On the way to The Apple Shed

This will be our third year in a row going to The Apple Shed. It's become one of our fall, family traditions. My husband called from work to remind me to find the address and plug it in to our GPS, just to make sure we didn't forget the way. So, being the dutiful wife that I am (no comments, please), I did as he requested. About half way there, Amanda (our GPS voice) started giving us directions completely opposite to the way my husband wished to go. Here is a brief synopsis of the conversation. Please keep in mind that all of this discussion is done in a teasing, not bitter tone. Shannon-my husband, Michelle-me, Amanda-GPS voice,Bree-our 5 year old.

Amanda - "At the next opportunity turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Amanda said to turn around."

Shannon - "I heard her."

Michelle - "Are you going to turn around?"

Shannon - "No."

Amanda - "At the next opportunity, turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Are you sure you're going the right way?"

Shannon - "Pretty sure."

Michelle - "Amanda thinks we are going the wrong way."

Amanda - "At the next opportunity, turn your vehicle around."

Michelle - "Be quiet, Amanda, he's not listening to you!"

Shannon - "Do YOU want me to turn around?"

Michelle - "NO, I'm sure you know more than Amanda.(Said with just a touch of teasing sarcasm.) If you're not going to listen to her, we should just turn her off.

Shannon - "Where does she want us to go anyway?"

Bree - "Daddy, just go the way you want to go!"

Michelle - "Uh, Amanda was taking us to Lori's Secret Garden. Sorry."

Somehow, when doing the final programing, I mixed it up. So , honey, this is for you.... I was .......not completely right. OK, OK, I was wrong! There had to be a first time, right?

'Tis the Season

No, not Christmas...Hunting!

With hunting season upon us, it always reminds me of a story that I was told about 13 years ago. While teaching in a private school in Indiana, the pastor told a story about his friend. This friend was a avid hunter. One day his granddaughter was watching the movie Bambi for the first time. He was worried about the scene where Bambi's mother gets shot, worried about what his granddaughter would think of Grandpa's hunting. The dreaded scene begins, then the shot rings out. His granddaughter gasps and then cries, "Wow, Grandpa! What a shot!"

Now, could this be one of those urban legend stories? It's possible, but I'm just relaying what was told to me. I'm a horrible storyteller (just ask my husband) so please forgive the lack of creativity in the telling of the story.

Quick Question

Why does it seem like every time I put on mascara, I sneeze thus smearing the mascara?! Anyone else have this problem?

The Tournament

Just some pictures from a recent flag football tournament. They're in no particular order. Most of them are not touched up, just cropped a bit. I think we had 2 wins and 2 losses. It was a fun day!


For you, Amy. I love how tough Anthony looks in this picture.


"You're going the wrong way, Ken!!!" I should have cropped this picture. Notice where the ball is and the direction everyone else is facing. I'm sure he is in mid-turn, but I thought the picture looked funny.

Cory with a touchdown!

Let's not forget our ladies. The girls spent the whole day cheering on our team. Katelyn's helping hold the sign.

There was never a pyramid more beautiful. My Katelyn is not shown. She's still holding the sign behind the girls.



David in action.

Jeffrey is ready to hike the ball, but no one is ready to catch it!

Andrew with a touchdown!

His face says he doesn't want to be here, but his hair is SCREAMING school spirit.

Happy Birthday, Katelyn!

Earlier this month, Katelyn turned 11.



Aren't you jealous of my decorating skills? Yup, this is my skill at peak performance. Need help for your next party, believe it or not, I still have dates available!

OK, I forgot to rotate the picture before I transfered it. There probably is a way to do it now, but I'll deal with it as it is. Feeling a little better about your cake, Julia? You should!

Special "sparkling" candles top the cake, and, yes, that's a toy lizard on her cake. I used to buy the birthday cakes at Tops because the kids enjoyed the little toys that came with them. Then I realized that $20 for a plastic toy is ,well, stupid. The kids don't mind the homemade cake, but they still enjoy the toy. Thank you dollar store!

Our gift to Katelyn. I know, it's not politically correct, but we are not very "big" on being politically correct so TOUGH! My kids are taught to be careful: just don't stand where they are about to shoot.

A Sign from Above?

I recently started using my treadmill again, but I think I should stop. It seems anytime I start something exercise related I get sick and don't feel like keeping up the routine. If that wasn't enough, this is what I found in my sneaker.

Yup, that's a nail. I started walking on the treadmill. (I don't run...it's one of my personal "THOU SHALT NOTS".) Something was poking my foot. I tried to remove the offending item, but it didn't budge. That's when I discovered the nail.

Now the reason I think this is a "sign" is the fact that these shoes NEVER leave my bedroom. The treadmill is in my room, and I have other sneakers for the outdoors. I don't remember stepping on this nail, so God must have put it there, right? He must not want me to execise. Well, that's my theory anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

That's Just Robert!

The day was beautiful, but a little chilly. The kids came home from school, changed and headed out the door. Robert had on shorts; a fact I did not notice at first. Instead of changing into pants once he realized how cold he was, he just hiked up his socks.




Doesn't he look so cute (or is that geeky)? That's my Robert and we love him.

Scroll down!

For newest post, scroll down to the title Man At Work. It's not under the posting date (today), but under the date the picture was drafted (Oct 2). Forgive me for not knowing what I'm doing!

A Funny Story....at least to me

There was a wedding this past weekend that I was able to attend. The only part of a wedding that tears me up is when the bride makes her "entrance". This wedding was between an older couple so I didn't think I would get misty eyed. Age shouldn't matter and it didn't. When the wedding march started to play, and the bride made her appearance, I did tear up a little. I love weddings, but I'm glad mine was 14 1/2 years ago. I've told my husband that next time I get married, I'll elope .......(he doesn't think my joke is funny either).
Well, there was a wedding and it reminded me of when my son Robbie was a ringbearer in my brother's wedding 2 1/2 years ago. He was excited until he saw the tux he had to wear.

"That's what I have to wear?"
"Yes"
"But what about my costume?"
"What costume?"
"The bear costume."
"What bear costume?"
"You know...cuz I'm the ring bear."

Soccer and Football

This year, for the first time, my children are both on a school sport's team. The girls are playing soccer and the boys are playing flag football at our school. Homeschoolers get to play, too. Since our school is part of our church, I think it's great that those who choose to homeschool are participating. Both my oldest son and daughter love to play sports. This they do NOT get from me. I only like to go to sporting events because of the junk food I can eat, but I have had a great time watching the games.


Below are some pictures taken over the "season". The quality is not good, but I haven't read the manual that came with my camera, yet. Sorry, Amy.




Brianna - Ok, she wasn't playing, but she wanted me to take her picture.





David - He almost looks like he knows what he's doing.

Our girls are in the blue shirt. Here's Katelyn with the ball.

The younger kids played in the field behind the game. Here's Robert showing the skill he inherited from me. Notice that he has kicked, but the ball did not move.

If you look really carefully you can see the ball in flight.

A pep talk from our coach (and Pastor).

Man At Work

This is my husband hard at work fixing our dining room table. One more thing he can check off the "honey do" list. I love watching my husband fix things. He's usually outside, weather permitting, but on this day the table was top priority. (I think he finally noticed it was still sagging in the middle!)

I'm so happy that my table is mended that I won't tell you that the table has been broken for 1 1/2 years, and HE'S the one that broke it! The table was broken as he was playing with (chasing) the children around the house. He tried to jump over the table while the kids ran around it. The kids were all very thankful that they didn't break the table and have to suffer the wrath of Mom. As for their father, well, why do you think he needed back and knee surgery in the same year? Actually, I thought it was kind of funny to think of the table collapsing underneath him. That's a little mean, isn't it?

IT IS FINISHED!.........(finally)

Ever done a time consuming project with no visible changes. I mean, it looks like nothing was done. I just completed one of those projects. Last December, we had 600 sq. feet of tile installed in our newly remodeled kitchen. The grout should have been sealed soon after installation, but I never got around to it. I have a million excuses, none of them very good.

With school starting, I could not, in good conscience, put this project off any longer. It's not hard work, just time consuming. I did it over a few days because of drying time between coats, moving furniture, etc. Doesn't it look nice?







BEFORE




AFTER

Notice any difference? Me, neither! It's finished and no one will appreciate but me. (Any one else hear a sorrowful violin playing in the background?)

Note: I highly recommend tile if you can afford it (it's pricey). It hides a lot and cleans up nicely if you pick the right color grout and SEAL it. Downside...if you drop a plate, glass, or jar it will not only break, it will SHATTER into tiny pieces and spread all over the floor. This is a sore topic for me. I just shattered a glass jar last night. What a mess! I'm still finding little shards of glass.

PROOF

Ladies, when you do a project, the project isn't finished until you clean up the mess and put away your tools, right? Men don't always have the same idea. I know I'm generalizing here, but in my experience my man does a project and he's done when the object is put up, put together or fixed. This does not include picking up and putting his tools away.
We have a beautiful bay window that was covered with a big, huge curtain. We have finally replaced the curtain with cordless cellular shades (love them). I caught my man cleaning up after he put 2 of the shades up (the other 2 were on order).



So , now, I have proof that it's possible for him to actually finish a project..including clean up. This was his mistake because now I will expect it every time.

Note: Please don't think I'm being disrespectful or mean. I'm just teasing him!

Rainy Day

Ok, I admit it. Most of the time I won't let my kids play outside in the rain or mud because I don't want to deal with the mess afterward. This day was different. I made myself let them play outside in the rain. Aren't you proud of me, Julia?