Fun Times

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day! My girls gave me coupon books full of coupons for pedicures, bed making, dish doing, laundry folding and even some hugs and kisses! I love them so much, some days I can't believe they are mine! They are funny and so kind. One thing that I love most is that they don't just save it for the one day a year that Mother's are celebrated, I get shown it all the time !

One of my memories this year will be of the woman we met during lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. We were sitting inches away from her and as she sat alone, my heart went out to her wondering if she was a mother. Could I have this table full of blessings with my girls, and yet she be alone and uncelebrated? The whole restaurant was full of Mother's getting a lunch out but with someone to share their meal with. We gently began conversation. The girls complimented her on her jewelry and we soon learned that she was Mother of five grown kids, 12 grand kids and 6 great grands. Her sporadic conversation soon came with ease and developed into a details of her life here and the life in Ohio she had left. I was so glad to have shared the day with her. We never exchanged names, we just shared life on this great day of both being Mothers. My girls told me when we got in the car that they were proud of me for sharing my Mother's Day with a stranger. I was glad too!

Saturday, May 7th, we had our end of the year Science Fair. Each of the kids worked on a project and presented it to their peers and to the adults who came. They all did a tremendous job! Stephanie's was on the lastability of gum. She was quite the presenter!

Olivia had worked on finding out which lip gloss lasts the longest. She was in her element!

I felt it was necessary to celebrate Cinco de Mayo last week. So I had a plate of redneck nachos. Yes people, we keep it simple around here.

We have had some cat drama around our home lately, but Greyday has decided she is staying. Her stress has been so high she is losing her fur, but we are doing all but give cat spa treatments to reduce her stress.

Another day recently, a group of us headed to MOSI to take in the day. We had a great time. It was nice to have them be older to wander the areas on their own...they knew we were right on the other side of the wall, but they liked their independence. We saw two great movies and the BUG exhibit. It was amazing to see what can be done with dead bugs!

This picture was back from Easter. I love it. The girls love their Papa and he adores them. Soon they will be taller than him, but he just gets cuter all the time.

I never posted about Easter, but we had our usual egg hunt in the house. They crack me up... I wonder if at 19 they will want plastic eggs hidden down the hallway in plain sight. Their baskets were filled with things they needed like shorts, bathing suits and new nightgowns, of course some candy too! Later Olivia asked me if I was the Easter bunny, so I confessed I was! She said, "Yeah, I knew you were, but I was just going along with it!" I think she thought the baskets might end if the truth was told, funny girl!

The pool is open and being used daily. They were being creative this day....I just wonder why do we need a hose on when the pool is full of water! $$$$$$$$

Quite brilliant they are!

Happy Easter

This is amazing! How Great He is!

Hot wheel school!

Sir Issac Newton would have been happy to spend the day with us recently as we were focusing on the concepts of acceleration, friction, speed, velocity and the Laws of Motion. We thought it would get accomplished with great success if we made it FUN! Therefore, everyone brought a Hot Wheel car and we spent the day practicing these words and laws!

The end is near....Co-op will be ending and it has been a super year of Science. Electricity and the Science Fair is all that is left. Then we get to look forward to next year and learn all about FLORIDA!

Best Sleepover Ever!

Weeks have flown by and Olivia has been eight since the 2nd! We celebrated by having the Greatest Fun and Games Sleepover with ten of her friends! It was a night to remember and one she has had on her list of things to do for the longest. She and four of her close group of friends have a birthday within days of each other so it is a time of bargaining and scheduling when it comes to April parties. This was the year of Olivia's sleepover. Stephanie's contribution was that it needed organized games. So I pulled out all the stops and tried to make it happen!
No cake for this one! She wanted ice cream with all the fixings! She even painted all the insides of the waffle bowls with chocolate!

All the girls! They were all so cute with their flower headbands! What a special crew!

The first group of games were relays. We balanced dice on forks. If you made it then it was two high. Then three. Maddie and Alma were the most graceful of the bunch.

Next race was outside eating donuts off of strings with no hands. Some even ate it off the ground so they could WIN!

Next we played pass the lifesaver on a toothpick. They were hilarious...and some of them were missing teeth, so it was even funnier!

There are crazy huge Easter marshmallows out this year and they are shaped like Bunnies! Therefore we had to play the gagalicious game called "I love chubby bunnies!" Stuffing them in to the mouth and saying the quote will make those who are watching want to gag! Maddie and Emma won...but off camera Kay Kay got five in her mouth before she almost threw up in my kitchen!

Another realy was blow up your balloon and then sit on it to pop it with your butt! They were so funny!

A favorite of the night that we played several rounds of was the ball game! Sitting in a circle and tossing it around, when you caught the ball you had to answer the question that your thumb was touching. The questions were really important ones like, "Who is your hollywood crush?" "What are you most scared of?" "What was your last dream about?" " What would your superhero talent be?" They were funny!

For dinner we made personal pan pizzas! They all got to make their own with their choice of toppings.

Present time was great. Squeals and screams dominated the time! All the girls went home with special gifts of bracelets, lip gloss and those cute flower headbands The part of the evening I had been waiting for was the Fear Factor game! Oh I knew it was going to be fun. We played five rounds. The winner would get five bucks! These girls wanted that money at any cost! They outlasted ice cubes, grasshoppers, onions, smelly sardines, eating babyfood and finally Raelynn won!

Maddie lasting a minute in a jar with large grasshoppers!

At eleven thirty the movie went in, popcorn was made and blankets brought out....By 1:30 all eyes were closed, and I would have done it all again the next day cause this bunch of girls were a blast. It was a fun party and my little eight year old loved it too!

American Girls Photo shoot

Just some creativity flowing around here. This was the all the girls doin's! It did make me happy to know they still love their dolls so much!

Silver Lake

The film Silver Lake is on YouTube! This is a short film written, directed, edited (well, everything except he had to borrow the Flip camera) by Steve. It is a scary movie...lots of screaming. Beware. But it is the usual cast of actors. We did not even have to pay them! It was filmed on a weekend camping trip at Silver Lake. The mamas decided it was high time to celebrate and therefore last weekend we had a Premiere Party to watch it and to honor the Director. He got an Oscar for his labors.

Olivia played Sunny. She was amazing. The gown was Rafa, and Harry Winston jewels. Her hair was curls curls and more curls. This girl was made for the red carpet!

Stephanie played Willow. She was also a cinematographer. Just great. Her shining moment is when she will make you jump as you think she is merely sleeping. Her gown is Amelia. Her hair was rag-tied to get a full tight curl. She was still recovering from a week of illness, but she still made it to the red carpet event!

Here is the director, Stephen J. Porvaznik and his girls. Dapper in a suit. Sears not Armani!

Part of the cast and a few fans! They were getting ready to face Mary Hart aka Ms. Traci on the carpet, so there were some nerves!

We had a special guest appearance by Eminem aka Brent. He was the comic relief.

Inside the Russ Mansion, we had a vast amount of food. Everything from homemade oatmeal cookies to BBQ ribs from down the road yard sale! Everyone had a great time, there were some in the crowd who found the film a bit frightful, but in the end, all who viewed it slept through the night without getting up from bad dreams. There are hopes and dreams of a Silver Lake 2, only time will tell!

A moment passed

Is it really March? Time is flying by... I still have a Christmas present undelivered and Thank-you's from Valentines Day unmailed...paint cans still out from the redecorating... and a basket of clothes not unloaded from our camping trip two weeks ago. Guilt is lessened by the fact that so much of my spare time before this weekend had been filled up with a fantastic bible study I was a part of. I still have a few weeks of "homework" to do, but Beth Moore's "A woman's heart, God's dwelling place" is completely compelling and addictive. If you are looking for a study to be a part of, buy the workbook and download the sessions here.

This past weekend though we found ourselves stopped in our tracks. Stephanie came down with a fever. High fever. Meds could not seem to touch it. Temps like 104.5, 103.2, 102.7 were common on the digital readout! Her little ears were red and hot to the touch. But, she is a trooper. No complaining, just laying there wondering when it would end. I would not choose sickness for my children, but it allows those little places of a Momma's heart that get used less and less as the kids grow older to be revisited. Last night came a soft request of "Momma will you rock me?" Getting up in the night to take a temperature or administer meds reminded me of years ago with middle of the night feedings... How grateful I am that I caught a glimpse of love like this again.

School is rushing past and Spring has sprung around here.