The Type of Mom

I used to be the type of Mom that only

believed in milk, water, carrot sticks.

You know, the type that banned all sorts of dyes,

flavored juices, high fructose corn syrup.

That type of Mom.

I said, "I will never let my kids drink  (fill in the blank)"

"I will never let my kids eat (fill in the blank)"

Then, something happened.  I became a Mom who realized

that they are only kids once.

I don't jack them up on sugar and high

fructose corn syrup and all that other stuff that nutritionists say

we shouldn't give our kids, but

on a hot sunny day, when our friends come over to play,

and swim,

I have become the type of Mom that just might have

two big jugs of Hawaiian punch sitting out,

under the tree, just for my kids

to drink.

After all, they are only kids once.

Bucket List Day One

This morning, we woke up bright and early

with the promise of our first bucket list

activity.

P. drew out our slip of paper which said,

"Make Paper Spinners".

After a few minutes of explaining to the younger two boys

what a paper spinner was, we started our project.

We picked our really pretty sparkly paper in all of

our favorite colors.

Once we were sure that the paper was a perfect square, we

folded it in half,

then in half again.

Once our big triangle was folded into a little triangle

it was time to start cutting.

We cut on the folds almost to the middle of the square.

For the younger kids, I drew little dots with a pen

that showed them where to stop cutting.

After we finished cutting our pinwheels, we started putting them

together.  This turned out to be a little trickier than we thought

it would be.  First we tried using push pins into erasers to hold

the pinwheels together.  Then we tried punching holes and attaching

the pinwheels to straws.

After a lot of experimenting, we came up with brass fasteners,

push pins, and pencils.  We held our really big pinwheels together

with brass fasteners, stuck a push pin through

the paper near the fastener, and then using the push pin, attached the

pinwheel to the top of a pencil eraser.

The fist bucket list project was a HUGE hit.

All through the activity the kids kept saying,

"This is so much fun. This is so much fun."

Despite the fact that the pinwheels didn't

turn out perfectly, and The Big K.'s was really the only

one that seemed to spin, we had a great time.

We spent our morning making memories together.

We spent our morning just having fun together.  We

spent our time laughing, enjoying each other, and enjoying 

our summer vacation.

Siblings

Siblings, not by blood,

not by genetics,

not by fate.

Siblings, through the miracle of adoption.

Fighting Back

James, Bruce, Tansy, Ruth, Cathy,

Scott, Bev.

Just names.

More names that I could ever type, read, or see.

People changed by cancer.  People who 

are loved.

People who are missed.

People whose survival we celebrate.

People whose deaths we mourn.

People who sat in a doctor's office and heard the words,

"You have cancer." People who had

to break the news to their families, their friends.

Cancer knows no boundaries. It can strike anyone, at any time.

It doesn't care your race, your age, your living arrangements.

It doesn't care how much money you make or how much

you mean to your family and friends.

Cancer is a horrible disease.

It is ruthless.  Once it strikes someone you love,

you are forever changed.

The American Cancer Society works to 

fight cancer.  They work to give everyone, young and old,

more birthdays.

On Saturday, they sponsored a "Walk for Life" in our

town.  It was the first time that I've ever attended

a Walk event.

I'm thankful that I did.

For twenty-four hours teams of people

fought back.

They raised money that will go towards

cancer research, early screenings, support

for people that have been diagnosed with cancer.

Our family had the absolute privilege of attending

the Walk for Life with a Survivor.

We had the privilege of walking around the track.

Of doing what we could to support those

who are fighting cancer, will fight cancer, have

lost someone to cancer, or may

one day lose someone that they love to

cancer.

On Saturday, we fought back.

We did what we could to stick it to cancer.

Hopefully, with the work of organizations like

the American Cancer Society, and the people

that come out to remember and celebrate those lives

touched by cancer, my children or grandchildren may live

to see a cure.  May live lives that will never again be 

changed by those words, "You have cancer."

Fantastic Farm Fest

On Friday, we enjoyed a fantastic day

at Farm Fest.

The event was hosted by a local dairy farm, and we

were kept busy the entire time.

This field trip, was by far, one of the best ones

I've ever been on.  There were almost 900 kids there, but it

was so organized that you would have never guessed there were that

many kids.  The farm was broken down into stations.

The kids spent fifteen minutes at each station, and then

a farm guide led our group to the next stop.

We learned all sorts of things during the day.  The kids learned about 

an animal's impact on the environment and the different types of animals

that survive in different regions.

They learned about planting and rotating crops,

growing gardens, caring for baby calves, and

what a large animal veterinarian does.

They learned about harness racing, horse care,

and the way animals are used in the farming process.

Some highlights of our trip were

a visit to the calf barn, watching the cows being milked,

meeting a real large animal vet,

and  taking a hay ride out into the fields to learn

how the crops are grown that feed the cows that give us milk.

What a fun and excited day we had together.

We are all looking forward to next year's

Farm Fest!

Summer Bucket List

Last night, I was doing one of my favorite things...

what my husband calls "random blog

surfing"

I came across a very cute blog

called "Little Wonders' Days".

This particular blogging mama had a great idea.

She calls it her "Summer Bucket List".

The idea being that she and her kids make a list of all the fun

things that they want to do over the summer, and then they do them.

I thought the "bucket list" was a great idea.  So, after

explaining the idea to my kids, then explaining the phrase "bucket list",

then reassuring them that no one was going to be "kicking the bucket",

we came up with a pretty long list.

I was thrilled at some of the ideas that my kids came up with.

Ideas like, "Write a thank you letter to a soldier",

"Donate dog biscuits to the humane society", "Read together".

When we were done, we had almost one hundred ideas.

Following the original summer bucket list idea, we took our list

and divided it into things that would only take an hour or two and things

that would take all day.

Each morning, depending on our schedule, we plan on drawing from our bucket

list buckets and then doing something fun and memorable together.

The kids are super excited about some of our fun ideas, and I have to admit, so am I.

Welcome Summer

Welcome summer.

Long, hot,

sunny days.

Days made just for exploring,

playing,

relaxing.

Days to spend hours and hours

together,

enjoying each other and

all of the sweet things summer will

bring us.

Welcome summer.