We had a fanastic weekend with a "faux camping" trip to the cottage. We cooked on the fire, played in the river, and slept in real beds. The weather was perfect and the kids had a grand old time. I took tons of great pictures, but of course I left my camera at the cottage. You could have seen Christopher asleep on Andrew's head on a raft in the middle of the river, but now you can't. YOu also could have seen the kids unplanned summer hair cuts. The ones they gave themselves. I guess we'll have to go back to the river this weekend to retrieve the camera (and Andrew's watch and wedding ring!)

Today we went to he Brown Bag Concert. Always a great time! Wes and Rita showed up, which was wonderful. It's always nice to have friends to visit with while the kids run around playing.

Tomorrow is strawberry picking and possible jam making (or maybe Friday for the jam?). Picking strawberries is always fun, but I think it is the hottest, sweatiest job in the world. But anything is fun when you get to eat the product as you work!

Who'd a thunk this ol' chicken would have ended his days with a beer up his arse? I'm sure glad he did, though, because it was delish!

My parents came over last night and helped Andrew get started on our new "play yard." I am SO excited to get rid of the nasty weeding backyard! A few years ago, we tore up one side and paved it, but the other side has just been dirt and weeds since we moved in. Andrew put down that anti-weed black fabric stuff and a bit of pea gravel this evening and tomorrow I will order a load of gravel, so by tomorrow night, we should have a happy nice place for the kids to play. And I am hoping for a sand box as well!!

I made tortillas for dinner this evening. They were so easy and super yummy. Gotta love the King Arthur Flour cook book! I just noticed on their web site that they have a cooking with kids video. I'll have to check into that. The kids love to cook with me.

That's all for now!

Dear Uncle Ben,

When you come visit, please bring your spiderman suit home this summer so that we can be big and little Spidey.

Love,

Christopher

PeterXavier's birthday party turned out really well. The whole fam gathered at the park area at Prophetstown for a cookout. It was fantastic because I didn't have to clean the house to have everyone over AND the only cleanup involved was dumping everything into a big trash bag! Great party planning on my part!

I have inadvertantly started a tradition of making ugly cakes for the kids birthdays. This years attempt was a pirate ship. It isn't nearly as bad as some of my efforts and the best part was that the kids helped me make it. They got a kick out of coloring the sails and putting them on. When it was time to light candles, we put them in the sides like canons. It's hard to see, but our ship was complete with gold bountey and beer kegs.

Look who's turning ONE!! I can't believe that a whole year has flown by! Today we celebrate the birth of the smiliest happiest little monkey in the world! I can't believe the laughs the this little guy has brought to our family. Happy Birthday PeterXavier!!

We have been running around like chickens with our heads cut of as of late. Sunday we hosted the Zuzolo First Communion party at the shop. It was great! It was the perfect big Italian family celebration (with the wrong food though!). We pushed all the tables together and put my huge table cloth on it so that we had one huge table for everyone to sit around. And the entire Zuzolo family is just so nice. It was really a fun time.

On Monday we found out that Molly, the girl that works at the shop for us, and who has really become our friend, was in an accident on her moped. The moped that she got Thursday. She got out of ICU yesterday, so I went up to see her. She looks pretty bad and could use any prayers you want to toss her way. I have been working at the shop now that she can't -- so if anyone needs a little job . . . .

Also, TAKE NOTE!!! We are having a cookout on Thursday before Blue Jacket. Bring a side dish if you'd like, bring your kids if you have them, everyone is invited so call anyone who isn't cool enough to read my blog! I guess Thursday is only tomorrow. Sorry for the late notice.

Christopher and Grace fell in love with this little baby raccoon that Uncle Johnny found. They really wanted to take her home with us. And really, if they were just a little older, I would have let them keep her. She was really cute, but I was afraid that they would be really sad when we had to let her go -- I mean, you can't keep a raccoon forever! And since she is SO young, I was afraid that we night accidentally kill her. Besides, she already thought Uncle Johnny was her mother. He should keep her.

He found a raccoon den out on his property, so he is going to put her their and hope that that Mama adopts her.

While the little raccoon baby was the highlight of the day, we did some other fun stuff too. We had our first Market of the season and that was great. I got a few cute flowers to plant and some fresh asparagus from the Cooleys.

After Market, house and year work, we took the kids for a picnic at the park. They love to run around and play outside -- unfortunately picnics don't really inspire them to eat. Well, PX ate a great deal of sand, but that isn't very nutritious.

If, after reading this and this, you are looking at me as if to say "you're next", then all I have to say to you is "NO I'm not."

This time, I am sitting back, nausea free, and planning my position as the doting auntie.

Thank you very much.

I found a morrel mushroom growing out of the edge of the neighbors driveway this morning! I don't think Andrew has ever had a morrel before (poor deprived California boy!) so I will fry up this lonely little mushroom for him tonight. I sure wish I had more!

Farmer's Market sarts tomorrow!! That must mean that it is officially summer! We will be out with the cart serving up all kinds of yumminess. I can't wait to see all of our "market friends" that we never see in the winter time. 99% percent of the maket people are just so wonderful (we all know the other one percent. He is evil.).

Last night we all (us, Annie and Martin, Mr. A. and Margaret) went to my parents for dinner. It was really nice. Their patio just got finished so we sat out their and the kids could just play and have fun while we ate. Andrew got out the kids little pool and handed Christopher the hose to fill it up. Bad idea. Christopher, in all his four year old innocence, would kink the hose and sweetly ask someone to come and help him figure out what was wrong with it. Just as you bent down to help him he would unkink it and spray freezing hose water in your face.

That's all for now. I have a mountain of laundry to attend to. My dryer vent was broken and the laundry piles up. Now that it is fixed, I have some major catch up to do. The worst part is that I had been SO on top of it, and now that is all lost.

Christopher has caught the bug . . . the chapter book read-aloud bug, that is. And I am so glad. I have always enjoyed reading aloud to the kids, but it is so much nicer when it is a book that I can get into as well. A nice long chapter book is so much cosier that 75 picture books in one sitting.

Right now we are reading "Mr. Popper's Penguins." Christopher now wants a pet penguin and says that he will name it "Narnia." Grace will name her's "Fifia." Where does she come up with these things? What a goober.