Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Eggs


I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I get our eggs delivered.
That's right. Delivered to my door. It's the nicest thing ever.

It's so much fun to open up the box and see what is inside.

These guys were bursting out of their "Extra Large" box.




And this week, we got a green one!



We love our neighbors! Thanks Jeff!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

FFA

Logan joined the Future Farmers of America last week~ Just in time for "Take your tractor to school day".
 

 


A tight squeeze!
 


They had a blast- on the way there, on the way home, and at Hardees in between!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Sunday=Family Day


Sunday afternoon we headed into Fort Wayne to catch a Komet Hockey game. The Komets lost, but we had a great time anyway!
 
 

 
American, Dutch, Dutch, Austrian, American, German, German.
Logan, Marieke, Janneke, Jackline, Hayleigh, Shelly and Elena.
Isabelle and Elizabeth are back there too!



These two girls. Oh my. Personality overload. And William loves to harass them!



Poor sweet Janneke... I'm afraid we've shocked her pants off.



...and this is how Jackson spent the first two periods- at one point he woke up, looked around and pulled the hood over his face. Sweet boy has his daddy in him!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Sinterklaas Present

Saturday afternoon we picked up the Sinterklaas present.

 

Such a touching moment to witness between best friends.

We are having a fabulous time getting to know Janneke and getting to know Marieke better!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

A Cowboy- Like Daddy.


I bet you've never heard ol' Marshall Dillion say
Miss Kitty have you ever thought of running away
Settling down would you marry me?
If I asked you twice and begged you pretty please
She'd have said yes in a New York minute
They never tied the knot
His heart wasn't in it
He just stole a kiss as he rode away
He never hung his hat up at Kitty's place

I should've been a cowboy
I should've learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl's hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
Oh I should've been a cowboy

I might of had a sidekick with a funny name
Running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James
Ending up on the brink of danger
Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers
Go west young man, haven't you been told
California's full of whiskey, women and gold
Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars
With a dream in my eye and a prayer...
In my heart

I should've been a Cowboy
I should've learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter
Riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl's hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
Oh I should've been a cowboy

I should've been a Cowboy
I should've learned to rope and ride
I'd be wearing my six-shooter
Riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl's hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
Oh I should've been a Cowboy
Yeah I should've been a Cowboy
Yeah I should've been a Cowboy


He wants to be a cowboy. Just like daddy
Jackson Ryan
February 2013

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Photography Project

Marieke is taking photography this semester. She is really enjoying it and has gotten some fun shots from around the farm:
 
 








 
 
It's been fun to see this place through her eyes!


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Swoosh

Oh, the things I find when I download the pictures from my phone....
 
 
 




William Thomas
February 2013

Me. Today.

I hate to say my life is busy because I know everyone's life is busy.

But man. I'm ready for a change up. One of the things I like about blogging getting all the junk out of my head.

So.
  • I usually average 25 appointments a month for work- November and December are typically slow- my February, March and April already have 40+ appointments on the books. blech. It wouldn't be all bad except for all the paperwork that comes with it.

  • Elizabeth has her last basketball game/s this week. *phew*. Just in time for track. Practice starts in two weeks. ~insert eye roll~

  • Marieke signed me up for 'instagram' to say I love it would be a total understatement. You can follow me at: sarahanguilm.

  • We had Steelhead for dinner tonight. Talapia last Thursday. Besides fish sticks (and I really don't think they count) it's the only two times I've made fish. The kids loved it, Ryan and Logan have had steak both nights.

  • Logan introduced me to a very addicting game: "What's The Word" or "4 pictures, 1 word". ugh. drives me crazy.

  • My face has been so dry with this crappy winter weather. I totally lubed up with Mary Kay's extra-emolleint night cream. I feel like a grease ball and my face itches. Any one else ready for summer?

  • I started the laundry on Friday night. It's still not done on Tuesday night.

  • Saturday, my friend Carol and I took our girls shopping. Five teenagers and Isabelle. Nine hours and a bubble bath later, I was wondering when my shopping stamina took a sharp dive.

  • Ruby had nine puppies on February 1st. Yes, NINE. again.  They are so darn cute, and have grown so fast. I seriously think you could watch them grow.

  • Ryan is recovering from his surgery very well. Thursday it will be one month- and we all will be happy that he can get back to his regular activities.

  • I made my nieces dresses. Sewing for me is like reading. When I get started I don't want to stop. The trip to Joann Fabrics on Saturday didn't help. Probably why the laundry isn't done.

  • Ryan and I went to dinner and a movie on Friday night. While we were eating dinner, a cute little girl came up to us carrying a box. She asked if we would like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies. Having a live-in Girl Scout of my own, I politley declined. Does that strike anyone else as innappropriate?

  • I made the kids clean up their toys in the basement on Sunday. It looks fabulous. They have Thursday and Friday off of school this week. I sure hope they are ready to play down there because I need to clean up my stuff now.

  • Marieke's best friend Janneke is coming in from Holland on Saturday. She'll be staying for a week. We are excited to have a peek into her other life. The day after she leaves, Marieke is going to California for week to see "my inner circle, my number one" (according to Marieke) I am so insainley jealous.

  • Friday night at the movies, I loved all of the previews for up-coming movies. Any one ready for summer? oh, I said that already.

I'm good for tonight. Thanks for listening.



Monday, February 11, 2013

Isabelle



Isabelle Josephine
Beauty Queen
 
February 2013
 
 
She has no problem posing for the camera.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Dutch Babies



Dutch Babies
 
 




Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
4 eggs

Directions:

While preheating the oven to 350 degrees, melt the stick of butter in a  9"x 13" baking dish.
Combine the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Pour mixture in pan on top of melted butter.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean.

As it bakes, it grows up the sides of the pan, and then falls a bit as it cools. The kids think it looks really cool.


*We usually eat with maple syrup, we also really like it with sauteed apples.
*I got this recipe from my mom, but cousin Jennifer makes it too. She calls it "Danish Pancake" and has slightly different measurements if I recall correctly. Maybe she'll leave a comment with her recipe. -hint-hint-

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Bathroom Organizing

I have a love-hate relationship with my bathroom drawers.
 
I love that they are big enough to hold everything I need, lots of things I want, and even more things I don't want or need.
 
What I hate is that they look like this:
 


When the builder installed them, he said: "Sure, I can put some dividers in, what do you want?"
Since I had no idea what I wanted at the time, I decided to wait and see what I needed.  "Feel out" the drawer- ya' know?

Two and a half years later, I don't really think I can call him up and tell him EXACTLY what I want.

I think I would like to try something like this:

 
Bamboo drawer dividers from Crate & Barrel. At this point in my life, they are a little more money than I want to spend on something no one sees but me.
 
I'm sure I could settle for something like these:
 
 
 
 
Cheap enough- not very customizable, and pretty ugly for even just me.
 
 
So, instead of spending money on something I don't like, and don't think will really meet my needs, I improvised.
 
Enter the cardboard box:





Over a period of a month or so, (let's be honest- I still am) I took note of the boxes we were throwing away, and saved different sizes and shapes, and cut them down to fit into my drawer.

I dumped my drawer out, put some boxes in, and started organizing.

And this, is what my drawer looks like now:



Everything is nice and tidy.

It turns out, I really did need all of those things in the drawer- except for few things....yes, that is a "Jenga" block.


And that, works for me!