And some more.....

Gretchen's Random Memorial Day Pictures

Memorial Day

It was an absolute beautiful day yesterday. We got most of our planting done. I need to pick up a few more flowers. We got our vegetables in. This raised garden is the perfect garden. No weeds and it's easy to water and stay moist. We put in tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, two strawberry plants and then I planted marigolds around the edge. They are suppose to keep the bugs away. I did the same last year and we had no bugs on the tomatoes. Hopefully it works this year also. Most of the kids came by yesterday and we grilled out for supper. Amanda brought a yummy pasta salad and she cooked potatoes in foil on the grill. They were "melt in your mouth" good!

Flowers and the Mad Biker

Dad and I hit a few of the nurseries on Saturday. We got a few flats of flowers and some tomatoes, green peppers & cucumbers. We got a late start because of rain so I didn't get too many flowers in the containers. Dad got the raised garden ready with composted manure and peat so it is ready for the vegetables tomorrow. I hope to get all these in so then I'll know what else I need to get. I have several hanging planters and the containers on the pool deck that I have to figure out what to put in them. Danny has turned into the Mad Biker. Remember when Wade was the Mad Biker? He never sweated much so he would turn beet red in the hot summer. He would ride his bike until his face looked like it would explode!
He's getting pretty good with the biking but has to learn how to use the brakes. He took a run into the weeds. You can't see it but his bike is buried under there. Jeanie had to come help him pull it out.

Sauna Swim

Jeanie and Danny wanted to "sauna swim" last night. I can't believe how long they were in the water. I mean the water is COLD! I baked in the sun for awhile in the afternoon and when I cooled off, I jumped in right by the ladder and got out as fast as I got in! The cold doesn't seem to bother them. These two spend more time in the pool then the rest of the family combined.

Today is my last pasty day until fall. I only have orders for about 40 so I'll be only doing about 20 pounds of potatoes. That will give me a few to have in the freezer. Hopefully it won't get too hot today as our air conditioner isn't working. The repairman is coming on Tuesday.

Tomorrow I get to go on a fieldtrip with Danny to Crossroads Village. It looks like it will be a pleasant day for it.

Birkenstocks? Anyone?

I've been searching online here as I'm cooling down from my walk. I need a new comfortable summer shoe/sandal. I've been looking at Clarks and Birkenstock. I went in my closet and dug out my 11 year old Birkenstocks and I definately am going with Birkenstock. I mean, I bought these when Danny was a baby. They are getting quite worn but they are still SOOOOO comfortable. They actually feel soothing on my feet!!! I know I could withstand a full day or two or three walking in Disney World with these. The only problem is....I can't remember how they run size wise. Do I buy for a size 7 foot (38) or 8 foot (39). I wear a 7 1/2. If anyone out there wears Birkenstocks, can you tell me how they run? And also, does anyone know where I can get the best deal on them? I did find a site, softmoc.com where they are 20% off but....is that the best I can do?

Are haircuts contagious?

Haircutting must be contagious. Heidi got about 5-6 inches cut (although her hair is still long), then Amanda got hers cut, Kaitlin cut about 7-8 inches off and Molly cut about 6 inches off. Emily said she got her hair cut to about her chin. (Anxious to see it next week.) Sounds like Gretchen has been spared the "bug" and is keeping hers long. Kim P. came by yesterday to cut mine and Molly's hair. She shaped mine as I am TRYING to grow mine out. By growing out I mean to my chin for a short bob.

I'm starting to get stressed for our vacation to Florida. When I see the last day of school countdown I try not to think that it also means I need to only add two days to that for Florida. I told the girls to kind of pack so they can let me know what they need. (I'm sure it will be, shoes, swimsuit, shorts, shirts, sunglasses........EVERYTHING!) I also would like to find Danny a good pair of tennis shoes. He has completely flat feet and complains about his feet hurting when he walks alot. Maybe if I go online I can find something that will aid flat feet.

Beautiful Spring

This is such a pretty time of year. Everything is so green. As you can see, my hanging planters are still empty. I was not able to find Bridal Veil anywhere. I've been reading my garden magazines trying to figure out what to buy. Looking for different plants. Bordines have some pretty colors in Impatiens (Extreme Red) and in Calibrachoas (Callie Orange) but are a bit pricey. Dad and I will probably do our usual Memorial Day Weekend activity. Shop at the local nurseries on Saturday for annuals and vegetables and then I'll plant what I can Saturday and finish on Monday. Dad opened the pool last night. (So Emily, make sure you bring swimsuits.) The water was freezing but I guess that didn't stop Danny from going in several times. Jeanie was at Busy Bee's or she probably would have joined him. I'm sure they'll swim as soon as they get home from school today!

Just listen to the quiet...............the kids have the countdown for the last day of school. (17 days) I do enjoy summer vacation but I will miss these quiet days all by myself.

Keek's new haircut and Gretch's new glasses

I didn't get pre-approval for this picture but here it is.

I went garage saleing on Friday. I found a few things at the first garage sale and nothing at the next 12!!! If only you knew....I could've come home after that one in town. I then brought Molly and a couple of her friends to the outlet mall and stopped at a couple more and again bought nothing!!! There was one more in the sub I was in and almost decided to skip it but you know.....it just might be THE ONE with the treasure!!!!!! I was actually glad I didn't as I bought a little bike for Danny. It's a mongoose trick bike but I bought it because of the size. He can reach the ground sitting on the seat. I tried to get him to try ride it Friday but he refused. He just whined that "it's too hard......" So Saturday morning I had to bribe him. I told him if he learned to ride it I'd bring him to Dairy Queen. (I mean who else would you have to bribe to learn to ride a bike!) Brett helped him and he is just about there. He has scabs on his elbows and knees so I'm not sure if I'll get him back out there today. I told him as soon as he can go out and hop on his bike and ride on his own, I'll bring him to Dairy Queen. I'm excited that he's learning as I feel he's missing out on so much when he can't ride a bike. Especially when we go camping.

Wisteria is blooming

Thought I'd better take a picture of the Wisteria blooming. This is the first year in many that they've bloomed. Almost every year we get hit with a late frost just as the flowers are forming. They are calling for a frost tonight. I hope it doesn't get them. It's kind of hard to cover with old sheets! They should be at their peak in a week or two.

What to do....I was thinking about hitting a few garage sales today but the weather is cool and misty. Plus there are TONS! It is a bit overwhelming. I think there are about 11 sub sales in Howell and Brighton! Where does one even start? So I scratched that. Maybe I'll go to a couple tomorrow instead. Then I thought maybe I should go get some flowers. That's also an overwhelming task.....I guess I'm not up to overthinking this morning. So instead I washed a couple loads of laundry, ran through the kitchen and living room and will go grocery shopping and maybe get started on some plants. I would like to put Bridal Veil hanging in the front but can't always find it. Maybe that will be my mission today.....search for Bridal Veil.

Daniel John

Danny is going to visit the middle school today. It really makes me sad and kind of scared to think he will be moving up next year. The elementary enviroment is such a protective one. His Elementary school has been great. Jill Hilla is a super principal and Danny has had awesome teachers. I'm trying to be open-minded that things will continue to be as good at the middle school. I am glad that there are a lot of church kids there that will look out for him and he will be with all the fifth graders from his elementary who know him and seem to like him. I did meet one of his middle school teachers, he'll have two besides his encore classes which will be with the regular ed kids, and she seems like she'll be fine..... He, of course, is SO excited to be going to middle school. Although, I'm not sure how excited he'll be next year when he has to get up at 6:00 am to catch the bus!

I did my walk outside yesterday and today. It is a nice change from the treadmill. I'm not sure why I haven't done so sooner. I'm listening to "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Jeanie has been listening to the series and I decided to also. I told Danny he should listen to them and Jeanie said, "No, he better not...They are really scary."

Shower venue changed for tomorrow!

Katie Pietila's baby shower will be at Janet Tolkkinen's instead of Becca Kangas'. I don't know how many people will see this but if even a couple do and tell a couple more people who tell a couple more......maybe it will help spread the word.

How Sweet they were!!!

As I still haven't been taking pictures, I have to look in the albums in my Picasa for posts. Jennifer, Sara & Matt. After sauna's or probably baths at Grandpa & Grandma Torola's when Cedar Bay was still a camp. I would like to eventually get all my old pictures scanned on the computer. This is one Uncle Brian scanned from grandpa's old slides.

Gifts from the heart

I am sad thinking these priceless Mother's Day gifts will soon be coming to an end. I just had Danny's IEP meeting for middle school this morning and I'm not sure if they make Mother's Day gifts in middle school. Jeanie has about three more years, maybe, to make these cherished gifts. I think they make them through fifth grade..... I had a very nice Mother's Day with all my local kids coming home and phone calls from those away. I feel very blessed and thankful for my children.

Gerty-Gerty!! Look who's 30!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Jennifer! Hard to believe it was 30 years ago I use to sit her in this nice, sturdy and safe carseat! Actually, I didn't buckle this up in the car. I usually just laid her down on the front seat next to me where I could put out a hand if I had to hit the brakes a little hard! I just held her if Dad was driving. Those were the days before "safety" was invented. Strange that we were all so ignorant.

The 25¢ Sale

I hit a gold mine at the garage sale I stopped at on my way to knitting yesterday. I was leaving the garage and almost passed the table that was heaped with clothes. But the sign,"All Children's Clothes 25¢" caught my eye. I picked up a pair of jeans and saw they were size 8, Jeanie's size. Well, I walked out with two bags full of clothes for $8.00. She wore a cute pair of brown goucho's (sp?) with a pink shirt and a pink lacy poncho to school today. Her whole outfit was a whopping 75¢! Buys like this really get you fired up to garage sale. I haven't done much in the last two years but I have the "bug" this year.

They've left.....

Josephson's left yesterday afternoon about 4:45 loaded down with all their treasures from junk collecting. I haven't heard yet if they made it "safe and sound". The kids were not ready to go home. Nikayda was very sad. It was sure a fun week. We finally got to know Carter a little and Abram seemed so big with his big boy underwear and his constant talking. Nikayda is starting to look and act like a school girl. We will miss them.

I'm going to hit a couple garage sales today on my way to Knitting Circle at Noisy Needles.

Tire Swing

Papa put up the tire swing last night. It will be better in the backyard as it is away from the road. The little kiddies were having fun on it last night. Jeanie came down dressed this morning and asked, "If I get all ready, can I go out on the tire swing?" (The novelty of something new.) Abo also got up bright and early this morning and wanted to go swing. I asked him if he was going home tomorrow. He shook his head and put up five fingers and said "this many days". Then he changed his mind and put up all ten fingers and said "no, this many days". Wishful thinking.

Jennifer's 30!!! (almost)

We celebrated Jennifer's 30th birthday a week early. I told everyone to find "a piece of junk" as a joke gift. The funny thing is.....she actually loved everything! I forgot to take a picture of the lovely junk. Just enjoying the grandkiddies. The weather has been awesome so they are loving it outside. Jen is going to be in for a rude awakening once she returns home. Even Carter is at the door with his shoes in his hands.

Girls, girls, girls, girls....

When I see a picture like this, I understand why people often tell me "all your kids look alike!" (Molly 13, Gretchen 15, Heidi 18, Kaitlin 15) So far my goal to take more pictures with a blog hasn't happened yet. I just look through everyone's albums for one. This is from Heidi's.

Jen and I went to the Curdy Road garage sale this morning. Two hours later..............Jen was pumped as usual with her finds. I did find a few things there myself. We then hit a few in Brighton and finally finished at about 2:30 and had lunch at Amer's. I didn't get a whole lot but did find a few things. Jen and I are good garage sale partners. She usually wasn't interested in what I bought and I most definately wasn't interested in her finds!!! It was a fun day. The "twinners" stayed home and watched her kiddies. Jen, Mark, Amanda, Wade, Larissa and Brad are out junk picking at this moment. Anxious to see all the stuff I didn't miss!!!

They're Here!!!

The Josephson's arrived about 8:15 this morning. About 5 minutes before Danny and Jeanie were to go on the bus. So....they decided this would be the day they skipped school to play with their niece and nephews. They are all outside on this beautiful day. The second picture is Nikayda trying to tie her shoes. I cropped out all the shoes (and Jeanie's beautiful gold ones from the Halloween bag) but when I downloaded it to this blog it came uncropped!! Jen and I will rest today for our marathon garage saling tomorrow and HER junk picking.

Only Molly

I'm not exactly sure what that first picture is but the second one she set the camera up on a little table and took it because she said she wanted to see what she looked like when she made that face because you can't see it in the mirror. Look......Danny can touch his nose with his tongue! Not sure who took that picture. You bloggers with the darling little kids are lucky to have such cute subject matter!!!! I just may have to take a page from Michelle's book and find some oldies but goodies when they were cute little subject matter!!!

Jeanie Christinie

I'm not too sure what is happening in this picture. (The kids take lots of pictures around here.) And I'm pretty sure she didn't wear this get up to school. The big girls are quite mortified some days when Jeanie walks in the door. "She wore THAT to school?" I guess I am getting "old". I really don't care much what she wears. Some days I raise my eyes and question if she's sure she wants to wear "that". She told me that whenever she wears clothes that I pick out, no one says anything. But when she picks out her own outfits, Miss Luann always tells her she likes her outfit. Hmmmmm.......When you older girls went to school I use to CURL your hair and put those beautiful poofy bows in it. Now I ask Jeanie if she brushed her hair and believe her.