Ball Stars

We did it!

 

They did it!

 

Together we survived!!

 

We lived through our second year of having two baseball stars in the house.    

 

 

 

 

Five weeks of games Monday thru Thursday and eating either early bird dinners at 4pm or sunset dinners at 9:30pm have come and gone.  Memories were made from hitting the coach with a line drive and earning an ice cream treat in return (Bree) to fine tuning first baseman skills (Jacob).  As much as I love the crack of a baseball bat knocking one into outfield, I am glad the rush of the season is over.  Now off to swimming, reading, and camping the summer away.

It Works!

Growing up, my dad used good old distilled vinegar for household cleaning.  Its cheap. Its natural. Its antibacterial. But most importantly, its a universal cleaner.  Now in my adult years, I too have turned to using vinegar in my home in lieu of bringing in harsh chemicals that only do one specific job.  But one wonderful thing that vinegar can help with around the house, I was never taught - how to clean your laundry.  Those towels that don't smell so fresh, those sweaty clothes that have a lingering odor, the unfortunate load you left in the washer overnight and now have that musty smell.....  Vinegar can help!  But how??

 

After searching Pinterest, comparing different techniques, and asking people around me, I finally decided to just give it a go and see what happens.  Of course I started with a load of my least favorite towels though, just in case.

 

And guess what? 

 

IT WORKS!

 

Here's what I did:

 

Put your laundry in your washer as normal. 

 

Add two cups of distilled vinegar to the detergent spot.

 

Set your washer on HOT and let it go!

 

When the washer is done, rearrange your laundry, add the normal amount of detergent to the machine, turn the water to cold, and run it again.

 

After its done, throw it in the dryer. BUT. When drying your laundry, be sure it is 100% dry before pulling it out to fold.

 

 

That's it! 

I promise your towels and clothes will smell better and be fluffier.  Let me know if you give it a try.  Or let me know if you've discovered another super awesome use for vinegar!

Following Orders

Sometimes you just have to do what the fortune cookie tells you to do.

 

Adventures in the Great Outdoors

4 friends

 

2 canoes

 

3 hours

 

7 miles of winding river

 

 and only 50% experience on the water...

 

what could possibly go wrong?! 

 

 

 

Absolutely nothing!

 

Well... minus the freak rainstorm, getting the canoe stuck in a tree, somehow turning the canoe backwards (um....twice), being attacked by biting flies, and discovering that we can say we have been friends for over two decades.

 

Yep, absolutely nothing wrong with any of that.   

 

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul Proverbs 27:9



Yogi Bear

Memories are made with poolside smiles....

 

...and poolside naps...

 

...and poolside ice cream treats before lunch...

 

 

... all on the first of many family camping trips.

 

 

 

 Yogi Bear 2016

 

 

What I'm reading this week

 

I picked up this book after a friend recommended it to me.  I've heard of the Appalachian Trail and remember being pleasantly surprised at how much I loved Reece Witherspoon's movie 'Wild' about the Pacific Coast Trail so I thought why not give it a try. 

 

I. Was. Floored. at how much I loved this book. 

 

Never before have I had the desire to hike 2,175 miles while carrying everything I would need day in and day out on my back but now its a life goal.  Okay, not really but the desire to simplify, cut back, notice things, focus on what matters has been fueled even more.   

 

One thing I was learning to love about the trail was the sense of community. I hadn't seen Raptor for hundreds of miles, but now we were together again and it felt like we were family.  And if I hadn't run into Raptor, then I probably would have found another familiar face, or someone who knew someone I knew. 

 

Trail community is a strange concept, because it's always in flux.  Sometimes, mostly down South, I would find myself in a brood of hikers.  Other times I would be happy for the company of just one or two, and a lot of the time especially up North, I was content to be alone and know that there were other hikers ahead of me and behind me.  There was never a time, even if I was alone, when I didn't feel part of  larger community.

 

Maybe the fact that I wasn't lonely had more to do with the quality of relationships than the quantity.  The problem in life is that there are a lot of people who knew what I was, but didn't know who I was.  No wonder there is so much pressure to look a certain way, when usually the only thing people get to know is someone's outer image.  When I spent time with someone on the trail, it could be for a few minutes or a few days, but the time was focused.  There were no distractions and few inhibitions.  When we parted ways, they didn't just know my profile, they knew my person.  They knew what I liked and didn't like, how I felt, what I wanted to be, and what mattered to me.  And just as importantly, I knew them. 

And yet ANOTHER new adventure

Hmm.......

 

Background check and fingerprinting?

 

 

What am I up to on this one?

 

I'll let you know soon.

 

 

Ensured or Cursed?

Each Spring brings high hopes for a bountiful garden.  Seeing old dirt over-run with weeds...

 

 

...turned over and ready for new life is invigorating, encouraging, inspiring. 

 

 

And when then those little seeds begin to sprout

 

 

and your first harvest is ready, you begin to think...

 

 

"I've got this!  I am a gardener! 

I will be successful!!"

 

But then Mother Nature (mixed with a chaotic schedule to say the least) has another plan and the beginnings of a drought are taking their toll on gardens everywhere. 

 

 

Oh my poor basil.

 

With all the promises of rain in the forecast that have been missing our corner of Ohio, I have found a foolproof way to ensure that we will get tomorrows storms.  Guaranteed. 

 

I watered my garden. 

 

 

Or perhaps I did the opposite and I cursed us with more possible rain that will miss us.  How did I do that?

 

Well, in order to water my garden I emptied my entire rain barrel and can do no more watering until it fills back up.  But that's okay.  Its supposed to rain tomorrow, right?

 

 

So there you have it. 

 

I either ensured our rain because my garden no longer needs watered.  Or I cursed us all by using up all my water reserves in knowing that we'll get more rain tomorrow.

On Our Way

We had garage sales.

 

We had lemonade stands.

 

We bribed the kids to keep the lights off.

 

We took on side jobs.

 

We made wise spending decisions.

 

And although there are many blanks spaces left on our board...

 

...we will be on our way to the most wonderful place on earth very soon.

 

As many of you may have heard me profess, we would not be going to Disney unless we could pay cash.  And that is exactly what we did!

 

So about those empty squares.... 

 

I honestly had no idea how much it would cost for a family of five to visit Disney for any length of stay.  The bar was set pretty high at attempting to save $5,000 with even higher hopes that it would not be that much.  With lots of help from a family Disney expert, great timing, and lots of patience, our family of 5 is flying and staying on site at Disney for eight days, seven nights with the dining plan of one quick service and one table service each day for a grand total of $3250!!  When the do-or-die time came to book the trip, we were surprisingly only a few hundred dollars short!  So we knuckled down at home and the hubby picked up a side job and VOILA!  A Disney trip paid for in cash and it will be worth every penny. 

Dad's Day

Ah, putt-putt. 

 

What a fun, simple, everyone-can-play-and-get-along way to spend Father's Day.  I grabbed my putter, slung my camera bag on my back, and turned around to discover.....  the kids had already started.  And trying to stop them at any point to get a picture was not going to happen.  So here is a picture version (with minimal words) of our Father's Day Outing at Country Corners Miniature Golf. 

 

 

 

 

Just gotta love the attempt to be in front of the camera for once:

 

 

But we did manage to capture a semi-decent one.

 

This putt-putt course is out in the middle of nowhere and is run by a lovely retired couple who just wanted something to do.  What a great way to spend retirement - watching families and friends come together and laugh over a game of golf.

 

One of the highlights of the day was also a great surprise.  

 

 

All putt-putt games that day were free of charge!!  A local life insurance company sponsored the day by paying for the games AND they even provided free water, snacks, and giveaways to all players - with special freebies just for dads! 

 

 

We continued celebrating this special man in our lives at home with boxes of cereal, Faygo pop, and yummy buttermints meant just for him.  Pinky swear.  It hardly seems enough but what can you really do or give the man in your life, the father of your children, to show your appreciation for all the tireless hours of work and driving, chores and homework reviewing, house repairing and yard work, and side jobs that he does?   

 

 

Well, I'm not sure what is enough but I hope he knows how much we love him.

 

Happy Father's Day!



Track Star

Our town offered a two week track session in June complete with championship match at the end.  Since it had very little time commitment, we gently coaxed Bree into giving it a try.  And it turns out - she loved it!!

 

 

Running warm-ups.

 

(Warm ups)

 

Every day she got to try something new to see what she liked, was good at, or in her case, was a natural at!

 

High Jump. 

Not her forte.  She couldn't get her footing right for the take off and the landing scared her a bit too.

 

 

 

 

200 Meter Dash.

Or in other words, half a lap.  Running is not her forte either but the coaches wanted all athletes to compete in one running event.  I applaud her for not choosing the even shorter race of 100 meter dash.

 

Bree is the one in the middle of the screen in black shorts.

 

Long Jump.

Who knew she would be a natural at long jump?  From her first run through, she was hooked and focused on the coach, absorbing all she could. 

 

 

She took first place in this event with her longest jump being 7 foot, 2.75 inches!!

  

 

 

7 ft, 2.75 in.

 

6 ft, 9in.

 

6 ft, 1.75 in.

 

Now that she's had a taste of track and the victory that comes with doing your best, I think she'll be back for more in future years.