Montpelier Reservoir

Not sure what to say about this...except that it was a gorgeous day, the water was high along with the sun, and we played hard.

Paper Toys!

I'm in love. With paper. And this fun website: http://www.thetoymaker.com/2Toys.html . Enjoy! We just printed off and made the fairy furniture, cute!!!

North Carolina

Well, well, well. We're here. I can't totally say we're settled (I'm writing this as I WAIT for my children to get dressed so I can go to the grocery store for the first time)...

Oh, um, I stopped writing due to the need to assist those getting dressed. It's been hours since I started this post, and all I've done is

Take three. Third time's a charm, right? Perhaps. Right now, tummies are fed, older 2 are playing legos, and the third is supposed to be napping, but instead she's yelling about how she doesn't want to take a nap, despite the rubbing of eyes and inability to follow directions.

Tomorrow, we're going to try to make friends at a play group. This time of year, though, the playgroup takes place each week at someone's pool. A different one regularly, or so it seems. I'll have to see how trying to make conversation AND watch three novice swimmers is going to go. Might as well try, right? Plus, if I can drive for four days with three kids, I really can do anything--or so I'll tell myself.

Once I find the camera (it's here somewhere...) I'll upload photos of the rest of our trip.

Grandpa Tueller Had a Farm EIEIO!

MOO! The cows right after we gave them more feed.

Zach walking with Grandpa.

Those calf bottles were as big and heavy as she was! She did a good job.

Cow watching. Fence climbing. Life loving.

Payge meeting the twins. Aren't they cute!!?

The Last Days

Our last days in South Bend were bitter-sweet. You know you have good friends when those who want you to stay the most are the ones who help you leave. It was hard to leave such friends behind, knowing that only via the computer and occasional visits would we get to keep in touch. Weekly play dates, beach visits, or card games would not be the norm any longer. Although, on the upside, perhaps my desire to eat a brownie every Sunday can be squelched since those I'd eat them with aren't there anymore.
We had a good time eating ice cream on the floor (for some, actually ON the floor...others where bright and kept it in their cups...) of our home. We had just gotten our power back, so it was pleasant to sit in the air conditioned room.

We also had a potluck with friends. I would have gotten more pictures, but I was busy getting hugs instead. Personally, that works for me.
Nadine! My talented, beach loving, Fernwood going, wood cutting, book reading (list could get longer, so I'll stop), friend. So many good memories were made.
Golly, Cheryl, you'd think we never spent time together from this photo! Quite the contrary, actually. We'd go yard saleing, running, shopping in Shipshewanna, have play dates, experiment with food storage ideas (remember those instant beans we made from black bean flour?), sing, stay up later than we should, and sometimes just go to the park.

I'll see you all when you come visit me in NC!! I'll be there, fluffing the towels.

Moving Day

The big day has come and gone. Our home is now for sale (click here to see the listing!), and we've started our trek to North Carolina. We're going about it in quite the round-about way, however. From South Bend, to Idaho, to Utah, to Idaho to Ohio, to North Carolina. Yeah, we'll get there eventually. There are just so many wonderful people to see (and meet--new babies in the family definitely deserve a visit, don't you think?).
Here are the kids in the empty moving truck. They played and played while we got things ready...and then filled that sucker up! Who knew that having a family and staying in one place for just four years would cause a person to collect so much? Of course, I have to admit that about ten of the boxes were totes full of our food storage--wheat, rice, beans, etc. I should add that the elders quorum in NC wasn't thrilled about helping move wheat up to a second story town-home. Sorry guys! I'll bake bread out of it when we get there!!!

Zachary and Stephen trekked out to North Carolina without us to put all the stuff into our rental. I have no photos of what the girls and I did while they are gone, so you'll have to use your imagination. First, I had two WONDERFUL friends take my girls while I painted every room in the house. Then I hired cleaners to come and scrub all of the rooms and tidy up the mess I'd made from painting. During this time, our power was gone due to wind storms that had 90 mph winds blowing down trees and everything else you can imagine. Funny thing is, our trash can was still standing in the end, and that thing blows over with the smallest of storms. I decided that must be one of my little miracles--not having to clean up another mess.

Sadly, I forgot to dig up my irises before I left. Perhaps I can swing through and get some...OR, maybe I'll just have to deal with it. Plus, where would I put them in my apartment?

So Much To Do!!

We have been very busy the past week or so. I've tried to upload photos, but it just isn't working. So, dear friends, when this trip is over, there will be thousands of posts to read, all with photos.

Here are a few things we've done that I'll expand upon later:

• Introduced Payge to farm animals.
• Zachary helping Grandpa T. prepare the farm for morning.
• Payge feeding calves for the first time (with those huge baby bottles that are the same size as she is!)
• The kids meeting Grandma & Grandpa Browning's new dog (a white boxer--who is still a pup but is taller than my kids) named Yeager-Meister. Yes, like the drink.
• The twin calves each sucking on one of Payge's hands. She was a little weirded out.
• Letting the calves use Zac's fingers as pacifiers while they waited their turn for their bottles.
• Water fights with cousins.
• Teasing all my teenage nieces about their "teen droppings" (ie. the ipods and cell phones we found all over Gma&Gpa Browning's house before the water fight)
• Visiting with old neighbors, and letting them meet my children (so fun!).
• The girls helping with yardwork by riding the lawnmower with Gpa Browning.
• Taking Yeager-Meister on a run with me, and finding that this huge dog is afraid of cattle.
• Payge singing EIEIO every time she sees an animal.