Happy 4th of July!

The Simple Womans Daybook

For Today... July 7, 2009

Outside my window... hot, hot, hot!

I am thinking... that I'm so happy to be able to spend my day at home today.

From the learning rooms... more James, some math, and we'll see how that goes.

I am thankful for... my baby who cuddles me every morning.

From the kitchen... eggs for this morning and bbq sands for dinner.

I am wearing... pink tee, denim capris, hair up, no make up, no shoes, and no jewelry.

I am reading... trying to work through Manager's of Their Home.

I am hoping... to clean off my desk, clean my kitchen cabinets, get some EVCHE stuff done, and enjoy my kiddos!

I am creating... well, I'm hoping to create a home schedule that will work for me and my family.

I am praying... for direction!!!

Around the house... school books laying around, laundry laying around, coupons all over, lot's of fun stuff!

One of my favorite things... pumpkins growing in my garden!

A few plans for the rest of the week... V.B.S., swim club, and prep for next year.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

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Pumpkin or Watermelon Update

Looks like we're having...a pumpkin!

And a...watermelon!

It's hard to see since I snapped the photo when it was pretty dark outside, but it's definitely a watermelon growing in the kids toy car. The vines grew into one door of the little plastic car and out the other. Very cute! I guess it would only take a few weeks of human absence for some plants to begin taking over!
I can clearly see the difference between the pumpkin leaves and watermelon leaves now, but the canteloupe leaves look very similar to the watermelon.
Below is another shot of the pumpkin.

And some tomatoes. Only two have grown in so far, but now that Big Hunk cut back the crazy vines that were strangling it maybe some more will grow.

Happy 10th Birthday!

Happy birthday to my Hot Tamale! What a handsome guy! He's 10 years old as of a couple of days ago and I can hardly believe it. He is such a blessing to our family! He is hard working, he's a "thinker", he's a good friend, he loves his family, and he brings a lot of good humor to our days! God truly blessed us when he gave us our son. I wouldn't trade him for anything!
Here are some pictures from birthday's past.

Feeding the geese and swans at John Deere

Here are 2 of the girls walking around the beautiful lake at John Deere headquarters.

Some of the swans.




The trees are huge and beautiful and we didn't bring home any ticks! (My fear of the midwest)

Then we walked to another portion of the lake where there were Koi to feed.

They followed! There were about 50 animals in all and they were loving our bread! It was really fun to have them trailing behind us.



Then we walked onto this little "island" in the middle of the lake so we were standing over the fish. It was great because the fish were all over the place and they were so big. It was a lot of fun, until...
We were trapped on the island by the hissing goose! It was demanding more bread and all we had was one teeny tiny piece which gave MacGyver, I mean us, one last chance to break away. The little girls were clinging to my legs and there were some tears. I tossed the last piece off to the side of the shore and the goose took the bait and went for it. So did we and we're alive to tell about it!

Congratulations to the Snacks who completed this years Impact and Royal Rangers

All year I've wanted to snap a photo of these cutie pies and kept forgetting, so I made them get dressed for the picture below. The ones following are at their actual closing ceremonies. What a fun year we had at this club!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

It was a long, but quick drive to the midwest. Big Hunk and I are enjoying Ames, Iowa. It's really beautiful! I didn't keep my camera with me on the one day we've been outdoors and could have taken pictures. I'm going to try to take some today. The conference runs from 9am to 9pm with an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner, so during those breaks I'll try to remember to use my camera.

The kids, however, are enjoying the quad cities with Grandma Red Vine and Grandpa 1,000 Grand. My dad sent some cookout photos via iphone. I think those are genuinely happy faces!



If you notice an extra face, that's because there is one. That is a lifetime friends daughter who happens to live 2 houses down from my parents. Lollipop, as expected, has made a new friend and I think they've been spending quite a lot of time together. I believe that she can make a lifelong friend anywhere she goes.