a little seattle

This would be the very beginning of our trip to Alaska ... we flew to Seattle ... ate supper ... doesn't my meal look yum??? It's making me hungry right now ... I can almost smell it ;)
spent the night at a very nice hotel ...
determined that all six of us could fit on the smallish balcony ...hung out with our baggage while waiting for the rest of our group ...
observed Little Blondie breakdance in the fancy foyer ...
boarded the ship ... Halo spotted two pieces of luggage that the crew dropped in the water ...
posed for a quick picture with the Space Needle ...
checked out our accommodations and generous deck {it turned out we could see the Space Needle from our private deck too} ...
{Seattle seems like a neat city ...}
... and viewed the blue angels from our deck. They flew sooo fast ... I just barely caught them with my camera! Kind-of neat! I wouldn't want a ride in one of 'em though ...

a little Alaskan Cruise

We are home from our Alaskan cruise with the in-laws, mine that is. A lovely time was had by all ... pictures to follow ... just as soon as I stop swaying. Coming home with so much stuff to do, however, is rather overwhelming and I currently feel as though I never want to drag all six of us on another vacation ever again. I will, of course, quickly change my mind ... just as soon as winter begins to rear its ugly head.

I asked the kids what they liked best from the trip ...

halo. the whole thing overall. the stops. the buffets. dressing up for dinner. looking for souvenirs. swimming. palate cleansers.

buddy. everything. the slingshot. ping pong. swimming. looking for whales. creme brulee.

foofie. going to the waterfall and going to the glacier in juneau. swimming. ice cream cones.

little cruiser. watching the luggage slide down the chute at the baggage claim. waving at cousin Luke. seeing the planes at the airport. playing under the table during the four-course dinners.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law celebrated their 45th anniversary on the cruise ... that was the occasion for our excursion. It also happened to be our 13th anniversary :)

The scenery was fantastic ... awesome! The food was excellent and abundant ... and the kids enjoyed trying lots of new foods. Jeff and I also enjoyed visiting with some of the staff from all over the globe ... 57 different countries, I think.

P.S. The song I made up while cruising was ... People Just Wanna Wear Bathrobes ... it is to the tune of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. The first day, we saw people heading to the pool area in the bathrobes which are provided. They looked just a tad funny parading about the ship in white bathrobes ... but we decided to follow suit {or robe, I guess} since we didn't bring any swim cover-ups and we had to go outside to get to the pool. So we ended up being quite a sight ... especially while we were traversing through the cafe!
More to come!

a little peer-pressure

I love to hear stories of my children resisting peer pressure! And I just heard a new one today!

About a month ago, a boy at church told Buddy and another boy to meet up with him at a certain place after the service. Planned meetings are exciting ... so they agreed and followed through. The boy, the first boy mentioned, then directed Buddy and the other boy to go up to the balcony with him and collect the communion cups. So ... they went and gathered up lots and lots of the small plastic cups. Buddy said he was wondering what the boy wanted them for. Next, this boy went to the side stairwell and proceeded to place a cup or two on each stair. Finally, he stomped down the stairs ... smashed all of the cups into pieces ... and made quite a mess. At some point during this, the boy told Buddy and the other boy to do this too. Buddy, however, knew it was wrong and thought he and the other boy might get in trouble for this. After all, Buddy and the other boy were left holding the cups ... lots of cups.

So ... Buddy said, "I started shouting commands to {my friend}. Run! Drop the cups! Run!" And they did just that.

Woo-Hoo, Buddy! Thumbs up!

a little camping

We camped and then we cabin-ed. Let me start by saying that cabin-ing at a nice lake home is a good debriefing of sorts after the camping is over and before returning to real life. One often needs to rest up after camping.

Yes ... well ... back to camping. This was, by the way, our second time camping. We arrived at the campsite with hopes for a grand time. Almost immediately upon hopping out of the van, I thought, I love camping ... and even though there is a LOT of preparation ... there is just something appealing about camping. A little bit later ... I love camping. Camping is just great, I was thinking as we roasted turkey franks, enjoyed baked beans, and gobbled up some delicious strawberries. I love camping ... I thought a few more times that evening. Camping ... outdoor living ... glorious and relaxing ... even with all those Daddy-long-legs on everything. Then ... when bedtime arrived ... after all of that wonderful "camping" and chilling by the campfire ... I angled my body into the tent, stepped over and around some of my children ... then crouched over to where my sleeping mat was laid ... getting around in a tent is sort-of like playing Twister ... and finally, plunked my thirty-four-year-old body down ... basically on the ground, as the mat was thin. Yes ... it was basically like I was laying on the ground ... and definitely NOT my precious sleep-number bed. Did I mention that the mat was t-h-i-n??? So ... I was no longer thinking that I love camping. Nope. I was thinking ...

I feel old! It seems like I can feel every single bone in my body! How many are there? 206??? And the ground ... is seriously hard ... there's no give in it ...

So I said to my husband, "Husband, people older than us do this ... how can they stand it?"
And he said, "Well, Abraham slept on the ground ..."
So that was that.

Yep. The first night was really bad. And I was cold. And Little Dude was waking up and fussing every hour or so. Oh ... and I saw a skunk when I was trekking back from the bathrooms in the middle of the night. And the second night? Not much better. So, as aforesaid, after two nights of this, Jeffster and I were quite happy to be sleeping in the rather comfy bed at the cabin. {The cabin time was great too ... I didn't take any pictures though.}

Back to the camping again ... aside from the sleeping, or lack thereof, we did have ourselves a grand time :)

I think I made about fifty pancakes ... not sure where they all went though ;)
A nice sandy beach ... fun for everyone :)
Our temporary address #33 ...
The baby backpack ... couldn't have managed without it ...
Mr. E. and the fire feeders ...
Daddy and his boys ...
These two are often in the same place {or chair} ...
Little Camper squealing out at the kids from inside the tent ...
It's getting late ...
One down ...
I'm so tired I must hold my eyes open ...I love staying up late!!!
Our second breakfast ... eggs, cantaloupe, and yogurt a la messy table ...
Behold, a new rock discovered ...

a little sparkler

You might remember from my previous two Independence Day posts ... that the 4th of July is also Foofie's birthday. So ... ever since she's been around, the holiday has been kind-of a combo deal ... birthday party and Independence celebration.

Our little sparkler, aka Foofie ... and sometimes Foofie Sparkle, is FIVE! I can't believe it! The following is what I did five years ago today. I thought I should get it written down {for posterity, you know} before I forget anything. Here goes ...

I can't remember the morning too well ... I probably puttered around a bit. That afternoon, I squeezed in a workout ~ 2 miles of walking and 2 miles of running. Then, I probably showered. Next, I drove my in-laws to the airport ... I had contractions the entire drive, but then they tapered off. Around suppertime, Buddy and I went to a picnic at my parents' place ... hung out at church a bit {for years, but not THIS year, the city fireworks have been near our church and so our church would have some festivities going on as well} ... and finally, watched the fireworks. I was having some contractions during the fireworks ... but I had been having them for weeks ... maybe an hour or two each day. I'm not sure why ... but after the "grand finale", I told Buddy we were going to RUN for our car so we wouldn't get stuck in the traffic jam exiting the parking lot ... just in case we needed to get to the hospital. So ... we ran.

Once in the car, I called Hubby {he and Halo had stayed home} and said, "I kinda feel like I might have the baby tonight. Maybe I should go to the hospital." "No, you won't. It's still ten days early. Just come home." Obedient wife ;) that I am ... I drove home. En route, I called the nurse hotline to get a second opinion. Those nurses, it seems, always have to call you back. So ... by the time I got called back and they advised me to go to the hospital since I have fast labors ... I was nearly home. So, I continued on home to drop off Buddy.

I told Hubby they wanted me to go in and he said, "Well, Halo's sleeping. But you should be able to drive yourself." "Okay," I agreed, "The cell phone is almost dead though." Next, I went downstairs for my pillow and I don't remember what else ... "Wow, look at me!" I exclaimed, "I'm even going to bring stuff to the hospital!" {I'd never brought anything to the hospital for the previous two births. Husband had brought whatever was needed later.} My "packing", however, was very short lived because I promptly fell over and screeched, "It's time! YOU have to take me! Buddy get back in the car!"

Daddy wrapped Halo in a blanket and plopped her in the car ... and we were off. Getting to the hospital was slow and agonizing because there was so much traffic from various fireworks displays ... lights were out ... and the police were directing traffic at some intersections. I kept banging my fist against my car door ... and Buddy was copying me in the backseat ... he said he was helping me. When we arrived at the hospital, I had a little wait for the midwife to show up. Then, three pushes later, at 11:53 p.m., our little Foofie miracle was born ... with only seven minutes to spare :)

Here is how we celebrated this year ... we had a lot of fun!!!

My parents new neighbors gave the kids a ride in this little train of sorts ...


Lining up to get their sparklers lit ...
Sparkling ...

Ooohing Uncle's fireworks show :) Who was messing with Baby's hair???
Oh ... and Mom's green dish ... whatever she puts in here is sure to be yummy :) This would be her potato salad. I'll have to get the recipe from her and add it here. Generally I'm not a big potato salad eater ... but hers is delicious ... so much so that it's pretty much the only potato salad I'll eat. ♥ Thanks Mom ♥

a little guessing game

And the winner of the cappuccino guessing contest is ... GIANNA! She guessed 150 boxes ... which was only 10 under. So yes ... I ordered 160 boxes! 160 x 6 = 960 individual packets ... enough for five months, we hope! Now, if only I could order an organic-milk-producing-cow from amazon.com ...
Gianna, I'll bring your prize to church :)

a little watermelon

Watermelon time ~ complete with quotes!

Halo: "Sometimes when I'm eating watermelon, I pretend it's sushi."
Buddy: "I could win a watermelon {eating} contest."
Foofie: "When I see inside a watermelon, it makes me happy."
Baby ... this is one heavy ball ...

It seems I had a little smudge on my lens :/ Oh well ...




Isn't watermelon beautiful??? Gotta love summer :)

a little Foofese

A few recent Foofie~isms ...

"I want my nails painted," requested Foofie.
"Well, first they need to be clipped. They're long." I answered.
"I know. They're beaming high ... with ... glee," she agreed.
{I painted her nails ... orange.}
"Oooh ... they are gleaming with glitter and gold."

"I'm done with samwiches {aka sandwiches} for seven weeks."
"Well ... what are you hoping to eat?" I asked.
"Fruit."

After returning, a bit sweaty, from a bike ride ...
"My hair is gleaming wet."

Trying on some underwear ... "These are gulping big!"

After finding a penny on the ground ... "I found a little snick of money!"

a little hourglass

Oh dear me ... the sun set tonight at 9:02 ... and I missed noting ~ and cheering about ~ the official beginning of summer yesterday ... when perhaps the sun set at 9:05??? I love these spring/summer evenings when there is so much daylight that it makes your day feel a little longer. Now, it's all downhill back to the winter solstice ;)

I was just pondering ... time. How time keeps flying by, slipping away, and seeming to gain momentum {if that were possible}.

Sunday is like the downbeat for me. The marker, so-to-speak, in each week. Sunday ... then the rest of the week ... and Sunday again. However it feels more like ... Sunday, three days, Sunday, three days, Sunday. I guess I'm in 4/4 time :) Anyone else have this rhythm???

A second is virtually nothing. And a minute? Tiny as well. An hour? Not terribly long.
A day ... often over before you know it. A month ... only about thirty fleeting days. I feel like I should still be twenty-something ... but I'm not ...

Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

a little this 'n' that

A journal entry for today ... a little something to note about each of my miracles ...

Halo's quote of the day actually begins with a story about me and a hat. Today, I mended this sweet, adorable, little, tan, babyGap hat for PoorLittleDudeWhoOftenHasToWearAPinkHat :) It has been one of my favorite hats for years ... I think it might have been Halo's at one time with a tiny ruffle on it that I removed for Buddy's use. Anyway, one side of the velcro was finally kaput. {Hey! I wasn't sure if I knew how to spell kaput ... but it must be right ... the computer didn't underline it in red.}

The teeth side of velcro might last forever ... but the more fuzzy, grabbing side has its limitations. So ... all I really did, mending-wise, was rip out the chunk of velcro ... cut a new piece of velcro {actually two, because the first one was too small} ... locate some close-enough-colored thread ... and sew it on. It was challenging, however, because it was very difficult to push through ... my needle bent to a near right angle quite early on ... and I was trying to sew in the existing holes from the discarded piece of velcro. All that to say, I succeeded ... but it took much longer than I expected. It was worth it though. I like the hat. So I was pleased :)

Of course I wanted someone else to be pleased and excited about the improved baby hat ... so I showed my handiwork to Halo and told her I was so pleased. Pleased with how it turned out ... but even more pleased that it was finished ... and pleased that it was now less likely to get yanked off and lost.

You'd never guess Halo's response ... "Are you so pleased that you want to go get a hot fudge malt???" she immediately asked with a cheeky grin. Yes, I like hot fudge malts ... Here is the little piece of velcro that was such a big deal ... please notice the carefully stiched oval and not the cracker crumbs :)


"Boys get stung less than girls do." {Buddy's conclusion from looking at all of the female legs in our house.} Also ... he has been motivated to get more fit for soccer camp which is coming next week. He's been doing a combo of walking and running about two miles with me lately :) I'm just walking though ... and thinking about running ... and almost sort-of getting the itch to maybe do another race ...

Foofie was holding an antique doll with "hair" ... "She has a BANG. I don't want a bang." Then, running her hands through her own hair, "I like it just the way it is." Well good :) Please keep saying that for the next fifteen years ... "I like it just the way it is."


After watching the older kids kick the soccer ball around ... Little Buddy decided to try it too ... from his sitting crawl position, of course :) Also, he's at that age where he thinks he is hiding just by covering his eyes ... it cracks me up!
Voila ... here is the hat that better stay on now! Oh, and I should try to get a picture of Baby kicking the soccer ball ...

a little cappuccino

See what the UPS fellow heaved onto our doorstep??? Three BIG boxes of ... imagine a drum roll please ... french vanilla cappuccino coolers!!!!! Each of these boxes is filled with many small boxes like the little red/white/blue one ... and {side note} each of these small boxes contains six packets to mix up six yummy iced coffee delights.

So why did I order sooo many cappuccino coolers??? Well ... a little over a week ago ... we stopped at the local grocery {the only one in our area that sells this product} ... and the shelf was empty. We had a few remaining at home ... so we were set for the following morning nonetheless. Then, the next evening while we were out and about ... we drove out of our way to a different one of these stores to stock up on our can't-live-without-most-favorite drink mix. We went down the coffee aisle straight to the cappuccino spot ... and lo and behold ... it was barren. Yes ... empty again. All gone. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Can you believe it?

"What are we going to do?" asked Dr. Edge with more than a little concern in his voice. "I'm never been so sad about a food item in my life," he continued. Are we pathetic or what??? You can choose the "or what" option ... thank you kindly :)

"Let's call your Mom," I suggested. "Maybe she has a stockpile." {She is a fellow addict appreciator of these fine coffee beverages. In fact, I think she's the one who started me on them.}

So ... we called Mom and she said come on over :) She shared a few boxes with us ... and then told us that the last time she bought cappuccinos she received a little slip at the checkout saying that General Foods had been bought by Maxwell House.

Back at home ... I googled cappuccino coolers and found that Amazon sells them. Yeah! So ... I ordered some a lot ... just in case there is an interruption in production or ~ perish the thought ~ they get discontinued. Actually, if they are getting discontinued ... I will order more.

So ... now for the fun part ;)
WHO can guess how many boxes I ordered? {the small red/white/blue box}

Here's the rules/guidelines ... pay close attention ;)
1. Leave your guess in the comments section.
2. The winner will be the one with the closest guess ... regardless of whether the guess is over or under the actual amount.
3. Also, for your information, there were a few air packets tossed in each box too.

a little muddy

Boys and mud. Mud and boys. The two just seem to find each other.