Family – Page 10 – Asbery's Echoes

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We don’t do anything special for Valentine’s Day. I used to make a special meal, set a pretty table with candles and hearts and surprise Joe and the kids with chocolates and cards. I haven’t been able to coordinate something like that for a few years. It’s amazing how busy our lives can become. Especially when you have children so spread apart in age. I was going to try for last night but Joe had to be unexpectedly gone overnight for work. Then Eric wanted to go to the basketball game after bowling practice. Tonight Eric won’t be home because he’s gone to support the bowlers who made it to sub state. So – I gave Eric his chocolates and card this morning before school and will give Drew and Joe theirs tonight. I am helping out at the Kindergarten party this afternoon so that will be a nice Valentine’s surprise for Drew. Hopefully I will have time to make S’mores brownies when we get home to go with our leftovers for supper. I’ll light a candle and supper can still be special. Joe will be home and the three of us can enjoy our evening together. I’ll give Joe and Drew their cards and chocolates. We’ll have fun picking out which chocolates we want to eat because I know they’ll share with me!

The above picture is my of Aunt Konnie on the left and my dad on the right. They are twins. Ronnie Rae and Konnie Kae. Aren’t they just the cutest! Grandpa and Grandma did such a great job of taking pictures of them and I’m lucky to have so many of them. This is one of my favorites. I have the doll too, which I cherish. They have a birthday coming up on the 16th. I’ll have to share more pictures!

Iowa weather

There wasn’t much to report last week. Just typical days. Kids to school, Joe to work, Eric to work and bowling practice and a bowling meet we couldn’t get to. I just can’t justify taking Drew out of school at 1:00 to go to a 2:00 bowling meet in a neighboring town although I hate missing seeing Eric. He understands and says we don’t need to go to any of them. But, we very rarely miss supporting the kids in whatever they are involved in. He has a meet this week in town – we will definitely be there for that one!

Joe and I did go to Coon Rapids Friday and stayed through Saturday. His dad decided after breaking his hip and being in assisted living that he wanted to stay there. He wants to sell the house and had a household auction Saturday. We went up Friday and helped set things up then stayed over to be there for the sale and to help with clean up. It went well. Joe’s dad is 91. He’s doing great – sharp as a tack and physically he does great with his walker – but he didn’t want to have the worry of a big old house to deal with. He’s living in a beautiful place where he can come and go as he pleases and has no worries. His meals are fixed for him and he has friends all around. No lawn to mow or snow to shovel. It’s perfect for him and he’s happy. Couldn’t ask for more for him.

A page from the Joe’s mom’s cookbook. I love the well used, handwritten pages. So much more personal than my three ring binder full of printed off pages. I’m going to start writing more down on recipes cards. Printing things off may be faster but there’s nothing personal there to cherish.

We didn’t come home with much. Joe bought a couple of tools. I bought an old stool that his dad used out in his shop. Old, chippy, colorful, perfect! A handwritten cookbook of his mom’s and an old glass jar – I think it held powder at one time. I’ll find the perfect homes for them here and they will be cherished for years to come. Hopefully the kids will cherish them someday too.

Drew was sick all day yesterday and he’s still not feeling the best today. You know he’s not well when he lays on the couch all day. Yesterday he wanted to be cuddled and loved all day. Today not so much. He didn’t want me around – so even though he’s not up and moving I know he’s feeling better when he doesn’t want his mommy!

We had ice last night – and rain today – fog tonight. You never know what kind of weather we’re going to have. This was our driveway this morning:

We have a few tree branches down I noticed. A layer of ice and then rain on top of the ice. Not fun. I was glad we didn’t have to go anywhere. School was canceled. Joe had a hard time getting up and out of the drive with the truck in four wheel drive. But – the highways were clear – thank goodness for that. I love living in the country and until recently I have wished we didn’t live along the highway but the older I get, the more I appreciate the fact that we can always get to town. If we can get out of the driveway!

Thanks for stopping by – Rhonda

Trying new things

Last day of Christmas vacation for the kids. Eric slept in. Drew enjoyed his day – he was loud, full of energy and into everything. He spent a lot of time this morning playing with his Legos and his Dinosaur Play Mobile. While he played away – I taught myself a new crochet stitch. Gotta love You Tube to learn new techniques.

He brought the cat bed and tower in with him in hopes that Pierre would come in and join him!

For lunch I tried out a new recipe – Honey Garlic Shrimp. It was yummy. Next time I’ll add some veggies and it will be a perfect meal to make for the boys when Joe is gone. I try to fix meals that the boys like and he doesn’t when he’s gone. Then I tried my hand at making homemade dinner rolls. I’ve never made homemade bread but have been wanting to try. I came across this recipe and thought it sounded good. I always remember my grandma’s homemade rolls. She brought them to every get together and they were so good. I surprised myself – they turned out great. Next time I’ll spend more time making them pretty though!

They aren’t very pretty but they sure taste good!

Eric had a bowling meet tonight. That kid – he’s always trying new things. He’s a senior this year and never really bowled and all of a sudden he decides to go out for the team. He’s on JV of course but does pretty good. He’s having fun and that’s all that counts. I know very little about bowling and am a little lost at the meets but that’s okay. I enjoy watching the boys compete and have fun.

So – a day of new things. New crochet stitch, new recipe, first attempt at baking bread, watching Eric bowl. I fun day of firsts!

Thanks for stopping by – Rhonda

July 4th, 2016

Another busy fun filled 4th is in the books! Our small town has a huge celebration every 4th of July and this year was no different. It started out on the 2nd – free bouncy houses for the kids to enjoy at the Expo grounds and then a concert later that evening – local talent to start out and then a band. In between there we took the kids uptown to see the fountain. We have this beautiful landmark that the town has been working hard on restoring. I’ll do a post later on this beautiful fountain and get some pictures of it lit up at night.

This beautiful fountain is a beloved landmark for our small town.

I don’t usually want to go to the concert and this year was no different but Joe talked me into it and I am so glad he did. The best part of course was playing with Drew and grandson Braxton. And I always enjoy listening to a good friend’s son sing and play his guitar. He sings country and is sooooo good! Then we discovered we knew the keyboard player and his brother, who was the drummer in the main band! Old friends we had lost touch with. The band was excellent – eighties rock – I enjoyed the evening out!

13528758_10206973797285265_6214244375889045524_n — Zach singing and playing for our entertainment!

July 3rd brought cool weather and festivities on the town square – bouncy houses, kids water fights, kiddie tractor pull, free entertainment on the bandstand, pie contest to name a few. And of the course the DJ and dance. We sold shave ice in the afternoon and evening like we have done for the past few years.

13606435_10206978036351239_6835560351559841372_n — You can see Drew eating an ice already in the left hand corner!

We got home around 10:30 and had to mix up some more product so it was a late night but that’s a good thing. Up and early on the next day for the annual parade. Then lunch at the Kiwanis tent – hot dogs, chips, watermelon and cookie. Yum! And off to the park – volleyball tournaments, basketball tournaments, horse shoes, Cutie Kiddie Contest and the biggest draw of the whole celebration – the greased pig contest! We always sell ice here too – the kids love a yummy cold shave ice after chasing those pigs!

13537602_10154341019668493_7903293830010019025_n — Patiently waiting for the parade to start!

13619960_10154341280453493_2528687487908135180_n — The end of the parade – and always my favorite – the horses!

13606754_10154341280468493_3848894578996750792_n — Mom, my sister Beth and me ready to sell ice! Eric and Dad in the background supervising!

13606627_10154341342553493_7510648744109230103_n — Checking out the pigs!

Drew didn’t catch the pig – but I guess he tried hard. I couldn’t see the action – we were busy selling and there were too many people watching to see around them. He said it was lots of fun!

After a busy day we went to Dad and Mom’s for supper and to relax then back into town for the fireworks. Sigourney puts on such an awesome fireworks display for a small town. It’s all done through donations and the firemen set them off. Joe, Drew and I parked along the side of the rode, set the chairs up in the back of the truck, munched on the candy Drew got at the parade and enjoyed the show! Another fun filled, small town 4th of July celebration has come and gone!

Paddle Boating

keomah We took Drew to Lake Keomah to go paddle boating yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful cool July 1st. A perfect day to be outside. I plan to enjoy these nice cool days while we get them! Lake Keomah is just a few miles from our house. We used to camp there a lot but haven’t been there for years. We had heard they were doing some work to the park – the beach was open and they rent boats and have concession stand. It’s a small lake but very nice. We might have to try camping there again.

A nice peaceful spot to sit and watch Joe and Drew look for shells.

Drew enjoyed finding shells along the bank more so than the paddle boat ride – he has very little patience so sitting in a slow moving boat was not his thing!

I took some pictures with my phone while we were on the boat but I can’t get them to transfer over right now. The lake was so nice and peaceful. There was hardly anybody around on a Friday afternoon. It was almost like have the lake to ourselves! Spontaneous little day trips are lots of fun!

Staycation Day 2

Day 2 of our staycation – on to Maquoketa Caves. We visited here last year and loved it so much we decided to take my dad and mom along with us this year. Unfortunately Eric had to work so he had to stay behind. First we ate our picnic lunch – PB & J sandwiches and chips! As you can see – at the visitor station Drew found a snake to make friends with. He loves all things creepy crawly and thank goodness I’m not too squeamish. I don’t know how I would have survived all these years with three boys if I was! Drew even let me pet this little guy before giving him back to its owner! (Again, I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. Forgot my camera again)

The view looking out before heading into the cave.

Mom was not sure about this. We didn’t realize how much she didn’t like caves until we got in here. Sorry Mom!

The other side of the cave - beautiful! — The other side of the cave – beautiful!

I am always amazed at how the terrain changes so drastically in Iowa. Just a couple of hours from here it is flat and you can see for miles. Here you find this. So many people seem to have the misconception that Iowa is all corn fields. Boy are they wrong!

You can hike for hours in this State Park – up and down the bluffs – down in the bottom along the water, exploring caves big and small. It was a little too rough for Dad and Mom so we spent a little time here and then decided to see what else we could find.

We headed towards the beautiful Mississippi River and the river drive. We drove past the American Pickers headquarters. It’s not much – a couple little buildings. We didn’t stop as there were lots of people. We kept on going – enjoying the Mississippi River.

Mom wanted to try and find Wildcat Den State Park. She had never been there but remembered Grandpa and Grandma Houseal talk about it when she was young. Talk about a hidden gem. It wasn’t easy to find, and we really had no idea what we were getting into. When we first found the park, we didn’t see anything too exciting – another pretty Iowa State Park to drive through. But we had been cooped up in the truck for quite some time and Drew needed to get out and run so we pulled into a parking lot that held lots of cars but no people and let him run. Of course, he found a trail and this is the first thing we found:

A pretty body of water – looked a little deep and was running a little fast. It would have been so relaxing to just sit along the bank and take a nap here! But not with Drew – we had to keep exploring! So onto another trail on the other side of the parking lot – and what a great surprise!

This time we found sandstone bluffs. It was so much fun climbing up and down the bluffs – sometimes between them! There was graffiti all over them – it doesn’t take much carve a name into sandstone. It amazes me that we had never heard about this park. It’s not too far from home. We even stopped for a potty break and mom asked directions and the lady at the counter had never heard of Wildcat Den – and it was just around the corner from the convenience store! I love finding places like this – so much better than anything commercialized.

Drew is not afraid of heights – he loves climbing!

Yes - Buddy the hedgehog went along too. Drew insisted on a picture! — Yes – Buddy the hedgehog went along too. Drew insisted on a picture!

The park had this beautiful, easy to walk trail. We walked and walked until we found the end and then back to the truck. So much to see, everything was so green and pretty. I hope to go back this fall when the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and cool. I bet it would be breathtaking!Two full days of hiking, up and down and all around. Hopefully this will keep this little guy content for awhile until our next “adventure”!

Memorial Weekend Staycation Fun

A beautiful barn outside of Solon. I enjoy looking at all the unique barns we have in Iowa.

Drew is always wanting to go on an “adventure”, so we decided to go on one on Saturday. I had seen an article about waterfalls in Iowa and one of the locations happened to be close to home so off we went! It was a beautiful day with a chance of rain but we took our chances. We had camped several times in this area in the past but we had no idea this hidden gem was so close to where we had been. (I apologize in advance for the pictures – I forgot my camera and was using my phone) We took off mid-morning on our adventure and this is what we found:

Lake Macbride from the dam. — Lake Macbride from the dam – just seconds before the rain!

We found the lake with no problem but it took a little trial and error to find the waterfall. Then as we were just getting ready to cross the dam on foot it started to rain, hard! So, we ran back to the truck, drove to town and treated ourselves to an ice cream cone to wait out the rain. It was worth the wait!

Drew, as usual, exploring ahead of everyone. The falls are just on the other side of this huge rock.

Eric just tolerates my picture taking - and his little brother hanging on his leg! — Eric just tolerates my picture taking – and his little brother hanging on his leg!

They weren’t really waterfalls – but were still neat to see. A fun way to spend the day, didn’t cost much money and we were home and relaxing by evening. A fun day spent with family! So much fun that we decided to take my dad and mom the next day on another “adventure”!

Heading back over the rock to find our truck and head home.

Saturday Morning Adventure

Drew loves to go on what he calls “adventures”. Last Saturday he wanted to take his dad and I down to the creek where he goes to play when he’s at Grandpa and Grandma Ward’s house. I used to go down to the creek when I was a little girl – I could sit for hours and watch the water flow by.

The neighboring cows kept an eye on us too!

I loved watching Drew and his dad playing in the water.

Every little boy should have a creek to play in!

And here at Drew’s feet we have a raccoon skeleton. Drew is fascinated with any bones that he finds!

Thank you Drew for the adventure!

I love these kinds of adventures – they don’t cost a thing yet are so much fun. Any time spent outdoors is time well spent and spending time with Joe,Dad, Mom and any of the kids is priceless!

I Should Have Known

My five-year-old is a very strong willed child. He has been a challenge from the day he was born. Any discipline that worked with his older siblings is not going to work with him. So – no times outs, no taking away toys, no yelling, no sending him to his room. What worked before, does not work now. So, I should have known not to get the fingernail polish out. I haven’t used polish for a couple of years knowing that usually out of sight is out of mind. Drew loves polish and he wants to put it on himself. He isn’t happy with an adult putting it on for him. So I would rather not use it than have to fight Drew over it. But . . . the weather was nice, out came the sandals, and toes look so much better when polished. That was last Sunday. I made two mistakes – I used the polish in front of him and I didn’t have enough time to polish his toes too. Again, I should have known. So then the polish was put away and forgotten about. Or so I thought. On Wednesday, Drew decided to polish his toes. And his carpet. And I thought he was playing with his dinosaurs! So . . . how do you get half a bottle of polish out of carpet? With the help of Pinterest I now know that baby wipes, rubbing alcohol and lots of elbow grease does a fairly good job! I should have taken before and after pictures but at the time I was simply working on staying calm and getting the mess cleaned up – not on taking pictures! So, Drew and I have pretty polished toenails. Drew’s carpet is saved. And I will wait another year to get the polish out hoping that in another year he won’t want to use nail polish like mommy anymore. I’m learning to pick my battles and unpolished toes are a small price to pay to keep the peace.

Yesterday morning was spent in the timber with my parents and Drew.

I know spring is here when the bluebells bloom and this year they are absolutely gorgeous.

The timber was a blanket of blue – pictures don’t come close to the how pretty this scene is – a sea of blue blanketed the whole timber! When I was young I would wander down to the timber every spring and pick a bouquet of bluebells. They are such a delicate and enchanting spring flower!

Five Again!

Drew got to celebrate his birthday twice this year – a very rare occurrence! On Sunday we took him to Chuck E. Cheese in Des Moines. Lots of family came along too to help celebrate. Turning five is a big deal!!!!

Playing air hockey with big sister Abby and nephew Braxton - fun! — Playing air hockey with big sister Abby and nephew Braxton – fun!

90 year old Grandpa Meiners playing skee ball - he beat everybody! — 90 year old Grandpa Meiners playing skee ball – he beat everybody!

Lots of fun for the little ones and the oldest one! It was such fun to see Albert enjoying himself.

I’ve been stitching away in the evenings when I can. I just love this little bunny and those strawberries – so sweet. And a fun quick stitch. Will have to stitch it into a pinkeep soon so I can enjoy it this spring!

Strawberries Bunny Pinkeep by primitivebettys — Strawberries Bunny Pinkeep
by primitivebettys

And this is what I’m working on now – this will take a little longer to finish. I don’t always enjoy stitching lots of one color. I guess I like to see that I’m making progress when I stitch. But, I’m making myself slow down and just enjoy the process of stitching with this one. It’s fun to slowly see this dress take shape. This stitch reminds me of days gone by, when life moved a lot slower and things seemed to be simpler. It’s nice to slow down once in awhile in this fast paced world.

Winter Beekeeper Thread Board Stacy Nash Primitives — Winter Beekeeper Thread Board
Stacy Nash Primitives

Well, it’s time to start the day – laundry to hang out, rooms to clean, supper to plan. I’m going to try out a new recipe – Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs. Hope it turns out. I’m working on getting a list of tried and true recipes everyone likes put in a notebook that I can use to menu plan. My goal is to be able to plan a weekly menu using these recipes – so I can shop once a week and not make so many trips to the store after work. Hoping to save myself some time and money. Wish me luck!