Swimming Pool?

So, have you wondered about the swimming pool in my picture? Heh,heh. Well, if you have let me tell you, it is not there anymore! I love this picture. It was a random shot. I was out with my camera for a whole week trying to get pictures of our fall colors, which, by the way, are LONG GONE! So one morning right after a rain shower I ran out while the sun was shining and snapped a few. This is one of the beauties! I love the way the clouds and trees turned out. But there is that ugly, eye-sore, swimming pool in the picture. The next week the side blew in during a wind storm that also stripped most of our trees. So, Mike took it down, used the metal to roof a new shed and put the rest in a heap to wait for Spring Clean-Up '09. Yah. (note the lack of enthusiasm) #1. I hate mounds of trash in our yard. It never fails, we get rid of one, another rises in it's place, usually bigger. Kind of like dandelions.
#2. That was supposed to be my lap pool. Of course, I'd let the kids use it but I wanted it to do laps. But after we put it up, bought a few new pieces and priced new liners, Mike tells me that the filter has a crack and he won't buy a new one. So that's that. But I am determined to have a pool next year. Deep enough to do something good for my butt, hips and waist! I may not be able to do laps but water aerobics/walking sounds fun!

My Followers

Hi, all! I added a followers widget to my blog (top of sidebar). Add yourself as a follower and keep up with all my crazy, insightful, some not-so-insightful, and novella-length blogs.

You can add this widget to your blog as well. Go to your layout on your dashboard. Click on the "add a gadget" box and choose "Followers" from the gadgets menu. Save. Now you have a followers widget! This is a fast way to build your blog following. First time visitors can quickly add you to the blogs they want to follow.

Riley--my Sunshine

Riley is my sunshine. He is my cuddle bug and my little man. God knew exactly what I needed when he gave me Riley. Wednesday night Riley slept with me since Mike was in Covington to deer hunt. He got his favorite frog pillow, a stuffed animal and some books. I tucked him in and he settled right down to look at his books before he drifted off. When I went to bed, he was smack in the middle and I didn't want to disturb him so I just squished under the covers next to him and cuddled with him to warm up. What could be better than that? This morning I was able to sleep in since the boys don't go to school on Halloween. He was the first of them to roll out of bed and he came right in to cuddle before he started his busy morning. All the boys were behaving really well this morning. (note the past tense-WERE) The few times there was a squabble I was able to help them resolve it. Riley started to get pretty bent out of shape over the Legos. He sat out for awhile and when he would have thrown a tantrum, I just reminded him that "crabby boys" have to take naps after lunch. That did the trick and he was ready to go back to sharing. Why did it take 4 boys to finally learn how to handle them? I know, they are all different. But I've changed the way I deal with them since Mikey was born almost 12 years ago. In the past, I tended to take their behaviors personally. Now it's easier to step back and look at it objectively and come up with solutions that actually work. =)
Anyway....lately Riley has really been into dressing up and pretending. He is quite adorable. Some days its a fire man-jacket, hat, boots and a back pack that looks like a fire truck! This picture is his cowboy get-up. He has green, rubber, frog boots that work for any outfit but this day were his cowboy boots. He now has a chef hat and apron and will go to the fridge to get me a drink when he plays "cooker". I love it! I think he pretends he's a dog the most though. He pants, licks, barks and runs circles around the living room.
Right now he's outside enjoying one of the last beautiful days of fall before snow flies and that's what I want to do, too. So, au revoir!

updates

Today I am taking a breather. I've been at Head Start all week (twice to volunteer and once to work) thus far and I'm ready for a break. The kids are so precious but even precious can wear on a person after 3 days!
I'm trying to get all my pictures organized....online and the boxes and boxes of photos that should have been put in albums years ago. I get frustrated with the internet though so I'm only about 10% through those pics. Isn't it funny that after only 11 1/2 years of parenting, I am already having problems telling who is who in the photos in our albums. I've given up on putting them in chronological order. Now the goal is just to put them all in there. I think I need some more picture pages though. I have to get it done before Thanksgiving...that is the deadline I've given myself. Not to mention Mike might have an issue with my craft table being up in the middle of the living room any longer than that. =)
Ok...now that I've brought up the whole holiday thing in mentioning Thanksgiving...lets talk about that awhile....
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving...my little sister is planning a trip up here with her 2 cutie-pie daughters. I am so excited. This will be our first Thanksgiving at home in 13 years! The last time we cooked Thanksgiving dinner at home, we were living with my brother and his family (Tracy and Cinnamon) in my dad's old farm house. The turkey took way longer than we expected and dinner wasn't ready until REALLY late (so late that I'm embarrassed to say!). But it was delicious. Then we hopped in our car and went to Marquette to see Mike's parents. We got there sometime 'round midnight. Does that say anything? LOL So, this year I'm planning a delicious but simple affair. Maybe my mom and Jason's family will come too. I have a few new recipes I'd like to try out. Just a spin on the traditional. I'll let you know how that works out.
Next, Christmas.... Ugh. I don't even like to think about all Christmas entails in today's society. Basically, we don't know what my family is doing for Christmas... There was talks of skipping a get-together and gifts for a family vacation later in 2009. Mike's family is pretty simple. He has his parents and one sister's family to worry about. And they LOVE our goodie baskets. So that is what we will do for them this year. Simple and fun to do with lots of love put into it. The boys....I don't know. Mike plans on buying a four wheeler in the spring and that will be their combined gift. They will get their helmets on Christmas. I don't know how I feel about that....I'm not totally thrilled. But to tell the truth....I don't enjoy that part of Christmas. I hate shopping during this time and I don't want my kids to grow up thinking Christmas is only about the presents. I have a hard time with this holiday. I spend a lot of time with them, reading the account of Jesus birth in the Bible and story books I've accumulated over the years. Yet every year there's so much stress on what we're getting them for gifts. Yesterday, my MIL called and wanted ideas for the boys while she's in Green Bay. I couldn't come up with anything. There are always a few things the boys are interested in but they already have SO much! I look forward to sending out cards or a newsletter though. Hopefully, this year they will get out on time! I'm thinking I'll let the boys help me--it will be a nice project for the weekends that Mike works.
Ok....I think that's all for now. Until next time, GOD BLESS!

I'm feeling orange today. Do you ever feel a color? Well, today I feel orange. Fall is in the air --the morning air is crisp and yesterday I noticed quite a few trees changing already. We could peak before the end of September. I'm not sure if I am ready to bid adieu to summer. Seems that it just passed to quick and I didn't do all the things I thought of back in June. It always happens that way but this year, for some reason, feels bittersweet.
I did a lot of traveling this summer. We started out with a trip to St. Ignace, MI --camping, Mackinac Island, etc., then June was a quiet month. Mike worked a lot so the boys and I stayed close to home. July was hectic...I drove to Marinette and spent a few days with the Gannons (LOVE YOU!) while Mikey and Eli went to the UPC WI District Junior Camp where Mikey received the Holy Ghost Monday, July 14th. Yah! I picked them up Friday afternoon and we headed to Green Bay to visit my mom. Just a quick stop before we packed up and followed her to Sturgeon Bay to stay at her friend's cabin right on the bay. That was such a beautiful weekend. We watched lightning as the storm passed the mouth of the bay, we kayaked and swam, ate good food and the kids all got sunburned (bad mom, I know), Mom lit fireworks on the beach on a windy night and we slept hard. We spent the next week at her house so that we could be in Marinette for a friend's wedding (CONGRATS! Aaron and Brandi). I zipped home for 10 days then headed back to WI to for Family Camp at Forest Jct with the Huberts. What an awesome time that was. I enjoyed working in the kitchen each morning but was sad to go bed early and miss all the fun with the young people--no volleyball for me this year. I got home on Saturday, Aug 9th, did a quick load of laundry and packed us back up so Mike and I could have a trip to ourselves. We farmed out the kids across MI and WI and we headed down to Illinois to see my lil sister, Kim. But first we took a detour into Green Bay for the 1st Green Bay Packer preseason game against the Bengals. It was a fun game to watch....my first. I so much enjoyed the time alone with Mike...I just wish we wouldn't have had to drive. We were so exhausted. As we pulled into our hotel in Schaumburg we spied the Woodfield Mall and spent the most of that afternoon shopping rather than taking a nap as we should have. That night Kim took us to see a minor league baseball game...the Flyers, I think. It was fun. Wednesday we took the Metra into Chicago from Roselle and went to Navy Pier. That was something I've always wanted to do and I am so glad I did! We took a architectural tour courtesy of Sea Dog that was breath-taking. I love the old and new buildings of Chicago. We were going to spend more time in the Windy City but we were so tired so we headed back to the burbs and ate at Maggiano's with desert at The Cheesecake Factory. Bon apetite! Yum-O! How ever you want to say it, we were satisfied!!! Thursday we had to head home but Kim first took us golfing (my 1st time) and we had a very enjoyable morning. THEN...we got turned around heading out of Elgin and I got a bit irritated at Mike but once we were past Milwaukee I was fine again....we spent that night at Jason's in Marinette and zipped on home so Mike could work Saturday morning. It took the next 2 weeks to recoup from the excitement of the last 5 weeks. Whew!
So...where was I? Oh, yes. Bittersweet. Now summer is passing on into fall and I look back and see that the only swimming the kids did was at Sturgeon Bay, the only camping we did was back in May, and I didn't see as much of my friends as I would have liked. I guess I should be satisfied and make the most of THIS day. So what am I doing writing this blog??? And what are you doing reading it??? Go do something memorable/constructive/worthwhile today!
Til next time....AU REVOIR!