Saturday, May 25, 2013

Good day for photos

The weather is coolish today, around 60-ish degrees with some cloud cover which makes for good exposure for pictures.  Last night was an almost-full moon and I tried to use the close-up filters for that, but they are only meant for small things. 


Now that I know how to find the man in the moon (thank you, Josh) I find him fairly easily.  Will try and get another shot tonight of the official full moon.

Thanks to the master gardener neighbors I used some of their flowers as subjects today.



 

No big plans for Memorial Day this year.  Maybe the parade on Monday, maybe a walk around the East Race today.  The pool opens Monday and the kiddos are very anxious for that, but I doubt it will be warm enough to even stick a toe in.  We'll see...

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

10-day update

I just can't stick to the daily or even weekly posts, but this will just have to do for now.  The past week and a half has been busy, but I don't want to make this boring either so here goes:
    
     Monday:  dentist appointment and art class
     Tuesday:  interview (for job I don't want) and Arise dinner that night
     Wednesday:  orthodontist appointments for 4 of us
     Thursday:  Early pick-up for high school, Reins of Life, and softball game
     Friday:  Fernwood field trip (pictures coming) and WICKED!!
     Saturday:  softball game, my official Mother's Day day off and dinner (provided by Eric) with our parents
     Sunday:  shopping for clothes with Sarah - I should do this on Friday as Sunday is not a day of penance, first trip to New Buffalo beach
     Monday:  just school
     Tuesday:  Eva's 12th birthday, my parent's 53rd anniversary, softball game
     Wednesday:  catch-up day

Of course, school goes on every day also and I'm glad that everyone is staying focused and on track as best they can. 

Okay, here are some details: 

The Fernwood field trip was a lot of fun.  The weather was great - sunny and warm, but not too hot.  There were such beautiful flowers in bloom and the trails were great fun. 








 
This young man that worked there was so helpful in identifying flowers in a garden near the visitor's center, and he even came to find us so the kids could see this turtle that had not been marked yet.







 


 
A lady's slipper...cool!
 
That night we had reservations with our friend's, Christine and Dennis, at CafĂ© Navarre, a new-to-us restaurant downtown.  It is in an old jewelry store (where my wedding band is from) and it looks beautiful - it has great character.  The men raved about their steaks, while Christine and I had chicken that was very good, but I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had.  Eric was a bit starstruck when a ND football player arrived and we couldn't keep his attention from that point on - not really, but kind of!  After a couple of pomegranate martinis we thought we might have to carry Dennis to the theater, but he made it and provided a lot of laughs along the way! 
 
The show was amazing.  The sets were so professional, the singing was awesome, the costumes were beautiful - I should add that the last time we went to a show was....I don't know, so anything better than the grade school play seems like Broadway to us! 
 
 

 


Dinner on Saturday was better than any restaurant, thanks to Eric.  He smoked a brisket (that required hourly attention) and some ribs.  We had baked beans, veggies and dip and ice cream pies with chocolate syrup for dessert.  I could get used to that kind of treatment! 

The beach was so peaceful and relaxing, but the water was freezing.  That didn't stop the girls, mostly Meredith.  She was in up to her waist and sticking her face in the water.  I couldn't get past my ankles because the air stopped moving in and out of my lungs.  Josh got to see Logan for a few hours while we were gone, and we knew he would prefer that anyway. :)





 


And, last but perhaps most special, Happy 53rd Anniversary to my parents.  I hope they enjoyed their day remembering the special time 53 years ago when they each said 'I do'.  I wish everyone could be inspired by them as much as I am, especially when it comes to living your marriage as your vocation. 

Hopefully, there will be less next time around....


Friday, May 10, 2013

Softball season

Meredith's softball season is underway and she is enjoying it so far.  She doesn't really like to play catcher, but anything else is A-Okay! 





The cheers they do from the dugout are so cute.  Here's their current favorite:  'she might be small but she can hit that ball.  She's got pee-wee power.'   Funny!

Oh, by the way (thinking of dirty white softball pants) our new washer is the greatest invention!  Thanks to my parents, I did not go to the laundromat and was able to stay on top of the laundry situation.  The new one is great!  It holds way more than the old one and has already improved my laundry duties...woohoo!




Thursday, May 9, 2013

More spring blooms

I know these pictures probably get old, but I just can't help myself...



 
The girls found this bumblebee who looked to be struggling somehow and they thought they nursed it back to life by giving him this dandelion.  :)  They took care of him for quite a while.  


 
Eric has not been well this week dealing with a sinus infection (when he gets sick, he makes sure it's one of the worst scenarios of whatever he's got) so hopefully he'll be back to his old normal, healthy self this weekend. 

Walking at Notre Dame

Since it is the month of May, we committed to praying the rosary every night that we possibly could.  We all enjoy it even more when we go to the grotto for it.  There haven't been any big crowds; always the same regulars who have been there for 150 years. :)  Notre Dame is such a great place to walk around.  It is so peaceful and most everyone is quite friendly.  Sarah's friend, Joe, even came with us one night. 






 

Biking the Bend

Tuesday was such a nice day, we put on our bike helmets and decided to venture out of the neighborhood for once.  We always stay somewhat close to home and on less traveled streets, but this time we felt adventurous.  We rode to the river which has a nice pathway and we were gone for a little over an hour.  We need to do it more often because we all could sure use the exercise.