!!!

2011-10-17T17:49:00.001-05:00

Since I have to bring treats to SS once in awhile, I thought I would try out a new egg recipe. It worked out pretty well, except a small crack. It was pretty easy!

Here is the finished product:

What it looks like sliced:

It wasn't hard to make at all. It tasted just like scrambled eggs. After all the work I did on it, I think scrambled eggs would be much better. But, at least I tried!

FINISHED PROJECT!!!!!

2011-10-08T19:13:00.002-05:00

Studying websites to get ideas for Elyse's shelf:

The unfinished project that we got out of someone's trash:

The pretty purple:

Oops:

Two beauties - the artists:

The artist at work:

Pretty ladies, pretty purple, pretty stripes, pretty finished:

Emily - how'd they do?

MYSTERY TRIP!!!!!

2011-10-08T11:37:00.006-05:00

Another post that goes along with the "eyes" post from yesterday. Dad & I decided to take a "colors" tour in Wisconsin. As we were heading north, we realized that the trees were still green. So much for a "colors tour." Then I remembered a neat park on the shores of Lake Michigan. It is gorgeous there. Some day, we will have a picnic there.

Kids excited about a "mystery trip."

One handsome boy with gorgeous scenery behind him:

The rest of us (including Sammy Davis, Jr.):

Lots of cool statues:

Running with style:

Trying to imitate him:

Beautiful flowers:

We needed to eat - so we stopped at:

The weather was amazing! The scenery worth the drive. The restaurant - don't EVER eat there. I was getting sick in the car on the way home. I made it home before I lost it. Thankfully! I was sick all night and part of this morning. Don't EVER eat there! We didn't know what "El Lago" meant, so we called Betsey. She said it means "The Lake." Figures since it was close to Lake Michigan. Zachary renamed it "The Canned." He meant that everything we ate came out of a can. It was the worst Mexican food we ever ate. We will NOT be going there again.

Next post will have pictures of a project going on while I type! You won't be disappointed! Stay tuned.

CONTEST & GIVEAWAY!!!!!

2011-10-07T19:03:00.003-05:00

Guess whose eyes and win a prize!

Eye #1:

Eye #2:

Eye #3:

Eye #4:

Caption contest: Which one do you like best?

1. "Zachary is thinking of doing something naughty."
2. "Constipation."
3. "Stop taking pictures, Mom!"
4. "No comment."

The winner (getting them ALL right) will be announced later by random choice.

APPLES, GRAND KIDS, CHILDREN!!!!!

2011-10-01T20:12:00.008-05:00

Friday, Zachary, Elyse & I drove to DK Orchards to pick apples. Luke, Lacey, Grace, Caleb, Ava & Jaden met us there. We got there a little early. It started to rain pretty hard. When Luke's family got there, the rain stopped. It didn't start again, until we were done picking apples.

We also got a few tomatoes (picked that morning), a gallon of apple cider and one pumpkin (Elyse caught me in a weak moment).

Not only was it rainy, but it was freezing. We all had on coats, hats and gloves. I remembered our boots, so our feet were cold, but dry.

All bundled up and ready to pick:

Two big helpers:

Proof that Lacey was there:

Zachary helping Grace fill their basket:

My BIG helper was Jaden. I would pick the apples while he put them in the basket. Each time he laughed really hard. I didn't get the laughter, but it was cute!

Luke picked some at the top of the hill. He posed for me:

Eating our apples and getting ready to get back on the tractor-pulled wagon:

We almost pulled away without getting the Gala apples L & L paid for:

Finally loaded up:

After all our work, we rewarded ourselves with Taco Bell:

Jaden really likes Taco Bell - he ate a whole bunch:

Z, E & I stayed the night at L & L's house. On Saturday, we watched the grands while L & L went to a wedding. We sure had a full weekend. It was a lot of fun!

BEST BUDS!!!!!

2011-09-24T13:57:00.003-05:00

Zachary took care of the grandsons. Elyse took care of the granddaughters.

There was lots of shooting going on:

Lots of light saber fights:

And some really good one-on-one:

It was great to have the grands here! Such fun watching Z & E take responsibility and enjoy the little ones. We get the same opportunity on the 1st! Can't wait!

FT. WAYNE!!!!!

2011-09-19T06:28:00.006-05:00

After a trip to LA, watching four grand children, we decided to go to Ft. Wayne for the zoo and the Johnny Appleseed Festival.

Zachary enjoyed playing video games, either by himself, or against Micah, Elyse or Betsey. It was fun watching them (except when I fell asleep).

The kids being silly at the zoo:

Petting the animals:

This guy was scary, he paced back and forth right in front of us:

Dad asked that this picture be posted. It was supposed to be me kissing this guy, but the rude people next to us were in the way. Figures!

See what I was getting in to:

The zoo has a new exhibit, the sky lift. Don't EVER go on it. Three of us were terrified and ready to lose our lunch. Zachary was green:

Two more of the terrified people:

We even got to play in an old workers' truck:

We kept hearing drums. We found them and added our own band to the air:

The penguins kept having business meetings:

The highlight of the zoo was the log ride:

Saturday, we went to the Johnny Appleseed Festival. It was a lot of fun! Micah was able to go with us because he doesn't work on Saturdays.

The gang beside Johnny's grave site:

I have more pictures, but am too lazy to post them. Come see them for yourself!

It was a great weekend! We loved Betsey & Micah's apartment. They are doing so well!

DAY 2 CONTINUTES!!!!!

2011-09-14T21:48:00.008-05:00

Vernon Hills Public Works had an open house tonight from 4-7. All kinds of trucks and equipment were open to climbing on, riding in/on or just to take a gander. It was awesome and FREE!

Not only did we have the time of our lives, but we got dinner for EIGHT people FREE! We had hotdogs, chips, rice krispy treats and pop or Capri Sun.

Each station that was open had either a snack, piece of candy, or a trinket of some sort. We came home with construction hats, construction vests, pencils, balloons, bubbles, stickers and even a skunk pin. Caleb especially liked that last one.

We met two families from our church there. One of the families joined us at the park this morning, so the kids remembered them. It was a well thought out program.

The balloons we received are all stuck in our 20 ft. cathedral ceiling. When the helium wears out in the morning, they will be able to have their balloons again. Either that or a ladder and a broom will do the trick.

Our hall for the night:

A very patient little girl, waiting in line for a very scary ride:

Getting her safety gear on:

And up she goes:

Yes, Ava was the ONLY one brave enough to ride the cherry picker. Of course, I had to ride with her. It was really high and a little scary. Thankfully, Ava couldn't see over the bucket, so she had no idea we were above the trees. We made it back to earth, safe and sound.

Zachary and his two charges:

A silly boy with some of his prizes:

Ava riding in a bob-cat:

Zachary and Jaden in a big "twuck."

My favorite uncle:

Checking out the plows:

A real fox fur:

A lot of walking:

Hey you!

Getting way too many balloons:

They all made it home:

Even Elyse wanted one - she said she is still a little girl:

One winner:

Hey, they fit:

Another winner:

Tomorrow we give the kids back to their parents. It is going to be so quiet around here. I'll bet we can find our carpet again. The toys have never had so many hours of play. It was a GREAT week! I hope to add some more pictures tomorrow of our last finale. Stay tuned!

DAY 2!!!!!

2011-09-14T11:35:00.005-05:00

Even though it was freezing (53 degrees), we went to the park. Most of us had a sweatshirt or jacket, Caleb wore Zachary's t-shirt over his shirt to keep him a little warmer.

Some of these pictures are a little blurry, sorry about that.

Elyse & Grace loved the swings:

Jaden & Ava played in the sandbox for the whole time:

Our pastor's wife, Londa, and their daughter, Grace, joined us:

Grace loved walking around:

At the house, Jaden loved playing us "tunes."

The gang watching "The Lion King."

Poor Ava decided to be sick this morning. She wasn't able to eat breakfast, but she downed her morning snack like no tomorrow. Hopefully, that means she is feeling much better.

Bread is baking (smells so good). Lunch time is almost upon us. Then NAP TIME - can't wait! L & L, I hope I don't ruin your children's nap time - we don't make Grace & Caleb take a nap. Just the little ones. The big ones are entertained by Z & E, so we let naps fly out the window. Caleb sure loves playing baseball, soccer and catch with Uncle Zachary. Elyse & Grace are having a marvelous time playing board games, painting nails, etc. Jaden & Ava are getting in on the action wherever they can.

This is how the boys sleep:

Maybe tonight, I will get a picture of how the girls sleep!

GRANDKIDS, DAY 1!!!!!

2011-09-13T11:20:00.004-05:00

Today we took the six children to the park. It was a balmy 69 degrees. If you were in the sun, the wind wasn't too bad. It was a gorgeous day.

Jaden's quote: "I don't want to swing."

A push from a big sister:

A slide, however, was a good thing:

I really liked the train:

I'd rather explore:

Ava could swing for hours:

Grace loved swinging by herself:

There are no pictures of the big boys - maybe next time!

The kids left without me to walk to the park. I was looking for the keys. I finally found them in the van. In the meantime, the kids had made it to the park without me. I walked to the park and looked for the kids. You'd think it would be easy to find SIX children - but it wasn't. I sat on a bench and waited for the kids. You would never believe where they were. Don't panic Luke & Lacey - I did enough panicking all by myself. The boys (Z, C & J) went to the baseball diamond. The girls (E, G & A) walked to the library. I could have screamed! That is over a mile walk, plus they had to cross Townline Rd. Believe me, that will be the last time they do that. I was sure one would be severely injured by the time I found them. BUT, they made it! Elyse held Ava's hand across Townline. L & L - I guess your children aren't safe with me! Thank the Lord His guardian angels work overtime.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!!!

2011-09-10T15:02:00.003-05:00

Erin invited us to a Mary Kay party. She knew we couldn't come, so we decided to do it and surprise her. Surprise her, we did! Zachary, Elyse & I drove the 14 1/2 hours all by ourselves. I was surprised I did pretty good - no falling asleep at all! Amazing! When we got to Erin's house, she wasn't home. Tobin hid our car in the garage. When Erin came home, she walked in the door and greeted the dogs. Then she saw us and she about flipped. She didn't think we would come. But, we did!

Tobin took us to the base to see a B-52. It was so neat to see it. Zachary & Elyse really like that. There isn't much room for humans, plus it was extremely hot in there.

Heading out to see the B-52:

A B-52 taking off (the small speck in the picture):

Tobin showing us the ropes. Zachary was really interested and asked a bunch of questions.

Andersen went with us too. He is such a good baby. His mama, Margaret, is in Tobin's class.

What would a weekend in LA be without Bristol. Here she is with Uncle Zachary's hat. She didn't keep it on too long.

That's all folks!

AND I ASK YOU?????

2011-09-01T16:08:00.003-05:00

Do you think we need to buy new bathroom rugs?

Do you think I should make the "throw-up girl" pay for them?

Do you think I should vacuum?

I guess rugs don't last 19 years - cheap things!

A boy learning how to use the camera:

First time out playing basketball, he gets hurt - figures!

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

2011-08-30T17:05:00.006-05:00

Today was FREE day at the Field Museum in Chicago. We decided to go now because most school children wouldn't be having a field trip so early in the year. We were right! There was hardly anyone there.

Just outside the parking garage, a wall of water:

The field museum:

Elyse was afraid the tusks would fall on her:

Elyse stirring the pot:

How strong are you?

Is brother stronger?

Samson's twin:

With all his might:

Change for the tolls?

One handsome boy:

Charlie bit me:

The trip scared him senseless (old glasses):

Old glasses:

Walmart called and said the kids glasses were ready for pick up. After the field trip, we stopped by the house to pick up capris that we needed to return. Then we headed to Walmart so the kids could see the light.

New glasses for Elyse:

New glasses for Zachary:

For you sports people that wear glasses, you know how banged up they can get. We decided if it was pretty cheap, we would get Zachary a pair of athletic glasses. They were dirt cheap, so we got him a pair. Here he is trying them on - sorry about the blurry picture:

Of course, he wasn't ready for me to snap the picture:

But, I snapped away anyhow. His team colors are red & white - these will match perfectly. Hopefully, we won't have smashed glasses and cut up face this year. We'll see!

We need to work on peaches again tonight. Oh boy!

NEWEST OF THE NEW!!!!!

2011-08-29T11:56:00.003-05:00

Second update in two days - not bad for me!

What do you do with THREE bags of peaches?

You make seven (7) quarts of jam and four pie fillings.

Three quarts of jam were already in the freezer when I took this picture:

This is how many we have left!

Right now my back and legs hurt to much to continue. We are taking a break! After lunch, we will start (yes, I said start) school. Then I will finish the rest of the peaches after that. Maybe even after dinner tonight. Who knows! Any helpers want to stop by - just come on!

PIG, PEACHES, PETS & PEOPLE!!!!!

2011-08-28T16:43:00.007-05:00

We arrived at Emily & Dan's on Friday night around 6:00. After dinner, we started chopping veggies, making "Beans With a Kick," buying ice, etc.

Dan, Art & Zachary stayed up all night to cook the pig.

Saturday morning, Zachary came in to talk to me around 6:00 a.m. He decided to sit on the bed while he talked. Next thing we knew, he was snoring away. He woke up three hours later. When he came down for breakfast, he wondered how it happened that he had a bagel in his hands. He was totally out of it.

Emily worked hard putting leftovers away.

Two pets that joined in on the activities: Zelda

And George:

One handsome s-i-l after a hard night of cooking a pig, and spending the day entertaining family & friends. A well deserved nap!!!!!

One of our handsome sons:

Since Dan & Emily didn't get ready for church on time, they decided to go peach picking with us. The peaches were cheap (65 cents a pound). We picked three baskets full, D & E picked two baskets full. Our pickers:

Elyse:

Dan-O:

Dad (Tim):

Zachary & Emily:

And, yours truly:

Elyse broke out in a rash from picking the peaches:

Our car was a little over packed, so some of the peaches got smashed. They are still good for peach jam - which we are making tomorrow. We will freeze four peach pie fillings and make one pie to eat tomorrow. The house smells so good!

The reason we don't have any pictures of Luke's family, is because we forgot to take the camera out at the Pig Roast. We also didn't get any pictures of Betsey & Micah (but you can tell they were there because we somehow got a picture of Zelda).

FIRST DAY!!!!

2011-08-22T09:57:00.004-05:00

Today is the first day of year 21 for our homeschooling. After breakfast, we start with Bible. Dad prints the chapter we are going to read that day. We read it, talk about what we see as significant and then have a prayer time.

Two handsome men:

Two lovely girls:

We took a long time getting the school room ready. We had new books to organize and put it in the owner's desks. We had tons of books to try to sell - which we did sell some and made a little money. Since Zachary broke his collar bone, he was sleeping on a lawn chair. We had to remove that, straighten up his room and get his real bed ready for him. The whole room got a thorough dusting and vacuuming and we were ready to begin.

Our first day:

Two children aren't too happy to start school, but start we must and we did. We had a rough beginning, but we are bound and determined to have a better year than last year. We already have a few field trips lined up. Watch for future updates and pictures.

Hope you are having a great day too!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?????

2011-08-17T10:41:00.003-05:00

For two years our living room looked the same. If you know me well, you know I can't stand that. The only way the carpet under furniture got vacuumed, was to rearrange the room. That means...

I decided we were ready for a change (and a serious vacuum cleaning, ha!). I need your opinion, what do you think of the new room? My partner in crime is on the stairs.

Another view:

The problem is the lamp by the little couch. The cord has to go across the floor. I KNOW someone (probably me) will trip on it and break the lamp. Other than that, what do you think?

Now we have our landlady's furniture marks on the carpet, my furniture marks on the carpet from the first arrangement and we are now making third marks with this arrangement. I can't seem to get them out of the carpet. Oh well, it isn't my house, right?

Edit: I want you all to know that my vacuum cleaner was completely overhauled by my loving husband. It no longer smells like my granddog. Dad found a broken piece inside, replaced it and now we are sucking up the whole carpet, and children, not just the dust/dirt.

THE DROWNED RAT LOOK!!!!!

2011-08-13T13:28:00.005-05:00

Every day Zachary takes a bike ride. Sometimes 20 miles at a time. Today, he decided to ride a shorter distance (thankfully). After he was gone about 30 minutes, it started to rain. Then it started to down pour, with lightening. Then the hail came. Dad decided to take the car and go look for him. While Dad was out looking, Zachary came in. You can't really tell from the picture, but he looks like someone dropped a 500 gallon bucket of water on him.

The last few minutes of his ride he walked because he couldn't see well enough to be riding his bike. It would be nice to have windshield wipers on our glasses for times like this, ha!

THE UNVEILING!!!!!

2011-08-04T10:08:00.008-05:00

Four weeks ago today, Zachary broke his collar bone. He has been in an immobilizer since then. The doctor x-rayed his shoulder today and gave him the o.k. to take the immobilizer off for good.

This is how he looked for FOUR weeks:

The bone is healing, but not all the way healed. We go back in three weeks. Zachary can start using his arm, but NO CONTACT sports or anything that would allow him to fall on his shoulder. We showed the doctor his huge sore on his elbow and knee and asked him, "You mean contact sports that cause sores like this?" The doctor rolled his eyes and asked how Zachary got them. Yep, that is what he meant by NO CONTACT sports. But, how can you keep a good boy down? The scrapes were made at youth group (it is hard to stay out of the action when you are only 13).

Heading toward freedom:

A little more freedom:

Almost there:

Freedom at last! Notice he is making a muscle (jokingly).

Zachary has lost strength in his arm, but hopes to get that back up to par by basketball season. Today he has started playing his computer games with TWO hands. He can only lift his arm shoulder high - he says it is too heavy to go any farther. There isn't any pain - PTL!!!!!

Now all we need to do is strengthen that left side.

TERRE HAUTE!!!!!

2011-08-01T09:38:00.003-05:00

The point in going to TH was for Danni's wedding. Erin was in the wedding. Elyse & I watched Bristol during the festivities. The wedding was held at Rose-Hulman in the same place that Erin's wedding was held - brought back many memories for Erin.

Doesn't Erin make a beautiful bridesmaid?

Elyse, Bristol and I stayed at the motel most of the time. We walked to Bob Evan's for lunch (quite a hot walk - 91 degrees). We also walked to Steak & Shake for a treat that evening. Bristol was a champ all day. At night, she didn't want to go to sleep. We thought she missed her Momma. When Erin walked in the room, all was well. After a few minutes, Bristol decided it was safe to go to sleep because her Momma was there.

Some of Tobin's kin came for a visit. Carol, Kayla, Rosemary & Fauneil met us at the motel. Kayla went swimming with Elyse and Bristol. It was great for Erin & Bristol to see them.

Elyse loved make ponytails in Bristol's hair. Bristol was very patient with her doing it too.

Erin & Bristol fly out today! It was a great weekend!

BRISTOL!!!!!

2011-07-30T10:23:00.003-05:00

Our first day in the motel. Bristol "sometimes" like being without her Mom. Mom is very busy getting ready for the wedding that is tonight. We are napping, playing with Bristol and feeding her.

Elyse "babysitting" all by herself. She even changed two diapers - one was fully loaded. Elyse's first attempt at diapering and she did GREAT!

One happy baby, with her friend, Aunt Elyse.

Love me a "few" pillows:

Have a great day!

MUSEUM!!!!!

2011-07-25T18:38:00.007-05:00

We have been wanting to go to this museum in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for months. The Hedges and our schedules didn't match up. We decided to go today. Z & E wondered if we could just take the Hedges children without their mom. Yep, that is how it worked out for today. The kids and I left this morning around 9:30. The museum is one hour away.

The museum is a block-long brick building with small rooms inside. Each room depicts a certain part of history (cars, pharmacy, store, house, etc.). The kids seemed to have a good time looking at things, reading the signs and playing with things that weren't labeled "do not touch."

Anchor's Away...

A Studebaker...

Did you know this? Shocking, isn't it?

Anyone want a perm in their hair?

Emma & Elyse pretending to cook on an old stove:

Chatham sharpening his tools, Elyse pumping air on the fire, and Zachary hitting Elyse over the head with a hammer (typical, eh?)...

Zachary & Chatham playing with a machine until they read the sign, "Do not touch."

Prisoners, at last...

Elyse got a kick out of these rules - you'll have to click on the picture to read some of them...

Does she remind you of a dog?

Everyone seemed to have a good time. It was great to get away for the day - especially since it wasn't so hot today.

YOUR OPINION COUNTS!!!!!

2011-07-24T16:30:00.003-05:00

Not a very interesting post, but now you can see what we do when we are bored.

Got tired of the old arrangement. Being bored one night, I decided to do the cleaning and moving all by myself. I guess I should have had Emily and her RUG to help out. But, alas, I did it all by myself. What do you think?

I have been waiting until we moved into OUR house to put up pictures. We didn't know we would be here three years or maybe I would have put pictures up. Hindsight is always 20/20.

SUMMER!!!!!

2011-07-13T09:15:00.005-05:00

We have been trying to find things for Zachary to do with his handicap. There isn't much to do but read, computer and movies. He has wanted to see "Mr. Popper's Penguins" for a long time. Since our "local" drive-in theatre was playing that AND "Cars 2," we decided that would be a fun evening. We decided to go on Tuesday night because the temperature would be cooler. Weather.com kept saying it was going to rain right when the movie would start. If that happened, we would all be crammed in the car to watch the movie - with the wipers going. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Guess what? The weather man was wrong. We had a few sprinkles on the way to the theatre, but nothing during the show.

We packed our dinner - picnic style (sandwiches, yogurt, fresh strawberries, Cheez-its, homemade cookies, iced tea and water). We drove the 30 minutes to the theatre and got there around 7:30. The movie didn't start until after 9:00. We ate our dinner and goofed around.

Inside the concession stand was this statue:

The kids sat on lawn chairs outside the car:

The other two participants (you can tell Dad doesn't like movies too much):

For those of you who are wondering, or thinking about seeing either of these two movies, don't. They aren't too good. If we hadn't paid to get in to see them, we might have left. I kept saying, "It gets better, right?" But, it never did. We had a good night in spite of a not so good set of movies. Still trying to think of things to do with a handicapped son, any ideas?

ONE ON ONE BASKETBALL CAMP

2011-07-07T16:35:00.007-05:00

EDIT: New picture at the bottom, just for you, Erin!

Zachary went to a basketball camp this morning @ 6:00. He spent 4 1/2 hours learning drills and getting to know the guys. He was supposed to be there until Saturday night. BUT...something happened. Zachary could tell the whole story, but just suffice it to say that he ran into a guy full force and ended up on the parking lot.

We received a phone call to come get him. He couldn't move his arm. He couldn't eat (that is a sure sign that something is wrong with him, ha!).

After spending the afternoon in urgent care and getting x-rays at the hospital, the verdict is a broken collar bone. We go to a specialist tomorrow to see what they can do for him. So much for basketball camp.

At urgent care:

His wonderful nurse:

Waiting for the results of the x-rays:

Zachary is the first one of our children to actually break a bone. Luke came in close with a separated growth plate, but nothing broken. Grace & Caleb - Zachary has joined your "club."

The evidence: Click on it and the circle is the break!

Temporary fix:

We'll see the specialist on Monday morning at 8:15.

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

2011-06-21T11:15:00.004-05:00

It is hot today (85 but feels like 92). We decided to go on a short field trip to Ft. Sheridan. They have lots of trails (which it is too hot to do), but they have a giant red hawk's nest. I have been wanting to do it for over a year now. Today, seemed like the day.

We drove to Ft. Sheridan (11 miles) and started walking on the trail. The trail we took is about 3/10 of a mile. It isn't very long, but since it was so hot, it was long enough.

The bird nest is huge. I would say about 100 feet across with two layers deep. The top is just walking area with lookouts. The inner circle has three eggs in it. We climbed on the eggs.

Even I took a turn:

The top layer of the nest had lookout machines to look over the ravine. You know the machines - they usually take a quarter and you can adjust the view. These, however, were free. So, we took a look. Zachary is looking out the kiddie one:

The adult-sized one was in the back of a red hawk's head - you end up looking out his nostrils, thrilling, huh?

That trip took about five minutes (the drive took about 20 minutes each way). The kids are done - let's head home.

Now I can say we did it and we won't have to go back anymore. Except if we want to walk the trails some day - probably not!

BASEBALL, HOTDATES, FATHER'S DAY!!!!!

2011-06-19T16:12:00.007-05:00

Elyse manned the camera while Dad & I watched the game. Zachary pitched (dirty pants from sliding into the base).

Proof that Elyse was there too!

Zachary's team won 11-3. We played Mundelein (the town west of us).

Dad & I went to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for our 32nd anniversary. The kids stayed home (alone!). This fountain is in front of "The Riviera." We were going to get a picture under the sign to prove we were on the Riviera, but by the time we thought of it, it was too far to walk back.

Lake Geneva is a lot like Nashville, Indiana. All kinds of shops to visit. It is on a much bigger scale though. Most of the stores closed at 5:00, but we weren't there for shopping. We walked for quite awhile, looking for a restaurant to eat dinner. Tim picked it out. The restaurant turned out to be an expensive hamburger joint. Over priced, and only so-so on taste. Dad had a BBQ chicken sandwich, I had a teriyaki chicken sandwich. They gave us enough fries to sink a battleship. It must have been two potatoes worth.

The infamous restaurant:

FATHER'S DAY: We decided this year that we would just have a nice dinner and the kids would make cards for Father's Day and Mother's Day.

Zachary getting his thank-you hug:

Elyse getting hers:

Today in SS, we started a new program for the summer. It is called Pecha Kucha. It is 20 power point pictures that stay on the screen for 20 seconds while the teacher explains each one. We are studying Proverbs throughout the summer. After the 20 pictures, we discuss questions about the subject. Today's subject was friendship. Dad & I sat at a table with three other people. All three people I had never seen before. Dad knew the one lady, but I didn't. She only goes to our church during the summer, because she lives in Florida during the winter. The other couple had only been at our church once, so I didn't feel bad that I had never seen them before. It is an interesting way to teach a lesson, not sure I like it though.

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers reading this message!

SECOND POST TODAY!!!!!

2011-06-04T18:33:00.004-05:00

We finished school on the 2nd of June. We were bound and determined to celebrate finishing another year of school, but also finishing our first AND LAST year of co-op. We kept putting it off because of school, baseball and other conflicts. Finally, TODAY was the day to celebrate.

Our local bowling alley allows kids to bowl two free games every day throughout the summer. We only have to pay to rent the shoes (if we owned our own shoes, we wouldn't have to pay anything). Today, we went bowling.

Zachary's bowling form:

Elyse's bowling form:

The first games' scores:

Proof that this is such an interesting game to watch:

The second games' scores:

You can tell by the scores of the second game that they were tired. This is also the same day that Zachary pitched two of the three innings of this morning's game. Dad & I think that one time this summer we might play one game with the kids. Neither of us are very good, so it ought to be a pretty funny game.

Hope you read my first update for today as well. Have a great rest of the weekend!

PICNICS AND BASEBALL!!!!!

2011-06-04T11:40:00.005-05:00

Last night, we hosted 55 Trinity students at the hill for a cookout. Tim did the planning, we both shopped for the meat, buns, condiments, drinks and ice. Everyone else brought something to share. It was a great time meeting the students and their families. Elyse made a new friend. We were all exhausted when we got home.

Zachary had a baseball game this morning at 8:30. He played very well. It was a s-l-o-w game. In two hours we only finished three innings. That's how slow it was. Zachary was awesome. He can tell you better what happened. From my view - he was GREAT!

Here are the pictures I took (yes, I remembered the camera finally). These are all from the third inning (I forgot I had the camera before that).

Off and running...

Stealing third...

He made it to third...

Leading off, hoping to steal home...

Made it to first...

Elyse sitting in the shade of the gazebo - it was 88 degrees, but felt like 93 (according to weather.com). She has the pink hat on sitting in a lawn chair.

He scores!

The game was long and hot - I guess Zachary was bored at third...

Tonight we are taking the kids bowling - we have free passes for two games each. I won't bowl, but I just might remember the camera and take a few pictures - don't hold your breath.

BAPTISMS & FAMILY!!!!!

2011-05-22T18:09:00.004-05:00

This was one busy weekend. Friday night Betsey, Micah, Emily & Dan came here (plus George & Zelda). It was GREAT to see them. Zachary had youth group too.

Saturday, Zachary had a baseball game in the morning. He pitched AWESOMELY (if that is a word). Saturday night Z, E, T & I went to a wedding. Zachary's youth leaders were getting married. It was a great time.

Sunday, Zachary was BAPTIZED! That was amazing! It always brings tears to my eyes to witness a baptism. But, even more so when it is one of your children. Our pastor allowed Tim to do the honors. Tim has now baptized all six of our children - what a privilege.

Pastor Eclov, Tim and Zachary in the baptismal:

Glorious!

We ended the afternoon with a cookout at the park. Our complex is amazing! While Tim cooked the burgers and dogs, the children were able to play on the swings, etc. It was hot (80 degrees), but the breeze was beautiful! It was a great day and a great weekend!

An amazing dessert made by Betsey:

Betsey & Micah gave Zachary his birthday present while they were here (it is always better late than never).

Our married children are on their way home. Praying for safety during all these storms.

Aren't we gorgeous? We missed you Erin, Tobin & Bristol!

ANOTHER FIELD TRIP? - YES!!!!!

2011-05-19T16:19:00.007-05:00

Before the field trip, Elyse was busy making a shawl for her 18" doll. She made a sash, a skirt (for the doll) and a cell phone holder (but uses it for a pen holder). She is quite the knitter (and crocheter - if those are words).

Stockinette stitch:

Garter stitch:

Z, E & I went to see a play "Robin Hood." It was put on by CYT (Christian Youth Theater). Most of the actors/actresses are homeschoolers. We were a little disappointed in the acting ability, the singing and the script. It wasn't nearly as good as "Fiddler on the Roof."

We were told to go to the Kenosha Public Museum. It would only take two hours to see it all (actually about 30 minutes). The museum was free and right on the edge of Lake Michigan. The site out the window of the museum was amazing (minus the parking lot).

One little Indian:

Two little Indians:

The rules:

As usual, a disobedient boy:

Even Mom got in the act:

Don't ask me what it was or what the point was - I have no idea!

Gutting a woolly mammoth:

A trading post with a unique customer:

This is supposed to be a giant beaver, but we thought it looked more like the rats on "Princess Bride." Do you agree?

We didn't stay too long at the museum because we had to get Elyse to her tennis lesson. We got back in town and had 45 minutes to spare. I took a much needed nap. Zachary played basketball while Elyse waited for her class to start. Elyse is getting pretty good at tennis. Just wait until she teaches you how to be a pro this weekend!

Finally, we are home. We are rushing to get this blog done while dinner is cooking. Then we need to rush to Zachary's first baseball game of the season. If I get the battery in my camera charged up really quick, I might take pictures of the game (I usually forget to take the camera, or if I remember the camera, I forget to take pictures). No guarantees!

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

2011-05-17T18:02:00.005-05:00

Today Z, E & I went on a field trip with the Hedges' family (that is Z & E's best friends from church and their mother). We went to Theresa, Wisconsin (pronounces th-race-a, not ter-es-a). It is a family owned cheese making factory that is made the old fashioned way. Everything is made manually. We walked through several refrigerators and freezers to get to the beginning of the tour. The first 15 minutes of the tour was a video that was very informative. Then Lenny came to talk to us and answer any of our questions. He also brought us three kinds of sliced cheese and one cheese spread with crackers. He was very helpful in answering our questions.

Lenny took us through the last refrigerator that is kept at 70 degrees with 90% humidity. I walked through the door and immediately turned back around. No way was I walking through that - it felt like walking through the jungle.

The outside of the cheese factory. Each canton was shown above the door. The owner of the factory was from Bern, his father was from St. Gallen.

Getting ready for our tour in our lovely hats:

After the cheese factory, we headed over to the chocolate factory. It is owned and run by a man completely blind. It was amazing what they could make out of chocolate. There were guitars, high-heeled shoes, suckers, graduation caps, diplomas, flowers - you name it, it was there. Elyse bought a guitar for Luke (sorry, Luke, she ate it). Zachary and I shared a peanut butter cup. The chocolate was to die for, but the peanut butter wasn't as good as a Reese's cup.

The famous guitar:

Our fearless driver:

Proof that Emma was there:

Crazy Chatham with his haul from the chocolate factory:

On the way home, we stopped at Culver's for lunch. We left our bag of cheese in the car (it was fine because it was pretty cool today). The boys sat at one table, the girls at another and Pamela and I at another table. We enjoy it that way - we can talk without being interrupted.

It was an amazing break from our school routine. Everyone had a great time. The parents are extremely tired - the kids are ready for another round. We talked about hitting Jelly Belly again on the way home. Three of the kids wanted to stop, but the parents didn't. Guess who won?

BATTLE SCARS!!!!!

2011-05-16T13:00:00.003-05:00

This is what you get when you volunteer for nursery work @ VCL.

Elyse had her first nursery duty last night and I think it will be her last...

PRETTY FLOWERS!!!!!

2011-05-13T18:00:00.004-05:00

You remember the picture of our tree in the last blog. Now the rain is knocking all the petals off the tree. Elyse decided to be creative with the fallen petals.

Under our gorgeous tree:

This is the deck covered with the petals:

Now Elyse's creation:

Aren't they gorgemous?

GORGEOUS!!!!!

2011-05-12T08:17:00.001-05:00

No, the title isn't about me, lol.

Isn't this tree beautiful. Later in the year, it isn't so nice looking. The flowers smell so good. Elyse has picked a bunch and put them on our table. They really brighten up the room.

If you read the comments, Elyse complains about not posting her picture, so here it is:

MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

2011-05-08T19:10:00.003-05:00

As I was minding my own business waiting for time to leave for church, my children interrupted my reading to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.

Today was a special day all around.

It began with homemade cards by Zachary & Elyse.

Elyse made a card with a bow on the front. You had to unsnap the bow to open the card (very creative). She listed several things that she is thankful for that I do for her. It was very nice.

Zachary made a card that thanked me for several things and then gave me 30 seconds of peace (which he is counting out in the picture). It was a nice 30 seconds.

The six children and five grandchildren put a bunch of pictures on a calendar for May 2011 to April 2012. Each month had pictures of one of the kids or grandkids. It was an awesome gift. Elyse decided to take it to SS and show everyone. After she showed it, I took it to my SS class. Everyone thought it was a tremendous idea and loved all of it.

Thank you Luke, Lacey, Grace, Caleb, Ava, Jaden, Dan, Emily, George, Tobin, Erin, Bristol, Titus, Rogue, Micah, Betsey, Zelda, Zachary & Elyse. What a wonderful way to celebrate today!

BLANKETS!!!!!

2011-05-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

We LOVE freecycle! Elyse has been super busy!

Elyse put this together all by herself.

Aren't you proud of her? Maybe a little jealous?

In the crocheting department, she rocks!

BTW, she didn't make the squares, we got them already finished off of freecycle. All she did was sew the squares together. She also got the instruction book, so she can practice and make another one some day...

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!!!!!

2011-05-02T13:18:00.002-05:00

Sunday we went to Long Grove for their chocolate festival. We were promised LOTS of chocolate. The festival was like Valpo's Popcorn Festival. Booths of stuff to buy, sample or eat all around us. One of the booths had about 50 jars of things to sample. Jelly, salsa, dips, etc. They offered pretzels and chips to taste everything. Then if you like something - you could buy a small (very small) jar for only $5. We tasted and then left.

Another booth had samples of dips. They gave you a handful of pretzels. The dips were in bowls that you could dip. There were signs everywhere "No double dipping or turnovers." I like those signs! The dips were expensive. They actually were powder that you added to either mayo or sour cream. We tasted and then left.

We walked several blocks and didn't see any chocolate. What kind of a chocolate festival is it without chocolate. Finally, we came upon strawberries dipped in chocolate. OR, you could buy a strawberry kabob dipped in chocolate. At $4.75 each strawberry, we opted out. Ridiculous. What do they think we are, tourists?

At least we got a lot of walking in - the wind was fierce - thus the hair blown all around. At least now we know to skip the chocolate festival from now on. Not worth the time. The only good out of it was doing it as a family.

CHEMISTRY CONNECTION!!!!!

2011-04-30T17:07:00.005-05:00

Zachary and Elyse took a class in chemistry at Trinity. It was taught by a lady from our church, who is the chemistry teacher at Trinity. There were several adult helpers as well. Elyse really enjoyed the class. Zachary thought it was o.k. Today was the last day and the parents were invited to see what the students accomplished. Each student received a certificate for finishing the class. On the back of the certificate was a note written by their teacher.

Elyse was the first to get called up to receive her certificate. I took the camera with me to take pictures of everything. After Elyse sat down, Tim said, "Didn't you want to get a picture of Elyse?" Dumb mother. Of course I wanted a picture, I just forgot to take the camera out. I did, however, get a picture of Zachary receiving his certificate (no preferential treatment, just a blond mother).

Zachary receiving his certificate:

One of their projects was decorating a t-shirt. Zachary did HRK on the front (home run kids - his basketball teams name):

The back says "Rumpster #34." He now has his baseball team calling him "Rumpster."

Elyse made a design. If you enlarge this, you will see she even decorated the neckline.

She said her shirt wasn't any good because the colors ran. But, the colors were supposed to run, so it was amazing! We think she did a GREAT job! So, does her teacher!

After the program was all over, they had cake and juice for us. We had company coming at 4:45 and it was 4:40 and we had a 15 minute drive home. The kids grabbed their cake and we took off. Our company was already at the house when we arrived, oops.

Zachary & Chatham are teaching Sunday School tomorrow for the Jr. High class. They are working on their lesson right now. I hope all the laughter is just for today and not for tomorrow. But, they ARE Junior Highers...

Elyse was sad that chemistry was over. She wants to do it again next year. We will see what next year brings.

SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES!!!!!

2011-04-25T16:31:00.003-05:00

Today was Elyse's first tennis lesson. Her teacher is Zachary's basketball coach. Elyse didn't want to go. She was afraid she would be embarrassed.

When she got home, Dad asked her how was tennis. She said it was cold. He didn't ask for the weather report, but how she liked it. She said it was fun. Did we not tell her that would be the case?

First lesson:

She did a really good job!

Zachary played basketball with Daniel (Coach's son) while Elyse took her lesson. I went shopping at WalMart during the one-hour lesson. Killed three stones with one bird!

Zachary waiting for a rebound.

Yes, I am back to driving kids all over the place. Lucky me!

RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!!!!

2011-04-24T13:37:00.002-05:00

Today was a blessed day! VCL's choir sang today - a group of about 35. With only a few practices, they were pretty good. VCL's practice is to have baptisms on Resurrection Sunday. Today we enjoyed watching SEVEN people getting baptized. After they introduce the person, the person gives their testimony. Then a person special in the candidates life prays for them. Zachary & Elyse's friends, Chatham and Emma, were baptized today. They chose their ex-SS teachers to pray for them (a married couple). Doug & Jamie live in New Jersey. They sent a picture for the power point and recorded their prayer for Chatham & Emma. Doug & Jamie have a special role in Zachary & Elyse's life too. They were amazing teachers. We sure miss them.

The last person to get baptized was a young adult. His father is a Trinity professor. Andrew turned away from God and got into drugs and drinking. He ran away to Costa Rica to find himself. When he got to the motel in Costa Rica, he was met with a counter full of Bibles and Christian literature. Drew asked the employee if he was a pastor. No, but I used to be. For some reason, Drew asked if he and his friends could attend his church. Drew did! Instead of finding himself, he found God. Pastor called him a prodigal son. Drew chose his Dad to be the one to pray for him (as his Dad had been doing for years). His Dad prayed for his son through his tears.

What a glorious day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!

Zachary decided that he would please his mother and wear a suit (that we got off freecycle). He sure is sharp, don't you agree. Elyse didn't have "new" clothes, but she still looked great. They didn't intend to match, but they certainly did. They sure look grown up to me!

The "old" people are ready to go - no new clothes for us either.

Hope your Sunday was a blessing to you!

BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!!

2011-04-18T20:50:00.007-05:00

Tonight the VCL ladies celebrated our pastor's wife's 60th birthday. Her actual birthday is Wednesday, April 20th. Susan loves gardens, children, spring, etc. All the decorations were either in spring colors, or flowers made out of something and lots of flower pots all around. There was a flower pot used to hold gifts of money, if you so desired. Some ladies brought individual gifts. You could tell the ladies knew a lot about her. One lady brought special decorated eggs from Slovakia. They are empty real eggs that are decorated to the max. I wish I got a picture of them, sorry. They were gorgeous.

Susan also likes to collect quotes. She has a quote for each and every day. Each lady was told to bring a quote for her (I didn't understand the meaning until I got to the party). I googled for quotes and came up with this one: "I'm sixty years old - that is 16 in Celsius." When I got to the party, they wanted us to write our quotes on 4x6 cards that had a hole punched in the corner. They were giving her all the quotes, tied with a ribbon, for her to keep. Oh boy! I hope she liked mine (tee-hee). Susan thanked everyone for the quotes saying that puts her way ahead for this years 365 quotes she needs to gather.

I took a picture of the "edible arrangement" made by one of the ladies. It tasted so good.

There were cupcakes with a homemade flower stuck in the middle. They even had "peeps."

Our new assistant pastor's wife, Londa, gave the devotional. She had several small gifts that went along with her message. She compared our physical life with our spiritual life. You can see the back of Susan's head - she is the one wearing the birthday hat. After a few minutes of wearing the hat, she took it off because she said it was sticking in her double chin.

The last thing was a poster filled with little flowers that people wrote virtues of Susan on each one. The board was called Susan's Special Superlatives.

It was one creative night. Happy birthday, Susan!

FUNERAL!!!!!

2011-04-10T22:49:00.002-05:00

Saturday we dropped the kids off at Trinity for their Chemistry Connection class. Mr. Stamoolis picked them up at 4:30 and took them home. They would keep them at their house while we went to the funeral for Kevin Sunderman (Karen's brother).

Tim & I arrived in Jasper, Indiana (six hours away) around 6:00. We had packed a picnic dinner, so we ate in our room. The motel was o.k., nothing to brag about. They did, however, have a continental breakfast.

The visitation for the funeral was from 1-3, the memorial service was at 3:00. Kevin was cremated. They had a nice picture of him in his uniform. There were several nice flower arrangements and things to take home (wind chimes, figurines, etc.). The VFW played taps and shot off their guns. We knew the guns were coming, but we all jumped anyway. It was very loud. The man who played taps was amazing and he was at least 100 years old. I couldn't believe he could hold the notes out so loud and with such a beautiful tone.

Ron & Twyla Richardson were there. Mr. & Mrs. Twilla (from 1st Baptist of Portage) were also there. We didn't know the other people. We met Karen's three sisters and her mother.

We decided to take a different route home. Do you know where we are?

If not, maybe this will give you a better idea:

Just in case you can't guess, we took 41 north home. Which took us by Rose-Hulman and all the windmills.

Please pray for Karen and her family. They have a lot of work to do yet on Kevin's house and his personal belongings. Not an easy job!

MOVING!!!!!

2011-03-26T13:33:00.003-05:00

Nope, not us! Serena's family is moving to NC. They are originally from Texas, thus the cake:

Our homeschool co-op had a going away party for them. It was held at Nola's house (2nd from the left). Here are all the lovely teachers (Moms to some of you).

Left to right: Erica, Nola, Sheila, Carol, yours truly and Serena.

Nola's house is HUGE! It is great to have groups there. The basement is finished with air hockey, ping pong, craft table, nintendo games, and lots of toys. Zachary is usually bored at these things, but some older boys showed up and a basketball game started. Zachary said it was the best one he has been to so far. He doesn't want to go to another one, but we will see what happens.

We will see Serena once more before they move. They leave for Texas on the 4th for a three-week vacation (working vacation, remodeling their house). Then they head to NC for Billy's next stint in the army. He can retire in three years.

So long, Serena - it has been good!

YOU ASKED!!!!!

2011-03-17T08:52:00.001-05:00

Here is the picture everyone has been asking for:

I guess Bristol doesn't like Zachary!

END OF THE YEAR PARTY!!!!!

2011-03-11T13:12:00.005-06:00

Zachary's basketball team had an end of the year party. Parents and siblings were invited to play against each age group. Zachary asked me to invite his siblings. We knew they couldn't come because it was on a Thursday night and they couldn't get off work and drive all the way here to play a 20 minute game with Zachary. BUT, they surprised us - literally. Erin, Tobin & Bristol drove 15 HOURS to come play. Betsey & Micah drove 4 HOURS to come play. Luke, Grace, Caleb, Ava & Jaden drove 4 HOURS to get here (without Lacey because she had a prior commitment). It was craziness, but such a blessing.

Elyse loved holding Bristol.

Zachary even took a turn holding her.

We got some really good laughs out of Bristol.

Now on to the games. My full time job was keeping the grandchildren from getting killed with the ball. The spectators area was only one folding chair deep - our feet were on the boundary lines. Thankfully, this ball missed Jaden by a few inches.

Three of the Rumleys waiting for their turn to play:

Betsey helping referee children.

See how many Rumleys you can pick out on the court.

Ava Joy was such a sweetheart at the games.

Caleb wanted so bad to play, finally Luke took him out on the court. Luke - you will have to start this boy on basketball, he is so good at dribbling.

During the games, we took breaks out in the hall. Luke loved holding Bristol and getting her to laugh.

Just five of my favorite people. These were the players during the games.

One more fun picture of Bristol for your liking.

It was a GREAT weekend and a GREAT surprise. Emily comes today - can't wait to have everyone here - minus Lacey & Dan! Thanks for making our weekend GREAT!

TOURNAMENT!!!!!

2011-02-26T10:39:00.010-06:00

Zachary's first game was at 5:00. If they won, they play again at 8:15. If they lost, they would play at 7:00. The first game, they played Crossroads 10 (a homeschool group). They won that game 34-16 (we think that was the score). The Crossroad kids were very well trained, but very short. We think they were 10 year olds, but aren't sure.

I forgot to mention that we are the team in red. Zachary is #34.

Here is Zachary waiting for the rebound. Notice how short the other teams' players were.

Intense instructions from the assistant coach.

After winning the first game, we ate our packed picnic lunch and waited until 8:15 for the second game. For the championship game, they open both courts and we will be playing on a full court for the FIRST time! Most of our games have been on church gyms or elementary school gyms. The guys should be thoroughly exhausted by the end of the game. The previous game started late, so our game would be late too. We started after 8:45. We ended our game around 9:50. It was a long night.

The guys are getting ready for the tip-off, notice how tall Zachary's opponent is to him. Zachary lost the tip-off, but only missed it by half a finger length. That is how far Zachary can jump - like springs on his feet.

The following are videos of the game. This will give you a taste of how the "Eagles" play.

See how the white team steals the ball from us:

Third quarter score - we were winning:

Since we were winning at the end of the 3rd quarter, the other team got scared (jk), and put their taller guys in. When they did that, we started to lose. The final score:

If you think that wasn't enough, after the games and a 1 1/2 hour drive, Zachary had a youth group all-nighter to attend. We picked him up this morning (Saturday) at 7:30. We thought he should take a nap, but he didn't think that was a good idea. This afternoon, they go to Trinity for their third "Chemistry Connections" class. I hope they don't fall asleep in the middle of that.

Z'S FIRST BBALL TOURNEY!!!!!

2011-02-19T18:27:00.007-06:00

Zachary played his first basketball tournament today. We drove 1 1/2 hours to Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was a L-O-N-G drive. The GPS was good to us on the way there, got us there without any errors.

Coach's son, Daniel, didn't want his picture taken, so I got him when he least expected it.

The Big Three...

Notice the "magic," the man disappeared...

Zachary's first game was against the Lakeshore Thunder. Tough name, not so tough players. It was a fun game though. The final score was 28-19.

The tip off (looks like Zachary kicked the ball, but he didn't, he was just coming down after winning the tip off).

Duh, what do I do now?

The next game wouldn't start for an hour. Elyse & I went out to the car to eat our picnic lunch. Zachary didn't want to eat between games, so he hung around with the rest of the team.

The second game was against SWCHA Saints (they call it swisha). We don't know what it stands for, but they were a homeschool team. Dad says that is Southeastern Wisconsin Christian Homeschool Association (he is so smart).

Do you think he made the point?

Zachary was fouled several times, here he is shooting his freethrows...

"We are the champions of the world..."

Now about that GPS! It really goofed us up going home. It kept telling us to exit here and exit there, we ended up in downtown Milwaukee. I finally gave up listening to it and just winged it. We made it home just fine. Who needs technology?

2nd BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK!!!!!

2011-02-18T22:06:00.003-06:00

The second birthday of the week was MINE! Three of my kids remembered me (and the other three, you know who you are).

Zachary wrote me a beautiful card (very sentimental).

Elyse wrote a very nice card with a huge smiley face.

Tim wrote a nice card and bought me a Base Reflex Sound System - we used to call them boom boxes. It has a clock, AM/FM stereo radio, cassette player and CD player. You can even hook up your IPod (which I don't have - yet). Now I can play music where I want to play it and I don't have to listen to what Zachary chooses.

After presents we ate at TGI Friday's - my favorite restaurant. I had a coupon and got a free dessert because it was my birthday.

Then we headed to "The Fiddler on the Roof" play. Zachary, Elyse and I had already seen it, but we wanted Dad to see it. It is a play put on by 90 homeschool children. Tevye was played by a 15 year old boy - he was AMAZING! There were several of the actors that we knew from co-op. It was a superb show.

We met a girl that is currently going to Cornerstone. We talked to her for a few minutes, then spent the rest of the intermission talking to her mother. It was nice to meet someone new - yet connected somehow to our children.

It was a GREAT night and a GREAT birthday celebration. Thanks to all who participated.

ZACHARY'S 13th BIRTHDAY!!!!!

2011-02-15T16:43:00.006-06:00

Whoa! Thirteen, time sure flies. We can't believe we are that old, let alone Zachary.

Dinner choice: Baked potato pizza, bacon (both on the pizza and off), root beer, and for dessert, root beer floats (which we will have when Dad gets home from tutoring). We had the dinner and gifts at 4:00 because Dad had to leave at 4:30. I wasn't hungry yet, but that is fine, that will make more room for my root beer float.

Elyse made him a card.

A set of books by Chuck Black. I heard they were very good, we will see.

His favorite gift, a USB Thumb Drive. He and his friend, Chatham, keep wanting to save things and take them to each others' houses. Too bad the kids laptop died for good. We are in the process of replacing it with a desk top - we just haven't found the right deal yet (like in, mostly free).

Does he look 13? Scarier yet, Elyse said that she will be 13 in a year and 9 months. YIKES! Where has all the time gone?

Zachary's first basketball tournament is this weekend. He plays in Wisconsin. Anyone want to drive out there to see him play? Didn't think so. In fact, his Dad is tutoring and he can't even go see the games. I guess it is just Elyse & me. I hope I remember the camera and I hope I remember to take a few pictures.

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

2011-02-14T15:22:00.004-06:00

My Valentine took his son to the auto show. Since Elyse & I were home alone, we decided to take a single lady from church out to lunch. We had a blast. We went to Corner Bakery Cafe. It is like a Panera Bread, but the food isn't as good. If we had known that, we would have headed to Panera Bread for lunch. I had a coupon for a free cookie because it was my birthday.

After ordering our food (the server was very confused), we sat down - they bring the food to your table by number. Ten minutes after our order was delivered, the server comes by with a oatmeal cookie in a bag and said he forgot to give it to us. I ordered a chocolate chip, but who cares, it was free. Then I remembered that we didn't get our lemon pound cake. I checked my receipt and sure enough, I had paid for it. That was another trip back to the ordering counter. Elyse and I split the cake when we finally got it. The cake was edible, but not as good as Starbucks pound cake - that one is to die for. In fact, I found a copycat recipe for it online. Mine was better than Corner Bakery's cake.

Elyse making faces, as usual...

We talked and laughed for three hours. It was good for the soul.

The three of us by the "fat" baker...

Ilene brought us the leftover desserts from the concert at church last night. So much for losing weight. I thought about taking the desserts to tomorrow's basketball practice and telling the boys it was for Zachary's birthday. I'll ask Zachary when he gets home if that will be all right. That way, I won't have to eat all of them.

Tomorrow is Zachary's 13th birthday. We are having baked potato pizza and root beer floats (diet root beer for Dad). All this will happen after basketball practice and tutoring - I guess we will be eating around 7:30. We got hooked on baked potato pizza when we were at Erin's house when Bristol was born. I guessed on how to make it and we enjoy it very much.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

A little SNOW!!!!!

2011-02-02T06:57:00.005-06:00

Blizzard, as you all well know. The howling winds were very loud. All day and all night the snow plows were plowing our neighbors streets (not ours, mind you).

This is our back door - we couldn't open it if we wanted. We would bury the dining room.

The swing is under a lot of snow, probably about 2 1/2 feet of it.

The snow buried our bushes completely. To open our front door, we have to push the snow away. I wonder if Zachary will love shoveling the two feet of snow on our sidewalk.

The kids were wondering if we were going to have a snow day. I haven't seen the basement yet, but if there is snow down there, we WILL be having a snow day. Silly kids!

This is me standing in the snow by the garage. It is hip high.

This is the end of my "playing" in the snow.

I am sure all of you will have pictures to show as well! Can't wait to see what you are dealing with as well.

TWO GAMES!!!!!

2011-01-29T08:09:00.002-06:00

Thursday night, Zachary had a basketball game. They played another homeschool group, so the three-point shots counted as three points. Zachary and one of his friends said that they would score 40 points that game. They were losing 16-13 at halftime. Zachary made a three-point shot and a two-point shot at the end of the 4th quarter to make it 32-32. They went into overtime, but lost 39-32.

Friday night they played a catholic team (which means NO three-pointers). We were playing a 5th grade team, so most of them were really short. Zachary scored 10 points. The team scored over 40 points (first time for them). We won the game by 6 points (41-35).

The spectators of the Friday night game were on pins and needles. It was a very tense game. The gym was very noisy. The other teams' spectators were great cheerleaders. Zachary tries to get things going when he is on the bench, but our spectators don't cooperate or his teammates. He is a one-man band! Rhythmless to boot! It was a fun night.

We got home from the Friday night game around 6:45. We hadn't had dinner yet. I started dinner, when Zachary remembered that it was youth group night. Dad rushed him to church, while I fixed dinner. Elyse & I ate while they were gone. Dad ate when he got back. Zachary didn't get dinner until after youth group - which was about 9:00.

Sorry we don't have pictures, I forgot the camera. Even when I remember the camera, it is very hard to take pictures of moving targets. We have used the "sport" setting, but we still aren't very good photographers.

ZACHARY'S ROOM!!!!!

2011-01-24T09:30:00.003-06:00

Zachary's room is in the basement now. He has his own little corner and is making it "home."

Zachary & Elyse share my old laptop (it overheats often, but they still use it). Zachary used his toy tower for a desktop to hold his laptop. Quite innovative, I think.

He is into "Lord of the Rings." His screen saver is always something to do with that movie.

Zachary is in the process of translating the Bible in the "Lord of the Rings" language. In the process of doing that on the computer, he downloaded something from their website. That download put a virus on the computer and turned EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING into that language. Dad had to re-format the whole computer - now it works fine (except the overheating part).

THE LATEST GAME!!!!!

2011-01-22T17:24:00.003-06:00

Zachary had another win. Problem with that, the other team were 4th graders. The green team couldn't hit the basket if they had a ladder. It wasn't a fair game. It was fun to watch. The green team was so cute. Zachary's team won 32-3 (I think). It could have been worse, but Z's coach told them to pass five times before they tried a basket. They were hoping the other team would get the ball, not a chance.

Zachary got the tip-off (I wonder why).

Notice how tall the red teams is to the green team.

You asked for pictures and you got them. Hopefully, next Friday's game will be more fair and we'll take more pictures. We'll see!

HOME GAME!!!!!

2011-01-14T19:26:00.004-06:00

Zachary had a home game today. He made 13 of the 25 points. They won 25-21. It was a very exciting game.

Guess what? I finally remembered the camera. I even took it out of the bag and used it.

One of the videos is of Zachary making a basket. The fuzzy hair in the middle of the video is the back of my head (Elyse was the photographer on these two videos).

This video is Zachary making one of his two free throws.

Sure wish you could be here to see him play. The opposing team's coach always says to watch out for #34 (Zachary's number).

GAME? CAMERA? ACTION!!!!!

2011-01-12T08:32:00.002-06:00

Last night Zachary had a basketball game. Of course, Mom forgot the camera (bummer, sorry).

First quarter he was the point guard. He scored six points. They were trying to make noise on the bench, but since they only had one extra player, the coach decided to put ZACHARY on the bench because he has a big mouth. Zachary was on the bench for three minutes, screaming like crazy.

Fourth quarter the other team scored twice to make it 22-18. They were winning. They drove down court and Zachary made a lay-up. The next time down the court, one of our players got fouled. He made one shot, making it 22-21. They stole the ball on defense and passed it to Zachary. He went up for a lay-up and got fouled with seven seconds left. One of his teammates came up to Zachary and told him to just make one! The first freethrow and he makes it - no problem. Zachary said afterwards that he wanted to shout "Game Over" right then. He thought that he was going to hit the speakers on the ceiling or Daniel in the face (teammate). Zachary got the ball from the ref and dribbled it three times on the ground. Just as he was about to shoot, everything went silent. He shot it up and got nothing but net! That makes it 22-23 (Zachary's team was winning). The clock said seven seconds left.

Zachary's team stole the ball as they were coming down court and the other team smacked it out of bounds. Point seven seconds left! One of our players was getting ready to throw the ball in and Zachary was standing on the side where the other team was trying to shoot. Everyone was shouting to throw it to the other end, because there was no way to make a basket from the other side of the court. Instead, Elijah throws it to Zachary right by their hoop. Luckily, the guy guarding Zachary didn't break three feet off the ground. Zachary was able to grab it and the clock buzzed.

It was a very exciting game. Mom loved it! Elyse was bored (as usual). Afterwards, every time Zachary wanted to say something, Elijah would say, "Everybody shut up, the MVP is talking."

EPIPHANY!!!!!

2011-01-07T08:16:00.002-06:00

Last night, our Growth Group (small group to some) met to celebrate Epiphany. We had a potluck (pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, deviled eggs, potato casserole, two dips with chips, cornbread casserole, carrots, fresh veggies, and about 10 desserts). It was amazing food.

After we ate, those who wanted, shared something from their heart to "give" to Jesus. Some shared a poem, lyrics to a loved song, or a picture. Dad shared lyrics to "All for Jesus." I took two pictures of Bristol Aubrey and shared about what a blessing she was to our family. Everyone oohed and aahed over her picture and the story. With five grandchildren, we are truly blessed. Thank you, Jesus!

One of the ladies brought this side dish:

The penguin is a slice of a carrot for his feet, the chip out of his "feet" is his nose, the body is a large black olive, his head is a small black olive, the white center of his body is cream cheese, and on top of his head is a toothpick that has fringe on top (my camera chopped his feathers off - sorry). Isn't she creative?

We have enjoyed getting to know the other 14 people in our Growth Group. We will be studying the book of Hebrews when we start up again this semester. Looking forward to that!

Have a great New Year everyone!

OUR THIRD CHRISTMAS!!!!!

2011-01-03T06:44:00.004-06:00

Friday morning, I had surgery on my left ear. It was out-patient surgery, but I was completely knocked out. I felt nothing - which I was thrilled about. I will make an appointment today for a recheck and removal of my ear plug. Just thought I would show you the aftermath of the IV that they gave me. At least it doesn't hurt, just looks awful.

Friday, we headed to Emily & Dan's house to celebrate Christmas with them (since they weren't able to attend our family Christmas on the 18th). We had a great time with them. Emily fixed a pot roast for dinner - I LOVE pot roast. We also had Boston Coolers (we can't buy Vernors in Illinois). That was a great treat! We played "Sequence" and "Bezzerwizzer" with them. Both games were pretty good. Erin & Tobin, I included a picture of Dan & Emily opening the gift from you. We enjoyed playing it.

Emily taught Elyse how to fix her hair with the curling iron Dan & Emily gave her for Christmas. Elyse is trying real hard to get some curl in her hair. She is doing a great job!

Saturday, we headed to my Mom's house. Ruth, Larry, Michelle, Kevin & Kenny joined us for the evening. Ruth made Lasagna for everyone. We played "Spanking Yoda." It was funny how each person's drawings turned out. Zachary is quite the artist. Ruth kept saying, "I need to take drawing lessons." It was a lot of fun.

My Mom always has something to repair when we get there. Zachary thought it would be funny to take a picture of me doing the repair. Go ahead, laugh at me, everyone else did.

We made a small photo album for Gma Laga. There were several pictures of each family member in my family. She really likes photos, so this was the perfect gift for her.

Sunday morning, we headed to Phil & Mimi's brand new cafe(Mimi is Amy Harbert's sister). It is called "Time on Main Street." In front of their shop, is a huge clock (thus the name "Time"). Yes, the building is located on Main Street, thus the other part of the name. Phil, Mimi's husband, is a builder. They bought an old building (150 years old), gutted it and turned it into a cafe. It is like a Starbucks. They did a great job on the upgrades. Bob, Amy & Harmonie Harbert met us there. We haven't seen their family in ages. It was good to catch up.

Here we are in "Time on Main Street."

Next the lovely ride home (six hours). Dad listened to the football game, Elyse had her DVD's, I had my DVD's and Zachary had his music. We didn't fellowship much with each other, everyone was glued to their electronics. We stopped for lunch/dinner about halfway home. Zachary got sick at my Mom's house, so he didn't feel like eating. He just had a bowl of soup. The rest of us had a full meal. When we got home, Elyse complained about not feeling well. I guess it is our turn for a round of sickies.

We enjoyed all three of our Christmas celebrations. Hope you enjoyed all of yours!

COMPANY!!!!!

2010-12-26T16:06:00.004-06:00

After church on Sunday, we invited the Hedges family over for lunch. We made Tortilla Soup with baked strips of taco shells. Pamela brought an awesome dessert.

The gang minus Pamela and me - we were making an awesome sauce to go over the cake dessert. Elyse is the photographer.

On Christmas Day, we gave Elyse a gingerbread house to make. She decided to wait until Emma Hedges got here on Sunday and they would build the house together.

They did an awesome job, don't you think?

I didn't get a picture of the finished project. You will either have to imagine it, or come see it for yourself. Too lazy, sorry!

LAKE EFFECT SNOW!!!!!

2010-12-26T08:37:00.002-06:00

They say we don't get lake effect snow because we are on the west side of the lake. Last night, they were wrong. The association shovels the streets and our driveway (providing there isn't a car in the way). Dad went out last night and shoveled our little sidewalk that goes from the house to the garage. But, alas, it was for nought. There is at least three more inches out there this morning.

This is out our back door.

It is beautiful. I wonder if my feet will stay dry in my church sandals. I doubt it.

Enjoy your day of worshiping the Lord.

FOR ERIN & TOBIN!!!!!

2010-12-25T19:03:00.003-06:00

Started and finished this today:

Thanks for the gift - I love puzzles.

Making Tortilla Soup for company tomorrow. The kids are excited to have Emma & Chatham coming over for dinner (the rest of the family is coming too).

Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas - we sure did!

CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!!

2010-12-25T10:10:00.004-06:00

Dad & I celebrated Christmas Day with Zachary & Elyse. First, Dad read the Christmas story from Luke 2.

Opening presents time:

Zachary got headphones, Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD, and a subscription to a magazine.

Elyse got headphones, a box of girlie things (hair spray, hair clips, nail polish, and bubble bath), and "Legend of the Guardians" DVD.

Since Lacey taught us a new tradition for our Christmas meal, we had homemade cinnamon rolls, thick bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit salad and juice. It is so much easier to make brunch, than a full turkey dinner. Thanks for sharing that idea with us, Lacey. We all love it!

Now that the kids are watching their DVD's, I am going to take a nap (I was the only one up from 5:30 to 8:00 - I deserve a nap).

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS!!!!!

2010-12-22T18:55:00.005-06:00

Since my Christmas decorations are in Emily's basement, we decided to do the tree "Judy Lauson style." We brought in our wooden coat rack, threw a sheet over it, and made all the decorations. Isn't she bee-uuu-ti-ful?

The beginning:

The finished product:

Adding Mom to the finished product: I look kind of crabby - you KNOW I hate decorating the Christmas tree - pictures prove it!

Have a blessed Christmas with Christ in the center!

Thought I would add our fun activity today. The Morrow family invited us sledding with lunch to follow at their house. I bought boots last year so I could go sledding with the kids. On the way to the hill, we stopped at Starbucks (because we both had a gift card and wanted something to drink while sitting in the car watching the kids sled). When I finished my drink, I went to slide down the hill. Zachary walked up the hill with me because he wanted to show me the best spot to use to slide down the hill. Here I am going 100 mph. Notice the slicked hair do.

This is how I ended up. Serena was gracious enough to get it on film (or SD card).

It actually was fun and I wanted to go again, BUT, both Serena and I had to get rid of our coffee (if you know what I mean). That ended the sledding for the day. Maybe the kids and I will go again soon.

TRIP TO CHICAGO!!!!!

2010-12-21T16:37:00.012-06:00

Tim, Zachary, Elyse and I drove to the Vernon Hills Metra Train Station to ride the train to Chicago. We found out that the train stops at O'Hare (wouldn't that have been smarter when I headed to Florida for Bristol's birth). I would have gotten to O'Hare in one hour instead of three. Learn something new every day.

Outside the VH train station:

Inside the train - we sat on the second floor - the kids thought that was cool.

Kids making goofy faces instead of smiling for the camera.

Proof that we had tickets for the train ride. Elyse was free, and Zachary was half price.

Our first stop would be Navy Pier. Google maps said it was 0.8 miles. They LIED! It was at least two miles. We were pretty tired when we got there. We walked from one end of the pier to the other (at least it was inside - most of it anyway).

Just outside of Navy Pier, we saw the biggest piece of macaroni and cheese - we were hungry, so it looked really good.

Dad included in this one.

Elyse being the clown that she is - trying to play with the children.

Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus were there for picture taking. The funny man on the left of the picture, sitting on the steps, was supposed to be an elf. He was about 6'5" - funny size for an elf. He was also so funny - maybe he missed his calling of being a clown.

The decorations were really neat.

"Crystal Garden" was pretty cool. Behind the kids was a fountain. It squirted water every few seconds. The first time it did that, we all jumped.

Here the water went from one display to the next, right over our heads.

"Winter Wonderland" was going on. How would you like to get on this HUGE ferris wheel in 34 degree weather. Not me! Not any of us!

Dad & I under the fountains.

Zachary & Elyse hiding in the trees. It was a pretty cool display. Nice to see something green in the winter.

George, Titus, Rogue and Zelda - this one is for you!

All you Michiganders - Illinois is rooting for you, lol.

Tim and the kids ventured outside to see a HUGE sailboat. I stayed inside - sissy.

The clown in action again.

When we got to the end of the pier, there was a sign that said free trolley ride. I wanted a ride even if it went in circles. Come to find out, it took us most of the way to our next stop.

Three of us under the Macy's clock (remember this from a few years ago, girls?).

Macy's had their windows decorated with the theme about Virginia - Is there really a Santa Claus? Each window had part of the story painted on the glass. Inside the display was part of the story made completely out of paper. I always liked this part of winter in Chicago.

Elyse and I are very studios as we read the writing on the glass.

One of the windows...

Boy, I wish you could read part of the story, maybe if you click on it, you can read it better. I don't know.

A few blocks away was Christkindlemarket on Daley Plaza. It is pretty, but truly a tourist trap. I wanted to get a loaf of German bread, so I asked Tim if we could. He came over, looked at the price, and said, "No." I didn't realize that a loaf cost $22.00 - I hadn't read the sign, just wanted the bread.

When Hyo-Sun was living with us, she went to Christkindlemarket. That is where she bought us the little decorations for the tree that said, "Mom, Dad." The nativity scene was huge. At least they are allowed to put something of Christ in His birthday celebration.

We found a Corner Bakery (Chicago's remake of Panera Bread). We ate a late lunch there. It was quite crowded, but we did finally get a seat. I still wanted to go to Argo Tea, so we only ordered water to go with our meal.

Just for Betsey and myself, we walked to Argo Tea. The kids got hot chocolate and I got their Winter Spice special. I didn't think to put sugar in my drink, it would have been much better tasting.

We realized that the next train left in 40 minutes. We were extremely tired, but we tried to make that train. We walked pretty fast and made it with two minutes to spare. We ate a little snack on the train and made it back to VH around 4:00. It was a fun, cold day.

That's is a long post, hope you made it to the end. We are very tired, but a good tired. We enjoyed our day very much.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE FAM!!!!!

2010-12-19T07:33:00.006-06:00

Thanks to the generosity of the Vastbinder family, we were able to celebrate Christmas with five of our six children and their families (Emily & Dan - you were missed terribly).

I only took pictures of the first gift opening. I was too tired to take anymore (sorry).

First we ate a scrumptious brunch (sausage links, homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade parfaits, orange juice, grape juice and apple juice.

The first gift opening was for Elyse's birthday because Betsey forgot to bring her present to our Thanksgiving celebration. Open it, Elyse, the suspense is killing us.

A purple sweater dress, we LOVE purple!

Christmas Eve gifts were next. The girls got the same color of pj's (we won't show you because Emily hasn't opened hers yet). All the girls liked them, they were so soft.

The boys laughed at theirs - you will laugh too Dan when you see them. Tobin said, "I hope it isn't a thong." I wouldn't go that far, but I think I might have gone a little over the edge. The suspense will kill you, Dan, I know.

Caleb & Jaden's pj's also matched. Their jammies came in a set of two. Lucky boys.

Grace & Ava had matching pj's, but I somehow missed getting a picture of them. Sorry. They had pink pants and matching shirts that had pictures of princesses on them - because they are two of our three princesses.

The HUGE gift exchange was next. Everyone was thrilled with their gifts. Everyone did a great job picking out perfect gifts for each person. It was fun to watch. No, I didn't take any pictures, you will have to use your imagination.

Luke loved holding Bristol:

The rest is random shots before opening our gifts. Enjoy, I won't label them!

Several times we caught "Santa" doing this:

We didn't mind, though, he was exhausted from driving us all over the world.

SHE'S HERE!!!!! and SO AM I!!!!!

2010-12-05T19:49:00.006-06:00

Bristol Aubrey, December 4, 2010, 8# 6 oz., 20+ inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine (even Tobin is doing great).

Her first outfit and no place to go...

Jacque, Tobin, Erin & Bristol...

A friend made her cute headband.

Proud papa...

Gma Rumley even got to hold her for a little while.

Tobin, Erin & Bristol are doing fine. Bristol has really LONG hair (it curls around her ears). Her hair is pretty dark. She is such a small bundle.

It took over 24 hours to get me here by plane. It would have been faster by car. But, I am finally here and ready to help wherever I am needed. Bristol is a good baby. Her little cry is so cute.

AMAZING!!!!!

2010-11-25T16:46:00.004-06:00

Doesn't God paint a pretty picture?

This was taken outside from our back deck. Sorry about all the ugly houses and cars - but God does a better job anyway...

It was much better in person. There was red, pink, green, yellow and blue showing. It was awesome...Thank you, Elyse, for pointing this out to us - much better than the football game...

11TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!

2010-11-24T05:32:00.003-06:00

Elyse was so excited to have her birthday this year. We kept telling her that she didn't turn 11 until 7:28 p.m. She didn't buy that. November 23rd is her birthday and it doesn't matter what time it is (so she says). While dinner was cooking, we let her open her present.

Elyse's choice for her birthday dinner was: Bulgogi, cheese dip with tortilla chips, Little Debbie brownies, Cookie Dough ice cream, and root beer to drink. It was way too much food! But that was her choices.

Just a side note: Since I am sick, I could only tolerate one piece of meat, 1/2 a brownie, one scoop of ice cream and two inches of root beer. It really hurt going down. I go to the doctor this morning, hopefully, I will get some relief.

Back to Elyse's special day: We got her a series of books. She LOVES books. We can't keep enough of them in her hands.

Happy 11th Birthday, Elyse!!!!!

PROJECT DONE!!!!!

2010-11-13T15:20:00.002-06:00

Since we moved Zachary downstairs, I wanted to rearrange Elyse's room. It badly needed cleaning plus purging. I finally took the plunge and did it!

Eight hours later...did you read what I typed...EIGHT HOURS LATER, I am done with E's room. I threw out three bags of garbage, one HUGE box of garbage, three shoes boxes without any shoes in them, and one huge broken toy.

Here is part of her clean room:

Here is the rest: The culprit of messing up the room in the first place is peaking in - she wasn't allowed in the room while I cleaned because I was purging ruthlessly. She wouldn't like to see what I threw out - she keeps everything. Behind the door is several shelves. It hides a great deal of her things.

Notice the nasty white bookshelf that we took out of a neighbor's garbage. We plan on sanding it and painting it. Betsey graciously offered to help Elyse paint it. Glad it isn't me!

Now we have plenty of floor space to sleep grandchildren on during Thanksgiving weekend. That is if it stays clean!

NEW UNIFORMS!!!!!

2010-11-06T09:00:00.002-05:00

Zachary has started a homeschool basketball team in Gurnee (about 20 minutes away). He has had two practices already and loves it. He is very sore! Even riding his bike over 13 miles a day didn't prepare him for basketball practice. He is on the 12 & under team. His friend, Chatham, is on the 14 & under team. Chatham turned 13 in August, Zachary doesn't turn 13 until February, and the cut-off was September 1. Zachary enjoys his team and is meeting new friends. Some of the boys are from Vernon Hills. We will have to find out who and start carpooling with them. If Zachary hits it off with them, that will be a new friends for him and he can ride his bike to their house - since he covers all of Vernon Hills by bike now. When the boys tried on their uniforms, they all got to laughing. They are about eight years old. Which means they are a little on the short side - not the style of the day. Zachary's team is the HRK Eagles (in case you can't read it).

Elyse doesn't get any hand-me-downs anymore. Each new season, we have to go shopping. Betsey has been a big help in that department - they wear the same size (oh joy!). If it fits Betsey and she likes it, Elyse will like it. Saves me lots of shopping time (which I hate doing). Thanks, Betsey! Zachary is #34 (they didn't have #7). Here is a new skirt we bought Elyse on the clearance rack. It was the ONLY skirt in the store. Thankfully she liked it, it fit, and it was dirt cheap.

Soon we will have basketball games to post about.

GREECE PICTURES!!!!!

2010-10-29T16:03:00.004-05:00

Make sure you read the previous post. That was when we watched two children.

While L & L were in Greece, we watched the children for five days. This is when we watched all four children.

Grace read the cards - she does an excellent job, much better than you would expect from a first grader.

On Sunday, they opened the gift of "Foamfetti." Please don't EVER buy that for your children. What a mess it makes! I hope L & L threw it out. Thankfully, it was free!

A little young man playing innocent.

We had gorgeous weather. The kids walked down to the end of the street to climb on a HUGE rock. They covered Jaden in leaves. He didn't seem to mind.

What a joy it was to watch the children. We are very tired, but it is a good tired.

MEMORIES!!!!!

2010-10-29T15:45:00.004-05:00

When L & L went to Florida a few years ago, we watched the kids. We thought this was worth seeing again. Can you believe Grace and Caleb were ever that small. What fun times we had with them!

FIELD TRIP!!!!!

2010-10-16T14:55:00.006-05:00

Today (even though it is Saturday), we went on a field trip to Ringwood, Illinois. It is about an hour away from home. There would be a re-enactment of the years 1670-1850. We walked over a mile up and down hills to get to the main site. Along the way, there were signs telling about different things that happened during that time. We read most of them, but got tired of reading them after awhile. It was called:

When we got to the main site, there were over 100 tents to see. Some of the tents were selling things from that era, some were demonstrating working then, and some were actually living there for the weekend.

The British are coming! The British are coming!

Farmers of the time.

We watched a fashion show (the lady flapped forEVER). Elyse liked that part. We had homemade root beer in a blue bottle. We had a buffalo burger (which probably was just hamburger, but called buffalo burger - it was amazing though).

The kids got to play games of that time. This was a tug-of-war. The object was to balance on the log while pulling on the rope. You either pulled the rope out of the other person's hand, or pulled them off the log. Elyse didn't last but a few seconds. She said it was hard to balance.

Now the kids had a job to do. They were to PULL on the saw to cut the log. After cutting the log, they got to take their one inch piece home with them. The man was nice enough to cut the piece in half so there wouldn't be fights.

A wagon train!

Real buffalo skins, yuck says Elyse. Notice she isn't standing too close. Elyse considered standing closer would be the same as eating pig at a pig roast.

When we got back to the car to eat our lunch (which was parked over a mile away up and down hills), our sandwiches were too hot to eat. I was afraid of getting sick. On the way home, we hit Culver's and got an ice cream. Dinner will sure taste good tonight. We will be starving by then.

It was a gorgeous day for this event. Around 60 degrees and sunny. I even got my nose sunburned. We are exhausted, time for a nap!

CREATIVITY!!!!!

2010-10-08T15:30:00.002-05:00

Elyse was VERY busy in the basement. We never know exactly what they are doing down there. Zachary was playing Game Cube (bet you couldn't have guessed that one). Elyse came up and showed us what she was making. She didn't want me to take a picture of it, but I thought she did an amazing job and wanted you to see it. Isn't it awesome!

She is completely made out of construction paper (destruction paper we used to call it, remember older children?). She even curled her hair.