50 Days of Summer Left

It's going by fast!!!

• We made it to the zoo, one of our field trips we take in the summer. We spent the day with Danielle and baby Brock-his first trip to the zoo. It wouldn't be complete without a flat tire on the way home. Thankfully we were almost home! No pictures, I've got enough from the other 3 times we've been before. I'm ready for a new zoo- I'd like to go to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo next. Been there, done that for Binder, especially the $$$.


• We also did raspberry picking, another summer time favorite. The boys loved it. They kept saying "Mom, look how many I picked!" Every 2 minutes. Then I made Raspberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars- YUMMY! The recipe is in Family Fun magazine.
• We celebrated our 4 year anniversary on Thursday. Here's a fun picture for you all to enjoy. It's me and Ned Flanders, I mean David. (1999)

(Forgive me, I am just learning how to scan pictures. That is why it is crooked and tiny, not that you would want to see it any bigger, anyway). WOW.
And our wedding, July 16, 2005.

• To celebrate, we hung out at home. We had a bonfire with the kids and they burned marshmallows and caught glow bugs. We exchanged very romantic gifts: David got me tires for the front of the mini van, and I got him tires for the back of the mini van. I think that they should change the traditional anniversary gifts to something like this:

1st anniversary: paper

2nd anniversary: cotton

3rd anniversary: leather

4th anniversary: tires

After the kids went to bed, I pulled out our old pictures which is when I found that nasty picture you see above. I also decided it would be fun to try on my wedding dress to see if it fit. Let's just say it didn't zip all the way, and I couldn't sit down with out blowing out some seams.

• We've started a new tradition in the Bradley household. Movie nights- once a month. Jake is now old enough to sit through a movie, Tyler-not so much, but he can dink around while we watch. This months feature film: Charlotte's Web. I even made a theme dinner to go with it- pigs in a blanket. It was nice to look forward to something special with the kids and cheap! We are also going to try game night once a month too. That's 2 Fridays of fun to look foward to.


• Tyler's had some great lines lately. "You got some good groceries, mom" Only Tyler would appreciate some good groceries. What exactly are "good groceries?" And, "I'm hungry, I want some broccoli." This was at 7:30am when he said this one, he truely loves broccoli, and we have some in the garden. What kid wants broccoli for breakfast? And here is my favorite: he just went #2 in his little baby bojorn potty, I was coming in to assist wiping and he said "it's a castle, a castle o' poop." Not to be sick, but it really did look like a sand castle you would see at the beach.


• We have an addition to our family: Lola. She is a sweetheart and reminds me of Fuzzy. Thanks to Nicole, who found her for me. I wasn't expecting to get a new cat this soon, but she looks so much like Fuzzy, I couldn't resist!

Help Us Win!!!

Tyler is in a photography contest, and not doing great in the polls! Please take a second and vote for him in group 3. We really want to win!!!! THANK YOU!!!
http://nbarczakphotography.blogspot.com/

Update Time

I'm seeing a trend here for the summer- a lot going on, and not enough time to blog about it. There have been so many things to post, and I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed trying to stay on top of them and post them!

Over the 4th, the kids and I left for up north to visit my mom and her hubby who is staying at her cabin for the summer. We go every year over the 4th and few other times over the summer. We left on Monday, and it was COLD and rainy the whole week. We left David at home, because he has to fund my vacations. I kept myself occupied with the Legos the first day. Here's my masterpiece.

On Tuesday, we decided to go into Gaylord to see the movie Up. I was excited to see it, and I thought the kids would enjoy going to the theater because we don't go often. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, and the first show was sold out. We hung out in town for another 2 hours for the next show. Jake was freaked out the whole movie. I don't know what it is, but the kid is afraid of movies, even Toy Story freaks him out. Tyler hung in there, but really wanted to play the arcade games in the lobby. So I finally gave in when Jake was in tears and left. I missed the last 20 minutes of the show, which is the best part. We waited in the lobby for my mom and Bob to finish the show- someone had to tell me how it ended!

Wednesday my sister and her husband and kids came up, and we went to Boyne City to meet family we hardly get to see. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant outside, all 18 of us. Jake was excited to have his cousins to play with now. David called Wednesday night to let me know my Fuzzy had been hit by a car (we think) and had passed away. I absolutely adored that cat. He was had the sweetest personality.

Thursday was fishing day, and the kids spent all day fishing in the cold. They had to wear jeans and sweatshirts. I packed about 6 pairs of shorts each for the boys, and they wore shorts one day the whole time we were there. They had a great time though, and Jake caught some huge fish on his tiny Lightening McQueen fishing pole. I don't have the fish pictures, my mom has them on her camera.

David and my brother came late on Thursday night and they brought a surprise with them- my brother bought a fishing boat and hauled it up north.

The guys were anxious to launch the boat on Friday, so they left for Otsego lake. The lake that my mom's cabin is on doesn't permit speed boats or jet skis. We were going to meet them with the kids, but they came back and said it was to cold. My mom, sister and I headed to town for shopping instead. We managed to go for a ride later in the day, but only for short runs because of the cold. My sister has those pictures on her camera. I was wrapped up in a blanket.

Finally on Saturday (the 4th) we had nice weather. We all went to Harbor Springs for the day. We watched the parade, well the kids and I did- there was not a single parking spot to be found so David dropped us off and went to Petosky for lunch at McDonalds. I was starting to get sick, so I didn't feel so great, now that we had a nice weather.
This cracks me up. I tell my mom she has this to look forward to. The "bikinis" are t-shirts, it's a group of old ladies wearing them in the parade.

Later on, we all had dinner with my grandpa. We have been coming to Harbor Springs for the 4th ever since I can remember and we are thankful that my grandpa was apart of it this year since he had a stroke last year and was in a nursing home at the time.

We stayed for the fireworks which the boys loved. They laid on a grassy hill, side by side. During moments like that, I'm glad I have two boys who will grow up together being "boys" -getting into trouble together!

Everyone left on Sunday, except me, mom and Bob. I meant with a lady who owns one of my favorite stores, and let me be her "intern" for a few hours. She gave me some information on painting furniture and owning a store. That was a lot of fun for me.

I stayed for a few more days hoping for some good weather, which didn't happen until the day we left. My mom and I took the boys for walks, kayak rides, out for ice cream and elk viewing. I got my recipes organized, and hung out with my friend Sus, who's parents also have a cabin a few down from ours. We've been friends forever, and I spent a lot of summers with her at the cabin. I hadn't seen her since my wedding, so we got caught up.

On our last day, the boys got to swim. Usually, during our cabin vacations, I plop in a chair by the water and spend the day watching the boys frolic in the water and read magazines. I didn't do that at all this time. It felt like fall time. We played a lot of games especially Scattergories and Sequence, which was fun. It just wasn't our typical vacation up there-maybe it was the crappy weather, me getting sick, and my cat dying that changed it.
Anyway, it will be a vaction to remember. We are going back up soon, so maybe that time will be a little better.

24 Hours Without the Kids!

We had a 30th Birthday party to go to on Friday night, so we asked David's mom to watch the kids. She offered to keep them for most of the day on Saturday as well. We had a great time at the party- most of David's friends don't have kids, and quite a few aren't even married yet! So, needless to say, they are still crazy party animals. I did quite well at not being too intoxicated. I get nasty hangovers that last the whole next day, so I kept myself fairly under control.

Normally when we have free time, we spend the day working on the never-ending to do list that comes with being home-owners. Not this time! At the party, we made plans to meet up the next day (Saturday) and spend the day at Farwell lake. First, we slept in- until about 8:30, yes, that's right for those of you without children, sleeping in means 8:30. Then we went out for breakfast, stopped at some garage sales and went home to change.

We got to the lake at 11:30 and spent 5 wonderful hours in the sun. I haven't spent 5 consecutive hours in the sun since I've had kids, and why I thought I wouldn't burn is beyond me. I hurt bad. I didn't put a lick of sunscreen on.

There is a sandbar at the lake that people anchor the boats on, and spend the day swimming, drinking, and well, partying. I felt like I was back at college. We played frisbee, read People magazines, swam, ate munchies, and RELAXED!!!

This is what people do who don't have kids yet! They still party like they are 21 year olds!

It was fun to be a little wild and crazy. A break from the same old routine. It was nice to miss the kids and have a taste of freedom, lol.

Goodies at the Garage Sale

I've never been much into garage sales. I've been to a few, and I always feel weird walking up to someones house and looking at their stuff. Most of it was junk anyway, and then I feel like I have wasted my time.

My sister and I have had 3 garage sales. One at her old house in Dearborn, one in Concord, and one in Kalamazoo. They are a lot of work. Especially since I've had to haul my stuff to a different location each time. I like the sale day though, because it feels like I have my own store. I love to watch the different people that show up and see what they choose to buy. The most recent one we had in Kalamazoo, it rained for most of the morning and we only had the sale for 1 day. I only made $130.00 dollars and I had a van full of stuff to bring home.

Some other houses in my sisters neighborhood had some sales, and when it was slow, I wandered over to them. I scored this mirror for $7.00 bucks!

I've always loved painting old furniture, so when I found this dresser in my dad's office, I hauled it home and went to work.
And here it is after.

So, I got this idea, that this summer I would find some cheap furniture at garage sales, paint it and sell it. I need a hobby and I need some money. I can work on the furniture in the garage while the kids play, or at night after they are in bed.

This past weekend, my mom and I headed to Grass Lake for the community garage sale to find some furniture. I've only been to Grass Lake one other time, so we didn't know exactly where to go. We drove around stopping at the ones we saw. I didn't find much furniture which was a bummer, but I did find some other goodies. Like this:

It's a castle and tunnel from Ikea, that I scored for $10.00. I also got a Richard Scarry book for .75 cents, two soccer goal nets for .50 cents, and this cute plate for .50 cents.

It's all luck in what you find, and you have to be fast. There were a ton of people looking for treasures to buy. I was trying to decide if I should buy this beautiful antique trunk that was only $20.00 and before I had a chance to buy it, it was gone. They only bad part about garage sales are you come home with more stuff. I spent the last couple weeks going through my junk and getting rid of stuff, only to haul more back in. But it is so cheap, you can't pass it up, and you never know what you are going to find! That is the best part. And when I go to sell this stuff again, I won't care that I only sold it for a quarter, because I only paid fifty cents anyway!

What are some garage sale goodies you have found?

The Bikes and the Garage Sale

Last October, I bought some "gently" used, rusty bikes from craigslist. Not the best, but they worked. For Tylers "potty present" I picked up a bike for him at Meijers. He adores it, and rides it every day.

Originally, I was looking for a bike trailer thing for Tyler to ride in, but he wants to be just like Jake, and I was afraid he would get bored, plus he needs some exercise too! So, now we are all set for summer riding on the bike trail. We took the boys for the first time a few weeks ago, and they loved it. We saw lots of deer and Tyler rode 2 miles!

Last week, David and I had a "date night" and we hit the trail again and rode for 6 miles. It was nice to break away from the dinner and a movie routine for dates. Not that we go on that many anyway, but we had a nice time being able to talk. Or complain. Both times we went on the trail, David b*tched about his bike, and how it doesn't shift, or the seat, or the suspension.....blah,blah. I was getting ready to have a garage sale with my sister the following weekend in Kalamazoo, so David suggested I sell the bikes and we would get new ones. BIG MISTAKE. How did I let him talk me into it? Maybe it was so I wouldn't have to listen to him complain everytime we took a bike ride.

So anyway, he loaded both bikes on top of the van and sort of tied them on with rope. (The garage sale requires it's own separate post). So, I drive the hour to Kalamazoo, down I-94, hoping the bikes don't come off the top of the van. Getting them off the van when I arrived at my sisters was FUN too. So on garage sale day, I'm out scrubbing the rusty bikes with SOS pads hoping someone will buy them so I don't have to tie them to the roof again. A woman offers me 15.00 a bike and they are sold!

Now, we have no bikes, and I'm out 20.00 bucks, because I paid 25.00 and sold them for 15. Do we have $200.00 dollars a piece for new bikes? No. If I had $400.00 would I go buy new bikes? No. I have a looong list of things I would much rather spend $400.00 dollars on, and at the top is a Dyson vacuum.

So much for riding the bike trail this summer.

Best Birthday, Ever!!!

Jake kept saying this to me today, which melted my heart, and made me laugh at the same time. Considering he's only had 4 to choose from, none of which he can remember. He woke up at 6:30 ready to dive into those presents. I diverted him for awhile with The Cars movie while I drank my coffee and read blogs, my morning ritual. Then I jumped in the shower and fed the boys breakfast. Now we were ready for presents and it was only 8:00am. Hello long day!! I can tell from the pictures I took which presents were his favorites and it was obvious this was a winner.
It is a Star Wars gun he's been saving his allowance for. He also got a soccer ball, Leapster Tag, 3 Automoblox mini's, a Eco-truck loader, and some Legos I ordered from E-Bay which I am disappointed in. I was hoping to get some fun pieces for him to built airplanes and race cars without having directions. I didn't want a kit, or a basic set. The E-bay description said various 100 piece airplane pieces, and 100 piece racecar pieces. Well, Legos are tiny and 100 pieces to amount to much, especially the random stuff this dude sent me. Waste of money!!

By 9:00, we didn't have much to do. I was trying to spent time with Jake, but I couldn't stand the messy house. I started playing around with his Leapster Tag which required downloading crap on the computer. Of course, it didn't work correctly, which pisses me off because we just bought our computer a few months ago. In the meantime, the phone is ringing off the hook with people wishing Jake a Happy Birthday and then I've got Tyler saying "help me, Momma" every 2 seconds. He is a needy child. Everytime I turn around he's asking me for something.

So, at 10:00 I'm having an anxiety attack. I've got Geoffrey the giraffe on the phone, Tyler needing his behind wiped, and a messy house. I started getting frustrated with the kids, and Jake starts saying "bad Birthday". That made me feel even worse.

Thankfully I had to feed the kids lunch early, and be out the door by 11:30 so we could meet Jessy and Harrison for putt-putt. I just needed to get out of the house, and hang out with a friend. Things were a lot better then. The boys had fun running around and they burned off some energy at the park chasing around a model airplane some guy was out flying at the park.

When we got home, Ty napped and Grandma Dar brought the best present ever. Thanks for the idea, Jessy! It is the Fisher Price Turbo Blaster squirt gun. It is the coolest idea ever. A little pricey, but worth the cost. I've been on the market for outdoor toys the boys could play together and this was just the thing.

I let Jake request dinner, which was Tacos. Last year he requested meatloaf and baked potatoes with chives. I like this tradition, it is fun to see what his favorite meal is each year.

For his dessert, I made cupcakes. I'm saving his birthday cake for his party on Sunday.

If anyone is still reading at this point, refill your coffee beacause this is a long post.

After dinner, David went outside with the boys to try out the squirt guns-even though it was freakin cold. The boys had a ball. David plays with the kids so much better than I do. Must be the maturity level. It was so fun to watch them play. Tyler was hilarious. He kept making this funny face.

Although it's sad to see my little guy grow up, having a five year old is so much easier and fun than a toddler. Jake can actually help with things and is a lot more apprecative. I was so impressed with his manners today. Telling everyone thank-you and telling me how much he liked everything. He is self-sufficent- doesn't need bathroom help, can buckle himself in the car, gets his own snacks, doesn't need naps, gets dressed by himself. It's fun to take him places and see him learn. He's almost like a mini adult at times which is weird. I love hanging out with him, and I am sad to see him grow up, because that means school in the fall.

Happy Birthday, Jake!