Catching Nature

My nieces have been here all week. My Mom and I met Rodney in Missouri and brought the girls back with us. The week has flown by and we've enjoyed spending quite a bit of time outside in this fantastic Michigan summer.

Ember and I like to sit on the dock and try to catch minnows. We're not usually too successful.


Cheyanne and Ember also like to look for frogs, toads and salamanders and keep them for pets until bedtime. The found 5 salamanders, 3 frogs and some toads one day.



Yesterday we jumped the waves at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, MI. It is a big beach with soft sand way out into Lake Michigan. The waves were just the right size for us yesterday. I didn't get any pics, but we have some great memories.

Classic Toys

My nieces visited recently for our 3-night Slumber Party Weekend. We visited the Kalamazoo Valley Museum which is FREE!! They currently have a toy exhibit where I learned that Mr. Pototohead use to be just plastic parts that you could put into a real potato (or other fruit or veggie). Who knew? Here is a clip of a toy that Ember enjoyed:

Last week I started full-time at the school district. It is actually 2 different part-time jobs, but they agreed that makes me full-time! I also found out that my brother, sister-in-law and my beloved nieces are moving to Kansas. So, now I have less time off and have to travel 5 times the distance to see them. I am glad that my brother has a job but I am very sad that my nieces will be so far away. Here we are on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

Buyers Beware

We all went to the Michiana Relief Sale last weekend. I was disappointed that they didn't have verenike, which is just about the best reason to go to the sale in KS. I did find some peppernuts, though. The girls enjoyed the Children's Auction where they had their own number and could bid all by themselves for the things they wanted. It took lots of guts to raise that number high and they both went home with some new toys with all the proceeds going to MCC.

Am I in Trouble?

When my nieces visited recently I was informed by Cheyanne that they would no longer be making pictures for me. It seems that, although I hung their pictures in a prominent location on my fridge, I failed to anticipate that water dripping from ice cube trays being placed in the freezer would drip onto the valuable artwork and ruin it. I offered my sincerest apologies and begged them to reconsider. Ember immediately agreed to resume making pictures for me. Cheyanne wasn't so quick to forgive. She holds onto grievances much longer than her sister and that's okay. I think she'll come around.




Then I remembered the magnetic sleeves that my friend Beky had on her fridge in Lancaster, PA when I visited this summer. I emailed Beky and we arranged a trade: I would knit her a winter hat and she would buy me some of the magnetic sleeves. The sleeves arrived today and I promptly hung some artwork on the fridge.

I also finished up Beky's hat today. Perfect!

Birthday Fairies

Ember turned 4 on Friday. It's so hard to believe. For some reason, 4 seems so much older than 3. When she was 3 I could still think of her as a toddler, but now she's a big girl. We had a day of celebration yesterday, which included a Fairy Festival at Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet, IL. My nieces both enjoyed dancing around in their fairy costumes even though it was STILL VERY COLD!



I baked a Devil's Food Cake for her. I thought I'd post the recipe, then realized I've posted it before. You can find it by clicking here. This time I used 1/2 cup sour cream instead of the buttermilk and it was just as yummy. Cake flour makes all the difference. The cake is perfectly moist the next day, too! I used this frosting, which is very sweet:

Fudge Frosting

1 pound powdered sugar
3 squares baking chocolate, melted and cooled
5 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
6 - 8 TBS cream (I had to add more)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Put sugar in mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients, except nuts. Beat until smooth and glossy. If too stiff, add cream or milk, one TBSP at a time. If too thin, add powdered sugar. Sprinkle nuts on top of cake, if desired.

Kinda Fishy

My friend Christy is visiting from Kansas. We're having a great time catching up. She'd never walked on water before, so we walked out onto the lake and checked out the fishing holes. When we spotted a long crack and heard a popping sound we ran the other way and we lived to tell about it.


I tried to measure the depth of the ice with a long stick. It was at least as long as the distance between my hands in the photo, and probably thicker.

We went to the beach in South Haven, where a surprising number of people were exploring the ice and snow. I had no idea that so many people go to the beach in the winter.

Christy has been trying to emulate the photographic techniques of our friend, Kristin. Can anyone figure out what this is a picture of (below)? I'll give you a hint. It was taken on Sunday.

Of course, it was great to see Ember and Cheyanne again.

To see the entire slideshow from our trip, visit the Emerald Inn website.

Walking on Water

My brother and sister-in-law brought my nieces for a visit this weekend. I haven't seen them since Christmas break, except for in church last Sunday, and I've missed them. Ember told me, "I prayed to God last night. I prayed that I could come to your house." Very sweet.

The girls got to walk out on the lake with their dad. It's kinda freaky to walk out onto the middle of a lake. If you look really hard you might see 2 tiny dots in the distance, and that's Ember and Cheyanne.


They brought their Easy Bake Oven and, with help from their mom, they baked some treats by the heat of a lightbulb. I had one of those ovens when I was a kid and I have very clear memories of cooking up things in my basement.

Lake Effect Snow

New Year's Week was a snowy one around here. 8 inches of snow blanketed the area and I got to use the snowblower 3 times. My nieces and sister-in-law came to visit, making it much more fun to play in the snow!

Remember Film?

I know that digital cameras make blogging much easier, however I still prefer the pictures taken by my SLR camera with film. Maybe if I had a better digital camera I would change my tune. Here are some pictures from my October trip to Kansas and the Halloween fun my nieces had there. I finally got them developed today.

It All Depends On What You Call It

On Friday my nieces came to visit. They have visited many times before, and I've visited them in their new home many times already. This time was different, though, because it was An OFFICIAL Slumber Party.

They informed me ahead of time of the ingredients of a true slumber party: chocolate cake with pink frosting and "Slumber Party" written on top; movies; staying up late; a pillow fight; fingernail polish.

I added a few surprises of my own, including gaudy, plastic clip-on earrings for everyone and a pile of books from the local library. I made a giant bed in the living room for the girls and me to share. I think it was a great success. They seemed to love it, until I turned into a grown-up and turned over and went to sleep. We didn't quite make it to midnight as Cheyanne had hoped.

The Best Sandwich Ever

Cheyanne turned 6 last week. She was born 3 days after September 11, 2001. It was remarkable to see new life after so much destruction.

I'm so glad she's in my life! We celebrated her birthday last week with a family get-together. Her favorite present was a fake peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The Party and the Tricky Kid

I visited my family in Illinois last weekend. We had a farewell party for a friend of the family who we've know for over 20 years who is moving out East.

I stayed with my folks on Saturday night, as did my 2 nieces. When Cheyanne was getting ready for church on Sunday morning she proudly showed me her new "high heel flip flops" and asked if she could wear them to church. I told her, "Sure! I don't see why not." Well, turns out she had been instructed by both parents that she is only to wear them for dress-up around the house and NOT to clomp around at church in them. She's a sneaky one! What do you think? Are they church shoes?

The Last Warm Days of Summer

My youngest niece came to spend a couple of days with me before the rest of the family came for the Labor Day weekend. As you can see, I took her out in the kayak -- we call it the "otter boat." The nights were cool and she was able to wear the new poncho that I made for her.

The Flash Girls and the Little Guy

I had lots of company last weekend. My brother, sister-in-law, 2 nieces, my cousin, his wife and their 2 kids, my sister-in-law's mother and sister and niece, and my parents (just during the day). We had great fun!! The girls played with flashlights the first night and started calling themselves the Flash Girls.

Even when the fun turned from flashlights to frogs, they still insisted they were the Flash Girls. My cousin's little boy was allowed to play along a few times.

A Little Place of Our Own

A little tent in the sunshine, with a cool breeze and the occasional thrill of a drizzle...glorious!

Last Hurrah with Little Friends

We went to Como Park and Zoo in St. Paul, MN yesterday with our friends. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, with the temp probably barely reaching 80 degrees. The kids had great fun! My little godson will soon be 6 months old and you can't even tell by his size that he was born 6 weeks early.

House Sale from Child's Perspective

The house sold in less than 2 weeks. Cheyanne looked out the front window this morning and drew a picture of her house with the sold sign in front. The man in purple is her Dad and the woman in green is her mom. For some reason she insists on drawing women with what she calls "bottoms" between their legs. I've seen other kids do this. What's up with that?

Phony Job Posting

I'm still job hunting.

I spent the past week visiting my parents with my nieces in tow. It was especially nice to float in the lake at their cottage in Michigan in the 90 degree heat.

While at their condo in Illinois I got the local newspapers and found a job posting that read: "Post Office Now Hiring. Av. Pay $20/hr or $57K annually including Federal Benefits and OT. Paid Training. Vacations. PT/FT. 1-800-584-1775 Ext. 3801." I called and they kindly explained all the benefits I could receive as a postal employee. They reviewed the possible jobs at the postal service and the great money I'd be making. I willingly paid $126 for the 250 page study guide they would need to send me for the Postal Battery Exam and they explained how important it is for me to study and do well on the exam. Then this morning I used my registration info to download the study guide from their website and found out that they are not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service in any way and I can get study guides from the post office for FREE!! I was able to get most of my money refunded when I called back and told them I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau. I'm usually so good at spotting scams, but they got me on this one.

Determination

My niece, Cheyanne, has been so determined to learn how to do the monkey bars that she has blisters on her hands from her effort. She traveled with me to Chicago on the train over the weekend and then to Camp Friedenswald where she practiced at the park.




She did take some time out to dangle her feet in the cold water of Shavehead Lake with her Grandpa.