Whistle While You Work

While talking to a friend, Monday morning, Randi asked how her weekend went.  The friend responded with a fun schedule of her activities that, among other things, included swimming, sleeping in, and just having fun.  When the friend ask Randi what she did over the weekend all she could say was "work."  They both proceeded to lament about their Mothers working them and how much they hated it!

While Randi was telling me this story, I smiled to myself.  I remember how much I HATED the Saturday morning cleanings!  The crazy jobs that Grandma would have me do were beyond my understanding.  I think sweeping the road irritated me the most!  But I do have to admit that sweeping the road, although humiliating, was much better then getting up at 4:30 am all summer to work in the fields.

"I am not Grandma!" I thought "I have never made my kids sweep the road!"

So, what did I make her do you ask?

We washed the windows and scrubbed the blinds.

Yes, she is wearing her swimming suit.  She got to hold the blinds up while I sprayed them off.  Now tell me that isn't just like swimming!

We laid them on the trampoline to dry before hanging them up again.

Now that was worth it!

For Madison

I just had to share this video about Madison, my cousins daughter, that has touched my heart! 

To top it all off, you need to check out her sister, Megan's blog that tells her view about that night! 


I have always loved Scott and Andrea (Madison's parents).  I use to babysit for them and love them all!!! They are a pretty special family!!

Traditions

Picking apples at Angles Orchard has become a favorite family activity.  Last year was our first trip up the Graham Mountain to see the ladybugs at ladybug saddle, pick apples, and we grabbed a sack of chili on our way home.  We had so much fun, we couldn't wait for the orchard to open again this year.

This year we spent Labor Day weekend in Thatcher.  We had a great time with all the cousins.

We stayed up way to late!  The kids ran around outside playing half the night then fell into bed in exhaustion.  The adults weren't any smarter, we stayed up all night talking and laughing so hard our stomaches hurt.  We also fell into bed exhausted.

Saturday we all headed up the mountain for apples.

We had a great time hiking around,

picking apples,

working hard,

eating a few

and enjoying the afternoon.

We even picked some yummy peaches and couldn't help but stop and eat a few of them also.

We had a great time!  

When we got home we had lots of fresh apples and peaches to snack on.  We also have 5 quart bags of frozen peaches, a peach cobbler, an apple crisp, and a lot of healthy snacks for school!

Swimming in the Rain

Dinner and an evening swim at Julie's has become a frequent activity in our family.  Last weekend we headed over to Julie's looking forward to grilled chicken, family, and fun!  As soon as we got there everyone changed into their suits and was off to the pool while we waited for the rest of the family to show up.  It wasn't long before Kayla mentioned the dark clouds rolling in.

The storm arrived and everyone held up their arms to feel the patter of the warm rain.  Whats the worse thing that could happen?  You get wet?  (Hello!  We are in a pool!)

The gentle drops turned into huge drops of rain coming down pretty hard.

When the large drops turned into small hail stones everyone stayed low in the water for protection.

When the hail stones grow, the joy of swimming in the rain goes away fast and all you can hear is ow, ow, ow...

...and everyone runs for cover!

We all enjoyed dinner enough to overcome the pain of being pelted by large hail stones.