finding the fun

The joys of getting older

2012-02-10T09:36:00.001-07:00

Chaiya and I have been having this conversation:
Me: "You are turning 21 in May..isn't that exciting? Do you know what that means?"
Chaiya and I in unison: "Rent a car!!"
Chaiya: "Yeah but I liked turning 18 better"
Me: " What?? Why?"
Chaiya: " Because that meant I could buy spraypaint."

Later:
Chaiya: " you know what I really can't wait for.... when I can wear lipstick outside the line... you know when I am really old and none of the fashion rules matter"

We are all Mad around here!

2012-01-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

Quayde is Sixteen!

On Friday evening Quayde invited some friends to celebrate his birthday with a Mad Hatter tea party. The invitations were shaped as a top hat and had metal keys, pocket watches, and cards to entice the guest to come and have a great deal of crazy fun.

We set up the downstairs as the Red Queen's realm and that is where the games and activities would take place. Quayde's bedroom was completely clean out and we set up the black lights and made the mad tea party up there where everything would glow. First though... we had to made sure that the guest could find their way to our house. I made giant card men and we set them all down the driveway.

I did add eyes and they were tied to trees. I forgot to get a picture of them stoically standing guard in the woods. All the preparations were so much fun, we really wanted to incorporate lots of Wonderland symbols and themes.

When the guest all arrived, we got started by painting our own tea cup mugs. It was really interesting to see all the different designs and how creative they all were.

Then it was time for games! These included ' Pass the Hedgehog' and 'Toss the Jaberwockey'. The kids had to pass a stuffed hedgehog neck to neck without using their hands. Michael found some playing cards that had dragons on them that looked just like one of the illustrations of the Jaberwockey. So for that game they had to try and toss the cards into the Red Queen's hat. We had a lot of laughter and some friendly competition.

After all the games, it was time to head to the mad tea party. We had to journey past giant tissue paper flowers that were half red and white, big mushrooms and little bits of decor here and there in the halls ways. The classic part was Thayne ran up after everyone else yelling "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date" He did that all on his own.

Dormouse in the pot.

Getting our glow on!

Then on to the food and even more fun....

Everything looked super cool in the blacklight. It does not photograph well though so we did use the flash for most of the rest of the birthday pictures.

Quayde, you are growing up to be the most amazing young man. I am so happy that you are my son. You make me proud of you every day and my heart is so full when I think that you choose me to be your mom.

I love you!

Happy Birthday Quayde

2011-12-11T18:00:00.001-07:00

QOTD: 'I love you....now Go Away!'

2011-12-08T19:04:00.001-07:00

You know you are a Waldorf mom when... You are searching the bottom of your purse for a jumpdrive and all you find is acorns

Magical Elf breakfast party

2011-11-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

In the dark of the night, elves visited our kitchen and they left a surprise. Our breakfast table was set in a red and white theme with candy cane place cards and snowballs in our bowls.

The snowballs were so fun and when we unwrapped them they were filled with little candies and gifts.

A delicious cinnamon roll bread and pastries awaited us to fill our hungry tummies.

We knew it had to be elves when Thayne found one of their hats outside. Quayde promptly placed it on his head. We are going to leave it for Santa on Christmas Eve and hope it gets returned to the proper elf. We are feeling a little bad for that elf; ears do get cold at the North Pole.

Lydia woke up first and ran upstairs to tell Quayde. Then they were waiting for everyone else to come. Even Chaiya came from her house sitting job to find out what magical things were happening at our house.

Thayne is convinced that these candy canes hanging from the ceiling fan are real and he wants to eat them. I am going to have to pull them down and show him they are just plastic.

It was such a wonderful morning, full of laughter and smiles. We are so thrilled the elves started our Christmas season with some fun!

QOTD

2011-11-11T08:33:00.002-07:00

From Quayde again: "Mom have you ever noticed how Dorthy and Alice are a lot alike?"

I swear he is still as cute at 15 as he was at 3

Hayes Girls Week

2011-11-08T20:04:00.001-07:00

A few of my sisters and my mom came to spend some time with us in October. I have a ton of pictures. It was the most incredible few days filled with lots of laughter and out right silliness. I will post some pictures here and there but there are so many good ones. Here's a collage of their first time on the Metro headed into DC. We are all so much trouble when we are together.

QOTD

2011-11-08T10:34:00.001-07:00

These are some of the things heard from Quayde today:
"Swords are overkill, I think they should have used forks"
"I wish cheese did not make a person constipated"
and what he wanted to yell at the kids from his seminary class as they were getting on the bus, " Have Fun and Preach the Gospel"
(which he didn't because he is concerned they would kill him)

Amazing Autumn!

2011-11-07T20:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the incredible beauty here, it truly takes my breath away and I just am in awe. As beautiful as Arizona is, I wasn't prepared for the nuances of color that wrap themselves around my spirit here in Maryland. This Autumn has gifted me with peace. Wrapped in the most spectacular packaging, I am so blessed and so grateful.

Ren Faire

2011-11-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Ren Faire has always been one of our favorite things to do together as a family! In Arizona the faire is in February and March, which is such a welcome break from Winter but here in Maryland it runs the first part of Autumn. We dragged Marissa and Ruby right along with us and I think everyone had a fairly good time. The food choices were a lot more plentiful here and so yummy. This faire is set is an amazing woodland setting which makes it all the more magical. It is NOT wheelchair friendly! I really wasn't prepared for how much work it would be pushing Lydia around. Next year I will be prepared and we will definitely have lots more fun. Here are some highlights from our day last month.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hope your Halloween was fun, safe and full of lots of goodies!

Bowles Family Farm

2011-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

A few Fridays ago.. our local homeschool group headed across the way to get lost in a corn maze.

Normally, they charge $10 just to get into the place and another $5 for a pumpkin from their patch. Going as a group saved us a lot. We got a little promo video, train ride (no hay), corn maze, petting zoo, play area and a pumpkin for $7 a person, quite the bargin. Honestly, the people running the place were not very friendly. All in all it was an interesting experience. The kids did have a lot of fun though and we enjoyed many parts of the little farm. Their promo video probably made vegetarians out of some of our group that weren't already.

There was two ways to get lost in the maze. This year it was based on a Maryland sports team. The littles, our friends and I took the easier route. It still took us a good 30 + mins to make our way through. Half way, from the top of the bridge we spotted some lost souls.

My sister Marissa and her sweet babe Ruby had joined us on our quest through the maze. Here is Chaiya and Maliea with her so confused at how they were ever going to get out. Much to their credit, they made it out of the harder maze about the same time we made it out of the easy one.

We had Lydia's expert advice every which way!

The very best part of the whole afternoon! Playing in the corn. Seriously it was so much fun and who knew that corn could be so comfortable. We spent the most time just playing and running around the area.

Okay well.. Thayne was diving in most of the time.

When he headed to the pumpkin patch though, he fell in love with the perfect pumpkin!

Don't you just love all the fun activities that Autumn brings?

2011-10-24T15:17:00.001-07:00

QOTD: Lydia- 'why are deer afraid of people? They are not afraid of Santa.'

Starting to catch up....

2011-10-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

(I have tons and tons to post now that we have the internet again but it will have to be a little at a time)

Historic St. Mary's City

The call of the colonists, from the fourth established colony in the new world, were beckoning us to come explore. One of the many benefits of living on the East coast is being able to take advantage of all the historical sites that surround us. St. Mary's City is just a little ways down the road from our home. They have special homeschooling days a few times a year. The family membership is so reasonably priced that we took advantage of that because we will go a few times a year I am sure. The grounds are also so very beautiful that we can go share an afternoon picnicking in the shadow of history.

Thayne's favorite part was swabbing the deck of the ship The Ark. It came across with The Dove which carried about 140 persons. The Ark carried just a crew and supplies for the colonists. Then stayed to ferry up and down the river.

This is a working ship. They still take it up and down and travel all over to show it off.

We got to hear a cannon demonstration while we were there. It was incredibly loud and I am convinced that there was no way pirates were not deaf.

Lydia is being punished in the shackles, she's a little short to make it comfortable so it is the perfect torture.

We had so much fun and spent over four hours there. We could have spent even more time because we did not even see about half the stuff. The boys' favorite part was learning how to "use" a musket and they pretended they were part of the militia ranks.

It was so much fun we can't wait to go back and take Daddy and the older girls.

Quayde was really good at an old fashioned baseball type game. I swear he doesn't wear this shirt every day. Just it seems that he wears it every time we go somewhere I am taking pictures of him.

We love doing things like this. Lydia is now an indentured servant.See how happy she is... obviously she doesn't have a clue what being a indentured servant is. We learned a lot of interesting facts and really had a blast with our school group.

Eggs!

2011-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

We got our first egg from Rosie, our hen! The rooster's name is Entree. Just in case he really becomes dinner.

The Best Kind of Physics

2011-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Thayne has been working on creating a human slingshot. He has spent lots of hours throwing himself into the garage doors. Here is a funny example of one of his first tries.

Good things he has plenty of guardian angels protecting him. With all the stuff he tries, sometimes I think he might have legions of angels.

A Special Visit

2011-09-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Lydia and I had the opportunity to go to Baltimore to meet up with someone very special. Campomelic dwarfism is very rare and it is considered one of the top fatal forms. There are very few adults with this type skeletal displasia. Ms. R and her mom had traveled up from Florida to meet with Dr. Ain at Johns Hopkins. She is 26!! We connected through our yahoo group and exchanged phone numbers. Last week, we were able to go and have lunch at PF Changs and walk around Inner Harbor together. Lydia really was thrilled to meet someone with CD also. Ms. R is starting her own graphic design business and hopes to have her website up and running within the next few weeks. It was really nice to talk for a few hours with them and get to know them a little better.

After we left their company Lydia wanted to take in a little fun. So we headed to the aquarium for a few hours. Our day was filled with gratefulness and simple pleasures. I am so very blessed to have Lydia.

In our cozy kitchen...

2011-09-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Since Hurricane Irene did major damage and we still have no internet service, I am way behind on posting. It really is a lot harder than I expected to just take a few hours to drive to town for free wi-fi. There is always something else that is calling to me.

Lately the smells of delicious have been lurking about. I tried my hand at making coconut cupcakes with the last of our coconut from last year.

They were good but not spectacular. I need to use the other vegan recipe I have that is a little less dense. I am thinking perhaps a little white chocolate might have been a tad bit tasty also.

When our power was out the berries that we had hope to devour in mid-winter, thawed. Never fear, wineberry jam is now on the shelves. It is so delightful. Most of the berries that we had used during Summer had been devoured in smoothies. I had thrown a handful or so into a blackberry crisp which was yummy also. The jam is completely different. When raw they really taste a lot like raspberries, cooked into jam they have their own flavor. We are enjoying a jar right now but the rest will be so welcome come freezing February.

Have you ever picked a paw-paw? Remember the song from Disney's Jungle Book? When I was younger we had a record of the soundtrack and we would play it a lot. Dancing around and having fun swinging the little kids in our arms in circles. I had no idea what a paw-paw was. Still had no idea until I moved to Maryland.

Paw-paws are actually native to Southern Maryland and many parts of the United States. You will never see them on a grocer's shelf though because they are only ripe for about two days. We found trees on the property and pick us a bucket full. Then we waited a day and our kitchen was starting to smell a little alcoholic.

If you try to eat them when they are not perfectly ripe, they are incredibly bitter. Honestly it took so much work trying to separate the lima bean sized seeds from the mushy fruit, I am not sure it's worth the effort.

We made paw-paw cake and bread. It turned pink when cooked. Most of us really enjoyed the taste, it was like a mellow mango. The smell is so over powering though, I know why there are plenty of recipes on the web for paw-paw moonshine.

That's what has been happening. We also made some very yummy applesauce and are eagerly awaiting to see what the Autumn season brings to the farm.

Surviving and Thriving

2011-08-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Doing our best! No electricity, no phone, no running water. The kids are having a blast playing in downed trees and running all over the place. We had to rig up a shower, that works fairly well if I say so. We realized the second day that our gnome was missing. He was found without a scratch. Life is good!

Hurricane Irene!

2011-08-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Most of the trees in the yard are down. Guess we will be doing serious landscaping. Grateful to a Heavenly Father who protects us and keeps us safe!!

Playing in fairy land

2011-08-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we met some friends at Ann Marie Garden again. They have an amazing fairy land so we jumped into the magic and had an incredible day. After choosing costumes, we slayed a dragon.

Jumped on the Stump Stomp!

Built mystical sculptures.

Pretended we were gnomes,

and strong warrior men.

Followed the maze on the stage.

Created sandy entrees for sharing.

Relaxed and enjoyed the absolute perfect weather.

Composed melodies to ring through the trees.

Designed wishing flags to be placed around the art center. Once again this is such a delightful and lovely place to spend an afternoon. We took our friends around to find all 45 fairy houses! Thayne was a perfect child all morning...so you know it has to be enchanted there. I believe that this will find itself to be one of our favorite places to visit. I just love days like this one was!

Timber!

2011-08-04T21:27:00.001-07:00

Early last week a storm raged outside. The winds whipped around our home and trees and the rain came down in huge sheets. It was more water in one evening than I have ever seen in my life in Arizona. With the storm, a large portion of a tree in our front yard came down also. The rest of this beautiful but dead 100 + year old was draping itself above Quayde's bedroom. He has been sleeping in the landing in the hallway since that night. Early this morning the tree company came to take down the rest of the 75 feet.

The had to take piece by piece and swing it out away from the roof. Then the rest of the tree was chopped and pulled with a truck to fall towards the front. It came down loud and hard!

A very big truck parked literally right in front of my bedroom window. They came very early this morning.

Yes that is posion ivy wrapped around the tree. Everyone has been warned, "DO NOT TOUCH"!

Thank you so much to the men who worked so hard this morning. Anyone want to help come and cut it all up? It's going to take us a little while to finish the clean up.The cost of getting the tree down was not cheap but I feel it was necessary considering the safety issues. We have to finish the rest of it ourselves. I am so grateful that the rest of the tree did not come down on the house and Quayde is grateful that tonight he has his bedroom back. A Big Thank You to the guys from Frazier's Tree Service!

Family Project

2011-08-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

Last week we received a phone call from a lady at church. Would we like some chickens? She had bought a few chickens at Easter and now they were getting too big for her house.

Ahhh ummmm sure...we will take your chickens.

Honestly, Michael and I debated about chickens a few months ago. Was it worth it? Did the outlay of cost balance against the eggs? Could we protect them out here in the wilds of Maryland?

Okay... but they are free chickens. Ha ha ha! No such thing as a free chicken.

We headed to the lumber store, got the children gathered and started on our extensive chicken coop.

Each one of them wanted to participate in building our monument of living in the country.

Thayne loves to measure and mark!

Michael always concentrates so hard. I love this about him. Makes me smile.

Maliea was holding up the frames and Chaiya took her turn at screwing boards together.

Not quite ready for the chicken wire yet, it is going to take a few more hours of work.

Obviously we are building for more than just two chickens. The Mennonites down the way have plenty for sale and we will probably pick up some more.

Keep up the concentration boys. Those screws need just the right placement.

Okay big kids...quite texting and get back over here. The sun was going down and we still have a lot to do. Michael is going to cut out the doors, vent holes etc... later. It will match the house and garage after all is said and done.

It is a beginning, we have so much more work to do. A beginning of a lot of things I imagine. We really thought that the experience this will bring to the children far outweighs the several hundred dollars in costs it will be to make this nice. I really feel it is so important, especially now, that our children fully understand how and where their food comes from. They are growing an appreciation of food, eating, and understanding. Growing chickens is important to growing children.

A beachy afternoon

2011-07-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Michael's truck decided that it doesn't want to be a member of our family currently, ie.... the transmission has gone out. So our schedule for the last several weeks has been quite difficult. Chaiya works north, Michael works south and the rest of the family has needs also. Driving has become our summer past time and this is something I am not pleased about at all.

So... finally a free afternoon and our little beach was calling to us. I haven't been feeling quite well so I grabbed a yum book to inspire me. We boiled up some corn, grabbed a blanket and some towels and we were set.

Lydia is slowly overcoming her fear of water. She was able to float along the shoreline by herself without being frightened at all. Maybe by the end of summer, she will feel secure enough to get rid of her floaty suit and try to learn to swim.

Chaiya came and joined in too. From their faces you would assume the water was cold but it was really perfect.

Yum! Yum! I think Lydia ate the most corn tonight.

Most of the time, Michael always looks mean. I love this picture because he is trying not to laugh at me while I take it.

The baby ospreys are not small anymore! This nest is a good distance away. It is such a huge structure on that broken boat house. I'm sure they won't be in their nest too much longer.

Michael dragged this large clay deposit out of the water so he could play with the crabs.

If you look really close you will be able to see the crab trying to escape in the middle crevice. Chaiya and Michael were messing with the barnacles on the bottom. They seemed to have little tongues that they were sticking out.

Thayne is ever the fish. I don't think he left the water at all for a full five minutes. He would jump off of his daddy and do little flips. We took the floaty suit off and he is doing a good job of learning how to swim. If he would hold still long enough to try and float, he would do great.

Even though the Pax river is not the ocean...the smell of the salt water from the Bay just down the way makes us live in our little illusion that we are on the ocean. Sun, sand and little waves make for the best afternoon.

two QOTD

2011-07-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I was enjoying a wonderful conversation with my sweet sister Shawna. All of a sudden, she starts hollering " Get the elephant off the table, Get that elephant off the table! I'm trying to feed your brother"

This evening my stressed out husband is working on a mid-term. He states," Why do I keep coming back to fog"

Letterboxing in MD

2011-07-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we thought it would be a fun activity to continue our letterboxing adventures. We have been letterboxing since 2004 and our large journal book we use is about a quarter of the way full with images and memories. We headed out to St. Mary's state park.

When I catch them helping each other so tenderly, it makes my heart melt.

Come on Maliea, figure out the clues. We have a lot to find today!

Hey, this is not the letterbox.

Thayne wanted to really check the little guy out anyway.

There were so many awesome mushrooms all over the forest floor.

Mom, I am so hot!

Here brother, let me wipe your forehead with the tissue I brought.

Whose idea was this? It is over 90 degrees out here and I am pouring sweat.

What ever animal took a bite of this is probably regretting it.

Chaiya, aka Sweaty Girl. "MOM! I'm hungry and tired"

Okay so the trail wasn't always wheelchair friendly.

Best older brother ever!

We actually had a blast. It was so much fun and we got six new images. Although we did all decide that maybe letterboxing in Maryland is a sport that we should do in the Spring or Fall. We spent hours out there. Michael says he knows that eyebrows were invented to keep the sweat from getting into your eyes. I love my family so much! We make great memories together.

The 4th is Fabulous!

2011-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

Highlights from our evening of fun and fireworks!

One of the great things about Maryland is that we can do our own fireworks!

Light it and run, Daddy

So very much fun to enjoy fireworks right outside our front door.

Wineberry and Blackberry Pie, of course!

Tired and happy kiddos!

Happy Independence Day

the smallest snail

2011-07-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

We found this wee snail as we were foraging for berries in the woods yesterday. He is so very tiny!

baked oatmeal yumm!

2011-07-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Okay....so Heidi Swanson's baked oatmeal recipe has been a little bit of a star in the blogging world for awhile. I just never have gotten around to making it until now! Oh my what delight......

There are endless ways to make this with berry / fruit combinations. For ours, I took peaches, blackberries and wineberries. I forgot to add any nuts though. I adjusted the sweetener down a bit and the kiddos thought that it needed the full amount. Chaiya even added a bit of agave to hers. Michael and Thayne ate theirs with milk poured over the top. I think it would be delish with vanilla ice cream for a dessert also. This will probably become a staple in the winter time for cold mornings but it was yummy even on a warm summer one.

Loving this song!

2011-06-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Thayne's is SIX!

2011-06-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

My little boy (okay he was never little) has turned SIX! Wow these last six years have flown by. He is sweet and crazy and full of wonder about everything. He requested that his family party should be at Chuck E Cheese. This is not a place that we go to. Interestingly, Chaiya wanted the same thing for her sixth birthday. They received similar gifts, which included a set of real tools. So, to have a happy little boy off we drove up to Waldorf...even though this was a very un-waldorf birthday . hehehe

This was his very favorite thing to do there. You had to pedal very fast in order for the helicopter to rise up in the air. He made it to the very top.

He enjoyed most of the mechanical rides. I was surprised he didn't play the video games as much as I thought he would.

We had pizza and salad. For months he has been seeing these pillow pet things in the store. This was his favorite present. He has carried it with him all over the place, I don't think it will replace the blankee though.

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill sent him a really cool bug catcher gun with a vest and a badge.

Can I eat it all?

Six candles wasn't any problem at all for this kid. After all the excitement of the day, and sugar, I expected him to be really wild. Thayne went to bed early with his pillow, he was so very tired and said it was the best birthday for someone who is six. We love our Thayne so much!!!

Ohio! Museum #2

2011-06-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Are we done with this vacation yet?

Our last full day and we headed over to another museum to get a feel of what life on a boat on the Ohio river would be like. Only problem was it was incredibly hot and humid. Our tour started with an old tour guide that knew every single square inch of his boat.

Thayne wanted to explore everything, try it all out. Our guide was very nervous that Thayne would escape and accidentally fall into the river. I had a fairly tight grip on him most of the time.

One of the parts the kids liked best was all the different bells and clangs that meant different messages to the crew and captain.

Thayne wanted to try and hold the biggest wrench he ever saw.

Here we are all trying to smile and be attentive but it was really hot and we had been on the boat for about an hour. We didn't really need to know about every single part...really!

For some reason I don't have any pictures of the older kids. They were troopers and didn't complain once. I did. Once we were inside and cooled off a little, we learned some interesting facts about flooding and weather. There were artifacts from the good ole' days of traveling by boat. Lots of pretentious stuff!

Oh wait...I do have a picture of Quayde. He is not doing what you think, only pretending for fun.

We had a really great trip full of lots of memories and good times with the people we love in Ohio (and W. Virginia - Lisa and Bill). We stayed at the Microtell for $65 a night and it had free breakfast. Some other highlights were going to the movies with Nana and sharing meals with everyone.

Ohio! Where we spent all our money

2011-06-22T21:03:00.001-07:00

We heard tell of a incredible toy store and found that it is located in an old train. As we walked up the freakiest old giant teddy bear was waiting to say hello. It's nose is held on with nails!!! We were not quite sure about walking into the place but what we found was....

THE COOLEST TOY STORE EVER!

It is called Whipple's Whimsical Toys and we spent a lot of time and a lot of money but had so much fun!

The place is filled with all kinds of old fashioned and European toys, books and games.

Tops that sing, wind-up robots, pop guns, yo-yos...you name it, if it is a retro toy they probably have it.

Chaiya wanted to buy this for her nephew Joaquin. Really she was having a blast.

Maliea couldn't decide, she finally chose a prism for her window.

There was so many choices, even books and old fashioned candy.

Chaiya got this set of Tiddlywinks. She was later playing them in the hotel laundry and found out she was not as clever with it as she had hoped.

We literally spent more money here than any where else on the vacation. We are totally toy addicted. We got gyroscopes, magnets, games, cap gun bomb things, magic slates and a few more fun things we just had to have. I would have loved to have a few of the intricate wind up toys but they are a little pricey. Maybe next time. It will definitely be a place we will come back to the next time we come a visiting. Oh so much fun!!

Ohio! Downtown Marietta

2011-06-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Marietta is at a the point where the Ohio river meets the Muskingum. Which we learned can be a bad thing when it floods. The downtown area reminded us so much of our beloved old hometown in Az.

There are fun murals on the walls!

Good advice is written where you least expect it.

We have no idea who Ivan was but he has several plaques up and down the street.

There was seriously good shopping. I could have spent some serious dollars if I was richer. Fun boutiques and unique stores with decor and items that make you feel happy inside were around every corner

Okay, so none of us drink but this sign was in the brewing company there and it made me a little homesick.

Later, the girls and I ducked down an ally to take some pictures

We had a lot of ........

This sign was the one really crazy thing that stood out though. A four way stop but with exceptions.

Ohio! Museum #1

2011-06-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Trying to make sure that we got to visit with as many relatives as possible was one of our goals. On Monday night we got to have dinner with Nana and Aunt Lori, Uncle Wayne and Becki. On Tuesday we were spoiled once again and had a delightful evening with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill. For some reason I don't have any pictures. Probably because we were all having such a great time eating and playing around. It was so much fun getting to know Michael's sisters better. They are both amazing people! On Wednesday we were able to spend a little time with Grandpa Tom. He first took us to a cemetery! What he didn't know before hand was that our kids love cemeteries!!!

After about an hour in the hot sun, I think he was about through and the kids still wanted to read all the amazing headstones.

This was probably one of the most unique ones there. The middle of the cemetery is a huge mound. I can't remember its official name. This is where all the native First people buried their leaders. I would love to go back and learn more.

Then we headed over to Campus Martius. Learning about the first white settlers and seeing how they lived was quite fascinating. We could have spent all day there.

This picture is of the original corner home from the fort that was near where the two rivers meet. It is three stories and fit inside this building. We got to go inside and view two of the floors and look at all the tools and furniture that the family used. It is on the exact spot where it was originally built. This was really cool!

Did you know that the bedtime message, " Good night, sleep tight..." comes from the wish that the rope that binds the bed will not loosen in the night and have one fall through to the floor.

Quayde just had to find a weapon!

There was a lot of hands-on stuff in the museum to explore and play around with.

This is what happens when you let your sisters get a hold of you!

There was so very much to see and do in this museum. Down stairs was a huge area that told all about the more recent history during the growth of the US. There was an area about mining, where the kids could learn about the dangers and try on clothes. There was this lovely lady above that took tickets for the train....this mannequin scared the heck out of Chaiya. We believe she was a little haunted.

The littles had fun dressing up and there was videos and telephones where you could listen to people tell about their lives.

My favorite part was looking at all the daily life tools and household items from way back. These boxes intrigued me. According to the placard, the boxes would be filled with sand and then you turned them over and the figures would move because of tiny gears that the sand would pour through.

We had the most delightful day! Thank you Grandpa Tom for the afternoon and the pizza!

Ohio! Old Man's Cave

2011-06-19T20:33:00.001-07:00

Descending down, down, down to the hiking trails. this is not a handicap accessible place. Michael was the true hero and champion by the end because carrying a 70lb Lydia is no easy feat!

Chaiya is fascinated by how green everything is.

The trail had very sculpture like pieces for steps. It was really amazing how man-made structures and nature could compliment each other so well.

The moss was very slippery. Thayne tried to climb up and promptly slide right back down.

The spooky tunnel. Lydia was so excited about going inside a dark tunnel.

Quayde and Daddy had to seriously duck their heads down. It was a lot of fun traveling through in the dark.

I fell in love with this bridge! It seemed so magical. It also reminded me of fairy tales of where a troll might live underneath.

This is a place where a camera (okay not my camera) can not fully capture the true beauty of everything that is surrounding you. The water, the way the light is reflecting and bouncing off the leaves; it was all so peaceful and dreamy.

Lydia was struggling to climb and it was incredibly hot and muggy. We kept on going and climbing back up the stone staircase.

The falls were pretty, there was no way we could take Lydia around to all the caves in the area so we enjoyed the beauty of just this one. It is called Old Man's Cave after a man that lived there in the 1800's

When we were down below, Thayne had seen the underside of this bridge and swore it was the coolest treehouse ever. We just had to go across and look down to how far below we had been.

Back at the top, hot and sweaty but full of wonder at how incredible it was. It was definitely worth the drive up. I would like to go back someday in the Autumn when the leaves are changing. We made sure we stopped at the gift shop and got our magnet. On the way we had passed a Sonic. Oh we have missed getting treats there since we left Az. So we had to make a snack break on the way back to Parkersburg to visit Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill. What a great afternoon!

Ohio! Day one

2011-06-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

It was really important for Michael to attend the Callihan family reunion the first weekend in June. So we all hopped on in the van and took a short 6 1/2 hour drive. Which is nothing now that we are seasoned 'travel across the country' people. The next morning we arrived at the camp ground which was so beautiful. There we shared a potluck lunch, visited and headed to the pool.

Going off the diving board for the first time, Quayde had to gather a little bit of courage to make the leap. After that it wasn't a problem at all.

Lydia's first time in a pool without her Daddy having to hold her way above the water. Chaiya was really careful and within a little while even Lydia wasn't afraid anymore.

Thayne is just part fish! This boy has no fear at all and was jumping off the edge doing twists and making complete perfect dives off the diving board. Maliea enjoyed the pool also but I didn't get a good picture of her and after 18 years+ of never getting in a pool I actually went for it! I conquered my fears of water last year and spent most of the afternoon with the kids swimming around.

Nana, Uncle Bill and Aunt Lisa all hung around for a little bit and watched us play.

Later in the evening we passed this great old covered bridge heading to Nana's. It is boarded up so you can't drive over it but it is still a beauty. The end of our first day was spent with more visiting and enjoying good food. Michael drove us all around showing us all his boyhood hang out spots and where he went to school etc... We had so much fun. I am way behind on posting this trip and Thayne's birthday etc... so I will try and get my act together and get all the pictures up of our adventures.(smiles)

For anyone else who cares.....

2011-06-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Marietta, Ohio 2011

For Grandpa Tom

2011-06-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Thayne in all his craziness!

For Nana

2011-06-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tie-Dyed Fun

2011-06-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

Lydia got a tie dye kit for her birthday. She was so excited to 'make' her own shirts. Quayde wanted to have fun too! So I purchased another kit also and we did a lot of shirts. Each kit was different and we did wet and dry techniques with varying results.

Two of the shirts came out like the kids had been playing psychedelic paintball. These were on dry fabric and they are still fairly bright.

Thayne wanted green! His turned out really well. This was a wet technique with lots of rubber bands.

The bundles in the back are ones that were wet and turned out as spirals. They took a lot more processing and were not finished until the next morning. The kit with all the pink and red was a little more intense in color and is not fading as much as the wet tech. with the spray on kind. This is a project we are definitely going to do again and again. The shirts are inexpensive and the kids love wearing them. It makes it easier to spot them when we are out in crowds too. lol

Maliea is now 23!!!

2011-06-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Baltimore! No traffic at all driving up for Maliea's birthday excursion. Until we were only 2 1/2 miles away from the National Aquarium, then it took us 25 minutes to drive past this smoke stack thing. Maliea was so excited when I told her what her birthday adventure was going to be.

Our first major stop was inside the Aquarium. It is several stories high and simply amazing in the architecture. This is a great picture of the two of us despite it being blurry. Moving escalator and mirrors!

So very ,very much to see and do. Rays and Sharks with a 4D movie in-between. What is a 4D movie? We didn't know but since we were told the Dolphin show was cancelled we purchased tickets. After being misted, poked in the back, air blown in our faces and our bodies shaken, we were not sure about watching a movie about the Poles of the World in 4D.

Maliea always has change in her wallet. She wanted to help save part of a coral reef, so she donated.

Our favorite parts of the aquarium!! I loved the jellyfish exhibit. It was very difficult to capture nice pictures because often the rooms were to dark and there was reflection off of the displays. I learned if I pressed the lens straight to the glass, the pictures turned out fairly good.

When we got to the aquarium, we were told there had been a new baby dolphin born in the last several weeks and they cancel all shows for awhile to help the baby adjust. Maliea was disappointed to say the least. Then to our surprise; after all the school groups left, they opened up the dolphin tanks. We got to get really close to them. Then a staffer told us how to see the baby in the far tank. Maliea was so very delighted! This was her very favorite part. She loves dolphins so much.

After the aquarium...what to Maliea's happy eyes did she see? Oh YES! The biggest Barnes and Noble she has ever located. My happy fortune was that it was right next door. I couldn't have asked for an easier route.

We both thought this statue was a little odd! We spent 2 1/2 hours in the bookstore, of course leaving with a few copies of books from Maliea's favorite authors.

We then headed to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. The portions are huge! We could only eat a small amount and then we got some cheesecake to take home.

As we left, the aquarium was lit up for the evening. It was way past 10pm! Maliea really had the best birthday. I loved getting to spend time just her and me! I can't believe my little one is now so grown up and OLD. Her sweet spirit is such a joy in our lives. Maliea, we love you so much! Thank you for being part of our family. Happy Birthday my dearest daughter!

2011-06-01T18:20:00.001-07:00

QOTD: Chaiya says,' you're so old that your friends would appreciate a gift certificate for botox'

Starting over

2011-05-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

I've been missing... after Lydia's birthday, we used her money to get a mp3 player. It was what she really really wanted. I plugged it in to my trusty laptop, my security went crazy and said a virus was coming from my usb port...then CRASH.
Yes indeed...everything on it went to cyber heaven. Luckily I was smart and had most of the pics, documents etc.. on usbs or sd cards.
Today I spent 4+ hours working on it and got it to be re-newed. This means I have a fresh computer...with no links etc.. but it is working well and I get to start over.

So, as soon as I have some more time, I have lovely things to share. Maliea had an amazing birthday. We have created a cool outdoor fun area. There are beautiful things popping up in the yard. So many things to share! I will try to get pics etc.. loaded so I can show you all what fun we have been having.

Spy Party: part three

2011-05-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Our hunt was amazing. The girls were running so fast, Lydia had a hard time keeping up but she was having so much fun.

Funny note: When writing in invisible writing...sometimes a letter gets left out by mistake. Luckily the girls were very forgiving.

Ohhhhh come on, you are so close to the clue. It took several times of looking through the books before they found the hidden vial.

Quayde played his part so well. Not only did he do the video clue, he welcomed them to the main office and congratulated them on being successful. Once they made it to the hidden room, they entered in the dark. We had flashing red lights and glow sticks all over the walls. It was really neat looking.

The camera couldn't capture all the flashing lights, but it really was a intriguing environment.

I got the sparkler candles, they really put off some sparks! The girls each got a bomb cupcake with a candle and I asked them when they blew it out to make a wish for Lydia. Lydia really managed to blow out all 11 candles. Can you believe it??? She made it to 11, it makes me so very happy!

There are so many more moments and pictures. It was truly an awesome party. Even though she was totally exhausted from the evening, she was running around, laughing and singing way past her bedtime. It was so fun and worth the work to have her so very happy.

Spy Party: part two

2011-05-18T22:15:00.001-07:00

Lydia and I put together 'debriefing packets' instead of traditional party goodie bags. We made a certificate for each girl saying that they had completed the basic agent course. These included a flash light, glow sticks, sunglasses, pen, notebook, torture device, magnifier and a decoder wheel. The evidence bags had tnt (pop rocks), ring pops, USA tootsie rolls, gold foil chocolate coins, and 1000 grand bars.

Sign to show where the house was. Important for the guest to know where to in-process.

We had the table decorated with specimen dishes and magnifying glasses. Lydia was so thrilled, she gave it a big thumbs up. The schedule was held to closely. We had invited 10 girls and Thayne was going to play too so everything had to be fairly organized or it would be chaos.

Our schedule was as follows:

5:00 to 5:30 In-Processing ( This included getting dressed up and their picture taken for their badges, fingerprinting and the Agency Entry test, the word search puzzle I made)

5:30 to 6:00 Dinner

6:00 to 6:45 Agent Training During this we covered Observation, Listening skills, Disguises, Concealment, Signals and deceit, and Codes.

6:45 to 7:30 The Mission - scavenger hunt to find the main office of headquarters

This clue held a "blank" piece of paper. They had to use the paint brush and watercolor vial they found earlier to read the invisible writing to find the next clue.

Our garden security was keeping track of another clue. First they had a clue saying that they didn't," Gno Me".

This one was up in the top of the garage. It took them a little bit to figure out to go out past the front to the big power box.

The balloons were bombs. They were each filled with a clue that the girls had to put together to make a sentence. I also had clues hidden under their cups that they had used at dinner. There was a treat with fruit snacks and another clue in the fireplace. The hollowed out book was where the watercolor was hidden. By the time they got to the last clue, it was a video tape of Quayde leading them to a room where the caged bird sings. They then had to find their way to our attic room.

7:30 to 8:00 We had bomb cupcakes and finished the celebration.

It went super fast the girls were very quick with the clues! More to come......

Spy Party: part one

2011-05-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

This year for Lydia's birthday she wanted a party. We thought and thought about what she liked and came up with a spy theme. I think that receiving an awesome invitation sets the whole tone for a party. So we took a picture of Lydia and I used Picnik to alter and create the Polaroid look. Then we made copies to go with the invite.

I used several free fonts from the DaFont site, one called CIA code and two different Top Secret ones. The black folder is just a piece of card stock folded in two then folded up two inches and secured on the sides with double stick tape. We added the picture of Lydia and a black balloon. They were exactly 1 oz so it only cost .44 cents to mail. I was going to hand deliver them but mailing was cheaper than gasoline.

I picked up the plastic badges and clips for less than $4 at a discount store. Using the CIA symbol as clip art, I typed up the badge and printed on card stock. When the girls arrive we will dress them up..take their picture and then finish assembling their badges while they eat dinner.

Part of their in-processing will be doing the word find. I just used an online word find generator

and included the girls' names in it for fun along with spy words like: case, document, undercover etc....

We are going to take their finger prints to use in a matching game later in the evening. The Boy Scouts site had a great page for fingerprinting.

During the evening, the gifts will disappear and be taken to a secret location. I have been working to create a hunt to find clues to that location. I am taking a book and hollowing it out to hide one of the clues. First I glued the edges of the book with white glue using a paint brush. Then taking a craft knife began cutting through the pages.

It took me longer to cut through than I expected it would and my corners are not clean. I cut through down about an inch and a half. It will hold a vial of watercolor paint to reveal the invisible writing on a clue they will find. I again used white glue to seal the inside of the pages where I cut. I am thinking of painting the inside silver. There are still many preparations and I will post more pictures as I finish them. We are having a lot of fun getting ready.

2011-05-11T07:35:00.001-07:00

Lydia to Quayde: 'Sorry about tying you up yesterday. I was just trying to be despicable'

Happy 20th Chaiya!!!

2011-05-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

It's Chaiya's birthday!! The first stop was to get some decent Mexican food. When her plate came she thought that it was a lot of food. It was! Believe it or not she ate quite a substantial quantity of what was on that plate.

Me in delight...enjoying a chicken fajita! We also had fried ice cream then being quite stuffed we headed north. Took the Metro up to Chinatown to get to the Smithsonian's Gallery of American Art.

A seriously happy birthday girl!

Three floors with tons of different galleries! We got there about 2 o'clock and did not depart until after 7 pm! This was my favorite painting of the day.

See that line on the floor....Guess what happens if you cross it! Ask Chaiya how she knows. LOL

Isn't this amazing? I took this picture. I am very proud because it's the ceiling in the middle, looking out to the sky. So COOL!!!

Part of Chaiya's amazing day was finding the Art-O-Mat machine! I gifted her with three pieces of her choosing. The weird thing at the bottom is actually a cactus blossom turned into a mini basket with crystals in it. She already owns a few pieces from another machine back in Az. I think it is a quest for her to get many pieces from many machines.

I maybe wrong but I believe Chaiya loves impressionists best.

Tammy...look I found the ever elusive penny machine!

We had the best time. There was so much to soak in and discover! One of our favorites was a piece with moving lights by David Hockney. I took a long video of it and how it moved and changed color but I can't get it to load all the way. Amazing stuff!

Happy Birthday my amazing art loving girl. We had the best time together! Our evening was topped off by the local Haggen Dazs shop giving away free ice cream cones and we got the best soft pretzels ever from the street. After a quick stop into Urban Outfitters, we jumped back on the Metro and headed home to a birthday cake made by Maliea.

2011-05-07T14:53:00.001-07:00

Just passed Several Amish families coming into the property to camp for the night. They were loaded up with Papa Johns pizza, diet Pepsi and Lays potato chips!

Good morn'

2011-04-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Weekend!

2011-04-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

The beauty that surrounds us

2011-04-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

This post is seriously picture heavy. I wanted to share some of the beauty that is showing up in my yard.

This early evening as I went out on the porch, the sun was sending a golden glow over everything. Believe it or not , these pictures are only capturing part of the magic here.

There are four kinds of azaleas across the yard. The red ones have yet to bloom, each plant is quite amazing. So many flowers!

When you come, you and I can sit here and delight in the sounds and majesty while sipping lemonade and eating scones. I might even get up enough energy to finish mowing that patch of grass.

odd conversation

2011-04-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Chaiya and Maliea had a new friend over. He wanted see where we lived and hang out. He was such a nice and patient young man. Especially with the littles who wouldn't leave him alone. He even graciously knew how to get out of awkward conversations like this.....
Lydia: Did you know this is where my boobs are going to grow when I am older....like 13? (pointing to her shirt)
Richard: Did I just hear her right?
Chaiya: Yes
Lydia: Chaiya, when did you get your boobs?
Richard: Please don't answer that

Chaiya wanted to kill her. Obviously Lydia and I need to have a little talk! Don't know if Richard will be back.

Happy!

2011-04-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Furniture always make a room look less cavernous. We have finally found the perfect rug and sofa for the red room. I actually had found a rug from Crate and Barrel that I loved but they didn't sell it anymore and boy am I happy. I am happy because this beautiful 6 x 9 ft rug was only $39 on discount. I love a good deal! Plus it matches the green and red perfectly. Chaiya and I spotted the sofa a few weeks ago and when Michael and I went to get it today, the store did not have any in stock. I expressed to the salesman that I would probably be lynched by my children if I did not return home with one. He sold us the display for 20% off. Now we just need a few more little touches and we will have one room just perfect!

Most amazing place

2011-04-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Chaiya wanted to play a practical April fools joke on her friends. So we spent one morning taking pictures of her and Quayde pretending to be engaged. We were trying get good pictures that did not show Quayde as much. I love this picture! He was being such a good sport about all of this. Here he is saying , "just let go of my hand!" and of course Chaiya is having a good time. The older kids are so much fun. I love being a parent!

When we went to the beach yesterday, Lydia really surprised me by climbing this 15 ft + cliff to be with Thayne. He, of course has no trouble scaling up the dirt. She worked really hard to be up there with him. She is hanging on that vine not to slide down too fast. I admire her determination to try even when things are really hard. I know she says "I'm really not a princess" but she is to me! My heart is so full as I need to stand back and let her struggle a little to accomplish things that are easy for others. She always amazes me. Our school group kids and the girls at church have been wonderful to her. Lydia tells me she loves it here and feels welcome. It is good!

I am totally in love with this place. This house, the woods, the beach and everything. Most afternoons when the sun is shining through the windows and I am looking out at all the beauty, it stuns me and takes my breath away. The camera can not capture it at all.

This tree is right out the back porch. I have no idea what kind of tree it is but its bright pink against the green of the other trees is just stunning. I am falling in love with this area bit by bit and while I miss the rocks and dirt of Arizona and definitely my friends, Maryland is starting to feel like home. I'm grateful to be here.

Spring is here!

2011-03-28T16:13:00.001-07:00

I am looking through the glass, through smudges and fingerprints at a backyard that has come to life in the past week. The deep pinks splash themselves against the almost fluorescent green as each tree is trying to out do the other with color. Michael and Quayde dragged an old tire from the beach. It is now hanging by a bright yellow tow strap from a branch waiting for a small child to swing. The sunlight streaming through the windows in our red room tells me that the earth indeed has shifted. It is tricky though and one thinks that it could be quite warm outside but it is not the case. Lydia and Thayne still run out for a few minutes, then rush back in needing to be rubbed up to get warm. It is starting to be a glorious season. Even better...I have had not a single sneeze or swollen eyelid yet! Maryland agrees with me so far.

If you are traveling through our county you will find these somewhat not too attractive birds. They are everywhere you would not expect them. Painted in random colors and designs they are going to be part of a scavenger hunt I think. I have no idea just how many there are around. Some of the poor birds are not in the best condition. I want to take the camera, the kids and snacks (of course) and spend a day hunting them down to see how many we can locate. It just needs to get a little bit warmer.

The sign does say "buggy parking only"! We live just a few roads down from a thriving Amish community. They have permission to come on the farm and go to the beach area, of which we have heard they spend a great deal of time at when it gets warmer. So what do you think the rules are for sharing the beach with the Amish??? There are many farmers markets that they frequent, most do not open up until next month. There is a combo farmers/flea/black market a few miles north. This pic of the wall came from there. When we went last, Quayde said he had never seen so many blatantly pirated movies and cds sold out in the open in his life. Hey anyone need a little Beyonce? I can get you a cheap copy. Oh..to clarify it is not the Amish selling the pirated things. They are just selling over priced puppies and chickens right now. Yes...Maryland is quite the unique place to live.

Leprechaun Trap

2011-03-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

We heard tell of a legend, a myth maybe that if you catch a leprechaun that he must give you his pot of gold. Since we could really use some gold right now, we made the choice to try it.

So we laid a trap! It was a trap made from the things of nature. One must give every indication of authenticity when building a trap of this kind.

With moss lifted from the backyard and a few daffodils we had the beauty we needed. Thayne donated his gold dollar he recently got from El Raton (another story) for his tooth. We used some gold curling ribbon also to try to lure the leprechaun in. With the coin being securely tied to the stick, the trap was set. Quayde then went out back and sang a song about how happy his was to have his own gold. We needed to let leprechauns know that there was gold to be found.

In the morning the trap was tripped, the box was over the plate. Success!!! We thought we had trapped him.

Leprechauns are very tricky and this one got away. He did leave us a very nice treat for trying to trap him. I think Leprechauns appreciate sneakiness. Next year we will try and build a better trap because one can always use some extra gold.

For supper we had a delightful dish of green rice with green gravy. It did not look very appetizing and Thayne absolutely refused to eat it. Lydia ate three bowls, she didn't care at all. Since our movies are back in AZ we did not get a chance to watch our typical viewing of Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Today we are going to go out and hunt for signs of Spring...the sun is out!!!

Totally fun!

2011-03-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

I found these monster hand tattoos and thought the kids would love to play with on our trip across the United States. They ended up at the bottom of the travel box forgotten and were not used on the trip. We just found them in the closet and the fun began!

They are a little hard to apply. Having your hand at just the right angle sometimes was a little challenging.

Lydia and Quayde were having the best time with them I do believe. We all tried them and ate each other up, created funny dialog and had great time. Just remember though, one must remove prior to a grown up meeting later in the evening or you might be forced to explain what the heck is on your hand.

2011-03-08T19:01:00.002-07:00

Discouragement is to the soul what the Flu is to the physical body......but I am getting better!

Mysterious Trunk

2011-03-08T18:30:00.001-07:00

When I was a girl I loved a good mystery. Since reading was my favorite escape I found the mysteries deep within the written page. The Trixie Belden series was my favorite! I think I eventually amassed every one that was written and then gave them to a dear friend. When your ten years old and you find an old trunk in the attic, oh what imaginations run through your head. Lydia was playing in the attic and found this old trunk. We dragged it down the stairs and spent much of an afternoon reading the shipping tags and looking up old railroad information on the web.

Many of the tags were dated in the early 40's. We imagined what it might have contained. Oh what mysterious places it could have traveled. Lydia definitely inherited my love of all things of wonder. We still can not get the lock open....technically it is not our property so we are not breaking the lock. It is too light and nothing shakes or slides inside but we have had a dandy time though thinking about it's owner and the places that she could have traveled.

Do you like a good mystery?

dreaming...

2011-01-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Picked up our first seed catalog of the season. Trying to stay present in the Winter moments but I am drifting off and dreaming of Spring!

Some of the locals

2011-01-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

When one drives to the library, one does not expect to have a welcoming committee.

At the back of the parking lot there are probably close to 100 of these birds. I am guessing that they are turkey vultures. If anyone knows for sure, please correct me! They are quite large, could carry off a small dog or small child. When Chaiya went to get closer for a picture, Quayde made comments about dinner arriving.

Honestly, he's so ugly you kind of feel sorry for him.

Starting to decorate

2011-01-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...there was a magical place called the Ronald McDonald House. This place sheltered, fed and nurtured our bodies and souls for almost three months while Lydia was an infant. I will be eternally grateful for all the volunteers and everyone that makes those 'retreats' possible. There was a feeling there, a little bit formal and yet whimsical. We felt nothing but love emanating from the walls there. When I first saw pictures of the formal dining room in our new house I knew I wanted to try and re-create that feeling. There is not much money for decorating right now so I am starting with little things here and little things there. I had a Target gift card and was able to get the huge vases for only $3.74 each. I heart Target clearance!!!

We have two of these areas with the black vases. I found the fun disks sticks at Pier One. Now the steal of the day was these frames! Pottery Barn used to sell these exact frames for $20 a piece. I found these at this store up in Waldorf called the Christmas Tree Store. It has nothing to do with Christmas trees! Kind of like a Ross or TJ Max mixed with the dollar store. Okay that description probably isn't very good but anyway, I got these frames for $2.99 apiece!!! Oh yeah. I then just took pictures we took at our beach, turned them black and white, and now I have a little gallery. The top two are still waiting for pictures though.

Crate and Barrel doesn't carry the rug that would have matched all this anymore. Not that I could have afforded it right now ~~or ever~~. This area makes me smile everytime I go into that room.

new skills

2011-01-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

Our weekend included the simple joys of gathering and splitting firewood. The boys honestly love this. It creates a sprinkle of happiness in my soul to see them learning a life skill. My momma heart did a jump, right after I took this picture and saw that no one had eye protection on. After a simple scolding I ran back in as temperatures have been a little chilly for my Arizona blood.

As a child I, my family lived very briefly in Arkansas. I recall my Dad saying something about it being hell. One thing I do remember was the black walnuts there and the mess they made. When Michael and Thayne were out cutting firewood, they found a walnut tree. Oh how wonderful!

We are studying up on how to harvest and dry them for this year's season. Isn't it exciting what the land can provide!

Quick ingredients for simple firestarters; old egg carton, dryer lint and wax. Currently I do not have any old candles etc.. to melt down. I wouldn't normally use my good beeswax but it is what is available right now.

Another bounty from this nurturing land that surrounds us.....wild onions!

Homemade foccacia bread dough. It was the perfect dough to knead and shape. Although I let my Kitchen-Aid do most of the hard work, after its first rising I love the pleasure of kneading and shaping the dough.

What I had intended to become just part of our supper ended up constituting the main. We dipped pieces in marina and enjoyed a simple meal that was just right for our hungry tummies.

We have so much to learn about our new area. I am eager for Spring but still am wanting to stay present in the moment and enjoy this season for all it is.

Happy 15th Quayde

2011-01-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! Quayde, how did 15 years go so fast? My oldest son is turning into a man little by little but 15 seems so mature, so not a child anymore. His only request was to have a large breakfast that included real eggs and real bacon; with Lydia's allergies these items are not frequently in our home. Early in the morning at the time when he was born (okay I cheated and used AZ time) I crawled in his bed and relayed once again his birth story and my joy at having him. This is his favorite part of his birthday celebration! Guess what? There is becoming less and less room to share in that bed. Then he started his day with hot chocolate in bed. Coming downstairs he found his bacon!!!

Zack, his best friend is flying in next week to celebrate so we are waiting for more partying when Zack gets here. Quayde and I went out for his birthday dinner in the evening. Which, for him, included a big hunk of steak. Oh I have a happy boy! What an amazing person he is. I watched him as he pushed his sister in the swing and bent down to talk to Thayne kindly while we were at the park. He has a strong, sweet spirit and I am so blessed to be his mother.

Happy Birthday Quayde! I hope this year is full of new fun adventures for you and lots of things that make you happy!

Fun stuff!

2011-01-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

When I first saw these plates at Target, I fell in love with them! At the time we were still living in Prescott and I already had three different sets of (old) dishes so I very well could not justify purchasing something if I already had more than enough. Hello... give away everything to Goodwill...move across the country and all of a sudden I need new dishes..oh darn. Well, since our budget is really tight right now, I redeemed half of my points at MyPoints for a Target gift card. Whooo Hoooo! Two sets with the gift card only costs $5. Bonus: the colors match all the rooms that we might possibly eat in. They just make me feel all happy inside when we eat. I'm easy to please I guess.

Next fun thing: Contraband! Our government, seems to think the American people are just stupid. So they outlaw amazing incredibly fun things like Kinder Eggs. For the past seven years these great eggs have been part of our holiday celebrations. They are becoming harder and harder to acquire because well... they are not allowed to be in the United States anymore. They are chocolate eggs that are hollow and inside are these great little toys. In Europe the toys sometimes become collectibles. You would be amazed at how they can have little airplanes and tops all crammed in to such a tiny container.

I tried multiple ways to acquire some this year. All of my efforts had failed. Oh yeah for a husband with European connections. Although they didn't make it for Christmas, we have had a great deal of enjoyment playing with and eating them now. I have a major thank you note to write to our secret supplier. Feels good to be a little bad. hehehe

A visit from the tooth fairy

2011-01-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is no longer a baby! Thayne lost his first tooth late Sunday evening. Daddy took this picture, which to me looks as if Thayne is yelling instead of showing the gap in his mouth. He was so excited this morning to awaken to tooth fairy treats. I just love the magic of childhood.
ps: the other one next to it is a little bit loose too!

More Savior like Thee

2011-01-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

My heart has been very heavy in trying to figure out how to respond to a reaction. I must respond because this is my blog and what I write here is based on our family's activities and life together. The hard times and the good times are both included.

In August, I started trying to incorporate in my thoughts each day the concept: Noble Intent. That is I try to approach every one and every action coming from another with the thought that these people are acting from their highest self and from noble intent.

Now, I know this isn't really always true. Since I have started this there has been much peace that has come to my soul, my heart has changed and has truly helped me love others so much more. I am learning how to more deeply love even those that I do not know. Some times it is not easy to imagine what someone's highest, noblest intent might be when they are being selfish or petty. I imagine scenarios or how they might be afraid or feeling insecure; that way I can send loving energy their way. My deepest desire is that I might be more like my Savior Jesus Christ, that someday I might be able to see everyone and automatically feel love. I have a long way to go I am sure. I believe though that my heart's intent will help me grow to be better.

Honestly, why wouldn't you want others to feel loved and appreciated in all ways. Loving others never, ever takes away from loving someone else. Love always grows, it does not diminish.

On to the New Year...

2011-01-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

It has been quite warm here over the last weekend and this snowman is no more. Thayne and Quayde worked really hard last week on creating him. In the end a small boy and a large one destroyed him bit by bit and all that remains is a memory.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty of this place! I feel like I am living in a surreal postcard. Everywhere I turn there is something new to be discovered. There are so many types of birds! I've seen raccoons and opossums right out in my front yard. this is going to be such an amazing place to learn new things from.

Thursday evening Michael's mom, affectionately known around here as Nana, arrived for a long weekend visit. She is such a precious person and we so enjoy having her here. With her visit, we opened gifts on New Year's Eve. Quayde has this character called Chicken Joe; he obnoxiously uses the character's name in everything to tease his sisters. You have never seen a teen-aged boy so happy as when he opened this box and found a glass chicken. He was laughing and giggling so happy that Chicken Joe is now real.

Chaiya created some stunning earrings that Nana received.

Chaiya danced around the family room with her new chair on her head. Just like the mushrooms in the old Fantasia movie. It was great!

BEST GIFT of the evening!!! Maliea asked to have a donation to Heifer International given in her name. She received a letter telling her to check her email that contained a thank you card to her. She gave a flock of ducks and a flock of chickens. Maliea just glowed the rest of the evening. She said it was the best present ever!

The rest of the evening was spent playing games, eating treats, having lots of fun with Nana! We had our traditional poppers that make us all look a little goofy with our paper crowns.

I just love this crazy boy of mine!

Oh what fun! Nana brought the Mexican Train game and taught all the kids how to play.

We laughed at jokes and then Lydia ended up with just about every one's little prizes. There was a lot of little girlie type ones and Lydia was thrilled. I love this picture of Nana even if she doesn't.

I honestly think that Maliea was the happiest all evening long. She has a true service heart and was just so touched by the animals that were donated. I think she will shine all year long.

A shark tooth and horseshoe crab

2011-01-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Amazing things are happening! Yesterday we took our Nana, who is visiting, down to our beach. We packed a picnic lunch and were excited to show her our new magical place. Before we sat down to enjoy our meal, a hike down across the sand was in order. Coming from Arizona, the beach...well any beach, feels special. The fact that we now have a beach in our own backyard is amazing. I am overwhelmed at all the possibilities of exploring nature that are surrounding us.

Michael had just mentioned hearing something about horseshoe crabs being in the area. Not even ten minutes later, Quayde starts yelling for us to come see what they found.

It was really cool! Of course it wasn't alive anymore, just its shell. While we were investigating all its pieces and parts, we found something else.....

A Shark's tooth!!!

Apparently these are to be found commonly around these parts, if you know what you are looking for. We had hoped to find some but were so surprised when we actually did. This just was a great highlight to a perfect afternoon. It was 50+ degrees and just right for spending a afternoon together. We have been having an amazing time learning about our new 'neighborhood'.

ps.. he really loves it here!

Sugar cookies - yum!

2010-12-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

Our holiday sugar cookie making was delayed until this week. This was probably the most expensive batch of sugar cookies we have ever made. Finding margarine that is vegan proved quite difficult around this area and we found a health food store that had a couple of boxes of Earthbalance sticks left at $5.69 a piece.

Mix it up, push it around, cut it out...oh what fun! The key to vegan sugar cookies staying together is using vegan cream cheese. Toffutti makes a great one. It was a tad bit on the pricey side too. I will have to hunt closer to DC to find a larger whole foods market. Don't worry I will be supporting the local ladies here alot!

While these are not healthy at all, they sure taste amazing! Lydia and Thayne had so much fun. Lydia was in charge of putting on the sprinkles after the frosting. I'm not sure if Daddy even had one after he got home, the cookies were munched so quickly!

Good morning!

2010-12-30T06:33:00.002-07:00

Sunrise from out my bathroom window

Christmas Morning

2010-12-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

We told the kids that Santa was probably going to come to our house on New Year's because we were running so far behind with Christmas, just moving and all. They were all good with that but apparently Santa is never late! Lydia awoke to the most beautiful doll house, she was still very tired but quite happy.

Thayne is trying to figure out what is this bug thing in my stocking. This became one of the best toys to play with on the floor and it was chased around all over the place.

Chaiya is reading the letter from Santa. He leaves a letter every year for them. The letter gave them a hard time for not leaving cookies out, but Santa said he was just joking. Santa also said that the North Pole is never, not on schedule; even if your parents don't have things together.

A very happy Quayde! One of his favorite gifts in his stocking was a giant safety pin.

Maliea is carefully investigating all the treats from her stocking. Stockings are what the children claim as their favorite part of Christmas morning. They always get breakfast items and special little gifts. Santa leaves one gift and the stocking and that constitutes what our Christmas morning gifts are. We spend the rest of the week and New Year's Eve extending our celebration.

Thayne is gleeful about having his own DS. He can link up to his brother's and they can play a game together. This is a very special treat. We do not have very many electronic devices around our home. They can play the Big Brain academy and Mario together. Good brother bonding time! Of course they think we should purchase a Wii after playing at Kristi's house. We don't even have a tv at all so I don't think that would work too well for them.

Nana is coming for New Year's! We are going to pick her up tomorrow and we are so excited to have her share in our celebrating too!

QOTD

2010-12-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Overheard from Lydia and Quayde playing:
Lydia: Quayde, come back from your evil ways
Quayde: Come to the evil side
Lydia: NEVER
Quayde: Come to the evil side... we have cookies!
Lydia: Really? Cookies???

Need a calendar?

2010-12-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

My blogging friend Dawn is amazingly talented! If you are in need of a sweet calendar for your children's room or some adorable postcards for your nature table, you must check out her shop! I was blessed a little while ago to win the calendar in a drawing she had on her blog. The calendar is filled with charming drawings and poems that just fit perfect with every month. Dawn is an incredible mom, who lives in enchanted Washington state. I just love reading her blog and getting a peak into how incredible that area is and all the fun activities her family is involved with. I just can't wait to hang up the calendar in our new school room area!

2010-12-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

All is well, all is well! Our adventure might include no web at our home so I am posting this with my cell phone to see how well it will work.

Gingerbread tradition

2010-12-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

When I asked the kiddos what was really important to them as traditions for Christmas, one of the top was making our own gingerbread houses. Way back when, the olders remember doing it at grandma's house and now we have always tried to decorate some every year. Back in Arizona the resort holds a gingerbread contest and we would go and view the displays, then come home and try our hand at creating a masterpiece.

This year the littles, Quayde and I went to the Resort before we left. There were some pretty amazing looking houses.Tree houses, cathedrals and villages are some of the cool houses we were able to view. After we arrived here in Maryland, we picked up the ingredients to decorate our own for Christmas Eve and started out successfully. Teamed up in pairs, everyone had enough sugar to make their houses amazing.

Thayne made himself a guy out of fondant as Michael was attempting a thatched roof. The instructions said that after assembly with the frosting, we were supposed to wait at least thirty minutes. We tried really hard to wait. They seemed fairly secure. Then about an hour in to creating masterpieces...disaster struck.

Walls came tumbling and roofs went a sliding. Lydia was laughing so very hard as Chaiya's fondant grinch was precariously hanging on for dear life. We had so much fun as we were scrambling to save our homes. There was no hope for some but others are still hanging by a sprinkle.

Above the beach - the campground

2010-12-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Looking out across the river from the property edge.

Frozen pond! There are a pair of swans that make this area their home. They were flying over us this afternoon.

Right above the beach area. There is a tire swing down below near the beach.

There is a camping area with picnic tables and a fire pit. Too cold now but who wants to come play this summer?

Our personal beach

2010-12-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Our new home sits on about 500 acres of forest and farm fields. On the back side is a large river that meets the Chesapeake Bay. So we went exploring on Tuesday and went to play for a little while in the cold on our own little beach.

Part sand / part treasures

I never thought I would actually be standing on a beach that had snow all over it.

Lydia really liked being there even in the freezing weather. The water was so tempting and really cold. Summer is going to be awesome here!

Moving is serious business

2010-12-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Moving from one end of the United States to the other is quite the undertaking! Especially when there is no moving allowance and you can only take as much as your van can carry. I totally sympathize with the pioneers now. Michael left for Maryland at the first part of October. It was up to us to pack up the house and move everything. We knew that we wanted to be together for Christmas and weather was a large concern. After Plan A was not going to work, we came up with Plan B. In the end Plan 4734 was the choice. hehehe.

Money was a major concern, it costs a lot to move. After making 5 loads to the local landfill, giving away our furniture and donating tons of things to Goodwill we packed the remaining items into a mini-storage for retrieval at a later date. My heart and much much thanks goes to Megan, Collette, Ryan, Dylan and Kristi for supporting, cleaning, painting, feeding and lodging our family. We then packed our van and Chaiya's Kia with as much of our personal items as possible and headed out on I-40.

New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia and finally Maryland. Worst hotel ever: Super 8 in Pulaski, TN ! I wish we could say that we stopped and had fun but we didn't, everyday we just plowed on down the road. It was too cold most places to do anything but run from the cars to a hotel room.

Thayne made the announcement half way there that our new 'home' was a bit crowded. He claimed he needed a bit more room. Every nook and cranny was packed tight.

Meals were sometimes at very odd places. We stopped once in Oklahoma at a convenience store to eat. You can tell they were all thrilled about this choice.

Never buy a cheap car top carrier! We had really bad ice storms that we drove through in New Mexico so by the time we got to Texas the seam had completely ripped out. Only by angels was nothing lost. It held together for miles and miles until we found a gas station and bought a very expensive roll of duck tape. My dad would be proud. The contents within were salvaged and there was a lot of road cinders in the bag.

Number one thing I would do different is pack one bag with clothes and daily personals. Instead of having 6 different bags to drag out every evening. My children are honestly angels for the most part. Thayne was nearly perfect the whole 6 days on the road. We needed another driver to give Chaiya and I a break , it was hard. No one complained and everyone got along. I had packed different activities, books, games etc... but I did break down on the afternoon of the third day out and purchased a dvd player. Thanks Kristi for the Toy Story movie....I now have it memorized. I wouldn't recommend this way of moving.The best part though is that we were able to do it all without any debt at all. Eventually we will fly back to AZ and drive the rest of our stuff here in 6 months or so. Granted our new home echoes a bit for lack of anything but moving boxes; we are here and for the most part happy!

QOTD

2010-12-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Lydia and I were looking at pictures of storm damage. There was one of a giant tree that was snapped and broken. Lydia observed it and said," but it has a really nice pattern to it" under the broken bark. I love this kid who can admire beauty in the midst of destruction.

With Gratitude

2010-11-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sweet sister Shawna and her wonderful family came and brought yummies...such as the above Christmas Jello. I am so grateful for the love we share with them.

I was successful at making vegan pumpkin pie that Lydia actually ate. It is super easy although next time I make it, I will do a graham cracker crust.

Recipe:

1 lg can of pumpkin pie mix

1 1/2 pkgs of tofu

1 tsp vanilla

Blend super well until smooth. Place in unbaked pie crust.

Cook at 350 for one hour. Refrigerate for several hours until firm.

Best picture of the day!

We have so very much to be thankful for this year..health and new opportunities, our family, friends and all the amazing things that have been coming into our lives. I try to remember to say a prayer of gratitude each evening. So very, very blessed we have been this year! Prayers and Blessings to each of you. May your hearts be filled peace as we enter into the darkness towards the light!

The towers are growing

2010-11-24T17:53:00.001-07:00

I've been such a slacker at blogging. My home is filled with boxes...boxes for storage, boxes to mail, boxes I don't know what to do with....empty boxes waiting to be filled. Have you ever watched a small child stack up wood blocks and knock them down then laugh and do it again. The same principle seems to be working here with the cardboard and the five year old.

We have gone from Plan A to Plan B and then decided neither would work. Still trying to figure out the best way to move an entire family across the United States on a small budget.
It really isn't just a move. The kids are counting on this being the 'best' vacation ever. lol. I might do a series here...Christmas across I-40.

2010 Polar Express Train adventure

2010-11-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the Polar Express!

Brrrrr, it is very cold outside (24 degrees)

Maliea was so enjoying herself!

I brought a special cookie and apple cider for Lydia

Santa almost missed giving Quayde a bell

The Conductor gave us all ticket confetti in our hair

We were invited to ride on the Polar Express!

Normally I don't like to do anything Christmasy before Thanksgiving but this year is all a little mixed up and crazy with our pending move. The first day the railway starts; the Polar Express is a charity ride. Since our family is one that has children with difficulties we were asked if we would like to attend. Originally I had received the email invite but had deleted it when I couldn't get the attachment open. My sister Shawna called and she knew the lady in charge. So we all got to go!

It was so much fun! Songs were playing, the story was read to us, we got hot chocolate and cookies and then Santa came on the train and gave all the children a bell.

I guess I still believe because all I heard for most of the trip back from the North Pole was about 50 kids ringing the bells as loud as possible. Quayde even got a bell. Grandpa Hayes was with us, which made the train ride extra special! We had a blast with Shawna, Mario and the boys. Her new baby is the best baby ever!! He didn't cry or fuss once even with all the noise. I am so thrilled we all got to share this adventure together before we move. Lydia and Thayne have been talking about the train ride for days now. I think it will be a very happy memory.

Hunting for elves

2010-11-14T21:10:00.002-07:00

After working in the garage all weekend and the house inside becoming more and more of a feature on the tv show "hoarders"; Quayde asks, " Can we move already? Can't the magical packing elves just come?"
I feel his pain.

QOTD

2010-11-09T01:09:00.003-07:00

Thayne: " I was thinking I might get a puppy but now I want a dragon"

What will be......

2010-11-02T14:33:00.002-07:00

My new kitchen!

Our new entry way and stairs!

Our new family room!

Our new bedroom- which I will need to punch up with some brighter colors!!!

This is downstairs with its own master bathroom with a jetted tub.

Our new front porch!

Our new rental home! It is a 1914 farmhouse completely renovated on 500 acres. It has a detached garage with a room above it also. The upstairs contains 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms plus two extra rooms for all the kids! Room for chickens and a garden etc... and room for anybody who would love to come visit!

Halloween party 2010

2010-10-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight was our ward's Halloween party! What a blast...we had air band competitions as we ate chili and cornbread. Here are some pictures of the littles getting ready. Weirdest thing about today...Thayne was totally calm all night.

Lydia has been planning to be Frankenstein's monster for the whole entire year! We took some of her old trach tubes and cut off the tube part, spray painted them silver. She was great!

Only problem was that all night long, when I would catch a side glimpse of her, my heart would freak out a little thinking that her tube was out. It was a total conditioned response from the last ten years. I am truly grateful that she no longer needs to have this tube to breathe. It took a lot to get all the black spray out of her hair.

Thayne is weird about Halloween. I think that all of it overwhelms him. He actually kept his costume on all night which was a first but he really did not seem to care either way. He also sat with us all evening and didn't run off. Totally strange.

Chaiya did come and join us at the party, she needs more sleep. How do you tell a 19 year old to stop hanging out all night with their friends??? I'm glad she came and spent some time with us.

Quayde and her took the littles around to the trunk r treat area. Here he is trying to bite her ear off. I can't believe how tall he is getting! It was a great night. We came home tired but they all are watching Drop Dead Fred right now before they fall into lullaby land.

Hi Ho Halloween is here!

2010-10-29T21:32:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun getting out the pumpkin guts, carving and making our pumpkins glow. It really is such a simple tradition but the kiddos get so much joy from it!

QOTD

2010-10-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lydia: " How long has salad been around? Since Daddy was little?"
Me: " Oh Lyd, salad has been around for thousands and thousands of years"
Lydia: " Oh I get it...since Grandma and Grandpa were little!"

With a little luck and blessing......

2010-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

this will be the road to our new home!

It is Autumn

2010-10-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Michael has been gone for a week and a half. The bed is cold at night....Thayne is too small and too skinny to keep it warm enough. I read to the children for hours at night before bed. This is about the only thing I have had motivation to do except laundry which is required.
Quite frankly we threw things into the uhaul trailer that Michael towed. Things like boxes of board games, reference books and the pictures frames wrapped up in extra sheets and blankets. The house is filled with empty boxes, we have trails. Paths that lead to the hallway around the towers of cardboard. There really isn't any rhyme or reason to anything.
I closed out my business last month. Chaiya and I spent two hours yesterday cleaned out half melted candles from their holders as the living room grew strong with the overwhelming flowery smell from a past client's project. I don't know where to begin with the mountains of sashes, covers and candle holders. We cleaned the wax because it was all we could think of accomplishing.
I know we are going to have a marvelous time, a new normal, a fascinating adventure in Maryland. I might have a hidden cape but I am wishing I had a magic wand.
There is no nature table, we haven't done any school and it's Autumn. While I adore this season in my heart, it always brings a funnel that sucks my well being down into a wasteland no matter how hard I fight it. It will pass...I just need to wait it out.
I have no pictures lately because the camera cord is in a drawer that is behind the massive pile of boxes that I am too lazy to move. I made a promise that I wouldn't get angry with Michael for all the stuff he left me to fix and do.....but then I look over and see his weather station and know I have to climb up on the roof and take it all down. Add one more thing to my list.

Our favorite book series!

2010-10-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Several years ago we stumbled across a series of books about a delightful family. Tonight we started to re-read book number three. They are chock full of British humor and funny things that you know children could really do. If you read these...please go to the bathroom first. If you have a full bladder we are not responsible. Seriously ...we are not responsible.

We listened to the first on audio book...which gave us the accent really well. The rest we have read on our own. I try to copy the accent as best as possible which is nearly impossible when one is laughing so hard. Dad's toes get painted while he is asleep, Mum is thrown a delightful birthday party, Lucy draws tattoos for money on her friends, Will wants a harpy eagle...these are just some of the fun! If you want a great fun family read, see if your library has them. I'm off to finish reading how Dad has lost the little girl he was supposed to be watching.

well.....

2010-10-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Michael left for Maryland on Monday and arrived there safe and sound on Thursday, we still have no idea where he is going to stay for the next two months. Quayde left for a week of Boy Scout activities culminating in an Order of the Arrow Ordeal that starts tonight. He won't be back until next week sometime. Thayne has started to feel the lone boy here. Good behavior has not been on the agenda today.
I had to switch computers as I gave my laptop to Michael to use. This one doesn't have any of my bookmarked stuff. I was smart enough to remember to write some of them down.Not all.
Lydia has been under the weather because our weather in Az was kind of out of control. Several tornadoes just north of here. The storms came in like they were with King Winter and did not care a bit that all the trees are still green. She and Thayne both had fevers on Wednesday, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing...they both slept most of that afternoon.
The empty boxes in the house are mocking me. There is so much to do. I am slightly overwhelmed. Maybe more than slightly.

Hey Hayes Clan.....

2010-10-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have found the perfect movie for our family! It comes out in February... check it out here.

QOTD

2010-10-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Thayne: "you know why I suck my thumb...so my brains don't leak out"

Conquering the dragon

2010-09-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

See this creative fellow...well on his belly is written all of our things that we need to conquer in our lives.We fought him and let the light come through. To read about our complete Michaelmas festival, I posted it on our school blog.

2010-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Frustrated because I can't get blogger to load any pictures. We had a marvelous Michaelmas festival yesterday. Will post everything when I can! Happy Michaelmas Day. Yeah for agency and conquering darkness.

Trying to be like Daddy

2010-09-25T16:00:00.002-07:00

Push Thayne, Push!