Sunday, September 7, 2008

camping labor day weekend!

we partied with my family on saturday...luke picked tacos for lunch, then presents, playing outside & cake. fun time with family for sure! acquired some hotwheels, clothes, crash n smash stadium & a gecko! (due to allerigies, the doctor said no fur or feathers for pets). Theo is the leopard gecko's name.


then we packed quickly & took off for deam lake state recreation area. not a bad drive south. set up camp as the sun went down. rode bikes, had a fire & off to bed. on sunday, we were joined by the mc clain family. dave & matt have been friends for over 30 years. dave & mary have 2 boys jack (7) and liam(4). jack & luke have the same birthday! they pitched their tent, we had some lunch & everyone headed for the beach. lots of space, nice sand & clearish water. wore the kiddos out for sure. had dinner & hung out around the campfire.

monday we had a tasty breakfast thanks to chef matt. we played at the campsite then rented rowboats to do a little fishing. between the 8 of us: caught 1 fish, 3 little people peed in the woods, tangled 2 lines, lost 1 bobber, and laughed a lot! back to camp for lunch & packing up. headed home.
great weekend! some time to celebrate luke, some time in the woods & some time with friends. good days...

Monday, August 11, 2008

august 11th...busy day!

august 11th...first day of 3rd grade, first day of kindergarten & matt's 35th birthday! whew!

we sang to matt in the morning, but since none of the rest of us are morning people the real celebration had to wait till we were more awake!

we got rachel off on the bus to the first day of third grade. her teacher is mrs. bousman who is teaching third grade for the first time & also has a 3rd grader of her own. rachel says she is nice.



luke is an afternoon kindergartener. this means we have lunch together and then i take him to school at 12:50 and he rides the bus home. he had a good first day with mrs. moos (pronounces like mows). they read a book that 'i already read this summer' and they 'didn't have recess at all'. but he says he had a good day.

with his teacher at drop off



getting off the bus


we had watermelon at the bus stop to celebrate the first day of school!
daddy opened presents...


then we loaded up & took dinner to john, jen & kiddos to welcome baby emery.
then we went to golden corral for dinner and all ate too much!
then a game of wii golf. daddy won! i'd say we let him win since it was his birthday, but really he crushed us!
then cookie cake, icecream with whip cream & chocolate syrup...

then baths & now off to bed for all of us!

what a happy day!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

state fair!

had a family day today...thought we'd spend it reclaiming the house, but quickly deduced it was the only day we'd make it to the state fair.

the fair won out! we picked up our free fair train--a benefit of matt working for the town of fishers and headed out on the 2:45 train south.

our first stop was to check out the elephant rides. rachel quickly decided that one loop around a small yard wasn't worth her $6.00(she brought her own money to do something fun). luke decided he did want to spend $4.00 he brought to be a rider on the stock car track. daddy didn't seem to mind spending his money to be the driver. they did great & were one of the better cars on the track. they passed a bunch of other drivers. luke lost his hat and daddy swooped it up a couple of laps later--rachel says only one car ran over it.

we headed on to the little hands on the farm exhibit. basically it seems designed to help city kids understand their food comes from a farm, not the grocery. the kiddos donned aprons & grabbed a bucket.

they collected an egg from the hen house, picked an apple, gathered wool, planted & harvested a vegetable, drove a tractor (pedal powered), milked a cow & took their goods to the market. they earned a dollar to buy something at the 'store'. luke picked a box of frosted flakes & rachel a granola bar. they got a free pioneer seed hat & a college choice backpack. and it was fun.

we checked out some tigers! it was cool. a little scarey to think they were behind just 2 fences, but there were 2 guys in there with them. they would have been an easier meal. good, unexpected show.

we perused the pioneer area, looked at some tractors & visited some friends at the new mac reynolds barn. the barn was just dedicated last week...great place named in honor of a great guy. we caught dan eating ice cream & toney sitting around. mike was working. rachel got a $5 tee shirt!

off to find some dinner with stops at the ffa building for putt putt & a couple other stops. rachel ate a gigantic 'small' corndog, luke a hotdog & burgers for the grownups. we shared some fries & cooled off in the shade. we headed out for more fun at the fair. we saw some 4H projects, milt by some trees, & more. we wandered over to the animal barns to finish out our day. cows, goats, sheep, pigs (& piglets), and rachel's favorite--horses! it was time to catch the 8:00 train home.

no super junky fair food, but a fun tiring day nonetheless.

about the quickest the little people have gone to sleep all summer. good family day!

Friday, July 11, 2008

day 11

today we drove home.

bummer...tomorrow begins the cleanup of the camper & laundry!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

day 10

playing in hershey, pennsylvania.

we'd heard that the town smells like chocolate due to some waste product being used for mulch. we didn't smell it.

had a blast at the park. took advantage of the free shuttle & 1 hour early bird pass from the campground.

kiddos hit some fun rides before the entire park opened. the carosel goes 13 miles an hour. sit seemed fast to me! good times. hopefully we get pictures up soon.

luke & rachel rode a BIG roller coaster. they said they wanted to ride it because it was 2 coasters racing each other--thunder & lightening. we rode lightening which won every time! they were scared & screamed from the crest of the first hill. oops! their faces on the picture they take was great, but we opted to not pay ten dollars for it. after about a half hour, rachel decided she would ride another coaster. luke says never again in his life.

we played at the boardwalk--the water park. it has a fun play place with body slides. matt & rachel rode a big slide on a double innertube. there is a kid wave pool that only is about 3 feet deep, but had some good waves. matt, rachel & luke also did the wave runner. it's a simulation wave ride--almost like a halfpipe with water rushing up. you dive in on a boogie board & ride the wave. rachel & luke went at the same time which made it hard to watch & take pictures. rachel rode the wave off the side & had to restart. for some reason, she climbed on the board backwards & rode the rest of the time facing up rather than down--we didn't see anyone else ride this way. luke had a momentary look of fear & then huge smiles the whole time. you're supposed to ride for 45 seconds. at the end of their time the guards & ride operator are all blowing their whistles for them to go off to the side, but they couldn't figure out how to get there & they weren't wiping out. they finally turned the water off--something else we never saw happen. they were embarrassed, but did GREAT! very fun.

we trekked back to camp for dinner. a quick meal & rest then back to the park.

matt & luke went to the 'really big 3d movie'. rachel & mama rode the comet, a smaller coaster. then we rode a couple of rides we liked earlier in the day as well as the monorail that takes you around the park & out to see the hershey factory.

home & to sleep rather quickly!

tomorrow is our long drive home.
blessings,
liz

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Day 9 CT to PA

The theory is that Hilary is OK...we believe that the service engine light yesterday was due to the gas cap being not tight enough. Go figure!

Today's trip smooth. We picked up a CT and a NJ geocache along the way--both WalMart parking lot park & grabs.

We arrived at Hershey Meadow campground at 6:01pm. Time for dinner and a swim. We had a fire & naturally that included s'mores. We visited with a nice family from Greencastle, PA. Rachel is hoping to be penpals with their daughter.

Tomorrow we are headed to HersheyPark for some amusement. The boy is greatly anticipating the tour of how chocolate is made & the sample that comes at the end. The girl is wild about spending time at the waterpark and says she'll try a roller coaster with mama and the ferris wheel with daddy(cause mama won't do the wheel!)

blessings,
the simmonds family

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Day 8 Maine to Connecticut

We ate a quick breakfast, packed up camp & headed out! Our travels included a stop for gas, lunch and a brief time at a Quality Inn to plug in the computer to find geocaches for MA & RI. We found a MA cache just off the road near the hotel. Mama trekked into the brush to find this one.

We travelled through Boston and got caught in a little traffic, but saw some of the city. Headed toward Providence, RI. Just 30ish miles from our destination, we blew a tire on the camper! YIKES--right in the middle land on I95! Daddy got us over to the side of the road, we called for help! Two very nice RI State Troopers arrived & they called for the CVS Good Samaritan roadside van. Glenn, the very efficient CVS dude, got us up & running while daddy chatted with the troopers. The kiddos meanwhile were playing a thomas the tank engine game on the dvd player! It's amazing what doesn't phase them. We were on the road in 30 minutes! We spent the next 90 minutes circling the area to purchase a new spare tire--4 stops!

The last 30 miles was strenuous to say the least. The hungry kids, grumpy grownups and limping saturn barely made it to Mystic. (Our service car soon light came on, but then went off. We'll get it checked somewhere along the way tomorrow.) This KOA is very large and has lots to do. While Mama cooked dinner, Daddy & the kids went to the pool. Next we did some laundry & dishes. Mama & the boy went out in search of Dunkin Donuts & milk. After passing the DD at nearly every exit today, we couldn't resist any longer!

Some donuts & icecream later, we finished laundry! Luke also decided this was a good day to ride a 2 wheeler w/o training wheels. He had a successful 20 yards a month ago & hasn't been willing to try since. Today was the day! Go figure! He was also riding Rachel's bike.

Tired kids were sent to bed.
Tomorrow is playing here a little & heading to Hershey, PA!
blessings,
the simmonds family

Day 7 Last day at Acadia!

Our morning began with blueberry pancakes! Daddy really loves us! Rachel did not enjoy the 'hot blueberries' in her pancakes.

We started the day's adventures at the Hull's Cove Visitor Center where the kids became Acadia NP Jr. Rangers! A very kind ranger had them answer some questions & take the Jr. Ranger pledge.

Next we headed around the Park Loop Road to see many more of the sites around the park. We stopped at the Nature Center & Sieur DeMohts natural spring. We waded in the waves at Sand Beach--55 degree Atlantic Ocean Water! We saw Thunder Hole, Otter Bay, an actual horse drawn carriage on a carriage road, Seal Cove, & Bubble Rock.

Our next stop was the Mount Desert Island Biological Labratory or MDIBL. We'd heard about this from Bocko & also this is where our parade neighbors spend summers--he does research here. The free public tour included a 10 minute video about what they do at MDIBL and an introduction from a very wise professor from the University of South Carolina--he used a few terms we were unfamiliar with, but overall he gave us a great introduction about their purpose. MDIBL is a place for medical researchers to research-duh! Over 30 PhDs are on site working on various projects with many high school & undergrads helping out. Some of the things that have come out of here are new glaucoma drugs & kidney research(near & dear to our hearts!). Because many marine mammals have similar organs/processes to humans, but slower metabolic rates the studies can give researchers a great insight to how drugs & toxins and more will affect humans. The highlight was the touch tank! The girl started off cautious, but soon dove in with both hands picking up starfish, clams, sea cucumbers & even a lobster! Daddy held up a lot of critters too. The boy looked on, only holding a clam and touching a seacucumber & starfish. Mama took pictures. We spent almost 2 hours here. Great place doing great research.

We trekked into Ellsworth to shop at the L.L. Bean Outlet! This was a mama requested adventure & we just bought stuff for the kids...how typical!

Made dinner at the campsite. Daddy & the kids fished & played at the playground while Mama packed up the campsite. Daddy says to tell everyone he caught a mackeral t h i s big. We made a HUGE fire & had our last s'mores in Maine.

tomorrow is a travel day through NH, MA, RI & ending in Mystic, CT.
blessings,
the simmonds family

ps more pictures soon...we're catching up on posts.

Day 6 Exploring the Quiet side!

Started off the day with pancakes! Daddy spoils us!

Headed out to the 'quiet side' of Mount Desert (pronounced like dessert, by the way) Island. Started at the Southern tip, Bass Harbor. Checked out the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. There's a keeper's house where a Coast Guard family still lives, but the lighthouse is automated. We climbed out on the rocks & got some pictures much like the postcards we purchased the day before!

Drove to Southeast Harbor to see the Coast Guard station & Daddy held a lobster at a dockside restaurant. Lots of working boats in this harbor.

Next up was a visit to Echo Lake for a swim. The boy & girl had a great time in the water while mama & daddy watched from the beach. The boy met another 5 1/2 year old named Marshall who lives nearby. Marshall shared his sand toys & even left his bucket for the kiddos because we left our specifically purchased sand toys in the camper! After a quick sandwich & snacks in the parking lot, we headed off on the Beech Mountain Trail. This trail was just .7 miles, but it included some steep rocky inclines and 4 iron ladders up the cliffs. The boy & girl thought this was n exceptional adventure. We ended in the Beech Mtn. parking area just below the summit where we met none other than Ranger Mayne from 2 days ago for our Cliff Walk Ranger Program. Both parties were surprised to reencounter each other! We ended up being the only participants and therefore received a private guided walk. The highlight of this ranger program was Ranger Mayne pointing out the only thing you may take from Acadia NP which happens to be wild blueberries! The girl had a difficult time moving along for want of eating many berries! The hike back down to the car included some blueberry collection for tomorrow's pancakes. The boy made it most of the way down & had a late hike assist from Daddy. Both kiddos are excellent hikers & enjoy exploring.

We stopped on our way home at Thompson Island for a cookout. Daddy grilled chicken, Mama made mashed potatoes & green beans, the girl rode her bike & the boy napped. Dinner was yummy, the view was spectacular and we were hungry! After dinner we met a nice family & explored some tide pools. The girl collected some more shells (shhhh...don't tell we brought them home.) The boys were not big fans of walking barefoot in the mucky/shell laden area along the coast.

We were pretty worn out & headed home for the night.
Tomorrow is our last day exploring Acadia!
blessings,
the simmonds family

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Day 5 Acadia National Park (& a lobster dinner)

We all slept well last night! Up this morning and headed out by 9:30am. We started our day with a drive to the top of Cadallic Mountain. This is the highest elevation on the Eastern Seaboard. (Also at the same latitude at Southern France, but not the same climate.) We headed to the summit & found the benchmark close to the top. Then we trekked across the rocks to a small loop with views of Bar Harbor, Frenchman's Bay & the outlaying islands. An added bonus was seeing the Queen Elizabeth, a cruise ship that docks offshore once a year from England.

We checked out the gift shop--of course, then daddy grilled us lunch. Quite a time to grill out with the lovely view! Even gave away our extra burger to another hungry tourist!

We joined Park Ranger Susan Mayne (how perfect is her last name to work in this park?) for the Summit Walk ranger program. Our 75 minute guided walk was filled with information about the mountain, the view, the history of the park & more.

Our last stop at the top of the mountain was another geocache! A virtual one due to the dislike of the National Park service of folks hiding things in the park. We had to find what birthday of the gentleman for whom the North Face Trail was laid in honor of a few years ago.

Next we rode our bikes on a Carriage Road near Jordan Pond. It was a small loop, but filled with great scenery. Rockefeller, Jr. sure did a great thing building these roads over 100 years ago--and what a blessing that he decreed they be off limits to motorcars! The kids thought it was funny avoiding road apples left from the horses who pull carriages.

At one of the Carriage Road Gatehouses

We headed out of the park toward Ellsworth to find daddy some lobster for dinner. It was interesting watching him eat it! When I figure out how to post video, I have a funny one! Everyone else at least tasted a tiny bit! For dessert, the girl had blueberry icecream & the boy got chocolate. The blueberry was YUMMY!

Daddy looking forward to his dinner!


Back to camp for much needed showers & a campfire--which you can't have without s'mores!

Tomorrow is more exploring of Acadia!
blessings,
the simmonds family

Friday, July 4, 2008

Day 4 In Maine—Bar Harbor July 4th

We decided to sleep through the 6am blueberry pancake breakfast in Bar Harbor—Daddy made us pancakes at 8am instead! Then we headed toward Mt. Desert Island for the Bar Harbor 4th of July Parade. We drove to the Acadia National Park Visitor’s Center & then biked into Bar Harbor as we’d been warned about the traffic. The nice park ranger assured us it was an easy 3 mile trip mostly downhill into Bar Harbor. We started out with a .6 mile incline to another parking area no less. Anyway, we made it into town & found a good spot to watch the parade. The families on either side of us were very nice. Matt & one man found a common bond over IU! The man had on a 7 star IU hat—one star for each IU soccer NCAA title. He’s a faculty member who summers at the MDI bioresearch lab—he had previously taught in Vermont & they have been spending summers here for 10 years or so. The other family is from Bangor, Maine—5 daughters! It was an enjoyable parade as the kiddos got WAY too much candy. Rachel also got a tree service sweatshirt tossed right to her!

After the parade, we followed the crowd to the ‘ball field’ for the 4th of July festival & lobster races. Luke bet a dollar on Little Tubby and won; therefore doubling his money—that he later spent on a small stuffed lobster. Rachel bet on 2Cats & came in a close second. They had children’s games benefiting Special Children’s Friends—united way service like Head Start at home. The boy & girl won some tiny animals as prizes & were super happy! We walked into town to find a place for lunch. We ate at Tapley’s which is a convenience store, gas station & diner all in one! We also found a laundromat because someone woke up and was ‘really sweaty’. Let’s just say that it was an unfortunate accident of a very tired little person. We rode an Island Explorer bus back to the visitor’s center to get the car & head back to Bar Harbor. We decided since we had laundry to do, we’d might as well face the traffic. We started laundry & went back to the park to leave the car & play at the playground.

We also picked up a geocache along the Shore Path, a crushed stone path along the shore that is over 100 years old. Then we explored Main Street, got our nature/fireworks cruise tickets & found a place for dinner.Mama biked back to the laundry, folded & put it in the car then found a parking space closer to the pier. Daddy & the kids went shopping! They found a great deal on some North Face hiker sandals for Rachel—unusual for daddy to shoe shop!

Dinner at Route 66 was an eyeful & a stomachful! Yummy food and a great atmosphere! Off to the pier for our nature cruise. We saw the harbor & learned some about the history of the area, saw nature—birds, seals, harbor porpoises, trees, landscape & etc.

a view from the boat of a scooner & the bar harbor inn
After about 90 minutes, we docked to watch the fireworks. Our boat was about 50 yards from the town pier where they launched the fireworks from! We enjoyed watching the men with flares hand light the fireworks individually—didn’t know they still did them that way. We hiked back to the car at the end & spent WAY too much time getting off the island and back to camp.

Tomorrow is exploring Acadia NP!
Blessings,
The simmonds family

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Day 3 Vermont to Maine!

A longer day in the car than we had anticipated—it helps when you look at the right day’s mileage! Left Vermont in the morning for our drive into Maine. The scenery was fabulous and the kiddos were cooperative!

We had scoped out some geocaches along our route so we could claim one in each state of our journey. The one in New Hampshire was at a Stop & Shop (think Meijer). We got gas across the street & saw 2 monster trucks(Black Stallion & Iron Warrior) at McFarland Ford. We pulled in to check them out & realized it was a 40th anniversary celebration complete with monster trucks, drivers & free hotdogs, burgers & drinks! Super deal for lunch! Ate a quick bite, took some pictures & headed out on the road again.



Arrived at Lamoine State Park in time to fix dinner and check out the park. We biked through the park to the pier and enjoyed some time looking out at Fisherman’s Bay and wandering along the shore. Rachel, our nature girl, collected quite a load of shells & rocks. Luke learned to skip stones & was very happy to get one with 3 skips!

tomorrow is the 4th & we're heading into Bar Harbor for the festivities.

blessings,
the simmonds family
A good nights sleep & we’re headed into Bar Harbor tomorrow for a full day of fun.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

day 2 niagara falls touring and travel to east dummerstown, vt

slept to 8:40! ate, showered, packed up camp & headed out by 10am.

parked at the niagara gorge visitor's center & caught the trolley to the cave of the winds. started our morning with an adventure to the hurricane deck that lies just 20' from the bridal veil falls. the boy & the girl thought that was very cool. ascended the elevator much wetter, but happy for the experience.

caught the trolley to the top of the falls visitor center & some lookout that we can't remember the name of right now. daddy, the boy & the girl had fun playing on the hill. they chased each other & ran up & rolled down the hill! amusing for mama & many others.

then toured the reminder of niagara falls state park from the trolley. learned that this is the oldest state park in the country and was bought for 1.4 million in 1901! the first person to survive a trip over the falls was a schoolteacher from michigan who went over in a specially made barrel on her 63rd birthday! another interesting survivor to go over was a 7 year old boy who fell out of a boat upstream. he was wearing only a lifejacket & was rescued at the bottom by a maid of the mist boat.

got off the trolley & checked out the aquarium of niagara. small & old, but had a great seal show & the kids liked the magic show(odd to be at the aquarium, but hey.).

ate some lunch & headed out for the 379 mile trip to east dummerstown, vermont at 2:45.

stopped in bennington, vt for a geocache in the cemetary where 6 vermont governors & poet robert frost are buried. the road from here was windy, hilly (through the green mountain national forest) and included 2 covered bridges!

arrived at our campground about 9:45. happy day for sure!

tomorrow we're off to maine.
blessings,
the simmonds family

Day 1-fishers to niagara falls. ny

departed fishers at 5:45 am!
made 5 stops and arrived at niagara falls north koa at 3:15pm.
we set up camp, cooked chicken on the grill & headed to see the falls by 5:00.

purchased our discover niagara passes & started out with a boat ride on the maid of the mist. our handy dandy blue ponchos kept us mostly dry. it was a great, up close look at the falls. the little people really liked the observation tower as well, though it was super windy.

next we walked over rainbow bridge to canada! our kids are now international travelers! we must say, the canadian side is quite the tourist trap. clifton hill was a wacky international, commerialized spot. most certainly a destination for many. we saw many people from many places speaking many languages. a pretty garden & a look over the side & we headed back to good ole USA--after paying a $.50 toll each! you'd think citizens would be free!



International travelers on the US/Canada border at rainbow bridge


we had a tasty, yet overpriced dinner at the 'twist of the mist' restaurant--a recommendation by the border patrol. dinner entertainment was luke's frequent and spontaneous war cries & chase of the pesky begging seagulls. a chocolate cone & a vanilla cone & we were headed back to the falls to visit goat island. we rode the trolley over to the island, checked out the visitor center & waited at prospect point for the fireworks celebrating Canada day.

long day, but a fun one. back to the campsite where we all fell asleep quickly!

blessings,
simmonds family

Saturday, June 28, 2008

maine adventure...

we're taking off on tuesday, july 1 for our 2nd annual summer adventure.

here's the plan...
july 1 drive to niagara falls, ny
see the falls lit up at night, fireworks for canada day
july 2 see more of niagara falls in daylight!
drive to brattleboro, Vermont
july 3 drive to lamoine state park in maine
july 4 see Bar Harbor/acadia
july 5 see acadia national park
july 6 see acadia national park
july 7 fun times in acadia area
july 8 drive coastline to mystic, ct avoiding boston
july 9 drive to hershey, pa avoiding nyc
july 10 play in hershey, pa
july 11 drive to fishers, in

see you when we return: pray for safe travels, we have no hospital visits, gas prices to go down, we get along!, seeing some wonderful pieces of God's creation!
blessings,
liz

Thursday, January 24, 2008

science fair...

rachel wanted to do it. matt thought she should. i did not.

of 7 second grade classes, only 5 students did projects. rachel placed third. :) yipee! i'm happy for her. i sucked at science fair projects. she did most of the work & learned something.

way to go girl!
mama

Saturday, January 12, 2008

it's cookie time...

some of my favorite cookies are girl scout cookies. they are the first cookies i remember eating. they may not have been, but they are the ones i remember first. thin mints. my dad taught me the value of storing them in the freezer to 1. make them last longer & 2. they are quite tasty frozen. what a great feeling to be looking for something in the freezer in the late summer and find a sleeve of thin mints. yummy!

great, now i'm craving them & they won't come till february! now that's a lesson in patience. i can make it! in our consumer driven/immediate gratification society, we really don't have to wait long for much. sometimes the things we wait for are the best. or we appreciate them more. we waited a long time for a child and now we are so thankful (most of the time) (no really, all the time) for our 2 kiddos. i waited a long time to hear God telling me what i was supposed to do in my life(this one is really all my fault. he was there, but i wasn't listening). sometimes it's our fault we have to wait and sometimes it's just how it is. maybe we should be more thankful for what we have.

my gram died this week. she wasn't married until she was 24. in 1938 that was pretty old. she hadn't found the right guy. then she and grandpa decided to get married. they had to wait for him to make some money & find a place to live and such--they waited 3 months. about a year ago, i found the letters he wrote to her from june to september. they were married sept 2nd. they had to wait. they didn't tell anyone they were planning to get married. they eloped!

it was so fun to finally be able to read them. gram said i had to wait until she was gone because she'd be too embarassed if i read them while she was alive. (how cute is that?) the letters were beautiful declarations of his love for her and his desire for her to be his wife and about the plans for their life together. he wrote about how hard it was to wait, but that he knew it was the right thing.

we are to wait upon the Lord. we don't know how long it will be, but we're to keep busy whilst we wait. grampa had to earn some money and take care of some things while he waited. we need to be getting busy chasing after Jesus and letting other people know what great things God has done for us while we wait until our time to be in heaven. we have to make the most of our time on earth. it will help the time pass till we get to spend eternity with God in heaven. that's where gram is now. i'm thankful for the assurance of her salvation. don't wait too long. you never know the day you'll meet Jesus. until that day: get busy! there's lots of room in heaven & God wants us all to be there.

anyhow, now rachel is a brownie & selling cookies. she enjoys selling them. me not so much. but her troop gets a portion of the money and that helps them do fun things. so, i'll buy some. if you want some, see rachel (or let me know).

new ones this year: lemon sandwich cookies & sugar free chocolate chip.
gone: the nasty brownie cookie from last year
perennial favorites: trefoils, samoas tagalongs & thin mints.

blessings,liz

ps. my roomate freshman year of college had never had a girl scout cookie in her life. there's just something wrong with that.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

funny/favorite things said in 2007

thought i would wrap up the past year with a refresher of funny and/or favorite things said in our family.

10. luke about our yellowstone trip. 'the badlands are bad because it's hot there'

9. luke on dec 31. 'i want the good old days to come back' (then something about a picture from when he was 4 and it was the good old days, but matt & i were laughing too hard to hear.)

8. rachel coined a new term. 'air hug' for when you can't actually get close enough for a real hug

7. matt to me in midsummer 'i'm so thankful that you aren't a high-maintenance wife!'

6. rachel during the 2nd week of school. 'second grade is harder than first grade!' (yep, that's sort of how it works.)

5. luke when he's avoiding going to bed makes multiple trips into our room. the last time usually included him flashing the sign language sign for i love you with both hands and saying
'double love'. (a nice thing to go to bed to.)

4. me to luke one night. 'no punching kerbatchi' (kerbatchi is his imaginary friend!) silly mama!

3. matt to me in february. 'i had a dream that we were camping in yellowstone. i think we need to buy a popup camper and go this summer.' (in less than 2 weeks we had a camper & this blog was started to chronicle our trip.) thanks for remembering your dream!

2. by the family 'Xtreme Chaos!' we do a little team cheer after finding a geocache. another new hobby for 2007. gets us out of the house & to interesting locations around us.

1. by luke and rachel. 'you're the bestest mama & daddy in the whole world'. (while that claim is debatable, we're thankful they love us & think we're the bestest.)

hope 2008 brings many great adventures!
blessings,
liz