Glensheen Mansion

last week i took a bunch of church ladies up to duluth. we toured the Glensheen Mansion on the shore of Lake Superior, lunched at Red Lobster, and poked around Canal Park. the weather was beautiful, and so were the ladies.;) i'm so glad we went!

elles's 2nd birthday sweater

i knit this for elles for her 2nd birthday. angie said, "make it big!". as you can see... it's huge!:) she can wear it for years. it might not hold up for years... but it's big enough to! still using jack for sizing. i don't think this will scar him for life.

crosby heritage days

i'm officially lame. blogging once a month!

this is jack at heritage days. he got 3 free pony rides! jack loves a good pony ride.:) he even got his photo in the crosby courier. it was the boots that did it.:) i must admit, i recognize the photographer from the paper by sight. i might have, sort of, mentioned that she knew my mother in law. i might have, sort have, told her that jack was claire milkovich's grandson. very subtle. very smooth.:) and it was no accident that he was wearing his boots. yee haw!

just the essentials......

holy cow. i haven't blogged in a long time. once a month is lame.

this photo was taken in the crosby super valu. we needed tp and milk.:) this was just after the first night of Vacation Bible School. we all had matching tee shirts! how cute is that?

little miss miller's, and playing catch-up

i'm playing catch-up. i have a whoooooole lot of photos to post to my blog. these are from the last visit of my sister and her girls. tomorrow i leave with jack to go visit them!:P what a goof. anyway, we had a blast when they came -- going to the beach, paul bunyanland, lighting fireworks, and hanging out. can't wait to go see them tomorrow!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! i'm sure the 8 hr. drive (stretched to 9 by the usual food and potty breaks) will just fly by.:)

just me and my jackers

july 3rd we went to the nisswa parade with the horns and schroeders. jack and i had matching tank tops. what a great way to celebrate our independence... with conformity!:)

ramdomly delicious

i'm into the "urban grocer" lately. some people in austrailia write this foodie blog and i "found" it on facebook through a friend. don't you want to spray paint your veggies with edible paint? i do!!! isn't that crazy?

the birthday box

we have a sweet little tradition at our church, the "birthday box". the week before your birthday you get to go up to the birthday box and pick something out while the church sings "happy birthday". it is so sweet. for the third year i captured the moments on camera...and videotape (thank you, gwama bwenda).:)

this year jack was looking extra special. he had his new birthday boots on, and his belt and belt buckle from papa dan. doesn't he look OLD? my baby! jack picked out a toy tool set, complete with saw, screwdriver, and hammer.

pweeeeeeze don't step on me!

found this liiiiiittle baby turtle at serpent lake a few weeks ago. can't believe my camera got such a nice clear close-up shot! i hope this little guy survived. he was so tiny! i was watching joey that day and he almost stepped on him multiple times. i finally relocated the turtle to a safer spot.

dan's side job

dan has been fixing some heavy equipment and painting it up for a guy we know. it has turned out to be a rather large little side job.:) this is the bobcat dan fixed and repainted. jack is really enjoying all these neat "toys" in the yard.

happy father's day, my love!

dan is such a great dad. happy father's day, dan! case in point... this father's day he is taking our family on vacation!:) yeah! i can't wait to spend the next few days entirely with my family! literally together. we'll be tenting it.:) (p.s. in case you were wondering, this is a "pinkerton" book that dan is reading. i LOVE pinkerton. steven kellog is a genius with words, but especially pictures!)

jackers's 3rd birthday!

jack had a fabulous 3rd birthday party june 5th. i made him his "gween spaceship" cake with aliens. he requested that! he got a lot of lovely gifts, including leather cowboy boots from my parents. God has truly blessed us with our spunky little jack anders. i don't know what i'd do without him!

my little bitty nieces

angie, her husband, and the kids stayed for a few days after grandpa's memorial. the kids all played together and had an awesome time. i love to watch them play together. they played on the swings, on the bikes, ate pop-a-sicles, watched "spongebob squarepants", and hugged each other. LOVE IT!

grammy lou's 77th birthday

well, grandma lou didn't feel like doing much celebrating, but her birthday came whether it was convienient or not. we all tried to make a very nice day for her. she had a ton of company. she got a lot of cards and gifts, and there was cake.:) i hope we were a comfort to her. love you, grammy lou!

garage sale!!!!!!!!!!

God does big things if you have faith! there was a delicious ad in the courier for a sale that had 4T and larger boys clothes. exactly what i need for jack! it was the third day of the garage sale...but i told dan that i expected God to do big things for us today. and He did! we walked away from that sale with 2 huge boxes for...FREEEEEEEEEEE! FREEEEEEEEEEEE! FREEEEEEEEEE! 2 boxes filled with clothes, books, toys, costumes, toy story sleeping bag, and a "buzz-a-bightyear" rug. the shoes, bing crosby records, cookbook, agatha mysteries, and some of the clothes were from other sales. these are the grand haul photos. i don't have a photo of the sleeping bag because dan deleted it.:) God is so good.

trying to move on after papa's gone...

i know i haven't posted a lot since gramps's accident. i am sure whoever is reading this will understand. i just didn't have the heart for it. i think that i can pick up the pieces now and move along, thanks in large part to the support of allllllll my family. it was just wonderful that all the family could make it to the memorial. gram, all three of the daughters, all 9 of the grandchildren, all 21 of the great/step-great grandchildren. and, of course, tons of the extended family. we all loved grandpa so much. my sister and her family were here a lot. here is a photo of my sis, angie, and i at rafferty's pizza the day after the memorial. mom just did not feel like eating the ham she made for lunch! and i don't blame her! this was a much better idea.:)

papa allen

i haven't been blogging lately because the only "real" news is that my grandfather is at North Memorial hospital in robbinsdale. he fell may 1st and hit his head. very long and nightmarish story short, we are going to lose him soon. unless God steps in and performs a miracle. we all miss gramps very much. he was special. thank you for all your prayers and love.

"the omnivore's dilemma" by michael pollan

this book is amazing. i think it is going to be life changing. i love it! it's energized me. well, it's enlightened me. we'll see how energetically i put into motion all that i've learned. local meat markets/farmers here i come. i think that historically this book will be right up there with the greats. you just watch! i'm only half-way through the book. i'll write more when i've got the whole picture. to be continued!

one of "those" days

today was one of "those" days. yesterday, on the other hand, was delightful. pbs in the morning, fresh aebelskivers (danish applesauce pancake balls rolled in cinnamon sugar), kite flying, visited my grandparents, "triangles of destiny", library, park, "pop-a-sicle", 5 library books, a few songs, naptime. today... dry-erase marker on face/neck/wooden easel and a wet spot on the floor. jack had stood there quietly behind me and pooped/peed his pants. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! i slightly freaked out. but, when it was all over, told him i still loved him. "this too shall pass." is my motto these days.:)

jack's first time lake fishing

dan, jack and i went fishing friday night for a bit at blackhoof lake. didn't catch a thing. but jack thought he did.:) the minnow on his hook counted as a fish to him! oh, and i knitted half a dishcloth.:)

a rug of blue and white

i....made a rug! i am so pleased. it is a cotton bathroom rug that i knitted with 3 strands at once. it took me about 2 weeks, maybe 3. it feels so good on the feet.

wishful thinking

i would dress like this every single day (minus the cheek inflaming sheerness!!!) if i could. now you know the reason why i had no problem with pcc's no-pants-for-women policy.:) skirts and dresses are delightful. the boots are... well, i can't find words. i am quite fond of them.:) and look! apparently sweater coats are very very fashionable. i just knew it!:) oh, if only i could figure out how to knit that beauty with the ribbons... and did you see the ruffley stockings?! not just for little girls in sunday school anymore!;)

i forget what line this collection is from. it was a fall collection that a friend mentioned on her blog. do you think they make these delicious clothes in hubba chubba bubba size? no? sigh. is it time to diet again? yes.

new knitting project

i've been working on a new knitting project for a week or two. it's a cotton bathroom rug! it is stinkin' exciting!!! i came up with the pattern myself. it is very rewarding, but hard, to make a pattern. there is a lot of trial and error and unraveling involved. there's only one slight thing i'd change if i were to ever make another one.

i am working with 3 strands at a time. sometimes it gets a little hard to push the yarn over the needle "leash". that is how i broke a needle this morning.:P oh well, a trip to the yarn store is never a bummer! i had a $5 off coupon, too. it was sort of like it was meant to be...:)

"smilepox"

uh oh.... somebody's got a serious case of the smilepox.:)

nappin'

i love to take photos of jack when he's sleeping. he is like a little angel. i love the soft, breathy noises he makes. i love the way he clutches his "baby". i love the fact that the "baby" is naked and mooning you. unintentionally of course.:)

Easter '10

jack and i dyed Easter eggs at my parent's house saturday. it's so much fun dying eggs with someone who is actually enjoying doing it with you.:) dan and andy kind of "outgrew" this activity.

sunday morning at Church my mom joined in with the orchestra with her violin. she's in the middle of the photo wearing the little white sweater. i'm so proud of her for learining the violin!

hope you had a Happy, Blessed Easter!

kissy face

spaghetti sauce on lips + kissy face = delicious

the cocoa ritual

babysat my niece a while back. after a rather chilly trip to the local park, we all enjoyed a spot of cocoa. ah, the cocoa ritual. instilled in me when i was young by my mother. why not make cocoa drinking a special moment? jack already loves mini marshmallows. i put approximately half a bag in a bowl for us all. i gave jack a special mug and a bendy straw. enough to blow a 2 yr old's mind. claire and i had special goblets and i poured the cocoa from my white teapot with the big yellow polka dots. to keep the cocoa cool for little mouths, i poured cold milk from a little white ceramic cow. i'm pretty sure we all had a really great time...with cocoa.:)

butterfly

another butterfly has flown off my needles. this hat was for elerene, to replace the wool one that my sister SHRUNK! horror! anyway, it's the same yarn as my butterfly hat. isn't it a beauty? i think this was the 12th or 13th butterfly. this is a beautiful, fun, easy pattern. i'm a big fan.:)