Psst...

Missing Photo Files....

Last weekend we started our garden. David had tilled up several weeks ago, but then the rain came, and came, and came. So we had to sorta start again. Here's a before shot of the garden.

And here's a shot of the garden with the plants. We put up a little fence later to keep the animals out. Okay and Lia too!

I just love this picture. David is so hard at work and Lia was so interested. She followed Daddy back and forth to the wagon. He was digging out a spot for our clothes line.

This is finally a picture of the frog that is living in our pond! David said he saw little tadpoles swimming in front of the light one night. So maybe this is a lady frog!

Vacation Edition...

I was able to get the pictures off the camera and loaded into blogger. A few weekends ago David and I were able to go to Hocking Hills, Ohio. It was plenty of time to visit about everything we wanted to see.

I think this shot is at Ash Cave. It was an easy hike.

This was a big crack. Who can resist making funny faces in front of a big crack?

This is Cedar Falls. If you ignore the tree and my head, this shot looks almost identical to the ones they show on the tourist websites. Are we awesome or what?!?

This is our cabin. It was fairly secluded and had an upper and lower deck. The lower deck had the hot tub. Since it was covered, it was great to enjoy once the rain started. We grilled out our first night and hoped to find a good restaurant the second. We did not so we got a pizza.

Here's a handsome fellow at Old Man's Cave. It was the best stops we visited. Lots of pretty areas. We enjoyed walking some of the less traveled trail there, but this was in the main area.

No Pictures...Please

I'm having trouble getting pictures to load on here, so this will be another picture free edition! Sorry. On to other things...

David took off work on Friday, so we had a long Memorial Day weekend and it was just about perfect. We took the dog to the vet, went to Kokomo for some shopping, bought new plants for the koi pond, weeded the front bed, ate out at Yats, went swimming, played croquet, grilled out almost every night, and had an all around great weekend. It was one of those weekends you look at the clean up you need to do and how tired you are after, but it doesn't matter because you had a great time. The truth is we just love our new house and have a blast just being home together.

And who can ask for more than that...

Sunbonnet Baby

Redneck...

It's true. I am officially a redneck with an accompanying farmer's tan. How could this happen? One word, Garden! We finally got our garden going!

On Saturday we spent the morning getting plants into the ground. Not an easy task with a 15 month old I might add. Then on Sunday we were back at it again installing the fence around it to keep the bunnies out. (Not to mention the dog and Lia!)

Now with a little sun, rain, and love we hope to have a big harvest. But not too big on the brussel sprouts. We accidentally picked up one of those instead of cabbage. We decided to plant it even though neither David nor I enjoy them really. So if you have an awesome brussel sprout recipe, send it on over! We also planted tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, hot peppers, and banana peppers.

Lia and I enjoyed a little Gymboree this morning and lots of time reading. Who can resist when that little voice says "wead" then "pweez." She's getting cuter by the day!

Here's what happening in my neck of the woods....

Remember a few weeks ago David and his brothers went to drive and ride in Indy cars? Well here's a shot of my hubs and his brother, Tim, suited up for the drive. David has the hat and sunglasses. He said it was fun, fast, and driving took a lot of concentration. I feel like I have the "Indycar experience" everyday when riding shotgun as David takes the corner on Spring Mill just north of 191st Street. That's the closest I need to get, thank you very much!

What else has been going on? A lot of stuff like running around with no pants on, despite my efforts to tell David it is inappropriate. I kid I kid. Here's Lia sporting her hott bed-head look and new "squeekers" even though technically they would be "squandles." (For those not in the know, those are shoes that squeek with each step.) And no she is not supposed to have that pacifier but snagged it off the end table. What's a Mom to do...

And here is little Miss soaking up some sun outside. Lia is going to be awesome at frat parties if she keeps up her "chugging" ability. She will not sip on a sippy cup...only chug it until it is gone then throw it on the floor. She's gonna give those boys a run for their money!

I still haven't got the pictures off the camera from our vacation. I'm not sure how to do it. I need David and his awesomeness. So we've just been living the good life this week and enjoying being back to the routine.

FROG!

So I am very sad to report that I have to frog an entire sleeve and a half because I miss read the pattern. I was supposed to increase on both sides not just one. Needless to say, I thought I would finish this sweater over the weekend, but that won't be happening. It really stinks.

That is all.

We're Baaaaaack!

In more ways than one! David and I just got back today from Hocking Hills, Ohio and Blogger is back up. We got to stay in a secluded little cabin with a hot tub this weekend while my mom, dad, and Lia held down Casa Christman. We did a day of hiking up cliffs with lots of stairs...my knees no likey! This is a picture of Old Man's Cave, lower falls.

We were able to hike Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, and Cedar Falls before the rain started to fall. We didn't make it to Rock House. Too bad we couldn't hike more and had to relax with adult beverages in the hot tub. It was a *real* inconvenience!

I'll post our pictures later when I get them off the camera. This one was from the State Park website. BUT I did actually see that! For now, I'm off to unpack and clean up...back to reality.

Take that Chuck Norris

Nobody Better Lay a Finger on My Butterfinger. Scraft that, wife...

This is one in a series of very interesting pictures at this website. And you're welcome!

Lovin' It

We've had great weather here the past few days. That means heading outdoors for some fun. Here are a couple pictures of Miss Lia from today.

Oh Happy Day!

Nope that's not me on Mother's Day...it's the two best people to spend Mother's Day with! Look at that sweet tiny little Lia. Daddy got up early with her today, made me breakfast, and told me we could do whatever I wanted today. Well I wanted to go to the IMA Arts Park for a look-see. We got there early and wandered around basically on our own. It was great. Then we headed back home for some Daddy grilling while Lia and I goofed off on the patio. Now Lia is napping, David is mowing, and I get to do whatever I want. So that means I'm heading out to the deck to sit in the sun with my knitting and ignore the dishes in the sink...guilt free! Ahhhhhh...this is how Mother's Day should be done. A+ award for my hubby!

Happy Mother's Day Everybody!

Action Shot

Lia seems to be always on the move these days. She also seems to be 'talking' more and more. Sometimes real words, sometimes not. But one thing I know is that she has somewhere to go and something to say about it. This leads to a new problem for me...taking action shots. I normally take pictures on my phone. Definitely not high quality pictures nor quick. A lot of the pictures I get Lia has moved or is halfway out of the frame before it clicks. Anyway, here are some shots of Lia in action outside on the deck the past few days...

Talking to me about her beach ball...

Whew Mommy its windy!

Busy walking...

Starting to shake her sillies out.

For those of you keeping count, Lia seems to be getting two new teeth on the top. She has been all about fingers in her mouth. Turns out there is a new tooth in the front and a molar starting to show up in the back. She still has a lot more teeth on the right side than the left!

Oatmeal Sandbox

This morning Lia needed something new to do, so we got out the good ole oatmeal sandbox. It was a lot of fun and if she ate a little, no big deal because it is just oats! And Lia did taste it at first but quickly discovered she didn't like it and dug right in to playing. The best thing about oatmeal sandbox is that I just scooped up whatever ended up on the floor and then swept. Easy peasy clean up. I suppose if you had a playmat you could put that under the whole mess and then just pour it in the dish when done...but we don't have that fancy stuff out here in the country! Actually I do, but it is just some plastic cloth I bought at JoAnns. And it was in the basement craft room and Lia was already playing by the time I thought of that little gem!

Lia deciding to get in the 'sandbox.'

Kung Fu Lia...Hiiiiya! She's got great form!

Playing nicely before she decided to get in. Note Wilson's paws in the background. He wasn't sure what was going on but stayed close in case it was fun.

Busy stirring things up a bit!

Lions and Tigers and Bears! OH MY!

Today was library day. We got this funny little book where you put your head in the hole and become an animal. Lia thought it was really funny when Mommy put her head in and made animal noises. Pretty ingenious if you ask me. Lia enjoyed seeing herself in the mirror as animal girl!

Lia the snake...

Lia the tiger...

Lia the elephant...
This last picture is of Lia when I tried to get her to go outside. At this point I had asked her, went outside myself, and talked it up as if it was the most awesome place in the world. She wasn't having it...too busy reading her new library books!

Big GIrl

Lia is enjoying her lunch after a busy morning. You may notice her hair is uncut. David forgot about our haircut excursion and had made other plans. It was okay because it just means more time I get to spend with her sweet little mullet. You may also notice the big girl cup in the picture. Miss Lia has learned to drink through a straw. She is definitely getting new skills all the time. We are practicing saying please. It seems to be most effective when she wants picked up or more food. We're working on "up please" and "bite please." And it is the cutest thing to hear her say it. I think I'd give her just about anything if it was followed with please. Mommy's a softie.

Stay At Home Weekend

With the gorgeous weather this weekend, I am so glad David declared it another "Stay at home" weekend. That means no driving. It was great. We cooked out and ate outside. Lia played with her Gymbo on the porch. David flew a kite. We enjoyed every second of it.

Today was back to reality. Laundry to wash, dishes to do, Gymboree class to attend. Miss Lia will be heading out this evening for her first haircut. I'm have lots of nerves over it. Should I? Is it time?

Project 1: Done

I have been carefully working for about two weeks minus a couple days on this shawl. Granted I didn't knit on it everyday. It is for a special friend of mine going through an incredibly difficult time in her life. It is called a "hug to keep" in the knitting with Debbie Macomber shawl book. That's not it's official title, but it's the general idea. If you are really interested post me a comment and I'll dig up the pattern to tell you the official name. Anyway here's the back of it as modeled by Lia's high chair...

This is the front view...

This is it all stretched out along the back of the couch. I'm holding the camera crooked...our picture on the wall isn't crooked!

I really love how the edges have the ruffled looking seed stitch and the middle is stockinette. I also like that the back looks entirely like seed stitch so you can wear it either way! I gotta be honest I was pleasantly surprised by the striping effect of the yarn. I thought it was going to be more variegated. All in all I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, how the pattern was, and that Lia didn't unravel it this morning since I left it on the coffee table last night!