Flat Tire

We've gone about 4 weeks without a flat tire, so I guess it was time. I was starting to get worried about our tire mechanic's cash flow, so it was time to help him out. Whatever.

It's Thursday morning and my mom has just arrived to watch the three younger kids while I take Ephraim to the dentist for a filling and some sealant. We're barely three miles from home and the low tire light comes on. I pull over immediately (because, yes, there was a time when I hadn't pulled over right way). And the back passenger tire is FLAT. Ugh. I think for a few minutes and a neighbor comes by. He gives Ephraim and me a ride back home where I grab mom's car and we head to the dentist.

Fast forward to our way home and I drop off Ephraim, pick up Emmet and we drive to our disabled car. I am going to attempt to get the flat tire off. I gather the jack, secure its location and begin raising the van. I also begin loosening the lug nuts. Amazingly, I'm able to get them loose. Just as I'm getting the last one loose, another neighbor stops by. He helps with the last lug nut. We put the flat tire in mom's car and take it to town. The grim news: the tire is fried. Time for a new one.
Hmm. Well, I decide that it would be better for the tire mechanic to put on the new tire, rather than me since I have a short trip planned for the next day. So, home we go. I gather the kids and our extra, full-sized tire (not really an official spare because it is not the size of a doughnut or bicycle tire). I put the spare on because the van has now been sitting on the side of the road, jacked up for several hours. I tighten the lug nuts. And as I'm tightening the last one, a Mid American guy shows up. But alas, I had to turn down his offer to help. We were done and ready to take the van to the mechanic for a new tire. Whew.
And as I posted on Facebook, I can, I will and I did change our flat tire on the side of the gravel road in 100 degree heat. I guess God gives us what we need when we need it. Where was Seth, you ask? In the sprayer, many miles away, unable to help and I didn't really want to bother him either. With the dryer weather, they are getting a lot done.
So, that's my Thursday story. I can change a flat tire. Hopefully I don't have another flat tire for a long time.

CARS 2

With the CARS movie being a favorite in our house, although we don't own the DVD, we knew that if and when CARS 2 ever came out that we'd have to see it. With the debut being last week, we tried to fit "going to the movies" into our schedule. It got a bit complicated because we were hoping to see it at the drive in movie theatre in Newton. But, due to some rain, and wind and a Thunderstorm Warning, our plans were relegated to Plan B. Plan B was to watch the movie in a theatre. Since we had met up in Pella, it only made sense to stay in Pella and watch the movie. Our original plan was to eat our picnic supper at the drive in but with a change of plans at the last minute due to some incoming weather, we opted to eat our picnic supper in the parking lot down the block from the theatre.


Yep, it might look a little out of place, but we sure enjoyed our frugal supper right before the movie. We were running out of time to eat all our snacks because the rain was moving in. Sooooooooo, we snuck it into the theatre. Shhhh. I know. Anything to save a buck. And I'm okay with that.

Waiting for the movie to start. We were there plenty early to ensure that we'd get a seat. There wasn't much for previews but the Toy Story Short Story beforehand was pretty cute!

The girls wanted to sit by the cool guy who actually bought his popcorn. No one wants to sit by Mommy or Grandma who smuggled in popcorn in a bread bag. But there's just one problem with popcorn in the theatre. . . .everyone gets thirsty. :( Seth did buy a pop which got passed around plenty of times and I'm thankful that we didn't have to take any potty breaks.

Uh, Eden. Does the concession stand sell a bag of M&M's that big? I didn't think so!

Outside the theatre by the CARS 2 sign.

I give the movie 4 stars out of 5. It was cute! It was funny! Mater stole the show. The plot is a bit complicated at times and perhaps the younger ones might find it hard to follow. They did lose some of the innocence of the first movie with several "shoot 'em up" scenes. The movie had a spy theme through most of it. Overall, we liked it. Had a great time as a family. Oh, and did I mention that I had a coupon for a free adult admission. Yep, I'd been saving it since last summer when I'd collected so many points from some Kellogg's items and earned a free movie ticket. It saved us $7!

Going to the movies isn't cheap, which is why we've never been before as a family but this movie was a great first feature. I think the last movie Seth and I went to was Fireproof several years ago. And before that, I think it was Jonah the Veggie Tales movie. In fact, an uninteresting tidbit about Seth and I is that the entire time we were dating or engaged (2years), we never went to the movies. There just isn't a lot worth seeing, and what is worth seeing is worth buying the DVD so you get more bang for your buck.

Sunday School Graduation

The children put on a short graduation program at church on Sunday for all the other children who would be moving up a department.
Here is the First Steps class singing a couple of songs. Don't be fooled by the small size of the class, normally their class is twice this size, but due to the church campout and vacations, several were missing. Eliza is in the blue polka dot dress and Eden is in the pink dress beside Eliza.




"Shout AMEN!"

And the Grow Time children singing a couple of songs.

Singing "Lord's Army."

It's been a great year of teaching us and we'll enjoy our two months off and be back in the fall.

Oh, that's disgusting!

Two short stories for you that both relate to the title.

It's Monday evening. I send the kids to the bathroom to brush their teeth. Nothing unusual about that. I usually trust that they are doing a good job and I meet them in their room. I happen to walk past the bathroom door. And I notice . . . Eliza . . . . cleaning the bathroom sink . . . . with her toothbrush! Ohhhhhhhhhh, grosssssssss! Regardless of the fact that bathroom sink had been cleaned in the past couple of days, this is still disgusting. Time for a new toothbrush for Miss Eliza and a lesson on what a toothbrush should and should not be doing.

It's Tuesday evening. We get home from a friend's house and Eden throws a temper tantrum in the grass. Something about not getting out of the van in the correct order, blah, blah, blah. She's gotten pretty good at tantrums lately. :( Anyway, she's rolling around on the front lawn . . . in the grass . . . NOT a good idea considering the fact that we have free-range chickens. . . . that leave their "fertilizer" EVERYWHERE! Needless to say, as soon as she saw the chicken poop on her dress, she got upset about that and forgot about the reason for her previous tantrum.

Yes, never a dull moment at our house, but love every minute of it!

Photo project done!

Another project on my to-do list was to get four picture frames filled and hung. For a while, I've wanted picture frames for the kids' K-12 pictures. I didn't have any luck finding what I wanted for the right price locally. So, I turned to the internet. I found a website www.time-frames.com with what I wanted.
They had frames for K-12, but they also had birth-18. I liked those. They were exactly what I wanted. I ordered four of them and they were personalized free. Their full name is at the top and the first spot is for their birth day. And not only is it birth-18, but the first two years have a photo for every three months. I didn't have the kids' professional pictures taken that often so I've just used candids and I think they look great!

The boys and I hung them on the wall all by ourselves. And yes, Seth was impressed when he came home.
A glimpse at the girls' frames, filled in up to their 3 year pictures.


And the boys' frames. I am missing a couple of pictures. Just have to get to the one-hour photo to get them printed off!

I am glad to have this checked off my summer list, too!

Car Seat Organizer

I've had this idea for a car seat organizer in my head for a while. But I knew I didn't want to spend money on one since I could probably make it for pennies. So, the idea sat in my head for a while. And then a couple from church was giving away all their excess fabric. I checked it out and there were a lot of durable fabrics--probably for curtains or upholstery. I took a few things. A day or two later I had my "eureka" moment. I could make my car seat organizer from my new free fabric. I consulted with my friend Google for a do-able pattern. I found it at some random site and set to work!
I am super pleased with how they turned out. In fact, I made four of them in an afternoon!
Here's a photo of it on the kitchen floor. It is the length of the car seat back. It has one large pocket at the bottom and one pocket at the top divided into three. There is elastic at the bottom at goes over the seat so that it hugs the seat. At the top are two buttonholes which work with our removable headrests.

And one of the finished products in the van. I am thrilled! You can see how it fits with the headrest, has three pouches on top and a large one on the bottom. And the elastic holds it in place at the bottom.
One project crossed off my summer list!

Pictures of the week, June 12 to June 18, 2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011

We love Sunday afternoons at home. It often involves time outside doing a variety of activities. Now that the kitties are getting older, we can take them out and play with them.

And Eliza found this bird's nest. I took a picture because the center of the nest is not twigs or straw but . . . human hair (likely Seth's.) I guess our outdoor haircuts are a benefit to nature.

Monday, June 13, 2011

We moved the chicken fence and trailer. The cats have a way of just making themselves at home. Here they are in the midst of the chickens eating their supper.

"Uh, do you mind?"

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Can I just say that I love my supper swappers group?

This is what I made. I made 6 extra Tator Tot Casseroles to trade with 6 other ladies for this . . .

a variety of other dishes and casseroles. Love it! Having these meals in my freezer is a huge blessing during busy times, when kids are sick, when I just want to play with the kids and not be in the kitchen, etc. And it is a money saver, too!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

We made Sunday School Teacher appreciation gifts. We found a free printable online, printed it, bought the Hershey's chocolate bars to wrap it around and they're finished! We signed our names and passed them out.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

That's a lot of meat!

And this is only 2/3 of it. I had 3 more boxes in the front seat. It is 592 pounds of beef. That should last us one year! And it's our own own steer, born and raised here. And given just the right rations to make sure that the beef will be tasty!

Friday, June 17, 2011
"Uh, this can't be good."

And for 5 chickens, it was the beginning of the end. We locked them up on Thursday night. Friday morning, the kids and I loaded up the van and took off for our Amish butcher by Kalona. We arrived, met the ladies doing some butchering. Said good-bye to our 5 chickens. Went to Kalona for some fabric shopping. Went back to the butcher to pick up our meat. Now we've got chickens in the freezer for some eatin', too! Maybe that will be my next Supper Swapper meal (hahaha).

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Daddy's home! Seth was gone to Racine from Wednesday to Friday night. He came back with a few gifts for the kids. Puzzles for the boys and t-shirts for the girls that I will make into nightgowns.

Putting together one of the puzzles. They were 500 pieces but that's about the right size for the boys to start to help with. And the pictures were of tractors and combines and farmers, so we had a good time with them.

Kid Wash Improved!

We constructed the Kid Wash on Saturday. And the kids were just itching to get back on it Sunday. So, after church, and after lunch, and after a short quiet time, we hit the slide! We now have the kid wash over two slip and slides, one right after the other. It seems like one just isn't long enough. Lucky for me, my pack rat habits came in handy. Our slip and slides are nothing fancy, simple ones from Dollar General. And one of them was on clearance for $1 last year. The other one is from two years ago and it has holes. Why I kept it and didn't burn it, I don't know. But I do know I'm glad I didn't get rid of it because this weekend it was exactly what we needed.

Ephraim coming down!

Emmet coming down! It wasn't long after this that the kids asked for dish soap. So, happy to oblige, I got out a bottle of soap and watched them lather up themselves and slide down even faster!

The girls loved it just as much as the boys!

The Kid Wash with the slip and slides has been a huge hit! The kids love it and I'm willing to overlook the water bill. Especially if it means we don't have to travel to a crowded water park (which I find stressful). We don't have to pay admission, pay for fuel, pay for food, etc. Here at home, we're close to the bathrooms. We're close to our snacks. There's no one else to see the kids throw a tantrum except the kittens and chickens. Yes, there are benefits to building your own fun at home.

Deluxe Kid Wash

It all started with an idea in Family Fun Magazine. I saw this Deluxe Kid Wash and thought that it would be a perfect fit for my kids and this summer. All it called for was some pvc pipe, which can be picked up for around $40.


Seth was able to devote a few hours on Saturday to constructing the sprinkler system.


Normally, Seth would have used his battery powered saw, but the kids did most of the sawing. Emmet and Ephraim were a huge help with it and it is important that they have a part in learning about constructing.

And if you think watching pvc pipe getting hacked is boring . . .

. . .you break out the freezee pops and do tricks with them.

After much anticipation, it was done. The hose was hooked up and the kids were in their swim suits. We turned it on and it worked like it was supposed to!

For a short time, we had it in this spot. But then it got muddy, so we moved it another 6 feet.

Eden shakin' it!

Lovin' the COLD water! But it was a hot one, almost 90 degrees, so it did feel good.

And then guess whose turn it was? Daddy's turn!

And then it was my turn. But, Seth was having a bit of difficulty with the camera so there are no pictures. The first time I went through, he hit the timer button. So, I went through again and he hit the button to take the picture but because it was still in "timer mode" it activated the timer. Of course, I was through the tunnel and done by the time the picture took. :)

And, then we got an even better idea. But the Kid Wash on the slight hill and put the slip and slide under it. Oh yes, this was fun!

But it gets even better! I'll save that for another post.

Fur and Feathers

We've been outside A LOT and we've had a chance to get the kitties out of the garage. Here are the kids with our six kittens. No, they don't have names. Why? Well, mostly because I think all 6 look alike. It is really hard to distinguish one from the other. But we'll work on it.


That's the momma cat on the left by Eliza. She is so tame and lets us pick up the kitties and take them to the grass and play with them for a long time.

And kitty meeets chicken . . . .

You can't see it, but the kitty was hissing and the chickens started backing away!

Anyway, I'm grateful for the fun that the kittens provide for the kids. Now, I just need to remember to be careful when I back the van out of the garage. Ugh! And to our neighbors who hear us honking our horn--it's mostly a warning to the chickens and the cats to MOVE IT!