Where have the weeks gone?

It seems like the first few weeks of summer have just flown by. Hannah was here for a week, then back to Ohio for a sports camp for a week, and is now back home for the rest of the summer.

Reid spent two weeks in Ohio at Camp Grandma & Grandpa. It was a quiet two weeks with him gone, but I missed him -- a lot. It sounds like he had a blast...two trips to the zoo, a trip to Sauders, a weekend with Aunt Deb & Uncle Thomas (which included a parade, carnival rides and a trip to see the Mudhens play) and hours upon hours of playing outdoors! He came home fairly sleep deprived, but happy.

My parents brought the kids back down last weekend and then we headed out yet again for a trip to Disney in Orlando. Poor Jeremy & Lucy didn't get to go...I know, that is terrible isn't it?! It is a rather long story, but originally I wasn't going to go, but discovered I could get significantly cheaper tickets if I went along thanks to Disney's military discount (yay Disney!!!). Lucy isn't really big enough to enjoy it, so she was banned from going (and I'm REALLY glad she didn't go along). And Jeremy didn't go because we're hoarding his leave time for job searching/transitioning. Anyway...it was a good trip, but I'm really glad to be home and have a normal week. I'll have to post more on that trip when I have time to sort through some of the pictures.

And so now, here we are ready to start a NORMAL (whatever that is) week. I'm looking forward to it. :-)

How they make potties (according to Ross)!

Just in case you wanted to know, this is how potties are made (according to Ross, anyway):

First "they" (I'm not sure who "they" are) take white wood and put the white wood in a machine. The machine has lots of screwdrivers in it. The machine puts lots of pieces together to make a potty.

This was important enough to warrant a trip out of bed so that he could share his potty making wisdom with Daddy.

Lucy got her hair cut!

This is a little late, but what can I say? I'm slow...

We finally got Lucy's hair cut for the first time over Memorial Day weekend. She really doesn't have much hair, but has been working on a lovely "rat tail" for some time. I just couldn't stand the tail anymore, so we took her for a trim.

Here is her before shot:

Her during shot (note that those are some watery eyes from crying):

And the pretty little princess afterwards:


She really did pretty well, once she accepted the fact that she WAS getting her hair cut. She cried for a few minutes and then noticed the movie and sat very nicely for the remainder of the (very short) cut. She really didn't have much hair to trim, honestly. She had an absolute FIT, however, when we tried to remove her from the tractor seat that she was sitting in!

I'm dreaming of...an orchard!

Lately, we've been spending a lot of time talking about what features we would like in our next house. I'd really like more yard space next time, but still really want to be in "town" (meaning, city water and sewer services, thank you!). I was thinking of all the things I want to plant: a veggie garden, a cutting garden and some fruit trees.

I really want to plant several apple trees, because the variety that we like for applesauce (yellow transparent) are an heirloom variety that are just impossible to find. Then I was thinking that a couple cherry trees would be great. My grandma always made cherry pies and I miss them -- the tart cherries are so hard to find in store. And perhaps a peach tree would be nice. Pears are my favorite -- we must have a pear tree, too! Oh, and I'd like a nice sized set of blueberry bushes and raspberry vines (blackberry, too, perhaps). Oh, and lets not forget the huge set of strawberries I want to put out. Hmmmm...I think my next yard just got very LARGE!

The thing is, I'm not even sure I can successfully grow those things! I've dabbled with veggies, but only in containers, and haven't been very successful. They do fine until a hot day hits and I forget to water them. I generally have very good luck with my flowers (perennials and annuals), so I'm not too worried about my cutting garden succeeding.

I guess I'm more of a farm girl than I'd care to admit, huh?

Oh, I'm so tired!

And by tired, I mean "full day of hard labor" exhausted and not "didn't get enough sleep" tired. Today, I mowed the lawn -- the entire lawn. I also trimmed it. No big deal, right? Yeah, except that I haven't mowed the lawn in at least a year (my mother-in-law was kind enough to mow the lawn the entire year Jeremy was deployed). Heaven only knows if I've actually ever mowed the entire lawn at this house (the backyard is fenced, so the front and back are often mowed separately). And, in general, the lawn falls into Jeremy's responsibilities.


I'm just not used to mowing. My arms and legs HURT. I am in really good shape, so I cringe to think what I would feel like if I wasn't.

Did I mention that it took me at least 2 times, if not 3 times, longer to mow the lawn than it takes Jeremy or Betty? But, it is done and is one less thing that Jeremy needs to do this weekend!

Funny faces!

One day last week, as I was sitting and playing with the kids, I decided to grab the camera to snap some photos. Ross insisted that I needed to take pictures of him making funny faces, which he readily supplied. I know these are silly, but I really love the pictures because they are so representative of his personality!

Of course, Lucy & Reid had to get in on the action, too. They weren't as plentiful with their supply of funny faces, however!

How did that happen?

Last Thursday Reid celebrated his FIFTH birthday. How on earth did that happen? It seems crazy that he is already five. On the other hand, he does have two younger siblings already, so I shouldn't be so surprised.

We didn't do anything extravagant -- just dinner, cake and presents with Grandma & Grandpa and a good friend. It turned out to be a very nice day. And no fancy cake this time -- I just couldn't get it done. I did try a new chocolate frosting recipe, which was a disaster. I'm afraid I have lost all trust in Martha at this point. The frosting was TOO chocolaty and very runny (even though I doubled the powdered sugar in it to try and thicken it up).

Here are a couple of his five year photos I took:

And to top the week off, he "graduated" from preschool. Now, don't get me started on this...I think graduation ceremonies for preschoolers are silly. From the looks of things on Friday, however, I was the only parent who thought that way. Oh well...Reid enjoyed the event, and that is all that I really care about.