It's a Birthday Party!

Today we went to my brother's to celebrate Luke and Logan turning 4! There was a pirate theme, and the kids had a blast. Jen (Steven's wife) did a great job planning everything. All the kids got treats, and we went on a hayride around the mile. It was naptime, so Abby and Tommy slept through most of that. There is nothing like spending time in the country, especially with the people you love.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly

Just so we're on the same page, here's some short hair styles I like (both of Sharon Stone's go in the good category)





Here are some styles I DON'T like.

A Trip to Leaman's

We took a quick trip out to the apple barn this morning. We bought some apples, and Lou even finagled a couple free donuts from the lady at the counter- they were still warm. Mmmmm so good! I feel terrible when Rachel misses out on all this fun. I now see the appeal to home schooling. This would've been a "learning" experience.

How Many does it take to change a light bulb? (I'm stealing from other blogs again)

Charismatics: 1. Both hands are already in the air.

Pentecostals: 10. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

Presbyterians: 0. Lights go on and off at predestined times.

Roman Catholic: 0. Candles only.

Baptists: 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and chicken.

Episcopalians: 3. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.

Mormons: 5. One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians: n/a. They choose not the make a statement either in favour of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about light bulbs for the next Sunday service, in which they will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists: n/a. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the lighting service and a covered dish to pass and share.

Nazarenes: 6. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.

Lutherans: 0. Change is not possible.

Amish: 0. What's a light bulb?

The Kids

Rachel- 5yrs
Likes: coloring and drawing, recess, going to visit the grandma's and grandpa's, some kid named Brendan
Dislikes: the flash on my camera, chunky yogurt


Adam- 4 yrs old
Likes: Fruit, digging holes in the yard, worms and beetles, climbing
Dislikes: All vegetables


Thomas- 2.5 yrs
Likes: his "yellow" (blankie), his thumb, 'Monsters, Inc.', emptying the lint trap on the dryer
Dislikes: tomatoes, being left out of the action, getting his hair washed


Abby- 10 mo.
Likes: paper, her blankie with football helmets on it (go figure), her daddy
Dislikes: fruit baby foods, shoes

Unnecessary Noise

When bedtime rolls around, I just want a little peace and quiet. That's not happening tonight. There is a live band that has been playing for about SIX HOURS now ONE MILE AWAY from my home, and I can't escape it. I am sitting in the basement and the annoying guitar riffs are penetrating my cement block walls under ground. I think that should be illegal or something.

It's actually 9:30, not 8:30 like my time says below.

Babysitting

We had Amber all day today, she and the boys got along great. Adam and Amber were forced to play outside all afternoon because they are a little loud and others were trying to nap. They didn't mind, though. I can't decide who talks more between the two of them, but they seemed pretty compatable.


Mackenzie came over after school. She just wanted to talk German. Rachel just wanted to play with the new sunglasses she got at the doctor's office this morning. It was a checkup for her adenoids, everything looked fine.


Laurie actually knows several words in German- I was quite impressed! Apparently "Veihl" is German, I feel like I should learn some, too.


Mackenzie, being the oldest of the group, of course gets to be the teacher.


Steve is such a good dad. He said they would only stay til the letter "c" (they were going over the alphabet), but I think they stayed until the bitter end.

ANOTHER trip to the zoo!

This was our first trip without Rachel. We spent a little extra time at the things the boys like, such as the bug exibits. I never knew they existed! Adam would've stayed all day checking out the Madagascar hissing beetles. Ew, they were huge. It was a great day for the zoo, but the butterfly house is closed for the season, and the train wasn't running. :( There's always next year.

Abby has bangs

Tonight when I got home from work I couldn't stand it any longer. I got out the scissors and gave Abby some bangs. OK, so I probably cut 8 hairs, but that first "hair cut" always seems so major! I hope this pic isn't too blurry, Casey was busy making supper and I forced him to take a picture of us. He just wanted to finish his gravy.

And once again I would like to thank Amanda for my lovely haircut. Today was a good hair day for work. :) I had a patient tell me it made me look younger. Nice!

We Love Bunnies

Tonight the kids were being a little unruly, so I said "Do you want to go see the bunnies?" There was a resounding "YES!", so I piled them into the van and we ran over to Hemmeter Market for a bit. We even took an apple cut into pieces to feed to them.

Then we went to see the other few animals they have there. The 2 goats were up high on a platform, and when they came clomping down the ramp to get a close-up view of us, Thomas ran as fast as his stumpy legs would carry him screaming, "Gonna bite me! Gonna bite me!" I can't run real fast when I 'm holding Abby, but I caught him before he tore into the parking lot to get to the van. Once again, just another reason I should never leave the house.

Things We Do While Rachel is at School

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURIE!

When I saw this picture I thought of Laurie, she has a sweet tooth like I do. If I had the time I would've made all these treats for you, Laurie. I will make your favorite cheesecake for you, but you have to come visit us to get it. :) Enjoy your night out with your hubby! We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!

First Day of School

So God had heard my prayer, and my first patient of the day cancelled. Upon learning this, the girls at the office were hollering "Go! Go!", and I was out the door rushing to see my daughter off to kindergarten! I was kind of sad that I didn't get to watch her make her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but that's OK. I saw her walk into her class and her teacher said, "I remember you!" (we just met her on Friday) Rachel was all smiles all day I'm sure. She loved it. I knew she would. I think she might be a teacher someday like her grandma Maude.

Some Like it Hot

This is the pride and joy of our vegetable garden. It's really the only thing in the vegetable garden, I just don't do vegetables, so it looked pretty sad all summer. But with all the rain lately the peppers are coming on like crazy. Casey cut these up and canned them in the microwave. He's so cute.

It's Apple Season!

Tonight we met Laurie and Jake out at Bayne's. The donuts were soft and warm and the cider was great! The apples are not quiet ready for applesauce- but I bought some anyway. I love applesauce!! Here are some pics of our evening.

Thank you Laurie for the donuts, I'll buy next time. :)

Rachel was enthralled with the large dolls that Amber brought over the other day. I found them to be rather creepy, apparently I am the only one that thinks that.


I love the look on Thomas' face here. He is developing quite the personality. The other night he threw a temper tantrum and I thought he was going to pass out he held his breath for so long.


Maybe we can get some peace and quiet in here now that the lid is on.



Abby loves to pull ALL the books off their shelf, it's starting to drive Rachel nuts.

Labor Day Weekend - Part II

Casey and I went to Mackinac Island all by ourselves on Labor Day! It was the perfect day, but I didn't think that was going to be the case when we wheeled into Mackinac City- thousands of people were lining the streets, cars were lined up to the freeway. However, these nutjobs were in line to walk the bridge- not go to the island! Thank you Lord! So after we maneuvered the horrendous traffic, we were on our way to peace and tranquility.


Everyone had their cameras out for a picture of the bridge.


Here we are on the boat! The first of many self-portraits that day. :)


Main Street! I get goosebumps just thinking about the smell of horse manure and fudge, I love it THAT MUCH!


If you are enticed to stop into this museum, don't. You could go through it for a donation (the woman at the desk pretty much demanded $1 per person, and it wasn't even worth that. Save it for the fudge).


We didn't go through the fort, we just galavanted all over on foot, taking in the beautiful gardens and people watching.


My summer home. I wish! The red door would go with the red garden chair that I am going to refurbish someday.


A nice view- I think we were almost to the Governor's mansion here.


Cute sign with cute flowers.


My other summer home.




His and her fudge. Can you tell which one is his?


Here we are traipsing through the forest on our way to the Grand Hotel property...
Even Casey was in the mood to pose with these logs. It seemed very manly compared to the flowers I was making him look at.

I don't think we were supposed to be here, but the gardens beckoned to me. Perfect photo op. It was by the Grand Hotel's croquet area. Definitely out of our league.


Casey under the Grand Hotel.


I really liked their arbor.


THis is by the Mission Point resort. I mainly took this for Adam and Rachel because they are into kites right now.


My feet were KILLING me! I decide to soak them for a few minutes.


I love gazebos. Casey is in there taking a load off.


Here we are entering the Mission Point area of the Island. We ran into the guy that built these bird houses and planted some of the trees around this area. We high-fived. It was cool.


Even though we didn't go through the butterfly house, we saw many many butterflies up and down the street. I sure hope we can go back next year, we had so much fun.