back at it.......

It was time for the girls to get together again....this time at McConnel's Mill for a picnic, a simple craft, hike, terrariums, girl chit chat and lots of picture taking..... all with 13 kids!!!!....I sent out a few emails with the idea of just making easy leather bracelets and taking a hike ....but we added the terrariums after jennifer juniper recieved one in the mail as a treat....we set up camp at the picnic tables, had lunch and then made easy leather bracelets by tying beads on randomly.....we headed off on our hike and collected a bunch of wonderful green treasures for our glass jars.....the results were awesome!!!!!!.....I love mine!!!....the kids created little mini ones in little jars as well........what a terrific day!!!!.......as we all gathered up our bags, baskets, cameras and terrariums and left the bubble of the day behind....I couldn't help but glance around and think I just don't want it to end!

piggy wiggys

I love taking pictures of my kids feet!!!!!!.....this is the latest one from the pool yesterday.....I do it a few times a year......at the beach, in their new crocs,
watching tv.......and when they were babies I was obsessed....especially when that little bitty end one was the size of a tic tac!!!!.....and needless to say when they were that tiny I loved to sniff them and nibble them too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

little treasures

This is my collection...well, it's actually two collections....plastic crap and pez dispensers.....I have a few others...but this one no one really knows about.... little treasures and super balls from the hair cutting place in town that I have found around my house for the past 12 years...in pockets, the dryer, in my van, in baskets of toys, tucked away in many places.......I guess I collect them for a few different reasons......they're just cute....colorful....and I know this is crazy...but I want them to be a time capsule of when my kids were little....and I'd like to pull them out some day when my kids are grown and and show them and their kids.......I actually have done this with other toys.....I have a few bins of toys and baby things in my attic that I am saving for when I am "grandma" someday....my aunt still has a few of her Fisher Price things that have been at her house for 40 years for all the kids to play with....and they still do!!!!...the original schoolhouse and house......and if they were in mint condition they'd fetch a lot on ebay now!!!.......but there is something comforting in saving them....I just can't part with them.....I'd like to see my grandchildren playing with the same things their parents loved.......anyway.....I'm almost as excited as they are when they open up that treat bag at a holiday party or birthday party to see what's inside....I don't grab the stuff right away.....I let them enjoy it for that 30 minutes or so...........and then when I see it's been left behind for something better, I snatch it up and put it away in these bins down in my craft room.....and the Pez dispensers are just plain whimsical.....I know there are hard core collectors out there......but these are just ones that Santa or the Easter bunny have brought, or from a trip to the store........my older kids could care less about them.....they just eat the packets of candy....but little Cubby has to have it in there and flip open the top........and I have to admit....I do still buy them pretty much just for me so I can add them to my collection.....ones that represent an interest they have or a movie they were addicted to.......I may out grow these bins pretty soon....so when you bend over to pick these little things up to throw them out.....think of me!!!!!

she never ceases to amaze me!!!!

She's at it again!!!!........good ol' mother nature!!!!!!.....I came around the corner of my house today and look what she gave me!!!!!....and things always seem like they magically appear overnight.....at least at my house anyway.....it's probably because I'm always running around and never have time to truly stop and smell the roses...:).....tulips blooming, lilacs wafting, forsythia in full bloom.....daisies come and go....thunderstorms, snowstorms....the changing of the leaves.....I just love all of her beautiful gifts!!!........these hydrangeas were both gifts to me from dear friends.......and I love their beautiful shades of blues and pinks.....every year changing a little bit.....I'm looking forward to my next gift from her....they are always simple and beautiful!!

wild raspberries

We have a "trail"...and I use that term loosely....it's actually a stone driveway that the developer put in to get to the retention pond down behind the end of the cul-de-sac...but the kids and I prefer to call it a trail....along it are tons of wild raspberry bushes........three years ago when my niece was babysitting the kids she took them down there with a bucket from the sandbox and they picked a whole bunch....she is truly a phenomenal baker and decided to make a pie and of course, the crust from scratch!!......I am NOT a baker and admire and love everything she makes and shares......well, my husband and I were at her house for card club that night and she trooped all of my kids over to get her mothers huge can of Crisco because she couldn't find mine....well.....I don't have one!!!....because again, I don't bake!....and I also don't have a rolling pin, which she also found out......but she found the one in the playdoh bin that worked just fine!!...it turned out scrumptious!....I noticed my daughter put a note on her bulletin board that summer that made note of the date they picked the berries, so she would know when to go back and pick more the next summer......and they did!.....well, I made little danishes out of them!!....a friend of mine has a wonderful cooking and baking blog....marzipan mom.....check it out!.....and I KNOW she would have made hers from scratch......but mine are made from crescent rolls!....just a little cream cheese and the berries inside....bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.....the kids loved them!!.....well, it seems to have turned into a tradition...and I love traditions of any kind!!!....which may have to be a post at some time.....because yesterday they picked these adorable berries, just the size of Snowcaps from the movie theater.....Cubby came running through the backyard yelling that he wanted to make those fruit sandwiches again!!...what a memory on that little guy!........and so we did!!!

snowcones

There is nothing like a snowcone on a hot summer day!!!.....I have to say that the investment I made in our Rival snowcone machine was well worth it!!......we go through spurts with it....and our weather hasn't exactly been "snowcone material".....but I'm thinking it will be cranking quite a bit over the next several weeks.......and the syrup flavors have gotten pretty wonderful too....cotton candy, pineapple, strawberry and paradise punch to name a few.....we even travel with our machine......vacations, birthday parties and weekends away....we're going to visit friends in Harrisburg next week for a few days and they requested we bring it there too!.....although I do have to say there is nothing quite like getting one at a carnival or fair.......maybe because I consider it part of my dinner???

the best "camping " trip EVER!!!

I will start off by saying ....I am not a camper....I have tried several times....starting when I was a campfire girl in grade school.....and we had to cook our dinner in a tin can at Camp Aloha....I progressed to the tent my Dad got for the backyard...and almost made it all night....then fast forward to when I dated my husband and we camped at Lake Havasu for the world jetski championships....that was pretty fun....I brought my Laura Ashley sheets and blowdryer...I even tried to camp again recently with my husband and kids...I just can't handle the amount of work it takes to make the camping experience "happen"....packing, setting up "camp".....muddy laundry...unpacking.....while my husband fully enjoys himself by the campfire smoking cigars and drinking beer with his brothers....last year the tent went up in our backyard and I couldn't fathom sleeping out there when I could be all cozy in my king size bed....so I just yelled goodnight from the deck!....I have plenty of wonderful memories without having to spend one more night in a tent......anyway ....a recent post on a friends blog really got me thinking that I would have to give this camping thing one more try!....maybe I should check out Cook's Forest????...the cabins looked so quaint....I was telling my Dad all about it....hiking, playing in the stream, the canoe etc....and he said we could do all of that at his new house.....he moved in last fall and this was our first summertime visit......and it turns out it is the ultimate "campground"!!!!......the pond, the raft for four people...yeah, right!...hiking, quads, fishing, playing along the streams, flying kites and all of this just steps away from his beautiful new home------NO TENT! NO CABIN!...fully stocked by his lovely girlfriend with snacks, drinks, ice cream etc...and she so wonderfully keeps the washer and dryer running full speed so everytime we change clothes for the next activity they magically appear washed and folded for us.....we were truly spoiled on our camping trip...and I didn't mention there was no need to dig through watery coolers for something to make for dinner.....we ordered take out!!!....the kids loved it ...I loved it!! Gracie our dog loved it!! check her out on the quad... we can't wait to camp next month....thanks again Dad!!!