Just a minute of my time...

Compromise

...that's what this weekend was about.  Joel wants to go camping July 4th weekend and I said we need the long weekend home to work in our yard.  Do I need to remind him we are having a graduation party in a few weeks?

So my compromise was to go camping this weekend in exchange for having the 4th home to work on whatever it is we need to finish.  Like the turn around which we have been talking about adding for years, and more mulching and just whatever else may need to get finished up around here... we need that time to do it.

So back to my camping weekend we went away this weekend to Mohican Wilderness.  This was our 2nd time at this site and it was one of our favorites.  Lots of area for us all to ride bikes, right by the river so we can tube, canoe or kayak or other water sports and right up the road from horse back riding, mini golf and go-cart racing.

We opted for the mini golf...

Then today we arrived back home to this?

Which started with just rain - and ended with nickel sized hail!

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day

sacrilegious   \sak-ruh-LIJ-us\ 

adjective

Meaning

     1 : committing or characterized by a technical and not necessarily intrinsically outrageous violation (as improper reception of a sacrament) of what is sacred because consecrated to God
    *2 : grossly irreverent toward a hallowed person, place, or thing

Example Sentence

     My great-grandfather was a die-hard New Dealer who considered any criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt to be sacrilegious.

Poison Ivy

That's what both Zach and I got from working in the yard last weekend.  I don't know how only he and I got it and not Joel, but needless to say we itch!  Zach unfortunately has it even worse than me.  We have been using the Benadryl Gel and while it helps, if anyone has any tried and true remedies I would love to hear more about them?

Some fun news?  I got my cabinet home today and Chelsea helped me get it into the house, and I love it even more.  It matches perfectly with my other pieces.  I also picked up some cool looking flowers and a stitched picture that's just too dang cute!

And to add to my library of books I picked up a couple things from Target today.  One being my reading material for our camping trip

Michigan

we spent the day out in Michigan again.  Heading out at 7am and returning home at midnight.  And what a fun day it was.

There were six of us from Ohio and we met up with Debbie and Brenda in Michigan.  We spent the day at Debbie's store and a bunch of other stores throughout Brighton.  Going to lunch and picking up bread at the Great Harvest Bread store on Main Street... yum!

I picked up some greens a picture and MY CABINET!  Though I don't have it home yet since it was too big to fit in my car and still be able to get two of the people back to Medina my friend Stacey took it in her car and was dropping it at my mom's for me to pick up this week.  Hopefully today.

I would have taken pictures, but after the 2nd picture my camera died... and I'm the only one that brought one...

After our day of shopping we went back to Brenda's house for dinner and met up with another friend Linda.  The 9 of us talked and laughed until we realized we still had a 3+ hour ride home.

But spending the day away leaves your house a wreck and work with lots catch up on, so that is what will fill my day today.

Work in Progress

Be sure to check out the new Group we started on flickr for Work in Progress kits.  Also there is a flickr site just for view of all the kits, new and old here. I have learned a lot about flickr, like making sets and collections but I wish there was a way to merge them together and if someone knows of a way, please let me know...

The kits this month are just awesome!  However the project kit and add on have already sold out, but there is still some of the main kit available if your looking for the following:

Contents of this kit include: 18 sheets of patterned paper (6 Making Memory Passport papers, 3 Cosmo Cricket papers, 2 Pink Paislee Papers, one Jenni Bowlin papers, 2 7Gyspies papers, and 4 Teresa Collins Travelogue papers), 1 Making Memories Passport cardstock sticker sheets, 6 Noteworthy brads, 4 Scenic Route chipboard butterflies, Scenic Route label stickers, Cosmo Cricket Summertime Rub ons, Cosmo Cricket chipboard alphas, and American Crafts chocolate daiquiri alphas. Subscription price--6 months $30, 3 months-- $32, and one month option $34.

These papers are amazing and I'm a HUGE thicker fan. and these vinyl ones are the coolest!

I have so many ideas with all these kits and have already put together a couple layouts for Chelsea's album I want to display during her graduation party.

I also recently did a bunch of journaling about 911.  They were things that emotionally really hit me after recently watching a program on National Geographic about the events of that day.  I'm planning on a layout with this journaling and pictures of the kids at that time.  To show how old they were when all this happened, and how I felt about it.

Another mini book

From my Button Farm kit.  It was so fun and so easy to put together and I can't wait to make another!  Covering the Maya Road box using making memories papers and flower embellishments.

Each tag is about 3 X 7 and they fit into the box when done.  I'm thinking of adding some of Chelsea's graduation pictures to each tag.

We had a fun day together celebrating Zach's birthday and ended with dinner at Ruby Tuesday's...

Did you know

If you Google the word elgoog which is google backwards - then all your searches will come back backwards.  Kind of funny!  And who would guess I learned that from my kid? 

Happy Birthday to Zach who is 14 today!

Today, June 17th is Zach's birthday!  After bowling and some birthday shopping he will pick the restaurant of his choice that we will enjoy for dinner...

1. Yes, Zach the kid I had during the OJ Simpson low speed chase
2. Who told me when UPS arrived to make a delivery that the FBI was here
3. Who didn't learn to talk until he was over 3 yrs old
4. Who LOVED Abraham Lincoln and dressed up like him at Halloween 
5. The one the pre school teacher forgot outside (twice)
6. Always a quiet, shy and easy going
7. No matter how frustrated he gets, you can always make him laugh! 
8. The child whom I wanted prior to turning 30, that arrived 9 days before
9. The killer of all creepy insects when dad's not home
10. A huge fan of Frankenstein as a kid - another Halloween costume
11. The kid who would wear pj's every day of the week if he could
12. Always a great artist
13. loves playing  Xbox 360
14. Has the most wonderful contagious laugh - you hear him and you'll be laughing too!

The blurb arrived

And I couldn't be happier! 

I was worried when I was putting the book together about the amount of pages I was trying to include, but I have to say its perfect!  The 7 X 7 size adds more to its appeal and I'd take more pictures of it, but I can't seem to get it from my hubby as he keeps reading it!  Very cool and I will so do it again!

Tomorrow is Zach's birthday and although tonight he's staying over a friends house, tomorrow is bowling and out to dinner with the family and probably a little more shopping as Zach picks out his gifts.

Father's Day = yard work???

We spent Father's Day the only way Joel would have it... getting something done.  And since before we left Saturday for the wedding he told me to call and order more mulch... I did just that, ordered another 8 yards.  That makes 14 yards for those keeping track... and were still not done!  Probably another 6-8 will do it... I hope???

But it was another good day with getting lots done, cooking steaks out on the grill and spending some family time together.

After we finally dragged Joel in the house and all the outdoor chores were done he opened his gifts from the kids.

 

For one of his gifts we picked him up the movie "the bucket list"  the kids both already saw it and loved it - now we just need a night to watch it.

I finished the cutest project which I got from The button farm over the weekend, I'll be sure to post some more pictures of it this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also was playing with my extension tubes taking macro pictures.  Got some cool effects with them.  This is one of the flowers shown in the wheelbarrow in the blog banner.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day on this beautiful day! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Joel through the years, always a great example of what a father should be with the kids.

I lost my father in 1998 and Joel lost his father in 1999, so unexpectedly for both of us.  So quickly you life changes and there's nothing you can do about it.

What happened to Tim Russert is similar to the loss of my father. 

And who who think of this four generation picture of Joel and his father, grandfather and son, that Joel would be the only one here today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I miss my dad every day... never could have imagined surviving 10 years without him.   I try to live my life the way I know he would want us to and teach the lessons he taught us to my own kids.