Summer 2010 Update #2

This summer has been BUSY! I'm going to try to catch you up with everything we've been up to, but I'm sure I'll miss something. (And you'll probably be glad I missed it, because it's already going to be a LONG post! LOL!)

Forth of July weekend was packed, especially that Saturday! We had a parade to ride in the fire truck. Morgan decided she wanted to watch the parade and get candy, so she watched with my mom and Blake rode in the truck. Every year in the 4th of July parade, they set up the engine to shoot out water and it's a HUGE hit with the kids....they were running behind waiting for us to stop and shoot out water again...even the adults were asking for it as we drove by! SO much fun! :-)

We also had a birthday party on the 4th of July Saturday for a young cousin who was up from Virginia and later we had a 4th of July party with fireworks and a bunch of fun! It was an AWESOME day! :-)

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The following weekend the kids and I went to the tip of the thumb (of Michigan) and camped with my family. We left on Friday, but Thursday night, as Rich, the kids and I were dragging home our calves that had gotten out from a half mile down the road, my dad called and asked if the kids and I would want to head to Minnesota to visit my mom's uncle after camping. It was going to take the whole next week of driving and camping. As last minute as it was I decided we'd go. Here are some pics of the trip:

The kids playing in Saginaw Bay.

Just crossed the Mackinaw Bridge.

Lots of camping on the trip!!

Blake in awe at the Mall of America in Minnesota.

First time eating at the Rainforest Cafe.

This was in front of our table.

Us minus Morgan who didn't want to be in the picture.

The Volcano dessert....YUM!

Morgan was excited to try it ;-)

The Lego store in the mall.

The kids watching all the rides from the American Girl doll store.

So we went on a ride on the Ferris Wheel! This is when they first got on.

And THIS is when it started moving!

View from the top of the mall (top of the Ferris Wheel)...it's HOT up there!

After the mall, we went back to my mom's aunt and uncle's and stayed the night. This pic is of Blake the next day as we headed back home.

We stopped at the Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin where the Leinenkugel beer is made. (It's the beer in the movie 'Escanaba in da Moonlight')

This is the storm that was coming while we were at the Leinie Lodge...and the reason we only stayed for a short time...we left to try to stay ahead of it, but it didn't work! That had to be the scariest storm I've ever been in...tears in my eyes, hugging my kids-no fun!

This is at the hotel we stayed at since it was storming. No fun camping while it's storming!

Had to take advantage of the pool while we were there!

Blake still not sure about going in the water...never been in a pool before!

But he changed his mind...

...and had a blast!

That was the extent of the trip. We stayed a night in Mackinaw City on the way home and mom and I got to do some shopping while dad watched the kiddos at the campsite. I also had a tick stuck to me the next morning....Heebie Jeebies!!!!

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The next week we got 5 new windows! I took the kiddos to my MIL's and went out to eat with an old friend while Rich stayed with the window guys. Well, while at my in-laws, we saw a kitten she had and it was just too cute to leave to possibly be eaten by all their doggies, so we brought it home :-)

This is Leinie...yes, after the beer! See Bear in the back...very anxious to do some cat chasing! ;-) (Don't worry, he doesn't eat them.)

The Friday we got the windows was also the start of the Yale Bologna Festival! I met up with some college friends that night to watch the fireworks. The next night, the kids, Rich and I went to the Bologana parade and then Sunday we headed back and had some Bologna sandwiches under the Bologna tent! ;-) LOVE that festival! It's very family friendly and always fun!

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The next week we had Rich's birthday. The kiddos got cuddly in a chair during it and it was too cute to pass up pics! ;-)

LOVE this face! I think they were having lemonade.

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The weekend after Rich's birthday, we also had my grandfather's memorial service and the next day was the annual family reunion. It's always at my aunt and uncle's place on the St. Clair river, so it's fun watching the freighters float by-they're HUGE!

My sister with one of the 4 Scotties running around.

Blake had a blast in the bounce house.

Morgan had a blast in the pool!

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Of course our garden has been producing. I've gotten 62 pints of green beans canned, 16 pints of corn froze, more squash and zucchini than we could handle, but it's been fairly easy to give away and we grew eggplant for the first time. It's a very new thing for us, since neither Rich nor I had ever even eaten eggplant before, but it's been interesting. This is the Eggplant Parmesan that I tried making. :-)

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Besides all that we also made it to the county fair, but I forgot to take the camera :-/

Like I said, a BUSY summer...and this post only covered July! (Except for some of the garden update). I'd like to have another update with the August happenings too...not quite as hectic thankfully ;-)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer too! :-)

Kitchen Tables from CSN Stores!!

Nearly every day, when I walk into my kitchen, I think about how nice it would be to freshen it up. I would love to redo it all, put in more cabinets and counters and move our kitchen table into the dining room (which we currently use as an extension of our living room.)

The kitchen table is something else that could use a change....well, more than a change...it could use a trip to a garage sale and I'd LOVE a brand new one! It currently only seats 3 and, as embarrassed as I am to say this, we shove a broken chair under the table to pull out when Rich is home for dinner, so we can squeeze the whole family around the table. Due to our table situation, I've really enoyed shopping for kitchen tables on one of CSN Stores sites and their selection is awesome!

What's neat about shopping on CSN Stores sites is that when there is a little more to choose from than you want to look through you can narrow your search in the left-hand sidebar! For example, I narrowed my search for a kitchen table by saying that I wanted a casual, rectangular, dark wood finish table with an extension and it took my selection from 946 results to 64 results!

This one is my favorite!

Broyhill Color Cuisine 5 Piece Butterfly Extension Counter Height Dining Table Set

If you have never seen any of CSN's 200+ stores, be sure to check them out! I'm sure they have something that you've been looking for! :-) Plus, be sure to keep your eye on my blog for something kinda exciting related to this post! ;-)

*Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

More Prayers Please

I haven't posted recently about Amanda Buckland, my friend who lost her children and husband in a house fire in December, but she had been doing well. She was back to work by the end of January and finding ways to enjoy life despite the extreme loss she had faced. I'm asking for more prayers for her today and the days to come, though, because she just lost her father last night too....almost exactly 9 months since she lost her family... Amanda is a wonderful person who has been SO strong through everything but, to me at least, it's almost too much....only God can provide the comfort and strength that she needs.

CSN Stores Pacific Women's Bike Review

I have been without a bike since the year I graduated from college (6 years now-crazy!!). I haven't thought too much about biking or needing a bike until now. The kids are getting old enough to bike now and I wanted to be able to take them on rides beyond the driveway, which is as far as they are allowed to go on their own. When CSN Stores offered for me to do a review I jumped on it and knew exactly what I was getting....a bike!!

The Pacific- Women's 26" Front Suspension Traverse ATB Mountain Bike came needing some assembly, which my husband kindly did for me (without even having to be asked-awesome!!) When he had it together, he asked for me to try it out and, unfortunately, it wasn't riding right. I had actually had concerns ordering a bike online with not being able to try it out and my new bike came with a bent/warped wheel.

Luckily, CSN Stores has a wonderful costumer service department that e-mailed me back the following day. They were unable to replace my wheel, but gave me the contact e-mail for Pacific who had a brand new wheel sent out to me the same day!!

I now have my new wheel for my new bike....they're just not quite connected yet. I know it will be a great bike when it IS ready to ride though!!

I want to emphasize how easy it was to request a replacement part for my bike through CSN Stores. They have a web address right on the order slip that came with the bike for returns/exchanges and requesting replacement parts. I was in awe of how quickly they responded, appologized that they were unable to fulfill my request and had the contact for Pacific for me so I didn't have to look it up.....AWESOME!!! :-)

If you're in need of anything, please take a look at CSN Stores. They have a TON of products to choose from, ordering is super easy and if you have any problems, their costumer service is wonderful!!

It's a Girl...x 3!

I wanted to congratulate 3 of my close friends. Each of them were blessed with a new little girl to their families this past month.

Megan Elizabeth was born July 13th at 6:02 am. She was 8 lbs, 2 0z and 20.5 inches long. She has a very proud big sister.

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Addison Elora was born July 25th at 8:22 pm. She was 8 lbs, 10 oz and 21.5 inches long. Her big sister is also very happy to have her! :-)

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Samantha Michelle was born July 30th at 4:56 pm via c-section. She was 5 lbs, 15 oz and 19 inches long.

Little Samantha had a couple difficulties from being a little early, but is doing good now. She should be able to go home at the end of the week. I'm SO excited for her parents! They had tried for over 4 years, went through several procedures and finally, after the 2nd IVF, she was on the way! I can't wait the meet this sweet little miracle! :-)

Congratulations on all your sweet little girls!! They're beautiful!!!