Yard Work

See what we're doing?! With all the weeding that we did on Saturday, we decided to finally do something to the front. We still had some weed guard paper left over so we laid it down and put rocks on it. We didn't get the mulch laid out till Tuesday and we had a couple storms before that. The mulch was wet so we're not sure if it'll be able to spread out a little more when it dries.

We'll probably pick up another bag on the way home so that we can finish it off. More pics to come!

The Party

Saturday, June 18th was the day for Travis' graduation party. We were excited to be part of the preparations and then see all the many guests come and share congratulations with Travis.

The cake was from Sam's & very yummy!

Here was the tents set up for people to sit and eat at. The back portion had a display of various items -- Travis' letterman jacket, four posterboards with all sorts of pictures of Travis, a soccer ball with his graduation cap on it, and other things. There was also a place for gifts.
Here's Barry hanging out with his sisters and mom. We all sort of sat together through the day and caught up on what was going on in their lives. We hadn't seen his mom & sister from New Mexico since his dad's memorial service November 2006.

Here I am with Travis!

Snickerdoodles

I found that I had a stick of Crisco that I hadn't used yet so I decided to make some Snickerdoodles. Our church was having a social Sunday night and suggested that people bring finger foods that start with your last name initial. So, this is what I came up with.

They're pretty tasty!

Saturday Yard Work

Although I haven't yet shared the pictures from Travis' graduation party, I thought I'd come back to the present to share what we did on Saturday.

We had not yet spent any time weeding so Barry's suggestion for Saturday was to spend some time doing that job. Barry started in the back by the irises.

I went through at first and picked up all the dead leaves that have been falling to the ground. Our neighbor said that the cicadas have caused this. They burrow holes into the trees and now, as a result, all these bundles of leaves fall to the ground.
When I mowed on Monday, I just went right over them, but since there were so many this time, that I decided I needed to go through and pick them up.
Here is the pile that I picked up... As I counted in the back yard, there were over 100 that I picked up. Look at all of them!

I'll show you the other work that we did when it's all done!

Friday Night Fun

Look at the kids having fun! Two of our nieces went for a canoe ride in the pond a their house. I had gone on a ride earlier in the week and we got a little tippy. It was pretty cool.

The other cousins were playing corn hole. You can see the tables and tent that were set up in the background to be ready for the graduation party on Saturday.
The family got together to hang out since Barry's mom and sister were in from New Mexico. We had a good time hanging out and eating pizza.

No Bake Cookies

I've been wanting No Bake Cookies for like forever! Every time I make them here in TN, they just don't set up. When we were going to Michigan last fall, my big request was to make No Bakes. We didn't get to go, but Michelle remembered when we were up this time and had all the ingredients so that we could make the cookies.

Here's the recipe.

The ingredients - oats, sugar, peanut butter, cocoa, vanilla, milk.

You put in everything but the peanut butter and the oats and bring to a boil.

Here they are... They set up just perfectly and were so yummy!

Visiting the Robinsons

We've been friends with the Robinsons since before there were any buns in the oven. Missy was actually pregnant with their first child when we got married. The two oldest loved Barry and we spent a bunch of time with them playing card games. Since we moved away, we've missed playing with them and hanging out. In fact, we hadn't even met the youngest yet.

We went to their house for lunch and hung out for a couple hours until Josh had a meeting that he had to go to.

Here they all are all together!

Visit to Canada

We went first to spend time with my aunt and uncle that live in Kitchener. They decided to take us into Mennonite country and we had lunch at Crossroads in St. Jacobs. It was a big "smorg" or buffet that had all kinds of food. Since there were such great desserts, I saved room to have several different ones. It was delicious! On our way we saw two buggies and also a horse pulling a plow. Later on my cousin came over with her son who is 11 months old. It was great to meet him!

Then, we drove down to St. Thomas to see the cemetary where my grandma was buried. I thought it was sort of comical that the border of the marker looks like it is wild animal print. So I said to Barry, "Grandma's in style now!" I don't think she would ever have worn animal print.

So, it was a VERY long day with lots of driving, but it accomplished what we needed it to - visiting family!

A fun stop

On our way up to Michigan we decided to stop at a local place for lunch. So, in Coldwater, Michigan we stopped at Allen's Root Beer Drive-In (see this). Barry had a burger and root beer and I had a ham & cheese sandwich. It was a neat local dive!

Sad kitty

Do you think that she knows something is going on? I don't know how they do it, but the cats know when we're leaving. We pulled out the bags to start packing on Saturday and it's been like they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. When are they going to leave? What are we going to do?
It's not as if their favorite neighbors won't be taking care of them!

Busy Making Cards

We're headed to see family, so of course cards need to be made! Here's a quick run through on what I made: I actually made two of these cards. They are about 2 1/2"x 2 1/2" square. I used the Happy Birthday paper and then used black and green for the design. I had already done some die cuts of flowers with pink patterned paper so I used that to go on top. I added the individual's initial and attached it with some pink organdy ribbon.
These two cards are similar in coloring, but for different purposes. This one is a birthday card for a co-worker. I had the die cut of friends already and added the die cut flower, pink sequins, and green and black paper.
This card is for a cousin of my husband's who has been diagnosed with cancer. I had the die cut done already and just added it to several different types of paper and some pink organdy ribbon. I added her initial as the final touch.

Last, but not least, this is a card for my uncle. I made a present with some green ribbon I had and a blue squre of paper. I used 3 other papers to match the background paper and pull it all together. Inside it says "wishing you a happy birthday".

Last Year vs. This Year

We got this hydrangea bush two years ago. The first year it had blue flowers, the second year it had blue flowers, but this year... it has PINK flowers! My sister had said that the soil makes the difference in what color the flowers turn, but why suddenly now? Look at the difference:Last year - June 9, 2010
Today - June 10, 2011


Isn't that the most bizarrest thing?!

What a nice Surprise!

So I had an awesome surprise in the mail today! My friend sent me a beautiful envelope with a beautiful card inside and this wonderful bracelet! The bracelet is unique - as you can see there is writing all around it. It says, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." Luke 17:6 It even has a mustard seed on it.
I'm going to wear it tomorrow when I speak in devotions!

Raviolis

My sister has been telling us for months now that we should try these raviolis that are in the frozen section at Wal-mart. I was a little skeptical because I'm not so keen on raviolis, but I was running out of ideas on dinner - especially since it's getting so hot and we don't want to have to turn the oven on.

So, we found a bag at Kroger for $2.99 which we can use about 2x. Here's my plate. I saw a recipe on-line that was butter and sage. You just melt the butter and cook the sage in it. It's pretty yummy.
Here's Barry's with his favorite Hunt's spaghetti sauce.

Happy surprise!

Although we have been good friends for several years, since Abby left the office that we were working at, we've only really communicated by texting. A few weeks ago we stopped by the shop that she works at, but she wasn't working that day. Look at what I found...

She wrote this up on a sign by the door.

The store sells all sorts of jewelry and sparkly things. Just the place that she would work!

We went next store to an antique store and came across a bunch of items that Abby has for sale. She specializes in hand-stitching pillowcases. It was pretty cool.

Today, Barry says, "I have a surprise for you." So, we went over to the shop and I got to spend a couple hours catching up with her. It was a great time!

It's working!

Can you believe it?! Indoor temp is 77 and the outdoor temp is 90. Isn't that awesome?! The air conditioner unit is working so well. We're going to have to watch the expense of it and turn it up a little perhaps, but I'm so happy. We can sit and enjoy hanging out together in the living room.

TGIF! It's been a long, hot week. Glad to relax and sleep in tomorrow.

A special gift

My sister has a cool sign similar to this that she had made at a craft show. She decided to make one for us. Isn't it cool?

She wrote our names over the last name and then est. November 29, 2003 (our anniversary).

I put it above a doorway and hope that it'll stay. She couldn't figure out a way to hang it so hopefully it'll just stay on the ledge.

Some cuties

Some how I missed getting pictures of all the kids, but these were too cute to pass up. Happy Wednesday!