We had our last weekend away of the summer this past weekend and we went to the Hartzler Hog Roast. The family who hosted the event are relatives of my husband and they had 150 or so people attend the event. We were really looking forward to it since we had so much fun the last time they had one in '08.
Since Rob works late, we did not leave until Saturday. And I didn't even let him sleep in much because I spotted a mouse in my study! He caught it and no more have been spotted, but I was not about to let a mouse freely roam my house while we were gone.
We arrived around 1pm and had a few moments to see all the fun stuff awaiting us before the delicious potluck lunch. Since we came from a distance, we brought chips and Wildtree Garlic Galore dip and some bakery cookies. I think I'll try to bring a hot dish next time in spite of the distance since there seemed to be a lack of those. But it was a delicious meal and everyone (except Anna) ate their fill. It was rather hot that day, so I wasn't too surprised at her lack of appetite.
The kids had loads of things to keep them busy. As I said a few times, a child would had to work hard to be bored there! Here are the fun things that our children did: Played on a swingset, played in a child-sized play house complete with kitchen set, the zip line, face painting, bubble blowing, holding a kitten and bunnies, pony rides, finding money in a haystack, riding bikes in a barn, barrel rides, and looking at a barn full of animals. I think the only things they didn't do were the hay maze and coloring. Anna enjoyed the pink port-a-potty which even smelled nice. Ben informed me that he used it to b/c it smelled WAY better than the blue one :)
In the evening there was square dancing and Anna liked seeing the pretty dresses. Unfortunately, she WANTED one of them and proceeded to pitch a huge fit about it. She was pretty tired by that point. We headed out around 8pm to get the kids bathed and into bed. They had no trouble falling to sleep that night!
We enjoyed our Sunday visiting with relatives and Anna, my mother-in-law, and I went to look for some dress material. My MIL is going to make Anna a few jumpers and a skirt and we wanted Anna to pick out the material. She did find some she liked, but she also found sheer material with sparklies and all kind of other impractical things. Every time she found one she liked, she said, "Ooo-la-la!" She did pretty good waiting for the "boring" adults to finish :)
We came back on Monday and jumped into a whirlwind, as I had a stamp event Tuesday night. But now we're enjoying a leisurely end to the week before we start school on Monday.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Anniversary Get-Away
Last weekend, Rob and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. We had kicked around the idea of going away overnight and figured out a great way to do it. Last Saturday was our nephew Ezra's third birthday party and since we had never made it to the first two, we decided to go. Then we got the brilliant idea that if my parents were willing, the kids could go home with them and Rob and I could go somewhere overnight, preferably Sybaris. Mom and Dad agreed to take the kids and then Rob and I got to thinking....Why spend a huge amount of money for a hotel when we would have an empty house? We decided to save that money instead and stay home to enjoy the peace and quiet. It was the perfect decision. We could cook in our own kitchen (not that we did much of that), sleep in our own bed, and have the run of a quiet house. We went out to eat two times, once at Perkins and one at El Mariachi, a Mexican place that came highly recommended. It was excellent and the portions were so large that we got two meals out of one. It was also a good tester for us to find foods that fit with the way we want to eat. We went for a walk together, stamped, took several naps, watched a movie and in general just enjoyed being together. It was also nice not to get little people ready for church Sunday morning, but we were almost late ourselves because our "alarm clocks" were at Grandma's!
The kids had a great time with their grandparents and we picked them up Monday at lunch by meeting Mom halfway there. It was nice to hear the chattering again but so wonderful to have two days "off."
The kids had a great time with their grandparents and we picked them up Monday at lunch by meeting Mom halfway there. It was nice to hear the chattering again but so wonderful to have two days "off."
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Lazy Summer Days
I just realized that I haven't posted anything since Matthew's birthday and I need to remedy that before my dad visits me again to see what's going on. We have been enjoying our summer off and I think since we've been lazier I'll make this post a little lazier and ramble on and on and on....
The Pool: We have been loving our pool passes!! One of the best investments we have made was buying a family pass when they went half price. It's either been too hot or too humid (or both) for the kids to play outside so the pool has been the perfect alternative. And with all three kids out of diapers and two confident swimmers, it's been pretty easy to take them. The boys know their limitations so I never have to worry about them doing something dangerous. Some days they spend most of their time going down the big slide, other days they play around and practice their swimming skills. I've been so impressed with how much they are doing on their own. They can now do everything that they couldn't do in lessons (and their teacher, who is a guard, even noticed that!). Anna also knows how far she can go in the pool and does a great job of staying in her boundaries. There were a few times I took them but did not get in with them and Anna did just fine. Well, other than getting into a spat with two kids, but that was in the shallow end and I was able to wade in and deal with it. Sometimes Rob comes with us during the day, but most of the time I take the kids in the evening. There are far less people so the kids can really enjoy the pool.
The New Business: Sometimes I wonder about myself. I think I get a little too bored in the summer or something, because we have signed up to be Wildtree reps and this is the third at-home business I have done, all signed up for in the summer. But this one is a bit different from Tupperware (patooey!) and Stampin' Up! (my first love in direct sales). We signed up to be Wildtree reps for our family. (If you are not familiar with Wildtree, go to www.wildtree.com to see the product line. GREAT stuff!!) We have felt that it is time for a change in our eating habits and when the starter kit was half off last month, we thought we'd go for it. At first we were only going to buy the kit and use the discount, but now we're going to make a small effort to sell. My SU business comes first, so I will only do tastings (name for a Wildtree party) when Rob is home to watch the kids, unless it gets so wildly successful that I can spring for a sitter like I do for SU workshops. We have quite a few people coming to our open house on Thursday and several more who want to be on our mailing list. We're hoping that the sales pay for our own groceries and help us on our new eating quest. We're even doing a vendor fair next month. We love the product (especially the whole wheat pizza dough!)
Our New Eating Venture: Ever since I was pregnant with Matthew, I've paid more attention to what we eat. I haven't always been real good about doing something about it, but I've been more aware of what goes into the kids' mouths. And last month, we finally decided to act. To the best of our abilities, we are going to cut out foods with preservatives and processed junk. We have informed the kids that all snacks will be fruits, veggies, cheese, and homemade. We've been having fun revamping favorite recipes and finding new ones. So far, we haven't met any resistance, even when we threw away the kool-aid and leftover parade candy. Meals have been more tasty and filling as well. We are so blessed to have kids that have gone along with us and embraced this new eating plan wholeheartedly. We explained what all that junk does to our bodies and they were shocked! And I think it helps that 1) Rob is a fabulous cook and 2) we haven't fed them a steady diet of traditional kid fare. They are used to eating crazy things with us and none of them are so picky that they turn up their noses at new foods. Grandparents: Don't worry...we don't mind if they eat candy and such at your homes. Our rules are for our house only. And it will be even more of a treat to have those things at your house!
Sickness: I went through a week of some crazy sickness last month. I had four days of exhaustion and since that happens fairly regularly, I'm going to see my doctor this week. My mother has both fibromyalgia and thyriod problems and she said my symptoms sound like what she deals with. So we'll see what the doc says. My chiropractor recommended Vitamin D and CoQ10, so I have started on those supplements. And just when I got over THAT, I caught a head cold/virus thing that lasted 8 days, causing me to miss our annual Fulkerson family picnic. I would say that I was really disappointed, but I was so tired that day that it was a relief not to have to leave the couch! I feel sorrier now that I'm healthy again :)
The Library: The kids all finished the reading program and Rob and I did some as well. The kids got loads of free stuff again, but the big winner was Rob! He won a Nook! We've been having a fun time reading books on it and it's not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be.
I think that's all for now :)
The Pool: We have been loving our pool passes!! One of the best investments we have made was buying a family pass when they went half price. It's either been too hot or too humid (or both) for the kids to play outside so the pool has been the perfect alternative. And with all three kids out of diapers and two confident swimmers, it's been pretty easy to take them. The boys know their limitations so I never have to worry about them doing something dangerous. Some days they spend most of their time going down the big slide, other days they play around and practice their swimming skills. I've been so impressed with how much they are doing on their own. They can now do everything that they couldn't do in lessons (and their teacher, who is a guard, even noticed that!). Anna also knows how far she can go in the pool and does a great job of staying in her boundaries. There were a few times I took them but did not get in with them and Anna did just fine. Well, other than getting into a spat with two kids, but that was in the shallow end and I was able to wade in and deal with it. Sometimes Rob comes with us during the day, but most of the time I take the kids in the evening. There are far less people so the kids can really enjoy the pool.
The New Business: Sometimes I wonder about myself. I think I get a little too bored in the summer or something, because we have signed up to be Wildtree reps and this is the third at-home business I have done, all signed up for in the summer. But this one is a bit different from Tupperware (patooey!) and Stampin' Up! (my first love in direct sales). We signed up to be Wildtree reps for our family. (If you are not familiar with Wildtree, go to www.wildtree.com to see the product line. GREAT stuff!!) We have felt that it is time for a change in our eating habits and when the starter kit was half off last month, we thought we'd go for it. At first we were only going to buy the kit and use the discount, but now we're going to make a small effort to sell. My SU business comes first, so I will only do tastings (name for a Wildtree party) when Rob is home to watch the kids, unless it gets so wildly successful that I can spring for a sitter like I do for SU workshops. We have quite a few people coming to our open house on Thursday and several more who want to be on our mailing list. We're hoping that the sales pay for our own groceries and help us on our new eating quest. We're even doing a vendor fair next month. We love the product (especially the whole wheat pizza dough!)
Our New Eating Venture: Ever since I was pregnant with Matthew, I've paid more attention to what we eat. I haven't always been real good about doing something about it, but I've been more aware of what goes into the kids' mouths. And last month, we finally decided to act. To the best of our abilities, we are going to cut out foods with preservatives and processed junk. We have informed the kids that all snacks will be fruits, veggies, cheese, and homemade. We've been having fun revamping favorite recipes and finding new ones. So far, we haven't met any resistance, even when we threw away the kool-aid and leftover parade candy. Meals have been more tasty and filling as well. We are so blessed to have kids that have gone along with us and embraced this new eating plan wholeheartedly. We explained what all that junk does to our bodies and they were shocked! And I think it helps that 1) Rob is a fabulous cook and 2) we haven't fed them a steady diet of traditional kid fare. They are used to eating crazy things with us and none of them are so picky that they turn up their noses at new foods. Grandparents: Don't worry...we don't mind if they eat candy and such at your homes. Our rules are for our house only. And it will be even more of a treat to have those things at your house!
Sickness: I went through a week of some crazy sickness last month. I had four days of exhaustion and since that happens fairly regularly, I'm going to see my doctor this week. My mother has both fibromyalgia and thyriod problems and she said my symptoms sound like what she deals with. So we'll see what the doc says. My chiropractor recommended Vitamin D and CoQ10, so I have started on those supplements. And just when I got over THAT, I caught a head cold/virus thing that lasted 8 days, causing me to miss our annual Fulkerson family picnic. I would say that I was really disappointed, but I was so tired that day that it was a relief not to have to leave the couch! I feel sorrier now that I'm healthy again :)
The Library: The kids all finished the reading program and Rob and I did some as well. The kids got loads of free stuff again, but the big winner was Rob! He won a Nook! We've been having a fun time reading books on it and it's not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be.
I think that's all for now :)
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