Gardening Dreams Coming True

This area used to hold, at different times, a dog's kennel, a swingset, and a swimming pool. We hauled away the yard of sand by hand in buckets and wheelbarrows (you can see the pile of it in the background) and are calling this our garden this year.

Grampa Schmitt came over with his tiller and prepared the ground for us. Only two different times did he come across a Leaverite rock. You mean you don't know what a Leaverite rock is ?? It's a rock so big that you "Leaverite there" !!

My very sweet and generous neighbor donated some extra strawberry plants she had in her garden. I worked the sod out and made this little square for them. I'll put in a short fence with a covering because I do not want to share with the birds !!

Picnic at Van Riper

Van Riper State Park has little cabins you can rent. They are cute, we just borrowed its picnic table for our supper together.

My sister Lynne came with her boy Kyle. She brought, among other things, Basil Lemonade. It was wonderfully unique tasting and delicious !!!!!

We did our fair share of swatting at the bugs, but the view of Lake Michigamme was worth all the suffering :-)

Tootsie was a little sad because the water was not accessible here. She didn't quite know what to do with her self. She spent most of the time at my feet under the picnic table like a good doggie.

First the hike at Craig Lake and then the picnic at Van Riper. A great day for all !!!

Francesca's 8th Birthday

Francesca turned 8 on Monday. She had been counting down the days for months :-) She chose this cake from the bakery..."the one with the doggies on it" !!!

Gabriella turned 14 last week....Marny is still 12 (for a few more weeks anyway) and Dominic is 9 in this pic. Vince belongs in here too, but is away at school :-(

Among her presents were Legos, Playmobil, and clothing. Here she is holding up a Lego Horsie trailer set from Gramma. It was assembled promptly the very next morning !!

The children's favorite restaurant...Ferdinand's in downtown Escanaba, They were kind enough to honor both Gabby's and Francesca's birthdays at this meal. Hey, free dinner on your birthday is pretty awesome for this Mommy :-)

Food, Glorious Food

What would you like to order for breakfast Francesca ? We are at I-HOP, famous for its pancakes, you know. "I think I'll have Macaroni and Cheese please." She must be 7 or something :-)

Gabriella and her Strawberry Belgian Waffles. I think she's happy.

Our weekend in Green Bay also included a visit to Coldstone Creamery. Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum. One yum for every pound I gained :-)

Olive Garden was worth the 40 minute wait to be seated. We had never been there before as a family, SOOOO good. Endless salad and bread sticks makes a bunch of kids and their Mom pretty happy. Oh, and Marnina's pizza was 5-stars !!

Vince playing with my cell phone during our wait for a table at Olive Garden. It's amazing how many things you can do with a cell phone. Thank goodness for technological distractions to help pass the time. I was busy watching people, my favorite pasttime :-)

The M-A-L-L

The mall in Green Bay is the closest large shopping center to us. We hardly ever get there, but needed to do some school shopping. Todd's cousin in California generously supplied some shopping money for that, so we got what we needed and couldn't resist a special treat for our day. There was a candy shop with imported candies from Germany. The kids each chose their favorite. Here's Marny with blue raspberry/vanilla thingies (?), her choice...........

And here's Gabby with malted milk balls, her favorite (mine too when a kid)......

Dominic chose the gummy snake, like every good boy should.......

And Francesca also chose the gummy snake, this is not something I would have done........ I hope this isn't indicative of anything :-) Needless to say we really enjoyed our time at the mall, and wish we could shop there more often, maybe when our status changes. Being unemployed does put a damper on outings like this one. Thank you California Angels for your generosity !!!

The F-A-I-R

The Dickinson County Fair in Norway, Michigan is great fun and close to home. Gabby and Marny just finished the Scrambler ride and they are looking quite Scrambled !!

Dominic is looking forward to squishing Marny around the corners !!

While watching the Magic Show, Rabbit ears suddenly appeared on Gabby's head !!

A Bloomin' Onion !! Can you say Grease Fest ??

And the "must have" of the Fair...Sweet corn-on-the-cob !! (L to R -- Francesca, Gabriella, Dominic, and Marnina)

A Special Treat for a Special Day

It's something I don't do very often. In fact, I really can't remember the last time I made them. But every so often I enjoy making whole wheat tortillas from scratch. They are so wonderful and wholesome. They smell terrific and taste splendid. A double batch makes 24, which is what I ended up with for this recipe. So good, so easy, I think I'll have to make these more often. My kids LOVE them, too. Gabby is in the pic holding it to her face, and she said " If only you could see my smile under here!!" What a great meal!