New 'do

Did I mention I cut my hair?

Mike insisted on documenting the new look!

I'm putting it on the blog just for fun!

Happy Visit

Just before Easter, I got a call from my long-time best friend, Jenny. She said they'd be coming to visit. I quickly tried to persuade her to stay with us. We were so lucky--we got to visit with them for about a week, and it was great fun! The kids got along wonderfully well, and Jenny and I got "caught up" at long last!

Here's a pic from the traditional Brick Oven stop. We had dinner with our family, the Hamiltons, and Jenny's dad. The kids each got a creation from the most wonderful balloon artist we've ever met, too. If anyone wants to see his stuff, here's the website: http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/. Look at his "featured images" slideshow, and you'll get an idea of what he does. It was so cool!

Our Latest Adventures

Yikes! It's been way too long since I've blogged, so I thought I'd do a little catching up! We've had a full and very fun spring. After our holiday season (which was filled with LOTS of fun visitors and partying), we decided to focus inward and do a little home improvement. We started by painting and decorating the kids' rooms. We moved on to the hallways, and next will come the living room and kitchen. It's been a process. We've taken a section at a time, so we're not quite done, but it looks great! All the wear and tear on the walls is getting repaired (it's amazing how much there is after just a few years!), and the color is warmer...we love it!

'Twas Halloween!

We had a wonderful time on Halloween. It was nonstop fun, with parties and parades at school, a visit to Gram's, Trunk-or-Treat at the church, trick-or-treating at the neighbors' and our friends' homes, visiting our cousins', and chili and a healthy dose of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (our traditional Halloween movie) at home.

Jessie was a pirate princess:

Jer was a ninja:

Jennifer was a witch:

Jonathan was a "nerdy" mad scientist:

Jeremy finished up the holiday with a final decoration (on my office door):

Well, that's our report. Hope everyone else had a fun day, too!

Notes...

I got home from a cub scout field trip tonight, and I was greeted at the door by a very satisfied Jeremy. He had created this fully-functioning well, and he was glad to demonstrate it (if only a little timid about talking on camera...) Here is his materials list: "4 tape, 2 papr klip, 1 bent papr klip, pensl, 1 cup, 1 box". (Of course, his materials "list" was actually printed in a book he made and illustrated with the various parts!) We love our little engineer!

Jer's at it again...

Celebration!

Today, somehow, I managed to change a flat tire by myself...and I made two loaves of wheat bread from scratch!!

Now, as a disclaimer, I have to say that 1)Mike had to help me get the hubcap off the tire and 2)the wheat bread is only because I'm totally out of groceries and 3)my house is a complete disaster because I haven't taken the time to clean or even straighten it, but hey--why not celebrate this very, very, very, VERY rare event!?!