Monday, July 27, 2009

Week events

We made a short visit to Grandma Kelly & Grandpa Mark's house. Bug enjoyed seeing the puppies and petting the horses. I don't think he was as scared this time. We had a play date on Thursday with Ian and Kaiden. Then on Friday he went to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house. He got to play on the new tractor and go for a lawn mower ride too!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

My favorite things about being a mommy!

As much as I don't care to work weekends, I love being home with my bug during the week! Today he's especially cute, I don't know why, he just is. I love him more and more each day. What a blessing he is to me! We've read plenty of books this morning already. Played, bathed, and snuggled.

Some of my favorite things about being a mommy are:
-unsolicited snuggles and kisses
-watching Bug grow and learn
-reading him books
-playing
-nap time
-introducing new foods!
-seeing his personality come out
-being the person he looks to when he's happy, sad, or hurt.

What a big boy eating on the counter top!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lovin' the Buckwheat pancakes!

My daddy made me pancakes for breakfast this morning! They were very yummy! Ingredients: Buckwheat, baking powder, honey granules, egg, milk!


Buckwheat! What a Little Rascal!

Monday, July 13, 2009

A couple of Cuties...




Another day in the life...

The morning started off just fine...Mr. Fixit and Bug picked me up from my 12 hour night shift. I was able to see their bright shining faces...



















Awww...bright shining faces! Lately we've been down to one car. So, the boys usually drop me off at work and pick me up in the morning. Then I drop my dear husband off at work. Then Bug off at the babysitters. Then I go home and sleep the day away. It sounds a little inconvenient, but that's our reality right now. My friend says the Lord is teaching me patience. I say, the Lord wants me in a mental health institution. Anyways...this is all beside the point. On my way to the house this morning, I encountered a bit of inclement weather. It was raining. No big deal is what you are thinking? Well, here is what I've been dealing with since June...
...and this is what I was dealing with today...
I can honestly say I've never fish-tailed in the mud before today. I was nearly stuck in the mud at 8am. So, you can imagine what things looked like after another inch of rain?



Needless to say, Mr. Fixit and I (the mighty team we are) managed to get the car out of the driveway and onto pavement that is 2 blocks away. It wasn't without difficulty! I can guarantee we were the neighborhood's evening entertainment. I'm sure they loved the car swerving, mud flying hilarity! But in the end, the Maxima made it out alive!

Notice I said "lately we've been down to one car?" Well, as of tonight, I'm convinced that the Lord does NOT want me to be committed to the mental health institution...because (drum roll, please) vehicle #2 is in working order! You heard it...vehicle #2 works! Hallelujah! Mr. Fixit has done it again! And the crowd goes wild...

Friday, July 10, 2009

Boot Camp

I'm in boot camp.

You heard it right, I'm in boot camp. Aunt Kris is doing a 6 week boot camp challenge toward a healthier lifestyle. So, I joined. My first task over the next week is to make a list of why I joined this scary and unpredictable challenge. Secondly, no sugar for 1 WHOLE day! And thirdly, 3 aerobic workouts this week! I think I can....I think I can...I think I can...I think I know I can....I think I know I can...I...I...I....

Well, my family is taking mini-steps toward a healthier lifestyle. We've begun milling our own wheat and making our bread. We are in beginning stages. Yesterday I made 1 loaf, 2 mini loaves, and a dozen dinner rolls from one batch of "Slightly Sweet but very easy Whole Wheat Bread."

Here's my wheat. We have hard red, hard white, and kamut in this recipe.

The milling process...which I think might count towards 20 minutes of aerobic activity, thank you very much!
And the ingredients.
Does honey count as sugar? I'm going with no, but somebody let me know if I'm wrong.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Top 10 from Boundary Waters Trip




I love hanging out with high school kids! Especially in the middle of nowhere. Especially in a pristine wilderness. Especially without cell phones. Especially without texting.

We put our canoes in at Isabella Lake. From there we started our 5 day journey down the Kawishiwi River and traveled through Quadga Lake, Bald Eagle Lake, and Gabbro Lake. We survived portages (our longest portage being about 1/2 mile), rapids, mosquitoes, and sand flies. From what I understand, sand flies are similar to "No see 'ums." They itch terribly- worse than mosquito bites.

Well, here you have it folks...

Aleycia's Top 10...achem...11...achem...12...List from BW

12. Nearly falling asleep in the girls' tent and hearing "TIMBER!!!" by the boys who were out chopping down a tree for firewood (after midnight sometime).

11. Mocha-Joes...a staple on the Boundary Waters.

10. Our "scenic" route that brought us to northern MN at midnight. Gotta love setting up tents in the dark!

9. Latrines. Definition: a toilet or something used as a toilet, as a trench in the earth in a camp, or bivouac area. Our latrines happened to have no walls...the only coverage we had were the trees and brush. The fancy ones were up on a 3-4 step stone "pedestal." Nothing like a princess having her pedestal!

8. The rapids! It was great seeing the kids get down the rapids. If a canoe would get stuck, a whole handful of kids would pitch in an help out, making sure everyone made it through.

7. Swamping the canoes after going through the rapids.

6. Cliffs. I overcame my fear and jumped off a cliff. The one I jumped was probably 15 feet only. A few days into our trip, others jumped off 20-30 foot cliffs.

5. First night in our hotel...having a shower after 5 days!

4. First night in our tent. Our sleep was rudely interrupted by a crazy dream that one of the kids was having! Let's just say I thought we were being attacked by a bear!

3. Daily Devotional and Quiet time with the Lord. There was nothing that compared to having quiet time with God in the quiet. No noise. No interruptions. I feel like my fire was re-lit!

2. "Canoe-knees" Can we say Red-Hot knees on almost everyone after the first day?

1. Getting to know the Charity high school youth better. What an awesome bunch of kids!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

It's been awhile...

I know, I know, it has been awhile since my last entry. So, I have plenty to blog about! We've been around the midwest- hit the north for a canoeing trip with the high school church youth group, then picked the bug up at grandma and grandpa's house, and ended our vacation out west for a good friend's wedding.

I don't have much time to write, so I'll leave you with a few photo highlights.