I'm Back ! (again...)

Hello everyone!

How is your summer going?  I'll answer that for you.  It's going FAST.

Every time a new season starts, I somehow get an idea in my head that things are going to get more relaxed for me, but I am realizing now that that is nothing more than wishful thinking cuz every season has it's own..........what do I wanna say?..................busy-ness.

After the first trip to Wisconsin, things were starting to calm down a little bit for me (after I got caught up on things).  Then I got interrupted with VBS.  It was a sacrifice of my time, but I don't regret it; it was actually quite fun.  I helped with the snacks and got to know some of the kids better.  Now this little girl who I didn't know before VBS waves and says "hi" to me whenever she sees me, which is a little reward in itself.  It's a special kind of feeling when a little kid is happy to see me.

So right after VBS was over, I thought things were about to get back to normal, but we ended up having to take an emergency trip back to WI on account of my mom-in-law passing away.  Even though we knew her time was coming, I'm not sure if a person can really be fully prepared for this kind of news.  

So we flew home on Monday and came back on Saturday.  The funeral was on Wednesday, so that gave us a couple days to hang out and goof around, so despite the circumstances, we made the most of it and tried to have fun.

Here is a picture of Chuck and his siblings at the funeral reception.

(They are such a nice family, and of course Chuck wants SO BAD to move back to Wisconsin and be with them.  He would move tomorrow if he could.)

Jim, Dean, Karen, Joyce, Chuck, Judy

On Tuesday, the 4th of July, Joyce and her daughter invited us to go to a cabin on a lake (near Waupaca, I think), and they took us out on their boat.

Their dog Cooper had a really good time with this.

Thursday and Friday, Chuck was busy helping his sister move, so I hung out with my brother Jerry and my mom.  Jerry was kind enough to drive us around wherever we wanted to go; he even patiently waited while me and Ma browsed in the "old lady" shops.  I have no idea what was going on in his mind, but he never complained.

Jerry and I seem to share an interest in family history, so we took my mom out driving and asked her to show us the places where she used to live.  One of the houses was torn down and is now a small parking lot, but it was still interesting to see the exact spot where her house stood when she was a little girl.  The house where she lived in as a teenager was still there, but remodeled.

This next picture was actually taken during our first trip to WI this year, but I didn't post it cuz it was taken from Chuck's phone (not my camera) and he just recently uploaded it.  Anyhoo, this was where my mom and dad lived for a little time.

According to the newspaper birth announcements of me and my siblings, we moved out of that house after the 7th baby was born.  I'm #6, so that means I was still a toddler when we moved out, so obviously I don't remember it; but Jerry said he remembers living there.  So that was really neat to see the house where I first lived.  (Of course it's been remodeled since then...)  

I'm gonna have to get Jerry to find more houses for me cuz, according to the birth announcements of my older siblings, there were two OTHER houses that they lived in before I was born.  I don't know why mom didn't mention this when we were driving around.  So, Jerry, if you're reading this, you can find them and show them to me next time!                                        

So of course, while were in Marshfield, I had to see my bears.

I feel like I have sort of a personal connection with them since they came from Alaska to my HOME TOWN!  What are the odds?

Also, while were there, we got to experience a really cool thunderstorm!  

Ya don't see this every day in Alaska!

Me and Chuck sat outside and watched the rain pour down.

(No, this was not a funnel cloud......)

Another night, me and Chuck were driving around in the country, and we were keeping our eyes on this awesome cloud.

It was just SO AWESOME!!

At dusk it began to turn pink and orange.

So anyhoo, those were the highlights of this quick trip.

On the way home, we were able to get this picture of Mt. Ranier when we were flying over Washington.

So now that I'm home again, I'm trying to get caught up to normalcy.  I can't even describe how difficult it is stay caught up on my Greek this summer.  Since I have a "timed" system, I get so behind when I miss, and I have to do double time to get caught up on it.  Between two trips and VBS week, it's been a real challenge.

Here are some photos I took between our two trips to Wisconsin.  We went to the cabin a couple weeks ago and I was pleased to see that my blueberries are coming along nicely!

Traipsing through the woods there, I love all the wildflowers that grow there.  I picked a few of them because I was thinking about making some bookmarks out of them.  So I have them flattened under a stack of books right now, but I really don't have a clue how to make bookmarks out of them.  But, that is what Google is for, right?

Here is an old bicycle that was half buried in the woods there.

There is also an old ripped up Army tent from the 50's that we found in the woods, and also an abandoned car that doesn't look very old.  We can't figure out why someone would drive their car through the woods and just leave it like that.  They even left some papers and other stuff in there.

Oh well, whatever......

We went for a ride on our "side by side" and took a different path this time.

We ran into this river, but I can't remember the name of it.

So here back at home, my strawberry patch is still not protected!  And this is what's happening!

Argh!

Most of the berries are still small and white, but if Chuck knows what's good for him, he will get a net over that berry patch before it's too late!

Here is a birthday card I made for my sister.  Unfortunately, I can't claim that it was my own design; I copied it off of Pinterest.  I thought it turned out cute.

Speaking of cats, Weeners was outside one day, and all of a sudden I heard her make a yelping noise, so I went to the door to see what was going on.  She was running towards the house really fast, and a second later I realized why.  She was being chased by this tom cat.

Weeners ran into the house, and this tom cat was bold enough to run into my house right after her!  Once inside, Weeners found a place to hide and "Tom" was walking around in my house looking for her.  After he couldn't find her, he went back outside, but he didn't look too happy that she got away.

Very interesting looking cat.  The fur almost looks like wool and the tail has kind of a lion's pom pom on the end. I haven't seen him since, so I guess Weeners must've really deflated his ego in a big way.  (It would be interesting to see what their kittens would like if they got together - if Weeners could have any)

Lastly, I had to show you my ice cream that I made!  Mint Chocolate Chip!  YUM.

And so healthy!  You would never guess that the green color comes from spinach!

I think I finally perfected this recipe to my liking, and it is SO good!  I am pretty much the only one that eats it so I get to eat the whole batch!  Apparently, no one else cares for this flavor, but it has always been one of my favorite flavors.  To make Chuck happy, I guess my next batch will be chocolate.   Or maybe I'll tell him that I'll make him something chocolate when he gets my strawberry patch protected.  That should speed things up a bit.

That's about all for now.

Happy Summer Days To You!