And The Surprise Is....

Grandpa built a dock for us! What a project it turned out to be. Of course instead of just a dock, it grew into a little seating area so the adults could sit and watch the kids fishing. Thank you Grandpa. The kids had a blast working on it with you and they are taking away some awesome memories not to mention they have a few new building skills under their belt now.

I can't wait to "accessorize" the deck, although that'll be another post. I've also been told that the dock is a "manly" space and that area is off limits. I guess there won't be any flowers on the fishing dock.

The kids can't wait to jump of the end of the dock this summer when the water warms up. Isaac and Daniel can't wait to fish off the dock and I can't wait to go watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee and the early morning silence. Yep, we have big plans for our little dock. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa. We love your surprise already.

Door County

Pat and I slipped over to Door County for a day trip on Thursday. We had beautiful weather and the cherry blossoms were SO beautiful. The sky was so blue and the rolling hills were beautifully green and lush. We had a good time browsing through the shops, checking out a few local wineries and enjoying the lovely countryside. These are a few shots from our ladies day away.

Still Working on The Surprise!

Grandpa is still planning, but now he is building as well. All I can say is that he's working with a pretty good crew!

A Happy Memorial Day

Daniel and Nicko marched in the 7th and 8th grade marching band at the Menasha and Neenah Memorial Day Parade. This is a little like Where's Waldo, only it's where's Daniel and Nicko? The band played 'It's A Grand Old Flag."

Grandpa's Surprise!

Grandpa and Grandma visiting is always a thrill. You never know what they are going to do and they always have a few surprises in store for us. Stay tuned to see what is coming up. All I can tell you is that Grandpa is planning a surprise!

I'm Going to Play Football When I Get Older!

I have three older brothers that love football, I am a tom boy, and I am so good at catching footballs. I definitely think I should play football when I am old enough....don't you think so too? Girls can play, I saw it on a paper. They let them play if they sign up. I think I'll be really good cause I can catch the ball so good. I have magic fingers. What does that mean anyway?

Visit at Your Own Risk!

It seems as if every time Grandpa and Grandma Boiten come to visit there is a LONG wish list waiting for them. The first night Grandpa was here, he fixed our broken lawn mower. Day two he built a window seat for the sun room. Day three Grandma painted the window seats. She also is painting a chair for us and trust me, that's only part of the wish list.

So the question is, now that I have the window seats, is there anyone out there that LOVES sewing that wants to come visit? I have some cushions that need upholstering! :-)

I Love Lilacs!

The first picture is my runt of a hanging basket. It'll get better, bigger, prettier, more colorful etc. Planting day was a bit of a disappointment this year. Next year it'll be better.

The second picture is from my front yard. I am loving the lilacs. I can sit in the sun room with all the windows open and smell them when the breezes come our way. Life is good!

I'm Gobsmacked!

That's an English term for shocked. I love that word. Joel thinks it a Willy Wonka-ish word and he rolls his eyes every time I say it. Anyway the reason I am gobsmacked is....because I have been spring cleaning and I completely forgot about taking pictures and writing all about our adventures. We have been living through a lake fly invasion and outside is kind of...well...buggy. I'll spare you the pictures of that. But if you're really curious I can email you some very graphic photos of our invasion.

Anyway, so I have been stuck inside ALL WEEK. I have a lovely collection of flowers sitting outside waiting for me to turn them into colorful works of art!!! :-) But I am cleaning instead. I have really gotten through several projects that I have put off for a long time. But there is only so much satisfaction in that. I would rather go outside and dig in the dirt than CLEAN.

The good news is that our bugs are going away. So tomorrow morning my dear husband is taking a short little trip with a few of the kids and I am going to the back yard with a few of the other kids and I am going to put my little flower pots together and create a lush patio paradise. Okay maybe not lush and maybe not a paradise, but it's a lush paradise in my head. By the way, has anyone ever bought one of those huge palm trees from Sam's Club or Costco and left it outside for the summer? I think a few of those babies would help add to the lush paradise feel. Unfortunately, I am already over my flower budget and I will not be trying the lush palms this year. Well not unless we win the lotto!

I cannot wait for tomorrow. Isaac is also excited. He told me that his tomato plants are better than mine and he could probably give me a few pointers for next year. He has started a graph to keep track of his tomato plants. I just don't think that is normal for a 11 year old. He is also quite sure that when he grows up he would like to start graphing tomato plants to find the prefect tomato and plants. He can easily talk about tomato plants for over a half an hour...so don't ask him....he will not stop talking. Isaac is a firm believer that whatever he likes, you should like as well and be as passionate about it as he is. That kid is in for a little disapointment in that area.

Well, I must go. I just wanted to drop a line....or two?...and say that I have remembered I have a blog and I will no longer neglect it. Nicko practices the piano right before he goes to bed. So every night I like to perch myself in the living room while he is practicing. There is nothing so lovely as Pachabel drifting through a silent house late at night (late at night for us is usually 8:30!). I almost wish I could chain him to the piano so I could hear his lovely music all day long. For some reason Nicko is against this. Teenagers! :-)

Who Did That?

Today I was straightening up the house. I always straighten up the house on Friday so the house is nice and neat for the weekend. Usually by Monday the house looks like a tornado has gone through it. Anyway, today the rec room was a particular mess. So I was putting things away when I opened a drawer and found a hanger. Who on earth would have put a hanger in my craft drawer??? The answer to that is Isaac. On Tuesday he had been working on a project and I had told him that everything needed to be put away when he was finished. So he grabbed everything on the table and put it in the craft drawer. Apparently it never occurred to him that a hanger should be put away in the closet.

Spring Concert 2009

Tonight we went to Daniel and Nicko's spring band concert. It always amazes me how much a band can improve over the course of one school year. And this year was no exception. Nicko's band, the 8th grade band, performed four selections as did Daniels band, the 7th grade band. The grand finale of the evening was a preview of the Memorial Day Parade music, It's A Grand Old Flag. It was a fun evening and I am so glad the kids are in band.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

I am always concerned about making sure my kids feel comfortable in their own skin. Part of that is making sure they are aware of their heritage and culture. I will never forget the first time I gave the boys homemade Mexican food. I grew up in a small town that had a large Hispanic population. I watched my friends mom make tortillas, fajitas, pico de gallo, burritos, the very tedious tamales, and tres leche cake. So when I presented my children with the genuine food of their mothers culture, I was so proud. They took one look at their plate and asked what it was. I was crushed and they thought I had lost my mind. We've come a long way since.

I also thought it would be a good idea to have the boys create a Mexican Christmas tree with ornaments indicative of Mexico and South America. Daniel thought that sounded like a great idea only he wanted to have a Korean Christmas tree instead.

I guess as long as the kids know that we love them, that's good enough. Right now they laugh about the time I tried to poison them with Mexican food. We actually eat quite a bit of Mexican food now and they love it. Someday they may have a new complaint like why didn't you teach us more about our ethnic background.

So, as much as I would like to, we're not celebrating cinco de Mayo. As Isaac says with a laugh..."We're Americans." We are not having tacos for dinner and I guess I won't have a margarita either. We will have grilled salmon and ratatouille for dinner (Nicko's favorite), we will have 'regular' tree for Christmas and we will love it.

Flower Season

I promise not to take a picture of every single flower that we have pop up this year. But I was so excited that the flowers are on the way that I just could not resist a few pictures. We have a ton of tulips that are just starting to open up. We have a field of jonquils that are not open yet. Alyssa's sweet peas are now living outside and climbing a trellis and we had our first 'grown from seed' petunia produce a flower. The petunias will be happier outside in some really strong sun, but for now I'm just excited we have flowers. I won't post anymore flower pictures until everything is in full bloom....I think.

I took these pictures yesterday and we had a beautiful sunny day, but the pictures look sort of drab. I guess I am not a photographer extraordinaire! Just pretend the pictures are bright are summer-ish looking, and the colors are vivid and brilliant! :-)

I love the dark red veins on the petunia. That is a 'Strawberry Sundae' wave petunia and I love them. I am going to plant it with some dark red geraniums and a few other red flowers and that red vein will really pop. I love flowers but I really love putting different color combinations together and designing the pots and baskets that we plant. I just love color.

The Cracks in the Driveway!

I don't know what this little flower is, but it's growing in several cracks of the driveway. It is beautiful and I love seeing it. I wish the flowers that I fertilize, weed, water and carefully place according to how much sun they like would grow as nicely!

Paper Weights

Last week Alyssa's class room went on a field trip to a local museum to see their famous collection of lampwork and mille fiore paper weights. I was called in as a last minute chaperon and I am so glad I was able to go. The kids had a great time and the paper weights were beyond amazing. They were so delicate and detailed. We saw all sorts of beautiful glass pieces, but it was hard to photo graph them behind their lit glass display cases.

On our way home, Alyssa was telling Isaac about the museum and how they made the paperweights when she suddenly asked who dusts all those pieces of glass? Good question, Alyssa.