Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael's birthday was this week and he's depressed. "35 sounds like you are in your mid-thirties, but 36 sounds like you're 40!" he tells me. That one little year makes a lot of difference somehow.

And Michael did NOT cooperate for pictures. He doesn't like pictures, so he wouldn't smile for the camera. These are the best I could get.

Once you are an adult, you get one candle at our house. If I had put 36 on the cake, he may have been able to hide behind them in this picture.

Joshua was very excited to watch/help Michael open his presents. Michael really did smile - just not when the camera was pointed at him.

Here is Joshua jumping up and down with excitement as Michael opens his present.

What kind of cake? Ice cream cake!

I have never made this before, but I decided to try something new. I made golden vanilla cake (from the box mix), and baked it in a 9-inch springform pan. When cool, I wrapped and froze it overnight. To assemble, split cake, spread strawberry ice cream topping on bottom layer, then softened strawberry ice cream, and then some more strawberry ice cream topping. Replace top and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze 4 hours. Frost with pudding/whipped topping mixture and freeze again (3-4 hours). Kids loved it and actually ate their cake with the ice cream this time! (nevermind the sink in the middle, or the uneven frosting on either side of the cake, or the smashed right side... it tasted good.)

If I made it for myself, it would have been chocolate cake with mint or rasberry chip ice cream and chocolate fudge frosting. Michael prefers anything but chocolate so we made it strawberry and vanila.

ObamaCare: what would it be like?

I have lived in Canada and experienced the health care system first hand. This video isn't an exageration at all. The inefficiency of socialized health care is real. The frustration of waiting in line for an undetermined amount of time is real. I experienced waiting to see the doctor in Canada, and eventually was told my pain was just due to stress and they didn't care to figure out what was really going on.

Just say No to socialized health care.

If you can't see the video, you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1ysw

Surprise Day...

Surprise # 1:

We woke the kids up at 6:30 am to see the hot air balloons.

Surprise #2:

We had Krispy Creme Donuts for breakfast,

... and had to watch the donuts cook through the window.

Surprise #3

Kids got to run off all that sugar at the park. (no one else is there at 9 am!)

Surprise #4:

Got some fireworks for the 4th of July

Kids didn't know about any of the surprises until they happened. They had a great time.

Airplanes

Last Tuesday, my grandpa called to tell me about an airplane show. He said that the day before he had gone to show my cousins some of the planes on display that were used in World War II. Grandpa was a navigator in a B24 airplane.

Here is Grandpa with my kids in front of a B24. (he was so excited for an excuse to see the planes a second day in a row! Grandpa was beaming the whole time.)

A picture of the whole plane with Adam. The people around the plane are waiting for their turn to crawl through the inside.

Grandpa got really excited to see this plane (it wasn't there the day before.) This is the same model he learned to fly in. He said he had to log 100 hours in this plane before flying in the B24.

In addition to the WWII airplanes, there were a number of modern airplanes on display too. This one was free to sit in.

Had to get a picture with Grandma and Olivia in the picture.

Museum

I had never been to the little museum in our city until last week. My kids LOVED it.

The first exibit we saw were the ROCKS! Yes, this geologist was impressed by their collection.

The kids were not impressed with the rocks. In fact, as my face lit up to show them the different mineral samples, they whined about moving to look at something else.

Finally! in the middle of the rocks, Adam and Joshua found something they thought was worth looking at.

Adam did appreciate all green rocks - since green is his favorite color.
In the next room, the kids are much more excited for the Smilodon (saber-tooth cat) skeleton.
Look at that smile! It's not a rock.
Dress up was fun.
It fits!
Got bugs?
Adam used the magnifying glass for other things besides bugs.

My kids were frustrated when they couldn't do the morse code letters as fast as their Mom.

Sisters

My mother with her sister, Marjie. We got to get these sisters together more often!

(thanks for the picture, Jenny)