The Weekly Review VI

Sunday~

Was a bit of a muggy day in the morning and hot, but we were in the church building and in the afternoon it was quite nice out. At church I really enjoyed the singing. We sing out and to a lively speed and I have really grown to appreciate it. Last week (at camp) it seemed to me we sang the songs rather on the slow side, and it just wasn't as uplifting that way.

Gregory was really wanting a bike ride so we took a shortish one to a park before Travis headed to work. After Travis left for work we went to the forest to hunt for black raspberries. We found some. Enough for each of us to have a small bowl full with cream and I put two cups into the freezer. Our problem is a few others have found our "secret" patch. We showed a few of our neighbors a few years ago when we found the patch but they weren't so entranced by it as we were. I don't really like sharing. Words and names of things are interesting to me and my kids calling our woods a forest is fun. Growing up it was "the woods" at our place, at Grandma's in Iowa she referred to it as "the timber", and at Grandpa's place in Nebraska it was called "the grove". So the next place we move will have to be called the bush or jungle, I guess. I also got to watch a ballet on my front porch accompanied by a fine violinist.

Monday~

I worked at attacking the growing laundry mountain in the basement. It was a good drying day outside so that was wonderful. Travis finished getting a riding lawnmower that has been taking up to much garage space for the past year, overhauled and running again. Yeah! Now that it is running we can pass it along to where it can be used and we can park in that section of the garage again. I know he will hate to see it leave. With no effort he mowed the whole field in very little time. It looks good to, not much scalping. I mowed our front yard with it. A big challenge, I would prefer to push it because I had to do all sorts of fancy reversing because there is no space for a rider here. I made dolmas for supper, so yummy. They were Margaret's favorite batch and Travis' less favorite because I used almonds in them for the pine nuts. This is a good time of year for grape leaves so I need to pick more for the freezer.

Tuesday~

We went to Como Zoo in the morning. It has been a long time since we went there in the summer. The crowds were awful. We got to watch the Sparky show and go into the butterfly tent. The Butterflies were very beautiful! It was so pretty outside to be in it was nice.

The kids were a little restless like they were unsure how to fill their free time today. Particularly Harrison as he has finished all the books he wanted to read again. When he reads he devours them and they are gone in a flash and he needs more so then he takes a little bit to find the next sort he wants to read. I think we are all a little tired still from camp, too. I am entirely caught up from camp laundry now!

Wednesday~

Gregory and I drove down HWY 52 to Greg's Meats and picked up our 830 pounds of freshly processed beef. Then we went to Rainbow and got groceries. Once we got back the fun began, of hauling all of that down to the basement. The kids pitched in with great vigor and we were done in no time. I just had to fit it into the freezer. We still had about 15 lbs of hamburger left from last year, 1 T-bone and 1 round steak package that I pulled out and am thawing in the fridge. There is absolutely no space in the freezer for anything else right now! As soon as we had hauled everything in we headed over to W. St. Paul, we ate lunch in the van of reheated dolmas. Harrison and Margaret did their horseshoe throwing there. I worked on my class material for tonight and Gregory and Beatrice played on the playground, watched the game and tried to take naps in the van. Before church we managed to get the house mostly cleaned up, vacuumed, mopped and bathrooms scrubbed. It looks nice for the moment.

Margaret has been desiring to try lemon meringue pie so we combined efforts and made one today. We tried it after church this evening and the kids were very pleased with the results. So we made another one on Thursday!

Thursday~

We had better success hunting blackberries today. We got enough for two batches of jam. While I was canning them one jar exploded on me for some reason. It really just went Pop, I suppose, it was a mess any which way. I am kind of glad none of the kids were helping me because they might of gotten shot, I just got a purple shirt and three sides of the kitchen got hit, actually five. So I got to mop again. I baked a Huge turkey today. I had pulled it out of the freezer on Monday to make room for the beef and it was finally thawed. I didn't expect the beef to be ready until next week, actually, oh well it is all in. While we were berry picking Harrison upset a mama cardinal quite a bit picking at the clump of bushes she had her nest in. There were two little featherless chicks in there. Hopefully we didn't bother her too much. We did all need to look in, but then we moved on.

Friday~

Travis and the kids put together the rest of our dining chairs and hauled them out to the garage so we can varnish them. We got the first coat on. Our friends Amy and Diane came over for lunch. Amy has been up visiting for the past week from Arizona and we hadn't gotten to see her yet so they came by before she flew back home and spent a couple hours. It was so nice to see them. They got turkey soup, surprise, surprise, since I had just cooked down the bones all night long. For supper we went to some friends in Hudson, WI for a cook out with random other people from church. Some missionaries from Belgium are here visiting right now and this way we got to meet them and visit a little more than just at church. Travis' tracks go right by their house also and there are some osprey who have a nest just a little way down the track so some of us took a walk down there. They live on one of the water ways off of the Mississippi and we crossed on the train track bridge. It was kind of fun and scary looking down at all of the water through the ties. The mama osprey wasn't sure if we should be in her territory. It was a lovely evening for a walk, around 80 degrees with a nice breeze.

Saturday~

Travis got up early to go help some guys take a huge cross off of the wall at the church building. It was made from old RR ties and a lady has been having some allergy issues at church so they thought that might be the problem. They are going to make another one from something else. When he got back I got up and he went back to bed. I got a Big pot of sloppy joes cooking for lunch, using up that hamburger. We got all of our yard and gardens watered really well. It is so dry out there again on our ground. We also got the chairs varnished again, we did them twice today. We went to the Ericsson's for lunch. Most of our Life Group from last year got to come. We had a nice time visiting and then we did a little kid switching. Jessica came home with us and Harrison went home with the Verhoeven's. He will be there until we go over there for supper tomorrow. We will see him at church, but he doesn't sit with us so we won't see him very much. The girls have mostly played barbies and Gregory has felt a little lost. Nati has come over for awhile so that was nice although they kept throwing everything (legos) around and that was bit bothersome. We went to check on the baby cardinals and the nest is completely empty. There is know way they were ready to fly, I can't see evidence of them on the ground so I wonder what happened to them. The mama was feeding them yesterday. Can mama birds move their flightless crew when they feel they are in an unsafe place? Do you know?

~Anna

The Weekly Review V

Sunday~

We headed south to Iowa and left Travis behind. We took with us, Mara and Malia. We felt really bad leaving Travis on Father's day so we actually let him leave us for church and then we left. That way he didn't have to stand there watching us back out of the driveway. We stopped to see Grandma Cleone in Sigourney on our round about way to Centerville for Sharon Bluff Bible Camp. We had a nice little visit with grandma. They have had a ton of rain around here. So many rivers were way out of their proper boundaries and many fields had ponds in them that aren't intended to be there. We made it to camp at about 5pm. Got ourselves all moved in and registered. I will be helping in the kitchen, life guarding with Trina at the pool, being a dorm mom with Trina in the girls dorm and being the nurse. We also will pass out the campers canteen cards and random other duties. We should be busy and have fun.

Monday~

We had a fair amount of rain today. It did clear off for sports and swim time which is nice. They played volleyball and basketball since they are on concrete pads. The kids still got muddy chasing the balls that go out of bounds and things. I have to pass out quite a bit of medicine. Kind of sad for such young people to need things on a regular basis. There was a bit of an incident with a boy that came up this evening and he needed to be sent home because of his actions. His cousin that came with him chose to go home as well. Because all that took some time and his parents took awhile to get here it made a late night for all of us. The girls all hung out of their windows to watch the goings on. It took the girls a long time to calm down and go to sleep this evening.

Tuesday~

Because of the late night the girls all slept in. One even slept through her cell phone alarm, so I confiscated that. The rule is NO cell phones. (I think I found a cell phone everyday of this week that wasn't turned in on Sunday). We have a couple girls that are homesick and going home. Lots of headaches, I need to preach drinking water more I guess. More rain came today again. It made it hard to hear in the main building and the Sheriff's office called to say everyone had to remain in the main building because of the severity of the storm until further notice. When I was thinking I really needed to think of a good game for everyone to play because it was chaos going on the oldest camper gathered everyone together and they sang until it was time for chapel. She is a good leader of the kids, very sweet to them (a mess with her things though, which is driving Trina batty :). We tried enforcing the rule no sleeping in other girl's beds tonight, and we garnered some enemies in doing that. What the big deal in wanting to sleep in someone else bed is, I cannot understand. These are some big girls that are doing it mostly so it has got to be awfully poor sleep for them.

Wednesday~

Blue skies all morning!! During sports there were tornado warnings though. I was gone when that happened because I took the afternoon and Beatrice and Gregory and went to visit my Grandma again. It added so much to our driving time on Sunday that I wanted to do it some other day than Friday on our way home. We had a really nice visit. It was nice to get away from camp for awhile also. We got back just as the girls were finishing their swim time and the boys were going in. It had been delayed because of the storms. Gregory really wanted to go swim but was so grumpy from waking up from a nap in the van that he just couldn't get in there. We had a lot of extra people come for the supper tonight and service. For activities the tribes put on skits. They were fun to watch. After that we had a baptism! Pretty exciting. The girls had a hard time getting calmed down to sleep for some reason tonight. But in time we all slept a little.

Thursday~

First day of no rain! It was hot though. Margaret, Mara and Malia found a field of blackeyed Susans and picked each of the cooks a bouquet. They were really pretty. We also got a sweet letter from one of the younger boys telling us that we made the best food he had ever tasted. Not me actually because I didn't make any of the food, but maybe it was better because the pans were so clean for the food to be in. I wrote the recipe down for Marilyn's wonderful cinnamon rolls. They are really yummy and Travis has wanted me to get the recipe for many years. Now we will try it in whole wheat. My kids missed the whole grain foods we are used to eating. That was nice to hear. Amazingly the girls were quiet when we shut the lights out tonight. We shut it off almost an hour late, but then all was quiet.

All of the campers

The cooks who were there on Friday morning

Friday~

Some of the girls had really wanted to go swimming early in the morning before breakfast since it was our last day there and time to go home. I told them if they were quiet at sleeping time I would take them. Only about 8 ended up wanting too, but we did it and they had a wonderful time. The air was cold but the water warm and it wasn't crowded, it was really lovely. Christa (who chose not to swim) went around and woke all the swimmers up so they wouldn't miss it and then went back to sleep. I thought that was nice of her. After chapel it was time to clean the dorm! And did it ever need cleaning. Most of the girls were really industrious and we left it much better off than we found it! There were many pairs of underwear, socks, and bras that were trashed, I believe, because no one claimed them as we were picking up. We had a good trip home and remained safe as we drove through tornado warnings and torrential rain storms.

Saturday~

I slept in. Harrison said he got up at 6:30 or so, but I did not. I tried to attack the mountain of laundry growing in my basement. I made a lunch of a shrimp stir fry. It was really yummy, too. I put together most of the ingredients to a cranberry coffee cake for breakfast in the morning. It is our traditional morning for cereal but we are out of milk (Travis ate 3 boxes of cereal while we were gone and that took care of all the milk). The kids built race cars out of legos and K'nex while Travis read this morning and they had their computer time this afternoon. Travis is at work now for the evening.

May your laundry be caught up and your days be sunny.

~Anna

The Weekly Review IV

Sunday~

Mike used the Bible points for each day of VBS as his key points for the sermon this morning. Now we are all ready for VBS. My class went really well. We have some good 3rd and 4th graders around here. We had our friends Pam and Billy over for lunch. They are moving away to Texas this week so we needed one last time of visiting. They promise to come back for winter visits as they will really miss it. Pam taught Deborah for preschool and so they got to say goodbye to each other, too. Travis and I (with a few little helpers) cleaned our van, in and out. It is so beautiful now!

Monday~

Beatrice woke up at 6:30 ready to start the day, she is too excited about VBS, I do believe. Kyle got here at 7:10 to ride to VBS with us and spend the day here while his mom works. I had a bake-a-thon this afternoon, I guess. I made an orange cream cheese roll (and froze it for Travis next week), a triple batch of persimmon pudding (we ate one third this evening and the rest is for later this week), a potato pie, I mixed up a large batch of chocolate chip cookies (for the VBS staff) and will bake them tomorrow when we return from VBS and I got the wheat soaking for a batch of bread tomorrow. We are going through bread faster than we used to. I made some on Saturday and it was already gone.

Tuesday~

Another day at VBS. Kyle and Gregory are really enjoying getting to hang out together. We had Carline, Mykayla, Megan, Skylar and Choomia over for lunch today and they stayed until it was supper time. The kids had a great time playing, playing, playing. It had been raining some in the morning, but it was nice so they were able to play out on the bikes and whatever else they do. We had one hard fast shower while they were all outside but that was pretty fun. They also played dress-up and pirates. I got my cookies and bread made.

Wednesday~

Another good morning at VBS. My group of girls are very sweet. Two are always wanting to sit on my lap and cuddle, two are big girls that do exactly as we are told and the fifth is in a wheelchair and doesn't communicate real well so we try to include her as we can. Harrison and Margaret had horseshoes this afternoon. We took a picnic lunch and ate at the park right after VBS since there isn't time to go home in between. I think they had a good time. Gregory, Beatrice and I went and got our grocery's for the week, we had a good time, too.

Today Beatrice was tired by the end of the afternoon. Deborah was there before we got out of the van and after a couple of hours being together Bea came in crying for no reason she could think of, I know she was just to tired to deal with friends. They can be so exhausting. After hanging out on Daddy's lap for awhile she also realized she hadn't drawn any all day and so she got out paper and was soon whistling away, life was good again.

Thursday~

We continue to be getting up in good time and heading to VBS almost early. Really quite amazing for us! Gregory was finishing his Father's day letters when Kyle got here so Kyle made one for Gregory's grandpa too. Margaret thought he should send it to his grandpa, but I realized then that he doesn't have a grandpa, that made us all kind of sad for a bit.

We traded vans for the next day or so with the Davidson's so we can take home a van load for the Urban Ministry. I found out today that I am glad I only have four kids and that I have a mini van. Maneuvering this van is quite a challenge in crowded little streets and twelve passengers makes for a very noisy load. Still it is fun to get to be the person to pick up all these folks for a day or so. I made a double batch of cupcakes to take for the crew leaders in the morning. I also made a DELICIOUS chicken and zucchini stir-fry for supper. It also had carrots, garlic and fresh green beans. yummy!

Friday~

We got all of our riders back and we were on our way to VBS in good time. It looked like I had a van load of pentecostal kids. They all wanted to adjust the vents that were in the ceiling of the van, or each others hair a few times, too. The last morning of VBS went swell. Malia came home with us too. Travis was able to go this morning so he mowed the yard at the building during VBS and hauled Harrison and Margaret and Malia to and from VBS so we wouldn't have to double buckle to many kids. We got all of the house vacuumed this afternoon and one bathroom cleaned, and lots of laundry done. It was a productive afternoon. The family fun/VBS finale was this evening. The church building is on its way to being back to normal.

Bea posing for the camera before the Pelicans sang their song.

Saturday~

We intended to sleep in, and some of us did, but Bea and I only made it to 6:50am and were ready to get up and get busy. So I folded laundry and she read books while everyone else slept for a little longer. For lunch we took a fast and fun picnic to Fort Snelling area and met up with the Ken Cobb family and some of the Kent Davidson family. They were touring the fort and I didn't feel up to doing that, but I wanted to spend some time with them so that is what we did. I took tuna sandwich or PBJ fixings, popcorn, carrot sticks and brownies. Travis' allergies are driving him crazy today! The wind is really stirring up the pollen or something.

What new revelations did you have this week?

~Anna

The Weekly Review IIII

Sunday~

We went to church in Bemidji today. It is always fun to see everyone there. Mike talked about being More than Conquerors. We don't want to remain static we need to keep growing, I Peter 3:18 among others. After church we had dinner at Mom and Dad's as did Abbi's family and Charity and her boyfriend Marty and his father. Marty and Charity are going to canoe the Mississippi, between Bemidji and Grand Rapids, this week. Then we headed home. Travis was there waiting for the kids and I. We made really good time! Barely four hours of driving.

Monday~

Travis taught Harrison how to change the oil and rotate the tires on his Toyota. They discovered where the vibration is coming from on the car and so now it is at Car- X. The kids and I will probably walk there later to pick it up. Travis also cut off Henry's hair. He needed a bath and it was getting a little long for summer. He found several ticks doing the job so it is really good he got that done. I had looked for ticks the other day but with his super thick hair my fingers couldn't feel them. There is now no hiding spot for the ticks! Deborah taught Bea a new rhyme to say while clapping their hands or to jump rope to called Miss Mary Mack.They are pretty cute saying it together.

Tuesday~

Margaret had a orthodontist appointment and all of the kids had their teeth cleaned at the dentist. In between the two places we went to eat lunch at Chula Vista. One of the first restaurants we tried when we first moved down to this area and still a favorite of ours if we are on Roberts St. Travis' favorite is seafood chimichanga. Harrison, Gregory and I all ate it also this time. It is really yummy. What I think is neat is they still have the same wait staff as they did 5 years ago. While they were at the dentist I ran and got groceries at Aldi's. Gregory had a little tiny cavity in the back of his mouth so we took care of that while we were there.

Wednesday~

We got up early and headed over to Farmington to stay with Warren while his sister Summer was delivered. Since we were there for most of the day we took along schoolwork and other projects and had a pretty productive day. Warren is three and a pretty cute guy to hang out with. They only talk Chinese to him so at times the language can be a challenge, but I am always impressed with how well we can communicate when he is with us.

Harrison and Margaret got about half of their CA skills test done while we were there. I got all of my coupons cut and put away from the last two weeks, and Harrison's math all corrected!

Thursday~

We finished up the tests. Now I need to send them in. I am really excited to see how they did. They always get it done in about half the time given for the test so I hope they did alright. I have a lot of plants getting eaten up by bugs outside so when my neighbor Ong came to check on our bean tepee I showed her the holes. She decided I needed to get that treated right away. I got out some Ortho bug-b-gone powder I had and she went around and treated everything planted. I had kind of wanted to skip using it but our communication is stilted and she likes to help so, we should be bugless soon. I had planted a bunch of marigold plants but they weren't blooming yet. We went and did errands this afternoon and I bought 32 marigolds, that are blooming, at Menard's, and they are now scattered around our house. Travis was able to get the part at Menard's to fix Saba's burner she makes bunn (coffee) on. He fixed Miriam's sometime ago and Saba has been telling me he was to fix hers, well today she brought it down for him to work on. I cut Beatrice's bangs, much to her father's chagrin and her pleasure. It is cute.

Friday~

We went in the morning to help with decorations for VBS at the church building. We are doing Sailing The High Seas this year. The decorations are pretty fun to go along with that.

Saturday~

I learned the songs for VBS and had crew leader training. I also got my class material ready for in the morning. I am teaching 3rd and 4th graders.

We got more rain today. A lot of it. It has been a really rainy week, with some pretty days in the middle. Now we are ready for a busy week!

So how was your week? Did you learn any new songs?

~Anna

The Weekly Review III

Sunday~

We are still camping. It has been very lovely weather. Quite hot but, there is water we can cool in, shade and a nice breeze. Today we tried out the swimming lake, it didn't take the kids long to acclimate to the temperature of the water. At the evening service the speaker talked about different times the Bible refers to the palm of God's hand and Wade carved a giant hand out of cedar. He also made a nail on a forge telling how we need to be malleable by God just like the iron is made malleable by the heat of the fire. He does some neat art work, but is very faith only and that is sad. Last night we listened to the Alzen Family in concert. They are a very talented family and a lot of fun to listen too.

The kids raced their turtles, none of them won, but it was fun anticipating the big event.

Monday~

They had a nice Memorial service and flag raising. After that most of the kids went swimming in our group, just the older four boys stayed back and played tether ball and carpet ball. Hans and Harrison also got in a quick canoe ride. Then the big job of hauling all of our belongings back to the van and cleaning up the campsite. I was totally exhausted by the end of this day. We all walked several miles each day I am sure and often times I was carrying a light load. You can watch a short video of the weekend here. It isn't up yet but they said it would be soon.

Tuesday~

I woke up with terrible pressure in my sinuses so I ate an orange, a garlic clove and drank three glasses of water right off the bat and felt much improved, although rather smelly. I did three huge loads of laundry today and we did our school work. We all seem a little tired from the busyness of the past several days.

Wednesday~

We did some running around and finally made it to Fleet and found Margaret some nice sandals for her to play in this summer. I made meat pie for lunch because we are studying Australia and that is what they eat the books say. It was yummy, I also made an apple and a pumpkin pie. We aren't having normal classes for the next three weeks at church so tonight just Harrison and Margaret had a gathering in our family. They had a party/ class with their group. It looked like fun. While they were there we took a long drive around the countryside looking for a dairy that would sell us raw milk. Travis had heard of one that might on the other side of Woodbury and so we searched for it and drove in very beautiful country. It turns out there are 2 dairies over there but both farmers are very sure they will not sell to anyone. It is illegal in MN and they don't want to risk their farms for us. Makes my life easier not needing to run somewhere else to get milk, but Travis was very disappointed. For a late supper/ early birthday meal for Travis we went to the Outback. Our food was good, of course. Our waitress messed up our order so we got an extra plate of grilled chicken and ausie fries, and a cup of potato soup.

Thursday~

Travis and Beatrice mowed at the church building. Margaret made Travis' birthday cake. His favorite, angel food with a caramel sauce. We got the sauce just right in flavor and consistency. Harrison grilled hamburgers for supper. I shaped them and they didn't stay together to well, but they tasted pretty good. The kids and I got started packing for heading up to Bemidji on Friday.

Friday~We traveled north. It was a beautiful day for driving, sunny and pretty clouds, but not real hot either. I had hoped to get heading north pretty quickly, but it didn't go as fast as it should have in the morning. We had waffles for breakfast that were really slow in getting cooked. They did turn out very nicely though. Once we got to Mom and Dad's, Keren got to dreaming about tie-dye shirts and getting a kit from walmart to do a little dyeing. So we ran in there to get what we needed for that. We drove through Bemidji on our way home. I had not been through for some time. It has really been changing since I left. We had a yummy supper of Hamburgers grilled by Keren and broccoli and potato wedges.

Saturday~ We took a walk up on the new pipeline north of Mom and Dad's. It was fun to look around. It has really changed the look up there. They used about 8 foot lengths of some heavy rope in their work up there. We had fun pulling it out and hauling some back. They had it in some piles around partly underground. Keren's Graduation Open House was this evening. We played croquet, volleyball, water balloons and much visiting about while eating yummy food.

We ended the evening sitting around the living room at home while Dale played the guitar and Luke played the dobro and we all sang along randomly. It was pretty music.

Here is the lovely graduate preparing the water balloons.

~Anna

The Weekly Review II

Sunday- We all got up in good time and didn't have to rush to make it to church in plenty of time. It is always nice when we aren't rushed to make it out of the door by 8:30am. I tried a new recipe called Curried Chicken and Sweet Potatoes for lunch. It baked while we were at church and was done very nicely when we came in the door. It was yummy, but we probably won't do it again, just wasn't quite perfect. We love curry and we love sweet potatoes but not together, I guess. After Travis went to work the kids and I took a bike ride to lake Phalen. It was hot out but really nice for a bike ride and the water was very refreshing for them. I read my book I Captured The Castle. Margaret, Beatrice and I planted the last of the plants and Gregory washed rocks for us when we got back.

Monday~ Hannah Elizabeth G. was born so Margaret didn't have violin lessons after all. We were kind of happy because that left us free to ride our bikes to the library and then on over to the lake. It made it a fairly long bike ride for a 95* day but we were leisurely about it and took a lot of water bottles along. It turned out the route we took from the library to the lake was mostly down hill, so that was very nice. We didn't have too long at the lake because we had to get Travis back home so he could head to work at5:30 or so and he wanted some supper before he left, silly guy. Harrison was able to get a pretty nice moat and castle done in the sand before we left.

Tuesday~ Harrison had his last trumpet lesson until July. We worked hard on schoolwork for the week.

Wednesday~ We cleaned house! We had exciting company coming and we had beds to make, toilets to scrub and floors to vacuum. My aunts Ramona and Merna came for a quick visit this week as well as my Mom and Dad, Keren, and my cousin Paige. We also were visited by Keren's 3 bunnies. That kept my children more than a little excited and happy being able to care for them with her. For my class at church this evening we had David and Jonathan so I took our little compound bow and arrow and we did a little archery practicing. Most of the kids in my class had never shot and it was fun to share that with them. Thursday~ We all went to the Mall of America and listened to my cousin Donna's Orchestra play there. They did a very nice job. My cousin Charity and her boy friend Marty met us there. We did just a little browsing in the mall afterwards and then we came home for lunch. Charity and Marty hadn't had breakfast so it was either find something healthy there for them or just hurry home to have lunch, and that seemed the better choice. We did a lot of fun visiting and remembering on Thursday. At supper Margaret had questions for the sisters about their childhood. It was fun to hear their answers. First she asked them for their most embarrassing moment growing up. They each were given a turn and then on to their happiest, their saddest and so on. We also did some arm wrestling. I am the champ, although I didn't wrestle anyone older than myself. I am sure my dad could still beat me. Friday~ Was going home day for our company. Parting is such sweet sorrow. We didn't have very much time, but we did have some and it was a lot of fun. We did get new company though. Hans and Garrett are here now to go camping with us this weekend.

So Friday was saying good bye, saying hello and a lot of quick cleaning and and fast packing. We had hot dogs round the campfire for supper. Yummy, yummy!

Saturday~ We did some archery at camp, tried a little fishing and searched for turtles. Listened to some lessons from the Bible while they carved a picture to go with it out of wood. Visited with good friends.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!!

~Anna

The Weekly Review

I am planning to do less blogging this summer and I decided to do a once a week, weekly overview. This will help me to not get completely out of touch and serve somewhat as a journal for me.

Sunday~

It was a big day for us! Naturally we went to church, it was also Gregory's 5th birthday, and Margaret had her first Violin recital. For Gregory's part we had the Morgan family over and a few random other kids for lunch and a playtime. He had opened gifts on Saturday so it wouldn't need to be rushed. The girls and I decorated his cake like the game CandyLand. We had fun doing it. Margaret's recital was at 5pm but we needed to be there about 4 so she could practice with the piano at that church building (really so I could, since I accompanied her). A couple families from church came and watched her and then we had supper together afterwards. Margaret did a really good job doing her song. We are glad to move on and have that past us since neither of us are performers at all!

Monday~

Is almost always violin lessons and a quick run to the library. We had hoped to ride our bikes to the library but ran out of time. It would have been lovely weather to do it in. Margaret and Harrison have been super into the Warriors cat series and got several more to read. They are going through these books like crazy, and they aren't little books. They don't look interesting to me but they sure love them.

Tuesday~

Harrison had his trumpet lessons. Travis and I worked awhile trying to figure out why some of our street lights are not working. Hence the picture above. We found out one is not getting any power and one is. Two lights work and two don't but they are at either end and seem to have different problems. We just keep running into dead ends on this. Travis changed the light bulbs last week (with the kids and I holding up the pole and ladder trying to keep him from crashing to the ground). He also worked on the grill today replacing some wornout parts. Now we need a chance to grill!

We, Nahum and Deborah went to Chuck E Cheese for supper with Gregory's gift card from Granny and Pappa.

Wednesday~

Gregory had his 5year old check up and went to see Dr. Goble. My kids love to go see the Dr. and I really like her. We don't get to see her near as much as we once did and for that I am grateful, but even so I am really happy with their Dr. I think I like her because she Oohs and Aahs so well over my children in important ways. When ever she looks at their legs she says some thing like "I love kids with bruises here, it shows they are up and moving", or "here's some busy feet". She often has practical tips for things rather than medicine, like "a nice vinegar bath should take the itching away". She is always impressed with their cognitive skills on the interview paper she has me fill out by asking them questions. Gregory is 55 1/2 pounds, 46 1/2 inches tall and he passed his hearing and eye test wonderfully.

We went shoe shopping for Margaret on the way home from the Dr. It took awhile and we were so worn out when we quit. We found tennis shoes and a pair of dressy shoes for Bea but No Sandals for Margaret that she and I agreed upon. She wants very sturdy playing sandals and none of the places we went had any. I guess we need to try Fleet. We went to church early for a teachers meeting. Margaret and Travis stayed home because Margaret didn't feel well at all. A head ache and stomach ache.

Thursday~

Now Gregory is sick. We had a homeschool end of year picnic with our group. It was very warm out with a nice breeze. Perfect weather for a picnic. The kids all played kick ball and Basket ball while we moms chatted. Travis stayed home with Gregory and they watched Lord of the Rings (the first one). He thinks that will be the next series he reads to the kids. I am really enjoying reading To Kill A Mocking Bird this week. Beatrice planted some carrots and cilantro seeds. I gave her my opinion on how to sow them. She also hosted a Tea Party. Deborah, Kristina and Margaret attended. They had mint tea, brownies and frosted vanilla wafers, She and Deborah did the decorating of them and I found blue frosting everywhere when I came back in the house!

Friday~

We did Schoolwork! What a novel idea. Travis and Harrison mowed the field and our yard. It looks so nice right now. I planted a few plants and some bean seeds. We got a few sprinklings of rain, and we tried out the grill. It works marvelously! Travis was pleased at how much better it works. We had pork chops that I rubbed a lot of paprika and steak seasoning onto. They were so yummy! Nati has been sick all week with a cold that keeps bothering me every time he comes in. At supper I prayed for him and when I got done he was grinning so big and said "that was nice when you prayed for me!". We read a few stories from Russia for bedtime stories (we have been all week, actually). I finished To Kill A Mocking Bird, such a good book!

Saturday~

I went grocery shopping. I have spent more on groceries this month than I do typically because I am trying really hard to increase my omega 3's, to clear up my skin issues. The verdict is still out on whether it is helping. Dr. Goble thought it was a good idea for Gregory's dry skin problems too though, so that was nice.

Harrison and Margaret had a Middler event at the Countryman's. A cook out and games. Margaret made truffles to take. They were so yummy. She has made them once before and I wasn't too impressed with the recipe, but this time they are really good. Practice makes perfect!

I planted a little more. It is funny how long I can take at it and I have so little to plant. Today we made a bean teepee. Travis gathered the poles with Gregory, Beatrice and my help. We can't wait till we have a living tent in our backyard.

Happy Spring to You,

~Anna

Green

Travis read Ted Dekker's book Green. Here is his review. I found this book to be a good read but not on par with the first (last) three. It does bring the Thomas Hunter thing full circle. I did identify with the doubts of the Circle and was convicted when reading about Samuel. I was rather disappointed with the ending. In case you have read Red, White, and Black by Ted Dekker this is either book zero or book four. If you would like to read this book go to cbd. This is a review for BookSneeze."

Pumpkin Rolls and Cream Cheese Orange Rolls

Keren got me thinking about Jelly Rolls last week as she endeavoured to master the art. I have tried a few different recipes at different times but the one I go back to always is this Pumpkin Roll recipe as I cook to please a pumpkin loving Man. Even though I have made it many times over the years it has been a really long time since I last made it.

I also created a fun orange cream cheese roll that we really enjoyed a whole lot. I took it to our life group meeting on Thursday evening. I am going to put its recipe here so I will know what I did if I ever want to make it again.

Pumpkin Roll

1 cup sugar

3 beaten eggs

2/3 cup canned/frozen,thawed/cooked and mushed pumpkin

3/4 cup flour, I used 100% whole wheat flour this time and they taste great but they were a little harder to work with as they wanted to fall apart more than normal.

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375*.

Mix the sugar, eggs, and pumpkin in a bowl, add next 4 ingredients and mix well.

Grease a jellyroll pan with oil and line it with a greased wax paper (all of this oiling is really important). Extend paper over the sides of the baking sheet. Pour batter into pan and spread to edges. Sprinkle batter with pecans (I used almonds I had slivered this time and that was tasty).

Bake for 15 minutes, or until done in the middle and turning golden.

Sprinkle a clean dishtowel generously with powdered sugar ans flip cooked cake onto the powdered towel. Gently remove wax paper:

Roll your cake up with the towel on it. My recipe says to roll loosely and I tend to roll it tightly. I guess you can try it both ways and see what is best for your cake. My philosophy on tightness was that would hold it better and not allow cracking. Let it stand until cooled, not cold though.

Filling

1-8 ounce package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Beat ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Unroll cooled cake and spread frosting across it. Roll your cake up again (without your towel).

If it is fragile you can use your towel/cling wrap to help you roll it by evenly holding one end of the towel higher and letting gravity roll the cake for you. You will need to start the rolling with your fingers though.

Wrap you roll in cling wrap and aluminum foil. Place in the freezer. Unwrap and slice while still frozen. They thaw fairly quickly.

They keep for sometime very nicely in the freezer and make for a great quick desert when surprise guest arrive. And now the:

Orange roll

1/2 cup flour ( I used whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking powder

8 egg whites

Zest of one orange (leave about 1 teaspoon for filling)

2/3 cup sugar Oven 375*

2 Tablespoons slivered almonds

Whip egg whites until very frothy. Add the sugar and orange zest and thoroughly beat together.

Mix flour and baking powder and stir into egg mixture until well mixed.

Grease a jelly roll pan with oil and line with greased wax paper. Extend paper over sides of pan. Sprinkle slivered almonds across wax paper and then, pour batter into prepared pan and spread to edges evenly.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched lightly near center.

Filling

1-8 ounce package cream cheese

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon orange juice

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Follow directions above for compiling the roll.

Now that winter is back I felt like something warm and sweet would be a pleasant drink. Margaret was craving an ice cream treat but our house is way to cold for a cold treat right now. I don't feel like starting a fire or turning on our furnace so it might be chilly around here for awhile. At least until Travis returns, he is always in the mood to start a fire.

I had seen this recipe a while back but never tried it. It was very well received by everyone. Margaret made it with lots of help in stirring from the boys and Beatrice.

Warm Vanilla Soother

3 cups milk

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup real maple syrup

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Mix all of these in a saucepan and stir over medium high heat until it begins to thicken. Shut off burner and add:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon butter

Mix well and serve warm in mugs.

The kids enjoyed adding a sprinkling of cinnamon to theirs. For our crew we doubled this recipe. We got this recipe from here. I hope you like it too.

~Anna

What to do with a few Rubberbands

These guys have been going through a lot of rubber bands recently.

Aaron is the only one around here that seems to know how to tie them as they call it. Today he told Gregory, "I will show you one more time how to do this and then you will need to do it on your own". But anyways, yesterday when they had made their bow and arrows Nahum and Nati each needed one too and it was pretty cute seeing them ask Aaron for tips on how to put them together and the right sticks for the job.

So the best way to make these, if I have been listening right, is to find the right stick. Smaller guys need smaller sticks. Then get several rubbers and knot them together until you have about the same length of band as the stick. Put it onto the stick ends and find some nice straight twigs for arrows.

Have fun hunting small game. Another thing you can do is make a musical instrument. Find some handily placed knobs and stretch them across.

Have fun making beautiful melodies. These are whatever you want them to be. They thought you could use them like helicopters or lots of things. Knot two bands together and have fun with your imagination.

Thanking God for imaginations!

~Anna

Making Salt Crystals, a fun recipe

Here is a fun science expirement to do to revive the last few days of school for this year. It would be especially good for you if you are doing a study on salt or salt water like we were.

Here is what you do to grow your very own salt crystals.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and remove water from the heat.

Add salt 1 Tablespoon at a time until the salt no longer dissolves.

Pour the salt water into a clean, clear glass jar.

Tie a paperclip to the end of a string or thread. Tie the other end of the string to a pencil and balance it on the top of the jar.

Allow the paper clip to hang in the water about 1 inch from the bottom of the jar.

Place the jar in a sunny window where it will not be bumped. This is one day later. Two or three days later. One week, four days later.

It was really exciting to see it growing at first, and to see how perfect the cubes always were. The growth has really slowed down now.

People are now regularly asking what are you going to do with them and I don't know. So I need to figure that out I guess. Maybe if I shellac them they could work as jewellery. What do you think? I don't want to loose them by eating them in our supper.

Enjoy!

~Anna

Springtime Walks

With the warm days and beautiful green we have been taking a lot of walks this past week. It helps that my van wasn't working for a few days so we walked to and from Car-X and took a bike ride to the library to return over due books during that time. Also we had company and that seemed like a good source of entertainment. You can't help but want to get out and see the colors of the new flowers and leaves opening right now. It was beginning to mist and sprinkle at the beginning of this walk but we went ahead and started out. We never really got wet. There were a couple very brief showers that dampened the pavement but that is all. I think it sharpened the colors though. Doesn't Keren look very sweet explaining her thoughts to the girls? At every flowering plant some of the girls thought they better try to add more to their bouquets. Our arms were quite laden with lilacs, apple blossoms, wild mustard, lilacs and a few other varieties by the time we returned home. The boys, they gathered sticks. We had a mock wedding under the trees of one vacant lot. Here we are doing a bridal dance?

Live! ~Anna