Annie's Birthday Celebration, Maases Visit, Baby Turtle, and More!

I don't know what happened to the picture upload, but here we go!  There is an AWESOME little out-of-the-way amusement park here called Tuscora Park.  There are a few rides, miniature golf, batting cages, parks, and live music on Friday nights.  Best of all, the rides are LONG and CHEAP!  We decided to go here to celebrate Annie's 6th birthday while Uncle David, and Grandma/Pa Maas were visiting.  So much fun!!! 

The roller coaster is little, but the girls just loved it!  I think they rode this one 4 times!  Ben - doesn't love the roller coasters or the swings, but he had a great time at the batting cages! 

This was the marathon Saturday.  We went to Amish Country to tour around (pictures to follow), hit the park, swam at the hotel, then came home for Olive Garden takeout and baseball on TV.  We were all exhausted by the end of the day! 

Uncle David stayed two extra days (YEAH!) and did a few of my honey-do lists that Andy hasn't gotten around to.  This light switch has been broken for over a year...it's a push dimmer switch for over our kitchen table - the most frequently used light in the house.  We sure love this working!!! 

David and Ben played Risk several times (Ben cried about David leaving because no one else will ever play games with him) with the shortened version - just playing with 2/3 of the board.  Much excitement here!  He also walked the kids to school with us. 

In late June, our neighbor (Miss Linda) noticed a snapping turtle in the road.  There was a big hole/mound of mulch in another neighbor's (Bobbie) yard.  The best we could figure, the turtle must have come up to lay some eggs.  Miss Linda did some research and found the soonest we could be looking for babies was the first week of August.  No babies...we kind of forgot about the turtle until the second Friday afternoon in September.  Emily was going to swing with Dad and Grandma Maas, but there was a little tiny turtle in the grass!!!  We are the opposite direction from the pond, so we helped the little turtle get pointed in the correct direction. Poor little thing - hopefully it survived with all of the little helping hands!

Abby and Maddie from across the street came to 'play' too!

Puzzle Time!

Touring the Amish Cheese Factory, with LOTS of yummy samples!!!

We re-found our favorite spot from two years ago...the puppies!!!  We all loved and loved them.  I was going to say, especially Mitchell, but I think we were all in awe of the sweet soft little bodies!  And, yes, I held many of these sweet things!

At Tuscora Park again - the Big Kids decided to ride the swings in the rain with the little girls!

Surprise! Happy Birthday Lindsey!

We went to do Relief Society Visits, and our president was adamant that we be back by 3pm because we needed to spend time with our families.  She was bringing me home and was coming in to pick up her stuff that was leftover from the BYU party the night before.  Walking into the garage, I wondered why there was a trash bag on the window of the door.  Surprise!!!! 

Yes - very good surprise!  It was a fun afternoon, and I felt very spoiled indeed!  Thanks to all who came or tried to come or would have come if you were invited.  :) 

And, if you notice the confetti on the floor, it has taken MONTHS to clean up... :)

JRCLS Football Party

Andy is the current JRCLS President at the University of Akron.  This is our 3rd BBQ with all the Cleveland area members.  We eat, watch the opening BYU football game, chat, and sweat - it was the HOTTEST day of the summer!!! 

In my opinion, last year was more fun and relaxing because the weather was more typical Ohio...so more people stayed longer, the game seemed more exciting , etc.  We still had a great time and Andy was glad to have our garage cleaned out, the shed up, and the yard looking pretty! 

First Day of School

It's that time of year again!  I think the kids were more ready to go back to school than I was to let them!  We had such a busy summer of traveling and visiting that we never got into a good summer-playing routine.  Alas, cute kids must go learn much!

Emily - preschool.  She returns to beloved Miss Brenda and Miss Stacie

Annie - First grade already!

Ben - a big Third grader who thinks pictures on the first day of school aren't so cool...

Our morning walk to the bus stop.  For the first month, Annie and Emily would hold hands most days walking to the bus...so sweet!  Mitchell loves all these walks; I'm sure he'll love them even more when I let him start walking too!  He was keeping us very entertained with his screaming singing!  We've had neighbors across the street that the kids would occasionally play with and we'd sometimes talk to the mom.  However, bus-stop waiting has blossomed our friendship!  Love our neighbors!!!  She has been a huge encourager with my running, the kids love her little girls, and the husbands get along too!  Thank goodness for the Mays!

Mitchell and Emily have alone time since Emily attends preschool in the afternoon this year.

Oh, yes, she is pretty COOL!  Look at that swagger!  These are her sweet bus drivers that we just love.  They are so very patient when we are late and always have a smile.

Our Favorite Summer Activity

Oh, there is this marvelous little area of berry patches, where you pick (and taste) warm completely vine-ripened berries!  Last year we did blueberries, but this year we missed those and SCORED on the blackberries!  They were huge, juicy and just beautiful! 

It was amazing to me to see the difference in the kids that one more year makes.  They did a much better job picking (mostly) ripe berries, not complaining about the heat, and just enjoying the picking.  However, I think they have a little bit too much of their mother in them... "Just a few more!" 

We introduced Cambri and Megan to the joys of berry-picking!  Sadie and Mitchell were locked in strollers clearly enjoying the fruits of our labors!  They didn't lack for big kids willing to feed their little mouths! 

Uncle Roy and Almost-Tia Christina

We got a call saying Roy had some time off and he and his recently-asked fiance were coming to visit!

We had a great time playing around the house, swinging, doing hair, and just chilling.

Saturday Ben was in heaven...we went fishing!  He was having great luck with Roy's bait and caught over 10 fish!  Annie also caught some fish and was thrilled!  Andy and Roy didn't fair quite as well...  We took snacks and just hung out at the little pond by our local park.  It was an absolutely gorgeous August day in Ohio!  Then we headed to Chili's for dinner before doing a fire for desserts.

Cute, tired, dirty kiddos...

This little girl is such a ham!  We love her to pieces!

We taught Roy and almost-tia Christina (we have another Aunt Christina, so the fact that this Christina speaks Spanish is a huge plus for the kids to identify names!) the blessed joy of doing dough-boys!

But first, during dinner....Christina asked Annie and Emily if they would be flower girls for their wedding.  The joy on Emily's face!!!!  (Annie's too, but Emily has been asking and asking and asking and asking if I knew anyone who was getting married and could she PLEASE be a Flower Girl????  This has been an almost year-long pleading...) 

Then, Roy asked Ben if he would be a ring-bearer.  Ben's face got all scrunched up.  "I can't."  We asked why not.  "I can't find my tie anywhere!  I've looked and looked, but it's lost."  It was such a sweet sincere comment.  After we assured him that he would not be wearing the tie he had lost, he was also happy to be included.

This little guy..has for 4 months now had a complete obsession with the trash...no, he's not in the wedding, just in case you were wondering!

Christina had the joy of reading to 3 sweet and wiggly children.  Ben and Annie and Emily love Uncle Roy for many reasons, but probably most of all...he shares his DS...and his phone!

Annie turns 6!

For Annie's birthday, we used our Groupon to Pump It Up for a quick 90 minutes of fun!  The Fry family met us there, and the kids all had a blast!

Racing boys! (Somehow my pictures got all out of order...)

Good Morning!  Breakfast in bed...she got bored after a few minutes and came out to join the rest of us at the kitchen table!

More Pump It Up fun with the Frys!  Our kids are similar ages (her oldest is a year older than Ben), but all genders are opposite.

Spencer, McKenzie, Tyler, Aspen, Melissa, Emily, Lindsey, Mitchell, Ben, and Birthday Girl Annie!

This is the AWESOME hat Sister Fry made for Annie.  She loves it.  I love it because it makes her eyes POP out! 

After Pump It up, we went out for a quick lunch and then fun at home.  The Renchers joined us for a birthday dinner of pancakes!  (Sadie, Megan, and Cambri)

She was so cute opening gifts.  I really love to watch Annie open anything; she is so expressive with her praise and excitement!!!  This year she'd asked for Playmobiles.

We made a super-cute Tangled birthday cake, complete with Flynn Rider and Maximus the horse!

The happy birthday girl.  New clothes.  New Toys.  She's happy!

Things I love about Annie:

1. She loves to take care of people, especially if they are hurt.  Lots of compassion!

2. She'll most often be the child to give in to friends and siblings to keep the peace.

3. Annie has started letting Emily come and snuggle with her when Emily is scared.  LOVE this!

4. Annie loves to go to school and learn.  She is a fabulous reader, still enjoys doing homework, and has great handwriting!

5. Annie loves to help out in the kitchen - definitely appreciate this!  She also loves to drink water, even if there is soda around.

6. Annie is such a sensitive little soul.  She gets embarassed easily, for doing right and wrong. 

Love this little princess of mine!

A Favorite Recipe

Japanese Beef Stew – from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
(takes about 2 hours from start to finish)

If your family likes Asian flavors, this stew is likely to be a huge hit.  To save prep time look for Ore-Ida Steam n’ Mash Sweet Potatoes in your grocer’s freezer section.  Though they are designed to be served as mashed potatoes, they come as big pieces of microwavable frozen s.p.  Just substitute 1 pound of the frozen s.p. (no need to microwave) in place of the fresh ones.

Please note: if you taste the meat right after it’s been seared, it will be tough.  Somewhere between 1 ½ - 2 hours into cooking it at a simmer, it will become extremely soft – the meat breaks down and becomes so tender it will literally fall apart when speared with a fork.  If it’s tough when you taste it, you need to cook the stew a little longer.

 1 T whole grain oat flour (or white or wheat)

1/8 t garlic powder

Pinch black pepper

1 lb trimmed top round steak or London broil, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 t toasted sesame oil (I use olive)

6 whole scallions, ends trimmed and chopped

1 T fresh garlic

1 T minced peeled fresh ginger2 ¾ c lower-sodium, fat free beef broth

2 T lower-sodium soy sauce

1 6 oz can whole peeled straw mushrooms

4 small carrots peeled and cut into bite-sized rounds

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

½ lb sugar snap peas

Salt, to taste

In medium bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, and pepper.  Add steak and toss to coat.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes (I do this in the morning or the night before)

Place a large nonstick soup pot over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the oil, then the beef and cook to brown on all sides, about 1 minutes per side.  Reduce heat to medium, add scallions, garlic, and ginger.  Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the garlic is tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in broth, soy sauce, mushrooms, and carrots.  Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 45 minutes (with broth boiling slightly).

 Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook until the beef is tender, 45 minutes or longer.  Add the snap peas and cook 5-10 minutes longer until peas are tender.  Season with salt and additional pepper.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

*It's so yummy.  Your family will definitely thank you for you!  I would double the batch for lunches; it's a 4 person meal.

Campout!!!

We did a ward campout in the middle of August.  It was sooooo much FUN!  Sadly, I didn't capture more moments because I would like to remember more specifics!  We built a fire (with really wet wood).  We made pizza dough boys!  This is our new friend, Nate who made hot dogs.

Mitchell had a blast crawling all over the wet grass and tasting the yummy wood chips.  He was filthy!  And didn't sleep so hot either...sorry to everyone around us!  :) 

Who is the smarty that let this girl run around without shoes?!?  Emily hates shoes and socks; joy!  She's watching the fire. 

That night we did skits.  We paired up with another family.  The boys pulled up Bishop Hunter (the leader in our congregation) to be in their skit.  The girls did the emergency broadcast system skit - perfect for lots of little screamers!  It was a really fun activity.  The next morning the boys ran around from site to site, played football, Frisbee, and soccer.  We did a service project with spray paint and had Frito pie for lunch (in the bags!).  It was great fun!  Hope we get to do it again in the spring...

Celebrating Ben's Birthday

We decided a long time ago that every other year the kids could have a party.  On the off years, we do a family activity that is bigger than what we would normally do.  Ben wanted to go to The Hale Farm for the Civil War Re-enactment day.  Despite his face in this picture, he loved it!

I found Honest Abe walking around.  He gave the girls a penny.  The town is full of 'actors' that do re-enactments, volunteers that travel from town to town to dress up.  They live in tents, cook food outside, play with town that would be similar to that time period, and sweat a LOT.  We talked with one of these families for about 30 minutes while our kids played with their kids.  It would be a fun weekend away for a vacation, although NOT when it pours rain! 

This was so sad to me.  When the battle started, the spectators started cheering.  My eyes filled with tears.  This is brother against brother, father against son.  I hate that women filled picnic baskets to watch on the hillside.  I hate that our country was torn apart, although I understand the need for it.  This day, I finally just sat down and played with Mitchell; I couldn't watch anymore.  I didn't care about the strategy or the men hidden in the trees; I just wanted everyone to get along and be safe. 

We were able to pet one of the Union soldiers horses - just beautiful.  Ben decided he wanted to be a soldier for Halloween...a Union soldier - because that is the 'good' side.  As hard as that is for me to swallow, being a Texas-girl, I'm proud of Ben for choosing to be on the side that is against slavery.  We've had many discussions on this subject and concept.

*Side note - we were reading a Magic Tree House book last summer about the Civil War.  The kids came with me to one of my pre-natal checks.  My OB is black, but the kids had never met him before.  Here we were, reading about slavery and fighting against it, and Emily and Annie were asking more in depth questions about WHY people thought that was okay.  Again, another learning experience...

Also, Ben is NOT going to be a Union Officer.  I have looked and looked everywhere and all costumes his size seem to be out of stock.  He didn't want to be General Robert E. Lee from the Confederacy.  So, I found another costume that he is excited about: A Patriot - from the Revolutionary War.  I like this war better anyway, so we're all happy!