Our Recent Goings-On (not at all exciting!)

Hello, all four or five of you who are still reading my blog!

Here I am for my weekly blog post.

Don't expect much because my brain is pretty mushy these days and I am doing nothing

amusing that is worth reporting to you.  What a surprise!

In other words, I am surviving and coping the best I can because summer break has begun.

(The last of my kids will be done with school by Friday.)

(It's completely ridiculously early for this nonsense!)

Here's my pictorial of our recent goings-on:

Brenden is home and working full-time and often studying for his actuary exam that he will take next summer.

He asks me to help him all the time.

I try my best not to him all the answers.

Isaiah continues to wear every article of clothing backwards.  

And usually inside out.

Along with Brenden's basic math equations, he saved up and bought a telescope.

A crazy-big telescope.

Astronomy is his first love!

Look at this awesome pic of the moon that he took!

Wowie!!!

Kiddos and kitties.

Lucy in our freshly plowed and planted garden.

Cattle on the beautiful prairie next to our house.

Well, that's about it, folks.

See, I told you we were up to nothing amusing!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest-of-the week!

Brench-Pressing People {and physics journals}

So, here's something fun that happened when Brenden was home last weekend.

He's really into working out, so he decided to bench press Lucy.

She thought it was the funniest thing ever!

And then, way less adorable, but much more impressive...

it was MY turn.

Brace yourselves.

Wow, that's probably the most flattering photo I have of me to date.

And here's something else very interesting.

Brenden left his physics journal on the kitchen table, and I couldn't help but take a peek.

And I was like, WOW! it's almost identical to MY physics journal entries!

It's my pleasure to have passed on my brains, looks, and talents to all of my children!

Have a great day, folks!

And don't forget to write in your physics journals.

You don't want to get rusty with your formulas and whatnot!

Skillet-Meals (and the circle of life)

Hello.  Hello?  Is anyone still reading this measly blog of mine?

For the two or three of you who are, my deepest apologies for being neglectful.  Life has me by the horns, I'm telling you.  And Brenden was home all week for spring break, and not that he sucked up all of my time or anything, but, I am using him as my excuse for having fallen short of holding up my part of my cyber relationship with you all.  

Having said all that, here I am!  

Besides my photos of B's birthday celebration, I have nary a picture to post of his visit back home. 

Well, except these:

 

You see, Brenden loves to make skillet-type meals.  Potatoes, sausage, eggs, and whatever else he can find in the fridge that he deems skillet-worthy.

And one day, he made something skillet-fabulous, sat down in the living room to eat it, then left it on the coffee table for the children to finish.

And finish it, Isaiah did.  Pitiful?  I'd say so.

It's the circle of life, folks.


And just like that, Brenden went back to college to do his collegy things.

As for me, I'm hunkering down for another crazy week, because life here is never lacking something to do, albeit ever so mundane.


Now, let's go out there and have us a great week, alrighty?

Brenden's 21st!

Please pardon my extreme absence.  I've been extremely busy, distracted, and scatter-brained!  

Extremely so.

But anyway, last night we had a little tiny celebration for Brenden's

21st birthday.

Twenty-first birthday???

How can it be.  I do not know.

Here are a few pics:

(As usual, I inadvertently missed about four people.  My apologies!)

(Remember, scatter-brained.)

My mom, K-Man and me!

My little fella has grown up sooooo fast.

Happy Birthday, Brenden!

Oh, darn!  We were going to recreate this picture last night and we forgot.

Fun Weekend! {Brenden came home}

Goodness, it has been such a fun and busy weekend.

Brenden came home for his fall break...and brought his girlfriend, Katie!

My kids positively adore her, particularly a certain little fella.

She is soooooo sweet with them!

I made Brenden one of his very favorites, homemade tortillas!

And Isaiah enjoyed them too.

Brenden's very first love (second to his mama).

And now he has made room in his heart for another special gal. 

:)

Nick was feeling a little left out though...

She thinks we are one crazy family!

And really, we are.

Such happy times!!

Brenden's Home {sometimes}

 So.  Brenden has been home this summer.

Sort of.

Between trips to see his lovely girlfriend, his job that takes him out of town, and his high school friends,

he hasn't been home very much at all.

But when he is, he's all in.

Which is fun!

And today he was home and asked for a haircut.

It wasn't a major change in style, but still, his girly-friend wanted a picture.

Isn't that adorable?

It sure is.

So we set out for a photo-shoot and took no less than 347 pictures.

And me, being the world's most awful photographer (no really, it's true...just ask Brenden, he will tell you),

came up with this:

And though it's blurry, I do hope you'll appreciate my epic ability to get myself in the picture.

That's how I roll, man.

Good heavens, it's time for me to get some sort of life.

spring break, round one

Oh my.

What a week we've had.

Brenden and friend were here for spring break.

Which meant that I have been on my toes, even more than usual.

Whew.

Now I'm gearing up for spring break, round two, as Macy and Eli will be out of school

this next week.

But in the meantime,

here's a quick snapshot of the past week!

Dr. Isaiah gave Brenden a thorough exam.

Everything checked out just fine.

Isaiah also worked "hard" on his schoolwork while Brenden was home.

Brenden and Katie.

*Smile*

Nick and Sarah.

*Smile*

On Tuesday we celebrated Brenden's 20th birthday!

(Notice how Isaiah is mowing in Brenden's backyard? Hahaha!)

I made a cheesecake to celebrate.

(Wish I had taken a pic before I cut into it!)

So yummy!

It's been a really fun week!

(Although I've been sick for almost all of it. Blah!)

More pics of more kids coming soon!!

my workout with brenden

This morning was a very rare time where it was just Brenden and me at home.

It was so nice!

I baked him some cherry scones, then he made me work out with him.

I told him I would, but only if he let me take pics.

He said okay.

I don't think he realized I was serious.

Here we are doing some sort of ab thingy that nearly killed me.

So I stopped doing that right away.

Then we did another ab thingy, but our feet stayed on the ground.

Thank goodness for that.

But as it turned out, it was no less painful.

Guess which legs are mine!

(Remember, it's wintertime.)

Then Bren did some pull-ups.

And I took pics.

Because pull-ups hurt my arms.

Then we did push-ups.

Look how grumpy Brenden is from me telling him that his form was all wrong.

I just love mixing it up with the big kids.

And they love me for that, too.

Then I did some push-ups and couldn't get my eyes off my floor

that I just mopped yesterday and was horrified by how dirty it was already.

And that was the end of MY workout.

I'm in amazing shape now!