Third of July Fun for All!

Well, we are doing better on the holiday celebration this time. Instead of being a week late we celebrated a day early! My husband had to work in the ER this weekend (holiday pay is a good thing.) so we had our family Fourth of July fun on Friday. A few years ago the boys and Chuck made this fire pit, and we used our camping tripod to cook over it last night. We kept it simple with burgers topped with Colby Jack cheese, and fresh tomato plus we had chips, lemonade, cupcakes and we roasted marshmallows right before dark. I must ALWAYS roast marshmallows when there is a fire. Who can resist burnt sugar?

The kids played Ladder Ball, as you can see in the picture below. We also played horseshoes after dinner. My husband built the horseshoe pits at the same time he made our picnic table and Emily's sandbox. We used the leftover sand for the pits and he measured them according to the rules so we could play like the "pros". Well, except for those with short arms and NO upper body strength. I stood a little closer, and STILL didn't make it near the stake. I think I need to work that:)

Near dark about ten deer came out in the field out back, but I couldn't get any clear pictures so close to sunset. I did get this neat picture of the sky. The colors and swirly clouds were beautiful.

Finally, once it was dark, we lit sparklers and a whopping 7 bucks worth of fireworks that my husband picked up at the store earlier. The kids had a blast and that's all that counts. Of course as usual, the boys and my husband had to torment me with fake cries of "Oh man, I just blew up my hand" and other hilarious jokes to get back at me for being overly cautious with things that explode. Go figure. I put the camera on a tripod and experimented with the settings for fireworks. I think I need to practice a bit more but it still looked cool:


Evenings like last night really make me appreciate living in the country after surviving so long in the city with a small yard and neighbors a few feet away. Sure we have a bigger house payment, and we have to budget our money SO tightly, but I love having SPACE and room to breathe:)

~Brenda

Vacation Fun and Teen Drama

My husband had a mini-vacation this last week and the weather turned HOT...as in humid and almost 100 degrees on one day, and in the 90's and humid most of the other days. We finally had a cool day on the last day. Go figure. We are going camping in July for ten days, and at least we will be on Lake Michigan for that one! To show you how hot it really was, here is Miss Emily with an ice cube on her head while we were out on the boat. She was hot, really really hot, SO hot...as she told me over, and over and over.


Then in the midst of the mini-vacation we had some teen girl trouble that is still hanging on despite my attempts to explain the teen mind, which hasn't really changed in 30 odd years since I was a teen despite changes in music and fashion. The bottom line: Some girls (and some boys too) like to see others fight over them. I'm sure most of us have experienced this in one way or another. Just as we often find out people we thought were our friends truly weren't. They were hard lessons to learn as a teenager, and often we are still learning them as adults. I wish as a mom I could wave a magic wand to keep my kids from having to learn the same lessons I did. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way, and instead we can only listen and offer comfort as lessons are learned.

Despite the ups and downs I mentioned, we had a great time together during the last week, and can't wait for our next vacation in July. We always leave behind video games, the computer and television on our summer vacation and I'm starting to wonder if cell phones shouldn't be on that list too:)


My husband let our oldest drive the boat, despite my freaking out he did a good job with dad right next to him.


This is my middle teen and what a 15 year old looks like after staying up too late with his friends playing video games. We picked him up around 8:30 a.m. since we knew it would be too hot if we went later. He did get a slight spurt of energy and fish for awhile. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA


I took this picture while we were fishing. Actually, I was taking pictures, reading and ducking my head every time Emily cast her pole. I took quite a few pictures of this heron but this one turned out the best. I'll put a larger one on my photo blog later.

I Turned 49 Today...

Yes, today I turned 49 today and I don't like it. I should have turned 30. Yeah, that would be good. I could just be 30 every birthday. Can I do that? My husband and the kids took me out for Chinese food and to see the new Transformers movie, which opened today. I loved it, the characters are all cool except for Megan Fox's wardrobe. Apparently they thought an auto mechanic gal should dress like a tramp, and somehow have a constant supply of fresh lip gloss throughout the adventure in the freaking desert. But, hey, that's just my opinion. It's my birthday and I can complain if I want to:) Back to my day... I also had a cake that Emily helped Chuck pick out, including the candle:


It's a good thing my daughter is so dang cute because I did not find that candle humorous...well, okay, just a little bit maybe:) Plus, the cake was called Death By Chocolate. It was yummy!

It's been a good 49 years, and I don't feel that old, but I think 50 is going to be a bit more stressful. I can already see that look in my husband's eyes that tells me he's planning something evil. He's 2 years younger than I am and seems to take great pleasure in reminding me of that.
Hmmm...at least I have a year to prepare.

~ Brenda

Look Good...Feel Better

Look Good…Feel Better is a free program that helps women cope with the appearance-related changes of cancer treatment through workshops across the country, self-help materials, and other free information. This is such a cool program, and I had never heard of until MomCentral emailed me about the contest going on right now and asked for help spreading the word. I have had friends with cancer and when one shared with me how she not only lost hair but also her finger and toe nails, and eye brows I was shocked because I had only known about the hair loss. I admired her SO much for keeping her sense of humor through it all. I know she would have loved to participate in this program at the time.

In honor of its 20th anniversary, Look Good…Feel Better is asking women cancer survivors to submit their stories of how the program helped them cope with cancer as a way to inspire others who may currently be undergoing cancer treatment. Entries will be featured on the Women of Hope is Beautiful blog to help educate others. Anyone can visit the site to view entries, make comments and show their support.

In August, Look Good…Feel Better will choose five women with the most-compelling stories to receive a trip to New York City for a makeover and a trip to the DreamBall, a black-tie gala and the program's largest annual fundraiser, held each year in New York City.

You can view all the details of the contest here: http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/20thanniversary/campaign.htm plus you can share the main site URL with anyone you know that may be going through cancer right now: http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/

This is such an awesome contest and program-- please help me spread the word:)

~Brenda

A Homemade Sandbox

When we bought our first house in the city one of the first things we did was fix the fence in the backyard and put in a sandbox. Both of those things saved my sanity when the boys were toddlers and only a year apart in age. Chuck was working and attending college while we were home with no car, since we only had one vehicle. Here are the kids in that sandbox:


We moved into the country and the boys were too old for a sandbox, but then later Emily asked for one, so Chuck made her one this summer. She loves it. He used untreated pine (2x10 boards)to make the frame, and the little benches. We cover it with a tarp when she's not using it, and the umbrella we had bought for our deck and camping, but it works great for her too!



~Brenda

Our Future Track Star

Emily went to her first track camp this week. The high school track coaches and volunteer team members put it on for 9-14 year olds. She's really been looking forward to it, but was nervous. The first day she found out four of her classmates were attending and she recognized several of the track members too. The camp was for two days, and on the third day they ran a meet for the kids. Emily chose to participate in the shotput (softball) throw, the standing long jump and the 400 relay. It was so cool watching her at the meet with her friends. She spent more time "warming up" then competing though!

She jumped over four foot in the long jump:


She ran great in the relay, especially considering she had warmed up and ran around with her friends for an hour and 1/2 or so beforehand.

She brought home four ribbons and a big, but tired smile!

~Brenda

Death By Chocolate

My bloggy friend Deb of Dirty Socks and Pizza blogged about what would possibly be the cause of her demise. I thought this was something I could ponder as well. Why not? So, I thought to myself "What would the article buried in the section of the paper no one reads say about my death?" Hmmmm...

She consumed massive amounts of chocolate after finding out she had late onset diabetes in an attempt to force her body to accept it. This, as you can see, was not a wise move on her part. Her husband told reporters "I told her to put down the freaking chocolate!".

Brenda opened her van door and leaped out unexpectedly while her son was driving her around on his learners permit one day. The pressure of trying to remain calm and not scream like a banshee finally took it's tole and she baled. Her son was heard saying "I guess I should have asked my dad instead, huh?".

Brenda fell down the basement steps after slipping on cat vomit. Her children were heard saying "We were going to clean it up, but we figured she was so good at cleaning up cat vomit that she'd do it!".

Brenda crashed through her living room window one summer day when her kids were starting up their 1,000 song set list, starting out with Hungry Like a Wolf by Duran Duran. The song has been rumored to cause moms all over the world to beat their kids with the Rock Band guitar or microphone. We are assuming she jumped through the window to avoid harming her children. They weren't able to call 911 until the song was finished and unfortunately it was too late, but they gained 200,000 new fans in the game.

So there you have it...I hope to survive the summer without any of these mishaps.

~Brenda