tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70147096804975491852024-02-18T19:31:42.799-06:00Tatro FamilyOur adventures in the Pacific NorthwestMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-42472064677351565802014-12-23T10:50:00.000-06:002014-12-23T10:50:12.396-06:00Christmas Letter 2014Season's greetings from the Tatro Family!<br />
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It has been another crazy year for the Tatros. After spending the first half of the year in Bainbridge Island, WA, the death of Lincoln's grandmother this summer caused us to prayerfully reconsider our decision to live so far away from family. Only Lincoln was able to attend her memorial service. Although the circumstances were less than ideal, Lincoln was able to spend some quality time with his family and was even in town for the birth of his great-niece. Right at this same time, a friend from Wisconsin approached Lincoln about returning to work at Lands End. He began the interview process in the middle of hosting company, (my cousin Jessica and her family came from Las Vegas), an exchange student from Japan, and our friends, the Daines from Portland. By the end of the summer, we had accepted a job back at Lands End, and everyone but Lincoln moved back right before school started. Lincoln began work the first week of October and we were very happy to all be reunited. Right before Thanksgiving we closed on our house, a 100 year old farmhouse on the edge of town with a few acres. We have been settling in and are looking forward to getting started on home improvement projects after the holidays and getting a few animals in the spring.<br />
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So, here is the run-down:<br />
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Lincoln- Happy to be back at Lands End. Enjoying the benefits of the fitness facility, running or playing racquetball most days after work. He is serving in the Young Men's youth program at church.<br />
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Molly- Also enjoying the benefits of the fitness facility and loving being in our own home again. Anxious to get the projects started and looking forward to having a big garden again. She is serving in the Relief Society Presidency (women's group) at church.<br />
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Kennedy-15 A sophomore this year. Enjoying playing flute in the band at school and learning the piccolo as well. She missed volleyball tryouts this year, but is looking forward to soccer in the spring.<br />
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Julia-13 8th grade. This year Julia tried cheerleading for the first time and she LOVES it. She just finished cheering season for boys basketball and after winter break will cheer for girls basketball. After a rough couple of years in WA, we were very proud of her for making honor roll first quarter. <br />
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Devon- 10 5th grade This year Devon began learning the cello. He is also looking forward to beginning piano lessons again. He is almost done with Webelos in the cub scout program. He is having a hard time being as motivated about cub scouts here in WI, so we're trying to push him through to completion.<br />
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Irene-9 4th grade. Renie is also learning cello this year. The cello is almost as big as she is, which has caused her to have second thoughts from time to time, but hopefully she will stick it out. She loves stuffed animals and her collection is taking over her queen-sized bed.<br />
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Jesse-7 2nd grade. Jesse had a lot of fun playing flag football this fall and is now having even more fun playing basketball. He is quite the comedian and is known in his class for his sense of humor and his sweet dance moves.<br />
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I have been thinking a lot this holiday season about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I truly believe that everything Christ taught boils down to one thing: Love. The greatest way to show love to one another is to serve, and if we serve others, we will discover our love for them. My goal, and challenge I would share with you, is to look for ways to serve others in small and every day interactions and in so doing, you will find true happiness and joy.<br />
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Much love to you and yours in the coming year,<br />
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The Tatros<br />
Lincoln, Molly, Kennedy, Julia, Devon, Irene, Jesse<br />
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-77149233828835234082013-12-23T11:56:00.000-06:002013-12-23T11:56:56.447-06:00Christmas Letter 2013, a Year in ReviewMerry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are in the final days of 2013 and winding down our first complete calendar year living in Washington. I thought it might be fun to highlight each month, mostly for my own enjoyment. Feel free to jump to the end for a Christmas message.<br />
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January: January was rough, I'm not gonna lie. We were paying folks for the completion of work on our home in Wisconsin. Not a big deal, we had budgeted for that. But then we had a string of bad luck that month. Our car was broken into. The window was smashed and $150 was stolen. ($250 to replace the window) Our oil tank was refilled. This may seem like good luck, but it was the first time it was done and it caught us unawares. They refilled and charged it to our bank account. I had not expected them to come without warning and didn't realize they were set up for auto pay from our account. $600. I took the Mountaineer in for a brake job and was told that the tires were in dire need of replacement. They wouldn't even let me leave with one of the tires still on the car. They put on my spare and ordered new tires for me. $750 tires, $200 brakes. Lincoln's car kept dying and we didn't have time to keep jumping it one night and left it in the Ace Hardware parking lot. For a long time. It got towed to impound. Getting the car out of impound, towed to a garage, and repaired: $500. Lesson learned in January: We are grateful that even when frustrating, unexpected things come up, Lincoln has a good job and we know another paycheck is coming at the end of the month. Not everyone is so lucky.<br />
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February: Jesse turned 6 and Devon turned 9. We hosted our annual Valentine's party and burned significant calories laughing 'til we cried, with new friends and dear old friends (Joe and Anita Daines came for the party.) Over midwinter break, the kids and I went on a few local adventures. We spent a fun day at the Olympic Game Farm with friends. The kids screamed and giggled and guffawed as the elk and bison ate bread out of their hands. Lesson learned in February: Friends make the world a better place.<br />
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March: In mid-March we traveled to Shaw Island, in the San Juan Islands, with other members of our ward, or congregation, to participate in a service project at Our Lady of the Rock monastery. We helped with everything from cleaning out the chicken houses, to cleaning the chapel, to gathering beach rocks, to moving the Priest's belongings from one place to another. Everyone worked hard and much work was accomplished for the nuns that day. Lesson learned in March: When you serve your fellow man, you serve God.<br />
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April: I began digging around in the flower garden, getting my hands in the dirt once again. The apple trees blossomed and we began to have some really warm days. We even went to the beach a few times this month, including on my birthday. Lesson learned in April: Life goes on, but we are truly living when we are connected with the earth. I just wish my body would renew itself like the earth does in spring. ;) <br />
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May: We had some absolutely gorgeous weather early in May. We spent some time at our local beaches and also made a trip to Portland to see the Daines family. We spent a lovely day at Multnomah Falls. Time seemed to fly by this month, as the last few weeks of the school year are always incredibly overscheduled. Lesson learned in May: When life gets crazy, don't forget to stop and soak up the sunshine.<br />
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June: Kennedy attended 8th grade banquet and said goodbye to middle school. I helped her register for high school and suddenly felt very old. The kids finished up their final school projects and somehow we survived the school year. After having an offer on our house since December, a new offer came through in May and we finally closed on our house in Wisconsin! Despite it costing us money to sell our home, it was a huge stress relief to have closure on that part of our lives. Lesson learned in June: Stay the course and this too shall pass. <br />
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July: After months of planning, we made an epic trip east to spend time with our family. The kids and I (and the annoying dog) drove to NY. We stopped in WI to pick up Kennedy's friend Drew. We spent a night in Buffalo, NY, visiting some dear friends from waaaaaay back, and went to Niagara Falls with them. We then continued on to my parents'. We settled in at my brother Jonathan's house for the next few weeks, and got to work on preparations for the family reunion. It was so fun to be at home, with family arriving from all over the country every few days. We worked together and played together and my heart was full. Lesson learned in July: Life takes us many places on many adventures, but nothing beats the feeling of being home with loved ones.<br />
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August: The family reunion was a lot of fun and a great success. I think the highlight was the barn dance at Jonathan's. The family reunion was a celebration of the life of my paternal grandmother, Esther, honoring what would have been her 100th birthday. I have always felt very close to her, even since her passing when I was a teenager. It was lovely to hear stories and memories of her from those who spent many more days on this earth with her than I did. I also attended my 20 year high school reunion. It was a delight to spend some time with my childhood friends. I was in the middle of family reunion festivities, so my class reunion time was quite limited, but I was reminded how lucky I am to have shared my formative years with such awesome people. Lincoln joined us in NY for all the reunion fun and other North Country adventures. We dropped him off at the airport and then the kids and I began our journey home. This included a stay of several days in WI, visiting friends there, and a quick tour of Glacier National Park. My Facebook status upon reaching home; "1 month, 7300 miles, 1 driver, 12 states, 5 (sometimes 6) kids, 1 dog, 3 National parks, 1 National monument, 2 family reunions, 2 birthdays (Renie turned 8 in July, Julia turned 12 in August), 1 baptism in a swimming pool, 1 advancement to Young Women, hanging with all my siblings and numerous cousins, Niagara Falls, Adirondack park. An amazing and fun vacation. It feels good to be home." That barely scrapes the surface. Kennedy immediately started volleyball upon our reaching home and back to school preparations began with gusto. Lesson learned in August: Who we love and associate with in our formative years truly shapes who we become. Also, see July's lesson. It applies to our return to Washington as well.<br />
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September: Kennedy turned 14 and started high school. Julia started middle school and Devon 4th grade, Renie 3rd, and Jesse 1st. Suddenly all of my children were in school for the entire day. I was canning like crazy, jams and jellies, peaches, applesauce, tomato sauce, salsa, carrots, peppers, chicken. We harvested a bag of apples from our little backyard tree. Kennedy began putting in long days of seminary (starting at 6:30 every school day), school, volleyball. Despite the craziness, it felt really good to feel our roots taking hold. The school year was off to a much better start than the previous year, and everyone was happy to be returning to school with friends and familiar faces and places after the struggle of being new the year before. Lesson learned in September: It is possible, and fun, to bloom where you are planted, or transplanted. <br />
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October: We took a weekend trip to the tip of the Olympic peninsula, Cape Flattery. We took in the beautiful mountains, lakes, the Pacific Ocean, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We beachcombed and hiked, and watched whales from the overlook at the Cape. Lesson learned in October: We have been blessed to live in many beautiful places, and we are indeed blessed once again in our latest move. <br />
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November: Lincoln turned 40. What the wha? Yup, it's true. He's still as handsome and funny as ever, so what's another year and a new decade? We spent Thanksgiving running the turkey trot and then having dinner with Lincoln's Uncle Ron and Aunt Sherry, just like we did last year. It has been so fun to get to know them and spend time with them. That evening we made a quick stop to see the Daines family, then headed home. Saturday we went with a group of friends to the mountains to cut our Christmas trees, just like we did last year. Lesson learned in November: It only takes one repeat of an event to make it a tradition, and new traditions are just as fun, and grounding, as old traditions. <br />
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December: December has been a month of reflection and contemplation. We have sought out opportunities to serve and give as a family. As always, I have enjoyed the opportunity to sing Christmas carols and reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our ward put on a living nativity, and it was breathtaking and moving to walk through it. As I sang with the ward choir in church yesterday, I felt the Spirit testify of Christ's holy birth. I am so grateful for the hope and comfort this knowledge gives me. Our lesson in relief society (our women's group at church) yesterday was Come Unto Me. That is my goal and my hope for each of you. I know many of you don't share my beliefs, but I hope that you will have love toward your fellow man, give selfless service, embrace those with differences, be compassionate, and be thoughtful in how you speak to one another, because, lesson learned in December: What is really meant by "Coming unto Christ", is doing those things.<br />
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Merry Christmas,<br />
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The Tatro FamilyMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-85560674598190393542013-10-08T11:00:00.000-05:002013-10-08T11:00:22.546-05:00One Year Later...Well, it's been just over a year since we moved from our beloved WI to our newly beloved WA. The first five months were really hard. Like, REALLY hard. Lincoln and I knew we had made the right decision, and we were excited to be here, ready for the new adventure. But it was difficult for the kids. That made it difficult for us. It is not easy or fun in any way to watch your children struggle and be sad. I think the transition would have been a little easier if we had moved during the summer, but moving in when the school year was already underway was hard. I felt like the first few months were a whirlwind of registering kids in school, attending meet and greets, parent nights, open houses, and parent teacher conferences at 3 different schools, unpacking, trying to establish routines, overseeing the homework hour, running kids to youth night activities, and trying to keep everyone's morale up while feeling completely overwhelmed myself. Not to mention the stress of Lincoln learning a new job and the emotional toll of trying to make friends and feel a part of the social circle. Every time I move I have to remind myself that it takes time- years- to really establish friendships like the ones I've collected in places we've lived before. And I have to confess that there are still times when I feel like it's just too hard to break into the social circle, but I remind myself again. <br />
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I am happy to report that this year is off to a great start. It is always so much easier for the kids to be returning to a school they have attended before. They know the routines, the teachers, the traditions, the classmates. Kennedy and Julia are both at new schools, just because Julia moved up to middle school and Kennedy moved up to the high school. Kennedy also started seminary this year, so she leaves the house at 6:15 and returns home after volleyball practice or games in the evening. When she has away games she is often not home until nearly 10 pm. She is loving both seminary and volleyball, however, though she will enjoy having her afternoons and evenings back when volleyball is over in 2 1/2 weeks. <br />
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Julia was dreading school this year and had begged me to homeschool her. We had the letter of intent filled out and we were at the school prepared to turn it in when she decided she would attend school after all. Though she continues to loathe homework, I think she is enjoying school for the most part. She seems to really be enjoying Spanish, Science, and Family and Consumer Studies in particular. <br />
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I am happy to know my way around the schools a bit this year so it isn't as overwhelming for me either. It's enough to be learning the high school this year. <br />
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I didn't even get a back to school picture last year. (We also didn't carve jack o lanterns or make donuts thanks to the insanity of the first few months.) But this year I managed it:<br />
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Devon 4th, Renie 3rd, Jesse 1st<br />
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Julia 7th, Kennedy 9th<br />
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<br />Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-37196639857864286132013-05-27T01:47:00.001-05:002013-05-27T01:50:40.795-05:00Point No PointToday after church we decided to drive up to Point No Point Lighthouse. It is one of my favorite beaches here because it is sandy and covered with driftwood. I also just really love its location, on an open part of the Sound. Today we got a special treat. As we arrived we discovered a baby seal on the beach!<br />
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He was alive, apparently just resting. A lady there said that often the mother seals will push their babies up onto the beach to rest while the mother fishes nearby.<br />
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So sleepy.</div>
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He did get back into the water a couple times but then returned to the beach. We spotted the mama just off shore occasionally, keeping an eye on junior.<br />
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A large ship had passed through before we arrived, so we got to enjoy some pretty big waves for a few minutes. I'm always amazed at how long it takes the waves to reach shore, and how far they will travel without dying out.</div>
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As usual, the kids had a blast playing in the driftwood forts.</div>
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Driftwood teeter-totter.</div>
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And Lincoln had fun spotting birds...</div>
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...like this bald eagle.<br />
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We even bumped into Jesse's teacher at the beach. Jesse was really funny about seeing her out of context like that. He was very shy with her.</div>
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A beautiful fun afternoon.</div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-63752470786240354872013-05-27T01:18:00.001-05:002013-05-27T01:19:59.963-05:00My Birthday and Mother's DaySo it happened again. I turned another year older. But I'm totally OK with that, given the alternative. Lincoln made me my requested dinner of chicken salad sandwiches, and Kennedy made me a lemonade pie. In the picture below it appears to be en flambé, which makes me feel really old. ;)<br />
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Julia and Renie picked me some beautiful bouquets. The kids were pretty amused by their card selection, which featured a dancing pickle. <br />
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I sure am grateful for these five amazing blessings, and the awesome blessing behind the camera!</div>
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And speaking of the five little blessings, here I am with them on Mother's Day.</div>
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Lincoln is so great about helping the kids plan an awesome breakfast in bed for me on Mother's Day. It has become a tradition that I love! They wake me with a yummy breakfast and a pile of home made cards and gifts. I always love seeing how excited they are to do this for me. Blessed, I tell ya. </div>
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Julia picked me a beautiful flower. I love how it looks in this jar!<br />
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I can't believe how old my kids are getting. I really enjoy them at this stage. They are so independent, but still need me, if that makes any sense. I am certainly proud of what they are becoming.</div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-88935863987312093052013-05-27T00:56:00.001-05:002013-05-27T00:56:51.665-05:00Beach BumsI've been really lousy at keeping up with blogging, so I thought with the month drawing to a close, I would share some highlights from May.<br />
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Early May brought beautiful weather to our little island, and I never like to miss an opportunity to get out and soak up some sun. So while the sun shined, we ditched everything else and got out to enjoy it as much as possible.<br />
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We went to Old Man House Beach, just across the pass from the island on two occassions. In the picture below, we are looking back toward Bainbridge Island. My friend Lindsey is always game for loading up the kids to go do something, which is a lot of fun.<br />
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Lily loves to hang out with the big girls.</div>
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The next pictures are actually from my birthday, in April. We went to Point No Point Lighthouse. When we first arrived it was pretty chilly, but we stuck it out and finally the sun came out and warmed us right up!</div>
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I love living where we are surrounded by beaches!</div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-65438888116310769932013-05-20T12:37:00.001-05:002013-05-20T12:37:34.542-05:00Weekend in BeavertonAs I have mentioned before, a big part of our decision to move to the Pacific Northwest was that we haven't had the opportunity before to really explore this part of the country. Our intention, upon making the decision to move here, was to take full advantage of our location and take frequent trips to the surrounding areas. Another big bonus to moving to this area was the proximity to our dear friends, the Daines, who live in the Portland area. A couple weekends ago, we made the 3 1/2 hour drive down to Beaverton to spend a few days with them. Let me take a minute here and say it is so fun to be close enough to them to do that! Some of our kids have said that when they were younger they thought they were their cousins. I love that. Living away from our families for most of our adult lives, it is nice to know that our kids have still had friendships with people that were so close they felt like family. <br />
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The weather was absolutely perfect when we took off early Friday morning. Our intention was to take our time traveling down there, making a detour over to Mount St Helens along the way. Texting with Anita after we left, however, I found out that Joe had taken a 1/2 day and that they were expecting us by early afternoon. We took a family vote and decided to skip Mount St Helens this time and just take a camping trip there another time. <br />
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Friday afternoon and evening were spent hanging out together grilling, playing kickball, and sitting by the campfire telling stories. It never takes long for the stories to devolve to bathroom/poop tales, but we never claimed to be the classiest bunch.<br />
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Saturday morning we packed a picnic lunch and drove to Multnomah Falls. I've wanted to go there ever since I first heard about them some time ago. The drive there was lovely. Perfect weather and views of the great mountains (St Helens and Hood) made it delightful. Having spent five years in rural Dodgeville WI, and now living on a relatively small, quiet island, I have gotten pretty soft when it comes to traffic and the congestion of being in/near a larger city. I felt like I could breathe again when we left Portland behind and the Columbia River valley opened up in front of us. It is absolutely breathtaking and I couldn't take it all in fast enough. <br />
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Since the weather was so perfect and it was a Saturday and the falls are easily accessible and awe-inspiring, it was kind of crowded when we arrived. The parking lot was full, so we had to drive on a little further and park beside the road. This wasn't a big deal, except that in order to get back to the falls, we had to cross a bridge. Which wasn't a big deal, except for the signs prohibiting foot traffic across it. We would have done it anyway if we didn't have four adults and 10 kids to get across. Instead, we decided to climb down and walk under the bridge, next to the railroad tracks. This worked out fine, though it took us a little longer to get there.<br />
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I was really surprised how close the falls were to the road. Just driving by you can get a pretty good view of them. At the base of the falls there is a café and restrooms and gift shop, also quite unexpected. We had already determined that we would hike to the top of the falls, a one mile hike one way. A one mile hike is pretty easy, except when it is up a cliff. The trail was great, many people we encountered pushed baby strollers (!) up it, but it was definitely uphill. I believe the sign said there were 11 switchbacks. From time to time we would stop to rest and I would take those opportunities to drink in the view of the Columbia River gorge dropping away from us as we climbed ever upward. <br />
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The kids were awesome hikers. Of course, most of our kids are Big Kids now, but even the littler ones did great.<br />
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Upon reaching the top, we OOoooed and Ahhhhhhed for a while from the overlook, snapping pictures and resting our tired legs, then we found a spot upstream from the falls where we could sit on the rocks and eat our lunch. <br />
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The trek back down the hill was much easier, aside from littlest Daines tripping, scraping up elbows and knees, and almost bouncing off the trail and down the side of the mountain. <br />
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The drive back to Beaverton was pretty quiet, as everyone was tuckered out from the adventure. It also made for a quiet evening of playing games and watching funny video clips online. <br />
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Sunday morning we went to church in Beaverton, but had to cut out early, right after sacrament meeting, so we could make it back to Bainbridge Island in time for Kennedy's flute recital. Driving home I was again struck by how lucky we are to be able to see Mt Hood, Mount St Helens, and Mt Rainier on that drive. Such majesty and power in those mountains!<br />
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As always, each time we see the Daines it just leaves me excited for our next get together.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-33973083253427208162013-03-24T01:02:00.000-05:002013-03-24T01:02:53.433-05:00Shaw Island Service Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past weekend, we traveled to the San Juan Islands with other members of our ward, or congregation, to participate in an annual service project. The event takes place at Our Lady of the Rock Monastery on Shaw Island.</div>
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We had to be on the 9:25 ferry out of Anacortes on Saturday morning. Which meant that we would have to be on the 6:25 ferry from Kingston. Which meant we would have to get our kids (and poor tired me) up by 5:00 on a Saturday, the first Saturday after daylight saving time, I might add.</div>
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Not wanting to do all that, we decided to leave Friday night and stay in a hotel in Burlington, WA. This would put us 1/2 an hour from the Anacortes ferry in the morning. </div>
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Long story short, we barely made the 7:00pm ferry Friday night, because we watched a Syracuse basketball game before we left and it went into overtime, of course. But we hustled out the door and made it just in time. </div>
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The kids were pretty happy to be in a hotel with a pool, (and I was happy to be in a hotel with a hot tub), rather than getting up at the crack of dawn.</div>
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So Saturday morning, we got up around 7:30, had our breakfast at the hotel, and then headed to Walmart to make a quick stop to get food to contribute to the lunch that day. I also had forgotten to bring any work gloves so I wanted to pick some up. It seemed doable enough, a quick stop, then on our way to the ferry. However, when we came out of Walmart, it suddenly became very obvious that we were VERY tight on time. We drove as quickly as we dared for Anacortes. The GPS couldn't seem to find our destination, the ferry terminal, so we were kind of flying blind. As we came into Anacortes, with no time to spare, we were seeing signs for ferries everywhere. But we weren't sure which signs were for OUR ferry. We called a friend, got instructions, along with a warning, "You'd better hustle!" We began prepping our kids, "OK, everyone grab what you need and get ready to run!" We had been instructed that there would be limited room for cars on this ferry, so we should walk on. We were really stressing about parking, paying to park, paying our fares, and making it onto the ferry. Luckily, our friend called us back and advised us to just drive on. Best advice of the day. We drove on, the last car to do so, and the ferry was underway before we were even out of the car. </div>
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It was pretty fun to see everyone from the ward on the ferry. And it was so delightful to be in the beautiful San Juan Islands. What a beautiful way to start the day! It was also fun to discover several puzzles on the ferry at various degrees of completion. In between standing on the deck enjoying the glorious scenery and visiting with our friends, we took some time to place a few puzzle pieces.</div>
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An overcast morning.</div>
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We made a quick stop at Lopez Island to pick up a few more passengers.</div>
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While waiting at the Lopez Island ferry dock, we saw a bald eagle alight in a nearby tree. Lincoln pointed it out to the kids. Also at this dock is a huge bulls-eye painted on the dock surface. It was lots of fun for the kids to toss coins down and try to hit the center.</div>
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Devon, on the deck in the chilly morning air.</div>
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Upon our arrival at the monastery, Mother Hildegard (seen below on the very right edge of the photo), began making assignments. Assignments were made to weed gardens, cut brush, clean the chapel, move the priest's belongings, clean the hog pens, and clean the chicken coops, among other things.<br />
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Kennedy went with a friend to help clean the chapel. The four younger kids went to help move boxes for the priest's move from one building to another, and Lincoln and I headed for the chicken coops. We worked with Adda, a twelve year old girl from our ward. She and I shoveled out the two buildings and Lincoln hauled off what we shoveled. The rain really began to pick up at this point, so despite the stink in the henhouses, (we did have masks to wear), we were glad to be dry.<br />
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After cleaning them all out, we spread fresh bedding.</div>
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After the chicken coops were clean, we moved on to the task of collecting beach stones to use as gravel.<br />
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A view of the barn.</div>
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Renie, happily skipping along after her chore was complete.<br />
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The kids had an absolute blast in the haymow.</div>
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Such a beautiful location. </div>
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As we ate our lunch, (man, did it hit the spot after all that work-lasagna, garlic bread, caeser salad, fruit salad, and tons of desserts), the sun came out and helped warm us up and dry us out. We had heard a rumor that only a certain number of cars were allowed on the return ferry and that in the past, someone from the group had been too far back in the line and had to wait 3 hours for the next ferry. We did not want this to be our fate, so we ate quickly and skedaddled to the ferry. We were car #3 in line. The ferry trip back was lovely, with sunshine and better views of the islands.<br />
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Upon reaching the mainland, we drove from sunshine toward foreboding skies, that proved to be holding nothing more than rain.<br />
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We are so glad that we were able to participate in this event. The kids, some of whom had said the only reason they were going was to stay at a hotel, all had a great time and are already looking forward to next year.</div>
<br />Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-60997772876063576582013-03-13T00:20:00.000-05:002013-03-13T00:20:15.618-05:00The Miraculous OxiCleanAs I was loading the dishes yesterday, the kids were sitting at the table eating. Jesse was getting messy and wiped his hands on his shirt. One of his siblings scolded him for doing so to which he replied, "Don't worry! Mom bought OxiClean!" He then looked at me at the sink and said, "Mom, you should buy OxiClean dishwashing booster. It's found in the dish detergent aisle!"<br />
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That kid cracks me up every single day.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-57413707341490341702013-02-24T14:40:00.001-06:002013-02-24T14:40:23.339-06:00Midwinter Break<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Since we are saving money for closing costs on the sale of our house in Wisconsin, we decided that midwinter break would be a staycation this year. Obviously, the goal was to spend very little money, but to get the kids out having some fun so they really felt like they were on vacation, not just sitting around the house for a week.</div>
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We kicked things off on Friday night with a campfire complete with s'mores, followed up by a family movie night.</div>
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On Saturday we went to Fort Ward Park to see sea creatures. Kennedy had seen an announcement at school that there would be divers at the park for a couple hours, bringing up creatures for people to see. We figured it was a great FREE opportunity, so we went over to check it out. It was so fun! This is a great example of the amazing opportunities our kids have living here. This was so far removed from anything I could have experienced growing up. Julia dreams of becoming a marine biologist. What better place to live than on an island surrounded by marine life? </div>
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Moon Snail- Sometimes the foot would be out so far the entire shell would be covered.<br />
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Disembodied sea flower leg clinging to Julia's finger. She eventually had to scrape it off because it wouldn't let go.<br />
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We saw spider crabs, hermit crabs, mottled starfish, leather stars, sea flowers, squid eggs, moon snails, a sea slug, a flatfish, and a (dead) jellyfish.<br />
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Tuesday we celebrated Devon's birthday and the kids played at the park for a while. Wednesday we went with friends to the <a href="http://www.olygamefarm.com/">Olympic Game Farm</a> in Sequim, WA. It's a drive-thru park and you feed the animals from your car as you drive through. The kids had a blast. They laughed and screamed and giggled like crazy. <br />
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After the game farm we had a picnic at a park in Sequim. The kids played on the playground and chased the hundreds of ducks around. After lunch we walked on the beach near the Dungeness Spit. (Pictures are out of order because I'm sick of trying to fix them. Sorry.)</div>
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Julia thought her hand was going to be lunch for this bison. Their tongues are VERY long (and scratchy) and right after this picture was taken, he wrapped his tongue around her wrist. She screamed and pulled it back and laughed and laughed.</div>
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I love this picture my friend Lindsey captured. I'm not sure what the bison had just done to elicit this expression from me, but it is priceless. Also? He is huge. I'm in an SUV, not a low car. </div>
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I also love the look on Jesse's face in this picture.</div>
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The waving bear. Not waving.<br />
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Yak wants bread.</div>
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On Friday the kids and I headed in to Seattle. We took the ferry to Seattle, then walked up the waterfront to the Aquarium. </div>
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We have a membership there, so it was no additional cost. Jesse LOVES the octopus. He would sit and watch it for hours.</div>
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After the aquarium, we walked to the Westlake station in Seattle and caught the monorail. The kids really enjoyed the ride, but it is very short.<br />
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The monorail takes you to the base of the Space Needle. From there, it is a straight shot down to Lincoln's building at Amazon.<br />
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Unfortunately, we discovered that there is a major road cutting through there with a concrete wall divider. We couldn't cross. We had to hang a right, walk several block in that direction to where we could cross, cross the street, then walk back the several blocks to the road that leads to Amazon. Except we got back to that street and there was no crosswalk. It was a busy and wide enough street that I didn't want to try to cross it with five kids and no crosswalk, so we had to go down another block, cross, and then proceed toward Amazon. When we got to the correct cross street, we turned and walked the block back to the intersection Lincoln had told us to meet him at. The kids were exhausted at this point. And don't let the sunshine fool you; it was cold and windy. Luckily, we were able to ride an Amazon shuttle back to the Pikes Place area. When we got out, the wind was blowing even harder, the sun was getting lower, and it was dang cold. We walked down to the waterfront and took the kids to Red Robin for dinner. I forgot to mention that I was sick. I had a terrible sore throat and headache. The medicine I had taken in the morning had left me a bit woozy and dizzy. I was so happy to sit down in Red Robin with my Baja Turkey Club sandwich and french onion soup. From Red Robin it is just a short walk to the ferry terminal. We arrived home thoroughly exhausted, but it was a fun day.</div>
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-23016188295414853202013-02-24T13:20:00.000-06:002013-02-24T13:20:03.792-06:00Devon's Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week we celebrated Devon's 9th birthday. It really is truly amazing how quickly the years slide by. One more year to double digits. I am very proud of the responsible young man he is. Since our move to Washington he has been able to participate in Cub Scouts through the church and it has been a very positive experience for him. It really fits his personality. He likes having a handbook with specific instructions to follow, loves wearing a uniform, and delights in having a code of honor to obey. <br />
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Because we got a late start, and his parents are Cub Scout greenies, we barely made it, but did succeed in passing off all his requirements for Wolf. He is now a Bear and ready to tackle the new requirements quickly so he can do the fun arrow point activities. <br />
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Once again, Devon requested a Harry Potter cake for his birthday. Sadly, I procrastinated so long (I was honestly really busy) that I had to make the entire cake the day of his birthday. To top it off, the kids were on mid-winter break from school, so I had a houseful of kids here while I was trying to work on it as well. That does not make for my best work. The good news is that he asked for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, so I knew that even if it didn't look amazing, it would taste amazing. He did not want fondant over the entire thing either. That makes for a not so tidy cake, but yummier. (Final battle between Voldemort and Harry. Trees represent Forbidden Forest, bricks represent Hogwarts in shambles. Very conceptual. ;) )<br />
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The real life-saver of the day was his birthday dinner request: Sub sandwiches and boxed macaroni shells and cheese. Dinner required almost no prep time. <br />
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Devon had been asking for a suit coat for quite some time, so I started checking thrift stores for one several weeks, maybe even a couple months ago. Finally, the week before his birthday, I found one at Goodwill that I thought might work. I dropped it off at the dry cleaners and hoped it would fit him. I also picked up a new white shirt for him. Luckily, the coat fit, but probably won't for long. I can't keep up with this growing boy! He was so excited when he opened it up. <br />
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Another thing he has been asking for FOREVER, is a new wand. Last year for his birthday, my cousin Karen had made him a wooden wand carved from one of those oversize pencils. He loved it and carried it everywhere with him. One day he jumped off the stone wall and the wand broke. We taped it up and repaired it as long as we could, but it finally had to be thrown away. I then gave him a wand that I had originally purchased for his birthday, but never gave him because of the cool wooden one he got from Karen. It was a plastic one that lit up and made sounds. Totally cheesy. That was sufficient for a while, but he actually didn't like the bells and whistles much, or the plastic look of it. He kept asking me to call Karen and have her make him a new one. I decided I would make him one for Christmas, but never got around to it. I put him off for a couple more months, during which time he finished reading the Harry Potter books and then watched the final movies. That's when I got the idea to make him an elder wand.<br />
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My efforts were worth it. He loves the wand and proclaimed it his favorite gift--which is saying something since he also received a couple Lego sets. <br />
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So birthday #9 was a big success, and our first little boy is not so little anymore. Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-65923976756921007322013-02-01T23:27:00.000-06:002013-02-01T23:27:05.975-06:00Jesse's BirthdayMy baby boy has turned 6. Crazy. Yesterday was an insane day. I had planned to do some grocery shopping, then use the rest of the day to prep for birthday festivities. Instead, after getting the little ones on the bus, I took off for Poulsbo to bring the Mountaineer in for a brake job. After looking the car over, the technician informed me that the front driver's side tire was so bad it was at risk of a blow out at any time. Since it is an all-wheel vehicle, it is necessary to replace all four tires at the same time. They quoted me $800 for tires. After the $360 brake job. I decided I would wait until I got to Costco and get a quote there as well. So off I went to Costco, another 15 minutes down the highway. I made a quick stop at Trader Joe's then went to Costco. I purchased two carts full of groceries, then popped over to the tire center. They quoted me only a slightly better total for the tires, but it was necessary to order them. The guy asked me how bad my tire was and I told him exactly what the previous technician had told me. He took a look and couldn't believe the folks at the other place had put such a bad tire back on my car and let me drive down the highway with it. So he ordered my tires, and put my spare on for me so I wouldn't blow out in the meantime. After waiting for the spare to be put on, I hurried home to go with Lincoln to pay to get his car out of the impound lot and make sure the tow truck came to haul it to a garage o be fixed. Lincoln had to be there because the car is registered in his name, and I had to be there because the AAA card is in MY name. But after a frustrating phone conversation with the lady at AAA, we realized we would not have time to go and get back before a friend was dropping off Jesse, and three of her kids. So I had to run to the school and pick up Julia an hour early so she would be here to watch the kids. After getting her home, Lincoln and I took off, back to Poulsbo, for the impound lot. After arriving and paying the charge to get it out, we made another call to AAA for the tow truck. Sometime during the hour that we had to wait for the tow truck to arrive, we realized Lincoln did not have the keys to his car. We hoped they would arrive with the capability to tow it without the key. Sadly, when the guy arrived, he very grumpily informed us he had to have the keys. At this point, it was almost 4pm. I made a quick call to Kennedy's flute teacher to let her know we would not make it for her weekly lesson. Luckily, the driver informed us that the guy starting his shift at 4pm has a truck that could tow without keys. In a quick consultation with the lady at the impound lot, we were told that if the tow truck didn't arrive before 5pm, it would be an additional $95 for an after hours pick up. Thankfully, the other tow truck arrived at about 4:45 and we were finally free to go. <br />
By the time I arrived home, I was beat. As much as I wanted to just crash for the evening, I did take the time to bake Jesse's birthday cake and make a double batch of marshmallow fondant. <br />
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This morning, Julia and Renie got up extra early to put up some decorations and make a menu for Jesse for breakfast. They put on aprons and served him his meal. It was so sweet. I'm so proud of these kids for being so thoughtful. Especially Julia. She is usually the one behind these kindnesses. <br />
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I still hadn't prepared anything for Jesse to bring to school for a birthday treat. I figured I would use a cake mix to bake some cupcakes in the morning. First thing this morning I emailed his teacher to find out what time snack time was. When she told me it was 9:15, I knew I wasn't going to have time to get cupcakes done, and I hated to even take the time to run to the store to buy something. Then I remembered I had all the stuff on hand to make Rice Krispie treats. I threw together the treats with some chocolate chips and confetti sprinkles tossed in. After a quick delivery to the school, I came home to work on the cake. I didn't get very far when it was time to pick Jesse up from the bus stop already. I picked Jesse up and we took off for Poulsbo...again. On the way, Jesse got his birthday phone call from Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Chrissy. We stopped at the bank to make a deposit, then I took him to McDonalds for a birthday lunch. Jesse got his usual- chicken nuggets Happy Meal with chocolate milk, and then spent some time on the pretty awesome playspace.<br />
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After lunch, we stopped by the garage to drop off the keys to Lincoln's car, then made one more stop to pick up a few groceries we still needed for the birthday dinner. <br />
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So, I tell all of this to paint the picture of how crazy the 24 hours leading up to Jesse's birthday celebration were. I still had all of the cake decorating still ahead of me. I worked for a few hours on the cake, and thankfully I had three willing and happy helpers in the kitchen when it came time to prepare Jesse's chosen birthday dinner- tacos. <br />
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Cake got done, dinner was delicious, and I even got Jesse's gifts wrapped.<br />
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My sweet baby boy had a wonderful day, and amid all the craziness, I observed how big he has gotten, and reflected on how quickly time has flown since he was just a babe in my arms. He is funny and sweet and brings so much joy to our family. I'm so very glad I was blessed to be his mommy!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-48639433932657979942013-01-24T12:05:00.000-06:002013-01-24T12:05:46.040-06:00Visit From the Daines FamilyAfter a few months of trying to nail down a weekend for a visit from our friends the Daines, we finally were able to get together for a long weekend just before Christmas. We have known the Daines family for about 10 years now, although I feel like I have known them forever. We met when both of our families were living in Charlotte, NC. We moved to Wisconsin in 2007, and they moved to Beaverton, OR a couple years after that. One of the things we were most excited about when we moved to WA this fall was the fact that we would be only a few hours away from them, so we were very anxious to finally get our families together. We were not disappointed. We had a blast all weekend long, laughing, playing games, going on little adventures. <br />
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It started off really fun because we had not told our kids they were coming. They arrived around 8:30 in the evening on Thursday. They ding-dong-ditched us, leaving a plate of goodies with a tag that said, "From the Daines" on our front porch. As the kids looked at it, a bit confused, they came up our front sidewalk. <br />
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On Friday, we let our kids skip school so we could take the ferry to Seattle for some fun.
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One of our service projects over the holiday season was to put together some fun care package type gifts, one per child, wrap them up, and take them to Seattle to give to homeless people. Every time we visit Seattle our children wish they could do something for every homeless person they see. This gave them the opportunity to pick somebody and give them a fun gift. (The care packages contained things like basic first aid care items, socks, a gift card to Subway, gum, candy, homemade goodies, hand sanitizer, etc. They were packed in reusable plastic covered totes.) Our first order of business when we got off the ferry that day was to deliver our gifts. Julia already knew who she wanted to give her gift to, so she and Lincoln found the man at his usual spot and delivered his gift. The next guy we gave one to absolutely made my holiday season. He was sitting on the sidewalk and Julia (the only one of our children who was so into this that she was not at all shy about handing out the gifts) handed him the gift. His eyes lit up and got really big as he said, "For ME?" He grinned and shook the gift and just shone with excitement and genuine gratitude. We didn't stay to watch him open it, but just those few seconds were enough to make a lasting impression on all of us. <br />
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We distributed all the gifts as we walked up the waterfront. We stopped at a picnic area next to the aquarium and ate our lunch. We had such a perfect day to walk around Seattle. The sun was shining and warm and our spirits were high.
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This street musician was set up on a corner near Pikes playing this tiny little piano.
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We made the walk up to the Seattle Sheraton and went to the annual Gingerbread Village display there.
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We are excited to make this an annual tradition for our family. The line was long (although I'm sure it would have been much worse on Saturday or Sunday), but it moves pretty quickly.
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It was definitely worth it. Such a fun FREE event. We are always happy to add a free event to our traditions. <br />
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As we walked we also made stops at Pikes Place Market, and the gum wall. <br />
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There are always plenty of fun things to see just walking through Seattle. We stopped for a few photo ops on our way back to the ferry terminal.<br />
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When you arrive in Seattle at the ferry terminal, you can walk along the waterfront, literally right next to the water. But if you want to head into the city, you have to head uphill. The streets are very steep leading up from the water and there are a few places where there are stairs for pedestrians leading up to the market. This picture was taken on our way back down, almost to the bottom.<br />
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The sun was getting low by the time we got back to the waterfront. It was, after all, the shortest day of the year.<br />
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Joe and Anita- keeping it spicy after all these years...<br />
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I had originally planned to do one post about their entire visit, but obviously I'll have to break it up because we crammed so much fun into a few short days!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-39100564937110682172012-11-14T11:13:00.002-06:002012-11-14T11:13:37.230-06:00Rain-gutter RegattaOne of the fun perks of moving here is that Devon is now able to participate in Cub Scouts through the church. It has been fun to see him get excited about getting his uniform and handbook and about belonging to an organization. He had his first big event at the beginning of November, a rain gutter regatta. He had started working on his boat back when we first got here, so he had been anticipating the event for close to two months by the time it actually took place. I watched him race in his first heat- and win- before I had to run Kennedy to a friend's house. The rest of the family stayed to watch. Sadly, by the time I got back, the regatta was finished. He had won two heats and lost two. I wish I could say he was happy enough with that outcome, but that would be a lie. He was grumpy about not winning the whole thing, wouldn't stick around for refreshments, and insisted that he didn't like Cub Scouts. So what started as a fun event kind of took a sour turn. He's a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of thing. If he can't be the best, he doesn't want to do it. I hope we can help him overcome this attitude and learn to just enjoy things for the fun of it. Parenting is hard. <br />
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Being the scout-parent greenie I am, I can only say that in the picture below, Devon is receiving an advancement of some sort. ;) <br />
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Blowing his little heart out.<br />
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-25586609782436922342012-11-12T18:29:00.001-06:002012-11-12T18:29:32.933-06:00House Tour Continued<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yesterday I shared the main living areas of the house. Today I'll show you the bathrooms and family room.</div>
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Standing in front of the fireplace looking the opposite direction of the kitchen, you see this hallway. The door you see where the hall turns is the master bedroom. At the end of the hallway is the office, and across from the master is the guest room. Closer to the living room end of the hall on the left is the main floor bathroom. Sadly, it is also the master bathroom. Other than the lack of a garage, this is probably my biggest complaint about this house. But it's really not a big deal. The master bath also being the guest bath is much better than the kids' bathroom doubling as a guest bath like at our last house. </div>
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And here it is. I like all the tile and the decent size walk in shower. There is a pocket door to the right (just before the striped towel that's hanging) which leads to the master bedroom closet.<br />
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Lots of mirrors and storage has been great.<br />
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Back to the stairs now. On the landing is this cute dutch door that leads out to additional deck space.<br />
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This is a view looking up from the basement. <br />
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This is from the doorway to the family room.We left all of our cheapo, craigslist bookshelves behind, so we were very excited about all the built in shelves here!<br />
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Down that hallway are a couple bedrooms and another full bath. From where I was standing when I took this picture, if you turn left, there is another bedroom.<br />
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I think I'd like to put a narrow table and a couple chairs back here. Not sure about that yet. I have done absolutely nothing to organize or decorate these shelves yet. All we did was pull books out of boxes and cram them on here.<br />
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I love the huge windows (again). In this picture below, you can see the little hallway and little bit of the pink curtains on Julia's room.<br />
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And lastly, for today, the downstairs bathroom. This bathroom has some interesting features, like the terra cotta tile and the mosaic tile on the counter, the dresser style storage, and the bit of natural light. But if I owned this house I think I would gut this bathroom and start over. The tub is a pain- I hate that style of sliding doors, I'd much rather have a curtain, the toilet seems to always leak somewhere, and that mosaic and terra cotta tile is not fun to clean.</div>
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I have to say, though, that all that storage is nice with 5 kids sharing this bathroom.<br />
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Next tour will be the yard. And one of these days, I'll share the bedrooms.</div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-84718778622160533222012-11-11T23:39:00.000-06:002012-11-11T23:39:25.778-06:00Our New HomeMaking a major move across country can be very difficult, just ask my 13 year old daughter. But moving to a place as beautiful as Bainbridge Island makes it just a little bit easier. I want to take my camera with me everywhere I go snapping pictures. I love being surrounded by water and mountains. I love having quick and easy access to Seattle, then coming home to this quiet island. I love that our rental house is at the end of a dirt road, surrounded by trees. I have been promising my sister a photo tour of the house and today is the day. <br />
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Let's start at the front door. <br />
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I love the entry of this house. The full glass door and full length windows are fantastic. Most houses here in the northwest are built to maximize the light, since there is very little of it through the long rainy season. This house is no exception. But what I also like about the entry is that even though there are lots of windows, you can't see into the main living area.</div>
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As you walk in the door and look to the left, this is what you see. </div>
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The doorway to the right leads to the kitchen, the stairs lead down to the basement. Standing over by the stairs and looking back toward the door, you see a super cute boy! The coat closet is there to the right, and to the left is the living room.<br />
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefdvL2qFxYVJWaqMKTacHqrowqmcloKP-Lb2OKhr3Ueq0gcHNucQb9zKImuYS0RkV5dxll3TPocy8Cjtw41h2DIojGllUAeV62qxbyqycBkKvgnpJ6dV3MsTqN7tUykmhph_kycLCMncp/s640/429.JPG" width="424" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_33RqsUWAqJh5AZtEkXo46pwbXd7z11JuLz2ImSVmtoiK6OOveingdADVQ-nlSX4QIHcgYrv0O0aBtRKehATx9tt91rRwP59BwHHu4s9IJ_Usj89UGvC_rvwNeZSz2aKN0DGHhOxBVzp3/s1600/426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_33RqsUWAqJh5AZtEkXo46pwbXd7z11JuLz2ImSVmtoiK6OOveingdADVQ-nlSX4QIHcgYrv0O0aBtRKehATx9tt91rRwP59BwHHu4s9IJ_Usj89UGvC_rvwNeZSz2aKN0DGHhOxBVzp3/s640/426.JPG" width="424" /></a><br />
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Looking back at the view out the front windows.<br />
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXYcTP-YwA6rweF0pR8d034SiWHzUuhJ6XLBw_NeZGq8J_DFicB10JZ5Sg6Z7hPTAG6PMG2wS6lzTglC7LKQC3nCVthx7wmiZQW0OLkAVTpQ8OJ7vktv-2g59yDIJhu1lr1XOAOAbBbyw/s640/428.JPG" width="424" /></div>
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So, let's go to the left, through to the kitchen.</div>
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From the doorway:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOmDEbk_kEFQaFMZxjp4gP52ftcV-qgtw3TzTva3cwGHjDDkzi051bE-rASJzPfoJvtIN-SRRsOUxcbhB6TZl4XeG8844CrV_aGGyzm1R8ywYmd9Ep1NY4-F05gFxOZ2M6ECRkgmpMmZI/s1600/405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOmDEbk_kEFQaFMZxjp4gP52ftcV-qgtw3TzTva3cwGHjDDkzi051bE-rASJzPfoJvtIN-SRRsOUxcbhB6TZl4XeG8844CrV_aGGyzm1R8ywYmd9Ep1NY4-F05gFxOZ2M6ECRkgmpMmZI/s640/405.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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Stepping in and looking to the left. I love the big window over the sink. Thanks to it, and two skylights, the kitchen is very bright.<br />
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I also love the vaulted ceiling in the main living area.<br />
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This is looking back at the kitchen from the end of the dining area.<br />
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And looking at the dining area. It isn't huge, but it is big enough for our large table. You can see the sliding glass door that leads out to the deck. And again, the big windows.</div>
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And looking back at the kitchen.<br />
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And looking toward the living room. Notice the continuation of the windows.<br />
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Standing at the end of the dining area looking into the living room. I love the hardwood floors and the wood ceiling. To the right, where my rustic door is leaning, leads back around to the front door.</div>
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I also love the fireplace here. It has been a long time since we've had a fireplace, and although I love a woodburning one, the convenience of propane is nice too. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjwk3OPB7s6Waav_M80dTrrLrut3NR3sokWrniHDa-BZuBKlWKCOK7fWw0w1cQ8NgoRk1XIKkhOm8M1J3raFt3iO1CwIkOqWDP4ImgRTY_8BbzSMCeI3L4okNSQ6BN1_cnaAkdjyegpeC/s1600/415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjwk3OPB7s6Waav_M80dTrrLrut3NR3sokWrniHDa-BZuBKlWKCOK7fWw0w1cQ8NgoRk1XIKkhOm8M1J3raFt3iO1CwIkOqWDP4ImgRTY_8BbzSMCeI3L4okNSQ6BN1_cnaAkdjyegpeC/s640/415.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This picture gives a good idea of how the whole main floor flows in a circle.<br />
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So I think this post is plenty long enough. More to come another day. We were thoroughly prepared to be crammed in a small space while we were renting, so we have been so pleased to be in this larger home. </div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-84177299665265398822012-11-07T00:16:00.000-06:002012-11-07T00:16:12.328-06:00Halloween 2012Since I've only posted once here since last Halloween, I figured, what the heck, why not pick up here, one year later. So here we go.<br />
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I don't think I have even posted anything here about our big move in September. Two months ago we made the life-changing decision to pick up and move our family from Wisconsin to the pacific northwest, specifically, an island across the sound from Seattle. There are many things we miss about our beloved Dodgeville, but there are many things to love about Bainbridge Island. <br />
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One of the things we really enjoyed in Dodgeville was Halloween. We lived in the town's trick-or-treating hot spot. Throngs of children would flood the neighborhood for a couple hours each Halloween. I would start buying bags of candy as soon as it was on the shelves so I could spread out the expense. But it was worth it to see the kids doing their Halloween thing. <br />
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Our home we are renting here is in the woods at the end of a dirt road. No trick-or-treaters. We weren't even sure where to take our kids to do <em>their</em> trick-or-treating. We asked around a bit and discovered that the businesses downtown are open to trick-or-treaters from 4-6pm on Halloween. We decided we would give that a try, completely unsure what to expect. We figured we could go find a neighborhood that looked promising afterward. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WCB0pXCjq5VZTxrP6DWBdGlol33lhjtyHpmc2FoIbeje4PQGSjj-BgitaIBd4CqBl8F_BbaHJhGef7DzayKfzdMlxwg-equsrxeXdups1fO2Jg7TOuN4eZ-TK8yA-wroFgV7rl-gAv5i/s1600/057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WCB0pXCjq5VZTxrP6DWBdGlol33lhjtyHpmc2FoIbeje4PQGSjj-BgitaIBd4CqBl8F_BbaHJhGef7DzayKfzdMlxwg-equsrxeXdups1fO2Jg7TOuN4eZ-TK8yA-wroFgV7rl-gAv5i/s320/057.JPG" width="212" /></a>Typical of October in the Seattle area, it rained all day on the 31st, and it rained as hard as I've seen it rain here. I was beginning to dread the evening. As soon as the kids were home from school and suited up, we headed downtown. We met up with Lincoln at 4:30 and joined the hundreds of people on the main drag, umbrellas in hand. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHjJruHsarGlqOzCeGtGrWPJEOaMvb5Bya-tHaXEF8S_8K89V-Y5l-EZfvALAqjbBZMcnHYbpiomYgW4MKhl-uIOr-tP206eA2cROJxwYV2R1DYi3OgTLf1uUlEP-F3Lqr0-UMVXq34v2/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHjJruHsarGlqOzCeGtGrWPJEOaMvb5Bya-tHaXEF8S_8K89V-Y5l-EZfvALAqjbBZMcnHYbpiomYgW4MKhl-uIOr-tP206eA2cROJxwYV2R1DYi3OgTLf1uUlEP-F3Lqr0-UMVXq34v2/s320/056.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Almost on cue, the rain tapered off and other than a couple little showers, we stayed pretty dry. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLkaQ39Qxs3N0dLram2dgTvvnIWrTB_R2-AyrGetjpo7EOxMJz8V5fYB0lgTq7SY3br79oaR9n1x5Vc7KnZi65gSYC9WsIYtDP4WdaaxUS804GlrgM7_MWJDN_1bRP88MTfqbV28SiSzq/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLkaQ39Qxs3N0dLram2dgTvvnIWrTB_R2-AyrGetjpo7EOxMJz8V5fYB0lgTq7SY3br79oaR9n1x5Vc7KnZi65gSYC9WsIYtDP4WdaaxUS804GlrgM7_MWJDN_1bRP88MTfqbV28SiSzq/s320/055.JPG" width="320" /></a>There were definitely lots of people, but it was not crowded to the point of irritation. There was a festive feeling in the air, made all the more palpable thanks to the Halloween music pealing out from the bell tower of the church on the corner. The same church was serving free hotdogs and chili, which we took advantage of. (I did leave a donation. :) ) It was fun to bump into people we knew because that was something we loved about Dodgeville; whenever we went to a community event we knew lots of people. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG7cQ4dfjk3vw8S7SBwTg6UvjMSOncN-psgljZaIkk-c72Ypm94OYjn-XikYRS7uf5Q9itVWqfNQYID1XqH8fIfETRMQg4y5hbVqzapKvNkCOMgDey85Ar8eiRhuPDVB2UDPWJJLLSQt7/s1600/066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRG7cQ4dfjk3vw8S7SBwTg6UvjMSOncN-psgljZaIkk-c72Ypm94OYjn-XikYRS7uf5Q9itVWqfNQYID1XqH8fIfETRMQg4y5hbVqzapKvNkCOMgDey85Ar8eiRhuPDVB2UDPWJJLLSQt7/s320/066.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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So here are the kids in costume:</div>
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Devon as Harry Potter</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGeVYRjDEUGQ2yIhyphenhyphenog2vtNZvVJL1UoSu0asseQjEQBOAFfReEdVTMvq0YchyOeq40gtdLx1R_i-uksdLP7CYYinQW6ZyIQr3Q375cjqf63v-7hWVEsO-wfwQbWJXJkpNCbpV-7JDpW10/s1600/Devon+Halloween+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGeVYRjDEUGQ2yIhyphenhyphenog2vtNZvVJL1UoSu0asseQjEQBOAFfReEdVTMvq0YchyOeq40gtdLx1R_i-uksdLP7CYYinQW6ZyIQr3Q375cjqf63v-7hWVEsO-wfwQbWJXJkpNCbpV-7JDpW10/s640/Devon+Halloween+2012.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Renie as a prisoner. It was impossible to tell due to the raincoat. (So I pixelated her into a specter :)).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBXgI-K4JR3sqJ6U5KwyqWTDEFZSYYmF-afwv1YH85gQEG6u28wtkru_6DLr5jR0HbHAI00BUGk7UNB5WZtNgo2Y09XHNT28SzyIfGUj8zGEY-chdBlLC1Yf3RDzaB3_vscunmaXC-_7S/s1600/Irene+Halloween+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBXgI-K4JR3sqJ6U5KwyqWTDEFZSYYmF-afwv1YH85gQEG6u28wtkru_6DLr5jR0HbHAI00BUGk7UNB5WZtNgo2Y09XHNT28SzyIfGUj8zGEY-chdBlLC1Yf3RDzaB3_vscunmaXC-_7S/s640/Irene+Halloween+2012.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
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Julia as a huntswoman. That cloak she is wearing was my "big" sewing project for this Halloween. I think it turned out pretty well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrf-bNfBVZG_uRI6sCNPYfCb8tUV9qgLM302kwf4-dzz6POD0qk4IyFeCw3HZ_vDvgjL8ZfSOY6J4xjPq7g4fkR2T46g-BrkdTYIeTcbmhEg97Eml2VnGL1A1P1NeEfJFG1CZjTLm5Dgrr/s1600/Julia+Halloween+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrf-bNfBVZG_uRI6sCNPYfCb8tUV9qgLM302kwf4-dzz6POD0qk4IyFeCw3HZ_vDvgjL8ZfSOY6J4xjPq7g4fkR2T46g-BrkdTYIeTcbmhEg97Eml2VnGL1A1P1NeEfJFG1CZjTLm5Dgrr/s640/Julia+Halloween+2012.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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Jesse as Captain America. He is the only one of the children who did NOT change his mind about his choice of costume as least once in October. <br />
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And Kennedy as Black Widow. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9a9GP3oLcHdrG2s-xqQd5aXpqymJJgPkE_FGQgMFI_Q0_jTGRhM_wOtrB5WBPJRNxGRdAaSktEI3WKouydT5LkRabPZ3zJTm4RuqbCtOpxcmoBdtKowO3Je0hGbpaN2MVIYpDMjbL-QI/s1600/Kennedy+Halloween+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9a9GP3oLcHdrG2s-xqQd5aXpqymJJgPkE_FGQgMFI_Q0_jTGRhM_wOtrB5WBPJRNxGRdAaSktEI3WKouydT5LkRabPZ3zJTm4RuqbCtOpxcmoBdtKowO3Je0hGbpaN2MVIYpDMjbL-QI/s640/Kennedy+Halloween+2012.jpg" width="401" /></a></div>
And the best part of the evening was that the kids were satisfied with downtown trick-or-treating so we were home enjoying our evening by 6:00. <br />
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It was a crazy day- I helped out with Jesse's class party in the morning, made a quick run to the grocery store (and discovered when I got home that one of the bags did not get put in my cart), took Jesse to a Halloween party, made dinner, went trick-or-treating, took Kennedy to a party, and met up with Julia's ride to go to a friend's house. But it was really fun. And we're excited that we now have our first Washington tradition in place. I look forward to blogging about many more!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-85167347960255821952012-06-04T22:28:00.000-05:002012-06-04T22:28:11.909-05:00ClarityYou know those rare parenting moments of clarity, when everything suddenly comes into sharp focus and you look into your child's eyes and see something that you had missed before? Admittedly, those moments don't come nearly as often as they should. <br />
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I have been quite open here on this (nearly defunct) blog about how difficult it has been for me to parent Renie. I love her to pieces and admire all the things about her that make her difficult to parent: Her courage, her determination, her fierce independence and refusal to be intimidated by anyone or anything. She is a goofball and a ham, but stubborn and a bit prideful.<br />
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I have been praying, of late, for guidance in my parenting. Not that this prayer is anything new, but I think I had recently upped the urgency of my pleas for assistance. I wasn't thinking of Renie in particular as I prayed, just for help in my calling as a mother. <br />
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Tonight as I played around on the computer, yelling at the girls to quiet down and go to sleep, Renie came out of the bedroom to lodge a complaint about something one of the other girls had done to her. For some reason, (answer to prayer), in that moment, I looked at her and looked so completely through to her sweet little spirit that I was overcome with consuming love for her. I asked her to come sit with me for a minute and she climbed into my lap and let me pull her close. In that quiet, tender moment with her, she immediately confided in me that her classmates had been calling her names and picking on her at school. As her tears flowed down her cheeks and splashed onto my arm, my little girl suddenly came sharply into focus before me. Refer back to the second paragraph of this post, and you may begin to understand why this was such a tender moment for me. She is my tough girl, sandwiched between the two boys in the family, and she does not like to show a weak or vulnerable side. In those few minutes, I realized that I have come to treat her as if she does not have that vulnerable side and that is infinitely unfair. I have felt that at times myself; like people expect me to be the strong one and work through things on my own, or even that things don't bother me or hurt me like they do other people. And I have felt that it was unfair, that I wanted to be the one to cry on someone else's shoulder for a change. But at the same time, I didn't feel comfortable exposing that vulnerability to anyone and so I just continued on in the same way. I don't want her to feel that, in her 7 year old version of it. Not with me. Not with her mother. <br />
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I am grateful Heavenly Father knows me, knows my children, and knows what we need. I am grateful He hears and answers the pleas of an imperfect mother. I am grateful that I was given a glimpse of my child through His eyes. And mostly, I am grateful I have been given the opportunity to be her mother, that I have been entrusted with such an amazing, sweet spirit. <br />
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I know this clarity will begin to fuzz and blur with time, which is why I am recording it here. I know that coming back to read this again will help to refocus when I need it, and help me to be the mother she deserves to have.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-73447917743623735782011-11-29T09:22:00.004-06:002011-11-29T09:30:47.624-06:00HalloweenThis will be primarily a picture post. We did NOT host our annual Halloween party this year due to scheduling conflicts. We trick-or-treated in the neighborhood with the Knouses and then had our usual Halloween dinner, with one minor change. Instead of making stew this year, I used the cheddar broccoli soup I had purchased through a school fundraiser. It was delicious and easy. We also had the mainstays- bread bowls, monster eyeballs, witches fingers, finger jello. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9r1JMtJFa4Il6mZCR4rocRxRA7NXs1B4-_p0jTcf94TLf0tGh0_jzRM-75VMcrrpgTcFnD5MKJLJoLDu7GUUY2F30c3JEwnfTpMaPZmye09coCHvvx7vQOjM1OUTLSEgAQnRvczxvU0EK/s1600/123.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9r1JMtJFa4Il6mZCR4rocRxRA7NXs1B4-_p0jTcf94TLf0tGh0_jzRM-75VMcrrpgTcFnD5MKJLJoLDu7GUUY2F30c3JEwnfTpMaPZmye09coCHvvx7vQOjM1OUTLSEgAQnRvczxvU0EK/s400/123.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680440260378299474" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRpaml5PB3yI9ynoKdhDd1w6k4oAoPbeEv61QmET5lDoJeRIzXjP3iBHrhFaR9VzrNDnBUNAhp0-2VAwy_-rVy-N2TxbstV07-U0iTYoJVV9TvDX19rRHSTbeYaNKUoqg49wVwOT5HrhO/s1600/122.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRpaml5PB3yI9ynoKdhDd1w6k4oAoPbeEv61QmET5lDoJeRIzXjP3iBHrhFaR9VzrNDnBUNAhp0-2VAwy_-rVy-N2TxbstV07-U0iTYoJVV9TvDX19rRHSTbeYaNKUoqg49wVwOT5HrhO/s400/122.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680439931279671234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdD4cMNca3PU9OZPM8Fh0h_lS2OnHLcQByqjIB-Xzvy9wSqufYct35DWPWDpjzApevjAXGD3-nMccGUPqzAbn0tROU4npK1MH4zNdZ7Pid7OMU-QYo0KA5N5pbSSDwpqL7SZQBTbUGC9O/s1600/121.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdD4cMNca3PU9OZPM8Fh0h_lS2OnHLcQByqjIB-Xzvy9wSqufYct35DWPWDpjzApevjAXGD3-nMccGUPqzAbn0tROU4npK1MH4zNdZ7Pid7OMU-QYo0KA5N5pbSSDwpqL7SZQBTbUGC9O/s400/121.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680439923541478002" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxOawyevueBow-D8KmdumDXN6iD7UASSkE0XDdFlw7zSc5y_Qpw6mOygfdDfSvVKLGsdDUu88A328pRaeIcO4a1mDOyV8x3HkjB3fYP47dkaaA5iGMzBgvk4mb_MtPBCL_Iba_sa8KJw0/s1600/120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxOawyevueBow-D8KmdumDXN6iD7UASSkE0XDdFlw7zSc5y_Qpw6mOygfdDfSvVKLGsdDUu88A328pRaeIcO4a1mDOyV8x3HkjB3fYP47dkaaA5iGMzBgvk4mb_MtPBCL_Iba_sa8KJw0/s400/120.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680439896452043330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmfsnyECRJk-dq65PxgN5t4qPq_212b808P3inY8F7Tm6kkZLYYvP45lbtxOEfrNTlk-ygOmS4xzyptpNYErTWgt2d0s7_GnET7oQ63zZosFfH37LW4wFQ_RJzukwMDvKrwhdr_d6MVDh/s1600/118.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmfsnyECRJk-dq65PxgN5t4qPq_212b808P3inY8F7Tm6kkZLYYvP45lbtxOEfrNTlk-ygOmS4xzyptpNYErTWgt2d0s7_GnET7oQ63zZosFfH37LW4wFQ_RJzukwMDvKrwhdr_d6MVDh/s400/118.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680439891084531698" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWKmk6DFPKj5MQCbhu6SOFA8FpvuSyeeWerL4JWDGKVhPGcxf8bYFL6tK3RqZaOkWL9sN6lQzzd_RBdeoaLnp6m6syqvTO8LudloxO73xCC-DFhXJA1yF_lXm5zdIvujI2xV8YOn-5Yk0/s1600/119.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWWKmk6DFPKj5MQCbhu6SOFA8FpvuSyeeWerL4JWDGKVhPGcxf8bYFL6tK3RqZaOkWL9sN6lQzzd_RBdeoaLnp6m6syqvTO8LudloxO73xCC-DFhXJA1yF_lXm5zdIvujI2xV8YOn-5Yk0/s400/119.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680439893542956130" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-48761429086345719722011-11-29T08:46:00.003-06:002011-11-29T09:21:36.142-06:00Thanksgiving 2011Trying to catch up with blogging seems pretty pointless, so I'll just pick up with what is current.<br /><br />This year for Thanksgiving we got together with two other (large) families for dinner. Our friends, the Howells, hosted so I was able to enjoy a completely stress-free holiday. On Wednesday I made blueberry cranberry pie, chocolate peanut butter pie, chocolate cheesecake, pumpkin cream pie, and cranberry bars. On Thanksgiving morning, Lincoln, Kennedy, and Julia went to Madison to run in the Berbee Derby 5K. I was signed up to race in the 10K, but I have been having some knee issues so I decided not to run. While they ran, I put the turkey in the oven and started on some side dishes. I made roasted root veggies, green bean casserole, and spicy teriyaki mushrooms. Renie assembled candy turkeys. I had thought this would be a great project to keep the three younger kids busy while I was working in the kitchen, but it ended up being Renie's project alone. The boys put about one candy on one turkey and then were done and just wanted to eat the pieces. Renie, however, sat there and assembled 20 turkeys, with a little help from me. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzV4eTyVGACRSNEDB0-K9SstJS9vSryl_DFnINJO1OOMVLn2m6p3TfoAFCfWObmfmgiAZwGgv0h3_2xC_7_DrgcuaADgMhMmw05SnB5FY4BUbsTFKBb2KV38lYDFedsyd0izkAKTRpxHL/s1600/135.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzV4eTyVGACRSNEDB0-K9SstJS9vSryl_DFnINJO1OOMVLn2m6p3TfoAFCfWObmfmgiAZwGgv0h3_2xC_7_DrgcuaADgMhMmw05SnB5FY4BUbsTFKBb2KV38lYDFedsyd0izkAKTRpxHL/s400/135.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680436410567267074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ft1oGtF9LXJSVMgNgGjJKsQ1VtOfkwIoO4pUi3WYLDfvaV0rfr5VtcZHaB1flk2aH3xON8DKkDT4Bvl0vX_ITboqybxuiVlkFpRG0_XHXpy9tnpJtVb3zYZGeclHAbY2IiUVjBLt5r_w/s1600/134.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ft1oGtF9LXJSVMgNgGjJKsQ1VtOfkwIoO4pUi3WYLDfvaV0rfr5VtcZHaB1flk2aH3xON8DKkDT4Bvl0vX_ITboqybxuiVlkFpRG0_XHXpy9tnpJtVb3zYZGeclHAbY2IiUVjBLt5r_w/s400/134.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680436403817881778" /></a><br /><br />A little before 3:30 we packed up all the food and went to the Howells. Kym had a great system set up with all the food buffet style on the kitchen table and plenty of tables and seating in the basement for the 16 kids and 6 adults in attendance. We had so much delicious food! Kym and Jeff had cooked a turkey in their dutch oven and it was fantastic! They also cooked a ham, a huge pot of mashed potatoes, apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. Jen was a trooper and despite having surgery on her foot the DAY BEFORE, she brought piles of rolls.<br /><br />(I forgot to take any pictures. Luckily Kennedy thought of it, so she took a bunch. Unfortunately the camera was on a setting that led to lots of blurry pictures, but at least you get an idea.)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDO2Zmm42fQ6WdJcgUyK0EerSAtd1ccVRETWYWEznVz4ulOlYfu-mlRo-MLCEcq-bAElTvziIfxekxew4quRiYxsMgLGO8F-pcklgJ0CaBYbEv4kuqfwWn5sPF9KTuRCFNDhCrCVIcawWc/s1600/138.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDO2Zmm42fQ6WdJcgUyK0EerSAtd1ccVRETWYWEznVz4ulOlYfu-mlRo-MLCEcq-bAElTvziIfxekxew4quRiYxsMgLGO8F-pcklgJ0CaBYbEv4kuqfwWn5sPF9KTuRCFNDhCrCVIcawWc/s400/138.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680436413120422882" /></a><br /><br />After dinner and dessert, we spent the evening playing games and laughing with great friends. And I schooled everybody in Perpetual Commotion. It had to be done.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ80qaYj7dBKJxV3UFHAaw3L6-jsvo9xyxrYOqnMA5Y48AzhLuYT5KnEpC-aP6kuaHC6cOXeJ5t1Xnk6MD2xRbaH-_7w9mQB0Xv-sqTyPjcOGHjyU3MeSp-wg0btYNlOSJDNkErDbEAxHS/s1600/137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ80qaYj7dBKJxV3UFHAaw3L6-jsvo9xyxrYOqnMA5Y48AzhLuYT5KnEpC-aP6kuaHC6cOXeJ5t1Xnk6MD2xRbaH-_7w9mQB0Xv-sqTyPjcOGHjyU3MeSp-wg0btYNlOSJDNkErDbEAxHS/s400/137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680436427906641202" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFrmhD0bT8DC3G7k7nq9AK-DHSw2Sp-njG5UblNNbXfWKB-WMns27jpE4MWzH-DL-ZJ5KIwAc6QLTyS8ZuaAZ4vnh-gh0e38VrBN2prKim3avtS5frWUMVDcEABqpimSUamktNinTfKQz/s1600/164.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFrmhD0bT8DC3G7k7nq9AK-DHSw2Sp-njG5UblNNbXfWKB-WMns27jpE4MWzH-DL-ZJ5KIwAc6QLTyS8ZuaAZ4vnh-gh0e38VrBN2prKim3avtS5frWUMVDcEABqpimSUamktNinTfKQz/s400/164.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680436428439943442" /></a><br /><br />We took the kids home at about 11:30 and put them to bed, then I picked up Jen and we went to Walmart to do some shopping. I am not a Black Friday shopper. It's just not my thing. But Jen loves to do it and wanted someone to come along and push her around in her wheelchair, in case there wasn't a motorized one available. I figured it would be fun and I could look for a few things for the kids. As it turned out, we were able to procure a motorized wheelchair so we were good to go. We split up to search out the deals we wanted and then met back up at the checkout less than an hour later. So that was the extent of my black Friday shopping: 45 minutes between midnight and 1 am. <br /><br />And so, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Time sure does fly.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-62062235988282474762011-10-05T18:32:00.011-05:002011-10-05T19:24:53.636-05:00NY VacationBack in August we made our yearly trek back to Northern New York to see friends and family. As usual, we very much enjoyed our time there and the opportunity to get our kids together with their cousins. <br />One of the highlights of this year's trip was taking the time to stop in Palmyra, New York on our way through. We have wanted to take the kids to see the church history sites and the temple there for a while. This time we made it happen and we had a lovely time. We stopped at the Hill Cumorah and climbed to the top.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOzTytZ2YSjEHDrGhdMvkg-LE8r14tIM6Vj6qU-7VXzAukAfZ1Val43OCxZYB3soVqaAmre4j9ySxSkaMwVtnRC6cOb-W2hiXXKstw6yw8wPfrohys-GgTStpIX2PBsettQSnLezCrIxQ/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOzTytZ2YSjEHDrGhdMvkg-LE8r14tIM6Vj6qU-7VXzAukAfZ1Val43OCxZYB3soVqaAmre4j9ySxSkaMwVtnRC6cOb-W2hiXXKstw6yw8wPfrohys-GgTStpIX2PBsettQSnLezCrIxQ/s400/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159091881603618" /></a><br />The path was really steep, so here the kids are pretending to fall down the hill.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jQDwbjTqKvqZQyeRMM7jIWQAhit6210-Xztvf0ahQdsmroNleqaiKUL1N3iFmZsAFzYWMNjpnf_nj-cHQ6d7HpM0CjQBIrbL5ReVlv2wrJwtuysw1JyzI0xg9n6k4giywkR8soBrAOnm/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jQDwbjTqKvqZQyeRMM7jIWQAhit6210-Xztvf0ahQdsmroNleqaiKUL1N3iFmZsAFzYWMNjpnf_nj-cHQ6d7HpM0CjQBIrbL5ReVlv2wrJwtuysw1JyzI0xg9n6k4giywkR8soBrAOnm/s400/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159085651306914" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLygMLxlLyp32iAYrZMl26eUclUdx4eLFGeiJSgT9eb57prR6IsxX7aS4U3HPSqDoJ5bgopM6qEbXmlLniSmUi2XLAsefpmTtSk4LU1sEkZ0FdUa_OcbHUS1cY_Klic2w1np6LiihGhBr/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLygMLxlLyp32iAYrZMl26eUclUdx4eLFGeiJSgT9eb57prR6IsxX7aS4U3HPSqDoJ5bgopM6qEbXmlLniSmUi2XLAsefpmTtSk4LU1sEkZ0FdUa_OcbHUS1cY_Klic2w1np6LiihGhBr/s400/009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159084967546786" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1Vf7SJyYMF3HCm3xul_-G2emS4bHvnzR6PsxKGXVdzmOGU5TWRJFrUrp0Pf9v1VaQPyKOFrtClRTHn0QvwbnqeLOC3JbDeWfvfvG3NDJbRxx65gfk9XTWmoaY7e_g3Zujn-EiLisfG8/s1600/018.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR1Vf7SJyYMF3HCm3xul_-G2emS4bHvnzR6PsxKGXVdzmOGU5TWRJFrUrp0Pf9v1VaQPyKOFrtClRTHn0QvwbnqeLOC3JbDeWfvfvG3NDJbRxx65gfk9XTWmoaY7e_g3Zujn-EiLisfG8/s400/018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159101975705714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pba15zX0r13h4P2EdUNd-X5MFSxhYrTxNlpYx2BP6o7z16i1rLApcNKyJbui8i7k-dyDdTAFwTFqEkRvkU0n9aoBeRVDTUxdpcZnjj8YqvNcvSonvdczRBurzcKUrwBRQ40n8Z39JW1P/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pba15zX0r13h4P2EdUNd-X5MFSxhYrTxNlpYx2BP6o7z16i1rLApcNKyJbui8i7k-dyDdTAFwTFqEkRvkU0n9aoBeRVDTUxdpcZnjj8YqvNcvSonvdczRBurzcKUrwBRQ40n8Z39JW1P/s400/017.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159094937876930" /></a><br /><br /><br />We then drove down the road to the Smith farm and walked in the Sacred Grove.<br />It was fun to bump into my niece, Molly Bryn, and cousin Alexis there. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ua_yjLcquZz6wJNdGxj_PyGPaV1NjufkA19pOIwvLFza9g6VlDOU2EzHd-Yt-xuljjCvsfcBZBCgiy6oA05HwS4NJwqmjwRSUXoeE4RMFReDgEcOKT8jcBN8DXPpIdFNcBkHykijVlok/s1600/049.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ua_yjLcquZz6wJNdGxj_PyGPaV1NjufkA19pOIwvLFza9g6VlDOU2EzHd-Yt-xuljjCvsfcBZBCgiy6oA05HwS4NJwqmjwRSUXoeE4RMFReDgEcOKT8jcBN8DXPpIdFNcBkHykijVlok/s400/049.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660161106676572498" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KWnVQEvB02y6Np6U0oHUCx7WB3LpKeIzN9NUZ48lhn8KRKmlIJKyT-PlVWBDtQBiIUGyzRyqvdAfHn7QpnAIIx2hO4PYsCPFSRUUR0wcmRIQUIvQaWeXYmwx2hKf81yK4P7PA_TAZYYh/s1600/055.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KWnVQEvB02y6Np6U0oHUCx7WB3LpKeIzN9NUZ48lhn8KRKmlIJKyT-PlVWBDtQBiIUGyzRyqvdAfHn7QpnAIIx2hO4PYsCPFSRUUR0wcmRIQUIvQaWeXYmwx2hKf81yK4P7PA_TAZYYh/s400/055.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660161101182931826" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DKSDPC7f7VowLE5WmZ7_NctxYwSDgk4aHi6suGIBKPKep0pzEw4gtuSx14WgXGCFe4fr7iNhGNezJ_x8SVq8ERw7R0o7PD-KSzhFSJyC84gko8nzRPfSbQVAH02B1s8ByljorhA2ShKa/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9DKSDPC7f7VowLE5WmZ7_NctxYwSDgk4aHi6suGIBKPKep0pzEw4gtuSx14WgXGCFe4fr7iNhGNezJ_x8SVq8ERw7R0o7PD-KSzhFSJyC84gko8nzRPfSbQVAH02B1s8ByljorhA2ShKa/s400/054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660161097864041746" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGHl2XhFSNV7f6tD5RHWo7GiVPPrHuLhtj3NsOS-KpkUCCAKnKVLAIJxaQtt2lggnMu-pm_TBOFVF2xwNIGhdCMidc_gofwBN68yJ5cNGYUl-gG7zv3oR1DAvts0Zy_fmEj5bqEVqdTNB/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGHl2XhFSNV7f6tD5RHWo7GiVPPrHuLhtj3NsOS-KpkUCCAKnKVLAIJxaQtt2lggnMu-pm_TBOFVF2xwNIGhdCMidc_gofwBN68yJ5cNGYUl-gG7zv3oR1DAvts0Zy_fmEj5bqEVqdTNB/s400/050.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660161091603454722" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AhsdzfyI6NVE-sobWRYr1uLfOyP250SWYTlSgAV2q_2Zjrti4oFtwSbigELTH4oKukGmDmS2kgU03VLEVRhypRhrszjGcx7ytdnpJ2bk_vQ3q-ONh7GVka88EpHU5fUpDREbNuuec82X/s1600/044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AhsdzfyI6NVE-sobWRYr1uLfOyP250SWYTlSgAV2q_2Zjrti4oFtwSbigELTH4oKukGmDmS2kgU03VLEVRhypRhrszjGcx7ytdnpJ2bk_vQ3q-ONh7GVka88EpHU5fUpDREbNuuec82X/s400/044.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660161084373256194" /></a><br /><br />We finished up by taking the kids to the temple. We walked around the grounds and touched the temple.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SbWlL-G9mI93d0nNc-Hg0UeQbhiJo7XaVCRNkAHe1mVT12mVcNbtV6ZYmMbq5iJ2ZZLXPRa1sAHFukyikC_VkmnrxEyMwwUsUpbboTXjeJy26i-NpkMsS-xR_sIyOxw6-0xIA2XYIGgJ/s1600/037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1SbWlL-G9mI93d0nNc-Hg0UeQbhiJo7XaVCRNkAHe1mVT12mVcNbtV6ZYmMbq5iJ2ZZLXPRa1sAHFukyikC_VkmnrxEyMwwUsUpbboTXjeJy26i-NpkMsS-xR_sIyOxw6-0xIA2XYIGgJ/s400/037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159864188475106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTo2Xes-7uS6AJROQCM3LybgUmV6jsVt-1-oGlCN6mTy666jly1IIuajG3U8Q0qIofkQ1uqmf3mFPFlJhLDZVb8-gdKK9zi82nLI17DPX2oJvG9T53mCAUOxmPTpRse-nBIJej4rZzcrs/s1600/032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTo2Xes-7uS6AJROQCM3LybgUmV6jsVt-1-oGlCN6mTy666jly1IIuajG3U8Q0qIofkQ1uqmf3mFPFlJhLDZVb8-gdKK9zi82nLI17DPX2oJvG9T53mCAUOxmPTpRse-nBIJej4rZzcrs/s400/032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159860834956226" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRVdhBChTbQ9wejUv3a4MorZgxWFL4UKM7xWxYaWSncdYzCXp3tDCwpfTagMhfsG8vJM3hBgRyOcbKxks-mXt30nx62WrN4K2qDqmNNeqaSa-OH1dmhdICYz-N3awy2L_6_jMzdizHtLs/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRVdhBChTbQ9wejUv3a4MorZgxWFL4UKM7xWxYaWSncdYzCXp3tDCwpfTagMhfsG8vJM3hBgRyOcbKxks-mXt30nx62WrN4K2qDqmNNeqaSa-OH1dmhdICYz-N3awy2L_6_jMzdizHtLs/s400/040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159857605903218" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zoq0ncyPSHB2z6iZM3ty54l4YXa2XJv5OImCIPyuuqt2SMSuY0WvsXl4-zECQhMW_B7S6UImIPqLPjYNrfJ2wTUsiVgmKHCls4HsY9d42E9p9e5j71yVoj1JuB2yuU56uDUpQBW6qVWO/s1600/043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zoq0ncyPSHB2z6iZM3ty54l4YXa2XJv5OImCIPyuuqt2SMSuY0WvsXl4-zECQhMW_B7S6UImIPqLPjYNrfJ2wTUsiVgmKHCls4HsY9d42E9p9e5j71yVoj1JuB2yuU56uDUpQBW6qVWO/s400/043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159848017114498" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-6GHmFfifM9UDn3hOHtNhoMjlN5UgtTXqomHM_v05_vfQH2K8upxT4-jQd41y5g9-FJGGoS2r8nnNA7T0I_N9zrTrATKhAwm-w4E-qcTf9GbXaZKGb_Wc4Jo-8ijpz2th7ZavT4QsAum/s1600/029.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-6GHmFfifM9UDn3hOHtNhoMjlN5UgtTXqomHM_v05_vfQH2K8upxT4-jQd41y5g9-FJGGoS2r8nnNA7T0I_N9zrTrATKhAwm-w4E-qcTf9GbXaZKGb_Wc4Jo-8ijpz2th7ZavT4QsAum/s400/029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660159843518294370" /></a><br /><br />Another highlight this time was being able to attend family reunions for both Lincoln's family and my own. It was great to see extended family that I hadn't seen in ages, and lots of fun to meet so many people in Lincoln's family that I had previously not had the opportunity to meet. I was really struck by how friendly and welcoming his extended family was. They seemed genuinely excited and happy to see us. I'm so glad we were able to be there, despite Lincoln's father telling us the wrong location for the reunion. (We love you anyway, Grandpa Jesse, but we are a little concerned about the fact that you are losing your mind.) It was not easy to make the connection and we were almost ready to give up and go home but luckily we persevered and found the location.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXOx9rS8MkHTKOstQYjtuNLgb-YpjcGlZ616EX3xLA2Zt6a_nMuYGf2saxrqhc4R9XCclVQQV5AnT-eggnA5K1muRJmFOBH3-RPaOvFBTbHAH3B34i0s9m8XWcv6kLrwdT3KvP56rO6hL/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXOx9rS8MkHTKOstQYjtuNLgb-YpjcGlZ616EX3xLA2Zt6a_nMuYGf2saxrqhc4R9XCclVQQV5AnT-eggnA5K1muRJmFOBH3-RPaOvFBTbHAH3B34i0s9m8XWcv6kLrwdT3KvP56rO6hL/s400/020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660165528902372738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAy7w0uqt3xQajWoFSMuJuf_ctWQaKAarG-h5iC0cWy58hp9HmVGjrDRRxu89My6D22ELcnd_k2Sa8qzlEH8W9-LXgAow8eY5QzTSg-NrQXhBn1bmPrKCGDrN0n0DSREINdjSdc8haFRY/s1600/024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpAy7w0uqt3xQajWoFSMuJuf_ctWQaKAarG-h5iC0cWy58hp9HmVGjrDRRxu89My6D22ELcnd_k2Sa8qzlEH8W9-LXgAow8eY5QzTSg-NrQXhBn1bmPrKCGDrN0n0DSREINdjSdc8haFRY/s400/024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660165525066391938" /></a><br />Lincoln's aunts and uncles. You can tell from the pictures that they are a fun crew, can't you?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiT2nqZHXAGzlAdZChAYJWwVI0e3_jve-Q_TQkzFQ-55pnlEfD0KicwJmAvOvadozTVlpHIrn-_4nrmerVLVujq4CCwXOX4vSZQtFfN8IBm4Wc6ZVBZ_TRUjWWh6OIbXWcE7syC-OOrsW/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiT2nqZHXAGzlAdZChAYJWwVI0e3_jve-Q_TQkzFQ-55pnlEfD0KicwJmAvOvadozTVlpHIrn-_4nrmerVLVujq4CCwXOX4vSZQtFfN8IBm4Wc6ZVBZ_TRUjWWh6OIbXWcE7syC-OOrsW/s400/025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660165520456520674" /></a><br />Lincoln and I participated in a horse tournament with his Dad and his Uncle Larry.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-r5poRaImK0OGy-TO7UU0UAn53pwcRd8xQf9Rj8pG42dR2nLTpqnrGKSMFa27S7Uc0rH38tjNsuOaN_0C6yLVYhnHjYGw38_WOQAUz_042CmJgUK2Cj8vpPxbhXyNWX9yaRWgXJVldg8/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-r5poRaImK0OGy-TO7UU0UAn53pwcRd8xQf9Rj8pG42dR2nLTpqnrGKSMFa27S7Uc0rH38tjNsuOaN_0C6yLVYhnHjYGw38_WOQAUz_042CmJgUK2Cj8vpPxbhXyNWX9yaRWgXJVldg8/s400/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660165516034243202" /></a><br />The kids had a blast in the pool with Grandpa Jesse.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxnFLaP8kDZKwsHmn-cC9frwLWrf8oNxLxjF16Ha0vDEAMUh3B4EYeNryVIcWVRIU6trJxLp-Q4yhvSh08T9TVfo9YDMHNEygViiRNxm5F6LHNIFvFrcvQ1Hzsgl4xcqJcJBLDWr-a6Cm/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxnFLaP8kDZKwsHmn-cC9frwLWrf8oNxLxjF16Ha0vDEAMUh3B4EYeNryVIcWVRIU6trJxLp-Q4yhvSh08T9TVfo9YDMHNEygViiRNxm5F6LHNIFvFrcvQ1Hzsgl4xcqJcJBLDWr-a6Cm/s400/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660165510803469282" /></a><br /><br />We had to leave my reunion early in order to make it to Lincoln's, so I only got a few pictures. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQD4vDz5lta2RWcaFfRO8BvsUXCx0W25rD7cfGmW5ThSQ1zPoOMFYqj_rJ9pZS3uZqB4JIh2Gw6uooKs_ZIXYsnC0N6Vat-g6W03N7_7WiBZYjVacx1xPAGwgirVqzTJoNvFOwB_TXOHC/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQD4vDz5lta2RWcaFfRO8BvsUXCx0W25rD7cfGmW5ThSQ1zPoOMFYqj_rJ9pZS3uZqB4JIh2Gw6uooKs_ZIXYsnC0N6Vat-g6W03N7_7WiBZYjVacx1xPAGwgirVqzTJoNvFOwB_TXOHC/s400/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660163128132871138" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRuMVGZdn_4O08jEHC5-jkQGp_hpYKgs8qljX6D1bS6xhqA6sEpGeiHD7ZIFpJGEU2PRIi7yc2affmOKws5UNetCNnJ5PzD-OaAk29_OKccGuqb3i2dvzjlJWcDynnVnKNNYi9W4o4WNV/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRuMVGZdn_4O08jEHC5-jkQGp_hpYKgs8qljX6D1bS6xhqA6sEpGeiHD7ZIFpJGEU2PRIi7yc2affmOKws5UNetCNnJ5PzD-OaAk29_OKccGuqb3i2dvzjlJWcDynnVnKNNYi9W4o4WNV/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660163125003023522" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd8qb8bsIUnpVbsbwzY0YAWiVjIBP_-UmAIx9h5Sd_2kG2yaP2cSPSAneNyPkJrX_WV9RZWPRMdkXdGYkFhCOlQB3OUX0ue1usZGg4Tg4U-6IpMKA7gWa8_dlNRJ6RQ9ZfG9vwzJjfre_/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd8qb8bsIUnpVbsbwzY0YAWiVjIBP_-UmAIx9h5Sd_2kG2yaP2cSPSAneNyPkJrX_WV9RZWPRMdkXdGYkFhCOlQB3OUX0ue1usZGg4Tg4U-6IpMKA7gWa8_dlNRJ6RQ9ZfG9vwzJjfre_/s400/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660163120858801970" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx3rAwinjmQfXFIyGuaFw_QXAlDWzLMoBpeEVL5w_Z3bKEqc29sMucETIXEv32tXJUMTuoVDyOo4otiQr_dhpil2L-Cu-RKtoy0MlCD8WFZ-C5SuMJBPUjmKn1zywdNQ3WqDwDge_Pu_a/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilx3rAwinjmQfXFIyGuaFw_QXAlDWzLMoBpeEVL5w_Z3bKEqc29sMucETIXEv32tXJUMTuoVDyOo4otiQr_dhpil2L-Cu-RKtoy0MlCD8WFZ-C5SuMJBPUjmKn1zywdNQ3WqDwDge_Pu_a/s400/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660163116007206658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE3yT6pTAJDYFDtKo2LGdALAi1vWPR0ND9qyq60Hq0ec4RL5uLeMYDvtJ4Xrxt8KmgQ7jTZplJsRP_OEb2dau7SAs4l1AsoXvyf_dHSXygd02lpC3AR7C1g1yunCKtwjVOpOQpVLVtyAZ/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE3yT6pTAJDYFDtKo2LGdALAi1vWPR0ND9qyq60Hq0ec4RL5uLeMYDvtJ4Xrxt8KmgQ7jTZplJsRP_OEb2dau7SAs4l1AsoXvyf_dHSXygd02lpC3AR7C1g1yunCKtwjVOpOQpVLVtyAZ/s400/001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660163111447538658" /></a><br />Later in the evening, after going to Lincoln's reunion, we went back to my parents' for the post-reunion campfire. I don't always enjoy campfire sing-alongs these days, but I had a lot of fun at this one!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfk71fcshL89_8pP33VO8kLxXGUUXfCQ7GcuWfENf-GF0HdxCsswNFr5XKhxzXDRUZrvf3GrFrrkWJ43NrhZFI6AeGqtkXUio-AprZmSCSmN_079C2L19STPbOFeOg29OqYRURQfwTaH0i/s1600/037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfk71fcshL89_8pP33VO8kLxXGUUXfCQ7GcuWfENf-GF0HdxCsswNFr5XKhxzXDRUZrvf3GrFrrkWJ43NrhZFI6AeGqtkXUio-AprZmSCSmN_079C2L19STPbOFeOg29OqYRURQfwTaH0i/s400/037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660164553880502866" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDS-gl68P0mJI_Gyo0mgfAuJekvelht76M-Woljimcn6hmL4SfeylSMhSn9a-928oMAC2aOhNxb6CAmv7xIsansq50fXFKhvWJNZSmz1YCXA_Wy5sBumfxxQxlxEUm9F2tnroBju9qngS/s1600/036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDS-gl68P0mJI_Gyo0mgfAuJekvelht76M-Woljimcn6hmL4SfeylSMhSn9a-928oMAC2aOhNxb6CAmv7xIsansq50fXFKhvWJNZSmz1YCXA_Wy5sBumfxxQxlxEUm9F2tnroBju9qngS/s400/036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660164550457914754" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7n7hy-NnEM9ZcL8L0liGdz0zDg0qUzMnAIGECLWuV7EOZWbRczg2Mn-zHDh9_u_2nqvtRHJ_wdMi-r3li2IYajgZc6KJGNTNilxgHuYmytUX_9F3JDjB0R6jrvqsWwEs-4GhwjzlwSvlW/s1600/035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7n7hy-NnEM9ZcL8L0liGdz0zDg0qUzMnAIGECLWuV7EOZWbRczg2Mn-zHDh9_u_2nqvtRHJ_wdMi-r3li2IYajgZc6KJGNTNilxgHuYmytUX_9F3JDjB0R6jrvqsWwEs-4GhwjzlwSvlW/s400/035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660164547164588194" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW11BG2673xwskCwz1o3caN68rSAup3gVohkHu3ow1Hn7cBPS6BtxhSsVUpkIGak8XDKkF3mz8giKvR-CEhvLwSUo8lHKT3_SNuQrtd7BbaK9tKaz_2KGusRoPBXX2wKc4LC5R1wA7GLW0/s1600/034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW11BG2673xwskCwz1o3caN68rSAup3gVohkHu3ow1Hn7cBPS6BtxhSsVUpkIGak8XDKkF3mz8giKvR-CEhvLwSUo8lHKT3_SNuQrtd7BbaK9tKaz_2KGusRoPBXX2wKc4LC5R1wA7GLW0/s400/034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660164536744749890" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zIcdnvLSqV_QbIKkhvuLB8uIumWK94ZvfLXC8JsMd-U75zw8sisEqXekf8Cm42Bqgl3sWk3yGle0vyjhv4L8M5PPknj_lyveJzCrC10Y3WgIiHoFJwY2DtjhAkEV_k_TnIYVlHRHiRSc/s1600/032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zIcdnvLSqV_QbIKkhvuLB8uIumWK94ZvfLXC8JsMd-U75zw8sisEqXekf8Cm42Bqgl3sWk3yGle0vyjhv4L8M5PPknj_lyveJzCrC10Y3WgIiHoFJwY2DtjhAkEV_k_TnIYVlHRHiRSc/s400/032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660164534331148258" /></a><br /><br />Coming soon: haying, horseback riding, and Lake Placid.Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-90730360113226771172011-07-10T22:36:00.003-05:002011-07-10T23:05:26.878-05:00Madison Children's MuseumOne hot and humid afternoon while Lauren was here, we decided to go to the Children's Museum in Madison. Our family had not been since it was redone a year or so ago. We had a lot of fun checking out the new exhibits. My cousin, Karen and her family joined us. <br /><br />Walter loved the baby pit.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GhcEk9t8H-nbwNKEuRdBrfq7LCXRWGURdrxR9yIjs8xUkUe67mgcQgxE0rfQLJr4Gw5Va7ls8Pxm4A0IjVQRgCF-w5sE8cZSvypxM0c4mGMl-RO9lWyAOmuTZhWHEHEF26UX__-Bwpko/s1600/095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GhcEk9t8H-nbwNKEuRdBrfq7LCXRWGURdrxR9yIjs8xUkUe67mgcQgxE0rfQLJr4Gw5Va7ls8Pxm4A0IjVQRgCF-w5sE8cZSvypxM0c4mGMl-RO9lWyAOmuTZhWHEHEF26UX__-Bwpko/s400/095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627936438891327410" /></a><br />The big kids- right on up to Alexis who is 15- enjoyed the awesome play structure. Seriously, it was so cool.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYQubls0v60fkDrx57Ss6wrpLwwgZGEq_UCvFX7AzbzuzJRvs0JHpCsJM-9H74ziinWjRICEQSE9gIBG0l5m12e-dTfdTG-9lR52L4KWTJUHNpINKLfb7NuN5ozlGOkrywvlalQ7IDe67/s1600/043.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYQubls0v60fkDrx57Ss6wrpLwwgZGEq_UCvFX7AzbzuzJRvs0JHpCsJM-9H74ziinWjRICEQSE9gIBG0l5m12e-dTfdTG-9lR52L4KWTJUHNpINKLfb7NuN5ozlGOkrywvlalQ7IDe67/s400/043.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627936428362058258" /></a><br />Marley liked anything she could "drive".<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsxwFieOrXh4WCT4OoU59F06aUkXpdwj4oN-lwBd9pS1JRJkMR4k-Z3JFxczpA6Dlo2-Vi66A0BoESzZEfwYvCtRAGQShhnTBgnGII2KyofRa70vjEfN1LYSalqfWLzqZoNiugM7IuOTd/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsxwFieOrXh4WCT4OoU59F06aUkXpdwj4oN-lwBd9pS1JRJkMR4k-Z3JFxczpA6Dlo2-Vi66A0BoESzZEfwYvCtRAGQShhnTBgnGII2KyofRa70vjEfN1LYSalqfWLzqZoNiugM7IuOTd/s400/042.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627936419524385762" /></a><br />Lauren and her kiddos.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SO6QwkALW1HNM5qS5ZqGCBLVM3V9y3AkJWnO1L8VmOtPEAc1miI5KKRVj4_YVd84YkS9PPyHu4-92dydGx8Lt_axR0I7LAfO34gttThJkDaiv388KYzkNW9fUeq4mX_o-2w3dUtVTkBW/s1600/039.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SO6QwkALW1HNM5qS5ZqGCBLVM3V9y3AkJWnO1L8VmOtPEAc1miI5KKRVj4_YVd84YkS9PPyHu4-92dydGx8Lt_axR0I7LAfO34gttThJkDaiv388KYzkNW9fUeq4mX_o-2w3dUtVTkBW/s400/039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627936412794195106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSu4uAUg_s84Q7zHzP_LnCNUWPrLBzdVtd1zSL7OTo2to1cGUqB3S0nzHnja1uPnKlJdKSfr5WRXl8d1D1UiXsYhsLHLl3gNo4uh59juDEnxNg7ldfX9XT4pUYN36OcqT2-Pnpk4jSWVht/s1600/031.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSu4uAUg_s84Q7zHzP_LnCNUWPrLBzdVtd1zSL7OTo2to1cGUqB3S0nzHnja1uPnKlJdKSfr5WRXl8d1D1UiXsYhsLHLl3gNo4uh59juDEnxNg7ldfX9XT4pUYN36OcqT2-Pnpk4jSWVht/s400/031.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627936401635991090" /></a><br />Marley and her fan club.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nAISD-DuuyEeWLkoQUG02aw0OQ1hSLtJitwP7m-mj5rzpXlGje8CsZ0pn3sDcuyvQRxu8mqKayAZWs0ROlQky9BLSeJnPFC89E4TyWTZVZrFFR2mJG5hz2k5UcRR-VPqgeue1EhsNFu1/s1600/028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nAISD-DuuyEeWLkoQUG02aw0OQ1hSLtJitwP7m-mj5rzpXlGje8CsZ0pn3sDcuyvQRxu8mqKayAZWs0ROlQky9BLSeJnPFC89E4TyWTZVZrFFR2mJG5hz2k5UcRR-VPqgeue1EhsNFu1/s400/028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627935523303539954" /></a><br />Jesse sucked Orion into watching the electric train with him. Jesse could have watched that train for hours.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNpeDqBWS3ddbK9xH13GfqIhzTLq37snA9EKD999HjYem5oIs0o9byeDofkCfKsEWClEiQCokU7EXvZVVyO3JFHmtE5vSeNX4e7bEUh6lYu99cHSJTiY_H2X-k_SEHRd4WjMvETWq4Bsm/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNpeDqBWS3ddbK9xH13GfqIhzTLq37snA9EKD999HjYem5oIs0o9byeDofkCfKsEWClEiQCokU7EXvZVVyO3JFHmtE5vSeNX4e7bEUh6lYu99cHSJTiY_H2X-k_SEHRd4WjMvETWq4Bsm/s400/027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627935515718236658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAU0PaGiBa5pcIgpFSW2BWnOXUacuI3SqFMCw_RUgYZw0fJo_hmdsM_muCBSgN_B3R8lpAkL-M6RguA-CGEFZPyqwjgeDeSkagxTx2JKKCyDda-lZksRLdZJjODMRbXgXXcYsvec3Olb4/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAU0PaGiBa5pcIgpFSW2BWnOXUacuI3SqFMCw_RUgYZw0fJo_hmdsM_muCBSgN_B3R8lpAkL-M6RguA-CGEFZPyqwjgeDeSkagxTx2JKKCyDda-lZksRLdZJjODMRbXgXXcYsvec3Olb4/s400/025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627935502052335746" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzKhSTAqaHDw9Nu4n3vzO5W2_pE37eaQR0gKci_IjEMCa0dlkLSaGlxpCRWV-vAKs02olRBDcOR4ppp1qwxi26D_-r6_rPBnpYHaxZ_o6j76C3yktuS7b38b5ZIbcW5IB5hkTDmYXtVcZ/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzKhSTAqaHDw9Nu4n3vzO5W2_pE37eaQR0gKci_IjEMCa0dlkLSaGlxpCRWV-vAKs02olRBDcOR4ppp1qwxi26D_-r6_rPBnpYHaxZ_o6j76C3yktuS7b38b5ZIbcW5IB5hkTDmYXtVcZ/s400/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627935491901733282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PkzUlIs2ljRsvvrGtua2CPqj6rHM42FLeX7KPGDJMZhkuV2u26HVkasdXeDnHJnJTV8371gq7dSry1w3mcGzaSDJPUZwvOtP6DnEbSqzBYmLXY99TGzEm7i2mEzKD4NwP6qO0IfddpFW/s1600/018.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PkzUlIs2ljRsvvrGtua2CPqj6rHM42FLeX7KPGDJMZhkuV2u26HVkasdXeDnHJnJTV8371gq7dSry1w3mcGzaSDJPUZwvOtP6DnEbSqzBYmLXY99TGzEm7i2mEzKD4NwP6qO0IfddpFW/s400/018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627935483975359330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1gh9c14yS3zRbQw0LlyRhyphenhyphenJjEzV2cMS-p7qNK_ek5PG0hm1cRqhFtWOfqIGjtByYX3YvDRf3BIv7jmwcQkLl305k_N_EDs0fXEmJLCGxotkfZb9eJZ5U-rCng2nfuAulVGxW1abHjCwv/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1gh9c14yS3zRbQw0LlyRhyphenhyphenJjEzV2cMS-p7qNK_ek5PG0hm1cRqhFtWOfqIGjtByYX3YvDRf3BIv7jmwcQkLl305k_N_EDs0fXEmJLCGxotkfZb9eJZ5U-rCng2nfuAulVGxW1abHjCwv/s400/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627934579592490098" /></a><br />See? Cool, right?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwudB5MbzDZBmGygHSEBVEzFa7qZJaOo7wnkk5F9RXXVpjGYkD2UJebb5vOw2FUD1mvLpwnddW-5_TCEh2jfc3ByDyF1LDvnTEEOw4DajgZ2eO7nxAkFBOxqG0idcEVMM2CDgGX4GX239/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwudB5MbzDZBmGygHSEBVEzFa7qZJaOo7wnkk5F9RXXVpjGYkD2UJebb5vOw2FUD1mvLpwnddW-5_TCEh2jfc3ByDyF1LDvnTEEOw4DajgZ2eO7nxAkFBOxqG0idcEVMM2CDgGX4GX239/s400/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627934568872722306" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviXj_NlucSGQ3cOEsvFw2H2Q8OHGKcTxRWfxFIOX26Kxd0BNVESqjwEXG97lUM1k3vSrjygt6xq-I6EQVEr2zqho1Ya6aduyAbwiBClvi0rhaoeR4z1zOL6vuRvfPhHmD3iUSB7VxiuHd/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviXj_NlucSGQ3cOEsvFw2H2Q8OHGKcTxRWfxFIOX26Kxd0BNVESqjwEXG97lUM1k3vSrjygt6xq-I6EQVEr2zqho1Ya6aduyAbwiBClvi0rhaoeR4z1zOL6vuRvfPhHmD3iUSB7VxiuHd/s400/013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627934555947416994" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfJA3kiVQN7ULThYYqYu8xS7I8K7f7x13uoSBc9ncookz4niz0mlQejv0WkLtw7UVo3fVlSjJpkj5CmsDnE53vgciNUihrGO6qrWf3342MkFEXdbhfa9dPx05A4Jtt01INnPZlAkWwc_J/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfJA3kiVQN7ULThYYqYu8xS7I8K7f7x13uoSBc9ncookz4niz0mlQejv0WkLtw7UVo3fVlSjJpkj5CmsDnE53vgciNUihrGO6qrWf3342MkFEXdbhfa9dPx05A4Jtt01INnPZlAkWwc_J/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627934544091355458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54uluJkQJ-APrlhGDCUNf4sYJfo5mOfnxkwq4Y_Iq36sNG2YQQNPUIoDxYjSy_Gh2CUBbSUUnP5mO-5LzGVTUvc8KpTYylmTq14-7CPwZ7fc5HA223QTXX2gQMTrtQp4BiVXtQCYaSsRE/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54uluJkQJ-APrlhGDCUNf4sYJfo5mOfnxkwq4Y_Iq36sNG2YQQNPUIoDxYjSy_Gh2CUBbSUUnP5mO-5LzGVTUvc8KpTYylmTq14-7CPwZ7fc5HA223QTXX2gQMTrtQp4BiVXtQCYaSsRE/s400/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627934537635667906" /></a><br />Another fun outing. We managed to cram lots of fun stuff into the two weeks Lauren was here. More to come!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-31115690773290196702011-07-10T19:56:00.007-05:002011-07-10T22:15:34.484-05:00Governor Dodge State Park<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zWOunr9QzwaqdA8wLXMOKhvci30aj2zmhmzsi_Ut29C-fyBrkFrEmKs_-rKYK65nTwIoO202J6nL0qCiF31Ly7RoZ4zg1WlyksvpvPBTzcBSYRGMgBtR6Up0yLf7yGhfbYu9n3VKjTPR/s1600/027.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zWOunr9QzwaqdA8wLXMOKhvci30aj2zmhmzsi_Ut29C-fyBrkFrEmKs_-rKYK65nTwIoO202J6nL0qCiF31Ly7RoZ4zg1WlyksvpvPBTzcBSYRGMgBtR6Up0yLf7yGhfbYu9n3VKjTPR/s400/027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627926011991356562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv2_1IyXfEqckamrPrHbwv3pOGgN2jMUhIQe50tFJakZvnD36nLQlMuRrcktlwiEkyArIsH4u64FTZ3AO9BmeoX-AL_pLapjR4LUrwHceSGynyZjC5ZwzDs_bGwFngc5pViiWEzNafh2d/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv2_1IyXfEqckamrPrHbwv3pOGgN2jMUhIQe50tFJakZvnD36nLQlMuRrcktlwiEkyArIsH4u64FTZ3AO9BmeoX-AL_pLapjR4LUrwHceSGynyZjC5ZwzDs_bGwFngc5pViiWEzNafh2d/s400/040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627926005578534562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi812-1YDlrYtOMNK-E6JT7jOfAW8DLjhAd8X8TD7nvXtgM62OS1J_by248QjrMtbnuk9qRY0mpF5LZDD6d7Ag2qQqojr-0FYGVBxINDKgqw83PWPfkC0evrFeagC6ogjSHJo8Y_yh3j6J0/s1600/034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi812-1YDlrYtOMNK-E6JT7jOfAW8DLjhAd8X8TD7nvXtgM62OS1J_by248QjrMtbnuk9qRY0mpF5LZDD6d7Ag2qQqojr-0FYGVBxINDKgqw83PWPfkC0evrFeagC6ogjSHJo8Y_yh3j6J0/s400/034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925996644246434" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iDM-vYaGba6H0rG16eS-DopJTV4iWGn84z_iTai-kJVMRJPCMPr-iVXIasMrRzauaPU6xFhZrGlCK3zoVlJiRQOTFq8nsw_SBmHrNb5i-lGRR1i59y_2fxQao2PZT4v4cULnxMsrj1wf/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iDM-vYaGba6H0rG16eS-DopJTV4iWGn84z_iTai-kJVMRJPCMPr-iVXIasMrRzauaPU6xFhZrGlCK3zoVlJiRQOTFq8nsw_SBmHrNb5i-lGRR1i59y_2fxQao2PZT4v4cULnxMsrj1wf/s400/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925434108876226" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDhczaawF44xypePVZI7gY_s__9kUuyRbgnL_uVM2QLJ3_oklfOMzbZByvUH3ZSHzuuJLYvrE7wWFx8vxzIsJ-5yd1MlCneXI9Js5mVsKcRVk5KRk_OUovOxeuqy68sqUCI1f7OMjhnuR/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDhczaawF44xypePVZI7gY_s__9kUuyRbgnL_uVM2QLJ3_oklfOMzbZByvUH3ZSHzuuJLYvrE7wWFx8vxzIsJ-5yd1MlCneXI9Js5mVsKcRVk5KRk_OUovOxeuqy68sqUCI1f7OMjhnuR/s400/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627924219964991170" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoPurpo708qdx3OEy9SD3VHSPLixjxM2rljJc96sP4EszywE1-izoB_6HaZlqSPqztA9MGHxeSW9jxYhvA27_aqWMW01PwV0QnuoBaMD3fGXFlJe0npuAilGgZygreKE8_C4iFjt3t7sH/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoPurpo708qdx3OEy9SD3VHSPLixjxM2rljJc96sP4EszywE1-izoB_6HaZlqSPqztA9MGHxeSW9jxYhvA27_aqWMW01PwV0QnuoBaMD3fGXFlJe0npuAilGgZygreKE8_C4iFjt3t7sH/s400/011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627924209695831074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3c2dIjWu6ubjJWW3XN33QJGIQKC7GKteZ1i-nOVnNn6LzBh6pgxySYnRQhlYTcftIlYmeZf-a-vIIsEGmraYjJedC63UGMe0pIlJQ9MFMyQPagea1aRK1VJk3UsIJesxj9T6VDZIuFuq/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3c2dIjWu6ubjJWW3XN33QJGIQKC7GKteZ1i-nOVnNn6LzBh6pgxySYnRQhlYTcftIlYmeZf-a-vIIsEGmraYjJedC63UGMe0pIlJQ9MFMyQPagea1aRK1VJk3UsIJesxj9T6VDZIuFuq/s400/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627924206049637410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYoF9R2taOQxdsMKhj8aI4zpgUS3EMcFeAmp2h5iZOFNRtf7S8xlWn7hxo2OWOCfLu6k_v1iUzCPbQW7QyCYb43LeeJgLSGw7o0hfNa-tw9NpKJOYKmMyG3FYW3Me5PluinWHLNnAi2W2/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvYoF9R2taOQxdsMKhj8aI4zpgUS3EMcFeAmp2h5iZOFNRtf7S8xlWn7hxo2OWOCfLu6k_v1iUzCPbQW7QyCYb43LeeJgLSGw7o0hfNa-tw9NpKJOYKmMyG3FYW3Me5PluinWHLNnAi2W2/s400/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627924198879776370" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG38EafhDuwZuQDUcXpjFbguWpCbeVk6Lk23H7yv0RNFQtI_eKi3NqtZQDQlNG8_cGHjQgWotpSP7naHzwSvI2_1C7AGRhxLwQ3LG3TDzS3mcGZgitz3XtW685PqHuK-g9lVLKhSDFBHLI/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG38EafhDuwZuQDUcXpjFbguWpCbeVk6Lk23H7yv0RNFQtI_eKi3NqtZQDQlNG8_cGHjQgWotpSP7naHzwSvI2_1C7AGRhxLwQ3LG3TDzS3mcGZgitz3XtW685PqHuK-g9lVLKhSDFBHLI/s400/006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627924193932023042" /></a><br />One of our favorite things to do in the summer is to go to the state park and splash around in the lake. This year we have not been as often because the gnats are unbelievable this year! In the four years we have lived here I have hardly noticed a single gnat until this year- and now they are everywhere. I hate it. They are especially bad at the state park. Once you get down the hill and out of the grass into the sand, the gnats aren't as bad. Coming down the hill, though, you literally walk through clouds of them. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wuxS-VzgeoKvAEkQoriWMWns19RfnRS8N-X8XugVenc4-nE_ooJsRDxfwLT3ozCEzSqRxwchjV37CWtB7_Z3eqJqj6KZ1jAAy1dmJVThdS9TeUWeZgi4WYagX9r_M3wFfJomcKcivwYZ/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wuxS-VzgeoKvAEkQoriWMWns19RfnRS8N-X8XugVenc4-nE_ooJsRDxfwLT3ozCEzSqRxwchjV37CWtB7_Z3eqJqj6KZ1jAAy1dmJVThdS9TeUWeZgi4WYagX9r_M3wFfJomcKcivwYZ/s400/025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925459119747650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YfmvUfkEikERSnoiHBqmzctkhIBMfr5DroirD195BR53fEGY2HY51QEEqgFyTVr3lnHjquNT-f-_YAqN_jm1sisELxZkIpAk-bcxl3375wvSlIBrkdtfmjGAOxiY9urVH3qK7uID7eu_/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7YfmvUfkEikERSnoiHBqmzctkhIBMfr5DroirD195BR53fEGY2HY51QEEqgFyTVr3lnHjquNT-f-_YAqN_jm1sisELxZkIpAk-bcxl3375wvSlIBrkdtfmjGAOxiY9urVH3qK7uID7eu_/s400/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925451232733698" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqRhBJKaAmCm9hPudUlLUIwHEabUIRFNtn9E7cjZH2g_xk2oL7NaafTxV4E2gvqUx1z862oKx2jzXN91x7eFmK-HWuGGyTYSPe7QO8uclfNzXM2ojAVxA-u1lL6a5-fy-Pa_PXFFy1Joc/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidqRhBJKaAmCm9hPudUlLUIwHEabUIRFNtn9E7cjZH2g_xk2oL7NaafTxV4E2gvqUx1z862oKx2jzXN91x7eFmK-HWuGGyTYSPe7QO8uclfNzXM2ojAVxA-u1lL6a5-fy-Pa_PXFFy1Joc/s400/019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925444690009922" /></a><br /><br />The day we went with Lauren I was actually more concerned about a horse fly that kept buzzing around the baby. After his nap, though, he was able to join us at the lake and leave the horse fly behind.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2UjOjEHALJdyCy_VL_JFDmi0yX9McMl6kgORB-hgr_zBHH2tdN1VlOd6NFbHDyBFKOxSvoVdN75t9XZ4wB6xQmGxZ0DQQUmBjAHkT8tMgNXKexoM34ng4gHm7OB8HJ2W06dBLrp_Kcf8/s1600/033.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2UjOjEHALJdyCy_VL_JFDmi0yX9McMl6kgORB-hgr_zBHH2tdN1VlOd6NFbHDyBFKOxSvoVdN75t9XZ4wB6xQmGxZ0DQQUmBjAHkT8tMgNXKexoM34ng4gHm7OB8HJ2W06dBLrp_Kcf8/s400/033.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627925465506439858" /></a><br />I love the rolls! It's the Michelin Tire Man!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-49344892014408913592011-07-10T19:48:00.002-05:002011-07-10T19:55:59.839-05:00A Sad Sad DayOn day one of Marley's visit here, she got dropped face first in my driveway. If these pictures don't break your heart you are dead inside.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_X17ZqkTJooiw3SOcVDZQTJF9hJAU8mBYdAgmQkp8hVjwzhe84zIWyD2-JsXvCBXlAuI_dKlEO0hvPS6IjD_w4io9HtiboLpkttD-HmxRGcZXWs3hd6KX5LWy3kzf0qhTL6IDN999gZ2/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_X17ZqkTJooiw3SOcVDZQTJF9hJAU8mBYdAgmQkp8hVjwzhe84zIWyD2-JsXvCBXlAuI_dKlEO0hvPS6IjD_w4io9HtiboLpkttD-HmxRGcZXWs3hd6KX5LWy3kzf0qhTL6IDN999gZ2/s400/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627891478745776018" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72GVOjrXfE0iqKiXjGfztC8bNakxlwQBVVGS-moZje012and5mQyErJh3d96_JnRo88Zf8qWlus4mKz5iDJRXcgruPLBgHQ9gkgZMxmZPthoDgDaAQg_U-jM5AzhRyR1kSpVtd95-XUTO/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72GVOjrXfE0iqKiXjGfztC8bNakxlwQBVVGS-moZje012and5mQyErJh3d96_JnRo88Zf8qWlus4mKz5iDJRXcgruPLBgHQ9gkgZMxmZPthoDgDaAQg_U-jM5AzhRyR1kSpVtd95-XUTO/s400/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627891476848537282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11SvniDzTVJzM3ZirCOJ2_qXOxSPcAyh0UHtIOsWX9G5tv-UGs5CP5TP0Bb5tueFv2qLP47iqI11mSgsJsyFmdLEtTnbRSZ2VQrfbpdqQqQdwNj1ZtGAU2tcY63vPVzMXTxnuQi2xjf1g/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11SvniDzTVJzM3ZirCOJ2_qXOxSPcAyh0UHtIOsWX9G5tv-UGs5CP5TP0Bb5tueFv2qLP47iqI11mSgsJsyFmdLEtTnbRSZ2VQrfbpdqQqQdwNj1ZtGAU2tcY63vPVzMXTxnuQi2xjf1g/s400/006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627891465954231314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8822BvJMfFEGGMbso1belnp3mYmH86kBIgvFjadH61M_STuzipaayc4TzGX-f9UAPUfof2rBgGzg1JBnIweZt9Alj4slEMu19iO5JFT9o_lEe1kxU5ehJRdazFjyMO_yye5LzhblqR56/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8822BvJMfFEGGMbso1belnp3mYmH86kBIgvFjadH61M_STuzipaayc4TzGX-f9UAPUfof2rBgGzg1JBnIweZt9Alj4slEMu19iO5JFT9o_lEe1kxU5ehJRdazFjyMO_yye5LzhblqR56/s400/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627891460093564082" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7sFNRv5368lBFjJALDX900v8Zw-01sAZvl6eKximMAP7kDsLc-nEKLr31QeksmiuJdtzKDnFyGVVPz4Noev1C6YriR5oDnIDLGDCk8cfpvbb_LrLM8HzPGQkppxVY8pDiitYv6tW-JPA/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7sFNRv5368lBFjJALDX900v8Zw-01sAZvl6eKximMAP7kDsLc-nEKLr31QeksmiuJdtzKDnFyGVVPz4Noev1C6YriR5oDnIDLGDCk8cfpvbb_LrLM8HzPGQkppxVY8pDiitYv6tW-JPA/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627891458645917858" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7014709680497549185.post-45349287713180212122011-07-10T19:24:00.007-05:002011-07-10T19:47:29.550-05:00Strawberry Picking 2011, With Lauren!In June, my niece, Lauren, and her two beautiful babies came to visit. It was so great to get to spend two whole weeks with them. I got to cuddle and kiss babies and reconnect with Lauren. Her visit coincided with strawberry season, so one morning we packed up the crew and went strawberry picking. I always look forward to this, but this year I was a bit disappointed. The strawberries weren't that great. I could have gotten better ones at Costco for less money--without being out in the hot field. But then we wouldn't have these great memories. Plus I like to support the local farmer. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjoR17ENqmqYAZDDqfM6uPuJ5taud-FOrtX-P4C9EU4EyZeY1cGYIybF94GadML0FwqKrDVyIdqz2SvQ97qRhNhmNLB61Kpnnm8zRRohoOGIuYXF2j5g_ITN7I1ULqRoc6NTsvqikscmR/s1600/075.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnjoR17ENqmqYAZDDqfM6uPuJ5taud-FOrtX-P4C9EU4EyZeY1cGYIybF94GadML0FwqKrDVyIdqz2SvQ97qRhNhmNLB61Kpnnm8zRRohoOGIuYXF2j5g_ITN7I1ULqRoc6NTsvqikscmR/s400/075.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627885529547407858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuXT21VHR-UJPSWN_wB-MxPTlSDlTvjdDWGLr7icoyL0eQug08iZeuICTpXg47ZKRwfXvQHry2bDDc55qzyxlDXspxgYmAtC6QVSxeYRNgYVFh2Cdi9un9xjcZrFay0rXeIQrECNY1hQnE/s1600/065.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuXT21VHR-UJPSWN_wB-MxPTlSDlTvjdDWGLr7icoyL0eQug08iZeuICTpXg47ZKRwfXvQHry2bDDc55qzyxlDXspxgYmAtC6QVSxeYRNgYVFh2Cdi9un9xjcZrFay0rXeIQrECNY1hQnE/s400/065.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627885521696403362" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju97iFevl_tt1Xf0itcNBqLNuxMsvW7YL4FBv2Ukpzoo329LyQCD8GomQeqoxnQib1PXGpyCrjVdssoE4lNoucekQg7RolUthQFB7A9rEhztBqUXp2gbHZlPHnte5GH06B1ZDhs2qvUxql/s1600/056.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju97iFevl_tt1Xf0itcNBqLNuxMsvW7YL4FBv2Ukpzoo329LyQCD8GomQeqoxnQib1PXGpyCrjVdssoE4lNoucekQg7RolUthQFB7A9rEhztBqUXp2gbHZlPHnte5GH06B1ZDhs2qvUxql/s400/056.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627885512788697010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGo0B-FuPoAilD_wiA5Fm-gyEp78DTCs6MVpcBBanqC1z0vK-r7RbsZomLCYi-y7jWjQ9bvezCZGgtpku_UzrIzUPiIxMkrtsXvjpJ9fvrovMxwpYiKSYoATECm8YBl0OHjVAHGb0MvRP/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGo0B-FuPoAilD_wiA5Fm-gyEp78DTCs6MVpcBBanqC1z0vK-r7RbsZomLCYi-y7jWjQ9bvezCZGgtpku_UzrIzUPiIxMkrtsXvjpJ9fvrovMxwpYiKSYoATECm8YBl0OHjVAHGb0MvRP/s400/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627885509536270018" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbYGjPYxV9MNqMjOFZaLG138AJZuB96HCkZjmDnUgizciKHtm6qM1gb5QQPtGH3ZDcMBQ-ZLghQ7q6c-ilDidvjAhLPFOOR-9opPUjlEiv1KXZp2Wm4rctPyDvfbGjmSrncS-pe_SEC_V/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbYGjPYxV9MNqMjOFZaLG138AJZuB96HCkZjmDnUgizciKHtm6qM1gb5QQPtGH3ZDcMBQ-ZLghQ7q6c-ilDidvjAhLPFOOR-9opPUjlEiv1KXZp2Wm4rctPyDvfbGjmSrncS-pe_SEC_V/s400/016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627885506437491586" /></a><br />This year I only made freezer jam. My family prefers it over the canned- at least with strawberry. <br /><br />I had a helper this year. He came to the show a bit late, but he helped me fill jars. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMpy__IZU3-Thj4plgdITk_uKrJ_vKNbqMjaezP4nu15cAAlebajeYLQ8Ocn5M9Ida56HowWriT8LmRjSpBzox8lEnl8q0sUCXqHyWw3Rr_Ql_Njj3xSuXaAuTF1Kfh4MyIPtRSMNGWZD/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMpy__IZU3-Thj4plgdITk_uKrJ_vKNbqMjaezP4nu15cAAlebajeYLQ8Ocn5M9Ida56HowWriT8LmRjSpBzox8lEnl8q0sUCXqHyWw3Rr_Ql_Njj3xSuXaAuTF1Kfh4MyIPtRSMNGWZD/s400/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627888675544646482" /></a><br /><br />Our freezer is now stocked with strawberry jam. Next up- Raspberry!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO5Kk8adyuT8NCaLtwhsg_OgcyHDcJzUhADVyXWIYlnZjR6q-TUmSI0r2N4pGsbMJvuJvfPrxD6Mubpl4YFf1GIQdObbIE6nBfu1O1Scxk2AlQy5RXnERXfRSsP8WTEnmJgR1fYeGqSr9/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO5Kk8adyuT8NCaLtwhsg_OgcyHDcJzUhADVyXWIYlnZjR6q-TUmSI0r2N4pGsbMJvuJvfPrxD6Mubpl4YFf1GIQdObbIE6nBfu1O1Scxk2AlQy5RXnERXfRSsP8WTEnmJgR1fYeGqSr9/s400/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627888677453434914" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15735937453303047247noreply@blogger.com1