Day 120

The leaves on my tree. They look really BIG here! They are really kinda small & cute!

Day 119

Last night was the BCA History & Science Fair (I thought Science & Geography Fair was more appropriate!) Nick did this all on his own. I think he did pretty good (It counts for 3 test grades; he got 100, 100 & 95 on it!) for not getting ANY help from mom & dad and the fact that he's not very motivated.


Some of the other kids went all out!! They had food & decorations & costumes!! One girl had great-great-grandmother's pictures from Italy. Pretty cool. Considering how tiny the school is, I thought they put on a pretty good "show".

Day 118

I thin it's time to fertilize the front yard. Of course, I SHOULD have done it a couple weeks ago! Now, it's too rainy. When we have 24 hours of clear weather predicted, I'll take care of these guys!


Edited to add: It never rained today. I could have taken care of these dandelions today after all.

Day 117

No matter how old my kids get, they still look so cute when they're asleep. Nick went downstairs to watch TV today. I called him a couple of times but he didn't answer. When I went down to check on him, I found him crashed out on the couch. Guess he needed some sleep??

Day 116

It's a sad day; I have to say goodbye to these wonderful people. SAP was just fabulous and I hate to go. I guess I have to go back to the real world :( Wait 'til next year!!

Day 115

On Saturday, we all got up & headed for the Stamp Store & Archivers. We had discount coupons for BOTH!! Chelsea, Angie, Kim, Sherri & I were on the Fast Track. Quick hits, lunch & back to the hotel to play! Jan, Cheryl, Cheryl, Amy & Nancy were also on the fast track but they seemed to want to look around alot more at the first store so we left 'em. Daylights burning!!!

We leave this store & head for Achivers. But, won't it save us time if we stop for lunch. We have lunch at chilis; it was Yummy!! Then, across the street to the mall & Archivers. But wait, what's that?? It's a cow limo! A Cow Limo??? Yes, it was!!! Scary! And too funny for words. We just about wet our pants (and laughed even when Chelsea got clotheslined by a tree branch).


So, we get to Archivers & miss Jan & Co by minutes but run into Robyn & her sister (who's name I have totally forgotten!). We do our Archiver's shopping & get ready to leave Ft. Wayne but Chels needs gas. On the way to the gas station, we see a Dairy Queen. We fill up w/gas & then got BACK to the DQ for ice cream for everyone (but Kim). We FINALLY make it back to the hotel 5 hours later??? How is that the fast track. And Jan & Co? They are back like 2 hours before us. But, I wouldn't trade ONE SECOND of the time we were gone. These girls are too much fun! And, how often will you EVER see a cow limo??????

(BTW, my camera battery died after the pic at the LSS. So no more pics for Suzi except for what her friends share with her :( The cow limo is from Chelesea's cell phone!)

Day 114

So, the first full day of 'palooza, I get up early to go jog the nature trails. It's so wonderful being out, one with nature. The morning sun, the birds, the gnats/mosquitoes, THE SNAKES???? ACK!! Oh, snakes are just one of joys of the outdoors & one of God's creatures.

Ok, those of you who know me can stop laughing now. No, I did not get up early to jog. I will NOT commune with nature if there are any other alternatives!!! I hate bugs & snakes!!! I got up, drove to McD's & had breakfast. Came back to the crop room & started playing!! Chelsea came in & said SHE had be jogging & saw this GIANT turtle on the path. She is going to go out & take a pic of it. I tell her to take my camera, I can say I was jogging & use it as my picture of the day. Well, the turtle is gone (I thought turtles moved slowly!!!) so she sees the snake & takes IT'S picture instead. LOL

Here is MY REAL pic! this is the crop room full of our stuff. Man, oh man! I have never seen so much stuff in one place. Maybe Archivers but they are better organized. LOL But, can you believe, with all this stuff, NO ONE had a AI tool??? Nancy was going to teach me about AI but no one had a tool. Poor Robyn went home & got hers & brought it back but I still never learned AI.

Day 113

8 hours in a car (I drive the whole way & don't fall asleep!! woohoo!) we make it to Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN and to the Potawatomi Inn. The inn is fabulous, like the on in Dirty Dancing but w/o Patrick Swayze! We have the cutest rooms and the grounds are FABULOUS!!! The crop room was the GREATEST!! Plenty of room for us all! And the goodies!! Chocolate & note pads & pencils & chocolate & placemats & bags & chocolate. YUMMM!!! And to put faces & personalities w/names!!! I have to say, I was totally overwhelmed and could not figure out who was who, even after they introduced themselves. But, it didn't take long before they were my best friends. This weekend's gonna ROCK!!

Day 112, pic 2

My bags are all packed, I'm just waiting for cheryl to get here. She's gonna spend the night & then we'll get up and head for Indiana!! Scott, being the nice guy he is, suggested instead of cooking or even fend for self (which would require someone to clean up after) we'd just do the fast food thing. Of course, I'll be eating fast food for the next four days but, that's ok!! LOL

Day 112

Scott's been on vacation all this week. Since Cheryl from the Shack is staying here tonite, Scott decided to use today to clean Nick's room so she won't have to stay in squallor. Then, he vacuumed the whole upstairs, did the dusting & mirrors. Gotta love a man who cleans!!!

Day 111

Today's pic is courtesy of Nick. We were at Walmart & he brought over the Axe body spray. He said he should get it as it "matched" his deodorant. Anything to make teen boys smell good has to be embraced!! When we got home, he took my camera & took this pic. He told me to use it as my pic of the day. So, here it is!

Day 110

C is for cookie!! I love iced sugar cookies. So I made some spring sugar cookies. Yum!

day 109

Sunday morning breakfast means one of two things: Donuts from Sunshine Bakery or Waffles from Suzi's Kitchen. Scott doesn't like any other breakfast food (he claims to like cream of wheat but he's never eaten in since I've known him!) So, if there is bacon in the house, I make waffles. I used to have a round waffle iron but it broke. The only other one I could find was square. Why do they make square waffle irons when the corners never get cooked. So I make round waffles in a square iron. (I think I just never fill the iron enough so it only makes the circle but I say it's 'cause I'm talented!!)

Day 108

Anyway, Sue had her monthly stamp camp today. I love driving thru Elsah any time of year. It's such a cute little town. Get used to seeing more pics of the town each month. Hmmm, I see an album in my future: Elsah, all thru the year.

Day 107

Yesterday, my youngest brother Kevin came into town with his kids. We all got together last night we my other 2 brothers and looked at the property Steve has bought to build a house. I'm not sure the last time the 4 of us have all been in the same place at the same time.

Day 106

Today we had lots of bright sunshine & 60 degree temps. I spent most of the day freezing in the basement but, when I went up to make dinner, I got hot! I opened the sliding glass door & let in some breeze. Jack came to enjoy the sites, sounds & scents of the great outdoors. When he had his filll, he lay down & enjoyed the sunshine. Such a pretty kitty when he's asleep!!

Day 105

This is a bush we bought a few years ago. It has no flowers but it does provide a nice red/purple color to our front walk. I have no idea if it's ok to trim it. It does have thorns!!! I'm going to have to trim it back some, it's getting pretty wild.

Here it is a few months ago. It dies back to nothing but sticks. Blucky!

My hand is MUCH better today. Today, my elbow hurts where I slammed it into the wall. And I have a really pretty bruise on my leg where I hit the laundry basket (that hit the chair & wouldn't move, causing a bruise. I'm not THAT delicate!)

Day 104

Jack has been chasing Scott around all afternoon. He is trying to catch Scott's untied laces. Finally, Scott gave up & gave Jack the shoe. Jack promptly lost all interest.

My hand is MUCH better today. Still a little sore & there are things that it hurts to do (not typing thank goodness!) I'm definately on the mend!

Day 103

Today was a day full of pictures of the day: Jack acting cute (or stupid depending on your POV) playing in my basket, home-made rolls, golden brown from the oven and yummy Choc Chip Cookies. But this ended up being the pic of the day!

Scott was at PT for his ankle, Nick was on the phone, Becca was in her room & Jack was on the dinning room table. I go to get Jack OFF the table, run into the laundry basket, lose my balance & slam down on the floor, bending my fingers all the way back & slamming my elbow into the corner of the wall. OUCH!!! I lay on the floor trying to decide if I was alive or dead while the kids argue over who's going to call 911. I get up & explain that NO ONE is calling 911. I continue making dinner (instructing Becca what spices to put in the sauce). When Scott gets home, I let him & the kids eat and THEN he takes me to the ER.

After 2 hours in an exam room, nothings broken, just strained. They wrap me in an ace bandage & I'm on my way home. It still hurts but, I can type w/o the bandage and I think I can still stamp. (Gotta have your priorities!)

day 102

Happy Easter Everybody!! This is a sound activated bunny. Whenever there is a loud noise, she goes off & starts singing.

We're not doing anything special today. We're going to grill today (if the grill has gas, Scott never "got around to" checking. The house needs cleaning & the kids need to get their heads around the fact they have to go back to school tomorrow!