I couldn't resist

So, when I saw these on the shelf, I just couldn't resist. What can I say? They are PURPLE! Besides, I love to stomp in puddles as much as my kids do. I really am just a big kid.

Look at the cute little buckle on the side! Aren't I just a fashion queen? Notice the cool splash factor?

Carter's boots are blue with green bottoms. And the coolest part??? These star prints on the bottom, of course!

They make these really awesome boot prints in the mud. But, then you must go back to the puddles to clean off the mud, because these stars are just IT!

Here are Emily's. Pink for my girl! The alligators are Carter's old ones that I let the neighbor borrow until she gets her own.

Emily said watch this Mom, it is sooo cool!!

And this is probably a first for Casey. I am sure he doesn't remember splashing last year! His boots are blue owls!! I wonder what we could get Al to wear??...

Wonder...

There is such wonder in a snowfall. The light fluffy flakes falling lightly from the sky. I had forgotten. I get so caught up in I have to work or Al might get called in that I miss the wonder of it all. Friday when it started to snow, I was instantly crabby. We were out to dinner and I knew I had to work in the morning and that Al would get called out to plow snow in the wee hours of the morning. Finding babysitters in a small town can be a nightmare! As we finished out supper, the kids rushed outside and wanted a snowball fight, reveling in the beautiful, wet snow. So, when we got home I ran inside and grabbed my camera and tried to bring back the wonder of a nice snowfall. It was so fun watching my children try to catch snowflakes and laugh at them falling on their faces...Wonder.

In the end, Al did get called out, I did work and it was just fine. Al was home in time to be with the kids and the roads weren't bad for driving. I didn't need to worry. Just wonder.

Something you might not have known about me...

When I was little, I loved to read (still do) and write (still do). From the moment I learned to read and write, that was all I did. I was an only child and we lived in the country with no close neighbors. Summers, I read and wrote stories and poems. I can't remember not doing these two things. I even entered and won a contest at the public library. I dreamed of writing a book one day. When I got into high school, I continued my love of reading and writing by taking advanced literature classes and creative writing courses. In college, I wrote for a creative writing magazine and also was an editor in chief for the same magazine another year. I thought about going to The University of Iowa; I even toured the campus, but I was afraid. You had to submit your writing just to get accepted to a class. I didn't think I was good enough.

Also, there was a little matter of having to ride a bus to get to class...

So, anyway, here we are in present day and I occassionally write articles for a newspaper in the town where I work. Funny thing is that these articles are true. Before, I have always read and written fiction. That's what I love. I love to see my writing in print. Must be why blogging appealed to me. I have found, though, that my blog has become more about pictures, than writing. I love photography too.

I would still love to write more one day. But, some days, I feel like I've lost all my creativity. I can write real things; they are happening right now. I still read a lot, but feel like I wouldn't know where to begin to write my own story. Maybe true stories are what I should be thinking about. They seem to come naturally. It's all a work in progress. I'm a work in progress...

What kind of a book would you write if you wrote a book?

So, what have you dreamed about doing or becoming in your life? Do you still dream about it? What's stopping you?...

The Couch has been broken in...

Carter got sick last Thursday night. On. The. New. Couch.!

But, as Al told the kids, it's leather, it just wipes right up. Not. So. The. Floor.

Enough...

Anyway, the couch has officially been broken in.

Then, Saturday night, Casey and I took our turn. Monday, Al. And today, Emily. We like to share around here.


These pictures are not Totally unrelated. Sunday, only Casey and I were sick. And it was Emily's first day as a server in our church so Al took Emily and Carter and took pictures for me. For Us. 'Cause I like to share.

Here she is walking up from the basement. A big smile on her face. That's my girl.

Father Brunkan is the priest who married us. He is awesome! He remembers all of our names and shakes our hands as he walks out after mass and gives five minute homilies that mean something to me!! I just get it. He told an Olie and Lena joke at our wedding!! And it was pertinent to marriage and love and God. And I remember it today. I love this priest!

Emily did a great job and was so excited when she came home to tell me all about it. I'm so proud of her.
Al said this picture of Carter was an accident as he was getting the camera ready quietly. But I like it. I like Carter, too.

Carter's Cool Pictures!!

When we were getting our new couch and taking pictures, Carter got his own digital camera out and took some of his own pictures. Then he said to me, Mom you can put some of my cool light pictures on your blog!


Carter is getting really good at taking pictures of still objects and likes pictures of pictures on the computer screen and such. Lights was a new concept.
This last picture Emily must have taken, but it's cool anyway and Carter picked it out for me to put on the blog...

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine's Day!

Couches...

Here's our old couch....

This was a used couch my grandma had before she passed away and that was over 10 years ago. Then we inherited it as we were newly married and in need of a couch. You can't see all of the stains and rips because Al, Carter and Emily are strategically placed for the picture....


Here is Carter, my child who really doesn't like change, so sad because we are getting rid of the old couch and getting a NEW one!! Not excited for a NEW one, but sad for the old one because I made the mistake of saying we were probably throwing it away....

The NEW couch, all leather and I opted for the $25 extra so we could have two more recliners. And look! 4 people can sit across it! But, do you think I ever get to sit in one recliner still, even though we now have 3???

Update: Carter was so sad we got rid of the old couch, we told him he could keep the cushions if they stayed in his bedroom upstairs!!!!

We took the rest of the old couch out to Al's parents burn pile, but at the time there was so much snow we couldn't make it all the way out there and Al dumped it off of the truck just behind their garage and a bin. I have to admit it does look kind of sad especially since it was my grandma's. But, we have a NEW wonderfully nice all leather couch to come home to and pictures, not to mention cushions of the old favorite. Not a bad trade off. Even for Carter, who takes his turn to sleep on it now and then!

I {Heart} Music Day

A private college in the nearby town that I work offered an I {Heart} Music day for area 3rd and 4th graders. It went from 10-2 and they got a t-shirt and a sack lunch, plus lots of musical fun!! Our school's PTO paid for the day and I was able to leave work for a while to go and see the "Informance". The kids got to visit different countries and learn about different aspects of music through that particular country's music. For the Informance it was whatever country was the last one you learned about. For Em, it was Mexico and they did a rendition of the Mexican hat dance complete with stomping on make believe cockroaches!! It was fun to see and I am glad she is getting the opportunity to explore music!

In school she is now learning to play the recorder and loving it. So far, she practices every night. We'll see...
For now we are having fun and learning music!!

Baking Bread

My Emily has always had a love for good bread. She especially loves my cousin's wife's homemade from scratch, knead it and all bread/rolls. She eats 2 or 3 of them every time we go to their house for dinner. And, really, they are yummy!! But baking bread is kind of daunting. I've only ever made "homemade" bread in a bread maker. Easy. You don't really have to worry about the yeast or if you've kneaded enough or if you are home long enough or if your house is warm enough, etc.

Anyway, we were invited to my cousin's house for a birthday lunch a couple weekends ago and I got to thinking. Emily has chosen food for one of her 4-H projects and she loves Lisa's bread....maybe we could go early and have a lesson!! I asked for the recipe once, but like all good cooks, she uses a little of this and a lot of this until you get this consistency....if you've never done it that is kinda hard to follow...

Emily was a natural!! And we all had a lot of fun with it!!! The dough after it had raised was beautiful!!! And she got to get her hands in and get dirty!!! What a fun way to learn and get such a yummy result!!!

We all helped with the pretzels and she also made mini loaves of bread! Very very good!! Hopefully soon, we can practice what we've learned and do this at home!! Thanks Lisa!!!

Bob the Builder Live!

Sunday, Casey and I had the opportunity to spend some alone time together and attend a Live Production of Bob the Builder, which happens to be Casey's absolute favorite!! You can tell he was in awe seeing Bob up on the stage. He sat absolutely still for the whole 90 minutes!! Except, of course, to participate in the actions for all of the fun songs!!!

And I couldn't resist decking him out in Bob the Builder!!! The lighty up thingy is a windmill as the show was about building a recycling center with wind turbines to power the lights of Sunflower Valley! He lit it up and kept it going for the entire second half of the show!!!

It was a hit! He hasn't taken his new shirt off yet!!

Ice Cream

Have you ever seen one of these?

It's an ice cream ball!! A Mega Ball to be exact and it's purple!!!

One end opens and you put your ingredients in this long tube. Then the other end opens and you fill in ice and rock salt around the tube of ingredients!!

Then, you have "a ball!"

Casey was so excited when I got this for Christmas and has been begging for ice cream ever since! So, for the Super Bowl we made homemade ice cream. He and I did most of the rolling of it and Emily and Carter finished it up. In about 20 minutes it hardens right up and voila!!! You have yummy homemade ice cream and you "had a ball" doing it!!! What could be better??