Gourmet Treat

Joe K. made a grand attempt to bring a little culture to our family this past weekend.  After taking Joseph and Tim on the town to shop for all the necessities, he settled in to make a meal straight from Italy. 

Of course, at this house, any meal comes complete with many helpers.  I snuck a few pictures in with all the chaos.

Just getting started...

No real Italian meal could be complete without some alcohol.

Add a couple of crazy kids to the mix...

Don't forget to cook off previously mentioned alcohol.

Dig In!...I mean  (ahem!)...Dinner is served!

Dan even ventured a taste of Dark Chocolate gelato.

The Chef Extraordinaire and a couple of his trusty sidekicks.

And last (but not least) the guy who just doesn't know when to quit eating!

This meal was such a delightful treat!  (The leftover potatoes were an excellent addition to Sunday brunch the next morning, as well!) Tomorrow I'll show you what Dan and I were up to while our kitchen was so deliciously invaded.

Duck Adventures

The ducks are pretty tame now and spend a lot of time meandering up and down the hill to the lake. They've even ventured a few nights out on the water all on their own. When they get a little lonely though, they come looking for the small fry. Then there's plenty of lovin' to be had...

Breakfast on the deck

With the less humid weather, we've been spending more time on the deck each morning.  Marianna posed for a few pictures...

Yum....orange juice in the sunshine.

Peek a boo!

Her imitation of me, telling her she can't try Dan's coffee.

Another great garage sale find...



Our little people have been fighting over this "educational" gadget.

Here's the happy winner look from Gabriel.

Are you tired of fish pictures yet?

Cuz here's some more...

Joseph's prize catch (caught last week)

Johnny, Therese and Gabers where on the dock fishing while I was making supper the other night.  Suddenly Johnny was at the back door asking for help.  Therese had a monster fish on her line.  Timothy ran down and discovered this...

Therese's prize catch

I say little people should catch little fish, preferably the kind with no teeth.

Happiness is....

ICE CREAM!!!



Garage Sale Joy

Here's the latest garage sale find that all the littles are thrilled about...

 They had to eat lunch in the screened-in area after they managed to get the tent to stay up.

So much joy from just a bit of pocket change.

A big thank you to Linda K. (our garage sale connoisseur, she really knows how to find a bargain!)

Blooms in our yard...

Therese has been waiting impatiently for the first carrot from our garden.  Every day she asks if she can pull just one.  Aren't they ready, yet?  Please!  The pressure is intense.  I let her see for herself.  Guess what?  She's right...the carrots are ready!!!

One big, beautiful, tasty carrot!

The promised fish pictures....

Dan has been taking the three youngest out fishing nearly every evening.  (Joe tags along when he's available.)  At first, Dan would snag the fish and then let the little ones reel them in.  Last night Johnny managed to catch this one ALL BY HIMSELF.

Prize winning crappie and proud fisherkid

See the family resemblance? 
(actually took this picture to show just how big the fish really was)

The rest of the fishing crew...Dad and his Diaper Dolly

Party barge

View from the dock.

A Perfect 10!

With swimming lessons, music lessons and getting Tim and Stephen off to Sonshine, I haven't posted our big celebration from this past weekend.  Andrew turned 10 on Sunday!  Here's a few pictures of the day...

The birthday boy gets to eat first.

Then the required present opening took place.

Brownie pizza for dessert!

BLOW!  Happy birthday, Andrew!

There were also some happy fisher guys out on the lake that afternoon but I missed getting pictures of them.  Sorry guys!  (Tune in tomorrow to see the monster sunfish that Johnny caught last night.)

A fish tale

It's been a few years since the guys have had some fishing success.  That makes this year all the sweeter, I guess.  Here's the catch from a couple of nights ago...

A whole lot of sunnies

and a prize winning crappie.

Marianna's not impressed

If you catch it, you gotta clean it.

Learning from the best.

Fashion in a heat wave

Can't get Gabriel to wear shorts this summer...he's afraid his knees will get cold.

A little duck chasing is good entertainment....

Go girls, go!

The Lazy Days of Summer

The only wonderful thing about excessive heat in July is that Daddy and the big boys spend their evenings in the water.  These pictures are from last night...

Click on the picture if you want to see the fish that Joe caught.

Project of the Week

Dan was back to working his magic this week.  See below for details...


Original plain-jane garage door.

Add some painted 2x4's...

a cute old fashioned screen door...

a couple of helpers and a screen...

Voila....instant party room!