All the sass without the fight

This little girl makes me laugh. Most of the time she just wanders about checking everything out. Then everyonce in a while she walks over to give me a little interaction (i.e. a kiss, high five, a hug, or a little cherub smile.) Then I ask her to do something, and about 90% of the time she says....with her mad dog face......"NO IWO!" (NO I WON'T!) and continues to glare at me. So I go pick her up and make/help her do whatever I asked her to do.....and she does it with out any fight at all. Just as happy as can be.

Just yesterday, she expanded her vocabulary. She wanted Brownie, I asked her to say please, and she said...scowling....."No I WO SaePee!!" (No I WON'T Say Please!)

Memorial Day=Camp

YEAH!
I was so excited about our first trip to camp for the season that I told Brad I wanted to start a new tradition. I figured the first trip to camp of the year was such a big, exciting deal that it deserved something special to inaugurate the occasion. So, I decided we were going to stop the car at the driveway before ours, and run as enthusiastically as we could...{i.e. hands in the air and screaming for joy =0)} down the road and into the house. (Brad's first question was whether this tradition had anything to do with pictures =0). I said no and I was telling the truth...honest!). Sadly my dreams of the first annual camp run were dashed.....by two girls sleeping peacefully in our back seat. Thankfully our trip there was just as wonderful, beautiful, fun and relaxing as I had anticipated =0).

Oh.........Canada

Brad planned a great trip for us to Canada for Memorial Day weekend. We drove up Friday afternoon to St. Stephen New Brunswick...home of the Ganong Chocolate Museum, and the Canadian international bike route. St. Stephen isn't exactly a big place, so he spent quite a bit of time researching a place for us to stay. We planned to get some chocolate, visit the museum and bike/get out and play for most of the day Saturday.

Friday night, after dinner and a trip to the grocery store for our picnic lunch, we got out the GPS to find our way to our hotel. When the GPS informed us there was no such road, we looked a bit closer and realized our reservation was for St. Stephen, South Carolina...oops. We finally got things figured out and we found another hotel with openings that evening. We got all settled and ready to put the girls to bed and found out this hotel didn't have any port-a-cribs (I had Brad callThursday night just to make sure our hotel had crib....well the crib we reserved in South Carolina did us NO good) I will spare all the details, and leave it at this---3 hours later Gwen was finally asleep under the vanity sink, petitioned behind a chair and an end table.

Saturday morning we woke up to a nice continental breakfast and made our way to the information center. Brad went in to get directions to the bike route.....and instead found out that their website is a bit misleading.....the bike route isn't exactly connected to St. Stephen...yet.....And oh yeah, the Ganong museum is closed Saturdays....they are only open Sunday through Friday. They will start opening Saturdays in June (next weekend). To make it all better, our bike rack began to break while we were in St. Stephen...enough that we were worried about our bikes making the trip home.

Did I mention that St. Stephen is a TINY place and there is nothing else to do there?? Well, We decided to buy a few Ganong Chocolates and RUN!
Sometimes the only thing you can do is laugh =0)...and Chocolate doesn't hurt =0).

Campobello saves the day

(Picture of East Quoddy taken by Brad, I'm impressed!)

Luckily, our entire trip was saved by our last minute plan B, which was to drive to Campobello Island. Campobello is a Canadian Island off the coast of Lubec, Maine. It is known as the place Teddy Roosevelt spent his summers throughout his life. Once there, our trip was PERFECT. We biked all over the island on about a 13 mile loop that connected a number of beaches and look out points. We toured the Roosevelt summer home, which has guided tours. We saw East Quoddy (the lighthouse on the island). And we ate a little picnic. The girls loved biking in their "chariots." It was a great time, and we will definitely consider going back again. Once we left Campobello, we visited Eastport, Maine and sat on the EASTERNMOST TIP OF THE U.S. and saw West Quoddy, the easternmost lighthouse in the U.S. We also went to the Rays Mustard Museum =0). You probably only know what Ray's Mustard is if you are from Maine, but Brad loves mustard and he thought this was pretty neat =0).We spent a lot of time walking around on this beach on Campobello. It was so neat! It was FULL of ocean tumbled rocks that were anywhere from 2-8 inches in diameter. Brad and I on the beach

This is Brad and I sitting on the Eastern most point in the U.S. Good thing we didn't fall in =0).

Dainty

A blog is born

A group photography blog that is. For anyone interested.

The idea: To have a weekly assignment of something to photograph, and then throughout the week we will all post our "homework". As well as any other info or questions we want to share.

The goal: To branch out. Do something different. Be inspired by one another and ourselves. Work on our creativity. Put ourselves out there, in a fun, safe environment.

If you are interested, leave me your name, and your email address in the comments. If you have not already received an invite, that is because I do not have your email address.... or I don't know you are interested=0).

Did someone say ADVENTURE?
In the process of looking for a full triathlon, Brad came across an "Adventure race." The description went something like this:

You may have to bike, you may have to kayak, you may have to run up mountains, or down mountains, you may have to run through cow manuer, we aren't going to tell you. We aren't going to tell you where you are going to start the race, or where it is going to end until just before the race begins. And even then, we are only going to give you a map and an encouraging, "I hope you don't see any bears out there." We will tell you that it will take around 6 hours..... So, please bring a compass.

Brad began to drool as soon as he read the name, and quickly roped 2 of his friends into commitment. Thus their first adventure race team was born. They called themselves, the "Hog Trotters."

(This is an actual picture of the guys on their race......not taken by me)

These Hog Trotters were one of 40 teams to compete. They did pretty well for themselves.....in the poring rain. When they got home, we (their wives) asked them each what they thought of it all. Brad--thought it was Awesome, Friend#1-agreed, and is already planning for next year. Friend#2- compared it to childbirth. He said, maybe he'll forget how awful it was by then and be convinced to sign up for another torturous 6 hours when it comes around again.

The Challenge:
My good friend Jill gave this challenge a few days ago:
what is one simple phrase that you want your children to quote often and say, "My mother used to tell me..." or "My mother always taught me..."
There are so many things we all hope to teach our children. Summing it all up into one phrase is a bit of a challenge. This is what I have come up with:

To my children,
I hope I can teach you this:
"Be your Best Self" I hope you can see how incredible you are. There are wonderful things that only you can offer to the world. When faced with decisions, you can ask yourself, "Is this my BEST self?" You have many unique and important talents. I hope you can SEE these things and try to become your best self. And as always, if you rely on him, God will help you.

If you haven't already been thinking about this, I give you the same challenge. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with =0).

Q:What the heck is a Fiddle Head??
A: A Vegetable. I think. Technically, They are fern greens... and if you live in Maine, you eat them. I would say they taste like beet greens. And, I like the taste fine, but I love them because they are cute =0)... I would almost even say beautiful.
This is what they look like. It's just a baby fern. This is what ferns look like when they grow out of the ground. Neat, Huh!

Although people here love them, no one knows where to pick them. I've heard someone joke that people pass down the fiddle head's secret locations in their wills. If this is true, we lucked out, because Brad has a friend that invited us to pick them on his property. He invited us a few weeks ago, and we have been waiting for them to be ready. We went last night for family home evening.
This is what the location looked like. We had a great time. Liv was really good at picking them, and she was even better at spotting them. She picked almost as many as I did, and she never stopped! The ambiance was made better by the sound of the stream trickling by, and the fact that the bugs actually weren't that bad. Even though we were slushing around through a swamp half the time.

Apparently we had a great time, because we picked almost 2- 5 gallon buckets worth, and I spent 3 hours today washing, scalding and freezing them.

A couple of things that happened today
I found Liv doing this... She has been fascinated lately by painting on herself. Isn't this lovely lipstick! She didn't even need a mirror! Now, that's talent!
And, My wheat came today. All neatly pre-canned...perfect =0)

Happy Mother's Day
I don't even know where to start with my mom. She is the best play mate around. And the amazing thing is that age doesn't matter. My kids feel this way, and I always have. Even in High School, she was my best friend, and I think that is AMAZING. In the role of Grand mother, she exceeds ALL expectations. She has the most amazing imagination. She is always coming up with some extravagant adventure for the grandkids, and builds up the hype for months in advance. Two years ago, she took them on a pirate adventure, complete with a treasure map and a burried treasure. Last year it was about dragons. She had all of the kids convinced there were dragon's in her back yard. They went hunting for dragon nests and found dragon eggs in each of the hand made straw nests. This year she has gotten Liv talking about nothing but the Indian adventure they will be having this summer. I think my sister said it best, when she said she thinks mom loves our kids as much as we do, and that is saying A LOT! Happy Mother's Day, MOM!

Happy Mother's Day to me =0)

Mother's Day PicnicRZA the Grand DogBritt and Aunt Karen
Uncle Keith and Uncle KentGwen camped out by this chocolate cake (under the tinfoil in front) and waited for someone new to come around and feed her a piece =0).
Brad's Dad on the Left and his cooky brothers =0)
We were so glad to have Aunt Karen, U Kent and U Keith in town. I LOVE family, and there is nothing better than being surrounded by them. These guys have all been so great to make me part of the family. We've had so much fun with you! Move to Maine!! =0)

Grampy's Funeral
I wanted to document this experience because I thought it was neat. Just before the memorial service, we had a family gathering in one of the rooms just outside of the chapel. About 10 minutes before the funeral was to start, two people walked in that we did not recognize. The came in and introduced themselves. He was the missionary that had taught Grampy and Mimi about the church in 1952. He and his wife had flown in this past week from California and on Wednesday she went into a gas station to buy 2 Snickers bars. One for each of them. When she got inside she decided to buy a newspaper instead. When he was reading the newspaper later that day, he saw Grampy's obituary. It was so neat to meet him, and hear him tell us about his experience with Grampy and Mimi.

Grampy Pampy
Brad's paternal Grandfather, Grampy Pampy, passed away yesterday. We are glad that he is back to his spry old self now. I picture him getting to heaven and dancing around to find his wife, what a happy reunion that must have been. Grampy was a sweet, appreciative man, who was always handing out sincere compliments, and who danced as long as his legs would let him. We loved the chance to live close to him for these past 2 years. He loved my girls and would watch them in awe. We owe a lot to Grampy and Mimi. They were the first members of the church in Brad's family. Thank you also to Brad's Mum who spent countless hours in Grampy's care over the last few months. We love you grampy and look forward to seeing you again =0).

My first attempt at a fun back yard
I have been trying to brainstorm about things we can do to make our back yard fun for the girls and their friends. This is the first attempt. A cute little tent made from some sticks, twine and a table cloth. It turned out so cute, and Liv loves it! She played out there all day pretending to be an indian. She loved eating her snack, reading stories, and taking her nap in it. I would love to hear of things your kids love to do in your back yards. Something fun, that will be relatively easy to move in about a year(if we sell our house). I've heard good things about water tables. What do your kids love?

This Face Makes me smile =0)

The cute little cap sleeve

Quaker
Growing up, my dad would play Quaker with us when we went on long car rides. It went something like this:

Dad: Hey let's play Quaker. This is how you play, we all try to see who can go the longest without talking.
Us: Ok, that sounds fun
Dad: Ready, Set, Quaker

Silence............. {followed by us pinching each other trying to get the others to talk =0).}

Today I introduced this game to my girls. It worked like magic. Gwen even played along, and we had a nearly silent ride home from our meal. Afterwards, Liv told me how fun it was to play Quaker, and I agreed =0).

Rambling by me:
The girls and I had fun today. I was feeling much better {the crabby business has passed=0)}. I had to laugh at Liv, she was being so sweet/funny today. A few things that she said to me:

-When she woke up from her nap, she came down stairs and noticed that our eating area had been cleaned and said, "Mommy, you cleaned in this room. You cleaned the floor, and the chairs and the table... It was so nice of you to do that." I was really surprised that she even noticed!
-We worked outside in the flower gardens together this afternoon, and she said, "You are just my best friend mommy."
-Then later during the same activity, "Mommy I just have this many friends." holding her hands wide apart, "I am really lucky to have so many friends. Yeah, I just don't know what to do with myself I have so many friends." "How can I love so many friends?"
-I also think she said, "Please" every time she asked me for something today, and said, "OK mommy." Everytime I asked her to do something.
-We went out to eat at "99," and Liv called it the, "lots of 9's restaraunt =0)."

I mentioned we did some gardening. I was thinning out the day lilies, and transplanting them into a new bed. She put on her own gardening gloves, and got a little spade of her own to help me dig out the weeds. I would tell her what she could dig up, and where she could step, and then she would dig it up and put them in a pile on the grass. We had a little talk about how new plants are growing up and we might not be able to see them, so we can't walk all over in the dirt. Oh, I almost forgot, before we started gardening, she was wearing the dress I had made, and I told her if she wore it outside, she couldn't play in the dirt, so she went inside all by herself to change into play clothes. The first time she came down in a skirt and a cardigan sweater that my mom gave her. It only buttons at the top, and she is always trying to wear it without anything under it. Then the second time she came down in some blue capri knit pants, and a long sleeved pink T-shirt and her ruby red slippers =0). Pretty good for a still 3 year old. She changed into her crocks and was all ready to work =0).

Tonight as Brad was reading scriptures to her, He started to read and mentioned that it was about Korihor, she said, "Oh yeah, he just told the people not to repent." Pretty good! What a cute girl!

Gwen has been funny lately. She is one of those kids that is just funny without trying to be funny. She loves to be BIG and as soon as she notices everyone else does something one way, she will no longer do it the old way. Last week it was eating cereal. I ALWAYS gave her dry cereal on the table with a sippy of milk, and she noticed everyone else ate it out of a bowl with milk and a spoon. She will now ONLY eat a breakfast of cereal in a bowl with milk and a spoon...oh yeah, and bananas. She would eat 50 bananas a day if I would let her. Anyway, This week her thing is going down the stairs. She has discovered that we always walk down facing forward. She will no longer crawl down the stairs backwards. She insists on walking facing forwards. She is such a little bug, and definitely doesn't have the balance for this task. She has already fallen down the stairs 3 times since her new discovery. The first time she was gushing blood out of both nostrils and had bitten her tongue. It was a scary experience for all parties! Luckily the other 2 times haven't been as bad. Each of the other times she just scraped up her nose and cheek. You would think she would learn, but today I found her going down forward facing again! Oh my.....

The Dresses
A while back I wrote a post about some CUTE clothes I saw on Etsy. Well, I thought maybe you would want to see a couple of the end products. I'm definitely not planning on starting my own fashion line any time soon. But I had fun in the process. I wish it had been a tiny bit warmer so Liv would have agreed to take off her jacket for this picture. Just imagine a cute little cap sleeve =0). My sister's and I are trading coordinating fabrics for some dresses we are going to make for our family reunion in June. Somehow, we all seem to go through the same phases at the same time =0).
P.S. I've had lots of questions about which lens I decided to get instead of the 24-70L, if you are one of those people, I answered that question on my photography blog (you can find it on my sidebar).

Happy National Prayer Day =0)
I guess the first Thursday in May is national prayer day in the U.S. SO, Happy Prayer day.....=0).

Hmpff
Do you ever have one of those days when you have no patience, and you can't decide if your kids can't listen to a word you say, or if you are just crabby? I'm having one of those days.