It's a GIRL!!

Marieke Geeske Johanna

Arrived Tuesday evening at  7:36pm from the Netherlands

70 inches long and 60 kilos

We couldn't be more excited about having a new BIG sister!

Lemon Lush

My photo:

Their photo:

I'm sure mine tasted better.

I was first introduced to Lemon Lush by my friend Anita when we moved to Indiana over sixteen years ago. *gulp*

When I saw this pin on Pinterest- I realized it had been way to long since I had made it. Such a perfect summer dessert!

You can make your own- Here is the LINK.

*I left out the nuts... we're nutty enough.

Abby's Wedding

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Abby & Zach. Where I was referred to as "Sarah the babysitter". Ha! It's been a long time since I've been called that!

The setting was romantic

The bride was stunning

 

The groom was charming

The maid of honor was a gentleman



The flowers were beautiful

The dinner was delicious

 

The dancing was lively

The signature cocktail was tasty



My date? FUN!

I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends. (it's been awhile since I was up until 3 am just chatting!)

Thank you so much for having me, Scott & Nancy. You should be very proud of the wonderful children you have!

Fair Rides

Good grief.

The blogging around here... pretty sketchy.

Any who. The rides, The Rides, THE RIDES.

ugh. I hate those rides. (Last year I got lucky, and the carnival rides cancelled- woop woop!)

Every year during the fair my kids ask me no less than 63 million times a day if they can "ride the rides". I'm not joking. If my kids are anything, it's persistent.  I'm sure it'll be beneficial in their future. Not so sure about mine.

I decided a few years back, to hold them off until later in the week-after their animals had been shown, and then on ONE night, let them ride 'til their little hearts content.

And then, I got really smart, and hired someone to take them on the rides. Oh yeah. I got this parenting gig DOWN!

I, of course, show up later in the evening and take some photos for the scrapbook...I'm not a totally slacker mom.

This year, Kris, Noah and nephew Logan followed Isabelle and Jackson around from ride to ride, while Elizabeth and William ran a-muck with their friends.  (The carnies had a few more teeth than usual.. it made me feel safer)



On the "roller coaster" for like the fifteenth time. I love the hands!

The flying bananas didn't really do it for them, they only rode it a couple of times. They didn't really care for the carousel either. They did ride it like four times with me though...

On the other hand, they loved the motorcycles.
I know it's going to be short-lived, but I love that they still wanted to ride together. *sniff* *sniff*

Caprese Salad

 

Caprese Salad

My favorite summer salad. Hands down.

Fresh tomatoes from the farmers market, fresh basil from my herb garden, fresh mozzarella from Walmart... and the balsamic reduction? I made it. yup. yup.

I used Ree's recipe from The Pioneer Woman. You can find it HERE.

And, yes. That is my salad in the photo above. Be impressed.

Fair Time

Due to the incredibly hot summer we have had, Elizabeth and William were not able to walk their chosen 4-H animals like they should. In the past, they have walked the cows late in the evening when it had cooled off. This year was a different story. In the few weeks leading up to the fair we were having 100+ degree days. By the time it cooled off to a balmy 80+degrees... it was dark. And frankly, still too hot.

At the ninth hour and after much tumultuous thought, Ryan decided that it would be ok for the kids to take a few cows to the fair.

"Few" was 10 cows, which was less than half originally planned.

The kids had a great time, and did a fabulous job- a few pictures from the evening:

Loves the fence.

 

Thank heavens for my nephew- Logan. He was a lifesaver!

 

This just may be my favorite photo from this year...

 

The "Mama Wiss Cows"

 

Yes, his show number was 007!

 

"Are we done yet?"

This Crazy Busy Life...

Oh. my.

We've been busy.

We are expecting some very special guest in August- which makes me take a good look around the house and make a very extensive list of all the things that need to be "spruced up".

My mom flew in last Thursday to help me with this extensive list. We got a lot accomplished, but man, am I tired. And sore. Very, very sore. (she's a bit of a slave driver...) I took her back to the airport yesterday afternoon, and now the list is all mine. all mine. yikes.

I think the biggest news is the rain. We've gotten several nice showers over the last two weeks. Our lawn is greening up-I think we may even need to mow it. It is raining again today- a perfect time to re-group- and re-evaluate the extensive list.

Elizabeth went home with my mom, and William is at church camp this week.  Ryan and I feel young again with just 2 little people hanging around!

I am planning on posting some pictures of our recent activities... but first, my cat has been cracking me up. She's been trying out some new napping spots...

Jackson's bed. It's ok... he never uses it anyway.

And the towel for clean dishes? All snuggled up.

Milk Maid

Window On My World...

Me.

Milking cows.

June & July 2012

Window on my World

Hot Summer Moon

July 2012

Pre-Fair Judging

Last week not only was it 100+ degrees every.single.day. We had pre-fair judging. *Most* of the non-walking projects were judged at the fair grounds in the show arena. It does not have air conditioning... but at least it was in the shade.

Elizabeth's project list included: foods, food preservation, sewing (non-wearable), recycling, general crafts & fine arts.

William had: foods, food preservation, sewing (non-wearable), and recycling.

At judging, there is lots of waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting with friends..

Waiting in line...

Some times it seemed our turn would never come... but it always did.

I'm sure our poor house suffered the most...

Independence Day

We celebrated Independence day with friends by swimming,

and eating,

more swimming,

and fireworks!

A fun, HOT day!

Aunting

A few weeks ago my brother asked me to come and watch his beautiful daughter while they went on a bike ride. (Bike as in motorcycle) I, of course, was delighted.

Jackson and I packed up and headed to Ohio to spend the day with this little cutie:



He loves her so much.  Would totally figure our last child likes babies more than any of our other children combined. Then again, he may  night like her so much if she monopolized his mother's attention...

Baby Edy is a petite little gal- and much to my delight, she sucks her fingers! The middle two, just like her Uncle Simon.

She multi-talented just like he is as well...

She can suck her fingers AND pick her nose at the same time!

At the end of the day, when I put the little missy in her bed so I could pick up some things, Jackson decided there was room for two!

Being an Auntie, is one of my most favorite things, I am so blessed to have such wonderful nieces and nephews!

Fresh Laid

Awhile back, Jackson and I went down to the pasture to check out this little guy.

He had been born just hours before, and we wanted to get a closer look.

The following day, Jackson said to me: "Let's go see if another cow laid a baby calf".