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Right on!

The USS Wisconsin: An Iowa class battleship.

Or something like that.  We made a day trip to Norfolk VA on Friday.

The G.H.W. Bush carrier. The newest aircraft carrier in the US Navy. This thing is HUGE!The back of the USS GHW Bush.

An Arleigh Burke class destroyer. I was sure that the tour guide was saying, "Early Bird class."

Amphibious transport ship. I believe it was the USS San Antonio. They fill the ship with water in order to partially submerge it and then launch amphibious vehicles out of those doors. Or something along those lines.

See that flat panel on the left? It's some fancy radar thingy that our tax dollars were used to develop that renders this ship virtually invisible to radar AND it helps the ship "think" and decide what weapon it should use to annihilate its target. This is also an Arleigh Burke destroyer. I wouldn't want to mess with one of these things.

 We had the best time on this tour.  I bit pricey, but certainly worth it.  We were on the water for over 2 hours and were able to see many ships, tugboats, and historic sites along the route.  I came away with a new appreciation for our military, that’s for sure. 

Bill is creaming his row. I already called Sue to tell on him.

And you too, Pete and Ted Etzel.  All of those years that I spent picking your strawberries really sucked.  It was muddy and messy and gross.  It took a lot of effort to pick those berries.  Should I sit on the ground to pick or should I opt to straddle the row, bending over whilst harvesting?  Will the berries be so small that it will take FOREVER to fill my carrier? 

Well, I have found the greatest berry picking farm ever. 

Up until now, I had avoided all u-pick farms and instead allowed someone else to do the picking for me.  Too many flashbacks to moldy berries and spiders kept me out of the fields.  I willingly will pay a heftier price per pound when I don’t have to do the labor.  Then I realized that maybe I was depriving my kids of some good, hard work experience. 

So last night we traversed the 2 miles up the road to Cabbage Farms.  And there, I found berry nirvana.  Row upon row of large berries.  And best of all, the bushed are planted in mounded rows–under groundcloth!  There’s no dirt!  The berries just lie so tidily on top of the protective cloth and the bushes are raised to a non-back-breaking height.  It was great.  We picked for 20 minutes and harvested 40 pounds.  Seriously. 

We’re going back today.

Only people from Oregon who ever picked strawberries will understand the above references.  Yes, I am aware that both Etzels are no longer with us.  I think that last night, they looked down on me from heaven and smiled.  And then maybe snickered a little.

skinks on the wall, eating bugs

easter egg hunts at little country churches

hot cross buns for easter breakfast

dyeing easter eggs

chocolate on easter morning

peas and carrots, growing steadily

noxious weed control

watering the garden

cucumber sprouts

warm, sunny, windy mornings

A marginally better picture of the detail: capturing a nearly-two-year-old in a still postition is difficult.

So last week my Amish friend gave me a dress.  A real, live Amish-made dress.  We updated it with a tiny bit of embroidery (wordly people that we are) and we think that Sarah looks awfully cute in it.

Tried for a half-hour to get a decent family picture. What kind of dorky family are we?! Someone, please cue the Dueling Banjos music.

 

Warm weather play. So happy that we can be amused by a dishpan full of water.

The view from inside our car while grape-sized hail pounded our car while trying to drive through a tornado. It totally ruined my car’s paint.

Jack 1:  Raccoons 0 

Jack 1:  Crows 0

Julie 1:  House Millipedes 0

And my favorite:  Madeline 7:  Chickens 0

I’d also like to add that Bill’s latest victory was achieved while in his underwear, at 11:00PM.  Oh yeah, we are on a killing streak this spring.

With a goal of $40 to completely redecorate her “room” and transform it from a baby cave into a cozy toddler haven, this is what we started with yesterday morning:

A sketch and a quick trip to Walmart were all I needed to get things started.  Oh, and I had to pilfer through the attic, looking for anything that might help with the transformation.  The inspiration for the room is the quilt I made for Sarah when she was just a few months old.  My first attempt at a log cabin quilt.

Here is the after photo:

I hung a canopy from the overhead shelves, securing it with ribbons:  5 yards of fabric @ $3 per yard= $15.  Two new pillowcases:  $2 for ric-rac trim and fabric from my stash.  New dust ruffle:  free from fabric stash.  Butterfly decals on the wall:  $11 from Walmart.  Side table:  old Marion Cty. ballot box tole painted by a friend of my Mother, also free.  Rug:  swapped one out from the living room, free.  Canvas baskets for clothes (on shelves):  free, already had in attic.  All that is left is a wall pocket thingy to hang on one end of the bed for Sarah to put her books and stuffed animals in.  Sort of ran out of steam yesterday and had a baseball game to get to.  I’ll finish that this weekend and it will cost:  $4 for ribbons, $3 for fabric=$7.  A grand total of $35.  And then I spent $5 on ice cream and chocolate and made my $40 goal.  It’s all about priorities.

We have had two successful naps and one overnight success too.  Sarah says, “Ohhh, cozy!” and “Ohhh, fancy!” when she goes in her “room” now.

Ready, set,...

Go!

It was very windy Monday night. Oh, and the duct tape is a bracelet, don't you know.

Today we will, hopefully, get Sarah’s Big Girl bed makeover underway.  Not sure exactly what we’ll be making, but it’ll probably be sheets, pillows, decor, and a little side table for her books and stuffed animals. 

All of this will need to be completed along with laundry, school, house cleaning, a wee bit of grocery shopping, baseball (AGAIN), and chicken wrangling that cries for attention.  Oh, and some cooking too–naturally.  I’m sorta exhausted just looking at my list. 

Have a lovely day!

Anyone who is interested in cloth diapers:  This diaper cover is by Biobottoms.  It’s wool and absolutely the best cover ever!  It’s nearly too small for Sarah but they’re out of business and finding a larger size is hard.  Can’t say enough about using wool as a cover.  Try it!