Crumbs

When Isaiah was a baby we camped frequently. Matthew and I had a nice system and it all worked very smoothly. For some reason once we started AdCraft the camping trips stopped. I'm not sure why other than Matthew was very, very busy and vacations were tricky to plan.

As a result of the camping stand-still, Anna's never camped. She has never slept in our tent, until last night. We weren't really roughing it or camping for real just spending the night in the tent. No pressure, no real planning. We just grabbed some blankets and pillows and all five of us (yes, Matilda slept in the tent too) tried it out. It went very well. I think we will become a camping family again very soon. The kids had tons of fun and we all fit, rather comfortably too.

Anna was tired so she fell asleep quickly. Isaiah and I were chatting as Matthew was arranging some items. Isaiah had smuggled a bag of Pringles into the tent and asked if I wanted some chips. I looked at him very seriously and said that we can't eat in the tent. He asked why and I just said it was against the rules. Isaiah looked very concerned and asked if I was serious.

"Yep.", I said.

"You mean like, with the government? It's against the law with the government?"

I giggled and just explained how we can't really get crumbs in the tent and that it was sort of a family rule but if we're careful we'd be okay. Thankfully the government isn't regulating any eating of Pringles in tents.

Although, I do think they have a problem with the eating of S'mores in tents.

Mama Robin

We weren't the only ones moving in last week to the new place. A mama Robin was making fast work of a little home for her babies. She is living on our patio under the overhang. We can see her sitting in her nest from our living room patio door. I'd post pictures but I'd have to find the camera and charger first. Stay tuned...



Unlike the Killdeer incident of last spring I have no worries of feral cats ruining our fun and Mrs.Robin's hard work. I think she's high enough and protected well. I thought for sure that little nest was going to blow away yesterday, it did not. Oh, me of little faith.



For now, we look out the patio window and see the very exciting act of Mrs.Robin sitting as still as a statue on her little clutch. Personally, I'm more excited to see hatchlings, this part isn't all that fun. Anna, however, is excited to see the Robin so close and unmoving. Maybe she's just more patient.

J.E.

And why, dear reader, have I waited 33 1/2 years to read Jane Eyre? This shall be my new favorite book.

Thanks a Bunch....... of grapes

Dear Matthew,

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you, a whole bunch.

Because......

Even though the hair lady yesterday asked if I wanted "red" highlights, I said sure only to discover she was putting red throughout my hair which made my hair and previous highlights a lovely purple/fuchsia color...

(This then made me cry on the way to Anna's preschool to pick her up and explain to all the other mamas at school that I in fact did NOT ask for purple hair and that I was not considering joining a punk rock band...)

Even though I called your cell and and the shop crying and trying not to sound like someone was in a car accident...

Even though I have to waste two and half hours of our Saturday morning while the hair lady fixes the purple/fuchsia mistake....

Even though I've been wearing my winter hat so nobody sees the horrible purple-ness of my hair and trying not to cry every time I walk into the bathroom....

You, Matthew, still said, "It's okay, I still think you're beautiful and you know what? I heard the popular color for fall this year is purple."

Thank you!
Love,
me

Double Take

As I was opening my bottle of beer this morning.... ha, I was making beer bread, justsoyaknow, I had to look twice at the bottle cap.

The beer was one of the New Glarus (WI) Brewing Company beers. On the top of the cap is a picture of Wisconsin and in bold letters encircling the state I read what I thought said, "Drink Responsibly". You know, don't drink and drive and all that jazz. Well, as I looked at the cap again I realized it said, "Drink Indigenous". I thought that was clever.

Okay, that's it. Go about your blog reading.

Overheard Conversation

Time: Yesterday 4:30pm

Overheard Speakers: Isaiah and Anna

Location: Isaiah (bathroom)
Anna (outside bathroom door)

Conversation:
Anna- Isaiah? Isaiah, where are you?
Isaiah- Anna, I'm in here. I'll be out in a minute.
Anna- Isaiah?
Isaiah- Yes?
Anna- I love you.
Isaiah- I love you too, Anna.

Milltown to Luck

Yesterday we needed something to do. We needed to explore something or discover something. We decided to go for a little ride on the Gandy Dancer Trail. This trail runs along an old train bed that went up to Superior. The trail isn't that long now but it goes through our county and Burnett county to the north of us.

A person over the age of 16 needs to purchase a trail pass, either a daily pass or an annual pass. Matthew nor I had a pass so we went to the trail head in St. Croix Falls at the Polk County Information Center and got all legal. We knew Isaiah wouldn't be able to make a really long trip, this being his first. Knowing this we decided to pick two towns with very minimal miles between them. We decided upon the section of the trail between Milltown and Luck. I believe they state the mileage between the two towns as 3.7, it came out a little more than that in actuality.

What we did was drive up to Milltown and park near a section of the trail that was accessible from the road. We unloaded all of our gear and started up the trail. Being that it was an old railway bed there were some nice trees along both sides of the trail, this helped with the shade.

This section of the trail crossed over a few roads, mostly little used country roads but at one point we had to cross over Hwy.46 where it splits from Hwy.35. I make Isaiah get off his bike and walk when we cross roads, we all do that. Matthew was the road crossing instructor and would tell Isaiah and I when to cross. It really wasn't bad but we were just being careful.

We initially had a lunch packed in a cooler that Matthew strapped to a little rack on the back of his bike. Had it just been us we'd have just munched our lunch and continued on our way. Being that the kids were hot we decided to take a little break at the Wren Cafe in Luck. They had really yummy food, organic and all natural. This cafe cost a bit more than we wanted to spend, since we had a FREE lunch in the cooler, but we were making use of the air conditioning for the kids. Oh well. There's also a restaurant in Luck called the Main Dish that has pretty good hometown food. We ate there for breakfast once and will probably go back there next time. It's cheaper.

We will also try other stretches of the trail occasionally, I know there is a nice looking park in Centuria that is also along the trail. That would be a nice town to stop in with a picnic lunch, next time.

The last photo of Anna shows her sans helmet and front flap of trailer. She normally wears a helmet in the trailer but since we weren't riding on a road and it was hot I thought she'd catch more breeze on the way home without the helmet. She seemed more comfortable this way.

I'm sure we'll be doing more summer rides on the trail and exploring different sections. Matthew and I are both looking forward to the fall rides, however. We are thinking the kids may enjoy it a bit more when it's not 83 degrees. All in all it was lots of fun and we are all looking forward to doing this again.

As a bonus when we were about 20 yards away from our truck at the end of our ride two fawns walked out onto the trail in front of us. The camera was behind Anna in the trailer so I wasn't able to shoot a picture without spooking them so I'll let you imagine the sight. We all stopped on our bikes and just watched the fawns try to decide it they should cross the trail or turn around and go back from where they came. After much deliberation they stomped at us a few times and then turned around from whence they came. It was a fun little treat to see the babies up close.

Sprinkle Fun

We had some sprinkler time this week. Earlier the temperature was a bit warmer. Yesterday the kiddos didn't spend as much time running through the water. I still heard lots of screams and giggles but high 70s just don't compare to low 90s.





Isaiah and Anna had to go "warm up" on the swing set in between sprinkler runs. Don't worry Grammy, nobody's lips were turning blue.




Matilda, on the other hand, stayed warm and dry and just watched.

Say Thanks - Gratitude Campaign

My mom sent me this video in an email and I thought it was a good way for my fellow introverts to speak up.

I Broke Down

We have not had real Kool-Aid in our household in years. Years! If we drink something other than water, milk, juice or coffee it's typically been Crystal Light. I believe when Isaiah was about 2 years old I purchased sugar-free Kool-Aid as a treat.

Today, at the store, I actually purchased two big containers of Kool-Aid. The kind with the measuring cup top.

What in the world was I waiting for? I just had a big ol' glass of grape Kool-Aid and all I can say is, "Oh yeah!". Yum, really. Who knew?

The Wait is Over

As someone who loves to read and really enjoys books I have been waiting for the moment that happened this morning.

I have been reading to Isaiah from the time he was less than a month old. We are always reading books. I read to Anna all the time as well. We read daily on multiple occasions.

Besides instilling a love for our Jesus, instilling a love of reading is right up there on my list. I was so excited when Isaiah really was able to read a simple book all by himself. It was really thrilling for me.

This morning one of the other major reading milestones I had been waiting for happened. Isaiah voluntarily climbed into Anna's bed with her this morning and cuddled her up with some baby dolls and stuffed animals and ..... A BOOK. As I was washing the dishes left behind by a husband, who shall remain nameless, I heard happy little voices from Anna's room. Isaiah was reading a Diego book to Anna. I had to get a photo of the happy event. Both kiddos are still all snuggly in their pj's and Isaiah is reading the actual words to his little sister and all of this was voluntary.

I did not tell Isaiah to help occupy Anna while I did some little jobs I had to do. He just wanted to spend some time with Anna reading. For some reason this just is amazing to me. Enjoying a good book is such a fun treat and I want Isaiah and Anna to have that treat. I think it's starting to become a reality. Yeah for them.

My Day

Warning: this post may be a little "gushy" but I write this blog for my family so I want to keep a little record of our day.

The day started off by drinking a cup of coffee made by Matthew, always nice to drink coffee not made by myself. Isaiah made me breakfast. He has a specialty that is all his own. He makes THE best buttered peanut butter toast. Just ask him. He has a whole routine that he does to get the PB toast just right. Along with a slice of Isaiah's famous toast he garnished the plate with three jelly belly jelly beans. Really. I was amazed.

I opened the gifts and cards my family chose for me and made for me. I received homemade cards and gifts and some not homemade cards and gifts. All very special and appreciated. Apparently my family feels I'd make a great president. The 2008 election dilemma is solved for our family. At the top of the card there is a removable pin that I think I'll be wearing from now on. The idea may catch on...who knows? At this point I'm willing to try anything.

We then headed up to church and enjoyed a sermon by Pastor Bob. Isaiah enjoyed Sunday School and Anna, the nursery. After which I received more cards and Mother's Day gifts. I feel loved.

Matthew planned a huge to-do for supper so I wanted something quick and easy for lunch and against Matt's better judgement he allowed a run through the McDonald's drive-thru. At first Matthew thought that a deplorable Mother's Day idea but, hey, I get to pick. The kids, however, agreed with me. After the drive-thru Matthew needed a few more items from the grocery store for the extravaganza that would be supper so the kids and I ate our lunch in the parking lot. Honestly this was my favorite part of the day. While we were waiting I asked the kids what they discussed at church. Isaiah's class has been studying the story of Moses. He told me about the part they talked about that morning. Earlier in the week Anna and I read the stories of Moses in her Bible so the story was fresh in her mind. Together, the three of us, we started at the beginning of Moses' life and we each piped in our memories of the story all the way through the parting of the Red Sea. There we were sitting in the car, eating McDonald's food, waiting for Matthew to return with groceries talking about God. That was the best present ever. I loved it.

We did have other activities planned though so the day did continue. Matthew came back to the car with groceries and a pretty bouquet of flowers. We drove home and while the kids and Matthew fed the birds outside I cleaned up the house some more for our company. My parents and sister came up for supper to enjoy a Mother's Day feast prepared by Matthew. This is the menu he served to us all. The theme loosely follows a tea service. We had homemade french onion soup, apple chicken crostini sandwiches, mini-flank steak sandwiches with blue-cheese sauce, Thai chicken skewer wraps, garden sandwich with feta spread and fresh Morel mushrooms. (Matthew's parents sent them up fresh from their home) Yum, yum, yum! He had a dessert planned but, understandably, we were stuffed.

As a special treat afterwards Matthew let Lamby run in the big pasture with the other three ewes that are there. This is really funny as Lamby just doesn't "get" that the ewes don't want to play with him like the kids and I do. Also, Lamby doesn't really run like other sheep. For some reason he only springs, like gazelles. It's rather hilarious. He's still too young to be out there as even though he's grown A LOT he could still slip under some of the gates that are there. That would not be good. After we all laughed heartily at the ewes' expense Matthew put Lamby back in his area. I'm positive Lamby slept like a log last night.

That was my day. Lots of fun, family and food. It was a nice day and I enjoyed it immensely.

Wishful Thinking

Monday morning was beautiful. Isaiah's been itching to sit outside on the deck and eat breakfast. I told him that'll probably be a daily occurrence once summer arrives...if it ever arrives.

I thought it would be fun to surprise the kids with breakfast on the deck Monday morning. It was nice enough to attempt. They both still needed sweatshirts and blankets but it was a pretty sunrise and we enjoyed the time together before Isaiah had to shuffle down the road to the bus.

We had to stay warm by eating oatmeal for breakfast. Other than the slightly chilly breeze I think we enjoyed ourselves.

After we finished breakfast Anna had had enough and went inside to warm up. Isaiah and I sat outside and chit-chatted. He asked me what I did for fun on summer mornings when I was little. I thought that was pretty cute of him to wonder. Made it even more difficult to send him off to school. We counted how many weeks left until summer break. Six more weeks. I think we can do it?

Carduelis Tristis

At our old home we had a wonderful bird sanctuary set up. It was a family pastime to sit in the living room window and identify the different types of birds that visited our yard.

Some of our favorites included a Baltimore Oriole and his family that visited us for two summers, the Bluebird families that came every year. The Red-Winged Blackbirds, Hummingbirds, Chickadees, House Finches, Goldfinches and last (as well as least) the Grackles that made their homes in the dying tree in the front yard. It was so much fun to sit and watch. They all stopped by the feeder at their appointed times. I'm not sure who organized the slots each group received but I tend to think it was the male Red-Winged Blackbirds. No offense, they just seemed a bit bossy.

While I was pregnant with Anna in the summer of 2005 I would get acquainted with the Hummingbirds that came to the window feeder. They actually dive-bombed each other if they lingered too long. I was close to them I could even tell the difference between the three that repeatedly came to sip the food. I appropriately named them Goose, Ice Man and Maverick. Clever, hunh?

My point being we really enjoyed getting to know the birds at our feeder. When we moved to our new home we were so very excited to "meet" the new birds. Well, we waited...and waited...and waited. Nothing. We occasionally saw some beautiful Cardinals, Blue Jays, Pileated Woodpeckers, Chickadees and even a rooster Pheasant a couple times. I was still lonely for our old friends.

Today I saw what I'd been waiting for (besides the Bluebirds I'm really excited to see return in a couple weeks) our first Goldfinch. I know these guys stick around all winter but we hadn't seen any. This led me to believe we wouldn't have any in our new setting. Today I was proved wrong. The Goldfinch was eating off a bell-shaped feeder of thistle seeds, their favorite. I was so excited and I think they just needed to be "shown" where the feeder happens to be. For the last few weeks we have been bombarded with Dark-eyed Juncos. They are everywhere! It's a bit creepy actually and I try not to think of Mr. Hitchcock's Birds while I see the 30+ birds feeding under the feeders in the woods. I'm thinking the mass activity had lured the Goldfinches in. Yeah!

Note: For all you FCCers know that my husband calls the Dark-eyed Junco's ... "Bill". Get it? I laugh every time. I wonder if they've heard that joke before?

Reading Game - 12345

<= That Girl tagged me with a reading game. I love to read so here are the rules. Play along if you'd like. All readers are officially tagged so go ahead if you need a blog idea. Who knows, someone may be reading the very same book and something fun could be started....

1. Grab the closest book with 123 pages.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

The closest book to me is the one I'm currently reading: Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. Karon also wrote the wonderful Mitford Series and Home to Holly Springs is the first in a series about Father Tim.

"Thank you for having me." The palm of her hand was cool; she wore a suit the color of the blue parlor walls.

"I didn't know whether you'd come."

"I wasn't so sure about it myself."

There you have it. Thank you to That Girl, this was fun. I love any excuse to share the book in which I'm currently involved. Jan Karon is one of my favorite authors so I'm happy to share 4 sentences of her new book.

If you've read this post and you love reading feel free to either take this to your blog or leave a comment. What are you all reading right now?

Wow!

I am so excited to say that Jessica has awarded me my first ever blog award. I'm stunned, really. Thank you Jessica. I don't even know Jessica, personally. Although I think I'd enjoy if I did. Jessica would be a great person to go out for coffee with, she's a southern gal y'all. She found my blog by chance, commented and I followed her back to her blog.

I shall follow the rules and pass along the award to five bloggers whom I feel blog with a purpose. Carla, -V- , KJ, Coffeegirl and Swampy. Thank you again Jessica.

I Elfed My Family.....gasp!

Silly? Yes. Did the family enjoy thems"elf"s? Why, yes they did.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1264111186

Sharin' the Love

All this talk of quilts, finished quilts, quilt retreats, etc. I just thought I'd share the love and show you all Anna's new quilt for her "big girl bed". My mom whipped this out in less than a month. Really! She stippled it. (quilting technique)


I picked out the colors I wanted from paint samples at Home Depot and mom took Anna's colors to the quilt shop downtown Hudson and found the perfect fabrics to match the colors.


Anna's blue bed is more a cornflower blue and the pink in her quilt isn't that intense. The camera's battery is dying and I don't know where the charger is yet, I think that's why the colors aren't true. Hazard of moving.


Thanks mom. We love your hard work.

FCC New Richmond and Friends

Well today we tried out Faith Community in New Richmond. We wanted to give it a try as New Richmond is 11 minutes from our home versus Hudson's time of 30 minutes. Matthew drives to Hudson everyday since that's where our shop is located so.... driving back every Sunday may be a bit much. Don't worry Hudson FCC-ers we will come back occasionally. So no scolding, okay?

We figured we would like it since it is our daughter church. Matthew did all the sign work for the new building so he knows Pastor Mike personally which is nice. It was cool! We bought our new home from Keith and Patty Thomas and they attend the N.R. church so we were able to see them and meet some of their family members. Very welcoming but, being the introvert I am, a tad overwhelming. As soon as we chit-chatted a sufficient amount I scooted out to get my kiddos. Matthew wanted to then stay, grab a coffee, mingle, introduce me to Pastor Mike, ya know... extrovert stuff. I declined and said meeting Keith's brother and sister-in-law was good enough for one weekend. Thanks for the offer.

It was kind of like going home to your aunt's house. It's not home but it's still nice. Who knows maybe someday it will feel like home? Again... no scolding we WILL come back occasionally. Anna seemed to be fine going to her nursery area and Isaiah will enjoy his group, too. I think the move is hard for Isaiah because he's known the kids his age in Hudson all his life, or at least the majority of his life. Coming to school in Osceola and meeting new kids at Faith in N.R. is such a different experience for him. No matter what he's done he has always known at least one other child from somewhere along his little journey. Now, he knows not one person. I can tell it's wearing on him. He doesn't understand new friendships will take time.

The neighbor boy next door is playing football with Isaiah right now in our front yard. Isaiah's been looking forward to that all weekend! Our neighbor is a second grader and rides Isaiah's bus so Isaiah feels a connection. I actually let Isaiah run next door and ask if Hunter could come over and play in the front yard. On Isaiah's way home to tell me the update I never saw him run so fast in my life! Hunter could in fact come over and Isaiah was so excited he nearly flew home to tell me. This too is a new experience. We have never had neighbors in which to invite over to just play outside. I grew up with that and those memories are some of my favorites. I am excited for Isaiah in that respect and I'm sure having Hunter next door will be very helpful for Isaiah.

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon and are the quilters home yet???????

BB Gun Rules and Hunting

This is just an FYI regarding the deal with the BB gun Isaiah received, and LOVED, last night.

The gun only comes out of the locked gun cabinet when Papa is taking it out. Isaiah is never allowed to even look at the gun unless Papa is right there with him. He must always wear the protective goggles I personally picked out.

We will be shooting at paper targets only, for awhile. My rule: No shooting people or pets. Clever, huh? That rule applies to all guns, pretend or real. No fun...I know.

He will take hunter's safety, though not yet. I know Matthew will instill all the right rules and precautions on his own. Also, I'm afraid if Isaiah takes hunter's safety now Mr.TooBigForHisBritches, Isaiah, will think he's all set for the real deal. I don't think so.

I did not grow up in a hunting family. My dad went deer hunting, read drank beer and played cards, with his buddies when he was younger. I was two the last time my dad went hunting. As a result when I witnessed the phenomenon that is hunting in Matthew's family I was a bit taken aback. This family eats, sleeps, dreams all things hunting. Deer hunting is a national holiday in the Rolli family.

Being the anti-girly-girl I was faced with the decision of staying in the house with the girls or joining the boys in the woods. Hmmmm? I figured if you can't beat 'em join 'em. I went out with Matthew one year just to see what it was like. They drive deer in that part of the state as opposed to sitting in deer stands. Hard work. I liked it though so I thought I better get myself into a hunter's safety class. The adult class I took was just for a weekend so it didn't get drawn out like Kristi's experience. I also told myself that I had to ace the class or I wouldn't be qualified to hunt. Harsh, huh? I did ace my class so I allowed myself to the next season.

Driving deer is a group effort. The drivers walk a determined area and they all have to stay in a line or the deer will scoot through the drivers. The drivers are not right next to each other and sometimes you can't even see the drivers that are next to you so it is a tricky skill to master.

The sitters sit at designated areas in hopes that the drivers will push a deer or two their direction. I mostly was a sitter as my legs weren't long enough to keep up. This is good and bad. Good because driving is hard work. Bad because you could be sitting for a good two hours and when it's cold and you have to "go" it can be a loooonng wait.

Anyhow, I did get a really nice doe my first year. I got initiated too. When you get your first deer and you gut it Opa Rolli smears your face with the blood. A little blood if it's a doe, a lot of blood if it's a buck. Sounds gross but it's pretty cool.

I was only able to hunt for two seasons as my baby boy was born and as a result, I've been a mom for the last seven years so hunting hasn't really worked out. I know I'll go out again and will love every minute of it. Eventually. Anna will most likely enjoy hunting, too. How do I know? When we watch the Outdoor Channel she gets mad at the hunters on TV and says, "I no want dem to shoot dat bear, I want to shoot heem." So, I'm just guessing here but she might be wearing Isaiah's hand-me-down blaze.