The story behind the picture- circa 2005

In one of my church groups a few years ago, they wanted us to bring a picture of us with our family.....they wanted the picture to depict our actual life. Our dear neighbor, Pam, came over to the house to take a picture of our family eating dinner on a normal night. Well, little did Pam know what she was getting into.....

We filled our plates, said the blessing, and got ready to smile for the camera. Just as Pam was ready to take the picture, one of the dear children, well......passed a little gas.....and as the natural consequences happened to take over, (complete and utter belly laughter) she snapped the picture!! It was a moment to remember for sure!!!

Wordless Wednesday....Basil Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

Packer fan!

Now....who is ready to cheer for the Green Bay Packers??? I think she needs a cheesehead!!

Weekend Getaway

John and I had a chance to get away this weekend and head to our cottage in central Wisconsin. It was SO gorgeous there...and quiet!! You see, I'm used to going up there in the summer and seeing oodles of people around, and having my 4 kids around too....very noisy and chaotic! This weekend there we barely saw any people!!

We took a nice long walk on Saturday morning and were greeted by a nice buck in the middle of the road just ahead of us...very cool!! We also ventured just to the south of our cottage and found a delicious little place to eat and also found a flea market that was pretty disgusting....just look at these....
The most enjoyable part for me was Saturday late afternoon we drove down to the lake and just sat on the bench and watched the fisherman, and boaters and the wildlife around the lake...it was awesome!! Here's a picture of the lake....leaves were just starting to change!!

Retro- Andrew and Luke

Because it's the 2nd day of Fall, and the temperatures reached the upper 80's, I decided to dig out a "retro" picture from quite a few years ago.....a nice "cooling off" picture. I'm loving the sprinkler in the background too!! I'm sure Ben was around there somewhere getting ready to run through it!!

Big Elbow Lake

My parents made a trip to northern Minnesota last week to visit an area where they used to vacation for years.......my Mom even vacationed on this lake as a child.... Just had to share some of the beautiful photos that she took. Mom said that it was too chilly to go out on the boat- temperatures at night were in the 30's.

Wordless Wednesday- Accessorize

Drawings....

This is an example of a skill that I absolutely don't have.....somehow, I birthed a child that has the gift of drawing......and I think it's simply amazing!! Nice job, Ben!!

Weekend!!

As you can clearly see, the Quad Squad was back together again.....out for dinner at our favorite Mexican place on Friday night... (taken on my cell phone, that's why it's small)
The weekend was good.....a family trip to Mayfair Mall on Saturday and church and homework on Sunday..... also, found this on Saturday morning as I raised the blinds..... I've heard that birds sing to some people.....just not us, this weekend....

Retro......Ben

This has got to be one of my all time favorite pictures of Ben....he thought it was SO funny that he was wearing his "dress shoes" with his sweatpants!!! I just love his crinkly eyes when he laughs!!

Butterfly

We have sedum in the flower bed in our front yard. At this time of the year, the sedum are blooming and they are buzzing with bees and butterflies. I took a few photos of the butterflies today...and managed NOT to get stung. Isn't he/she beautiful???

Wordless Wednesday- Ben

Pups in the Sun...

Those pups were enjoying the sun yesterday......and in a rare moment, Bella gave Min a little love....or maybe just a little sniff....

Weekend!!

Our weekend started out pretty rainy, but we managed to load up the doggies and walk in the Humane Society's "Walk for the Animals." It was fun to see all of the different kinds of dogs, and different kinds of people...... the walk conveniently happened to pass by Gma and Gpa's house in Jackson, so of course, we stopped by for some snacks, conversation and a much needed potty break!!

Another highlight of the weekend was having friends over and sitting around the campfire on Saturday night.....I'll just have to remember next time that we should NOT get the extra large campfire marshmallows....they were messy......The kids made smores and told stories about their first weeks of school an even had a quick game of Ghosts in the Graveyard....it was a beautiful night!!

Going to the Park!!

I was wanting to get a little exercise yesterday, and the dogs were in the house all morning, so I took them to my favorite place to run.....the Park!!! Of course, I didn't run.....but they did....they had a blast running around and smelling all of the good smells by the woods.....and Bella didn't bring me a dead raccoon arm this time.....ewwww.... !!! As you can see, they are worn out and panting.....ready for a nice snooze.......

Try this recipe!!!

Too many of these around??? Then you should really try this recipe......

Zucchini Pie
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 diced onion (I used 2 T. of minced onion)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1/3 c. oil
1 c. Bisquick
4 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of these ingredients and pour into a greased pie plate or 9x9 pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is well browned. Enjoy!!

Wordless Wednesday....My fire lover...

Labor Day

We didn't do much on Labor Day.......there was some sort of gymnastic/cheer leading activity going on in Anna's room.....
and there wasn't much "Labor" going on......
Must be the comfy couch....Andrew was asleep in that exact spot a few days ago!!!

College Boy!!

After being without Andrew for a week (college) and our family missing him like crazy, I received a text on Friday morning that said "Could you pick me up so I can just come home and "chill?" I secretly couldn't wait to see the young man, and the 1:00 pick up time couldn't come soon enough..... Anyway, I picked him up, and happily, the 30 minute ride was full of conversation and questions and remarks!!

As soon as he walked in the door, the dogs wouldn't leave him alone.....he would sit down on the floor and one of them was on his lap and the other wouldn't leave his side.....
The house was quiet, the couch was comfy, and soon someone was in dreamland......for over an hour!!!
and of course, he brought his dirty clothes home with him.......which I was happy to wash, dry and fold for him............this time.......

Fabulous Friday

In preparation for school, Luke needed to get a few immunizations along with his physical. He got booster shots of DPT, varicella (chicken pox) and a meningitis shot. Here's a picture of his chicken pox shot....the nurses at the Dr.'s office tell me that he is having a mild allergic reaction to the shot...it's red, swollen, and very HOT......
Here's the nice rash that he has from the other shot.....the other arm looks like this too.....a nice, bumpy rash....
and look who's missing their kids......."where did those kids go??"