Crazy 'Round Here

This summer has been a whirlwind for us and these last few weeks were no exception. We knew in May we had a lot planned, but I guess you don't know how crazy it will be until you live through it! We have vowed never to plan that much again. We had fun and it was exciting, but it bordered on not being fun since we were so busy. All in all, I'm glad we made many memories and that I have pictures to prove it.

Makenna did well with school. Her only complaints were that she didn't get a big and a little recess (I think her First Grade teacher used to take them out for 5 minutes to release some energy - hence the little recess) and that she didn't have snack time (again, something they did in First Grade since they had a later lunch slot). Here is a picture of her school friend, Shelley, from the school Open House last week. The picture of the flag and Eagle are a compilation of all the student's school pictures strategically placed to create an overall picture. It was on display at the Open House.

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Last Wednesday in a last ditch effort to get some moms and kids together before school started, we met at a local park to have lunch and let the kids play. All but 3 families present are homeschoolers from our church, and there was about 50 people there. The kids had a great time, and it was good for us moms to fellowship for a while.

Picnicking

Madi making sand pies. Makenna and a few of her friends.
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We had run a few errands before attending Open House on Thursday, and we ended up with some extra time. So we stopped by a nearby park that we had never been to before. The kids were thrilled to get out of the car and play!

Isaiah was fascinated with the wood chips. He didn't seem bothered that he was getting dirty -- I guess that's the boy in him -- it's a first for me since the girls didn't like being dirty.

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Saturday was the first weekend in a long time that we didn't have "plans". We just played with the kids, cut grass and did housework. What an enjoyable time together as a family! These pictures make me laugh. Madi is a little mommy and has to tell everyone what to watch out for and explain all the rules. She was telling us that we aren't supposed to eat or touch these berries because we could get sick and they will stain us. (A little side story . . . yesterday she had some red kool-aid. She keeps calling it "stain juice" because I'm always telling them to be careful not to spill because it will stain. Madison always makes me laugh. I'm not quite sure if it's her personality or that she is 3. Recently we went to Taco Bell, which she affectionately calls the Ding-dong Place because of the bell she sees on their sign. We keep asking her questions knowing the answer will be kool-aid, Taco Bell, etc. just to hear her say it her way.)

Zaya still loves to ride on Rick's tractor. I love to see him spending time with his Daddy. The girls also took some time to spend with Daddy. He loves to tease them, so they decided to gang up on him.

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Good old Patches . . . he's such a loving pet. He still possesses kitten-like tendencies and loves to run, play and jump around. Yesterday, we received our first trophy. I looked out the window while working on dishes to see Makenna carrying a dead chipmunk up to the back porch. (Eeck!) I explained to the girls that cats are predators (in not so big words) and told them never to touch anything dead after which we had a hand scrubbing session!! I'm sure this is only the beginning of dead things ending up on my porch.

PS: Had some problem with formatting. My spacing between paragraphs wouldn't take, so I inserted lines to break between stories.

Our Second Grader

Today is Makenna's first day of the 2008-09 school year. She is in second grade! Where has the time gone?!? We had a rough night before bed. Makenna was concerned that she'd have to learn/know cursive on the first day. We assured her that she would not have to deal with cursive the first day and that she would be able to see her school friends again, so she finally settled down to sleep. An interesting tidbit, her teacher Miss Steele was Rick's second grade teacher (at a different school). Makenna is the first child of a student Miss Steele has ever had.

Makenna sporting her new LPS book bag (Littlest Pet Shop for you non-mothers of young children)

Thankfully this morning was uneventful. We're anxious to see how her day went, so we'll be waiting at the end of the driveway to see her this afternoon.

She jumped on the bus so fast I didn't even get a picture.

Photo Session

Over a month ago now, friends of ours graciously took pictures of the kids. We were so grateful to have this opportunity, and as you'll see by these photos, I had a hard time deciding which were my favorites. I think I printed and enlarged over 20 to proudly hang in my house!

Siblings

My Sister, My Friend

Our Big Boy Baby

(as Madi affectionately calls him)

(One of the ladies babysat the kids the next

day and took more adorable photos!)

Madison loved her lollipop because

it had a heart in the center.

Zaya played with his lollipop until he realized he could eat it!

Thank you Dixie and Lisa for sticking it

out in the heat with 3 kids!

The pictures turned out great!

PS: Last weekend we went to a family reunion, Makenna starts 2nd Grade on Monday and Madi will start Preschool soon. I know it will take a while to post everything that I would like, but look for more posts coming soon!

Little Girls Baking Club

About a year ago, our church started a Little Girls Baking Club. A few months ago, they decided to do a fund raiser and sell spices to purchase a desperately needed stove (pictured below) for the church kitchen. Up until now, they have been using toaster ovens or making "non-bake" items because the old oven was so unreliable. They found a local spice company that prints the name of the group on the product. They raised over $400! Great Job Girls!

Today, they celebrated with a pizza party! Mommy, Madi and Zaya tagged along because we couldn't pass up the opportunity to document this exciting event. As an extra bonus, a local newspaper reporter and photographer were there to write an article on the baking club. They have also recently written articles on our bus ministry and VBS.

Thanks to the generosity of friends, family and coworkers, Makenna was one of the top sellers in the group. This enabled her to have her name entered numerous times for the prize drawings. Her name was drawn and she received this basket of baking goodies -- cake and brownie mixes, icings, sprinkles, cake and muffin pans, a spatula and spices! She also received an envelope with coupons for free kids meals, ice cream and a taco. Thanks to everyone that purchased spices from Makenna!

After awarding prizes and having a devotional, it was time to get to work. During today's baking club, the girls made chocolate chip cookies and no-bake cheesecakes. Different mom's volunteer to help show the girls how to read a recipe, measure, mix, fold and other baking techniques.

Makenna & her friend, Mekenzie, making chocolate chip cookies.

This little girl was so adorable. The photographer probably picked her because she was the only kid not running around or paying him attention. There were a few kids that came up and tapped him on the shoulder wanting to get their picture taken. She was just concerned about making her cheesecakes and being careful not to make a mess.

Zaya, however, wasn't so impressed with the girls activities. He needed a nap and was very thankful when it was time to leave.

Steelers Opening Night

We were able to get box seat tickets for Friday night's preseason game! We always love going to football games, but we were looking forward to seeing what the box seats had to offer. We could tell many stories, but I'll only share one.

I do have to say the bathrooms were the best bonus. The tile floors and grout were white! You may wonder why we notice or care, but after the experience I had last fall, this was a biggie. It was maybe in the 50s and there was turrential rain. I had gotten soaked through to the skin because Rick's poncho was angled in my direction and the rain just funneled right in. I ended up having to buy something at a gift shop and change in the main level bathroom. Let me just say it was less than desireable. I half expected someone to be standing by the door with a mint and a towel as I left the bathroom in the box level -- it was that nice. Well, on to more exciting things . . .

Introducing (part of) the starting line up . . .

Ben Roethlisberger

Willie Parker

The view from our seats

The offensive line

Touchdown Santonio Holmes!

This is one of the Gateway Clipper Fleet Majestic. You can park across the river and ride over to the stadium. If we get tickets later in the season, we plan to take the girls and make it special by riding across the Allegheny.

I apologize in advance for this photo. This guy must have season tickets . . . he was "dressed" like this at the game last fall when it was freezing cold! I couldn't pass it up. I think he just tries to get on camera. Rick and I agree that if you have love handles, you need to keep your shirt on!

I was so bummed that I didn't get a good picture of the Heinz Red Zone, but I didn't have many opportunities to try working with my camera for the best setting. I guess because it's preseason, Coach would rather take a chance at a 50-yard field goal than go for the touchdown.

We learned a lot of second and third string players names. Who's ever heard of Trucks?!? Our favorite was Limas Sweed, but I didn't get a picture. He played pretty good!

At the beginning of the 4th quarter, we headed up to the nose bleeds (hee, hee -- love you guys) to see Rick's Aunt Jean and Aunt Pat. Aunt Jean kindly took our picture for us.

True Steeler fans -- Aunt Pat and Aunt Jean!