May June Update

Finally summer is trying to take hold. Memorial Day was cool again as you can see by what we are wearing. Didn't matter though. We had fun. Ben loved being on the ATVs with Don. He looks so little in this picture!

Sam really got into planting the pumpkin and gourd seeds. He is very exact when putting the seeds in the holes.

After all the planting we played Apples to Apples. Definitely a favorite game in the house!

this is about two weeks after we planted the seeds.

And this was tonight.

We have also been working on our latest backyard garden project - a dry creek bed. I've been so excited about it and it's finally done. The next several pictures show our progress.

Beautiful or what?! Don did such an awesome job! Now I'm just trying to get some plants around it.

We have also added a family member. We adopted a rescue dog that originally came from Georgia. She is a Chow mix and is very timid. This dog is Alyssa's dog so she got to name it. So far the name is Remedy. We'll see if that's the final decision. Remedy is about six months old. We saw her last Thursday and she was supposed to get spayed on Monday. We were then supposed to pick her up tomorrow. However, he appointment got rescheduled for tomorrow and we won't be able to pick her up till maybe Sunday. Alyssa is not happy about it. I wish we could have gotten her sooner because we won't even have her a week before we take her on a car trip to Arkansas for 12 hours. Oh well, I guess we'll find out if she travels well fairly quickly!

This past weekend we also had a great time at our camper in Athelstane and also on the trails on our ATVs. We stopped for ice cream and found out the shop has changed hands and the people leasing it have a couple of dogs and a goat! Their names are Jack, Champ, and Lily Goat.

So far it's been a great summer! Nine more days till we're off to Arkansas - not that I'm counting!

Rainbow Bridge

When tomorrow starts without me and I'm not there to see,
The sun will rise and find your eyes, all filled with tears for me.
I wish so much you wouldn't cry, the way you did today,
Remembering how I'd lay my head in your lap that special way.



I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me, I know you'll miss me, too.
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
That an angle came and called my name, and petted me with her hand.
She said my place was ready, in heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind, all those I dearly love.
But, as I turned to head away, a tear fell from my eye,
For all my life I never thought, that I would have to die.
I had so much to live for, so many sits and downs to do,
That it seemed almost impossible, that I was leaving you.
I thought about our lives together, I know you must be sad.
I thought of all the love we shared, and all the fun we had.
Remember how I'd nudge your hand, and poke you with my nose.
The squirrel I would gladly chase, that bad guy "I'd bark and hold."
If I could relive yesterday, just even for a little while,
I'd wag my tail and kiss you, just so I could see you smile.
But, then I fully realize, that this could never be,
For emptiness and memories, will take the place of me.
And when I thought of treats and toys I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you and when I did my dog heart filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through heaven's gate and felt so much at home,
As God looked down and smiled at me from His heavenly throne,
He said, this is eternity, and now we welcome you,
Today your life on earth is past, but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last,
For you see, each days the same day, there's no longer for the past.
Now you have been so faithful, so trusting, loyal, and true.
Though there were times you did things, you knew you shouldn't do,
But good dogs are forgiven, and now at last you're free.
So won't you sit here by my side, and wait right here for me?
So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me, I'm right there, in your heart.

Mellie (via Alyssa's heart to me)

Lincoln High School Prom 4/27/13

Lys went to prom with girlfriends this year. I hope this black thing is a stage. She and Haley have been dressing this way for about a year. Any way, I hope they have fun tonight.

Arkansas at Eastertime

Well, here's a new post to replace the one from last week. I tried to add my test after having the pictures loaded and it didn't like it at all. So here we go again. The icon of Cherokee Village is the falls. I have taken several pictures of it in the year we've had our place there. True to form, I had to have pictures of Don and Alyssa again. We also have projects every time we go, as well. One of them this time was getting the storm doors installed. Jeff helped Don and now they really dress it up. There is one in the front and one in the back. Instead of just leaving the doors open for circulation, now we have screens on them. This is very important because they have HUGE bugs and snaked there. I'm not a fan of either. The house was a rental for several years prior to us buying it. I don't know if the outside was ever taken care of after it became a rental. One clue is how dirty the outside was. Jeff actually volunteered to power wash the front till he needed to get going. We never turn down free labor. Don decided to get going on our vacation a couple of days before Lys and I. He got all of the raking done before we arrived except for the ditch area on one side. We did that together and discovered we have a bit of a rock terrace. It was not visible before we raked. It was not in the best condition so we moved around some rocks and added a few where they were missing. Looks great now! There are some neglected flower beds in the back of the house. I straightened up the rock edging and Don gathered some rocks to finish off the areas where the rocks were missing. The daffodils are in bloom and the daylilies and sedum are starting to come up. There are some small irises trying to survive but I don't think they are big enough to bloom. Hopefully a little TLC will get them on their way and we'll be able to see what type they are. There are irises and daffodils along the terrace, too. Remember the dirty porch Jeff was cleaning, below is the after picture. BIG difference. Don finished up the rest of the house and it doesn't look for tired now. The yellow is much happier looking! The Little Big Town song "Pontoon" was one of my favorites of the last couple of years and that was running through my head when we took this ride on a pontoon on Lake Thunderbird. We were their first customers of the season. In fact, they technically weren't open for a couple more days. There weren't many people in their yards and absolutely nobody else on the lake but us. I think the people that saw us riding around thought we were nuts because it was only in the 50s. However, that's nice weather in Wisconsin. And Lys ALWAYS does her Titanic pose . . . . In this picture you can see Lake Cherokee flowing into the falls. It's too bad the power lines are in the way or it would be a really pretty picture. For Mother's Day Sara and I got pictures taken at The Picture People in Bay Park Square. Mom had mentioned to Sara she would love to have her picture taken with her grandkids. We had originally tried for Christmas, but the timing didn't work out with all the stuff everybody is doing during the holidays. We were just going to have the pictures with her and the grandkids, but it turned out everybody got in the act. Didn't they turn out great? I love all of those people all so much!

Holiday Activities

It's been a busy couple of months. Haven't been keeping up on the blog like I should. So I will start with Thanksgiving. The below is the typical way of passing the time till dinner's ready. I don't know if they could look any more relaxed without being asleep.

Another Thanksgiving tradition? Looking at the Black Friday ads. Alyssa seems to have found something she likes!

For Mom's birthday this year Sara and I took her to Wausau for a day and to see the Nutcracker. The theater was beautiful and the production has some fun humor in it. Hope she had fun even though she wasn't feeling well.

My nephews were in the Christmas story production this year. They both played the piano before it started and did an awesome job. Look at the concentration on that face.

And who is the cutest black sheep you ever saw?

On Sunday the 23rd we went to Sara's to make Christmas cookies. Mom had some cute directions for using mini donuts. Here's Lys creating her works of art.

One of my nephews decided there needed to be a contest of the best decorated cookies. No surprise - Alyssa won. Yum!

I really liked my tree this year. I'm getting more and more blown glass ornaments. I love those. They look old fashions and really sparkle on the tree.

Another face courtesy of Alyssa. Doesn't look fake at all.

Went to Don's mom's house for Christmas and my mom's house for Christmas day.

The day after Christmas we had decided to travel to our Arkansas home. We weren't sure we were going to go, though, because they were supposed to have a winter storm. After debating we decided to go. If it got too bad we were going to stop and get a hotel for a day till it cleared up. It ended up being fine and we didn't see any snow until about 50 miles before our destination. Then when we got there six inches of snow was on the ground! Found out the area had its first blizzard warning on Christmas and we were there the next day. So glad we left the cold Wisconsin weather for the warm Arkansas weather - not.

I did think the snow on the holly bush was really pretty, though. Mom thinks I should use the picture for my Christmas card next year. Might just do that.

Jeff came over and helped ALOT wth the trin. It's 99.9% done. Yeah!

Kitchen trim is done. Notice the crown molding on top of the cabinets. Don even got the accent lighting installed.

I put up some pictures this time. Don helped me put the quilt hanger up. The quilt in the picture matches the one on the bed and was made by my mom. You can't see the quilt on the bed because we brought down the electric blanket. One of Don's best idea EVER.

Alyssa and I liked to go antique shopping while we are there. I wanted to have something we could both look for together while we are there. After much discussion we decided on pitchers that are 4 inches or less and are shaped like animals we like. There can't be just a picture on the side of the pitcher, it has to be the body of the animal as the pitcher. Of course I can't abide by my own rules. I bought one by the rules and couldn't resist the one that was not.

Alyssa had a concert for Christmas but was reschedule to January because of a snow storm on the day of the concert. The day of the concert that was to start at 7, Alyssa told us at 5:30 that was the day. Typical.

And last but definitely not least, we bought a "new to us" car. It's a 2011 Chevy Malibu 2LT. It has a ton of options including remote start, a sun roof, and my favorite, HEATED SEATS. The ride is very smooth and quiet. We tried out some Fords, but the ride wasn't as nice and the noise was noticably worse. Looking forward to taking a trip with it!

So, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!