things that make me happy right now...

the way zaiah loves eating cereal as much as i do. it's an addiction, not a healthy one i know.


how kai is drawing our family, a lot. in windows, in cars, this one below we're outside in the wind.


when they are focused side by side, quiet for just a minute. it's nice.


how the kids enjoy babysitting baby D just as much as i do .... a few days a week.


our living room/dining room so empty. only a couch and the kids craft table. less cleaning, and more running around. it gives the main floor a different feeling. i'll be thrilled to put everything back, but for now i'm really liking the emptiness of it.

the zinnias in bloom throughout our yard. and having cut zinnias on our table almost daily. their colors are so bright, i must plant more of these next years.

summer ending

last week we had an end of the summer potluck party at our house with our neighborhood friends. good time - good food - water - drawing - lots of ginger brew - and then bedtimes. although school is back in session, and fall time is soon approaching we still have summer weather here and summer bedtimes at our house.

tour

andy took us all to his school this morning. come along for a tour ....

construction

see where the wood beam is? that's the wall andy knocked out. now, we're waiting for drywallers. then painting! the front room will be the dining room (very casual) where we will have a long wooden table. i'm in search for a farm table. and the room on the right (back room) will be a small cozy living area. eventually we want to build partial (like 2' high) open book shelves on each end of the opening that stick out a couple feet.

it always makes me so happy when i have the camera in hand or near by when a perfect picture opportunity happens. like this one below.


andy knocked out part of this ceiling and wall where there was water damage from a past old roof. also to be drywalled.

with most of the main floor un-playable, we've been occupying other areas of the house more. their bedrooms are a bit more crammed with toys and the kitchen is now officially the playroom. my bedroom floor has become the drawing floor. and we turned the kitchen floor into a throw the-rock/button-in-one-of-the-squares game.

blowing bubbles

there a many reasons i love this photo below. mostly, because it looks like she's sewing a button. she is pretty crafty and clever, but sewing a button she has not done. here she is picking out something else to wear. yes, we are full blown into changing outfits throughout the day. usually it's a pick from her closet. which is not child-friendly. the bar is high. but most of all, i have not weeded out her too small clothes, and she always ends up picking something in the 6-12 month range. yep, i'm lazy like that with clothes. but i must tackle this project because it's driving me a little nutty.


this is kind of a random, all-over-the-place-post. but all these photos were within a couple hours. so i guess you could say it's 'an afternoon in the life of this family.'

apparently it takes two people to measure how tall mama is. love the measuring gloves. i was really happy i had the camera in my hand when they did the measuring.

swinging baby.


and finally what i meant this post to be about: our orange smoothie. this is definitely our drink of the summer. we make it about every other day. and it's good, really good. i found it one day searching the net and wrote it down for future (can't remember where). i'm so glad i did, because i surely would have forgotten about it. this is how it is made, simply:

in a blender:
about 10 ice cubes
1/2 of a large frozen OJ container
1 c. whole milk
1/2 - 1 c. water
about 1 t. vanilla extract

* the original recipe called for 1/4 c. sugar, but if you use whole milk i don't think you need it.
** you can play around with the measurements, it's a very forgiving recipe. i rarely measure.

it must be slurped up with a straw. and blowing bubbles, without letting them get out of the glass, is mandatory.

a white coat

andy has a new article of clothing .....


yesterday was the official 'white coat ceremony' at UoL and the welcome for class of 2013.
below he is the one on the far left on stage (we need a zoom lens, arggg).


as of friday, he is officially unemployed and now a full-time student. this week are orientations and trainings for the medical students, and parties. but you know he's waaaay too old for that ;). classes start next monday.

kinda cute in his white coat, don't ya think?

random things

tea party:


ohio river falls, discovering a 'cave':


ohio river falls, painting fossils:


bath time for baby:

after nap:


happy weekend!

our road trip

hotel stops in tennessee and north carolina. mapping our route to grammy's, swimming, eating, jumping on the beds, repeat.


how many memories do i have of this bathroom? and now to see my oldest making his own. so sweet.

and other memories that now my kiddos are making. feeding the birds daily with bread and water.

picking figs. you are very lucky if you get to grammy's while figs are just ripe.


and i leave you with this ....


it was a good trip, but we're glad to be back. the wall is out. now for the finishing work. the kitty's are eager to have full usage of the house again and so are we. but it'll be worth it, as always. thank you daddy!