T minus 1 minute . . .

Now you see em'

Now you don't!

Yep, the Wii's coming down too!

And yes,

Even my laptop!

My cell phone is from like 1912 so no problem staying off-line there. And, we are still taking phone calls and collecting mail from the box if anyone's so inclined. (-:

So, this is it.

I'll be plugged back into the system in August!

Chow!

T minus 25 minutes . . .

Today we managed to play on what we think could be the last remaining merry go round in Southeastern Michigan. We think some governmental official somewhere forgot to order the removal of this death trap...so...SHHHHH!!!

Part of the joy of our trip to the U.P. every year is the fact that those brave souls still have every.last.one of their merry go rounds up and running in all the parks.

This is a fantastic park for all ages in a sub off of Glazier Way.

Also has a great basketball court, volleyball pit, lots of shade and picnic tables.

Go find it!

One!

Two!

Three!

They had a blast!

I mean c'mon!!!

Could this contraption be any better for three ACTIVE boys??!!

And yes,

The princess was with us too.

Knowing no fear of course!

So, here it is. I have no idea how to give directions.

I enter the sub off of Glazier Way and drive around till I find it.

Give it a try!

T minus 2 hrs and 10 mins . . .

Except that I'm swimming tomorrow so I force myself to get off by 10:30p.m. when that's the case. I've got 40 minutes left to fool around!

S0 . . .

Remember this guy?

Just trying to get some peace under our picnic table.

Well . . .

As an (a?) hilarious aside, the music I chose is titled "I Want Freedom" by Chris Joss.

T minus six hours . . .

Till this here lap top, on which I do all this posting, is shut off and tucked in the closet for a month!

I'm looking forward to it, gonna open up lots of time for . . . (we'll see).

Yesterday we went to the Matthaei Children's Garden.

If you have kids and are anywhere in the vicinity this is a MUST for one of your summer activities.

It's FREE and bring a picnic lunch for a nice long visit.

If you have time and energy check out the trails over the bridge too.

Just look at that beautiful blue sky.

This week has been absolutely GORGEOUS!

First, a little warm up...and then...

A full blown performance of...

THIS!

(-;

Even eight and ten year old boys had fun here.

They liked the children's area and always have fun playing hide and seek in the maze like herb garden nearby.

For just a brief minute (and that has deep meaning for boy #3)...

He got to be KING OF THE MOUNTAIN!

Later that day I found this guy hanging out below our picnic table on the deck.

He's also been found on the door frame of the gazebo.

I let him have some peace for a while, but then I had to call the kids out.

That exciting post should come later today...

I'm not quite sure what to say . . .

But this gigantic, eight pound pork loin that I got on sale last week, struck me as quite the picture!

I've got at least three more posts before shut down tomorrow night. So hold on to your hats! (-: I mean if a huge chunk of meat is one of them you know you're in for some good stuff, right?

Anyway, this was on such a good sale I couldn't pass it up. Then it sat in my fridge right until the "sell by" date while I tried to figure out what to do with it. I ended up searching a bit online and came up with this; cut both ends into loins of their own, cut the middle section into chops, freeze what you don't need right away. Had one serving of the chops (left on the counter to take some of the chill off, not quite to room temp and sprinkled with kosher salt and grilled) last night and Mmmm-mmm...were they good!

This guy . . .

Finally gets to go out for his birthday dinner and J.C. Penny picture with mom tonight!

We're a little late (May 3rd b-day). Sometimes those days (months) just fly by. And, sometimes haircuts are a wee bit too short and need a little time to grow out until they're immortalized in a photo (according to him).

This particular 10 year old was an AMAZING help getting the yard/decks/gazebo ready for a get together for fifty people at our house this past weekend.

Tech-Free Update...I've been on the computer for just about all of nap time today trying to wrap up loose ends before shut down day! I'm actually looking forward to it now and none of the kids are complaining...yet!

My, what a difference . . .

A year makes!

April 17th, 2010

Awww...so sweet and cozied up in a chair.

Skip ahead to June 23rd, 2011 . . .

Umm...aww, so...well...

So sweet and . . .

JUMPY!!! (-:

Livia and Oba had some fun play time together last week while their parents were in town. And that's no two hour trip from western Michigan or something that they travel for a little visit. They come all the way from Nigeria!!

Countdown till "tech-free" July: 2 days

If you need to reach me during July you'll have to call or write me a letter!

And she's off . . .

For a week of Sleep-Away Camp!

First time ever, and was she pumped!!

(and in honor, here's a bunch of little things that have been piling up)

Lara and her piano teacher after her June recital.

The six inch stack of papers that I should have been asking to see through out the last two of the three trimesters. With the five kids, and her excellent report cards, I don't quite get to asking to see her work. Took me a few days, but I did go through the stack. And I'm glad.

Here's a little look-see:

She sure better have 103% with questions like, "What is the official language in Canda?"!!!

(-:

Now this is what I'm talking about.

No, I'm not smarter than a sixth grader!

We take a break for some doodling.

Hmmm....

Now that's something I never knew.

See, there's learnin' going on with the youth of today!

Yeah, that's right, I don't think I've ever even heard of the Iberian Peninsula!

Finally...

We all just might lose a pound or two whilst our gal is away.

Last week she made this delicious morsel:

Rhubarb Dream Bars

I grow just enough of a rhubarb "crop" to produce one dessert/year.

This year was a winner as far as we were concerned!

Painting the roses red . . .

We're painting the roses red

we dare not stop

or waste a drop

so let the paint be spread

We're painting the roses red

We're painting the roses red!

(Oh, go check that link, I think you'll have a smile)

19 months old today!

Wowzers!

She's becoming such a well-rounded gal.

She loves her pinks and frillies whilst at the same time having no problem sporting the stylish backwards ball cap!

She does have a favorite accessory though...

(even while playing with back hoes)

"Oh, could you hold a minute please?"

"I just have to grab something here. What's that you say?"

"Hi there. Yeah, I'm taking a break from football. How you doin'?"

This week she and I are having a little foretaste of our lives together for the next three years starting this Fall. The big four are gone from 9-12 for VBS and we're just hanging out together. I think we're going to have some good fun together! (-:

This cool kid . . .

Is pages away from finishing Harry Potter, book 4.

That thing has 734 pages in it!

After I googled "how many pages in book 4" I found this out:

Which language? British: 636, American: 734

Interesting, eh?

Why do we care about this?

Well, first of all, he's just finishing 2nd grade and he's read books 1,2 & 3 before this one.

I don't feel like googling it, but I'm sure that's a LOT of pages.

BUT,

That's not the only reason for this post.

Click here to see what prompted a tug at the heart strings to show off one of my readers.

Flower garden talk . . .

These lupines are an absolute HIGHLIGHT in my garden this year!

Got the plant from a good friend a couple years ago and this year they really took off.

This pachysandra bed is an absolute LOWPOINT of my gardens every year!

I am tempted to rip every bit of it out (well, to have SP rip every bit of it out...including the snakes)...and fill it with...

These!

Unfortunately they don't bloom all summer but they stay silvery. We'll see.

Hear ye, hear ye!

If you're anywhere near the A2 area you must get over to the Peony Garden in the Arb.

Go in the Washington Heights entrance. There's a free lot after 5p.m. across from a dorm and a few meters on the street during the day. Other wise there's a $2/hr lot by the hospital.

Trying to learn how to sniff.

Not actually an easy concept for an 18 month old.

I loved the look of that lady, her hat and the garden.

Testing how the scents of different varieties varied.

Also,

This is the head of a 35" skin I found in the bushes on the east side of the house.

When I went to pluck some weeds out a snake was coiled up right next to this skin.

I imagine it was the owner.

Right now, in that same area is an egg that is just a wee bit large than the jumbo eggs in my fridge. There is a small hole at the end of the egg, though it looks like nothings come out of it. We need to go investigate. It's been there since yesterday and I was surprised to find it there today. Thought for sure a coon or skunk would find it.

Finally, today is the kid's first full day of summer vacation and so far (2:59p.m.) I have let them be on computers, t.v. and wii ALL.DAY.LONG! Say what???? What kind of deranged mother am I?