Cut!

After every baby I get a massive makeover. It makes sense to me. You know, drop the 30 pounds that were seriously making me feel frumpy, get my nails done, a new hair-do, maybe a massage. It does wonders. So after Ethan was born, I wanted to get my day at the spa, but just never made the time for it. Before I knew it he was 4 months old. I still hadn't had that "me" day, but it didn't really matter, I was pretty consumed in mommy-hood and didn't have time for cute anyway. Then I figured I'd just wait till summer. The longer my hair got, the more emotionally attached to it I felt, and the more I wanted to cut it. Two conflicting emotions. I decided to chop it as soon as I got it long enough to donate to Locks of Love- a great organization that collects lengths of healthy hair to make into wigs for children suffering from cancer. I wanted to be part of something great like that. Finally, I reached the required 10" length and made the appointment with excitement and trepidation. Before I knew it there I was in the chair. So here's a before, during (notice the mixed emotions on my face), and after. So in the end, I miss the pretty, long hair, but who has time for that? And it was always falling in my face. Now I do my hair in 5 minutes or less- my kind of maintenance. And the best part is that I got to help do something wonderful for someone's sick child.

Dashed dreams

A couple weeks ago, a friend brought over a huge box of fresh picked corn from a farmer friend of his. The kids spent hours shucking the corn- 76 cobs in all. And they didn't even complain. I was in sweet corn heaven. Sweet corn is one of my favorite foods. Then Jared and I vacuum sealed it all and put it in the freezer. Problem was, I didn't think to cook it up and TRY it first. It's TERRIBLE!!!! No wonder his friend gave it away. It's not just tasteless, which would be a bummer- it's actually bitter. I don't think I've ever had such bad corn. And we've got a lot of it. So now I have to decide if I'm going to try and use the corn in casseroles and hopefully hide it's bad taste - or if it's pig fodder. Bummer!!!!

Don't leave home without it

Coleson was just a toddler when he unexpectedly (very unexpectedly) proved to us his inability to hold his own on the road (lunch that is). We were on one of our frequent trips over to Muncie to visit my grandparents. We were approaching the halfway mark in Kokomo, when suddenly, out of no where, come those choking, gasping, sobs, followed by the sudden slopping and splashing sound of stomach contents hitting nearby objects. What?!? I didn't know you were sick, buddy. You didn't say anything or cry or make any signals of feeling sick. But you are definitely sick. And all over daddy's brand new, fresh off the assembly line truck. Guess what that truck smells like to this day when it gets really hot outside?? So maybe that was just a coincidence. Several more similar incidents prove, without a doubt, that this is not a coincidence. There is definitely a pattern forming here. This kid gets car sick. Major. He comes by it naturally. So by the time Coleson was 3, we were adding to Dramamine's bottom line. Don't leave home without it.

No other children have shown any signs of being afflicted.

In July, I headed off unexpectedly to Utah. The flight was a last minute flight and left at 2:30 in the afternoon. Landing in Vegas, after a short lay-over, at like 11 pm. Not ideal. We usually prefer the 7 am flight straight through that lands by 9 am in Vegas. It's like the day barely started and we've already traveled a day's worth. So this trip was different. We were all quite tired by the time we reentered the plane after the layover. The kids are normally heading off to la la land at the time the plane took off for Vegas. Finally, we land. We are all exhausted. Ethan slept 20 minutes the whole day. I'm worried about my dad. Horrible turbulence- I HATE flying. Katie cried and wanted me to hold her the whole 2 hours. Flying with children is so much fun isn't it? My sister meets us at the airport for the final 2 hour leg of our journey as we drive to St. George. She brings her little car and it takes a little work to make 2 car seats, suit cases, and a double stroller fit. Then a bathroom trip. Then Ethan is fed up waiting and needs to nurse NOW. We had barely pulled out of the airport parking garage and were scouting for someplace to grab a quick bite to eat on the go, when, again VERY unexpectedly, Katelyn proves her same inability to hold down her excessive number of fruit snacks and cereal bars from that day. Becca and I are faces glued to the windows looking for the interstate direction signs (tourists- sheesh!) when we hear gag gag splash! Whaww!!!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! We pull over in some sparsely populated parking lot (we alarmingly realized later that we were not in a safe place- yikes!) Becca jumps out of the car and was using every ounce of energy to keep her lunch safely inside herself. I lovingly pull Katie out of the car (poor tired, sick girl) to find that she has evacuated every bit of food she's eaten for the past WEEK all over herself, her carseat, and Becca's car. My patience is really fading. I literally had to scoop it out- like my hand disappeared completely as if being submerged in a bath tub. I thought Bec was going to pass out. 45 minutes later, 2 crying children, a little after midnight- let's forget the food and just find the interstate. Then comes that blood curdling sound again. Stop. Clean up again. Then we're on the road again. Then comes that call again. Poor girl. Poor Becca. In all this time we've barely made it across 2 connecting parking lots. We start wondering if we can even make it to St. George that night or if we should just give up and find a hotel. But Katie's practically empty by then, so we just made a run for it. She continued on with her gagging throughout the trip, although less productive with each successive occurrence. We had been on the ground from the flight for nearly 3 hours by the time we finally hit the interstate to Utah. Ahhh!!!!!!!! This trip ranks amongst the top 2 of our worst trips ever- only our California trip in '06 could beat it. So, long story short, my kids get car sick. DO NOT leave home without the Dramamine.

On my birthday

Several things I feel grateful for today.
First, all the sweet friends I have that sent their birthday wishes today. It made me feel so special.
Second, the amazing D.Q. Resee Cup ice cream cake that Jared got for me. YUM!
Third, the little white marble that Coleson picked out of his collection just for me. And the little toy train that Hunter wrapped up in his blankie for me. But far more than their little treasures being given was that they were willing to share them with me and the sweet smiles on their faces as they gave to me the best they had to offer with all their love. What better gift could I get??
Fourth, Jared is going to tile the front porch for my gift- so I should have improvement pics to post soon. It's gonna look great.
Fifth, I just opened a totally sweet card from my sweet friend Kayli. Made me smile :0)
Sixth, the Happy Birthday song I got from my parents first thing this morning.
I have a lot to be thankful for today.

I have to say...

Can I just say...hummmmmm. I feel peace and calmness replacing my anxiety about not scrapbooking, journaling, or in any way "recording" the past year. In just a few hours this evening, I have written about several of the events this summer. I feel better already. Why didn't someone tell me to start blogging sooner?? I know, I know -you did- I'm just kidding! But seriously, I see a lot of blogging in my future. It's way past my bedtime, so goodnight for now. Tomorrow, hilarious Hunter-isms.

A quick trip to Utah...

We weren't planning a trip to Utah this summer. My parent's were coming out in October for Coleson's baptism, so we were planning something fun for then. But on July 3, my dad was out riding his horse, Belle, and she got spooked and threw him off. He was out riding in the heat of the summer, in the dessert, without his cell phone, and he was knocked unconscious. The following is one of those amazing, faith-building stories. Kelly, dad's friend out at the stables, talked to him that morning before dad rode out. Dad was planning a long ride for that day. Kelly had some other work to do out away from the stables and off they went their separate ways. After dad had been gone for several hours, Kelly suddenly had this impression to go check on dad back at the stables. About the time Kelly got there, Belle showed up without dad. Then Kelly knew something was wrong. It may seem like a small thing, but this story could've ended way differently if that small impression hadn't been given or hadn't been received. It took Kelly a while to find dad, and at that point he'd been laying out in the dessert for about 3 hours. The doctors said he wouldn't have lasted another 3. How grateful I am for the spirit and it's amazing presence in our lives.

Dad's recovery was touch and go for awhile. His lung collapsed and there were other complications. Finally, he got so bad, I had to go. I packed up Katie and Ethan and off to Utah we went. Thankfully, he did recover after about 2 weeks in the hospital and came home just a few days before we flew back home. It was one of the scariest things in my life to walk into my dad's hospital room and see him as bad as he was. Terrifying really. We've been wanting to live closer to each other for years now, but it made me really want to close that 30+ hour gap. The 8 hours it took to fly there were way too long.

On a brighter side, once dad was home from the hospital, we were all together and got to have a few days of fun enjoying time together before I flew home. Katie got to have a girl's night with me and Becca. Becca did her hair all curled up. Katie loved it!! Ethan started crawling. And Ethan fell in love with grandma Bricker.

4th of July

This year for the 4th was on a Sunday so we decided to just invite Kevin and Charlotte and Jared's parents over for a cookout and fireworks out at our place. Jared had some "real" fireworks that he'd been given last year and the boys were literally going to die if we didn't light some off. You can see Hunter-man's excitement in the picture of him above. He could hardly contain himself. Not to be beat by Kevin and Jared's excitement, though. They looked like 2 kids in a candy shop after lighting off a 6 wicked wowser of a cracker. A quick apology to Charlotte for not sending you these pictures earlier. I love this picture of Elena and Katie.

Summer work

There's always work to be done around the land. This year we added pigs and ducks to our chicken "livestock" :) So far so good with the pigs-except for one minor and entertaining escape (which I'll have to write about later- picture 5 people chasing 2 200 lb pigs bribing them along with marshmallows :). I had Jared snap a picture of me mowing with all the kids on with me, because that's how I usually do it. Everyone wants a ride- except Coleson who would way rather run the bobcat. There's always some project that he'd love to get to for us. A huge storm came through in mid-July and took out one of our biggest pine trees. It was a big job to cut up and move to the wood pile in the back field. (Thank you silly storm. I can think of at least a dozen other projects that I would've rather done than clean up after you.) Also, Jared and the kids finally finished building the coolest fort ever!!! They're planning a fort camp-out for when the heat breaks.

Conner's Prarie

This was our one and only Civil War reenactment this summer. Bummer. It was just too stink'n hot! And honestly, I was really not too into it with Ethan being a baby. Camping in our canvas tent with 4 kids (one being a baby) sounded like more hassle than fun. So- next year- I promise. But our day at Conner's Prarie was perfect. I finished Katie's dress and apron the night before and it fit her perfectly. Ethan's gown was an actual 1865 (ish) infant gown that I found from an estate auction (I heart Ebay). No, I didn't make my dress (my second dress is on the sewing machine- wish me luck). Coleson and Hunter love reenacting because to them it means camping, running, and playing (Hunter in bare feet) with little to no reserve. They had a blast showing park visitors how to play some pioneer games.

A little bit of summer...

So if this picture is not an idealistic americana picture I don't know what is. I snapped this picture of Katelyn just after we came home from a Memorial Day parade. She was the doll of the parade and everyone oohed and aahed over her. I love love love candid pictures (they capture life how it really is) and she didn't even know I was taking this. Katie was just being a doll and having fun waving her flag that day. The boys had fun riding in our friend's army vehicles in the parade. Here's us with our awesome friends, the Haseks, just before the parade started. It's become a bit of a tradition to do this every year and a great start to our summer. And so the summer begins...

Day 1

Fine I give in!!! I can't take it anymore! The constant guilt about not keeping a journal- it's just too much. I mean I used to have time set aside each week to write down my personal thoughts in a beautiful floral spiral bound journal to preserve for my posterity to peruse someday in the future and say "oh that mom, she really did have grown up ideas". Ha!! Come on, with 4 kids now, who has time for that?!?! Certainly not I. That's why for the last several years, my annual journal entry begins with "I'm sorry it's been so long since I've recorded anything" (as if I'm talking to whoever might actually read it someday) and then continues on to attempt to sum up the year over the next 6 pages. Plus, handwriting takes so stinking long. Then I close the book, vowing to return to it again much sooner next time and make a concerted effort to do better. Until the guilt starts consuming me again- somewhere around a year since I last wrote anything.

And although the beautiful floral journal with handwritten entries certainly might be more personal.. this is faster. And so here I go. Today I laugh in guilt's face (and maybe give it a good swift kick for all the time it's taken nagging at me) because I will keep a record one way or another of the good the bad and the hilarious, the little moments that make up each day that fill an entire life, the people who mean the world to me, and the ideas of a real grown up that occasionally skip through my head. So hold onto your socks, here we go!!...