Summer birthday celebrations.....

The month of August, in our family, only has 3 birthdays in it...as opposed to July that has 8...so today was a smaller celebration! Yesterday was my 44th birthday...and it was wonderful! Very relaxed...Meghan made brunch, everyone gave me beautiful presents and cards, then Sara made dinner...in the evening, the girls and I went to our church's parent/youth group meeting. Very quiet birthday for me...which I liked, very much! (especially as today was particularly busy!) After church today, we all went over my sister, Lori's house, to celebrate my birthday, my step-mom, Maryellen's birthday and my nephew, Tommy's birthday...it was a very simple celebration....my sister got Kentucky fried chicken (not healthy, I know...but YUM!), and we had homemade potato salad, coleslaw, cucumbers in sourcream, and hot homemade biscuits...a typical American summertime picnic! My wonderful step-mom, Maryellen and I...we were particularly grateful to have her here today, as she just got out of the hospital on Thursday and is still recovering from pneumonia.
My sweet nephew, Tommy turns 15 this week! Can't believe he is that old already! All of these cousins seem to be growing up so fast!

Except these ones....I'm so very, very happy that we still have little ones to enjoy! Ronnie, Anna, Ty and a couple of the neighbor children had a blast under the sprinkler today...Ty really liked putting his hand in my icewater, then drinking from it, and since it was so cold...he would let it dribble out onto his chubby little belly....and giggle! So cute!
The beautiful picture frame that Meghan got for me...it is hard to tell, but it is a real soft green with cream.
The plaque that Sara got for me a long with a jar candle....I've wanted a visual reminder for us and to help the little ones remember these as well.

My wonderful husband, got me a new chair and ottoman for "my corner of the world"! I had seen this at an antique/consignment store and remarked to the girls how nice it would look in my livingroom....well, Ron went after working all night yesterday, checked it out and brought it home for me! It is so very comfortable, and completely matches the two recliners that we have as well....he laughed at me today, told me he loves me, and shook his head that what he called 'second hand' furniture could make me so happy! I told him, I've never wanted diamonds or jewelery....it doesn't take a lot to make me happy! The only thing I need to get now, is a few parts for a mystery gift that was bestowed on me by very dear friends....as soon as I have them, I will take pictures of this long wanted, special gift! So....our birthday weekend was quiet and simple...just the way I like it! ~Sue~

Summertime fun....priceless!

Lots of summertime fun going on around here! Even though we homeschool, the summer months when lessons and learning aren't taking up quite so much of our time is the time to spend some special time with special friends and family...especially those that go to school during the year. Yesterday, after watching Ty and the girls working, our old neighbor (and my "other daughter") Elissa came for her favorite burrito dinner and to sleep over.....after dinner we all met for miniture golf! Cubscouts is starting back up for Ronnie, and we all went to a family outing....we had such a great time! Ronnie is very excited this year to be a wolf. Meghan, Elissa and Sara....both girls as well as Ronnie got hole in ones! ( I didn't...but I was a little busy helping Anna and keeping her on the path!)
Our friends, the Logan's were there...little Jeremiah is now 3 months old...such a chub, and HAPPY...he was belly laughing most of the time!

Here I am with Jeremiah's mom...my "crazy Filipino friend", Judi! It was so good to see her, Chuck, Jacob and their girls, Bella and Hannah.....the little girls call me "Miss Shoe"...cracks me up!

Jacob and Ronnie...they had so much fun playing 18 holes together! Afterward, we all had pizza and lemonade and stayed and talked for a while.

Ron and Anna had a lot of fun....once she got the hang of it, and hit some in, she was very excited!
Today, Sara & Lissa went horseback riding at Rolling Hills ranch...they had a great time. This is something that they look forward to doing together a couple times a year. Lissa goes back to school soon, so we are glad that she was able to stay over and spend the day....when she lived across the street, of course we saw her almost everyday....we really miss them!

My three girls!
Ronnie and his friend, Miles. Miles is also an old neighbor...these boys have played together since babies...they are only 3 weeks apart. They had a blast playing sword fighting outside, and legos inside...typical boy stuff, while Anna danced around the livingroom in her dance outfit.

Grilled hotdogs, fresh veggies from our garden....a quick, simple American summertime meal....

~Getting together with special people, playing in water, summertime picnic food, slinkies (got one each Ronnie and Anna for $1!) having my children plan and hide birthday surprises for me....all of these......priceless! ~Sue~

We love Ohio...part 2 of our trip!

Our dear friend, Stephanie. As this is part 2 of our trip, I saved our last day for ....last! LOL Anyway...yesterday, Stephanie treated us to an old-time victorian Tea Parlor...imagine a victorian "Dr. Quinn" style....we loved it! Ronnie, Charles and David went to a resteraunt for lunch...then hiking down to a little river with falls...Ronnie had so much fun! Stephanie in the square(in her Audrey Hepburn outfit). The town was called "Oldstead Falls"...and they brought all of these buildings from all over Ohio, renovated them, created this little town with bricked walkways, a gazebo, train, shops, 2 eating establishments, a barber shop and many more....all authentic. It was so cool to walk around like it was the Dr. Quinn town!


The Livery Stable sign above Clementine's tea parlor.

My three beautiful daughters in the gazebo...overlooking the river.
The ice cream parlor...we were so full after the tea parlor, that we'll save this one for next time.
This is so funny....Stephanie ordered 'high tea' for all of us...and look at Anna's face...this was before food.....

THIS is Anna after her food arrived....she said "this tower is all for me?!"...and it was! She had her own food, tea pot and tea cup...she was so happy!
Steph and I
The girls thought this antique phone booth was really cool.
Clementine's Tea Parlor....

Abigail's quilt shoppe....beautiful fabrics!
The old buggy...Ronnie did NOT want his picture taken...he wanted to go off with the guys.
The town boasted a wooden 'boardwalk' outside the shops...just like in the old days so the ladies didn't have to 'muss' their skirts.
Back at Stephanie's...the boys and Sara played Wii, Anna played with the dog, while Meghan, Stephanie and I looked at some old pictures of the kids when they were little, and then we loaded up the car. We drove away with the three of them waving and Charles even had the dog, Gunner waving at Anna.

What a special time we had with good friends! Thanks, Steph, for your incredible hospitality! Looking forward to spending time with all of you again very soon! ~Sue~

We love Ohio...part #1!

We just got back from a wonderful 2 day trip to visit old friends in Ohio! What a fun trip!Here is Meghan, me, Stephanie and her friend, Judy at a cute little park close to their house.

Anna, the monkey!

Ronnie...hanging with "the guys"...watching them race on their bikes.
We had a wonderful dinner Sunday night, then when my little ones went to bed, Steph and I, her two sons Charles (age 17) and David (age 14) and Meghan & Sara stayed up playing the board game, "Clue"...what a fun game! We ended up talking and laughing until after 1am! (mistake...Anna got up super early the next day!)Yesterday, we drove up to the beach at Lake Erie....how beautiful! Stephanie and I have been friends since 1999...it was wonderful spending time with her and her boys!
Meghan at the beach...she, Steph and I didn't bother to get our bathingsuits on...although, I wish I had! It was so warm, peaceful and beautiful there!

Ronnie and Charles...he is looking into applying to go to college at Patrick Henry University next fall...
The rocks that we were sitting on...and sharing with the seagulls!
Anna, Ronnie and Sara....the water was perfect! Everyone had so much fun!

David and Charles
Icecream after an afternoon of swimming....just in time before the heavy thunderstorms started!

This view was gorgeous! Can't wait to go back again soon!
Charles
Their wonderful dog, Gunner and Anna...she loves this dog SO MUCH! He had to be the best behaved dog I've ever been around...and SMART! He was so gentle with Anna, played ball for hours with her, and knows his left from his right! She misses him already!
The boys were great with Ronnie...took him under their wings, taught him things, listened to him and taught him some cool Lego things...they also shared David's drum set with him...he was really good! (Hmm....maybe there is a drum set in the future for our home.)

Stephanie took the girls and I to Old Time Pottery. This shop was great! Tons of housewares....incredibly priced! I got 2 oil lamps, lamp oil, dish cloths and towels...even my Christmas cards! The girls got some great bargains, too! (Meghan has almost filled up her Hopechest already!)
I had to laugh...Steph got herself a new "blankie"...a soft, beautiful blush colored boucle throw.

The "Clue" gang! We had so much fun with this game! We played it both nights. I have to learn the boys 'strategy'....I couldn't figure it out either night!
This is David....telling Sara to stop trying to see his cards!!!

~What a special trip this was! Thanks, Stephanie! This was the first time we got to visit with them since they moved 6 years ago....she kept inviting us, but with having Ronnie and then Anna...and then moving (and my fear of driving on the highway....)we didn't make it until now. I'm so glad! Part two of out trip tomorrow.....wait until you see the old town that we visited when we had our 'high tea' at a victorian tea parlor! ~Sue~

Introducing....Hayden Lee Reese!

Introducing....Hayden Lee Reese!!!! My great-nephew! Hayden came home last Friday, and he and Crystal are doing well. He is so cute...look how much hair he has! He is the perfect combination of Ben and Crystal. (I think!) Thank you to everyone who was praying for them! ~Sue~

Movie Review: Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

Sorry for my rare appearance around our blog but it's been a wee bit crazy around here. Two of my dearest friends were over the other day and mentioned they had really been wanting to go to see Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian at the 'cheap theater' in Pleasant Hills. So I decided to write up a movie review on the movie....I think our family will end up owning it or seeing it again soon. :) (Just click the title of the movie anywhere in this post to see a review of the movie from PluggedinOnline.com)

A few weeks ago, when dear Gabrielle was still here, we saw the aforementioned movie at the same theater. Then we went out to Arby's for their Wednesday freebie! All together, the night ended costing my parents about eight to ten dollars for us all to see a movie together and get drinks and huge sandwiches afterwards. Aren't we frugal thinkers? :) The movie was hilarious and we laughed uproariously through out it. The giant squid was a teeny bit gross but not entirely repulsive. Most of the characters from the first movie return, including Teddy Roosevelt (though not as much as in the first one) Sacajawea, Jedidiah, Octavius, Dexter the monkey, with a whole bunch of equally hilarious characters strictly from the Smithsonian museum.

The Plot of Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

Larry Daley is now a big-shot CEO of his own company with a Blackberry and Blue tooth to boot! His friends at New York's Museum of Natural History are rather annoyed and offended by him as he rarely comes to see them anymore. One evening he visits the museum and speaks with the manager of the museum (who is equally as unhappy with Larry as his friends) and Larry learns that all of his friends, Attila, Cavemen, Sacajawea, Dexter, the miniatures and more are all going to be shipped to the Smithsonian's Federal Archives. The tablet of Akmunrah is staying in the museum as well as Teddy Roosevelt. Larry learns this, alarmed, and asks when this will all take place, in between cell-phone calls, he learns that this night when he visits, is their 'last night.' Their move to perpetual sleep in the Federal Archives is because of the new hologramic (if that's a word) exhibits. Bummed out, Larry asks Teddy what he can do but then his cell phone rings just as the sun rises. After he finally shuts the cell off, Teddy is back to wax. Larry goes back to his apartment to look more into the Smithsonian Institute. He is doing research when his phone rings and he hears Jedidiah's voice and much hubbub in the background. Jedidiah haltingly explains that the "monkey stole the dad-blamed tablet!" And there's some guy there who really wants it and says it's rightfully his. This 'guy' is Kahmunrah, Akmunrah's older brother who feels the tablet rightfully belongs to him to bring back his army from the underworld and control the world.

Larry, with the aid of his son Nicky via cellphone, goes into the Smithsonian, steals a security guard's ID card, and sneaks into the bottom of the huge museum-that in truth is many buildings that make up the Smithsonian institute. The Federal archives are stories under all the buildings and Larry goes down there in a race against the sunset. The whole movie is the span of about a very long night. Amy Adams plays the tight-pants clad Amelia Earhart whose every other word is 20's or Depression-era slang-we loved it! She's very spunky, opinionated, and takes a liking to Larry. He handles the situation nicely without telling her until almost the end that she'll be wax again by morning. They race against the clock and the group of wannabe world dominators, Napolean, Ivan the Terrible and Al Capone-all with their respective soldiers and cronies, led by Kahmunrah.

Along the way they see a gigantic Lincoln from his memorial, a giant squid, and many, many other unforgettable characters that will leave you holding your sides with laughter. Not the least of which are the Einstein bobble-heads in the Smithsonian gift-shop and the three, ever singing stone cupids that seem to pop up around Amelia and Larry when least expected. The cupids had Sara and I almost rolling on the floor laughing as they started singing two recognizable songs. The credits read: Cupid 1: Joe Jonas, Cupid 2: Nick Jonas and Cupid 3: Kevin Jonas. Sara and I were howling!!! One of my favorite parts was when Amelia Earhart and Larry Daley were in the art building being chased and the paintings have come to life via the tablet!! One of pictures was the famous WWII picture of the sailor and nurse smootching in Times Square. To get away from the bad-guys, the two hop into the picture and dodge the group of power-seekers.

Moral Issues:

They say the 'd' word twice and take the Lord's name in vain, regrettably, more than once. For a PG movie (only rated because of the 'd' word and some mild violence) that's pretty good.

Amelia and Larry kiss twice and Larry kisses the nurse in the picture to evade the bad guys. Also, Amelia Earhart, aka: Amy Adams, where's very tight pants that look much like jodpurs-what most horse-back riders where.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else halfway to objectionable. Even the previews before the movie were a bunch of commericials and one movie preview-that's pretty good!

(Gabrielle, I'm adopting your family's movie rating system!) Out of five stars-five being the best and one being the worst, I'd give Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian a 4.25. :) There was no call to take the Lord's name in vain or to swear-like in the first one. Overall it was a hilariously funny film and very sweet. After Amelia and Larry say goodbye, and she flies her plane back to the Smithsonian, there is an absolutely sweet twist when Larry visits the 'new' museum full of 'holographic' exhibits. That's all I'll say-my mom will probably say I gave away waaay too much already, so I'll be done now. :)

Almost ready.....

Almost ready to start schooling again!!! I am actually very excited about this year, and can't wait to start and get into a daily routine, and learn a lot of new things....I love homeschooling! Below is Anna doing a leaf rubbing. She and Ronnie have been reading books and doing experiments on their own...I think they are ready,too!

This is what my diningroom table looked like...and you can't even see the stacks of books on some of the chairs...we would just push everything to the middle to eat for a couple days until I organized it all for the coming year!

Hooray! After my organization!
One of our bookcases....reference books ready for use...even a lot of Anna's fiction in a much more accessible way for her to get to them. (easier for her to put them away, too!)

I made a shelf of nothing but science books for Ronnie. He LOVES to read these! Now they are all in one place and he can read to his hearts content...and it will make it much easier for me when we are studying a particular subject!

I was able to seperate the top left bookcase for Ronnie & Anna's school books, and any other books (history) that we will be studying this year. The top right is highschool for the girls. I even had room on the bottum shelves for my cookbooks and craftbooks.
Cleared my table just in time to lay out this quilt for baby Hayden! Saw pictures on facebook today..he is so cute! Tons of dark hair, big eyes and very alert. I was also able to speak with both Ben and Crystal. Crystal is feeling better...sore and tired, but so happy to be home from the hospital! With Ben in the Airforce, I thought I would make Hayden a special quilt. I know it isn't traditional with squares or pieced in anyway....I thought a 'whole cloth' quilt was more appropriate....it has the batting in the middle, but the back is soft blue flannel. It is a good size,too.....a little bigger than crib size. Ben is probably being sent overseas in December, so I wanted the baby to have something warm, and something that will be big enough for him for years to come....and the Airforce, representing his daddy. We're so proud of Ben! So...plenty of projects to keep me busy along with our schooling...again, I cannot wait to get back into a routine! We've enjoyed all the parties, and get-togethers and trips this summer...but I am such a homebody....that is probably why I love winter so much! Staying home, cozy and warm! (I know it will be 90 degrees this weekend...I can dream can't I?!) Off to tuck in Ronnie and Anna to 'dreamland'! ~Sue~