A little Creek Play

I remember as a child playing at our creek for hours on end. To get there, we had to walk through a field. It took 15 minutes to get to our favorite part. It seem like a secret place, fully enclosed by trees and steep banks. There was always an adventure to be had. My children don't play in the same creek I did, but are no different, they love playing at our creek!

They love to dig for 'treasures' aka cool rocks with sparkles & fossils.

Wading in the water never gets old.

Our creek winds around for acres, making exploring new parts a must.

It was a blitzen hot afternoon when we went, but the cool creek water felt great!
We all had a fun time.

WW Flying

Favorite Summer Salad

We love this salad!

Pasta Salad
1 # cooked pasta, don't over cook!
Fresh veggies cut into bit sized chunks
(broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, radishes, bell peppers)
Cheese Cubes
Diced Pepperoni

Dressing:
1 cup White Wine Vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar
2 cups Olive Oil
3 T Fresh Garlic
1 T Sugar
1 tsp Oregano
1 /2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp salt

or
1+ bottle Italian Dressing

*Mix well.

Mix pasta, veggies, cheese and pepperoni. Pour 1/2 - 2/3 of dressing over the top. Chill overnight. Add more dressing before serving if it looks 'dry'.

First Pickin'

Of course I had an eager helper.
*love that*
We looked for red tops popping through the soil.
And we found...

Radishes!

Crunchy
Crisp
Bit of 'Bite'

YUM!

We drink a lot of this

I'm talking gallons upon gallons a week.
.Garden Tea.

Spearmint to be exact.

What is your summer go-to drink?

Summer Ideas to keep your kiddo's busy

• Make a weekly or biweekly trip to the Library. Many have summer reading programs you can sign up for.
• Stay up late to Star Gaze.
  
• Pack a picnic and head to a park, lake, timber... spend the morning hiking, playing, fishing... then have lunch. Invite another family to join you!
• Take a Night Hike to observe the creatures of the night.
  
• Camp! Pitch a tent in your own backyard or at a local campground. We've even pitched the tent in the living room before :) Make Hobo's over the fire, roast marshmallows, cook breakfast.
  
• See if the area conservation center has offers summer day camps.
• Are you headed on vacation? Print Free Road Trip Activity pages to take with you.
• Go swimming in a lake with a beach. Pack plenty of beach toys!
• Make a kite. Then have a kite flying contest.
• Try to fry an egg on a hot side walk. We did this as kids ;)
• Relax on a steamy hot day with a bowl of popcorn and a movie.
  
• Paint rocks.
• Host a neighborhood bike wash. Complete with buckets of bubbles & rags. Serve Popsicles with the bikes have been washed.
  
• Host a backyard scavenger hunt. Hide little treasures for the kids to find.
• Bake, then deliver some goodies to a neighbor.
  
• Recycle broken crayons.
• Pick flowers from your yard, display them on your dinner table. Use the good dishes for dinner that night.
  
• Make your own bubbles.
• Volunteer at an Nursing Home. Elderly people LOVE to visit with youngsters.
• Enjoy your children.
  

It won't be long until your children have summer jobs and are all grown up.
Let the dishes go, allow the floors NOT to sparkle.
Embrace this time in your life!

Timeless Treasure

Receiving these

will never get old!

Summer has begun!

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

I love long weekends.
Friday started our weekend with rain, but it didn't stop my oldest from doing this with a friend.
We hung out in the rain, roasted hot dogs & made smores.
Then home to my comfy bed I went.

Most of Saturday was rainy as well. I spent the day cleaning, baking cookies with the kids & working the garage.

Sunday we went to the cabin for our first overnighter there.
The kids were ecstatic!
We played, grilled, roasted smores
which this little lady didn't like because they were messyThen, she took a bite.
She was in love!We watched 127 hours (what a story that man lived to tell), stayed up late, grilled bacon and eggs, roasted smores after breakfast, hey it's a Holiday, gotta live a little!
& simply hung.
Loved every minute of it.

Later in the day we swam.
The water is still a bit chilly for me, but the kids had fun.
We caught a ton of these little guys.Ate Popsicles.
Then I worked on laundry while the little ones napped.
We grilled for dinner then had ice cream for dessert.
I wish every weekend was 3 days!

What did you do?

It was fun

the 4 times we used it.

The kiddo's slipped, & slid.

And practice sliding into 'base'.

Are we the only ones with this issue?

Rhubarb Crisp

in the winter.
Yes-Sir-Ree
My taste buds are jumping with joy because I froze rhubarb last summer.
.warm.
.sweet.
.sour.
A perfect treat for a cold winter day.


Mix until crumbly:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup regular oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Set aside.

Dice 4 cups rhubarb (I normally use more like 5 or 6)

To make syrup:
In a saucepan,(whisk together sugar and cornstarch before adding liquids)
combine:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Cook until thick and clear.

*Place half of the crumbs in a greased 9 inch pan. Spoon diced rhubarb over the crumbs. Pour syrup over rhubarb, top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350* for 45 - 50 minutes.

Yummy!!

Top of the Summer

I love summer; the heat, swimming, ball games, playing outside, getting dirty in the garden, fresh produce, mowing...

Memories were made.
Giggles were heard.
Dirt was abundant.
It was all good!

In no specific order 10 of my favorite summer memories...

1. This little girls expression when I told her it was finally time to swim!
   
2. Baseball. We were busy with games 4 nights a week, but I loved every minute of it.
   
3. Both of my boys going to over night camp for the first time ever! We all survived and both boys are counting the days until they can go back.
   
4. Going to the zoo, 2 hours away, and realizing upon our arrival, my daughter didn't have shoes.
   
5. Celebrating a very special one year old birthday.
   
6. A bountiful garden.
   
7. Making over 500 ice cream cookie sandwiches for my husbands employees.
8. Making smores on a day that was so hot our chocolate melted before it hit the sandwich.
   
9. Going to the Omaha Zoo with my family to celebrate my parents 40th anniversary.
   
10. Weekly swimming parties in the pond.
    

So long summer.
We are looking forward to your return in 2011!

It was a full weekend

I'm a bit tired.
But we had a great time!

Just Veggies

Doing a lot of this lately...

and trying 'new' preserving techniques.
I'll let you know how they work out.
************
Have you ever watched a bouncy ball in a box before?
The ball randomly hits one side, then another, it just keeps going back and forth up and down.
These thoughts have been doing that in my brain this week.
Ponder them.

'Sometimes the Lord asks us to step out of our comfort zone for the sole purpose of blessing us.'

'The size of our prayers reflects the size of our God.'

'Get God out of the box you've put Him in.'

Black plastic

a hill and a hose...
Bet you didn't know it could be so fun!

Add a few floaties and you've got:

GigGles
LauGHter
RaCEs
SpEEd
A Homemade Water Slide

**We purchased our black plastic at Menards 3 years ago.
It holds up great!!**

Making Bubbles

Need a cool off activity for your little ones?

Pull out the soap, a bucket or two, a few kitchen spoons and a whisk.

It'll keep them cooking up a storm for hours.

swimming lessons

Another year of swimming lessons are passed and improvement has been made with each child. It amazes me how in the matter of a few days, their skills can dramatically be sharpened. Tyson went from not being able to drive the first few lessons, to being fairly good at it the final lesson. Arm strokes look sharper and feet are now kicking with a purpose other than splashing. Swimming and summer go hand in hand at our house.

Going for the dive...

I had to chuckle as I could physically see his concentration.
He was so focused.
Incredibly determined.
And then, as most learning divers do, this happened...

Maybe next time :)

Blowing bubbles...

My little girl is a fish.
She has no hear.
And she surprised me with her skill.
She actually has some form when doing her strokes.

Here she is going off the board with her 'donkey'.
And no hesitation.

We had great teachers again this year!
My two middle kids have improved so much. I love to swim and I am so glad they do too!

Monday, we meet again...

A little bit of my scattered thoughts..........

It's going to rain.
Did you see the radar?
It looks like it is going to pour.

Ugg Grrrrrrrrr...

That's how I feel.
I'm rather tired of the rain.
Last night the weather man said we had a 20% chance of rain.
I look at that as an 80% chance of dryness.
Pretty good odds to me.
Mr weather man, how can you consistently be so wrong this summer?
We had friends coming to swim.
Bummer.
I must move on.
Change my attitude, that's what I'd tell my kids :)


This little girly is simply the most lovable 1 year old I know.
She is in-to, on-to, up-to,
.E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

She will keep me young, and in shape :)


Pregnant ladies are popping out of the wood work, at least in our area. Many are unexpected-unbelievable special blessing. Oh how I love to see my Lord answer prayer!

I had a really good conversation with my best friend yesterday (aka my hubby). We were talking about sharing Christ and how it is hard sometimes to befriend families because personalities can clash. I'll just be honest, some people are harder to be around than others. It's not fun to feel like you're being taken advantage of. We both agreed though, that Christ doesn't care if we find people annoying or if we feel like they are taken advantage of us. He wants us to share His LOVE with them.
Hard, yes.
Impossible, no.
I'm working on it.

I wanted to see how fast a cucumber grew.
You know, a little science experiment.
I painted it with fingernail polish, so I'd be sure to measure the same one each day.

I used a little much.
It killed it.

I really should go.
My boys have wrapped their 3 year old sister in a blanket, like a hot dog. She is screaming bloody murder because she can't get out.
I probably should go rescue her.
What do you think ;)

I hope your Monday is a great one!

A summer treat

What can you make with these?

Flip Flops of course!

Aren't they just the cutest things ever!

I stole the idea from Family Fun. Check it out!

It's hot out there

So after a morning water fight, we did this for lunch.

Hummm....
I think it's just right!

You're wondering what that thing is around his chest?
I don't have a clue.
He went drilling with dad and come home with it.
It's been apart of his attire ever since.
.Boys.

Oh course the hot dogs were followed with Smores.
Dancin' hooting and haulering accompanied the roasting.

The chocolate was a bit impatient and began to melt while the kids danced on the beach, which was fine with me, melted chocolate and graham crackers are pretty good together.

Happy children indeed!
Notice the chocolate dripping from Tyson's Smore.

The lunch was given thumbs up all around.
Delicious!