New Church Cookbook & Recipe

Our new church cookbooks came and were available for sale yesterday at church. We picked out the first recipe we wanted to try and here it is. It is cheesy chicken rollups from Rosa Acheson. They were wonderful and for sure a recipe that will be made again (and again and again).

Summer Door Mat

This is as good as it gets when you wait til late in the evening and haven't come up with an idea for the days picture.

It is getting really warm here and I thought it was time to change out the door mat from the snowmen to the flip flops.

Hey, its a picture and I didn't miss a day.

Movie with the Kids

I kept the kids for the evening while Nick and Jenn had a party at their house. Brian was working, driving the limo so I knew I would need to come up with something fun to do with the kids. I knew they would be very disappointed that Grandpa wasn't there.

I decided to take them to the movie. We saw "The Lorax". It wasn't my first choice but it was a really good movie. They spent the rest of the eveing jumping on the trampoline.

Starbucks in Barnes and Noble

Brian and I went out with Geoff and Molly for the evening. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen on the Plaza. Of course, I had my camera with me so Molly and I played around taking some pictures.

After dinner and walking around a little bit we ended up at Barnes and Noble (mine and Mollys favorite place). We found a table in the Starbucks cafe and looked at lots of different photography books. We would read about something and then I would try it out with my camera.

I took some pictures of different views of the cafe and also some pictures of people. That is a real stretch for me. I don't usually take pictures of people I don't know. I don't think anyone realized I was taking their picture. This particular guy was really enjoying his book and from the look on his face, its must have been funny.

This inspired me to take more pictures of random people. We will see if I have the nerve to follow through with it. Who knows, I may even rub off on Molly, who won't hardly even look at another person, must less take their picture :)

"The Lucky One" Movie and Book

Brian came up with the idea of going to the movie after dinner tonight. We had both read Nicholas Sparks book "The Lucky One" so we went and saw the movie. It was a good movie, somewhat different than the book but it was still good.

Still playing with this silly lens and trying to get shallow depth of field. Kinda worked.

Walk at Work Day

We are starting a wellness program at work. Today was our Walk at Work day. I took my walking shoes and me and two of my coworkers walked a mile after lunch.

50mm Lens

I am determined to learn to use this 50mm lens. I put the lens on my camera this afternoon and I'm going to leave it on for awhile and make myself learn to use it.  The only way that is going to happen is practice, practice, practice.  I'm going to try and leave it on until I get more comfortable using it and until I am happier with the results.  So that means there may be lots of "not so good pictures" for the next few days.  Hope I can stick it out and not switch back to my other lens.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Big shock, another picture of food, and sweets none the less. This plate of warm chocolate chip cookies didn't last long.

The Troublesome Quilt Block

This block for my Kansas City Star quilt has given me so much trouble. I have sewn it and torn it out three times. I finally just put it away and didn't sew for several weeks.

Sunday afternoon I decided to give it one more try and it actually went together like it was suppose to. Not sure why I struggled so much with it but I'm really glad it is done. Now I can move on to the last 3 blocks.

Charity Shoot

Caleb organized a chairty shoot for his friend Kenny Raber from church. Kenny was in the hospital for several weeks and Caleb did this to help with some of the bills.

Nick donated all the meat and buns from his company Meats in Motion. Brian and I spent the day out there helping Caleb.

Nazarene Night at Worlds of Fun

We took Blake and Grace to Nazarene Night at Worlds of Fun. The weather was a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining.

Brian and I have been going to Nazarene Night for 36 years and in those years we have gone in all kinds of weather. The first one we went to was in 1976 when we were dating. We went after we were married. Then after the boys came, we took them. When they were older, we went with the Jr High kids from church when we were sponsors. We went with the college kids from church when we worked with them. Then we had grandkids and we started with taking Noah when he was just big enough to go, not sure of the year. Last year we took Noah, Brooklynne, Carter and Jentry. This year it was Blake and Grace's turn. What fun.

We have missed a few years along the way but have made it to the majority of them. Maybe one of these days we will be able to take the great grandkids. :)

Relaxin'

This pretty much sums up our evening, sitting on the couch with our feet up, watching TV.

Enjoying Spring

It was a "sit out on the porch swing with a good book and a glass of iced tea" kind of day.

Some Completed Pages

After spending several days organizing and buying paper and stickers, I finally sat down and got some scrapbook pages done today.

I'm working on old pictures for our family album, starting with when Brian and I started dating in Nov. of 1975. Thats a long time ago and a ton of pictures ago.

This picture isn't a great photo but it was bedtime and I realized I hadn't taken a picture for the day so this was the best I could come up with. It was how I had spent my day but I didn't do much in composing a picture and getting the lighing just right. At least its a picture and I didn't miss a day. :)

Sleepy Time

The kids spent the night tonight. Blake and Grace were already in bed and Gage was sitting on the couch with Grandpa watching TV. He was ready to go to bed.

This is the way he has always sucked his fingers. The only time he sucks them is when he is tired and ready for a nap or bedtime.

Archivers

Okay, I'm sure there is a support group somewhere for me. Yes, I went back AGAIN today. I blame this trip on Jennifer. She hadn't been to the sale yet. I think she was secretly hoping the sale would end and she wouldn't have gone and spent any money. Well, it was still going on today. I will say, I only picked up a few pieces of paper today. This sale needs to end soon or I'm going to be in big trouble.

Scrapbooking

Believe it or not, I went back to Archivers today because the sale is still going on. Molly met me there and we helped each other pick out alot of cute paper that I had missed on my last 2 trips.

I spent the evening and night laying out pictures with paper and stickers and I really did do some pages. Hopefully I'm on a roll now.

Projects

Spent the day organizing all the scrapbook projects that I want to do. As you can see from all the stuff spread out, I have several ideas about all the different projects I want to do. I hope I stay in the mood long enough to actually get something done.

The half price paper sale at Archivers helped motivate me. I spent two hours at Archivers on Tuesday picking out all kinds of paper. Went back today to stock up on solid color paper. I'm all set now to get some pages done.

S'mores Pizza

It was a Papa Murphys night and you can't get Papa Murphys without getting the s'mores pizza.  One of the best dessert pizzas ever.

Notice how so many of my pictures of the day revolve around food?   Guess you can see whats important to me.  I do love to eat and especially sweets.

Mint M&M's

My new favorite M&M.  Really minty flavor which means most people don't like them, so I don't have to share.  They are hard to find but well worth the search.

Horseback Riding

Believe it or not its really me on a horse. A friend of Brian's has some horses that he really likes to have people ride. He asked us to come up and ride. After much coaxing and bribing me with dinner, I consented. I was really nervous as I have not riden a horse in over 35 years. I use to have my own horse and rode for several years. The horse I rode, "Willy" was a good horse and wasn't too wild for me. Just like Pops told me, its just like riding a bike, it will come back to you and it did. I enjoyed it enough that I'm looking forward to going back, maybe even next week.

I didn't really like the idea of me being in the picture for the day but I figured if I didn't use this picture nobody would believe I really rode the horse. I did take some pictures of the horse but ended up using the one with me in it.

Gage and his Ice Cream Cone

Well, I made it to day 100. I have done really well with taking the pictures and haven't missed a single day but I haven't done so good at getting them uploaded and posted. A little slow at that, usually posting several days at a time. At least I am getting the pictures taken and thats the most important thing.

Took Blake, Grace and Gage to Sam's Tastee Treat for ice cream.

Pops, Granny and the "Greats"

Easter Sunday right after church.  Pops, Granny and the 7 great-grandkids.  They all behaved pretty well for pictures. 

Dying Easter Eggs

All the kids had their own cups of dye and they dyed 7 eggs each. They did a really good job. Gage wasn't quite sure about all of it. The first egg he picked up he put it in his mouth. This is just a portion of all the dye cups and eggs.

Little Monkey in the Tree

It was a great afternoon to be outside. The kids have figured out they are big enough to start climbing the bradford pear trees in our front yard. Jentry liked to climb but she really liked hanging on the limbs and swinging. She was upside down as much as she was upright.

Groceries

Brian and I went grocery shopping at Hy-Vee to get groceries to feed the whole family for the Easter week-end. The kids spend alot of time with us while Pops and Granny are here.  We have a good time when we are together and eating is an important part of that. 

Pretty much the same old stuff but thats what everyone wants. Mexican casserole, (and yes Kelley, I even bought nacho cheese chips) white cheese dip, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and dip, Texas sheet cake, 4 layer dessert and the traditional Easter lunch menu.

"Titanic"

Even tho we have seen the movie "Titanic" a zillion times, we still wanted to see it again at the theatre and even in 3D.  It was really good and its just alot better on the big screen.

Gage

Took Gage outside so I could play with my 50mm lens some more. I'm not really getting the hang of that lens yet. Need to practice alot more and also having a subject that sits still for more than 3 seconds might help.

Spring at MNU

The tulips at MNU are full bloom and they are so pretty. I noticed them when I went in to the office this morning, so I took an afternoon break and walked around took pictures. I chose this one because you can see one of the buildings on campus.

It's hard to believe but 10 years ago today I became a Grandma for the first time. Noah James Hunt was born at 9:40 am weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. What a special day it was and one that I won't ever forget. Thats back when I used film and I took (and developed at Sam's that same day) over 200 pictures on his first day. Happy Birthday Noah!!!!!

Blakes New Glasses

We were at Caleb and Amy's this afternoon and I was able to get a picture of Blake and his new glasses. He is pretty excited about them. Caleb said the day they went to the eye Dr and found out he needed them, they picked out a pair and fitted him and then he was very upset that he couldn't take them with him that day. He only has to wear them to read or while he is as school. I hope he continues to like them. He looks older and more grown up with his glasses on.