We're home...only because we had to...

leave the lakehouse...they shut off the electric to our area due to flooding! All the rain in northern and central Wisconsin has to go somewhere...and the Rock River is a good place to go...which then empties into our lake...and the flooding of last August?...isn't anything compared to this!!! We stayed up to monitor the whole flooding situation and celebrate Ash's birthday...and planned to stay longer...till they shut power off this morning...which meant emptying the fridge and freezer and making sure things were picked up...just in case! Pictures to come as soon as I unpack!

Girl's Night

A light summer evening supper while watching a new to us Shirley Temple video...
in the cool of the basement...while Mom is on the computer making labels for the shop...and crafting when she isn't messing up the print job! (Do you know how easy it is to hit the wrong button when you have five windows open at once? Multi-tasking isn't all that it is cracked up to be!)

Simple Activities...don't cost much!

After throwing some hot dogs on the grill for lunch, Alisa suggested roasting marshmallows and making smores...hmmm...what a yummy idea!
While the kids took a much needed nap...separation from each other and from Mom is more like it...there was wildlife to watch in our yard...maybe she too was looking for some peace and quiet on a cloudy, rainy afternoon.

The cake diaries

I had several people exclaim over their recent consumption of the cakes I made...they were good! The key was freezing the fresh baked cake...made for a very moist cake! Here are a few pictures of what was involved...minus the baking, mess, and decorator!
Beating the frosting for a long time is the key!
Lots of cake mixes were used!
Crumb coating to keep the crumbs out of the decorated layer.
Pink and brown makes a fun color combination! The cake was marble.
Light green and yellow are a new favorite too! Chocolate cake with vanilla filling and white cake with chocolate filling.

Grat-i-tude (grat'i-tud), n. the state of being grateful: appreciation of favors received; thankfulness.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words! The only word that comes to my mind is ingratitude (the absence of gratitude; insensibility to kindness.) well, and the obvious embarrassment that is felt at such times of honesty by one of my children in a group setting. Teddy used his direct honesty as he opened a present from his grandparents...much needed school clothes, t-shirt, and shorts for this summer!!! "Clothes are not a good present." Now we all know grandparents always add something special to something that is needful...a little lunch box for cars and gadgets or for his snack for K5 and two little cars! Another teaching opportunity for us and another chuckle for all those who have "been there, done that, and survived!"

When it is raining outside...we have memories inside!

Playing in the sun, sand, and water at the lake...

A walk through a special garden...
Days like today are nice for remembering or cuddling up with a good book or movie...so that is what we shall do...while we wait for the sun to come out again! Ah...the lazy days of summer...

Coffee Break Treat...that never ends

I was given some starter...ya know, the only ones who know how to make it are the Amish kind...
and it is wonderfully yummy...but really, it is a job that will never end...anyone want some starter to feed? Off to put on our Saturday coffee and cut some cake for a visit with Grammy...

A Week In Review

11 cake mixes, 4 dozen eggs, 1 bottle of vegetable oil, 1/2 can of Crisco, 6 bags of powdered sugar, 4 boxes of pudding mix, 2 large tubs of CoolWhip, approx. 150 minutes at 350 degrees, approx. 8 hours of mixing and decorating and delivering = 5 half sheet cakes for 2 graduation open houses for Saturday...the baking was done in shifts last week...because we had to...
go to the annual Memorial Day Parade and watch for Uncle James and the fire engines, collect three bags of loot, stand proudly as the flag passed by, and...
watch all the neat vehicles go by...tanks, hummers, limos, semis, tractors, motorcycles, fire/rescue trucks, race cars, go-carts, boats, ambulances, and etc. Our favorite? The Frito-O-Lay semi with bags of Cheetos! Oh, and the golf cart throwing packs of Trident!
go to Daddy's cousin's open house and tour the beautiful gardens that Aunt Dana works to make their yard so inviting...I am sure the flower fairies love to visit...I know the girl's loved it!
then go back to the lakehouse to relax and play in the sand and water. It was a busy week!

The pirate got his wishes

The captain and his mateys needed a snack break...goldfish, life-preservers(Cheerios), and rafts(rice chex) all washed down with rootbeer...argh! I didn't think the whole thing through...so I had to put a kabosh on "what does it mean when you are drunk?" Our friend helped us..."it means you can't talk very good or walk straight." What did I think would happen?
Looking mean turned into giggles and bubbles up the noses...they took off their "get-ups" to eat...drat!
So many pirate props...helped him look the part of the ornery day he had turning five...I guess it was hard work for him this year!
The ship...complete with the gang-plank for his sisters...one overboard and one tripped on the plank...guess who! Blow me down...again and again...we had trick candles!
Everyone approved of the birthday cake...even the pirate princess and her Daddy! It was such a rough voyage that everyone was in bed by 9:oop.m.

Happy Birthday, Captain Ornery Pants!

The captain has requested a pirate ship birthday cake...and a gang plank for his sisters to walk...and he is not joking these days...ahhh...the first sounds of our summer vacation...a scurvy pirate at odds with his mateys!

Friday's Children...

Awards Chapel at school for Ashlynn...who earned a B Honor Roll! We are proud of her hard work this year! This was interrupted by a quick trip to Walmart...the awards part was veeeerrryyyyy long for the siblings! The chapel time was followed by an inside picnic due to threat of rain...we waited while Ashlynn ate because we were hungry for...
our annual lunch-out with Grammy on the last day of school...to Applebees! Ashlynn just kept us company! Thank you, Grammy, even though we were nuts! The pictures depict a calm spirit...
it is all posed!!! Giving children a Snickers bar to "help them make it to lunch" wasn't wise! The sugar kicked in about the time we sat down to eat...which they didn't do much of...sigh.
All this followed by a movie and a nap...well, for a tired teacher and dog! It is summer vacation...officially...at our house!!!

Thursday's Children...

happy to play at Grandma's house!
Grandma's little helper!
A productive day for mom and Grandma...postcards done for the shop and a thank you gift for a special teacher! Thank you dollar store for a clipboard...husband for the cricut machine...variety of scrapping papers, left-over modge podge from a kid's craft, bits of ribbon, and fun stamps!