Castle in the Clouds

  It's January 9th as I write this but we still have two more Christmases to go. We had to reschedule the big party with my Dad twice due to illnesses. That get-together has been rescheduled to this Friday. Fingers crossed everyone is healthy and able to attend!  My mom lives two and a half hours north and a snowstorm hit the weekend we were supposed to drive up there. Luckily, she is supposed to be down this way for work this week and we're going to meet up for a hug, kiss, and a small gift exchange.  What were we able to do during the season itself?  Well, the boys and I went to Bronners and got ornaments that we felt represented our relationships with Ken.  I decorated the house. We made it to my extended family's Christmas party at my cousin's house.  We watched our favorite holiday movies and a few new ones, too.  I made holiday candies with friends. I made traditional Christmas cookies and am still confused on why they didn't taste quite right. W...

I love the holidays. While Christmas is my absolute favorite, Halloween runs a close second. This year I celebrated it in a number of ways.  First, there was Halloween trick-or-treating at Krystal Lake Campground. Our little group had four campsites between us; unfortunately, they weren't all in a row and we had to cross a tiny field to visit with each other. We decided to leave two of the four sites undecorated and instead pooled our skeletons, spiderwebs, and lights together. When it came time for the kids to trick-or-treat, we passed out candy two by two at nearby tables. I dressed up as an old witch while Laura was an angel with her sidekick demon hubby sitting nearby.  It was someone's first Halloween camping trip. Also, you can see some of our decorations! Next on the Halloween calendar came Jimmy and Laura's annual party.  They started throwing this little get-together after Jimmy's mom passed away from pancreatic cancer. Her picture used to be on a table by itse...

I thought I'd do a quick overview of March 2018... It's been an interesting month.  Most notably, the oldest child is looking for a part-time job so that he can go back to college.  He's not 100% sure of what he wants to go to school for, but I think he's seriously considering going into graphic design or media studies.  He's leaning in this direction because the degree would tie into his personal goals, which he's not too keen to share as he's afraid of nay-sayers. Ken has been meticulously researching tractors for the last couple of months.  Our current lawn mower is in pretty rough shape and likely won't survive another summer.  If he gets the machine he's been ogling, it would not only allow him to mow the several acres of lawn on the property, but it also let him transport things in the front loader and use a box blade to drag the driveway.  We have so many potholes right now and need more stonecrete in front of the barn. I went scrapbooki...

Just us girls! Happy New Years!  I hope you had a safe and enjoyable New Years Eve.  We certainly did. While Ken and I attended a party in Sandusky with our friends, our boys each went off with their girlfriends to celebrate the end of 2017 and welcome in 2018.  KC and Allie went to a friend's house where they watched movies with other couples. Gage went to Addi's and spent the evening with her family and, funny enough, his aunt and cousins.   KC & Allie Gage & Addi Both boys made it home well before the bars closed down, just as mom had requested.  I was nervous about them being out on the roads at all on New Year's Eve, but they did just fine. While the kids were hanging out with their girlfriends, we were dancing and playing games at the VFW hall.  Had we had any idea how much food was going to be there, we would not have opted to go out to eat before we arrived at the hall.  Not that our ear...

You never know who will be the first person out of bed on Christmas morning.  It might be me or it might be one of the boys.  It's never Ken.  Except this year it was! He got up early to start making homemade chocolate chip cinnamon for our Christmas breakfast.  I turned on the Christmas tree and banister lights before making my morning chai tea latte.  Gage, who had heard cupboards opening and dishes clanking together, came down and sat on the love seat.  Last to get up this year was KC, who definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed. How can anyone get up on the wrong side of the bed on Christmas morning!? Eventually, the dough was set aside to rise and we were ready to open presents.  As always, we start with stockings.  It usually takes two people to get them down - one to untie the ribbons holding them in place and one to hold the stockings so that gravity doesn't win.  Gravity usually wins at least once.  Also, as per...

I thought it might be fun to pull together some old Christmas pictures. An old scanned photo from when Ken and his sister, Ronnie, were little.  That's their dad in the front. I'd say this one was taken in the mid- to late 70s. Me and my dad.  Mid-70s. Am I crying or laughing?  I bet I'm crying.   Early 80s.  Pictured here are my mom and dad, my two brothers, and me. I have no idea where this picture was taken.    This one makes me laugh!  Let's see.  My Uncle Steve and Aunt Monica with a few of their kids, my siblings and me, and another random nephew (David). My grandma is walking into the frame.  I don't recognize the house.  What I do find funny, though, are the poses my cousin, Jessica, and I are modeling.  She's in the red dress and I'm in way too much pink.  From the mid 1980s, if I had to guess, which I do.  Holding the fire truck is   my youngest brother, Jason. ...