I made it!!

I am finally in Michigan. We saw Mt. Rushmore and while it was smaller than pictures make it seem, it was still neat to see. I got Greg off to the airport in Rapid City and cried the whole way back to the hotel. The next 2 days I was on my own in the car (one of the boys was always with my parents). S. Dakota wasn't that exciting but both Minnesota and Wisconsin were beautiful. Lots of trees and corn fields and rivers. I even crossed the Mississippi River! The kids were really great in the car and the boys were awesome at helping with movies, snacks, or getting books for Annabelle. Once we hit Illinois it all went down hill. There started to be a lot of traffic and my parents' GPS told us to get off the freeway and take a "shortcut" through the city. I was really stressed trying to follow my folks and not get hit by crazy buses or bikers or drunken lowlifes. The only thing I liked about Chicago was that I easily found a radio station so I could listen to great music while I gripped the steering wheel. I was so done with driving for the last three hours. But we pushed through and made it at about 8:30 MI time. It has been great to just relax today and allow the kids to play. I made it to Relief Society where Tara taught a great lesson on Trials and Tools. And here I will stay for the next 2 weeks. I look forward to having nothing really planned and nothing really to do. Hopefully I will be able to allow myself to really relax and enjoy my kids, and my sis and her kids.

Heading East

I am loving our country. It truly is magnificent. I love how often the landscapes change-mountains, rivers, pine trees, sage brush. We drive through mountains and then hit deserts, we drive through forests and then come into a beautiful meadow valley. We have driven more than 400 miles, taken a whole lot of pictures and even pooped right outside of the car. We have seen elk, bison, lots of mosquitos and even an eagle and a grizzly bear. It is fun caravaning with my parents, Annabelle even went in their car for a bit today. I will be very sad when Greg heads home tomorrow night, but I am SO glad he came with us this far. We are getting an early start tomorrow so it is off to bed.

Campout '09

The whole family at Strawberry Reservoir. Though the weather was crazy we had a lot of fun together. And our kids slept great every night!

It rained the first day and a half of our trip. We made the most of it with umbrellas and card games in a tent trailer. Poor Ryan's feet got really pruned with his wet shoes.

Greg fished a whole lot and ended up catching three fish. 2 were cutthroats and he had to throw them back, but one was a rainbow trout and we will be tasting it tonight. All of the cousins got a long great and enjoyed exploring the outdoors.

Friday brought out the sun. We had a big water fight and I even got soaked! We tried baking cookies in a reflector oven. The first oven was consumed in flames, but luckily I brought another box. The cookies were a little overcooked or undercooked, but the kids thought it was great! Camping is not easy with kids, but it was a lot of fun to see them enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.

And now that we are back we are getting ready for our big car trip East. We will be visiting Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and ending in Michigan to visit my sister and her boys. It will be a nice long break. I probably won't post for a few weeks so don't worry.

It is Done!!

After about 5 months of work we are officially done with the basement. There are a few more things needed, shelves and decorating stuff, but those will have to wait a bit. It is so nice, and weird, to have more space and especially a bathroom downstairs. That and the playroom are the kids favorite parts. They love using the new toilet and more than one morning we have found the kids playing downstairs instead of jumping on us in bed. Greg and his dad did an amazing job and now I can't wait to see what else I can get my hubby to do (shed, garage shelves...). These pictures don't did it justice. Feel free to stop by and check things out.
Before:

After:

Laundry Room:

Bathroom (inspired by this mask my mom gave me years ago):

Playroom (Greg is going to paint a mural in here while we are in Michigan):

Storage Room:

Flag Day

I don't know about anyone else but when I saw a flag outside on our lawn this morning I wasn't quite sure what the holiday was. On the way to church I told Greg, "Maybe it is Flag Day?" But then I realized I had no idea what Flag Day really was. I checked out wikipedia.com and this is what I found:

"In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag day as a state holiday.

The longest-running Flag Day parade is held annually in Quincy, Massachusetts, which began 1952 and will celebrate its 57th year in 2009.

The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in Troy, New York, which bases its parade on the Quincy parade and typically draws 50,000 spectators."

And now I know.

Enjoying the Outdoors

We took hold of the few hours of sunshine on Friday and headed to a nearby park. You wouldn't think you could find such an outdoorsy place in the suburbs, but since Tomie grew up right next to this one we were lucky to not have to drive too far to feel like we were up in the mountains. Erin and her boys came too so we had 9 kids romping around the trails and feeding the ducks. The weather was perfect and all the kids seemed to get along as we hiked and played. I took a lot more pictures but these were the cream of the crop.

Released

It has happened. After about 2 years in the Primary Presidency I have been released. What a great 2 years! For those who don't know what this means, I was in a group of 4 women who were in charge of the teaching of about 150 or so children each Sunday. A lot of people asked me yesterday if I was sad or excited, and I could only respond with, "Both." I loved teaching those children. I loved getting to know their names and seeing them each week. I loved seeing them outside of church, at school or playing outside. They taught me so much about unconditional love and patience. I loved learning the primary songs and feeling the spirit as the children sang them so beautifully. I will miss it all so much. But, I am excited for what is to come. I have no calling for a week and it is liberating. I am sure that I will be put to work quickly and I welcome the new challenge it may bring. When I told Ryan and Nathan that it was my last week, Ryan cried. He can be such a sweetie when he wants to be. I will miss seeing my boys in primary (Greg included) and only hope that maybe without me there they will act better.

I got a yummy treat and hugs last night from 2 of my primary buddies, Thanks! All the meetings and planning and crazy hard stuff was definitely worth it!! They were delicious!

Can We Fix It??

It always happens when things are going okay, the thunder and lightening strike and unexpected bills come due. We are so close to finishing our basement and have been doing great at keeping things under control when it comes to money. And then my ring needs to be fixed, and then my car breaks down.
1. I took my ring to get cleaned on my birthday and the lady mentioned that the diamond was about to fall out. Since I had no desire to lose it, I have been ringless for a week. We picked up the ring tonight and it looks amazing! For those of you who might remember, my ring was set a little higher than both Greg and I wanted. However, I loved it and didn't worry about it for the last 8+ years. It didn't occur until after I had already sent my ring away to be fixed that I probably could have asked them to fix that. Well, lo and behold, they did it anyway. So now my ring is not only beautifully shiny and newlywed-ish, but it is now just like we wanted. I love looking at it!
2. On Thursday I thought I would get a few things done with just Annie in tow and headed to the Scout office. Right after we got on the freeway I heard a noise that I thought was a tire. There was a junky car in front of me and so I thought, maybe it was them. Then my oil and battery lights started flashing and I got a bit panicky. I decided to get off the next exit and as I tried to turn off I realized my power steering was out. With my hazards on I slowly pulled off the freeway and into a buildings empty parking lot. Since I didn't have a cell phone, Annabelle and I headed over to the Ford dealership across the way. That is where I lost it. The poor lady at the desk looked shocked to see someone so distressed in her building. I called Greg and he headed over. We were able to drive the car to the dealership and headed home with the idea that the serpentine/timing belt would be replaced and all would be well by lunch the next day.
We got a phone call in the morning saying our A/C also broke and the total would be over $1200! That was a little tough to swallow. Greg called our dealership and figured out our warranty, which thankfully we had a paid a bit extra to have, and now we were looking at about $3-400. That sounded much better. Then we got even smarter and called our salesman and friend, J.D. Now he is one awesome salesman. He worked his magic and got our car towed to his dealership and fixed and then drove it to our home, all for $190!! Now that is service. We feel completely blessed that the cost was so low and that the transaction was so easy. We hardly had to do anything.
I am so grateful to people and companies who can fix the things that Greg and I cannot. I don't know where we would be without those fixers. Everyone and every job is so needed to make our society run more smoothly. Just like in the church, we are all given talents and the Lord asks us to share them. To help those who we can and to allow others to teach and help us. I am grateful for the talents I have that can help with my family, my friends and in my calling. I am also indebted to all those who do so much to teach me and help me grow.

Birds or Pigs?!

This first picture was just taken Tuesday and this next one was taken Thursday. Can you believe how much birdseed these guys eat?! I bought a different variety this time and obviously it is a big hit.

Fun in the Sun!

Summer is here and we have been enjoying the sunny weather, and getting some color back onto our skin!

On Saturday Greg got to coach Nathan's soccer team. He did it a couple years ago, and still refers to it as "herding sheep." Personally I think these almost 2nd graders are much better than the kindergartens from before.

On Tuesday we had a fun picnic outside while the carpet guys were hard at work inside. Sarah and her kids came over and this bird decided to join us as well. We love watching these birds. Notice how one leg is on the pole and the other on the feeder, this is because they are too heavy and the whole feeder rocks like crazy if they don't anchor themselves.

On Wednesday we braved the library for a puppet show. It was CRAZY! If we hadn't gotten there early, and my kids weren't in the middle of a mob of sitting children, I would have left. Thank goodness there were no emergencies. Later in the day we decided to ride our bikes to Kohlers to get an ice cream cone. The kids did GREAT! I was so proud of them-no complaining. They even noticed the outside water park and hope to ride there next. This picture is from when we got home and all needed some cold water and ice cubes.

HOORAY FOR SUMMER!!