Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Whale Pool

More catching up................
After all our fun last Thursday (24th) the children were ready for more water fun on Friday. So after I planted the 6 packs of Marigolds in the garden they headed for their little pool & I of course grabbed my camera. A Freecycle friend gave the children this little whale pool. Isn't it adorable? They had such a blast in it too!

E-boy, Boo Bear & Bug-a-Boo in their new whale pool.



Bugs found the whale's spout!


Bugs took a break from the pool to direct traffic.


Boo models her "new to her" swimsuit cover-up. Thank you, Catie!




Taking a break



Look out here I come! Beep! Beep!



Yes, that is our lawn. Lol!



Sweet Pea successfully balances a glass of water on her head.


Actually Sweet Pea got the idea from her sister. Here she is!



My water baby.


E-boy showing off the whale's tail.



All 4 kiddos enjoying the water & pool.

Time in the Garden

Still catching up from last week..................

Yes, more time in the garden. This time E-boy wanted to be my helper. I planted about 15-20 tomato plants & E-boy watered them. Later in the evening Dave worked in the garden with me. We planted all the cucumber and zucchini seeds and the rest of the tomato plants. It was hot, dirty work but hopefully we will be rewarded later this summer. We love gardening!


E-boy shows off a fish. He was facinated by them while the girls.....well not quite so much. Lol!



The fish are all cut up and ready to be planted with the tomato plants.



Here is some of our hard work. Believe me there are many, MANY more!





Dave plants some more beans.



These are some of the cucumber and zucchini mounds. The sticks are labeled markers for each.




Fun at the Creek

Last week we met our friends down at the park. There is an awesome creek there and the children had a blast in it. I'm so glad our friends invited us! It's certainly on our list of 'Favorite Places to Visit' now! THANK YOU Alison & kids for inviting us!



The children with the infamous crab.



E-boy plays in the water.


Jae sums up her courage and makes a solo trip down the creek. Go Jae!


Boys & mud = Lots of fun!



Snack time!





Lots of room to run ~ perfect!





Off to a rough start...........................






...........but look at him go now!






Boo is loving this!



The girls chase after Mr. Crab as he tries to make a break for it.




Sweet Pea & Declan have fun.


Can I keep them, Mom?
Sweet Pea caught 5 minnows. Science ~ Check!



Noah, Declan & Sweet Pea observe the minnows.
Isn't God's Creation the perfect classroom?

Nana Banana's

One of my very favorite people in the whole, wide world in my Nana. She is just the best of the best. I have always loved going to her house and spending time with her. Now I have the privilege of bringing my children up to visit her. She is still going strong and gets a kick out of the children's antics. They love her dearly and that love is returned ten-fold.



Here are some pics. The captions are below the individual pictures.





Getting ready for the trip Bugs is facinated with the baby doll's pacifier.




Still waiting to load up in the van the brothers read a book.






On the Mohawk Trail.




The Mohawk Trail ~ Isn't it beautiful?





Gorgeous!





I just HAD to stop and take a picture of this view!





The first day at Nana's we went to the thrift store, the post office and the library. I couldn't resist teaching the girls how to use the card catalog.


More of the card catalog.






Nana stirs up some batter for brown bread New England style.




It was rainy but we had to get outside for at least a little while. This is Bugs on the run.




Later he came in to relax and "read" a bit. I love his little toes poking out underneath!



E-boy learned what rhubarb is.




On the run again!





Why won't this open?




Smelling the flowers in Nana's garden.





Snuggle time for Boo & Mama.




Tradition says you must write on Nana's whiteboard before leaving! Underneath what I wrote my cousin Sam wrote, "Nana rocks!" That cracked Nana up.




Nana & Bugs playing and saying good-bye.



Not even 5 minutes out Bugs was fast asleep.

We all enjoyed our visit though we were sad to have to say good-bye. I never like that part. Nana fed us well and I swear we each gained at least 5lbs.! Lol! Nothing like Nana's cooking & baking that's for certain. We hope to get back up to see her this summer. Maybe then it will be warm enough for a trip to the river! (pronounced Riv-ah)


















Monday, May 28, 2007

EXCITING NEWS!

We have a new little niece! Her name is Abigail Kristine. She was born on Thursday and we are so excited! Welcome to the world Abigail! We love you and can hardly wait to meet you.

Planting & Cleaning & More - Oh My!

Summer weather is here and we are full to the brim with planting both in the veggie garden & in the flower gardens. We still need to get the children's gardens dug & the seeds in. We've also been busy cleaning & organizing in our home. Oh, and let's not forget school! The calendar is also filling up at a rapid rate.

I still need to post pictures of our trip to New Hampshire & fun with our friends last week. And we start a new unit tomorrow, I have 5 baskets of laundry to fold and another 3 loads to wash & hang out on the line, the other daily chores, a meeting at 6:30 in our home, a bookshelf to fill, flowers to plant..............Will I ever catch up?

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Remembering Rose Marie

Today marks another year that our Rose Marie is not with us. She was due May 23, 2005. We lost her October 7, 2004. She was only 2 months old in my womb but we already loved her so very much and felt her loss deeply. I have never experienced such a loss and hope to never again. It does give us comfort to know she is in the arms of Jesus. I can hardly wait to hold my precious Little One someday. Her Daddy & I miss her so much and are so sad that she went to Heaven before we had time to meet her. How we long to hold her, hug her, & cuddle her close.


This year, as in the past 2 years, we will remember her on this day by having a special family time and remembrance of Rose. We plant a rosebush just for her. It is our way of having something special to remember her by.
When they bloom it is always bittersweet.

This year Rose's daddy surprised me by ordering two teacup roses. He said one is for Rose and the other for me. That he thought of this on his own meants the world to me. I know he misses Rose dearly and loves us all so very much.


Above is a picture of Rose Marie's rosebush that we planted May 23, 2006. The children picked it out for their sister. This was the first bloom from the rosebush. Truly beautiful.


I love you Rose Marie and look forward to the day I can hold you in my arms & kiss your sweet face, fingers and toes. I miss you so very, very much. I wish you were here with us. We all miss you. There will always be a missing piece of my heart and it will only be complete again when we are all together again. I love you, dear Rose.
All my love, Mama