My View At Work

We got in today

Oh, yeah, it's time to start swimming in the lake! It was warm today (mid 80s) and humid so it was definitely time to dive in. We took the kids and kid's friend to test the water. Dan was thinking that it would be a quick in, quick out kind of swim. But when they dove in, they stayed in. Dan and I sat on the dock and soaked up the sun. We watched the big, loud boats roar by.

Just a side note but these big, fast boats always have older men in them. Usually one or two. Dan and I surmised that they are men that are divorced and the wife took everything but the loud, fast boat. They are cruising the lake looking for hot, twenty somethings who appreciate them for their....personalities. Darn it, we are really just jealous because we don't have one of the big, loud, fast boats. Somehow, even if we did, it wouldn't look the same with wife and 40 hundred kids with intertubes and waterguns and floaty thingys and a bucket of chicken sticking out everywhere.

Ok, enough about big, fast boats and men with little...ahem... yeah, enough about that.

I sat there on the dock next to my hunk-o-man, listening to my kiddos splash and play, feeling the warm sun on my skin and decided that summer is a beautiful reward.

Spring Dance Recital

Dancing is the poetry of the foot ~ John Dryden

This past weekend was the girls dance recital to end the dance year. This was Shelby's first year of dance - Kylie and Macy's 3rd. It was fun watching them as they have been preparing for the recital for many months.

Grandma and Grandpa decided to surprise all of them and show up for the performance. Levi opened the door when they knocked and said, "Oh, hi". Kinda nonchalantly. Then his eyes got really big and his mouth fell open. He couldn't believe they were standing there. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa for the great surprise!

Here's video of each of their dances. Enjoy!

It's a little far away but Kylie is 4th from the right and Macy is 6th from the right.

Shelby is back row 2nd from the right.

Piercings, anyone?

Kylie and Macy decided that they wanted their ears pierced and they wanted to do it together. I was thinking this was about the time we had Shelby's done. They are old enough to know if they want it or not and they can take care of them by themselves for the most part so we made a trip to the local beauty salon.

Levi opted to stay in the car as anything of that nature makes him squeamish. He was looking at pictures of himself when he was just a baby the other day. It was a picture of himself when he was in the hospital with tubes and stuff sticking out of him. He said he started to feel really hot and sick to his stomach. He had to lay down on the couch until the sick feeling passed. Pretty sure he won't have an illustrious career as a doctor or paramedic.

Anyway, the girls did extremely well with the ear piercing. They picked out cute earrings and the whole thing was over in a few minutes.

What's For Supper?

Don't those words drive you crazy sometimes? Specially when you haven't prepared or you've been running like crazy all day. I've been trying to fix up a menu for two weeks at a time. I'm at the end of my two week menu and I don't seem to have anything in the cupboard to make the meals listed on the menu. I think my shopping list this past trip was lacking a few items.

What to make tonight for supper after being in town for the afternoon? I have this block of some sort that keeps us from eating anytime before 6 p.m. It's usually 7 - 8 oclockish. Guess that has more to do with planning or my lack, thereof. Plus, I spent a lot of time with my sister, almost living with her and her hubby on their farm and they never ate before 8. She's rubbed off on me in more ways than one. All of them good, by the way.

I suppose if we had to ship kids off on the big, yellow school bus early in the morning, things would be different. But we don't have to so we don't. Great sentence, eh?

So, I have hamburger and elbow macaroni. Some tomatoes in the cupboard and a green pepper and onion. My mom used to make a dish called Goulash. I haven't made it in eons.

Here's a simple recipe I made tonight.

Goulash

1 pound elbow macaroni

1 1/2 pounds ground round

1/2 large onion diced

1/2 small green pepper diced

2-3 tablespoons minced garlic (more or less to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

2 large cans of diced or stewed tomatoes in tomato juice

1 c v8 juice

Brown ground meat with the onion, pepper and garlic.

Add canned tomatoes and v8 juice

Let simmer for 1/2 hour or so.

Cook Macaroni according to directions.

Add macaroni to meat mixture.

Salt and pepper to taste.

When I served this I melted mozzarella cheese over the top. The only thing missing was a salad and a homemade loaf of bread. What do you expect at 8 o'clock at night?

Dan said it was great and made him feel like a little boy, again. Did everyone's mom fix some sort of goulash?

My three youngest turned their nose up at the goulash and refused to eat it. They have become extremely picky eaters lately. For awhile, we were letting them make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if they tried the meal. We tossed that idea to the wind. They would have had a pb&j every night. So, either they eat the food I fix or they get nothing. Come to think of it, they're starting to get a little skinny. ;) Guess they will come out of this phase sooner or later. For now, they just irritate the heck out of me when I put supper on the table.

The little rascals were sent upstairs to get ready for bed. They were making such a racket. I called them out to the railing to snap their picture. Oh, even when they are being little pains, they are so darn cute! Can't forget... they won't look like this forever.

Mmm, Mmm, Meringue

Shelby and I just made a rhubarb cream pie with meringue on top. My first. Not first pie, but first time making a meringue. I don't know why... I guess I thought it was harder than that.

My mother gave me my grandmother's recipe for this pie. The story is that when my dad came into the family, my grandmother asked him if he liked rhubarb pie. He told her he didn't and he passed on the pie. I guess he did that several times before he decided that maybe he should just give it a try. The rest is history. She made a rhubarb lover out of him! :)

I was talking to a friend on the phone today and she also told me that she isn't a rhubarb lover. She said it was bitter. I just don't understand that. Maybe it's the balance between the rhubarb and the sugar that is off when these people who don't like rhubarb try rhubarb. I love the tart and sweet combination. Just like a good apple pie balances the tart and the sweet.

Anyway, I was so proud of myself and Shelby that I had Shelby take a couple of pictures. I told her that this was her home ec class for the day. We had so much fun doing this together. I really want her to know how to cook well and enjoy it when she's ready to fly the nest.

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My mom and dad were here for a few weeks. They came up to watch the kids for us while Dan and I went to a homeschool convention. Then they stayed to hang out with us. We had so much fun. It's so hard to live this far away from our families but I do love the fact that when people come up to visit us, we get all kinds of uninterrupted time together. When we go to Colorado, there are so many people to see and so much to do.

My parents had a blast with the kids playing all kinds of games and being outside in the warm weather. The kids even convinced my mom to get on the trampoline with them. :)

Yup, that's our neighbor behind Kylie. Howdy, neighbor. I love this picture of my mom with the kids. I don't happen to have a picture of my Dad hiding in the abandoned cabin next door while playing hide and seek with the kids. Darn! We sure had a nice time with them here.

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It's snowing right now and had been since this morning. We had such beautiful spring with warm weather so early and now snow in May. Why not, I guess. We may have 3-4 inches by morning. It will be gone soon and we'll be swimming in the lakes.

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Took Shelby to the doctor this afternoon because she's been feeling so cruddy with a cough, runny nose and having a hard time breathing. The doctor said he had never seen as nasty of a sinus infection as she has. He said her lungs were tight and that's why she was so wheezy. He put her on 1 antibiotic, 2 steroids, and one nasal spray for seasonal allergies. I went to the pharmacy to pick it up and almost had a heartattack when she said, "That will be $300, please." I'm so glad I pay my taxes so illegals and those who don't feel the need to work can walze in and pick up their meds for free and I get stuck with outrageous prices. I'm can't wait for the new Obama care to go into effect and save me, the middle class, hard working, American a ton of money! HA!

Oops, guess I stepped up on my soapbox there for a minute.

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One more picture before I go. While my parents were here, Kylie decided the little Gator needed some work so she talked Papa into helping her jack it up with Dan's floor jack so she could do a little work on it. Here's some cute pics.