Summer Requirements

Summer is in full swing. Jenna told me that every week she wants to go to the pool, the zoo, and take a family bike ride. This week we did all those things! So far so good. 

Things have gotten a little exciting for me also. I found out on Thursday that I'll be teaching a new class - the intro C++ class. I've taught the advanced C++ class several times but never the intro class. Normally I have more time, but I only have a week to develop the labs and lectures. Crossing my fingers I can do it in time. Then today I also found out I have another online class. So my summer just got kicked up a few notches in busyness. Hopefully Jenna will understand if I can't do those 3 things every week.

Yummy corn

At the zoo, Jenna wanted to do the pony ride. Normally I say no because that's the kind of Mom I am (mean) but I was in a money-spending mood (I'm actually normally in this mood) so I said yes. I bought a ticket for all 3 kids. What was I thinking? Putting Matthew by himself on a horhey (his word for horsey) all by himself? Well all 3 kids LOVED the pony ride. Including Matthew. Afterwards he kept saying "Mattmoo horhey". He wanted another ride.

The kids took swimming lessons this week and really enjoyed it. Sarah and Matthew were in the same class and Jenna was in an older kids class. All 3 of them went to the diving board for the last day. Sarah and Matthew were lowered into the water while Jenna was left to jump herself (she turned around and walked back down). Next time Jenna can jump off.

Matthew jumping off the diving board

Sarah jumping off the diving board and Jenna on the other diving board

My parents took the kids Thursday so Erik and I had all Friday to ourselves. We worked all day (I actually finished my grading early!) then went to see Man of Steel. The movie was great and it was nice to be on a date. Then we went to Starbucks and sipped our lattes free of worry and screaming kids. It was bliss.

On Saturday morning we planned a bike ride. After about 2 miles Erik's tire blew and it was as loud as a gunshot. So we walked the bikes back. At least we were only 2 miles away.

Then we went to my parents house for a big birthday party. We celebrated my Dad's, Matthew's, mine, and David's birthdays all at once.

Matthew successfully blew out the candle. He will get his wishes of always driving in the car, riding bikes, playing with playhouses, cars, and trains, and never taking a nap. Ha!

62 points on Quiddler today

Celebrating 3 with 11 kids!

We celebrated Matthew's third birthday by camping at Cross Creek Campground this weekend. We camped with three other families and had an amazing time. There were a total of 11 kids with us and I tried to get some pictures with all of them facing the camera. Good luck to that endeavor. The following were the best I could do. The ages were from 8 to 3 (Matthew was the youngest). 

11 kids: Maddie, Emmerich, Nicholas, Ainsley, Lucas, Jenna, Haven, Sarah, Reagan, Nate, and Matthew

Nice photobomb Duane

 We camped from Thursday - Sunday. One of Jenna's friends from school, Grace camped with us Thursday to Friday afternoon. I had 4 kids on Friday to keep track of since Erik went home to work. It ended up working out really well since Erik was able to do his job in peace and we had fun at the campground.

Happy Birthday Matthew!

We celebrated Matthew's birthday with red, white, and blue cupcakes and cooked brats on the fire. I also ate several smores with reeses cups. These really are a vast improvement over traditional smores.

The girls both loved the gem mine at the campground too. They mined for fossils and gems and found some sharks teeth, petrified wood, and fools gold. We swam in the pool, played with water balloons, and then mother nature thought we needed more water so we were drenched in rain on Saturday night. Even so, it was still a great camping trip and I hope to go on more camping trips with our friends.

In other news:

1. Erik's parents will move here in just one week! It hardly seems real that they will be so close. Yipee!
2. It is finals week for me and tonight (Monday) I gave a final. Partway through the final exam the power went out. Since the final is all computer based this was a bummer (for the students, not for me). 
3. I read the Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn in a few days (since there is a waiting list at the library). This book draws a parallel between ancient Israel and America based on Isaiah 9:10. I thought it was intriguing and it could be a good book club book.
4. Our book club is still reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. We are about halfway through. His writing really is poetic, weird but poetic.
5. I'm also in the middle of both the Unincorporated Man and The Gripping Hand. So my summer reading is all set. I'm pokey but I'll finish them all.
6. Next week I have a one week break from teaching. During the week, I'm hoping to help Erik's parents settle into their house, prep my lectures for a new class I'm teaching, work on the database as part of my new subcontractor job, and beg Erik to make me a decadent cake for my birthday.
7. 85 points in Quiddler today

Opening Lines

I like to judge a book by its cover. I also like for an opening line of a book to grab me and pull me into the book.

So I made a list of my top ten favorite opening lines of a book. While I could have opened every book I read and reflected on its first line, instead I listed the ones I really remembered or liked a lot.


My favorite opening lines going from 10 to 1

10. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
9. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." ~The Hobbit, JRR Tolkein
8. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" ~Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
7. "The story so far: in the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." ~The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams

6. "Prince Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity." ~Elantris, Brandon Sanderson

5. "In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" ~The Bible, God

4. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way-in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." ~A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

3. "The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."~Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan

2. "What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And Brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me." ~Love Story, Erich Segal

1. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” The Gunslinger by Stephen King

I'd love to make a list of my favorite quotations from books but it is impossible to remember all of these. I do really like the Litany Against Fear and sometimes say it in my head when I am afraid (like when I go down to the basement) 

75 points on quiddler today

Father's Day and Interviews

We had planned to ride our bikes to church on Father's Day but it rained. Erik said his favorite family thing to do was to ride bikes. Luckily later in the evening we rode to a park almost 4 miles away. Which means approximately 8 miles round trip (fancy math, that). Jenna rode her bike the entire way - her longest bike ride!

Erik took the kids to Toys-R-Us and Justice to use up some gift cards for Fathers Day. I stayed home and read a book. That was pretty great too. Then I made him a dark chocolate cake filled with toasted pecans and homemade caramel sauce. It was delicious and very rich.

My Mom requested I interview the kids. So here are my interview questions below.

Jenna's interview:
1. What is your favorite food? Pancakes
2. What is your favorite color? Aqua
3. What do you want to be when you grow up? Geologist
4. What is your favorite toy? The stuffed animal Jenna sewed herself
5. What is your favorite restaurant? Olive Garden
6. What is your favorite movie? Charlotte's Web
7. What is your favorite subject? Art

Jenna and her stuffed animal

Sarah's interview:
1. What is your favorite food? Shrimp
2. What is your favorite color? Red
3. What do you want to be when you grow up? Engineer
4. What is your favorite toy? Monster High doll
5. What is your favorite restaurant? Noodles
6. What is your favorite movie? Hydee and the Hitops (free movie with skechers shoes)


Matthew's interview (what Mommy thinks):
1. What is your favorite food? Raspberries
2. What is your favorite color? Yellow or Green
3. What do you want to be when you grow up? Very, very tall
4. What is your favorite toy? The barn with animals (aa-oo-oo is animals). 
5. What is your favorite restaurant? McDonalds
6. What is your favorite movie? 3 year olds do not sit long enough to watch movies

An awesome father!

All 3 kids on the tire swing

59 points today on Quiddler.

Surviving the week

I know that God does not give us more than we can handle. This week...I'm not sure.
All week I am babysitting Lauren and Jacob, my friend Lynn's kids and I know I've reached my limit. 5 kids is a lot. Especially since Matthew requires extra attention.

I took all 5 kids to Walmart because they wanted to buy fabric for costumes they were making. Never again.  Never. Again.  If they are all alive at the end of this week then it will be successful. I know it's Fathers day this weekend but I need a break, or maybe tequila. One of the two.

The kids in their costumes

Jenna's last day of school was June 4th. For her party, we had an ice cream sundae bar. This was a hit among kids and adults! The first week off of school the kids went to VBS in Plain City. They had a great time and have been singing the songs they learned. I've signed them up for 3 VBS's this summer!

Sarah, Lauren, Saatvika, and Jenna

 This weekend I took the kids to West Virginia to celebrate Erik's parents retirement. They had a retirement party after church on Sunday. Aunt Carol (Erik's Dad's sister) was there and it was good to see her. Erik's dad and his sister are in amazing shape for their ages. We went to the playground and Aunt Carol was up climbing on the equipment with Sarah :).

At the party, they church gave them a gift of a Windows 8 touchscreen laptop. Since my own was cracked by Matthew - I told them to keep it away from him. It's exciting they will be retiring and moving here in just a few weeks!

Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa!

 In other news, my friend Jen requested I make a peanut butter cheesecake. I really can't say no to such a request. I made this recipe and put chocolate ganache on top. It was fantastic. I love peanut butter and cheesecake so you just can't go wrong with this combination.

pb cheesecake

Maybe cheesecake goes with tequila? I'll find out after this week is over.

The secret to the best smores

I have discovered the most important camping secret in the world.  Smores with reeses cups. Seriously. Could anything be better?

This weekend we went to Alum Creek state park for a great weekend with the Brubakers. On Friday evening we had chicken kabobs. I put peppers, chicken and pineapple on kabobs and precooked them. We just warmed them by the fire for a quick dinner. Then we made smores with reeses cups. I never thought smores could be improved but I stand corrected.

All of us at Alum Creek Camper Beach

 On Saturday, Alum Creek had several activities and we went to almost all of them. In the morning the kids played at the playground, then we went fishing. Sarah caught 3 fish! All of the fish kept eating Jenna's worms off of her hook but we all still had fun. Lucas and Nate caught fish as well but they were done fishing long before my girls wanted to stop. The kids also went to a leeches and worms activity and a frogs and tadpoles activity. They were so exhausted by the end of the day. More smores for me. That's the kind of Mom I am.

Sitting by the fire acting like puppies

Sarah and her fish (bottom right by her skirt)

The kids fishing

Both nights we had huge thunderstorms but our camper kept us dry. We had a fabulous time and a nice relaxing weekend.

75 on Quiddler today

Pretty magical creatures

It's been awhile since I posted a top ten list and I know you have been secretly wishing I would post one. Well guess what!?! Today I've compiled a list of my top 10 favorite animals and my 15 favorite mythical creatures (don't want to leave them out)

Favorite Animals

tree frog

1. Stingray - (not the car) they are beautiful and powerful and look like they are dancing in the water
2. Butterfly - So colorful. Beauty through adversity.
3. Eagle - Majestic and powerful. 
4. Seashells (scallops, conchs, whelks, sand dollars, etc) - Such amazing variety. I have a seashell collection and have had it since I was little
5. Panther - sleek and fast and black. Like a ninja! Big cats are pretty cool animals. They are strong yet playful
6. Bluejay - I love their striking blue color
7. Elephant - Elephants are just fun. And they love peanuts like me.  I think I could be friends with an elephant.
8. Coral - Corals are so beautiful with their wide variety of shapes and colors. The zoo has an aquarium with coral that I love to watch. I wish I could have my own aquarium with coral at home.
9. Treefrog- I've never seen one (I've never seen a panther either), but I love their beady red eyes and green skin.
10. Turtle - Turtles have existed from about the time of the dinosaurs. They even have their own shields!

Favorite mythical creatures

Nightmare

1. Unicorn - Who doesn't want unicorn powers? Unicorns are always good creatures who can heal people with magic
2. Phoenix - Rising from death to be even stronger than before, the Phoenix was a symbol in early Christianity
3. Elves - (not Santa elves) These are long lived, graceful and beautiful creatures. They love nature and are pretty good with archery like me.
4. Dragon - This would be Erik's number 1. Dragons embody all that is fantastic, majestic, and powerful in mythical creatures
5. Nightmare - The nightmare is the opposite of the unicorn, although it is not necessarily an evil creature. Its hooves and mane are on fire so you need to be careful when you ride it or you'll get saddle burn. 
6. Beholder - These were my favorite creatures in Everquest 2. They are giant eyes. You can't be in their blindspots.
7. Fairies - Fairies can be mischievous, yet helpful, tiny and airborne.  What's not to like?
8. Mermaids - Since watching Splash as a little girl, I've always thought it would be fun to be a mermaid. Think of how much faster I could be swimming in the triathlon if my legs could turn into a fish tail!
9. Centaur - this is not Mr. Tumns, he is a satyr. A centaur is half man/ half horse. Like a mermaid, if I was a centaur I could run really fast and beat everyone.
10. Gelatinous cube - When I first flipped through the D&D manual I found this creature. I find it amusing and disturbing at the same time. So of course it made my list.
11. Elementals - These are creatures made entirely of their element. I think air elementals are the coolest
12. Pegasus - A flying horse? Could anything be better? Yes. Me riding the flying horse!
13. Basilisk - This lizard has many interesting magical properties. Just don't touch it!
14. Golem - not gollum. These creatures are made of inanimate objects like stone, clay, brass, moss, beer cans, or the one ring and somehow they are alive.



Beholder

15. Griffin - This is a combination of a lion and an eagle. The king of beasts and the king of birds.

You will notice the lack of undead creatures on my mythical creature list. I don't understand the current popularity of zombies, vampires, skeletons, and other undead creatures. I just don't get it.

Also missing are goblins, orcs, and minotaurs. They are ugly. You may notice that many of my favorite creatures and animals are pretty (or at least not ugly).

95 points on Quiddler today

Marshmallow world

With the end of the school year comes ballet recitals. Both Jenna and Sarah are Marshmallow characters in their ballet recitals. Jenna is in the "big show" downtown at the Capital theater (3 hours long!!). Both girls are dancing to the same song "It's a marshmallow world in the winter." 

Jenna is doing ballet and Sarah is doing tap dance.  They are doing a great job in dance and they are adorable! Matthew also loves "baayet" and always wants to dance with his sisters.

Sarah had her last day of preschool on Wednesday. She had a graduation ceremony complete with diploma. Now she is officially a kindergartener. The mom next to me was in tears. Her youngest of 4 was going to kindergarten. Maybe I will be in tears when Matthew goes to Kindergarten. Probably not.

Sarah Graduating from Preschool

My little marshmallows

Sarah at Dress Rehearsal

Jenna all ready for her performance

Jenna is on the far right in the back

In other news:

1. I have been hired as a subcontractor for a networking/barcoding company. They need some programming and SQL solutions and I'm so excited to do some work in industry. It will be only a few hours a week and is perfect for me!
2. Our coo* book club is now reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. We've read the first 4 chapters and all I can say is "weird but interesting". I'm already into the book so we'll see what happens.
3. I'm also reading the Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin. This book is fantastic! The best sci-fi book I've read in awhile.
4. The third book I"m reading is Niven and Pournelle's The Gripping Hand. This is the sequel to the Mote in God's Eye. I really enjoyed that book and the sequel is good too.

Walking and Donuts

Every year for Mothers day I spend time with each of the kids individually. Just as with last year, Jenna chose to go on a walk with me and Sarah chose to go to Tim Hortons and eat donuts. Matthew and I just played outside.

It's nice since they know they have my undivided attention and we can spend some quality time together. When I took Sarah to Tim Hortons I was expecting she might eat half of a donut. Wrong. Little Sarah ate an entire cream filled donut then promptly looked at me and said "Mommy I'm hungry." She has a special stomach for sweets. She wanted another donut! Um...no.  I have no idea where she got this crazy love of sweets. Must be a recessive gene.

Then I took Jenna to the Olentangy trail where we had a nice walk and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. And worked off the donut calories

Sarah and me at her Mother's day tea

Matthew has improving with his vocabulary so much he hardly seems like the same kid. He has a sense of humor and has realized he loves the word "no". All we hear is "no, no, no..." especially when driving home. He never wants to stop driving and he has great spatial memory. If we take a new way home, he remembers it and wants to go that way again. I told Erik he could be a taxi driver but Erik said we should have higher aspirations than that for him.

In other news:

1. I just finished "Let Them Eat Cake" by Sandra Byrd. This was a fun little book about a woman who works in a French bakery. I gave it to Jenna to read next.
2. Our coo* book club has finished Joel's book. This book was well-written and fun to read together. Next we read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's been on my list for a long time so I'm excited to read it.  
3. Erik has cut his calories really low so he can be awesome and fit for the triathlon and future tough mudders.
4. My goal is to do the monkey bars in the tough mudder - this shouldn't be a problem since I have huge guns. 
5. This weekend we are doing the Race for the Cure for my friend Lynn. Here is our page if you want to donate or walk with us. We are doing the 1 mile family walk and Amanda is joining us!
6. 99 points in Quiddler today

Little gems

When I asked Sarah what she's most excited about this summer her response was "camping." When I asked Jenna the same thing she said "being a 3rd grader and camping". Matthew, who has become a chatty cathy lately would probably say "lights." The kids love camping! This weekend we went to the Shelby/Mansfield KOA. The place was fantastic, the weather did not cooperate though. 

Last year this same weekend we contemplated swimming. This year we were wearing sweaters and coats. And our carbon monoxide detector broke in the camper so we couldn't use our propane heater (really carbon monoxide doesn't seem like a bad way to go). Erik went to walmart and bought boards and electric heaters. Matthew again escaped from the camper crib and was up until 11:30pm on Friday night!  So Erik fashioned a stockade to keep him in the crib. 

Matthew in the tunnel at the campground

Mothers day card crafts

 The most exciting part about the campground is their gem mine. We bought two bags of dirt, one that may contain emeralds and rubies and another that may contain other gemstones. The kids sifted through the dirt to discover treasures. Both girls have rock collections (I confess I have a rock collection too) and they had a great time searching for treasures. They found several really nice gems also. Matthew just dumped the leftover rocks.

Gem mining

We had a fabulous time at the campground and to top it off we got ice cream. You can see the kids (one scoop!) bowls of ice cream below. This is on the order of Nelsons in Minnesota.  I shared mine with Matthew but Jenna ate her whole bowl of ice cream! We had to throw away half of Sarah's - she just couldn't finish it :).

Just a little ice cream

A beautiful butterfly in our backyard! 

 Our first camping trip of the season was a blast. A chilly blast, but still a blast. I'm looking forward to camping this summer too.

48 points on quiddler today

Geeking out

I spent this week at the Faculty Symposium in Atlanta and had a wonderful time. It's great to meet faculty from all over the country to share ideas and network. There is a push for all faculty to have PhD's so I was able to tell everyone about my program and experiences. Lots of people wanted to talk to me about it so I felt popular. Considering I was the girl in school with the glasses and braces reading sci-fi books, being popular is a little foreign to me.  I feel ya Amy Farrah Fowler!

Columbus faculty at the Symposium

Pam and Me - she is from Fremont, California and my good friend!

I got home Saturday morning at 1am and that evening Jenna had a girl scout sleepover at the zoo. She toured the zoo until 11pm at night and rose early to do another round of hiking at the zoo at 7am. She is exhausted now and had so much fun. I'm sure she will crash soon.

Jenna's brownie troop at the zoo

On Saturday I took the kids for some family fun. We went to the pink moon cupcake bakery and the park. I love the pink moon cupcakes. I am unable to duplicate their yumminess. Their cupcakes are so rich and delicious - I love the buckeye flavor (chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting)

Sarah at Pink Moon

Back in college Erik and I would buy a couple packs of magic cards, make decks and play with whatever we got. Last night we did just that! We bought some magic cards and although we haven't kept up with the new rules or expansions, we had a blast. He played a green and white deck and I played a red and black deck. My favorite color is blue since I really like the merfolk and tim cards but the new expansion didn't have much merfolk in it. And we watched a Chronicles of Riddick marathon. Basically we geeked out.

66 points on Quiddler today

He is tough enough

Erik earned tons of manly points this weekend by completing the Tough Mudder. He did this as part of the annual "man trip" with his friends. The Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile course with 22 obstacles. The obstacles are challenging and filled with mud. It seems like boot camp. 

Erik loved it! He said it was more fun than the triathlon. We are planning on doing it next year together.

Island Hopping obstacle

Berlin wall obstacle - Erik said this was the hardest

"Erik" on the monkey bars

A bruise from his tough mudder

 He had a great time this weekend even though he has a few bruises and scrapes. Those are scars of manliness!

While Daddy was gone, Jenna and  Sarah drew pictures on the whiteboard. I though it was cute when Sarah drew a picture of Joel (the J is backwards). It says "A Joel".

Sarah's picture of Joel on the left

70 points on Quiddler today

Jenna the biker

Growing up one of my favorite snacks was "ants on a log". This consists of celery topped with peanut butter then topped with raisins (not real ants). Yum! We don't always have celery at the house (who does?) but we happened to have spinach. Jenna thought it would be delicious to make ants on a log with spinach. Tiny victory dance. For this I really should get a good Mom award. Who would have thought you could make ants on a log MORE healthy??

Obviously Sarah did not want "ants on a spinach leaf" and instead opted for the cupcake.

For you Mommy...no spinach for me

Ants on spinach

 Now that the weather is nicer we are back to walking home from school. I pull the wagon with Matthew and Sarah sitting peacefully to pick up Jenna from school. As soon as Jenna exits the building Matthew is giddy with excitement. He grabs her hand and walks with her the entire way home (while Sarah stretches out in the wagon).

Walking home from school

 Today we took our first family bike ride of the year. The most exciting part of it was that:

Jenna rode by herself!

Jenna rode to Handels ice cream and back. This is a 4 mile round trip and she did a great job. She was rewarded with cotton candy ice cream too! Sarah now moved to the trail bike on the back of Erik's bike and I only toted Matthew in the trailer. Nice! I'm excited for us to bike more as a family.

I think she's ready for pelotonia 

Jenna, Daddy, and Sarah biking

73 points on Quiddler today

My new brother-in-law

Congratulations Missy and Dave!

On Saturday Missy and Dave were married in a beautiful ceremony and a fabulous reception. 

Wedding collage

At 8:35 am (the wedding started at 3:30pm but we got there early for hair and makeup). Amanda's friend Jodi did everyone's hair and makeup. The girls were very excited to have their hair and makeup done and said they looked like "princess rockstars." Matthew would not take his sunglasses off so Missy and Dave's ringbearer looked pretty cool walking down the aisle. The church was a very quaint country church that might only hold about 100 people. With the flowers and decorations it was a beautiful, cozy ceremony. During the ceremony I cried - this time tears of joy!  Amanda, Megan and I had tissues hidden in our flowers. Dave and Missy were crying during the ceremony too. We really love Dave and are so excited he is part of the family now.

Missy looked amazing; whether it was Jodi's makeup or her inner glow she was radiant! 

The reception was so much fun. The food was unbelievable. We had roasted vegetables, pasta, scalloped potatoes, beef tips with mushrooms, and chicken. Then we danced the night away. Missy and Dave had a photo booth which the girls loved. The kids danced all night long. Matthew loved dancing so much we had to drag him away from the dance floor (literally kicking and screaming) at 10pm! I really loved the cookie buffet too. I ate two boxes worth of cookies - they were so yummy. This was a fantastic weekend and I gained a brother-in-law! Congratulations Mrs. Monhollen this is for you!

57 on Quiddler today

Chocolate cake tower

The day has finally arrived and Missy will be getting married this weekend. We are all so excited especially the girls who are ecstatic to be flower girls. They have been talking about it nonstop. Matmoo (that's what he calls himself) doesn't know what he is in for. He will be a fantastic ring bearer as long as he leaves the lights on in the church.  Last weekend I drove to Cleveland to meet Missy, Amanda, Megan, and Missy's friends at the Wild Mango Restaurant. The food was beautiful and delicious! I ordered seared sea scallops with crab risotto. Yum! Then Missy and I shared a "piece" of this chocolate cake. It was amazing!

Yes that is a piece of chocolate cake with spun sugar on top

 I am beyond excited that Missy is marrying a wonderful, Christian man who will soon be my brother-in-law!

Jenna had her second grade musical and her class was celebrating Mexico. The other classes celebrated Ireland, China, Iraq, and Russia. They sang a song in Spanish and even did a little dance. Jenna is the fourth one over in this tiny picture. She is almost done with second grade.

Jenna's 2nd grade musical performance

Erik and I both like computers. This can be a problem sometimes. Today I bought a Windows 8 tablet. I'm excited about it even though there is no start button anymore.

73 points on Quiddler today

My VIP

Sarah is now registered for Kindergarten in the fall and was the VIP (very important preschooler) of the week at preschool. She got to wear a crown all week (princess Sarah) and make a poster about herself. If you are wondering about the shot in the corner in which her tongue is blue - yes that is correct.  Below is the picture. It defines Sarah's fun spirit.

Sarah VIP of the week

Blue tongue

On the Monday of Spring Break we went to Entertrainment Junction in West Chester, OH. The kids loved the huge indoor model train layout and the play area. They especially loved the funhouse. Erik battled motion sickness but the kids and I had a blast! Then we went to visit our friends Julie and Randy and saw their two boys Nicholas and Nathaniel. We ate pizza and cookies and had a fun time visiting with them.

Entertrainment Junction

Funhouse

Our Coo* book club is now reading Queen of Men by the wildly famous author Joel Cooper. It's fun to read this book together and it has prompted more discussion than some of the other books we've read. I have already read the book but I'm excited to see what other people think of it. This is a great book and I hope he can publish it someday. 

The weather is starting to warm up and we've been outside every day. Erik even went biking today and I went running. It feels good to be outside enjoying the sunshine.  I feel like my friend Lynn is looking down on us and smiling.

77 points on Quiddler today

Never far from me

"When you are born you cry and the world rejoices. When you die the world cries and you rejoice."

This a quote from the eulogy at Lynn's funeral today. The funeral was nice until Joe sang and played a song on the piano called "Never Far from Me". He couldn't make it through the song and everyone in the church was sobbing.

I still don't understand, and cry every day, and miss her so much. Please pray for Joe, Lauren, and Jacob. Joe has amazed me with his faith and eloquence.

Some good things are happening to outweigh this tragedy. Erik's parents are closing on their house tomorrow and have received an offer on their current house. It looks like everything is falling into place for them to move here this summer.

Missy is getting married in a little over a week and we are all looking forward to the wedding. I am also going to the Bachelorette party this weekend.

At some point life will go back to normal just as it did when Scruffles died. Just when I think I can shed no more tears...I'm wrong.