Miss B Started Her Own Blog...

...and you can read it here. I admit to prodding her just a little to start it. She has several friends who blog and since she has such wonderful writing skills (I know, I'm biased!) and is funny & wise, I really think she needs the creative outlet writing a blog provides. I also helped her get it started-just some basic how-to's.

Of course, I had no idea that her first post would be about me and it embarrasses me a little and thrills me too. So head on over to Buttercup's Crayon Box and leave her some love!

And by the way, I'm officially on vacation for the next 12 days and can't wait to spend some time with my Dr. Love!

Leslie

It's Been Awhile (6 monthes!)...

Busy Worker at Home emailed me a month or so ago to ask me if I still blog. I suppose that I should answer that I don't since it's been so long. Life got very busy when Jack-Jack (aka The Young Prince) began sleeping less, crawling, etc... Then came summer with everything it held-including the computer takeover by my children. Then school started and Jack-Jack came back too. So, rather than try to do a catch-up post, I've decided to post some random highlights. Here goes:

My kids are both driving now on permits. When Miss B drives, I keep one eye on how she's doing and the other on my iphone or book. When Charlie drives, I buckle up tight and bite my nails.

Dr. Love got me an iphone for my birthday. I LOVE it! If you play Words With Friends, reply to this post with your user name and we'll start up a game!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is a wonderful place. Even though it took so long to get an appointment, it was well worth it. And, God knew what was going on with Miss B all along and He timed the appointment right.

Charlie now has a stuffed marlin hanging on the wall above his bed. A dear friend from college had it for almost 20 years and gave it to him when she redecorated. This led to many fun "Marlin" moments while we were on vacation.

The Shenendoah Mountains near Harrisburg, VA are hot the last week of June. Very hot. Can't go outside hot.

Miss B joined Charlie at Faith Christian School this year. She adores it!

Do you remember my dear life-long friend Connie? The one who made me this quilt? She's going to be a grandma before the year is out. A grandma to identical twin boys! You can see Connie & her daughter pre-marriage at the end of this post.

Autumn is back...my favorite time of year. I love apples, pumpkins, cider, falling leaves, bonfires and the like. I like the word "autumn." I love the colors and the crisp air. I like burrowing under the blankets next to Dr. Love with the bedroom windows open all night. I like the sound of the coyotes howling somewhere in the fields around us. I like Autumn decorating better than any other!

Jack-Jack toddles around like a drunken sailor. He likes to play ball & is pretty good about delivering it right to me. He also likes to hand things over one at a time & then have them handed back the same way. He's a lot of fun!

I finally painted over the ginormous harlequin wall in my bedroom. That wall is now pink. Before I'm done, it will be a soft red. But since it took me 3+ years to paint over the harlequin, don't count on me being done any time soon.

The picture at the head of my blog was taken just a couple of weeks ago. It's my front entrance and Miss B. She's prettier than any of those flowers!

I think the biggest reason that I've not blogged is because of Facebook. I do like Facebook; I don't think I waste too much time there as others claim to be doing. I've been able to reconnect with friends from childhood and my teen years and also keep up with friends who've moved away and those I left behind in NorthWest Indiana.

So, no promises about when I'll blog again but if you know me personally, don't be afraid to call!

Leslie

Pink Saturday/VACATION!

My apologies in advance to Mimi & Bebe for posting a picture they consider less than flattering!

As tomorrow is our first official day of vacation, I think it's fitting to show this picture from the Flope Family Vacation circa 2007. After all, Miss Mimi Flope is wearing her pink shirt!

Every family is normal until you spend an hour with them and we are no exception. We have several idiosyncrisies--one of them is that we have many nicknames for each other. The year this picture was taken, Miss B's friend Miss L was able to accompany us for the week and we were treated to her incredible sense of humor. She fit right in with us and The Flope Family was born.

This year, we've decided to do a "staycation" of sorts instead of spending a week in "Up North" Michigan as we usually do. We're very excited that Miss L is joining us again! We are blessed to have our own pool, a hammock and a nice firepit so we'll make use of those. We plan to spend a day in Ohio at King's Island and will also have a morning of jet-skiing here locally.

So Happy Pink Saturday everyone....be sure to check out Beverly's blog at http://http//howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ for more PINK!

Leslie

My Surprise Adventure

My wonderful husband planned a surprise adventure for me while our kids were on their own trip to Texas. For several days in a row he either gave me one clue or let me ask one question about his plans. That in itself was very special; he knows me well enough to know that I'd fully enjoy the mystery and the clues. Then on Saturday, when I'd had enough, he told me our destination: the Louisville Zoo. Sometime in the past I'd mentioned that "someday" I'd like to visit a zoo without any kids with me so that I could sit and watch the gorillas for as long as I wanted. He researched and found that Louisville has a spectacular gorilla exhibit!

We drove down to Louisville (about 3 hours) on Sunday late afternoon, checked into our hotel and then scouted around for dinner. We prefer local places over national chains and we found a great one: http://www.johnesrestaurant.com/. I had a petite fillet and Dr. Love enjoyed a ribeye.

Monday morning we headed for the zoo and went straight to the gorilla exhibit. I wasn't able to take any pictures....the gorillas were inside and I couldn't get anything through the glass. I don't know how long we stayed there but I was thrilled to just sit & watch them. They all seemed to be particularly taken with the thousands of cheerios scattered around....they picked through all the greens & veggies to pick them up, one at a time. The male gorilla was appropriately named Timmy! After the gorillas, we alternated between taking the tram and walking through the rest of the exhibits.

We left the zoo in the late afternoon and drove by Churchill Downs so that Dr. Love could see it, but he had no interest in the museum. We also drove through Old Louisville and looked at the architecture-something else I enjoy. We decided to travel through French Lick on our way home and stopped at this great place in Leavenworth, Indiana for dinner http://www.theoverlook.com/. From our table we watched barges going up & down the Ohio River as well as a flock of about 20 goldfinches at a feeder all at once! We both had their fried chicken and homemade biscuits and we shared a homemade blackberry cobbler with ice cream. So good!

We stopped for the night at a tiny wayside motel in Paoli and then came on home yesterday morning. It was so fun to get away together and I feel so very loved and cared for by Dr. Love!

I have a few more pictures from the zoo that I'm saving for Pink Saturday this week so be sure to stop back by then!

Mini Vacation

Tomorrow, after book club of course, Miss B, Charlie & I are heading up to Wisconsin for the week to Aunt Joe's home. In & around our visiting we plan to work on our quilting projects. Aunt Joe has something special for Miss B to sew on. Charlie is looking forward to fishing in her pond as well as exploring in her woods.
I won't be able to participate in Pink Saturday this week but I plan to visit those of you who do!
See you next week!
Leslie

One of Our Best Vacations Ever

We're Off!

Tomorrow morning we'll load up the van and head for God's country.....UpNorth Michigan. We're looking forward to checking out the Gaylord EV Free Church on Sunday and then fishing, jet-skiing, touring the historic areas of Mackinaw City, visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes area and relaxing together.

So don't look for any of my sporadic posts this next week. I'm sure we'll take lots of pictures and, if there's anything of interest, I'll post them when we're settled back in here in wonderful West Lafayette.

See ya' next week!

Leslie

A Belated Telling of the First Week of Summer Vacation

The kids & I spent the first week of summer vacation visiting our dear friend Aunt Joe in Adams-Friendship, Wisconsin. We took along Miss B.'s best friend Mimi Flope. This picture is from our climb up 300+ steps at the Roche a Cree State Park just a few miles north of Aunt Joe's home.
Other activities included making stepping stones for our pool pathway, cooking together, riding the Ducks (take a closer look at Charlie's shirt), playing the game "Apples to Apples" and fishing in the pond under Aunt Joe's catch & release program.
Thank you Aunt Joe for your hospitality!