Heritage Park

Today during our walk downtown the kids wanted to take a pit stop in Heritage Park...sit in the shade and look for rollie-pollies. We've done this before, but this is the first time that Preston has asked to go see what the stone tablets are. He says he wants to be an "Army guy" when he grows up, so I thought this would be a great teaching moment. We walked over and I explained to him that all the names listed were men and women who had served in the military and that each tablet was for a different war or peacetime. He was really impressed to see that Papa Jene (Vietnam) and Wayland (Peacetime) were on there. And he was really happy to see that they didn't have (*) by their names - because as we learned that means those people died in service. We also think they need to add a new tablet for Iraq/Afghanistan. The whole experience only took about 5 minutes, but I hope I was able to make it clear that we should be grateful for all our service people and that being an "Army guy" would be a great job...even though it would make his momma worry a lot about him!

And a funny story about Cambree today! As I was sitting at the computer typing the above story, she is playing with the gizmo on the bottom of the chair. Then after a couple of seconds she walks around behind me, pulls my head back and says "sink" walks back to the chair and starts messing with the gizmo again. I begin to wonder what is happening when it dawns on me that we are playing beauty shop and she is washing my hair! How creative! I explain that my chair doesn't do that, but she still insists that it does. This probably all stems from her recent decision to have her haircut. Yesterday I mentioned to Preston that he needed a haircut and she said "me?" I told her no she didn't need one and she said she does. So I decided why not...hair is not that big of an issue to me and it will be cute to see her have a big girl haircut. I don't really have a plan for this, except that it is all taking place tomorrow morning @ 9:30. I have a lot of faith in our hairdresser, so I will just tell her to do her job and make her look adorable. Look for pics of the new do tomorrow!

I have also been meaning to blog about the playtime fun we have around here, or I should say Preston has around here. He has developed a "like" for the shows Ax Men and Ice Road Truckers. One day after having watched the shows the previous night he came up with this scenario. The "trees" are paintbrushes and the Ax Men cut them down and then the Ice Road Truckers haul them on big trailers over the ice! I thought it was pretty creative myself. And he also created a very interesting summer art piece. Using the scissors is a favorite around here and after he and Cambree turned a coloring page into a million tiny pieces, he decided that he would like to glue them to a piece of cardstock...hence this lovely masterpiece.

Summer is going entirely too fast somedays and then there are days like today, when it isn't going near fast enough!

Happy Independence Day and if you happen to be in Protection or Coldwater over the next 4 days, stop by and support your local cheerleaders and buy some fireworks!

A conversation

So I had a conversation last night with Preston that I don't want to forget because it made me laugh out loud. They went with Jeremy to the vet clinic after work and when I got home from water aerobics I was asking him about it.

Mom: So, how was your trip to the vet clinic.
Preston: Good! We got pop!
Mom: You did? What kind did you have?
Preston: I had Pepsi and Cambree had that kind that you like...(dramatic pause)...Dr Pepper.
Mom: Sounds good, did Dad have one?
Preston: Yep, he had a Mt. "Mil"-Dew! It was gross!
Mom: (Laughing out loud)...What did it taste like?
Preston: It tasted like Mildew...I can't believe Dad likes that stuff can you?
Mom: Nope, I can't believe Dad likes Mt. Mildew!

How cute is that?! And of course you know that Preston was just as serious as he could be!

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Our trip to the wheat field the other night to ride the combines was very exciting. The kids couldn't wait to get up on those big machines and take a lap around the field. Preston got to ride by himself (and talk the leg off of the poor woman driver), but Cambree had to ride with Papa because she couldn't be trusted to sit still and keep her hands off of stuff. They both had a great time and had lots of questions! Check out the pics here.

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I have created an Etsy shop...so check it out if you have some time and let me know what you think!

Two weeks

June 23...Isn't it amazing how fast two weeks can go by? That's how long it's been since I blogged and I don't feel like I have been home that much in that time. So what's been goin' on you ask...

Swim lessons for one. Preston started Level 1 this year, which means he is learning to swim in the big pool. Cambree took Pre-Level 1 and really if she was a little taller could have started Level 1. She loves to jump in the big pool and has convinced herself that she doesn't need anyone to catch her. Quite the adventurer, she is!



Then last week I took the middle school cheerleaders to cheer camp in McPherson. It was a loooooong four days, but the girls did great and came home with a Camp Champs trophy for their routine! Which is a tremendous accomplishment considering that at the end of day two, we still didn't have the routine down. They worked really hard and helped each other and pulled out a great routine. I hope to get my video on the web before too long and I will link you to it. As well as pics of the squad with their trophy. I am proud of them! Next week is Fireworks! Yeah....that's me trying to get excited! I was met the fireworks guy this morning and he was supposed to be there at 8:00 a.m. He finally showed up @ 9:30 and then it took him an hour to unload all the stuff and check it off! The kids were losing control and we had all been "waiting" entirely too long. Needless to say I wasn't all that impressed, so we had better make a ton of money!



Preston and Cambree are headed out this evening for their first combine rides. I think Preston has ridden once before, but Jeremy doesn't think so. So we will just call this the first! They are excited for now, but we will see who actually rides once we get out to the ranch and the realize that it's with people they don't know. There will be great stories to tell tomorrow!

Some good things

We tried a new recipe and it was pretty good. What makes it even better is that it was fast & easy. I am sharing the recipe with you here:





Mexican rice and beef





1 lb lean ground beef


1 envelope low-sodium taco seasoning mix


1 1/2 cups water


1 cup chunky, thick salsa


1 cup frozen corn


1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice (i used brown rice)


black pepper


1 cup grated pepper jack cheese


shredded lettuce


chopped tomato





In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the chunks. Drain off any fat. Add taco seasoning mix, water, salsa, and corn; cook, uncovered, stirring until mixture boils.





Stir in rice and pepper; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 6 minutes.


(I would recommend letting the rice cook just a bit longer, more like 5 minutes before removing from heat. Ours wasn't quite done yet.)





Fluff rice-and-beef mixture with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and let stand for 2 minutes, or until cheese melts. Uncover and serve with lettuce and tomato.





For those of you who don't like spicy, you could tone this down by using a mild salsa and substituting cheddar cheese for the pepper jack. We love spicy @ our house and it was perfect for us. The lettuce and tomato also help cool the heat! Enjoy :)





Another good thing I have for you is a birthday treat for Jace. They are celebrating his birthday this weekend in Iowa, unfortunately we won't be able to make it, but I wanted to share with you what I made for him. I think it turned out really cute. Janelle said she wanted a book to help him learn his colors. Instantly I knew I wanted to make one for him, but it wasn't until last night that I got the inspiration for it. See for yourself...


You can see the rest of the book here. Let me know what you think!

Weekend Happenings

Sometime during the week I decided to be adventurous and plan a trip to the zoo. I didn't tell the kids about my plan, because like most mothers I didn't want to listen to the incesant asking "How much more days 'til we can go to the zoo?" However, on Friday night I mentioned to Jeremy my plan....only as mother's do I spelled out my plan. "I am thinking about taking the kids to the Z-O-O tomorrow...what do you think?" Before he could answer Preston asks "Does Z-O-O spell zoo, mom?" Why yes my sweet it does and please don't learn to spell bigger words!! This question was followed by pleading..."Please can we go, mom? I promise I won't whine anymore today. (we came home from the pool because of whining on Friday....I know I am a mean mom!)

So this morning we got up and headed out to the Z-O-O in Garden City. If you haven't been there it is a nice little zoo and it is FREE! Yep that's right, free. And if you are really lazy, you can even drive through it. And before some of you ask, yes they have all sorts of neat animals. You can see elehpants, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, birds of all sorts, elk, buffalo, camels....the list goes on. The day started fantastic with everyone excited to see the animals and being nice to each other! You can see the rest of our photos here. And the best part of the day is when Preston starts explaining to me which giraffe is the dad and how he can tell the difference...

"the dad has weigh-wos hanging from his belly."

"Yes son he does."

So, what makes this situation so intriguing is that we were viewing the giraffes with a polite mennonite family! I am still hoping that they were not listening too closely. They, however, were not blameless b/c the fatherly one proceeded to FEED the giraffes, which is clearly against zoo rules. Okay, he was just giving them limbs with leaves on them, but still it was clearly stated on the fence that feeding the animals could make them sick! (don't comment about how rude I sound because I am only joking....I would have done the same had I thought of it first).

What made the day even more special is that thanks to our lovely DVD player quitting on the way home I now know more facts about the Titantic that anyone should. Preston talked non-stop from Cimmaron to well past Greensburg. He talked so much that he put himself to sleep...priceless. Cambree was even feeling my pain because from time to time she would say "I talk." Preston would take a deep breath and sigh and allow her a moment to speak, but as soon as that first word came out he was taking over! She finally quit trying and talked to herself. So, if you ever find yourself needing to know something, anything about the Titantic, just give Preston a call!

Here's to adventures!

Clarification

As several of you have so graciously pointed out my web address appears to be Saras Crap Life, which you have all thought to be funny! So let me explain how this came to be. I tried about 20 different titles trying to find something that this site would accept. I was getting desperate and about to give up when I thought of Scrap Life, because that is what I aim to do...scrapbook our lives! When I tried to set it up as scraplife.blogspot.com, the darned system again would not let me! So in desperation I added my name to the beginning and hit enter! Ta-Da! Finally, success. I was tired, it was late and I went to bed. The next morning when I went to add my first post, I didn't give a second thought to the name of my blog or the address. So you can have faith that I am still the optimistic one! I don't think I have a "crap life" and I do believe that I should contine to Scrap Life and do it here on the blog! I am just gald you got a good laugh at my expense and now everytime you stop by to see what's goin' on 'round here, you can smile to yourself and wonder if today is in fact the day that I start telling you about my Crap Life!

We had a wild, fun, exciting weekend!

Friday night I went with the girls (Traci & Megan) to see Church Basement Ladies in Wichita. It was really good. I am so glad Traci invited me to go for my birthday! It was written and performed from the Lutheran church perspective, but any woman who is involved in her church would get a riot out of it! Thanks again Traci!

Saturday the kids and I had a fun day at the pool before Jeremy took me out to eat for my birthday. Here are a couple pics of the kids before I tell you about our evening.




Jeremy and I went to the Central Station in Dodge Saturday night. It is the old depot and it was good. But the most exciting part was that I got to go to Hobby Lobby and get some fabric so that I can start using my new sewing machine. I stayed up last night reading the manual and can't wait to play!

Yesterday we went to help Jeremy's Papa celebrate his 84th birthday. There were 14 kids there! It was wild and crazy and full of energy. My kids had a great time.

This morning started a new chapter in Jeremy's life. He started his first day as a banker! I know, a lot of you have thought this to be funny at one time or another! In fact almost everyone says they have a hard time picturing Jeremy in a tie, so here you go...

And yes his eyes are open it just doesn't look like it in this picture. I haven't heard how the day is going so far, so maybe I will post on that tomorrow.

And one more thing about the kids. Today is Cambree's first day to try and nap (note I said try) without her paci. The cutest thing happened this afternoon while she was laying in her bed crying. Preston opened the door and asked if she wanted him to lay with her and she said yes. So he closed the door and climbed in bed with her to help her rest w/o a paci! Isn't that just the sweetest thing....proof that yes my children do love each other!