Life In Bedlam

Minnesota Road Trip

2009-06-27T12:06:00.005-04:00

The boys and I drove nearly 20 hours (over three days) to visit my family in Minnesota. On the way, we stopped at Reptiland in Allenwood, PA. The boys LOVE Reptiland! So many interesting creatures to see! I know photos can be great, but I also hate to inundate people with them, so if you want to see more photos from Reptiland, just click on the picture of the turtles, above, and it will take you to my Reptiland photo page.

One tired, worn-out boy, snuggling with his new "friend" from Reptiland.

We arrived safely in Minnesota and spent the first couple of days at Grandma's house. We crammed a lot of fun into just a couple of short days!

I was glad we brought the boys' scooters along with us. It gave them a way to burn off energy right in Grandma's driveway. And anyone who knows my boys knows they have energy to burn!

We celebrated MY Grandma's 85th birthday. Colin was quite upset that I didn't get a pinata for my Grandma's birthday party, because, doesn't EVERYONE love a pinata? (Sigh. Maybe I should have gone ahead and got one.)

Grandma picked up a Slip-N-Slide for another energy-burning activity on the hot, hot days. It was a GIANT hit!

We visited the Mall of America...including Legoland. Colin thought the life-sized Boba Fett made of Legos was VERY cool!

We also visited the "Underwater Adventure" at the Mall of America. It's one of the world's largest underground aquariums. I thought this shark photo made me look like I must be one heck of an adventure photographer, diving with the sharks! Hee hee! It was all from behind glass!

Now Fred has finally arrived for a few short days, and we are at my Dad's house at the lake. I'm sure there will be MANY pictures to follow, but here is a fun one to share. If you click on it, it will take you to the other photos from our visit to Grandpa's house. Enjoy!

Bedlam!...(But mostly the good kind!)

2009-06-11T12:09:00.008-04:00

We've had two busy, busy months. We've been renovating our kitchen and our powder room, a project which is still not complete. We've been submerged in baseball and T-ball season, which has taken up about 6 days per week of our life. The boys have also joined Cub Scouts, which is going to add another dimension to the chaos (again, the good kind).

In the midst of all of this, we took a family trip to Chicago. Fred had to go there for his company's annual National Sales Meeting, and I decided it would be a great opportunity for me to take the boys to Chicago to see some of the fabulous cultural attractions there. Since school was still in session for everyone else, the crowds were thin. If you'd like to see the photos from our trip, click on the photo below, and it will take you to my photo gallery from the trip:

On previous trips to Chicago, we have stayed with good friends and family members who were kind enough to open their homes to us. We opted for a hotel this time, first because we didn't want to inconvenience our friends, but also so that the kids would feel more "settled." I realized after our last visit that it was just too difficult for the boys to settle down in a different house every night.

I also resigned myself to the fact that it would be impossible to see everyone we WANTED to see, given that we only had a week and REALLY wanted the boys to experience Chicago's offerings, such as the Adler Planetarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. (And we had Fred's meeting which we had to work around, as well.) People who live in or around a big city might have trouble understanding it, but after living in rural Pennsylvania for four years and not having access to these things (especially when you're homeschooling), I wanted the kids to have those experiences while we were there and had the opportunity.

So, I opted to simply leave posts on Facebook, letting people know where we were going to be on any given day, and leaving it open for anyone who wished to join us to do so. I'm feel really bad because I think a couple of people were really offended by this; but after driving 13 hours just to get to Chicago, I honestly couldn't see making the boys spend an extra 2-3 hours a day in the car to "make the rounds" to everyone's houses. That kind of frantic pace, along with that amount of time in the car, makes the boys cranky to the point where they completely fall apart every 10 minutes...no fun for any of us!

If you live in the Chicago area, and were one of those who I may have offended, please consider this my formal, public apology to you. And please believe me that no slight was intended.

If you are one of those who joined us in our adventures, thank you for making the trek to meet up with us...it was so much fun to see you again!

Our kitchen project is moving right along. It isn't at the stage where I want to post a final "after" photo, yet, but here is a "before" image:

Actually, this is as they were ripping out the Pergo flooring. The black and white tile would have actually looked fine with the countertops we chose, but a large number of the tiles were cracked because they had been installed over plywood, rather than cement backer board. If you are considering tiling your floor, remember that! If you tile over plywood, it WILL crack!

We had two weeks of living with our kitchen island (which includes our stove) in the family room, unusable. The refrigerator and kitchen table was also in our family room. The contents of our island and another cabinet, as well as our kitchen chairs were all over the dining room. My usually chaotic house reached brand-new heights of chaos!

We have the new tile and countertops in, but I'm waiting until all the trim is up and everything is painted to show an "after" photo. I'd also like to wait until the drywall is repaired (that's leftover from our replumbing project). Hopefully, I'll be able to post some "after" photos soon!

Well, that's all for now (but it's really quite enough, isn't it?)!

Our Easter

2009-04-13T00:02:00.014-04:00

We hope yours was happy too!

Where Have We Been?

2009-02-12T20:54:00.007-05:00

I just realized it has been almost 2 months since I posted a blog here. Yikes! Where did the time go?

We've been busy with lessons, training our now 93-pound puppy, and home renovation projects. We've been tearing apart our kitchen and putting it back together (still in progress), having a new well pump installed, and now we are getting ready to rip out drywall and replace all the plumbing in our house.

Here are some photos, just for fun. This one is Aidan with Juno about two months ago (photo taken by my mom)...she was smaller then than she is now.

Colin loves playing with the snap circuit set they got for Christmas. It says it's for ages 8 and up, but he seems to have caught onto how to make it work pretty well. If anyone has thought about buying one of these for their kids, I highly recommend it. This is the starter set, and it EASILY keeps MY wiggly boys focused for an hour or more at a time!

I've been trying to do more painting. It has been a really icy winter that has not allowed for us to have much time outside. Painting helps me to cope with the lack of color and light we experience in the winter. I mean, look at my pastels, below. How could anyone look at all of these beautiful colors and resist the urge to pick them up and start painting?

Basically, pastels resemble chalk, but they're almost pure pigment...the same pigments used in artist-quality oil paints.

I started a separate blog for my art and photography. If you are interested, you can get to it by clicking here. I HAVE been updating that blog regularly because I've been painting regularly, thanks in large part to my mother-in-law, who watches the boys once a week so I can go to the "Open Studio" time at the Dietrich Theater and have some dedicated time to paint. Have I mentioned that I have the best mother-in-law in the world?

Why We Live Where We Do

2008-12-13T23:16:00.010-05:00

In our front yard, as seen from our living room windows...Not too many words needed here; the photos tell the story.

The orange stuff they're eating is a pumpkin. And, yes, those two tiny spikes are baby antlers!

Breakfast With Santa

2008-12-13T22:28:00.007-05:00

We were greeted this morning by a magical, sparkling beauty that extended for miles from the top of our mountain. We were very lucky that the freezing rain did not knock out power and cause too many other problems; we just got the beautiful trees, which sparkled like a forest full of diamonds.

Fortunately, the roads were in good enough shape that we did not have to cancel out on our plans for "Breakfast With Santa" with some good friends of ours!

That look on Colin's face is because he is asking Santa for something that he knows mommy and daddy do not want him to have...a Nintendo DS. It's not that we are opposed to video games in general, we are just not in favor of OWNING any! Fred has too many memories of playing them until he got blisters on his thumbs, instead of doing other things like homework and playing outside in the fresh air. Not sure how to handle this one with Colin...I'd LOVE to hear any suggestions you may have!

Aidan was very excited to tell Santa what's at the top of his wish list! Guess what? Santa already knew what that was...hooray!

On the way home, Fred helped me find some places to park the car so I could take some close-ups of the pretty ice.

I thought these pine needles looked amazing...

And I've never seen an oak leaf coated in ice quite like this one! Pretty cool, huh?

Scenes From A "Picture Perfect" Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T23:56:00.014-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I always wish we could be with ALL of our family for the holidays, but the miles between us makes that prohibitive. We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Fred's aunt and uncle's house.

I think pictures can sum up the atmosphere of our Thanksgiving feast better than my words can, so I'll share a few...

Aidan with baby Samuel:

Juno in one of her quiet moments:

A French pumpkin begging to be photographed:

Dinner preview...one turkey had foie gras spread under the skin, and the other had a mushroom paste spread under the skin. (No, they are NOT from our neighborhood!)

Details, details, details...

Spiced nuts as a pre-dinner snack:

Wine glasses ready to go:

Fred carving one of his works of art:

The picture-perfect Thanksgiving table:

WOW!

And the meal was as picture-perfect as the table!

We had a big crowd, the company was delightful, the food was amazing! We hope your Thanksgiving holiday was wonderful, too!

Hasn't Anyone Told Them...?

2008-11-17T13:01:00.005-05:00

Hasn't anyone told the turkeys that it's almost Thanksgiving? This was the scene in our yard a few days ago:

Today I found this pretty creature lying between my house and my neighbor's...

I know, it would be a much better photo if I had moved over to the right about 15 feet, so I could have gotten rid of my neighbor's fence in the background, but I was afraid that he/she would run. I got within about 15 feet of this deer, but then he/she decided that was close enough.

So, I left some apples on the ground for it and walked away. It's the closest I've ever been to a deer that was not in captivity. It was really a pretty cool experience!

AAARGH!

2008-11-07T18:49:00.006-05:00

Now that the weather has warmed back up, it's that time of year...time to try to get a decent family photo for our annual holiday cards. The challenge, of course, is to get a decent expression on everyone's faces, while using a tripod and the timer function on my camera. Okay, everyone, say "Cheese!"

Hmmm...okay, boys, how about REAL smiles for the next one? Okay?

Okay, you need to sit UP, too...

Not quite, something isn't quite right about that one. Let's try again...

No, screaming during the photo is NOT funny, and it wrecks the picture!

FRED: "Why can't we have the dogs in the picture?"

ME: "Because we can't even control the KIDS for this picture! How are we going to control our unruly puppy, too?"

Okay, we give up for now.

If you get a non-photo Christmas card from us this year, at least you'll know why!

Also, if you're curious about just how big that tree was that almost fell on my car, and just how close it came, here you go:

I had to REALLY back up to get the whole thing in the photo! The spot where it broke off was about 7 feet up, so that gives you an idea of the size. This was Fred's and the boys' big project last weekend, cutting up the tree and hauling the branches away. Fred actually had to get a new chainsaw to do the job. I think he secretly LIKED having an excuse to do so!

Yep, it crushed our lilacs, which makes me REALLY sad, because they bloom so beautifully every Mother's Day. I don't know if they can be saved. Oh well, at least it didn't crush any of US, as we were all out there playing in the snow when it fell. It really was quite a sight!

Snow Day?

2008-10-28T10:27:00.008-04:00

I took the following photos a couple days ago. Please forgive the mediocre quality, I took them through a window, and there is definitely glare/reflection showing up in the photos. These were our "guests" inside our fenced in backyard, dining on our burning bushes.

Yep, that's SIX deer, just hanging out together, eating whatever they can before the snow comes.

I'm always amazed at how close to the house they get. I watched two young bucks wrestling each other with their antlers the other day...they were 40 feet from me, and I was sitting outside talking on the phone. It was almost like they were putting on a show just for me!

This is one of the fawns who lives around our yard with her mother and sibling. About 1/2 a second after I took this picture, she took off running, because Colin openend the door and yelled, "Get off my lawn!" at the top of his lungs and slammed the door shut. (Thank you, Monster House!)

So, we've had lots of beauty and wonders of nature around here for the past few days, and we've been doing our best to appreciate all of it. Lucky thing, because THIS is what we woke up to this morning...

(Oh, and that dark pine tree you see beyond my car...it is now laying on the ground about 1 foot away from my car...it fell down while the kids, the dogs and I were outside playing in the snow. It was pretty scary watching it fall; we decided it was time to go back inside.)

This snowstorm was NOT forecasted by ANYONE, so I am woefully unprepared. Our power keeps threatening to go out (and most of our neighbors have no power), so I've got a big fire going in the fireplace, and I'm trying to get everything that requires electricity done, just in case. Anyway, about another 3 inches has fallen since I took these pictures this morning.

UPDATE: Our power DID go out before I could finish posting this blog. It's back, now, though...I'm loving having heat and electricity once again! We've got about a foot of snow on the ground, and it's still snowing furiously. Luckily, the wind has picked up and is blowing much of it off the trees, so hopefully we won't lose any more to the weight of this wet, sticky snow!

BEAR!

2008-10-19T17:46:00.002-04:00

So, this guy (or gal) was playing with Aidan's red soccer ball in the woods in our front yard. By the time I got outside with my camera, he was exiting via our driveway...

No, I'm not nuts, I would NOT have gone out there to take pictures, except he was already 100 yards away! We saw him because Sadie was outside and started barking like crazy. She's a good bear alarm, but bears are apparently NOT afraid of dogs AT ALL.

I must say, it's really a breathtaking thing to see a bear that close up...Did I mention that he was IN OUR FRONT YARD?

Draining the Lake

2008-10-19T16:17:00.011-04:00

Our community is "drawing down" our lake so that we can remove a couple sand/gravel bars and get rid of a lot of weeds that are threatening to overtake the lake. It was a big community event today...lots of exitement!

Yes, that's Fred standing on the dam in the white Chicago Bears jersey!

Get ready...

Here it comes!

Just a pretty shot...

Neighborhood kids coming to watch...

Even the local geese came to watch...

I have no idea how long it will take to drain the lake, but it's fun to watch the process. I'm hoping it will refill quickly once we're done with this project.

Whew, it's been awhile...

2008-10-15T14:49:00.010-04:00

It's been way too long since I wrote my last blog. Life at our house has been really crazy with a puppy (do I dare say that I think she's finally housebroken?), soccer four days a week and getting back to doing "real" schoolwork.

While I want to post photos of some of what we've been up to the last couple months, today I need to post something a little bit different, because it was a very dangerous day for driving around here today. This was not due to rain or snow or ice or any of the usual hazards; it was due to the weak-in-the-knees-stunning colors that autumn was showing off today...it was impossible to keep your eyes on the road!

Lipstick on a Pig

2008-09-10T11:10:00.004-04:00

Okay, I can't believe the big deal that is being made about Obama using the phrase, "lipstick on a pig" on the campaign trail, and the accusations that it's some kind of sexist remark directed at Sarah Palin.

So, just to point out the absurdity of this accusation, here is our friend, John McCain, using the EXACT SAME (and may I point out, very COMMON) phrase on the stump, with regard to one of Hillary Clinton's plans

By the way, I am only posting this as a matter of fairness. My intent is not, and never has been, for this blog to become a political blog, although I am not shy about who I support.

I do, however, think the media is doing an unbelievably lame job in covering this year's election. Whatever happened to investigative journalism? Why not spend more time fact-checking the political ads, and calling a lie a lie, and shining the spotlight on who is doing the lying? Instead, they sensationalize every rumor and focus more on what opinion polls say than they do on actual FACTS.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox...for now, anyway!

Sexism? This Sums It Up For Me...

2008-09-04T13:55:00.006-04:00

Exciting Day

2008-07-31T15:52:00.016-04:00

Well, we've had some excitement today. We woke up at about 7:45 this morning to some low rumbles of thunder and a very dark sky. I decided to check the radar to see what was coming our way before we drove 2 hours to my mom's house. Hmmm...severe thunderstorm warning and winds in excess of 65 mph headed straight for us.

I headed back into the bedroom, figuring I'd distract the boys with getting dressed and stuff. Not a chance. The wind picked up like crazy, the rain came pounding down...and then the power went out. The room was as dark as night, and the boys were scared. Then the sirens started going off. (My dad's house does NOT have a basement, by the way.)

Knowing that taking cover would possibly scare the boys even more, I debated it, but only for a second. There was a loud THUD on the roof, and I ushered them under the built-in desk in that bedroom and hauled pillows and sleeping bags in there with us, figuring they would at least be protected from flying glass if something should come through the window. We sat under there, listening to debris flying around outside and the loud wind and the thunder and the sirens. Once it finally quieted down, I got up to go see if it was safe to have them come out yet.

Here is what I saw looking out my dad's patio door...and yes, the sky was still that dark and it was now 8:15 a.m.

That tree lying across the walkway to the lake and leaning on the picnic table is NOT normally there. It is a huge oak tree that blew down and took part of the roof off of the building where my dad keeps his fishing and boating equipment.

I decided to wait until it got a little bit lighter to come out of our spot under the desk for good.

Finally, (it was really only about 5 more minutes), we emerged from our hideout. Then, my dad and my cousin, Andy, came home from work to survey the damage.

As you can see, there was lots of small debris laying around all over the place:

Here is a view of my dad's back yard, with tons of debris and the tree on the ground. I don't recall the chair on the deck being up there...I think it was blown up there, and it barely missed the patio door.

Here is part of the oak tree that blew down, apparently trying NOT to land in the lake!

Another shot of the tree and the damage it did to my dad's storage building.

Oh, there's where the roof landed...in front of the door of the building!

More debris:

My dad told me that he heard on the radio that it should be clear for driving now. So, we decided to head up to Minneapolis, considerably later than we had planned.

We stopped a few times as we were leaving my dad's neighborhood, to look at some of the other damage the straight-line winds caused.

Here is a camper that was flipped onto its side:

And a dock and a boat lift all mangled by the storm:

Another mangled boat lift, and a boat completely flipped over:

A pontoon that was COMPLETELY flipped over. Do you have any idea how HARD it is to flip a pontoon?

A broader view:

The road signs were casualties as well...

We learned later today that these were straight line winds that were up to 84 mph.

Hey, Becky, aren't you glad you and the kids weren't camping in a tent for THAT?!?!

ON A HAPPIER NOTE... Fred picked up Juno today! Here he is, at the home of her breeder, holding our "little" puppy!

She's only 12 weeks old...I don't think she's going to be "little" for long!

Evening Reflections

2008-07-29T13:13:00.009-04:00

I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my blog for the last couple of days. Nothing major, just difficulty getting photos posted. So, I am posting what I can for now...here are a couple of my favorite photos from the last couple of days...

Aidan & Colin having fun on a big rock in Grandpa's yard:

The surface of the lake looks like glass in the evening. Isn't it beautiful?

More of the lake...

My dad and all the kids out on the end of the dock:

Becky searching for the turtle:

The sunset pinks starting to peek through:

Pretty, isn't it?

I'm listening to the sounds of the lake and the breeze as I write this, and it brings me an amazing feeling of peaceful calm, even as the boys have their "sword fights" with the Star Wars sound effects!

Greetings from Minnesota!

2008-07-26T23:21:00.024-04:00

We arrived in Minnesota last Monday, just in time to celebrate my birthday. The boys enjoyed helping Grandma decorate a cake for me.

Next year's going to be a big one!

The boys really had fun visiting a playground nearby. The Twin Cities area has the greatest parks! I wish we had some like this where we live!

Wednesday, our dear friends from Nebraska arrived, and we went with them to the Science Museum in St. Paul on Thursday. There is a cool Star Wars exhibit going on there right now. Aidan and Colin really enjoyed trying out the hover craft:

And seeing Yoda and all their other favorite Star Wars characters...

Colin always loves the "table with the floating balls."

This thing was just cool...I guess it's a glass orb filled with water.

Our friend, Becky, in the wildflower maze in the Big Backyard...

Aidan panning for fossils with his aunt Jeni...

Friday we drove to my dad's house on the lake. The kids immediately wanted to go fishing. I can't believe how my dad manages to keep 4 kids with fishing poles and hooks on a narrow dock under control. Nobody lost an eye, although Aidan DID fall in!

Aidan enjoying a conversation with Grandpa Jim...

Becky enjoying the breeze...

"What kind of cool creatures can we find under these stepping stones?"

Colin got a hook caught in his thumb, and was really upset. He started laughing when Grandpa showed him all of the scars on HIS hands, though!

The pain was quickly forgotten when Colin caught a nice, big fish!

That's a sheephead, though(shhhh.... don't tell Colin that!), so when the kids wanted to let it go, we happily threw it back.

Clearly, all the kids enjoyed fishing. Here's Michael getting the hang of casting with the big rod...

Here is a lovely sunset from the dock...

Saturday, the kids caught a baby turtle...aww, isn't he cute?

The future veterinarian examining her catch...

Look how pretty his belly is!

Becky told Colin to let the turtle crawl on his arm, so of course he had to try it!

The turtle was safely released back into the lake after all the kids had time to check him out up close.

We've also been boating and swimming, and have not made it into town yet. I expect we'll get there sometime today, even if it's just to replenish our refrigerator!

A Few Final Photos From Our Vacation

2008-07-16T22:40:00.006-04:00

I have a couple more photos to share from our trip. There really is no story to them, it's just the boys with a couple of their friends, and I just think they happen to be cute pictures.

Here are Colin and Amelia, who became fast friends and "super-spies" on this trip:

Conversation overheard by myself and Rita:

Amelia: "Hey cutie pie!"

Colin: "Don't call me cutie pie! Just call me handsome."

Amelia: "Okay, handsome!"

Colin: "Or, you can just call me Waldo."

This next photo is Grace and Aidan. I don't know what we would have done on this vacation without Grace and Emma. They spent SO much time with my boys and made SURE they were always entertained. They were so good with them, always patient, always fun.

Needless to say, I think my boys are in love.

Here is what I think our "logo" for this vacation should be:

I think I'm going to make some t-shirts on CafePress with this one!

(Grin!)

Lost Teeth and Moon Jellies

2008-07-12T10:05:00.013-04:00

Yesterday was another rainy day here in OBX...We decided to venture down to Hatteras with Ross, Rita and Amelia to see the Graveyard of the Atlantic Shipwreck Museum. It was about an hour and 15 minute drive with beautiful scenery, even in the rain. We were surprised by how small the museum was...it was literally two rooms and a gift shop. Not quite what we were expecting, but it was such a nice drive that it didn't really matter...

We stayed in Hatteras for a while longer and had appetizers at Teach's Lair to tide us over until dinnertime. Then we headed back north to Nag's Head.

Here are Fred and Aidan walking out to check out the beach in Hatteras before we had our appetizers.
Aidan spent half the day torturing me with his loose top front tooth. He kept pushing it so it was sticking out of his mouth when his mouth was closed or wiggling it and telling me to look. I am amazed at how squeamish I am about something as normal as a loose tooth, but it's weird when it's on YOUR kid! He decided he was going to let it fall out on its own, though, and he did.

Aidan woke me up at 7:30 this morning, shouting, "Mom, look what happened during the night!" carrying his tooth in hand. I asked him if he pulled it out, and he said that, no, it was laying on his mattress when he woke up this morning.

So, here is Aidan's new smile from first thing this morning, bedhead and all!

THEN, our day at the beach began with AMELIA losing a tooth after biting into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Boy, is the tooth fairy EVER going to be BUSY tonight!

Today was the most beautiful beach day we've had yet. Hurricane Bertha was giving us her best, although from quite far off. The waves were HUGE, and too scary to let the boys boogie board. But we had fun jumping around in them and looking for shells and other interesting things on the beach.

Boy, did we find some interesting things! Here is a jellyfish we found. It had tentacles attached, so Fred carried it off somewhere and buried it. I'm not sure that's what you're SUPPOSED to do with a jellyfish, but who am I to argue? Then, we found some MORE jellyfish, this time without tentacles...it was starting to look as though a few women had lost their silicone implants!
See what I mean?

Anyway, we were starting to get worried that the kids shouldn't be in the water at all, until a woman came walking over with her kids, who had a whole net FULL of these weird jellyfish. She told us they were called Moon Jellies and could not sting you because they do not have tentacles like the other jellyfish. Aidan and Colin had lots of fun carrying their invisible pets around in a bucket of water for the afternoon!

Right after I snapped the following picture, I saw two dolphins jump out of the water, pretty close to shore! It was amazing! Apparently they enjoyed playing in the big waves Bertha was bringing in, too! I wish I could have gotten a picture of them, but they were only up for a split second and then they were gone.
Even the crabs were out in force! The big ones kept getting washed ashore, and were running all over the place. Here is a very angry one that some other boys were teasing:
We've had a really fun vacation, and we have a long drive home tomorrow, but we're looking forward to getting home.

An Evening at the Beach

2008-07-11T19:29:00.020-04:00

Last night after dinner, the weather was still just too nice to stay home. We are walking distance from the beach here, so we took a walk over to see what the beach was like in the evening, and to see if we could find any crabs for the boys. Here are some images from our evening on the beach.

We were all amazed at how quiet and empty the beach was during the evening hours.

Colin and Amelia walking hand in hand toward the ocean...

The beautiful, pre-sunset sky...
Don't you wonder what Aidan and Fred are talking about in this photo?

Sarah looking for the perfect shot...

Jim as I usually see him on vacaction, whether here or in Paris (I'm talking about the camera in front of his face!)

Colin feeling peaceful, thanks to the lulling sound of the waves...

Aidan practicing to be a movie star resisting paparazzi...

Sarah enjoying a peaceful stroll...

Jim enjoying the feeling of the sand on his bare feet...

Aidan filling his backpack with shells. He did NOT want to leave the beach until his backpack was FULL!

A bit of the sunset...

At last! It got dark enough that the crabs were out running around. Aidan caught a small one, and Colin wanted one, too, so Fred caught one for him. Colin's feelings (and fingers) were VERY hurt when his little crab pinched him! Here is a big one that we found, which the boys were wise enough NOT to try to pick up...

Rainy Wednesday

2008-07-11T09:12:00.007-04:00

Oh, yes, it rained on our vacation! With lightning, thunder, high winds, the works!

This gives you an idea of how MUCH rain we got on Wednesday...

Clearly, it was NOT a good day to go to the beach, although Jim, the ultimate optimist, kept insisting that everything was going to clear up "within two hours." I'm very glad we did not listen to him, or we would have been waiting ALL day! Instead, Fred and I decided to take the boys to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. We've gone in other years, and I knew it was a hit with the boys.

They enjoyed seeing the frogs, the sea otters, the alligators, the turtles, and of course, the fish. But their favorite thing this year was STILL the hands-on area with the tank of baby sting rays that they were allowed to "pet," and the sea urchins and sea stars that they could touch.

As you can see, everyone else vacationing in the Outer Banks had the same idea we did...the aquarium was VERY crowded, but it kept away the rainy-day boredom.

Greetings from the Outer Banks!

2008-07-07T15:20:00.012-04:00

Greetings from the Outer Banks!

We arrived in Nags Head, NC yesterday around noon. We couldn't get into our house until around 3:30 p.m., so we shopped a bit for beach stuff, and then we hung out on the beach until it was time to go unload our car at the house.

The boys then spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the pool and hanging out in the hot tub with the rest of us. By the rest of the afternoon, I mean until about 7:00 p.m. Then we all enjoyed a casual dinner together and I put the boys to bed while everyone else went out to visit the beach.

Around 11:00 p.m., while the adults and older girls were playing a rousing game of Apples to Apples, Aidan appeared upstairs, hoarse, coughing, and nearly unable to choke out any words. He was clearly having difficulty breathing, and his cough sounded like croup. I've had a lot of experience with croup, thanks to Colin, but Aidan has never HAD it before, and I've heard that it's really more common in children younger than Aidan. Therefore, I was worried that I might be wrong and that it might be something even worse. Fred and I decided that he really should be seen by somebody right away, so off to the hospital we went (urgent care was closed).

I must give high praise to the emergency room staff at the Outer Banks Hospital. They got him in right away, they were efficient, friendly and accomodating. My first thoughts were correct, it was croup, so they gave him a breathing treatment and some medication to open up his lungs, and we were back home by about 1:00 a.m. It should not ruin his vacation, though; he is allowed to go swimming and do everything else he likes to do on vacation!

So, today was a beach day...the boys built sand castles and collected shells:

They went boogie boarding:
And caught some big waves:
They played in the water:
And ran in (and from) the waves:
In general, they had loads of fun!

One last picture I MUST share...I do not know this girl, but she was having so much fun feeding the seagulls and they were literally swarming her. It was just such a wonderful scene that I HAD to photograph it!

One last little funny that sums up how much kids pay attention when you think they are not. While driving through Virginia yesterday, Colin spotted a bridge that was under construction, and yelled, "Mom, I see a broken bridge!" A few seconds later, he asked me, "Mom, are we in Minneapolis?"

Discoveries in Unexpected Places

2008-07-02T09:21:00.010-04:00

We had several days where we had to stick close to home, but I've been amazed at what kinds of interesting things we were able to find just in our yard. It's truly a matter of simply taking the time to look!

In my garden/weed patch/maze, the deer and bugs have done their work! The sunflowers surrounding what I had hoped would be a sunflower "house" for the kids are being eaten like crazy. Some kind of bug is eating the leaves from the centers outward. The deer are just clipping the tops right off! Speaking of which, this one has been sticking REALLY close to our house for the last 4-6 weeks...I think she might have a fawn hidden nearby. Anyway, I really can't object to sharing my lame attempt at gardening with HER, can I? Isn't she beautiful?

Back to my garden/weed patch. I had planted butterfly weed, hoping to attract butterflies...here is what sprouted up right in the middle of all the butterfly weed:
Yes, that is white Foxglove. VERY toxic, not what I had planned on in a "children's" garden, but it's pretty, isn't it?

We found this big spider web when the sunlight was hitting it just so:

Letting my garden (weed patch) grow all wild and brambly has brought us other visitors, too...here is a red-spotted newt, or red eft, who was just sitting there, looking at me, while I was trying to fight back nature and pull some of the weeds growing around my sad-looking sunflowers.

He's gorgeous, isn't he? I'm letting the boys keep this one. We've put together a habitat for him with dirt and moss from the yard, a little hiding place made of a piece of wood, and a little water dish. I dug up enough dirt to be sure there are plenty of worms in there for him to eat, and the boys and I even bought some little crickets to feed him.

If anyone has tips to share on caring for a red eft, please share them with me!

Lastly, Sara, this one is posted just for you! I spotted it in my front flower garden:

I'm still on the lookout for the red ones with white polka-dots...we had them last year!

Sick Day

2008-06-24T10:10:00.004-04:00

I've basically thrown the boys' social schedules out the window for this week. Colin's fever was running 102.4 this morning, and he was croupy last night. His strep screen came back negative, so this is probably viral, but it's still something I'd rather NOT be passing around to all their friends.

So, since there's nothing exciting to photograph as we are "quarantined" at home and not doing anything really exciting, I thought I'd share a couple of other cute photos.

Here is Aidan with a bouquet of flowers he picked for me:

This is a cameraman from Animal Planet filming Juno's littermates for a show called Dogs 101, which will be airing on Animal Planet on October 18. I don't know if they got footage of ALL the puppies or not; I don't know if Juno will be shown in it or not; but I will DEFINITELY be watching it!
Can you believe they're only 7 weeks old in these photos? Most of the puppies will be going to their homes this weekend. I wish we could bring Juno home then, but that would be like playing a cruel joke on her with all the travel we have coming up. No, it will definitely be better for her to stay with her mother for another month, instead.

My Favorite Home Remedy

2008-06-23T23:18:00.003-04:00

I've been playing nurse for the last 36 hours, as Colin has been running a fever, along with a sore throat and ears. As we are awaiting the results of his throat culture, I decided to get to work on my favorite cure-all:

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

(With Homemade Noodles, of course!)

This recipe is a family favorite. I do it my own way, of course, and play around with ingredients, but here are the basics of how I make MY version of our family soup. The homemade noodles are MANDATORY, though!

Broth:
(all measurements are approximate)

1-2 leftover chicken carcasses (from a roast-chicken)

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 large white onions, chopped

1 head of celery, chopped
1/3 cup salt
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chives
Homemade Noodles (recipe to follow)

Bring large stockpot 1/2 full of water to a boil. Add all of the above ingredients. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 3 hours or longer. Remove chicken carcass. Salt and pepper to taste. Prepare and cook Homemade Noodles. After they are done cooking in separate pot, add the noodles to the soup.

You can also make the broth with a whole chicken, but this is my favorite way to do it. If you have a roast chicken for dinner and don't want to make soup in the next day or two, throw the leftover carcass into a freezer bag and stick it in the freezer and use it when you're ready! This gives you an extra meal or two from that one bird.

The real key to this soup is to increase or decrease, add or subtract ingredients as you like. Nearly any vegetable will add flavor to the broth, although I've found that if you add broccoli, it will turn the broth green (although it adds really nice flavor!).

Homemade Noodles:

7 eggs
3-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Extra flour as necessary

Boil large pot of salted water.

Beat eggs together. Add salt and mix well. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well each time. Continue adding flour until noodle dough becomes stiff enough to knead. Knead well until dough is stiff enough to roll out. Roll dough out on a well-floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut into noodles (I use a pizza cutter), add to boiling water and boil for about 5-10 minutes – you have to do a taste test. Drain noodles and add to broth.

(Note: Do not boil the raw noodles in the broth. This will cause the broth to become thick and cloudy...think gravy!)

These noodles are great in almost any clear-broth type soup you can think of.

Meet Juno!

2008-06-15T15:04:00.007-04:00

Today was puppy selection day for our family. I took the boys to visit the breeder and the puppies...oh, they were ALL so cute! Two in particular seemed very interested in the boys, and kept walking over to us right away.

It was a very difficult to choose between the two who kept wanting our attention. The one we selected together, our little Juno (not little for long!), was calmer and more submissive than the other dog, but since she was interested in the kids, she seemed like a good choice for our family. I am certain that Sadie and the cats will appreciate the calmer temperment.

So...here is Juno, before we officially decided on her:
And here she is wearing her new collar that we brought for her:

And, one more photo:

She's the second-smallest of the litter, but she will still be a LARGE dog, probably 100 pounds, anyway. She was just so gentle and VERY cuddly. We will be bringing her home at the end of July.

Heat Wave

2008-06-07T23:08:00.015-04:00

First, have to share this cute photo...here is Colin and his good friend picking flowers during Aidan's last t-ball game:

We've had a real heat wave here. Maybe we're not breaking records, but we're definitely coming close. We do not have air conditioning in our house (there are generally only a few days per year where it would be nice to have), so we've spent the last couple days at our beach to stay cool. Here are the kids looking for salamanders.
As I was considering LAMENTING the fact that we don't have AC in this heat, I had to examine the last couple of days. I'm convinced that if we had AC, the boys and I would NOT have left our house on these hot, hot days. But, because we do NOT have air conditioning, we were forced to get out of the house to get cool, and instead of sitting indoors, we spent those days in the sunshine and fresh air, playing with friends and getting lots of exercise. I've decided that it's not a bad tradeoff!Here is Aidan happily showing off his swimming skills:

Here is Colin, determined to keep up with his big brother:

Yes, that's a giant bullfrog tadpole in her hand!

Each day at the beach has had my boys sound asleep by 6:30 p.m. Wow!

Next, here is some bizarre, fast-growing tree fungus on a giant oak tree near the beach that appears to be healthy otherwise. I'm sharing these pictures for my fungus-loving friend, and she knows who she is! Enjoy!

We have a cold front coming in tonight, so relief is on the way.

Puppies, play, and rainstorms

2008-06-01T12:05:00.009-04:00

First, a quick puppy update...

The puppies are now 4 weeks old, only 2 weeks until we get to pick ours...here's a new photo I got from the breeder today:

Photos from a couple days at Grandma Margie's...

Those ferns are TALL! Even for Fred!

The boys seem to have the most fun with simple things, like a hose...
Or a wagon...
Or a good tree to climb!
When we were at Margie's yesterday, we got a very sudden, soaking rainstorm. There is real beauty after a rain...

New Addition Coming Soon!

2008-05-30T11:47:00.003-04:00

We are getting a new addition to our family at the end of July -- a Newfoundland puppy!

The litter is currently 4 weeks old, and we'll be picking out OUR puppy in 2 weeks. Here are some photos of what they look like NOW...(I cannot take the credit for the photos, they were sent to me by the breeder). The female we will be getting should be about 100-120 pounds when fully grown, and will basically look like a black St. Bernard. I guess we just have to hope our neighbors don't confuse it with a black bear!

Dragons and more...

2008-05-28T16:04:00.007-04:00

Knights and dragons have been VERY popular around our house lately. Here is one of Aidan's latest dragon creations. Note the unicorn standing next to the tree!

Thinking about fairy tales, I took this picture in a yard near my house. I could never paint it, because people would look at it and say, "It's too pretty. It looks fake." I was struck by the pink above and the blue below.

One of our butterflies hatched. We released it the next day because Colin couldn't keep himself from holding it, and we were afraid it would die. Sadly, the other chrysalis did not survive.
Sadie the spy dog...the most patient dog in the world!

Odds and Ends

2008-05-08T16:11:00.005-04:00

What do you do with an area of your yard you HATE to mow? The grass in this area is so thick and weedy that it's nearly impossible to mow. I don't like the idea of using weed killer (we're all on wells out here), so I decided to try my hand at a children's garden. Colin really wanted a "maze" going through it. I'm planting a bit at a time, as time allows. We have big plans, though, including a sunflower house, gourds, and flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I'm not much of a gardener, so it's a real experiment for us. We may discover that we are just planting deer food, but I don't hate the idea of seeing the deer more often!

Here is the beginning of it:

Here's Colin at the playground where our homeschool group meets:

One of the salamanders we caught recently (all have been released):

A single tulip that makes it's appearance every spring since we moved in. The people we bought the house from say they never saw it, and never planted it. I guess it just likes us!

Daffodils in the sun:

Geodes!

2008-05-06T07:42:00.005-04:00

Grandma Margie brought the boys some geodes to investigate. For those of you who do not know, geodes are very drab, plain looking rocks on the outside, but are all crystallized inside, and make for quite a surprise when a child cracks one open the first time.

Safety glasses on? Okay, let's begin!

We ultimately needed a bigger hammer, but here are the results!

When the geodes were done, Colin discovered a wooly bear caterpillar roaming in our yard. Colin LOVES caterpillars!

Life in Bloom

2008-05-04T10:01:00.005-04:00

We've had some fabulous weather the last few days, and everything is really starting to come to life around here. We have spent very little time indoors, but here are some of the signs of life we're finding outside.

(Colin thought all the purple flowers growing in Calista's yard were SO beautiful!)

Caterpillars, Lost Teeth, and Art Fairs

2008-05-01T16:25:00.007-04:00

Here are our newest "pets" that we got as part of our current science project. They are busy forming chrysalides, and will grow into painted lady butterflies! All that brown stuff in the bottom of the containers is some sort of special caterpillar food. As soon as each has formed its chrysalis, it will be moved into our butterfly house.

Chrysalis developing:

Also, Aidan lost another tooth! I didn't even know this one was loose until minutes before it fell out! His top two teeth have been loose for a couple months, but this one wanted to come out first, I guess!

I FINALLY received my letter from our local art fair, and these are the three paintings that got juried into the exhibition this year. All are pastel.

Home Again

2008-04-29T11:18:00.008-04:00

A few photos from our last evening in Colorado:

Grandpa worked his magic on Brayden, and got him to fall asleep on him.

One very proud papa:

It's hard to see from this angle, but they're BOTH asleep here...Joe has no idea I took this (well, I guess he does now!!)

It was rainy when we arrived home, and our little airplane got tossed all over the place by the winds. For those of you who know what a bad flyer I am, you can imagine how much of an effort it took for me to not let my 4-year old see how badly his mommy was panicking. I honestly have no idea how I held my composure together. As soon as we got the kids home and safely tucked into bed, I burst into tears...just finally letting go of all that tension.

Everything is finally beginning to bloom here. I am always surprised at how happy seeing all the greenery makes me feel.

Aidan had his first t-ball game on Sunday. Here he is having some fun in the dugout:

Dinosaur Ridge / Morrison Natural History Museum

2008-04-25T19:17:00.009-04:00

Today began with a surprise this morning: Grandpa Jim showed up at Joe's house! Aidan and Colin were very excited! He came with us on our trek to Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, CO.

Grandpa Jim, Colin and Aidan in front of a colorful stegosaurus sculpture

Grandpa Jim pointing out fossilized footprints to Colin

Colin checking out an interesting rock formation

Some of the local flora of Morrison:

A pretty little bridge in Morrison:

We had to decide where to eat lunch, and I couldn't resist eating at a restaurant
called the Blue Cow

Our next stop was the Morrison Natural History Museum, which is refreshingly hands-on. Aidan even got to talk to a REAL paleontologist and ask him questions about what he does. He also got to explore many exciting artifacts. Here he is determining how much T-Rex could eat of him in one bite!

They also have live reptiles at this museum.

The boys and I all got to touch this beautiful rat snake.

We did NOT touch the Monitor Lizard, though.

There was a cool-looking bull snake, too, but she's expected to lay eggs pretty soon, so we didn't get to touch her.

Aidan thought the Utahraptor replica was amazing.

Aidan was extremely excited to live out his lifelong fantasy...here he is working on a fossil with all the REAL equipment that paleontologists use.

Colin got to try it, too!
We finished our day by going out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The boys initially threw a fit about going someplace that doesn't serve chicken and fries or macaroni and cheese, but pulled themselves together before we were seated at a table. Thankfully, they were really good at the restaurant for dinner. I think the highlight of their dinner was when Liz took them to a store across the street to pick out cookies for dessert. The sugar crash put them right out as soon as we got home!

Garden of the Gods

2008-04-25T00:10:00.007-04:00

The boys and I drove to Colorado Springs today to pick Fred up from his meeting. We decided to stop at Garden of the Gods on the way back and see what that was like. We were NOT disappointed! Breathtaking views were everywhere, as were interesting rock formations.

Here are Fred and the boys on what looked like a natural staircase.

Some very cool rock formations:

The boys thought it was cool to sit under this gigantic rock.

More flowers and bugs...my favorite!

Colin seemed to have trouble believing we were actually letting him HOLD Brayden!

Aidan, Brayden and Joe

My darling nephew

Colin having one of his many timeouts that he's had this week. He's been testing us ALL WEEK, I guess to see if he can get away with stuff on vacation that he can't get away with at home. I won't go into details about all of that...we want to remember the fun stuff!

Tomorrow's big plans are to visit Dinosaur Ridge, where there are fossilized footprints along a walking trail, and also the Morrison Natural History Museum, which is geared toward children with tons of hands-on exhibits, and whose focus is dinosaurs, reptiles and the Ice Age. It should be the best day of Aidan's life so far!

2008-04-22T23:22:00.006-04:00

Today we visited the Butterfly Pavillion in Westminster, CO. What an amazing place!

Inside the butterfly sanctuary, we were not supposed to touch anything, but what can you do when a butterfly LANDS on you? This was Colin's predicament here:

The boys had fun climbing on the giant spider web.

Aidan enjoyed investigating how a mosquito bites its victim...

...while Colin enjoyed seeing how a grasshopper eats.

Both boys loved climbing around on and in the giant honeycomb.

Aidan got a kick out of getting a "bug's eye view" of things.

The highlight for both boys was getting to hold "Rosie" the tarantula.

Here's a closeup of Rosie:

Among other miscellaneous things, here is Colin paying homage to his hero, Uncle Joe:

Aidan was SO EXCITED to hold his baby cousin!

Denver Vacation

2008-04-21T17:53:00.006-04:00

Well, here we are, in Denver, visiting my brother, Joe, his wife, Liz, and their new baby, Brayden. We arrived yesterday morning, exhausted after a night of only 3-1/2 hours of sleep. The boys were merciful, and were VERY good on the flights here.

Landing in Denver was quite an adventure. The winds are very strong out here, and you could feel the winds knocking the plane sideways. Not reassuring for a nervous flyer like me! But we made it, safe and sound!

Yesterday, we went out for lunch and had some good Mexican food, which is nearly impossible to find where we live now. Then, we tried to get the kids to take naps, so we could nap, too, but no luck. I ended up taking them to the park so I could run them around and wear them out a bit. Joe came along with Brayden and his dog, Kona. Everyone had fun except Brayden, who apparently REALLY dislikes the wind.

Joe & Brayden at the park

Colin throwing the ball for Kona

Here comes Kona, bringing the ball back for more!

Aidan on the twisty slide

Colin on the twisty slide.

Brayden smiling at his cousin Colin.

Liz with Brayden

Today we had to drive Fred to Colorado Springs for a sales meeting. We'll miss him until we pick him up on Thursday morning!

Dairy Farm Field Trip

2008-04-16T21:58:00.004-04:00

We took a trip to our local dairy farm today, which was sponsoring their annual "Homeschool Day." We were all delighted that our newest friends were there! Here are the four older boys on their trek to the big garden.

Here they go, including the youngest as well...

One very interesting thing about this farm is that they work it without any tractors. They use their horses for all the field work instead. Here are the horses harrowing the field.

Later, we all had a chance to go into one of the barns and pet the baby cows. They were so cute! After that, we went into the dairy store and enjoyed an ice cream treat!

Yum!

Blog Intro

2008-04-15T20:12:00.003-04:00

I've never blogged before...this is something totally new to me. However, in speaking with my mom on the phone recently (she lives far away), she commented about how she doesn't get photos and updates quickly enough, and that the boys seem to be growing faster than she can believe is possible.

About me: I'm a homeschooling mom of 2 boys, and our home also includes three cats and a dog. Once we had our second baby in two years, my husband laughed about how chaotic life had become and decided he was naming our home "Bedlam."

So, what to expect? Read the name of my blog and take a guess!

Onward!

Today Aidan had his first-ever t-ball practice. It was hard to get good photos because we were looking straight into the sun. This image was one I found to be particularly fun, though. Here is Aidan (standing) at third base with one of his friends (on the ground) looking particularly enthusiastic:

And here is Colin graciously sharing his favorite gal's candy with her:

Won't that be a good one to share at their wedding in 25 years?