Gymnastic Girlie...

It all started with me, wanting to get a picture of my daughter in her gymnastic leotard. We went outside to take the photo, and it was VERY windy!! So windy, in fact, that it made someone start giggling......
and giggling some more......
until, we finally went inside and took the darn picture...... FINALLY!!!

All Star Weekend

The weekend's highlight for me was watching Luke play at the "All Star" game on Saturday. It was a beautiful night to be at the ballpark surrounded by good friends, good weather and the smell of brats and burgers drifting my way......perfect!!

Luke played various positions in the game but he started out pitching in the first inning. Here are a few shots....
I love this one!! Check out the face....a whole lotta "umph" is put into the ball....


and then there was the batting....he struggled a little and then managed to pull off a triple and a single later in the game......

It was a great day at the ballpark!!

Happy 1st Birthday Minnie Moo!!!

Playing in the HEAT!

This is a dirty, sweaty face that only a mother could love...... it was only in the 90's while he was playing...and yes, he wiped a good deal of the dirt off before I snapped the photo!!!

Meet The Bluebirds.....

Our neighbor, Mr. Boetcher, made a birdhouse for Anna and his daughter, Danielle, painted it when she was home from college for a week. Isn't it beautiful?? So colorful!! We put it out in the front yard, and whaddya know.....Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird found it within a week and have started to build a nest in the house. Anna and I watched the process through out the day and Anna captured this picture after being very patient and taking lots of blurry pictures....

Wordless Wednesday...Charades on the deck "up north"

Moving Day

Well, the big truck pulled up and was unloaded yesterday.....my parents are officially in their house.....well, they spent just one more night at my house... they were TIRED!! It was a long day, without much sitting, but lots of directing and unwrapping and putting away.

I looked closely at one of the boxes and saw this......

King Phil's room?? How funny.........

Father's Day weekend....

It was Father's Day weekend and John decided that he wanted to head "up north" for the weekend. We did all of the fun things that John likes to do....like....

Invite friends over for dinner....
Eat yummy food.....
Watch deer cross the fairway as we're eating yummy food with friends on the deck.....
Relax and Read......
and John's absolute favorite (ahem)........ Building forts in the loft of our cottage!!!!
We spent time at the clubhouse pool swimming and eating blue moon ice cream too.....but I failed to capture any pictures.......

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Wishing these guys a great Father's Day.....and Grandpa Walt too!! We love you!!

T.G.I.F.

A few weeks back Ben needed to wear a tie for 8th grade graduation.... Big brother Andrew had to wear a tie to work at the Piggly Wiggly when he worked there last year....but he had forgotten how to "tie" a tie... SO....good ol' Dad came to the rescue....showing everyone how to make the "Half Windsor"....no, not the FULL windsor....just half.......


and this is what you eat right before bed, if you're a teenager who plays tennis for hours a day...and has Graves disease.....and has the metabolism of a hummingbird.....
A giant bowl of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream with a whole banana, topped with a carton of strawberry yogurt....yum!!!

Enjoy the weekend!!!!

Irony.......is good.....

Wordless Wednesday...Child Labor

Total Randomness....

While driving the other day, and passing a car on the right as they were turning left, I ran over this interesting thing..... and it stuck right into my tire.... (no, not the hand, the metal rod)
and while we were attending Ben's 8th grade graduation, Andrew had his tennis banquet (that we did not attend). He won this award.......MVP on Junior Varsity Tennis for the high school!! Quite an accomplishment for him!! Could it be that they felt guilty about the fact that a foreign exchange student bumped Andrew off of Varsity??? Hmmmmmm.....
and just in case you were wondering, the baby dolls are just fine....they are all settled down and having a nap....so please be quiet.......

Rash and Quilting....

Well, the weekend was very relaxing and not a huge amount of work was done, but isn't that what weekends are for??? Anna came home on Friday with a whopper of a rash (lacy)....on her arms and legs....
and her little cheekies were all bright red......not sure what this rash is all about....
On Sunday, she did attend an event sponsored by a local Historical Society...it was Kirsten's (American Girl Doll) Birthday party. Kirsten is a doll that represents a girl who grew up in the 1850's in America. So, the girls learned a little about the time period and had a chance to do some things that were fun for girls in the 1850's.......

They did a little quilting.......
and they spent some time making a "daisy chain". They could use it as a necklace for their doll or they could use it as a wreath on top of their head...
Obviously, she made it a necklace :) The girls then toured the family homestead, learning about spinning wool, how houses were built and realizing that houses were very small back then and families were very big......(not a good combination.) We both came home really appreciating the fact that we live in this era....

Sorry, no stinky boy pictures this weekend.... girls rule!

Ben's 8th Grade Graduation

Well, it's the end of an era for Ben. He is no longer a part of the "middle school" crowd. He has moved up to the ranks of "high schooler". We attended the graduation ceremony last night...it was very nice......
There was a processional where Ben ended up in the front row on stage.....he looks thrilled, doesn't he? I think he's dreaming about the potluck dinner after the ceremony......lasagna, chips, brownies.....
The 8th grade band students played a rendition of "Greensleeves"......
The 8th graders in chorus sang..."What a wonderful world".....
and finally, after a nugget of advice from our school board president, Mr. Wolf, diplomas were handed out and the handshaking began....
and in Ben's case, the diploma and DVD were left at the school.....that's Ben!!!! and we love him!