Here are two of the cutest little girls, all gussied up and being oh-so-girly. We went to a little birthday tea for Grace's friend Sarah. Complete with big hats, tiny cups, and yummy chocolates, these little girls both born smack in the middle of a family of boys, had such a wonderful time!

Kathy, from Kathy's Kandies on Main Street, hosted our tea. She also provided the fabulous hats (decorated by Jan at First Class Clutter!!), beads, and tiny tea cups!

Gracie loves to be cute!!

Kathy also served us the cutest tea. The leaves are sewn together so that when they are put into a (clear) tea pot with the hot water, they open up like a flower! Too cute!

Today's Funny:

Grace: PeterXavier's hair is yellow!
Christopher: It's blond. I'm sure glad I'm not blond.
Me: Why's that?
Christopher: Because then I would bump into things.
Me: Excuse me?
Christopher: Yeah. When you're blond you can't see anything.

Yesterday was Andrew's birhday, so he took. the. day. off. Which is something he hasn't done since . . . maybe ever. And even then, he still did a bunch of work in the morning. But the afternoon was free. We took the kids to the park, ate at Chipotle (!!), and went swimming at my hilarious Uncle Johnny's. Then Andrew and I went to dinner and this major dive in Battleground. It as dark and dingy, but the food was great. I mean, anytime you order something called the "Bear Special" it has to be good!

Dancing in the Streets was fantastic last night. Thanks to a few hard working friends, paid in beer, everything came off without a hitch. Well, except for the fact that we ran out of hot dogs. But that wasn't as big of a deal as it might have been. The crowd was HUGE!! All of the vendors were running out of stuff. It was a mad house, but tons of fun!

Tonight is Celtic Spring and the ice cream social at St. B. Ice cream provided by us. Good thing tomorrow is Andrew's birthday and he is taking the day off. He needs it! I think he worked 18 hours yesterday, running at full speed!

Someone got to my blog today by googling "Lady Comp Blog"!!! How great is that?!?!

I apologize for that rather obnoxious last post. Despite what some people may think, I did not do it on purpose. For those who have been sitting on the edge of their seats for the last week, it has finally been updated.

This weekend is going to be mad packed. We have Market and Dancing in the Streets tomorrow. If you want to attend Dancing, but have no ready cash (or just because you love me!), call me. If you work a "shift" for us, I'll pay your entrance fee and throw in a beer to boot! I am serious -- just give me a ring!

Some people are geniuses of the imagination. I am not one of them, but I have a grand old time imitating those who are. I found a pattern online and by some magic of the pattern, not the seamstress, this:

not so attractive man's shirt became this:

What's wrong with blogger all of a sudden?? It won't let me post pictures! I JUST DID IT AND NOW IT WON'T LET ME!! Well, you'll just have to guess what this shirt became and hope that blogger is nicer to me tomorrow!

**UPDATED**

And there you have it. The not-so-cute mans shirt becomes the super cute girls dress. Not bad, huh? I can take no credit though, all the difficult work was done by the pattern maker and the company who made the shirt in the first place!

Needless to say, this is my new project line. I am working on another one right now, complete with a headband which lived a previous life as a shirt collar!

There is a whole community outside of town that is truly hidden from us "city folk". And what a beautiful community it is! My mom, Annie, the kidders, and I went out to Flora today and visited all of the "horse and buggy" shops. (that is the term they use, not a derogative one). They're little markets are really cute and the people that run them are so sweet. The prices were pretty nice too! We got a lot of natural and homemade items but didn't have to pay the premium prices. I got "sorghum" which I have been wanting to try for a while now, but never wanted to pay the price for it. I didn't really even know what it was . . . but I have now learned all about it! This is the nutritional break down :

Potassium 200mg per tablespoon
Protein 300mg per tbsp.
Calcium 30mg per tbsp.
Magnesium 20mg per tbsp

Not to bad for sweetener! It is also high in iron. It is actually the "juice" from the sorghum grain, which is cooked down just like one would do to make maple syrup. It is the "poor man's syrup" which is perfect for us!

I also got an old feed sack to cut up and sew into dish towels. I think it's great, but I did wonder this evening just what my Grandma would say if she knew we had paid. money. for feed sacks to turn into towels when we could buy them at the store. I find it interesting that what we think is fun -- simply because we don't have to do it -- was a chore just a generation ago. (It's like when Annie got an antique coffee pot for a shower gift and Aunt Betty thought it was junk that belonged in the trash!!) We certainly take for granted just how easy life can be with all of the modern conveniences!

Everyone who read the last post and ignored it, you missed out! Riverfest, once again, was a wonderful little festival jam-packed with fun! I paddled in two races, won one and lost one. Smoked my hubbys team. Then lost the other race because we almost capsized -- paddling takes second seat to trying to stay above water! Either way, it was super fun and I highly recommend everyone participate next year!

Sunday we went to the river and canoed down to the Schafer's for a little welcome home party for Gwen. There was lots of swimming, chatting, plenty of beer, and lots of little monkeys on the trampoline. We had a really nice time and the hopped in our canoe to paddle home. That's when the adventure began. The river was as smooth as glass. It should not have been a problem at all. As we neared the island, we smacked into a rock and got lodged on top of it. Andrew finally had to jump out and get us moving again. Then, one stroke in and Andrew snapped his paddle in half. In the rapids, with only one paddle, Andrew jumps out to pull the canoe and breaks his sandle. He finally got us the short way through the fast water, hopped back, and paddled us on up the river. I sat back and pretended I was riding in a gondula. Lucky for us, my parents had dinner for us when we got back.

Don't you want to be them?? If you want to participate in the COOLEST festival of the summer, come to Tapawingo Park on Saturday and paddle in the Riverfest races! Here is a little historic info.

The part of North America in which we live was once a vast wilderness of mostly forest, almost impenetrable by anyone other than the Native Americans who had lived here for centuries.

The demand for quality furs, however, brought European trappers in search of the abundant beaver and other fur bearing animals that were so plentiful in this area. These trappers were dependent on the services of a hale and hardy breed of wilderness pioneer, the voyageur, to provide transport of supplies in and pelts out from this densely wooded land. Those pelts were taken along our waterways to Canada and out the St. Lawrence en route to markets throughout Europe.

The Voyageurs worked hard and they played hard. They ate, they drank, they sang songs, they played competitive games, and they raced their canoes.

Today you can see replicas of those canoes being raced on the Wabash once again, not by trappers and traders, but by bankers, firefighters, city workers, and many others who love to compete and who love the river.

This is your chance to become a "Voyageur for a day" and recreate an activity that was part of those events that resulted in our living today on the banks of the beautiful and mighty Wabash River.

The requirement for the boat is that we have 9 people paddling and at least 3 of each gender.

Come join the fun! We need plenty of "fill in" paddlers, so show up anytime Saturday, midmorning to early afternoon, talk to my dad, and have a good old fashioned good time!