Forever Young

"May God bless you and keep you always, May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you,

May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift,

May you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young."

-Bob Dylan

My Christmas wish to my dear sweet boy and stepsons, and to you and your dear ones.

Homeade Play dough fun

I still love to play with play dough. I have many fond memories of squeezing, squishing,rolling, shaping and smelling. So, when I recieved a homeade recipe from Gma Elaine I couldn't resist. And, of course I thought Max would really enjoy it too and that he could help me make it. We measured, poured, mixed, kneeded and.. WaaLaah! We had play dough! Cool!
Recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1pkg unsweetened kool aid or food coloring ( We used food coloring)
3 T baby oil
1 cup boiling water
Mix dry ingred. add oil & water, mix well and store in air tight container.

Note: We divided play dough into four sections then added different food colorings to each one.

Warning: You may be tempted to eat it. (Remember when you were a kid?) It looks and feels like real yummy dough. Even smells good too.

Confession: I did....actually......sneak a Liiiitle teeeeny tiny bite-when Max was looking the other way of course. Didn't taste like what you'd imagine. So, watch your little one-or yourself. ;)

Trick or Treat

Halloween. I am not a huge fan of the holiday, but I do think dressing up and getting candy sure is fun. When I was little, we didn't go trick or treating, but as I got older I got to take my little sissy a few times. And once I started college there were lots of costume parties. This Halloween, we were one little pirate family. The idea came from one of Max's favorite videos, a Veggie Tales video about Jonah that features silly pirates. AAARRRHHH!!!! So, when I stumbled upon his costume, (I wasn't even shopping for that and it was the only one left in his size) I thought perfect! Max was such a big boy really getting to trick or treat for the first time. He would say "trick or treat" before they even answered the door but he was very good at saying thank you! The next day he wanted to wear his pirate costume again. :) So, dessert for a while now will be dumping the candy contents from the plastic pumpkin and deciding on which treat to eat. And sharing a few with mom and dad of course.

Covered Bridge Festival

Every year, during the 2nd and 3rd weeks in October is the Covered Bridge Fesival in Park County Indiana and surrounding area. We had the opportunity to go on two different days. During the early 1800's, there were three archiects living in the area who were all designing covered bridges. The bridges didn't really take off across the country due to cost and practicality. I think they are super neat and make for beautiful scenery. We even got to ride in horse drawn wagon over one! Boy were Max's eyes big! Gpa "Mutache" was sure holding on to him tight. Yes, this month we had the joy of hosting both sets of grandparents! We are so thankful to them for driving the distance to see us. Max is already asking when they are coming back to our house! Thanks for all you do grandma's and grandpa's! We love you!

Max & me by some gourds

One of the many covered bridges in the area


Max pickin' out a gourd

Love the Coca-Cola on the brick ads.



Max and Daddy "antiquing"



Festival goodies.

The saloon made for some good eats.

Cool downtown buildings

Stephen perhaps "thinking"of his next lecture in front of old school house.

Oh, I made homeade banana bread. Yes, I did say homeade. :)

Falling for Fall

Fall. Autumn. It is officially here. What a fantastic season. I don't think it gets enough credit. The trees ablaze and shed their leaves; the farmers are harvesting; the air is crisp, fresh, cool-perfect for cozying up; pumpkin patches are brimming and cider is brewing. Everything about it says AAhhh. Relax, unwind and be thankful. It is the the time for thanksgiving after all. Oh, and I forgot its football time too. I think thats pretty important now also.

Hey Folks!

Hello! I finally found that adapter thingy! Yah! Thought I should get ya'll caught up so I sifted through photos of our summer and picked some of my faves. Scroll, scroll, scroll and scroll some more. Thats the drill with this not so computer-savvy chic. Highlites of the summer:

1. We Moved! During the most blistery hot weekend of the summer. To the country. 40 minutes from the U of I. We love it.

2. Will turned 10!

3. Sisters and Wilder came to visit

4. Experienced our first all day rain out 4th of July.

5. Went back to Kansas for Wilder's 1st birthday!

6. Max did slip n' slide for first time. We have hilarious video footage of this. We're talking "funniest home videos"type stuff.

7. Attended our first " pig roast" labor day celebration.

Enjoy all the photos! Sorry so many, but hey its been a while!

Max-just this morning on the way to school with a piece of granola bar stuck to his chin. Hmm. Did I get that off before he went in? oh well. Beautiful rainbow

Sisters visit


Sisters and our boys.


The Peters Boys/Men. I heart them all.


Tree climbing fun-Max almost made it. Hah!



Even the big boys had fun in Max's pool.

"Surprise lilys", "Naked ladies", or what have you.

The infamous walnut tree laying on the ground.

HHMMM-wonder what used to live in there!?

Max cheesin-duplicate style.
Sweet boy.

Max and me on the tree.

Lots of fun at the park.

THE. MOST. GIANT bug i've ever seen. In our firepit.

Crosby and Clapton Peters

Wilder excited about a kiss from cousin Max for his birthday

The beautiful Harris family.
Headed home from Gma and Gpa's house-Exhaustingly fun.

Max "playing" guitar hero. Check out that handwork.

Campfires in our own yard. Bye Bye bug. See previous photo.