Good Ol' Fashioned Corn Roast

The first week of September we had our first visit from our new Circuit Overseer.  Very nice, he and his wife both.  On Saturday afternoon we had a corn roast to welcome them and also an excuse to taste all the homemade cooking from our congregation.  So the deal was each family had to bring a different topping for the corn.  So many different ways to eat your corn on the cob!

So here were some of the ways:

the favorite standby, butter with salt

Mexican chili and lime powder - this was very yum and we will soon be heading to Detroit with a certain someone to get some of this deliciousness of our own

creamy guacamole

mayonnaise - still sceptical about this one, I didn't try it but others said it was yummy

parmesan cheese

and we made a cream cheese topping with cerrano and jalepeño peppers, green onions, and lime.  This was very delicious.  A. doesn't like corn on the cob (I know - she is crazy) so she ate it with chips.

Oh, and one sister used the corn to make a corn relish/salsa dip.  So, so good.  I now have that recipe in my stash.

It was a fun day.  Boys threw the football for a little bit, everyone chatted, some played scrabble, ladder ball of course was present, kids played on the playground, then the wind was just too much and everyone called it a day.

My boys

Cameron and C.O.

Mr. GQ Under Armour model. (You're Welcome!)

Me and C.O.'s wife

Part of the gang.  Trying to stay as close as they can to the heat source. :)



The Scrabble Game



Enjoying the Teeter-Totter



My Crazy Three

 

More Yummy From the Garden

More yummy goodness is coming out of the garden.  Over at Reuben's the spinach is huge so we have to help them eat it all.  Ours are still little baby spinach so we gladly helped them out.  Dad doesn't know it yet but these lovely leaves are going to be in his salad tonight.

We also got a couple more jalapeño's and radishes.  So many radishes.  They were getting a little too big and starting to split so A. and I pulled them all today.  Dad is pretty much the only one that eats them so he should be good and sick of them by the end of the week.  I looked up some recipes today so we are going to try grilled radishes and see what they taste like.  Sounds interesting anyway.

This has been a super busy weekend.  Saturday we went to Anderson & Girls to pick some more strawberries.  All we ended up doing is going through the petting zoo they have.  We thought we could go through it quickly but it ended up being larger than we thought.  Lots of neat animals though.  And the kids had a ball.

Cameron and the kiddos and a sister from the hall with her little one



The peacock gave us a little show



After the zoo we headed to school section lake to meet some others from the hall for BBQ, a swim, and some volleyball.



Little Lady C and her buddy



The Osprey's now have little ones.  This pole they built their nest on was built just for them.  Apparently they kept building a nest on the telephone pole so they built this pole just for them so they would be safer.  I tried to get as close as I could but it was freaking them out a little bit.  But those little guys are getting a bite to eat from Mom or Dad.  They are really awesome to see in person.

And then today A. and I worked in the garden for a little bit then Little Lady C came over to make some cookies.

Thanks for helping A, I love you.

Their creations

I think more frosting went into a certain little mouth than actually went on the cookies but I was forewarned.  They had lots of fun.

Busy, fun weekend.  Trying new things with new friends.  Oh, and I even made strawberry jam.  Coming soon to some of you this winter.  Love and miss you all.

Pickin' Strawberries - Week 15



Zack and Little Lady C picking strawberries

Week 15 of 52

Location:  Mt. Pleasant, Mi
Subject:  Strawberry Picking

The strawberries are finally ready!  Last friday we took the kids to a place called Papa's Pumpkin Patch.  Turns out they have way more than pumpkins.  Kids had a lot of fun filling their buckets with yummy strawberries.  We talked to them the whole way there about making sure they only put the strawberries in their buckets and not in their mouths.  When we arrive and are receiving instructions and tips the guy tells all the kiddos:  "If you come back here without red stuff around your mouths I will send you back out."  I told him that may have been a mistake.  We might all come back with red stuff around our mouths but nothing in our buckets.

It was interesting to taste all the different varieties and see the different shapes of all the strawberries.  We also picked some asparagus while we were there and grilled them up that night.  Very yummy.  In a couple of weeks they will have rasperries ready so we are going to head back.  Lots of fun and now we are enjoying lots of strawberry shortcake and Cameron even whipped us up some strawberry margaritas!  YUMMM!!!



Little Lady C stopping to enjoy some daisies

 

SAVE THE TURTLES!!! Week 14

Turtles are now everywhere.  We do our best to avoid them and am happy to report we have remained innocent of turtle destruction.  We always swerve way around them.  But then we started noticing the people following behind us or coming from the opposite direction swerve TOWARD the turtles.  What?!?!?!?  Awful, mean, evil people!  What is wrong with you?  So since then we have become "Turtle Saviors" and where possible we stop and move those poor things off the road.  I won't even mention the reason we were told that people do this.  It makes me sick!

So this week's photo of the week is a picture Z. saved from the road when we went for a walk yesterday.  And also J. rescuing a turtle last week.



Painted Turtle

Week 14 of 52
Location:  Mecosta, MI
Subject:  Painted Turtle

Location:  Remus, MI

Subject:  Turtle saving



We have no idea what kind of turtle it was that J. saved.  Cars were coming in both directions so it was a save and dash kind of day.

Fishing the Chippewa

My boys love their fishing.  And now we live in fishing country and they have yet to go fishing.  They had big plans to go ice fishing this winter but somehow we never managed to find the time.  So this week we decided to be spontaneous and head out to scope out some fishing spots.  So we headed to the big ol' town of Barryton, well Village if you want to get all technical, and fish the Chippewa River.


















First stop, the South Branch of the Chippewa River.  There is a cute little park on the east end of town.  So first the boys fished off the river banks.  A. wandered with bare feet and I hunted the cutest yellow flowers that dotted the banks of the river.







South Branch Chippewa River, Village of Barryton

This seems to be a good spot, but we are not fishing in earnest, just scouting, so we pack up the fishin' gear and head to the next spot.

North Branch Chippewa River, Village of Barryton, Hoover Road Bridge

This is our next stop a few miles up the M66.  This is the Hoover Road Bridge.  This is just down the road from the farm where my Dad grew up.  Also where I spent the first seven years of my life.



This photo was taken about 9:15PM.  It is crazy how long it stays daylight up here.  Yes, the kiddos should have been in bed long before this.  But who can keep track of what time it is when it doesn't get dark till waaaay past bed time!  And random adventures are fun, school is almost finished, and it has been a stressful few weeks.  So there!

Dirty, Stinky Work!

This week marks the next phase in garden work.  Fertilizer - yuck!  My cousins cleaned out their barn this weekend which means we got nice fresh fertilizer for our garden.  So yucky, dirty, stinky work began.

Zack and Grandpa worked pretty hard.  Of course the tractor helped to hold Zack's interest but he really did work hard with no complaining.  It also helped that all day Grandpa made jokes about "crap".

By the time we were done with our garden the older kids had gotten home from school so we headed to Reuben's garden.  By now Zack was kinda tired, Jake and Aubrey were not too happy to be shoveling poo.  But we got both of Reuben's areas pooified.

My poor city children.  :o)  They are actually adapting well and having fun and working hard.  But really, who likes to shovel poo?  Grandpa then took their whining and was making songs up about "crying over crap".  Us adults were amused but the children not so much.

Cameron and Z. get lessons in tilling from Grandpa.  We still have some work to do but by the end of this week planting will be done and the weeding and waiting begins. 

Tea Parties

Yesterday I threw a tea party for my little three year old niece.  She just moved up here to Michigan and I wanted her to get to know all the other little toddler girls from the congregation.  It was so cute to see them having fun and playing with eachother and sipping apple juice from their little tea cups.

To help out with all these toddlers I had A.'s friends come over to help make cupcakes and decorations and act as waitresses for all those cute little girlies.  It worked out great - A. got a little mini slumber party of sorts and I got some help.  We made these cute little surprise in the middle cupcakes the night before.

They were delicious.  They have mini oreos tucked in the middle.  We made the chocolate hearts the night before but frosted and decorated them Saturday after service.  Oh yes, service with four giggling teens and preteens.  It was entertaining to hear them all giggle and sing in the back seat.

Then they decorated the table for me.

Then of course we did a mini-photo shoot before all the party guests arrived.

It was such a fun day and now my little niece has lots of little new friends.

Slimy New Friend

We have been loving discovering all the new animal friends here.  We have been keeping a log and trying to photograph each new bird that visits our yard or bird feeder.  There are so many!

Now that the weather is warming up the boys especially have been exploring the woods around the house and finding new creatures that Z. always wants to keep as pets.  Yesterday he found this.  Well, it actually kind of found us.  He somehow managed to get in the house downstairs and was trying to get back out.  Z. caught him in his little bug catcher and we promptly headed to the internet to find out exactly what it was.

So we believe it is a Small-mouth Salamander.  He also however has small blue spots.  So we think he might be (as the Michigan DNR website puts it) hybridized with a Blue-spotted Salamander.  Either way he is endangered.  So we spent a little time with him, photographed him, and then set him free in the woods.

We sent some pictures to the DNR to see what they say.  They are trying to find where they live and keep it documented.  So who knows, maybe we will get a visit from the DNR.

But how cute is this?

He was so excited to find it and study it and figure out what "it" was but he would not touch it.  I told him he could hold it but instead he ran inside to get J. to hold it.

Such a brave big brother!  Even Aubrey was brave enough to at least touch it, but she wouldn't hold it either.

But it was fun to find something new and see the wonders of Jehovah's creation right here in our backyard!



Amazing What a New "Toy" Can Motivate You to Accomplish - Week 8

So have I mentioned the big trees around this place.  And also the fact that those trees make quite a mess?  Mess equals work and boys do not like work.  Who does really?  But you mention yard, rake, shovel in the same sentence around here and everyone scatters.  That is, until Grandpa bought this nifty little trailer for the tractor.  Actually the trailer was bought a few weeks ago but Dad had to get the mower and the tractor going.  Yesterday that actually happened.  And you will not believe what else happened, the words, yard, rake, shovel were all in the same sentence but with a couple of added words and Voila!!!! magic - the boys volunteered to clean up the front yard.  That's right - no yelling, no bribing, no threats!

Week 8 of 52

Location:  Mecosta, MI

Subject:  "Hardworking" Boys

Before you are too overwhelmed with the awesomeness that made the boys work, I must note one disclaimer.  The effects of this said tractor/trailer combo wears off quickly.  You may only get one actual load of branches and debri into said combo before all actual work ceases and fun time begins.  But hey, I can't complain, if they are working at all, that is a HUGE plus for us!

Now our only trouble will be keeping that little tractor filled with gas.  This may prove to be an expensive chore!

Moving Days - Work, Work, Work - The Big Maple Tree

So this is where we left off with our moving days.  This beautiful maple tree in the front yard.  It is gorgeous.  This tree has many, many jobs.  It is home to a mommy squirrel and her babies, numerous birds seek refuge in her foliage and rest atop her branches.  My boys love to climb on her and swing from her limbs.  My kids and I love to lie in the shade she provides and star at the sky through the branches or read together on a blanket.  Soon it will be host to a bench so more people can enjoy her.  She is beautiful.  But those beautiful leaves that turned red and orange and yellow, well, they fall off.  And this tree is massive, so that means, lots, and lots of leaves.

Lots and lots of leaves equals lots and lots of clean up.  We had so much fun raking the leaves into big piles and jumping in them.  Burying each other in the leaves and laughing at the dogs trying to sniff us out.  So much fun.  Soon we realized those leaves were getting pretty high.  So out came the rakes, shovels, and wheel barrow.  This job was much too big for that one wheel barrow to handle so we decided to be ingenious and create our own way of hauling off those leaves.

We raked leaves onto a big tarp and hauled them off, this was much, much faster.  The kids all worked so hard.  It took us all day on a Saturday and after meeting on Sunday we finished up.  Whew - what a job.



Going

Going



Gone!  Whew, finally!



That big ol' tree is a lot of work.  But we love her so.

Next episode:  Here Comes Winter

Moving Days

Okay, so you keep asking, and I keep promising.  So here is a start.

Moving days.  Yes days, not day.  I have moved plenty of times in my life.  My family moved from Michigan to Arizona when I was 7 years old.  BIG move.  But I was only 7 so really the only responsibility I had was to stay out of the way and enjoy the ride.

Once I flew the coop I moved 6 times.  Single apartment, married apartment, duplex, rental houses, first purchased house, you get the idea. All of those moves were stressful, but relatively smooth.  And we had time, take a little stuff today, take a little tomorrow, let's wait to move that till next week.  Moving across the country, that is something all together different.

So we sorted, packed, threw away, gave away, sold.  It was all a little sad, a little enlightening, a little freeing to have to get rid of some things.  Condensing was a word that we kept using.  Because it wasn't just us moving, we were combining two household into one.  That meant condensing a LOT of things.  It was well worth it thought.  And even though we did all of those things we still ended up with a lot of stuff to move.



Our truck and trailer

My Dad's truck and trailer and Our "Moving Van"

Moving took a long time.  A very long time.  We have made the trek from Tucson to our hometown many, many times since we moved away.  We always drive straight through no matter how many people tell us we are crazy for doing so.  We always make it within 34-36 hours.  We left Tucson about 11am on a Thursday morning.  We arrived about 12am on Sunday morning.  A very long 61 hours later.  But we had mishaps, and we were all so very tired we stopped to sleep a couple of times.  The big red moving van did NOT like hills and we had a tire blow out.  But we made it!

The new place is awesome.  Definitely needed some sprucing up and someone to love it again.  We are working on all of that.  Rooms have been built.  Rooms have been painted.  Things have been repaired.  She kept us warm during the winter so she definitely earned a spot in our hearts.  Spring and summer are going to be busy.



With a tree like this you can't help but love her.

Stay tuned for the next episode - this beautiful tree creates lots of work!

Home not House

We all have a dwelling in which we live. As I started on my own journey, leaving my parents home and finding my own way, I lived in many different places. Apartments, duplexes, rental houses. Then right before my third child was born we bought a house.

It wasn't a big fancy house in the foothills. It wasn't grand by any means, but it was OURS! It wasn't as big as we wanted, didn't have all the features we wanted but over the years we made it ours. Added personal touches, moved walls, tore out old and replaced with new. Changed colors countless times. This was more than a house, it was our home.

I loved my home. I can tell you what was in every inch of that place. Tell you how many colors were on each wall. Tell you how many tears were shed and how much laughter was contained in each room. Where I rocked my little baby, where I soothed the bumps and bruises of the not so little babies. Where I cooked my very first turkey for a group of over 20 and stressed all day that it was going to be a big flop. It wasn't, just like everything else that day, it was perfect.

Then, like almost everyone else, economy hit us. It hit us hard. Hubby lost his job, bank didn't really care, didn't want to cooperate with us. So that house, our home, was taken away. All our hard work, all those memories, now some stranger is going to walk in and make it theirs. I hope that someone loves it as much as we did. I hope they make their own and create as many memories there as we had.

It is not all bad, let me reassure you. In exchange for losing our home in Tucson. Tucson where it is hot 80% of the time, dry almost 90% of the time, and brown and dusty 100% of the time. In exchange for that I get to create new memories in the place where my first memories are from. We now live in Michigan. Michigan where the weather is different every day, where we actually have seasons, where it is beautiful 100% of the time.

It is going to be so different. But we all love it. We will be sharing living quarters with my parents and my sister. It will be tough while we all adjust. But new memories will be made here, more laughter, more tears, and eventually, this house we live in will become our home.