It has been a bit of a down week, no gotten much done, I suppose.  We had a valentine’s day craft for the kids at church so they could make valentine’s for their mom & dad, that was a lot of fun, and I was the helper for that, along with Toni.  And then there was the dinner & movie the next weekend, which was a total blast!  We set up the basement of the church like a restaurant and all the kids were the workers (serving, hostessing, taking coats, etc.) and they were just so cute & did such a wonderful job! 010 painted the welcome sign (we had like a bistro easel for it) and 008 was the coat check – better never find his coat lying on the floor ever again!! LOL  I was in charge of getting the projector & DVD hookup working, and with EE’s help, was able to figure out how to tie into the church sound system so that everyone could hear!  In the past, we’ve always tried to use PC speakers, or mike the speakers or whatever, and it just doesn’t’ work so great.  It was fantastic to hear it the “right” way and we got so many rave reviews!!!  And there were so many people who helped set up & clean up afterwards, it was phenomenal!  And yes, he went with us, and stayed for the movie & had a great time.  I was so honored to have him there with me.  He’s not normally the go to church kind of guy.  While he doesn’t call them that, if I had to describe his values, I’m pretty sure I’d use the “Christian” label.

I’ve also been trying to finish up an order that I got a million years ago.  Good thing she is patient & understanding, but I have just 4 left to go & I want to get them DONE.  So I guess really, I have been busy.  010 had a patriotic program at school on Thursday, they were so good.  Mrs. Kingseed, the new music teacher, is just so cute & seems to try so hard to make it fun for them.  I was blessed that they had a couple years with my music teacher, Mrs. Kime, before she retired.  She was just the sweetest woman, I think.  I got to see Mr. Guenin too, another of my teachers.  I’m hoping 010 (who will soon be 011!) will have him in 6^th grade next year.  Wow, is that really true!?!?

They had “THE” video on Thursday too, in school.  You know, the one about p-u-b-e-r-t-y…. sigh… I know it’s right around the corner.  When did he get so big.  I remember him as so little.  It shocks me sometimes when I look at him & see this almost-man person looking at me.

Went to see This Means War http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596350/ last night.  Sheesh! Two super-hot guys! And what a totally not-REAL story line. Really?  And people wonder why girls are so messed up?!!? I mean really, has this sort of thing even ever remotely happened to someone you KNOW?  Not me.  Or anyone I know.  But don’t we all secretly desire it, and then wonder what is wrong with us when it doesn’t happen, or is that just me?  Did I like it, yes, did it leave me feeling unsettled & a little down in the dumps?  Yes.

Here are my faves…

Flowers from my mom’s funeral.  All of them were so pretty!

Goofing off at Charley Creek.

Tom & Jilly Bean.  Some days, not sure what I would do without them.  It is good to have positive people in my life!

One of my favorite wines, from South Africa.  Super Yummy!

At Larry’s (from church) lakeside residence, to celebrate his retirement from the USPS.

Homemade applesauce.  Sweet & tangy, but still not as good as Gramma’s.  That is a memory I will have forever.  Applesauce with every meal.  Sometimes almost straight from the freezer.  Always good.

School programs – 009’s Indiana History.

007’s about himself

As always, you can see all of them here…  http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/

So does anyone else see a problem with this?  Could this be part of the reason why we’ve lost our competitive edge?

Yes, this is an actual ruler I purchased for my kids’ school supplies. No, it did not go to school.  Maybe another reason why cheaper isn’t always better.

You can see the full stream here…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/

My faves…

My poor porch flag….time to retire it…

I don’t like spiders, but the web was cool…

Playing cornhole at Steve Kaduk’s July 4^th party.  He really knew how to throw one, great fireworks too!  It was a blast!

I like ‘em sweet, the other likes ‘em spicy!

Aunt Michelle, why do you take so many pictures?

Midway rides, the slide was fun!

Gotta have an elephant ear….

VBS Zoo trip

He’s very afraid normally of strange animals so I was really surprised he did this. I think the goat just wanted to eat his shirt or what was in his snack bag

The beginning of a very long friendship with Snakey…

Not my granpa’s tractor, but one just like it.  My cousin’s son’s first birthday party.

This week actually went by pretty fast.  I was surprised.  Wednesday we got a freak snowstorm (yea, I know, it’s January, shouldn’t use the word freak, exactly!) and EE met me over at Whiskey Creek for supper while the boys were with their dad.  Is that not so incredibly sweet that he will drive 45 minutes just to see me for an hour & a half & then drive back another 45 minutes before going to work?  He is amazing!  And I saw him Monday & Tuesday too.  So it was hard to wait all the way until Friday night.  We met at The Mill, in Marion. No trouble finding it this time!  Sheesh, we still laugh at that, it was so funny him trying to guide me in via phone & me having no idea where I was.  Just kept driving around the YMCA a lot.  “Hey, kids, there’s Big Ben!”.  If you don’t get the reference, google European Vacation.  We had the appetizer sampler for dinner, and listened to someone playing piano.  He would not have been my first choice to listen to.  I know it takes a lot of courage to get up in front of people to sing & play, but still…  and he said over dinner that he loved me.  Maybe it’s starting to happen just a little bit more frequently.  As we both get used to it.  That can’t be a bad thing. Then we went back home, both got in his car, and headed down to Charley Creek so we could listen to Sam play.  That was so much better.  And Jill was there and we got to talk & catch up.  It was so much fun & I had so too much to drink!  We got home & I just did not feel well.  He had to help me to bed & stuff.  I think I slept in the exact same spot for 5 hours.  Then got up, went to the bathroom & took some ibuprofen.  Then slept some more.  Don’t worry, when we got up, I made sure he was taken care of since the night before was a total no-show!  He made me breakfast – a wonderful omelet & coffee.  I had a hair appointment at noon, so I took off for that & got my hair all done up nice.  Took a nap when I got back, as he was napping too.  Then got up to check out movies & places to eat.  We ended up choosing Haywire in Huntington, weird, but good.  It needed more dialog.  Not sure if they thought she wouldn’t be able to remember her lines, or what.  Then we went up to Fort Wayne to eat at Naked Tchopstix and it was really yummy!  We got the spicy tuna makki rolls to share, then we each got a bento box.  It was way too much food.  I will have lunch forever now!  We stayed at my house (that is getting cooler every time) and then I went to church. And I only had 1 beer that night, so I was able to participate in the adult activities, I really don’t like missing out on those!  My furnace has been acting up again, so he came by after I went to the grocery to see if he could figure out what was going on.  No dice. I made a corn chowder, he forgot the steaks, so since it was now 57 in my house, we decided to go over to his.  He grilled, I finished the soup, made a salad & we ate big.  It was super yummy.  He grills some of the best steaks ever.  Then we had a little bit more fun.  Hopefully he feels well taken care of this weekend, I know I do.  I can’t believe sometimes how wonderfully he treats me.  We were just lying there together, kind of dozing before I had to go pick up the boys.  And it is indescribable the feeling of both his arms around me, holding me close, feeling his chest hairs tickle me, and the scratchiness of his beard under my hand, the smooth skin of his neck & shoulders.  At that moment, I feel so completely loved, overjoyed, blessed.  I never want it to end.  There is nothing that compares to this.  I want to feel it (and him) every day.  And I usually do feel it around him.   I don’t think I ever have not.  And no, it still didn’t happen this weekend.  I know I should stop thinking about it and wondering when it’s going to.  I know it will not ever.  At least I don’t think so.  But he is thinking of buying a new bike, one with a saddle on it that would be comfy for me too. So we can do longer rides together. And it looks like George Baker is going to pan out.  And we’re going to be doing a show up in Traverse City in June.  And he said he loved me, so I guess that at least means he won’t be going anywhere soon, right?

So now I’m trying to get ready for the week ahead.  I need to take my CWTS practice test at least once so I can get the real test done & out of the way.  I need to somehow fix the bathtub caulk.  Thursday did not go so well.  I told him I was this close (hair-width) from just replacing the whole unit with something that does NOT need to be caulked,  and then if I did that, I should get a real vanity top so I have a place to put my makeup & blow dryer & curling iron on.  Right now it is just a sink & stuff falls off &  it’s annoying.  And it is the master (well only!) bath so you think they would have thought this through a bit better.  And I need to file my nails because typing is hard.

And I’m tired, so I’m gonna go to bed…

OK, so June I had a lot of faves!  As always, you can cut to the chase & see the whole upload here…. http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/

I had a training conference to go to, so Bob met me at the airport so I could see the boys & have supper. 

Love this face!  He loved the food, this is what he was eating…

Gotta love Maki rolls.  006 does not…

View from the hotel in Dallas.  It was beautiful!

Goofy faces from 006.  Love him so much!

Yum Yum!  So serious…

You gotta have it all over your face or you are simply not enjoying it, right?

Don’t know if you can read it, but it says “GROSS!” Love the little notes they leave me…

They sell these at The Works Ice Cream shoppe.  I think the face says it all…

Well, life certainly has a way of just keeping on rolling down the line.  After New Year’s, we were invited up to Muskegon for a Hooligan’s party.  It was just so much fun.  And their house is simply amazing.  Two of the most warm & generous people I have ever met.  I got off work early on Friday, and Grampa was going to keep them for Friday night for me, as we’d be returning sometime on Saturday.  010 packed too much stuff, so it wouldn’t all fit in his school bag (course the lunch box could have had something to do with that) so we had to use his go-bag, which he can’t take to school.  So I left work an hour late, and then we had to go over to dad’s to drop off the bag (008’s stuff believe it or not all fit!).  We had lunch at Mr. Weenie’s in Peru, and then I took a bit of a nap.  I woke up just as we were hitting MI and we filled up & switched out drivers so he could take a bit of a nap too.  The whole gang ended up being there, and it is just so much fun to be around them, they have always been so welcoming to me.  I’ve been asked several times if I’m going to be going down to Bakers this year again, so I’ll have to figure that out.  They all seem to want me to go.  I would love to go.  It is the time of my life.  And I’m still trying to figure out why I’m the only girl they ask to go.

On the way back home, we stop at the New Holland Brewery, in Holland, and had some super-yummy pizza & beer.  I think it was called Sunset Dog. On the way back, we talk, and listen to music.  I take over driving for a bit so he can nap.  I love to watch him sleep.  It’s hard to keep my eyes on the road.  Sometimes when we’ve been at Charley Creek, or The Mill (when they’ve had live music), we’ll both start singing along. And it’s a very powerful feeling to do this, for some reason, to sing together.  It is incredibly sexy.  And I love the sound of his voice. And I pretend he’s singing to me.  I know, I am such a girl.

Last weekend, we went up to BC and attempted to do some work on the woodpile.  That didn’t happen.  But we did get the garage cleaned out.  And hung out with his boys.  Went to see Contraband with them.  Is it bad I showed up drunk?

This weekend, has been just hanging out at the house.  008 had  a play date yesterday, and I think he had fun. Ben & I went shopping & did some chores.  Maybe next time I should do something special with just him.  Today, I think we are going to go see Munkwrecked.  I’ve not seen the other two, so I hope I can keep up.  And I’m worship leader & not looked over my stuff yet.  Oops…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/

Here are my faves:

Hillbilly iPod dock… I thought it was clever…

Don’t have many pictures of the male parental unit, so this one was cool….

Cassie & I found this turtle going across the road.

Ft. Wayne Tin Caps game, the light was so incredible, and they had so much fun!

He was in heaven!

One of my favorite places to go.  So glad the Honeywell Foundation took it over too.