"Pinkies Out"

is the new slogan for the most daring adventurers, I believe.

Jedi and Cardman had a fabulous time "adventuring" like Indie at the Ranch last Weds. They found an old bit of twine and they were set for 2 hours.

Best pals.

My children are very cautious about EVERYTHING. Their every action is deliberate and s-l-o-w. Their infant nicknames reflected this...Jedi was formerly Turtle and Baby was Slugbaby. This timidness is something I don't understand. I was always ready to try something daring, move fast and never, ever give up as a child. While I'm glad they're cautious before crossing a street or making sure their belts are buckled I want to scream, "RUN!", when they are faced with an open field of grass or "JUMP" when they reach the end of the dock. So, I can't tell you how proud I was when I turned around and caught this shot of Jedi jumping off of a 5 foot embankment.

Farmgirl also surprised me a couple weeks ago when she was nearly bucked off a very upset horse. She was back up there the next week and worked extremely hard at her technique...a great improvement and a much needed boost to her confidence.

Cairn he get any cuter???

Please meet our newest family member...Finn. Isn't he toto-ally adorable??? He's so scruffy and funny. I've been having a blast watching him just walk around like he's the king of the castle.


Farmgirl has been the absolute best about taking Finn on his many many, MANY potty breaks. did I mention he takes a ton of potty breaks? like every 15 minutes, potty breaks. She's the best kid ever!

Ken acts as if he isn't totally in love but I catch him giggling at Finn every couple hours...if they're not snoozing together that is.

He's doing beautifully with his crate training. He's sleeping through the night...woo hoo. It took me 12 months to get my children to do that! Took Finn one night. All in all a pretty good start to his home here. I'm sure there will be flowers dug up, shoes chewed to bits, a favorite book shredded...a small price to pay for that cute little scruff of a dog.

Tea Time

My sweet little cousin is getting married in August. We are so very excited for her. Last weekend her bridal shower was held at a local bed and breakfast. We had such a wonderful time. It was a formal tea, which meant dresses and hats! Above are my mom and girls. That black thing Baby is clutching...her beloved Datty (kitty). It goes EVERYWHERE with her. Below is my niece, Tumbles. She is wearing a gorgeous dress made by my sis from vintage voile. She looks so darling.




and here is the bride to be...Kristin. Loved her hat and retro shoes!


My Aunt Bonnie did a fabulous job on the shower. Here she is taking tea orders for tea and punch. Baby adores her Great Aunt Bonnie.

The Cat Whisperer

We had a wonderful afternoon at the riding stables. Here my nephew, Cardman, uses his super powers to lure in all the barn cats. They followed him all afternoon! I think he had tuna in his pocket. We also saw the 4 day old kittens...cute.

Farmgirl thoroughly enjoyed her lessons. She got to try cantering today...quite bouncy, I think. She also rode bareback for 1/2 hr or so. She loved that. Next week all the cousins get to go for a mini lesson. The boys are especially excited.

Could it be...

that Spring has finally come to Northern Michigan? Just in time for Summer! We had a beautiful day on Monday so we headed to our favorite park to meet up with the cousins. We brought some lunch and had a picnic. It has been a pretty crummy spring this year as far as weather goes. I'm hoping summer kicks it up a notch and we can spend a lot of time on the boat.

I've been busy trying to get ready for a craft show on the 14th. Nothing like waiting till the last minute to turn out a bunch of product ;-) Simplicity is going to be the key this summer to craft shows. I'm going to eliminate the bells and whistles to keep cost down. Hopefully, that will boost the sales.

We're off to riding lessons. We LOVE the new instructor. She is fabulous with Farmgirl and runs a clean stable. I'm hoping to get some good shots today to share.

Never Forget

Today we went to visit the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. I underestimated how emotional it would be....all those names, the pictures, the tears, the vets passing out flags. There was also a memorial area for the soldiers lost in Iraq. It was heartbreakingly large.

While I think my oldest was able to understand the importance of the memorial, the littles were more interested in their flags and the trucks. Jedi did enjoy hearing about the veterans in our family including both of Ken's grandfathers, his Uncle and my Uncle. We will be forever indebted to the men and women who serve our country.

Fight the Frump Friday (skin care)

Nothing makes me feel so frumpy as a giant pimple...OK, maybe ratty paint splattered sweats, but it's close! How can I feel confident and non frumpy after I don my thigh deodorant and skirt then look in the mirror to see Mt. Pustius smack dab in the middle of my forehead?!? The answer for me was Acnefree, the Wa! Mart equivalent to Pro Activ. Within 3 days of use I had an extreme improvement to my skin. My dh actually said, "wow! your skin is so beautiful...it's glowing!" The cost is $19.22 for a month supply. I've found the toner and lotion last longer than the wash. Good news though, you can buy a bottle of the wash separately.

A little something to make your kitchen less frumpy...

I recently purchased these adorable magnets from Julie of Red Hen Studios. They're recycled dominoes. She has some really adorable ones of Cinderella and more in her Etsy store. Definitely worth a look see.

Good news on Jedi...came back clear for the test. They just want us to keep an eye on him for further symptoms. He did have to get his tetanus shot though...ouch. Poor little guy was pretty upset.

W.I.P. ~ living room

I recently received my order of Drawing Room fabric by Anna Maria Horner. STUNNING. It is her new home dec. line. I am in love with it. I originally thought I'd make a skirt with the bird print but I decided my living room needed some bright colors so I put some on a 3'x4' canvas... voila! It is rather busy but my living room is fairly large...20' x 28' with cathedral ceilings and a huge barn shaped wall that is painted, yep you guessed it, barn red! I've been thinking that might not have been the best color for the wall. Every picture I take in that room has a pink tone. Live and learn.

Other news: Farmgirl starts riding lessons with a new instructor today. We're super excited. New lessons are less than half what last summers were and in a better facility...downside, it's 45 minutes away. Driving long distances is pretty much the norm up here in the sticks. Jedi has a check up tomorrow. He's been exhibited some symptoms of Type1 diabetes so he'll be tested for that. I'm really optimistic that it'll be negative but please lift him in prayer if you are so inclined.

Why you shouldn't... (ver. 4)

sit across from my husband if he's had more than 2 glasses of wine. Imagine a table filled with 16 of Ken's co-workers and their spouses. Everybody is enjoying their wine, imported specialty cheeses, candied nuts and fruit. Ken is laughing uproariously, throws his arms up and SPLOOSH...his entire glass of wine splashes across my chest and face like arterial blood in a bad horror movie. You should have heard all the women suck in their breath for an "ooooooohhhhh!"

Poor Ken felt horrible. Luckily, I was prepared with a lovely cardigan to throw over it. It's nothing a little Oxi couldn't handle!

Fight the Frump Friday

I happen to be a fluffy gal (plus sized) and had been so discouraged that I gave up trying to look nice. My uniform...sweats and tees. Over the past year I have made a concentrated effort to be presentable. One of my best weapons to fight the frump is to wear a skirt or dress nearly everyday. Even if you wear a tee shirt with a skirt you can't help but look better than if you're wearing sweats or jeans.

"Why hadn't I worn skirts before this? What was I thinking?"

Two days into my new skirty uniform...it hit me why I hadn't worn skirts...chafing. Ugh! While long underwear do work to eliminate chafing, I found they were rather hot to wear in the summer. Then I received the best tip ever...stick deodorant. (not gel or spray) My preference is the old fashioned Secret...strong enough for a man AND my fluffy thighs.

Grab a stick, sport a skirt and Fight The Frump Ladies!

The Drive-In

A driveway and a show! The kids and I love it when we have things done around the house. There's a project done PLUS we get entertainment. We've been wanting a paved driveway for the longest time. The kids have been daydreaming of rollerskating, skateboarding and chalking since we told them we were having the drive done a few weeks ago. Here, Jedi and Farmgirl (dd9) were breathing in the pungent odor of asphalt like it was sweet nectar.

This little machine was my favorite to watch...it reminded me of a Zamboni (sp?) zipping all over the place.

The kids were fascinated by the hand signals the crew used to communicate. The man giving the "thumbs up" is head of this gang. He is a man who loves his job. He exclaimed, "boy, sure does change the whole house, this drive," with a huge grin as he surveyed his handiwork for several moments upon completion. I agree, it is beautiful!




It provided the perfect background color to take a picture of my favorite flower... the gerbera daisy. No other flower cheers me up quite so much as a sunny gerbera.

Vacation Pictures...groan

I know you are all just dying to see 2 weeks worth of vacation pictures....yay! I'm only going to post about 15 of the 450 I took. ;-)

We had a fantastic time on our vacation. We stopped in Atlanta on our way to Ft. Myers to visit the aquarium. We saw beluga whales, whale sharks (super cool), pet stingrays and D9 tried to reach the little sharks but they wouldn't come close enough. Definitely worth the stop.

We spent all our time either at the beach or the pool while in Ft. Myers. There were shells to be collected...

oops...almost missed that shell

skimming to be tried...Jedi definitely has a surfer lurking inside. While the girls mostly played on the beach, Jedi spent all his time in the water.

We saw so many neat animals while in Florida. Gators, huge fish in the ocean, an otter and of course dolphins every morning at the beach. This one kept circling a group of swimmers. Off to the the side a couple of young ladies were screaming hysterically and running for shore. I don't think they realized it was a dolphin. Not that you should necessarily swim with wild dolphins anyway, but it was kind of funny.

One of my favorite things that happened was this...

wait for it....

wait...

Yep...that is Baby's Polly pocket!

We were about 100 yds from our chairs and beach toys looking for shells when D9 said, "I think that seagull has some food for his babies." Nope, it had stolen Baby's Polly from our bucket up shore. He flew over to us and unbelievable dropped the Polly by D9!

One other great thing that came from our vacation was Scuba Ken has decided we definitely need to take more vacations...next stop...cruise to Alaska!