Random

I was scanning through the "My Pictures" file on my computer and I came across several that made me go, "huh?" Several pictures of women I don't know, only because at one time or another I liked their hairstyle. I would print the picture and take it to my hairdresser and ask them to style it just like that (I've yet to walk out of the salon looking exactly like the picture I took in - perhaps my expectations are too high...I thought all hairdressers could turn you into a skinny blonde with perfect hair and make-up. Guess not).

So, I decided to share some of these "huh" pictures with you and try to figure out what is the story behind them...

The first one should be obvious. Everyone needs a picture on file of their favorite superhero and disney princess...mine just happen to be related.
Of course a cartoon on file is always necessary...can I get an Amen?

Well, this one is on file for many reasons -

a. It was once my Facebook profile picture

b. I laugh every time I look at it

c. It's a reminder to me that cut-off stonewashed jean shorts may come back in style, but I don't need to wear them

d. Bandanas only look cool if you leave some hair hanging out

e. Nothing says "rebellious" like a good Word of Life Bible Institute t-shirt & a bunny hanging on the closet door - Rock On!

Doesn't everyone have a picture of Indiana Jones on their computer?

Okay, I am dumbfounded by the discovery of this picture. I must have had a reason at one time or another for saving this. Was it the time we considered celebrating Hanukkah instead of Christmas....was it the time I was looking for an exciting game to teach the kids at daycare...or was it the time that I was randomly saving pictures to my computer for no reason whatsoever. I'm thinkin' maybe that's it....

**This posting was random and took few brain cells to compose. No pictures were harmed in the making of this post.**

First Day of School

We are functioning with one vehicle right now - and have been for some time. We have a second vehicle, but it is presently in the shop being repaired and getting inspected. We are hopeful that it will be returned to us soon and we can stop sharing the van. I'm pretty sure vehicle sharing is not healthy for a marriage....just sayin'.

Okay, back to the original reason for this post...

I loaded the kids in the van at 7:45 this morning and was preparing to take Dave & Julie to school. Dave said, "I'll be right back," and ran to the garage. When he came out he was carrying these items. I am still unsure of the reason for the Principal to need a drill and rope on the first day of school. I have some guesses, but I don't believe he ever answered my question when I asked what he needed these things for. He said the first day of school went well. I'm still wondering if it's because he needed to use these items, or because he got through a day not needing to use them...

Here's my precious little girl on her first day of second grade. She said it went well, and that she didn't do much today. The highlight was playing with Littlest Pet Shop toys at recess with two of her friends.
The highlight of my day: lunch!

So stylish in her new skirt, new shoes and new backpack.

Funny Kids

Monday morning when I came downstairs I found Julie like this:

We just started receiving the Sunday paper, and she has discovered the funny pages. I, however, have discovered the coupons....a picture of me clipping coupons didn't seem as cute for my blog.

Last night, after supper, Dave & I were in the kitchen talking and I turned around just in time to see that Joel had found the lipstick in my purse, and was coloring himself a nice shade of pink. Let's just say he got a very good bath last night and the lipstick is in the trash. It was too pink for me anyways. :)

Reader's Digest Page 103 - September Issue & Other Stuff

Our fifteen minutes of fame has come...or is it 5 minutes, or is it just a blurb in Reader's Digest that means more to us than anyone else. I guess the last one is true, but we are excited, nonetheless.

Our dear friend from church, Belva Meeker, heard us tell a story about Alayna last fall. She thought it was hysterical and asked if she could submit it to RD. Sure, why not, what can it hurt...certainly it won't get published. She typed up her entry, and asked us to proof-read it for any errors in the story. We assured her it was correct and to go ahead and submit it. She did and it turned out that RD wanted to publish it. So, for those of you that have not read it yet, here it is:

"Our friends Dave & Kristen have a precocious three-year old. One day, Kristen chided Alayna for calling her by her first name. "Stop calling me Kristen," she said. "I want you to call me Mommy, not Kristen."
Alayna looked confused. "But Dave calls you Kristen."
(side note: this entire conversation took place while Alayna was sitting on the toilet at my dad's house)

So, there you have it, our moment in the spotlight....our glory days....our famous and brilliant three year old...oh, heck, who am I kidding - we are more impressed with this than anyone else I'm sure.

Belva will receive a check from RD for her submission and she said she plans to split it with us. Dave told me to keep track of all the funny things the kids are saying and we will submit them ourselves next time and skip the middle man. What an awesome example in thankfulness he's showing our kids... :)

Fair Day

What summer is complete without a trip to a fair? For us it was the Warren County Fair. One I had attended many times as a kid. I love fairs. I love fair food. I love the fair atmosphere. I could do without some of the weird people that run the rides, but all-in-all I love the fair! And so do our kids.

This fair is very close to the camp, so we went in the morning and saw all the barns, and played on the tractors. Then we went back to camp for lunch and naps (I even took a nap, it was wonderful). After naps we went back to the fair for rides, and dinner. We met up with some great friends and their little girl, and ended the evening with ice cream cones. It doesn't get much better than that.



I love how you can see the American Flag flying over her head in this picture. What's more American than riding a John Deere at a fair?

Vacation at the Hunting Camp

My uncle owns a wonderful hunting camp, and we were able to take advantage of it during our week of vacation. We spent three nights at the camp, and we could have stayed much longer. The first night we were visited by a bat in the living room. We were sitting around and Dave calmly said, "you might want to take the kids in the other room." Puzzled, I turned just in time to see a bat swoop down at us and I let out a high-pitched screech! Once I had the kids in a total panic, I calmly removed them to one of the bedrooms where they peppered me with questions about bats. At one point I walked into the hallway and saw Dave swinging a stick in cirles at the bat, with the doors open. He got very dizzy (Dave, not the bat), and had to change his plan of attack. Finally the bat flew out one of the open doors, and we were restored to a calm, peaceful existence in the wilderness.
p.s. If your kids ask you what a bat is, and you don't know how to explain it, just say "it's a night time bird." Hey, my kids bought it. :)

Dave tought Julie how to shoot the BB gun. She thought it was so much fun, and each day when Joel & Alayna napped you could find Dave and Julie on the back deck shooting at soda cans and juice boxes (we told Julie this was "redneck recycling").

This is actually my gun. Dave bought it for my birthday several years ago, when I asked for one. Such a romantic gesture...

Hotdog anyone?

I don't know how many marshmallows were wasted on Joel, but he was so happy to hold his own stick in the fire it didn't matter. We didn't actually let him eat the marshmallows he...uh...um....toasted.

Look real close and you can see the dirt and twigs all over his marshmallow. Appetizing, huh?

Vacation Day 2

We spent our entire second day of vacation at the world famous Waldameer Park and Water World! Have you heard of Disney World? Have you heard of Busch Gardens? Cedar Point? Well, it's nothing like those places, but it's fun anyways! It's certainly not the roller coaster capital, but if you have kids it's perfect! The water park opened at 11, so we arrived right at 11 and spent the first two hours in the kid section of the water park - oh, and the lazy river, too. We ate our packed picnic lunch and then we headed for the rides. For three hours the kids rode every kid ride they could find, and the girls even braved a grown up ride, or two. We ended our day by returning to the water park for a couple hours to cool off (it was a HOT and HUMID day). We left the park at 6:30, and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Taco Bell. Nothing but the best for our kids!
It really was a fantastic day, and all three kids hung in there for the entire day of activities. Joel & Alayna had to forego their naps, but they did it willingly and without complaint. What troopers!


This is the only ride they did not want to go on again. Joel was too short for the kiddy roller coaster - but apparently Dave wasn't too big for it.














The girls really wanted to try the scrambler, and this was always one of my all-time favorites. We had just eaten lunch, and apparently I am not able to spin in circles as well as I used to. I didn't get sick, but it took me a while to recover from this one. The girls loved it! :)

Vacation Day 1

Our first day of vacation started out with mounds of laundry and cleaning up around the house. By afternoon we ditched that and decided it was time to have some fun! We went to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC), which is by presque isle, and it's free. Julie is the only one who had been there before (school field trip), so we decided to check it out. The kids enjoyed it, and we thought it was worth seeing. From the TREC we went to the lighthouse beach, then down to beach 7 for a picnic. I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture of our picnic with the geese. It was a very eventful dinner, and the kids were near panicked most of the meal. As soon as we sat down at the table we were swarmed by geese who wanted to be fed. The kids were scared to death, and Dave & I found it rather amusing. They eventually wandered off when we didn't throw food at them. As soon as dinner ended the kids were turned loose at the playground.


The TREC Discovery room. A hands-on room for the kids.






Julie knew immediately what type of dinosaur this was (a duck-billed something or other). I told her I didn't think that was correct, but then read the sign and Julie was proven correct. When I told her she was right, she said, "I knew it mom, I saw it on Curious George."
Who said hours of mindless television isn't good for kids?


View from the top of the tower at TREC. It was a very hazy and humid day, so the lake view was not real clear.


Dave & Joel walking along lighthouse beach.

Anniversary Weekend

Dave & I enjoyed our weekend without kids for our tenth anniversary. We went to Bemus Point, NY on Friday evening for dinner. Bemus Point is beautiful (on Chautauqua lake) with lots of little shops to enjoy. Doug & Andrea drove up and met us for a fun dinner at the Italian Fisherman (on the deck with live music). Doug & Andrea go to this place once a summer and highly recommended it. They were right - it was delicious and so much fun! Andrea has more pictures than I do, so I'll have to get those from her.

 

 

 

Ten Wonderful Years!!!

Today we celebrate our ten year anniversary! I can hardly believe that ten years has come & gone already. What a blessing and a privelege it is to be married to this wonderful man.

Throughout your first nine years of marriage you occasionally have the conversation, "for our tenth anniversary we are going to ________________..." (fill in the blank)
examples include, but not excluded to:
- take a cruise
- renew our vows
- vacation on a beach without the kids

On and on the list goes. You know what I'm talking about. Well, we are at the ten year mark and we aren't going on a cruise, we feel no need to renew our vows (we really meant them the first time), and an exotic vacation is not in the plans either. However, we are unloading the kids this weekend with some friends, and spending time together. Honestly, I can't think of a better way to spend my time. I just want to be with Dave, I just want to sleep in, and go out to eat, watch movies, and just be with Dave. That's all. After ten years, three kids and a new mortgage, this is paradise, and I wouldn't want it any other way!

These kids were so young and in love....


What were these two thinking ("hurry up, we have several impatient guests that want to eat and we are holding them up...smile!")


Ahhhh, these two really seem to know what life is all about...do they have kids? They seem nice.