Labor Day Weekend Part 2

Alright, as promised part 2... Today we started out our day rather slow and relaxed. When we got up Andy made us pancakes for breakfast. Then the kids went outside to play... While Andy and I just hung out in the house, relaxing and chillin out. Nice calm relaxed day.... comes far and few between. Later this afternoon we got ready to go to a friends house. We had made plans to go to Holly & Aaron's house for the evening. It was nice, cause Andy has stuff in common with Aaron. Upon arriving my children dove right in like they owned the place! This is what kids can do in 5 mins......
We had dinner there... Boy was it good! Pork chops, mashed potatoes, stuffing, peas, and carrots. So good!!! Thanks again Holly! I tired to help with dinner, but the baby started to cry so I picked him up and got him to fall asleep. Yes, I'm using the baby as an excuse! :)

After dinner we attempted to get the kids to pick up. Can I tell you what a task that was. My kids hate to pick up no matter where we are... UGH! But man can they make a mess in seconds. I feel absoulutely horrible about the fact we left such a mess behind. We ran out of time, if we wanted to make it to see the fireworks in time. SO AGAIN.... Holly I am so so sorry! I owe you! Next time we will get together at my house..... LOL! :)

We made it to the fireworks just in time... They started them just as we parked. I was surprised to see how many people were at these. Norridgewock is a small town after all! They were at the local small airport.. Not a bad location for them actually. They even park people, so you can sit in your car and watch them if you want. My kids got out and stood in front of my car. They were very nice fireworks I must say... I mean for what I usually see! Andy captured a few I am going to share with you in moment. This is only the second time my girls have seen the fireworks, and I must say they weren't scared at all which surprised me. Poor Ryann, and Silas were a bit spooked by them I think.




There are just a few of my favorite shots. :) Andy did a good job getting them! Now I'm going to share a photo of the kids watching them.


I was trying to get a shot with my cell phone. I got a pretty good one, that is now my background on my phone.

The kids are wearing nice glow necklaces, that they got from Holly & Aaron... The kids say "Thanks" again. They love them. The girls hung them on their beds while they sleep! So, they could find them fast in the morning. :)





My last photo to share is of Holly, Silas and I! We haven't had a photo taken together for a long time. I was happy to get one tonight. We had a great time with our friends. I hope that we get together again soon......

So there you have Part 2 of the weekend. So far we have had a really great weekend. Spent together as a family and also with some great friends. I hope that tomorrow brings the same relaxing fun times. So, stay tuned for part 3.....


"Happy Labor Day Everyone"

Labor Day Weekend Part 1

Over the course of the last week Andy has been cleaning up the front yard, which may I add has desperately needed it. Well in doing so, he decided to make a fire pit.... cause the kids love to toast marshmallows, and just sit around the fire, especially in the fall! :)

Saturday being the first part of our Labor Day Weekend, we weren't really sure what we wanted to do. Funds being low, and not a lot of options in the area. We started it out by picking up Rachel from my moms... she spent the night there on Friday night. We visited with them for a little while and discussed what we would like to can this year... My mom, and I like to can apple pie filling for the year.... in the fall. Plus we were talking about maybe some jelly this year, along with some pickles, cause mom has tons, and I mean tons of cucumbers this year!

Getting off subject... sorry! I like to ramble. After we left my mother's we came home, as we had a birthday party to attend for Autumn. Although, Rachel was cranky... (no doubt from her lack of sleep.....mom said she was up before them) and Sage had fallen asleep in the car. She was feeling a little under the weather from Allergy's. We then decided since it had been a few weeks since we had been to the library... we would take the kids down, when Rachel could settle down a bit. Off we went to the little library in town.... Its small but quaint. We like it, and the kids just love going to get new books to read/have read to them. Hunter loves the Magic Tree House Series, and also found a new set The A to Z Mysteries that he enjoys. He and I take turns reading the pages, to increase his confindence in reading, and for us to enjoy time together. Rachel well, she likes anything princess of course, but is pretty open to hearing any good story. She even got a book to keep cause she qualified for some new program Governor Baldaci is doing with Kindergarten students state wide. (She would have been in Kindergarten, but her birthday is 12 days past the cut off) Sage's love for books is just as strong as the other two. She loves to get those books, that she can identify things in, or learn her ABC's.... This trip to the library we decided to get a few fall, and Halloween books for the upcoming season. Here you can see that they all had their special book they needed to carry to the car, and look at for the short drive home.

From the Library we made a couple of stops and headed back home. Once home of course the kids had to read some of their books they picked. Then they went outside to play while Andy made dinner. After dinner they went back outside, and Andy decided he wanted to go out and get the fireplace going. So.... I went out and sat on the porch and played with the Smilebox program a little bit. While the kids ran around like crazy people. Then we made some s'mores for the kids. Oh weren't they excited about that. They love marshmallow's!Sage enjoying that gooey mess!


Rachel got really messy! Even ended up with Marshmallow in her hair, and on her nose! Guess she was really enjoying it!


Hunter is the biggest S'more fan in our house! :) Yummy!!!!

After they finished with their marshmallow mess... We put out the fire, and cleaned up our mess. Came inside, and all sat down to watch a movie. We ended up watching Harry & the Henderson's. One of my favorite movies as a kid.... Hunter really enjoyed that one too. After the movie, they all headed to bed. We had a great first day to our Labor Day Weekend... Stay tuned for Sunday Part 2....

Hunter's First BoyScout Trip

This is actually suppose to be back in July...but I'm just now getting to it. On July 26th, Hunter's BoyScout Troop, went to what they call FunPac weekend in southern Maine. Andy went with him, as I thought this should be more of a father, son activity... They left very early Saturday morning....like at 5:00am I do believe. :) To head out for their adventure. The first stop being at a restaurant in a town near the camp, for breakfast. Upon arriving... they set up camp... right next door to the Anson Troop. Then they went to their big gathering...our troops first activity was swimming. One rule being that they have to have a buddy, and they did random buddy checks. Lunch followed their swimming...

Afternoon brought more excitement with Sports, doing some Olympic like activities.. followed by scout crafts..his troop, learned what Firefighters did in training.. like rolling hoses, dressing up in the fire suit and running, climbing up ladders to rescue a cow. (sounds like it would have been a riot to watch) Then they were off to enjoy the Nature, learning about animal prints, plants, and they went on a hike. Hunter was excited he got to see some turtles on his hike. After a exhausting them on a hike, they went to have dinner. They cooked a foil meal on the fire pit. They had stew beef, potatoes, and carrots. (YUM)

After dinner, the evening meeting started... the different troops, did their skits.... Unfortunately, our troop did not do its skit, cause to many kids were exhausted from the day... After the meeting they went back to the camp for some s'mores.. Then it was bed time, guessing it didn't take long for the kids to pass out!

Sunday morning, they got up and had breakfast.... and off to Archery they went. Hunter was very excited about this.. he was very eager to try this. As you can see in the above photo... with the big smile plastered on his face! Then they went to B.B guns. Also, making Hunter very excited he got to try this out. He was very proud of himself, and that was the first thing he told me about when he got home. To wind down the weekend, their last thing was Arts & Crafts. In this Hunter made his neckerchief with his troop number and some drawings on it. Then it was time to pack up and head back home. The boys slept most of the way home... as they were so exhausted from the weekend events. Hunter had a blast, as did Andy. They are eager to return for next years activities.

More silly cute photo's!

Sage's Gorgeous Smile!


Sage Just Being Silly!


Rachel Dancing!

About the only thing that bloomed this year!

We had the worst luck with our garden this time. Which sucks, cause we really like our fresh fruits and vegetables.... With so much rain though, it slowed us getting it in, and then we didn't get enough sun to get them to grow. :( All good though, you live and learn. We are hoping for a better chance next year. For this year, we are getting fresh veggies from my mom. Thanks mom!

Anywho.... I was going to tell you about my Rose bushes. We had two nice roses bushes before we moved our trailer last year. We moved them both to my mom's house for the winter, but one got mowed... Opps! The other didn't look to healthy...but was still green. So, we had hope right?? Brought it home in the plant pot it was in, and kinda forgot about it for a few weeks. Then I got a couple more at Marden's for mother's day. So, we planted those, and still didn't get the other one planted, but it was still green. :)

Can you believe that one in the plant pot actually bloomed this summer. It was so pretty. Plus the two new ones I bought bloomed, and we gorgeous too. So, I guess I can grow rose bushes right? I'm working on another plant that I can grow... can't only have roses around here right?

Some cute photo's I wanted to share....

Ok, so I'm really like having blogging withdrawals.. Been addicted the last few days cause it has been awhile since I have been this on top of stuff... So, I just wanted to share some cute photo's I had.. Hope you enjoy!













This is Isaac posing for his mom.... Just so adorable, but what a trouble maker he can be!!! Don't you just love that smile!

Sage and her shoes!!!

Girls are always caught up in their dresses, cute clothes, and shoes.... Well a friend of ours just gave me some shoes for Sage that their daughter out grew. There was like 6 or so pairs in this box they gave me... Sage went through it and had to try on every pair... a few times! She loves to put shoes on, and off.. Harmless for the most part, except we always leave some laying around, and forget where we put them. Making it hard to find some one we need to leave. lol...

Anyway.. back to my story... She got these pink dress shoes that have some sparkles on them. She is addicted to them. She wears them every moment she gets, except when outside, cause mommy was mean and told her no wearing them outside! :) Sage likes to walk around in them, jump in them, and dance in them.... She is very cute, and silly. Last night she even decided to wear them to bed. Yes, I said she wore them to bed! Crazy girl!

Are you ready here... are her new shoes she is obbessed with! :)

Now you notice the choice of clothes that she is even wearing with them. :) Not dresses, just whatever she happens to have one for that day! So there you have it... her new pretty shoes! :)

First Grade here we come!

Today was the first day of school here in Embden. Which meant that Hunter was off to start his first day of FIRST GRADE! Oh my, can you believe it?? Time has just flown by... seems like yesterday he was born.

Needless to say the excitement was just unbearable. Daddy woke him up at 6am, and he jumped out of bed.. (not a normal occurance for that boy) Had his breakfast, and got dressed. By 20 mins of 7... he was anixously awaiting for the bus to pick him up. :) Bad news, he had atleast 25 mins to wait before she would be there. He was so happy..... and must have gave me 10 hugs and kisses. He couldn't wait to be back with his friends. He had missed them so much over summer.

Here he is waiting for the bus...

and here he is getting on the bus....

I'll let you know later how his first day went! Here is to another year! :)

Our new additions to the family......

In my pervious blog, I stated that we had gotten a box of 10 cats dropped off at our house. Well out of that ten there was four baby kittens, cute, fluffy gray kittens. Seeing how our cat Oliver, had disappeared the beinging of this spring, and we still haven't seen him around.. our kids have been pretty sad. They think he might be dead, but we have decided to not finialize it for them, cause that way they can keep alittle hope. I tired to get rid of the cats before the kids got home that day, but the cats were not cooperative in the catching process. Therefore, they were able to see the one of the kittens... They fell in love with it instantly.. and how could I say no??? So, I agreed if they would help take care of it, we would keep it. Well, a few days later we were finally able to catch the other baby, and the kids thought the one we kept needed a friend... So here we are with two kittens. :) We have decided to name them, Baliey and Wicket... (yes the wicket was Andy's idea... after one of the star wars characters)

Here is Wicket! The one on the bottom.... Isn't he cute??

Here is Bailey! He is alittle darker and skinner then Wicket... :)

Summer Fun......

With the last night before school here... we decided with the nice weather after supper we would go out and have some family fun time.... They wanted to play soccer with Daddy... mommy still can't run or play on her ankle, until after the doctor looks at it Thursday... Anyway... Being that it was such a nice day out today.. and its starting to feel like fall. The kids really are enjoying the evening air. Hunter loves to play soccer so he was practicing his kicks and stopping the ball..... Sage was hilarious trying to kick the ball.... she would run up to it really fast, but more run into the ball to kick it, instead of actually stopping to kick the ball. Way, to cute! Rachel likes to kick the ball, run after it, and just get to use her new soccer ball from Christmas, cause its white and pink!!! :)

~Our new swing set~

Its been a month or so, since we got this new swing set...but I'm now just getting around to blogging about it. :) Having three very active kids, you know how they love to play..... well ours had been bugging us for a swing set...and all the ones we looked at were way out of our price range for a good quality one. So, we started looking at lawn sales and such. No luck... Then we saw one free for the taking, but there was pieces missing...... not really going to help us. Then one day on my way to meet a friend.... I saw one the next driveway up from ours out by the road. So, I called Amanda and asked her to stop and ask how much they wanted for it.... She called me back, and said FREE!!! Well alrighty then, we will take it. Eric loaded it in the truck and brought it down and placed it at my house for me even. Sweet deal! Couldn't get any better either...it had exactly three swings. :)

Sometimes Technology STINKS!

Ok, a quick little rant about the fact that my digital camera is now a piece of junk! I love my digital camera... it is like my best friend...goes everywhere with me. Well, in the last couple of months it has decided to get alztimizers.. (not sure on the spelling) You take pictures with it, and then you go to load them, and they disappear... they aren't on the memory card! UGH! Not cool, when you are trying to capture priceless, once in a lifetime memories... That is my complaint for today. I wish I could afford a new one, but that isn't in the budget for awhile. So, I have to make due, and pray it catches the ones I want. Wish me luck that it will decide to save Hunter's first day of First Grade tomorrow, so i can post the photo for you. :)

The simple women's daybook

THE SIMPLE WOMEN'S DAYBOOK


FOR TODAY August 25th...

Outside My Window...

the sun is shining nicely, and it is very humid and hot..... Almost like it is summer again... Where was it a couple weeks ago??

I am thinking...

Not enough time in one day to get everything done, one would like... and that life gets harder everyday...

I am thankful for...

My kids, without them I would be lost, cause when the rest of the world is against you, they seem to be the only ones with you. :(

From the kitchen...
the smell of sausage for my spaghetti sauce... Yum!

I am wearing...

My shorts, and a lavender t-shirt....

I am reading...

Nothing at the moment, I haven't had much time lately... maybe I can pick up another book soon.

I am hoping...
that things fall into place soon, and I will have some answers...

I am creating...

Flyer's for soccer, and girl scouts as school approaches so does all the other stuff! So much to do, so little time.

I am hearing...

Water boil for my spaghetti.. and my kids screaming outside....

Around the house...

It is hot and sticky... the kids are fighting, and I have so much to get done. :)

One of my favorite things...

is to talk to friends that don't judge... don't seem to have many of them anymore.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Hunter starts school on Wednesday, I have to work all week, doctor's appts, Enjoy my time with my family and friends..... and enjoy what little summer we have left. Get Rachel ready for school next week... and prepare sage for another year of her not being able to go to school, while her sister and brother do... Most of all KEEP MY SANITY!

Fireworks

This weekend was Madison-Anson Days... a yearly tradition in these here parts. Friday night I usually put the kids in the Doll Carriage and Bicycle Parade...This year I didn't put them in as I needed to be a Judge... Plus my kids won a trophy the last two years in a row. We are coming up with ideas for next years parade all ready... The theme is Children's TV Characters. Hunter is thinking Handy Manny and his tools.... so we shall see! Then Saturday morning is typically the big Parade... This year the kids lost the privilege to go due to their behavior. However, they did earn back their opportunity to go to the fireworks that night. So, we headed down around 7pm... ran a couple of errands, grabbed a snack for the kids. Dropped something off to Di, and headed to Anson. We typically sit on the bridge... and watch the fireworks, cause they put them off from the Madison Boat Landing. Well, this year they didn't ... Instead they put them off from somewhere in Anson, so the tree's were in our way. Which was so upsetting, cause this was the first time the girls had gone to watch them. Usually its just Hunter and I since it is at 9pm.. the girls are usually asleep or to tired by that point. Sage was very happy to see them. I thought she might be scared, but she loved them. She kept telling me they were Beautiful. Rachel was to tired to really care, and Hunter always enjoys them. This year we were even able to get Adawna, Hailey, and Essey to come join us. Plus Hunter called and grandma met us to watch them. My camera acting up only got the picture of Hunter and Rachel, so I am sad, that all the others weren't on there. Maybe next year we can get better ones. :)

Update....

I know it has really been far and few between me updating... So I thought I would give you an update. I have been really busy working this month, and been going thru what I call a mid-life crisis... Yes, I know I'm only 29... but I really think so. Many of you already know I was filing for divorce... well it came down to me filing them, and I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to finalize it for my family just yet... I kept thinking is it really fair for me to make that big decision for my kids, without really being rational about it??? So, after some long dicussions between me and andy, we decided that we are going to try and make things work. Are we all perfect no... and I am so of the blame I am sure. There is a lot to be changed to make life better, but if we are both willing to put in the time, then I guess its worth trying right?? So, here we are... Thanks for all of your support thru my ups and downs.... I know, I make myself crazy, so how any of you put up with me is beyond me!
For now, I am looking for a job... had a couple leads and wishing for the best... Andy is also trying to look for a job... I hate to leave my kids, since I have been the primary care giver, but I have faith that everything will work out for the best in the end. I am also looking to apply to KVCC for the spring semester, and go back to school... so I will keep you all updated on that. So, thanks again, and I will try to get back into keeping you all updated as things go... and post in pic's! :)

Almost time for school to start again!

Can you believe that the summer has FLOWN by??? I mean really where did it all go? I'm sad that we really didn't get to do to much this summer. Hunter did get to go on his first Boy Scout overnight camping trip. He had a great time! The girls have been just enjoying being little..... I've been busy working at the Town Office, since the end of July... I have one more week left. It has been enjoyable, working with one of my best friends, and we never have a dull moment. :)
Hunter starts school in 4 more days... First grade! Can you believe that?? Seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Time sure does fly!!! He is excited to be starting back up again, as he has been eagerly awaiting since the begining of July... He has Mrs. Campbell this year for a teacher... but is sad that a few of his friends won't be attending school with him, as they are either being Homeschooled, or have transfered to the Solon school. Although, I have assured him we will keep in contact with them.
Rachel is starting her 3rd year of pre-school. Yes, her 3rd! Due to her birthday she is not able to attend Kindergarten this year... which stinks cause she is very ready academically!! Though, not to worry I am still doing school work with her at home. There is never a non-learning moment in our house. We have fun!
Sage is well sage.... 3 and full of attitude! Sad that she isn't able to go to school like her siblings, but we do stuff at home with her as well. She is a very smart cookie, that is for sure! Hasn't really grown much this summer, maybe a couple inches, and still as small as ever. She is my peanut that is for sure! :) Pic's to come soon.
So, with all that being said! I hope you all have a great rest of the summer, and have a great school year! I know, we are going to try..

The dumb things people do!!!

Ok, so you know I must say people can be dumb and cruel sometimes. So, while I was away at my family reunion, my father called me to tell me, he had some cats at his house... Cats??? What the heck? Apprenatly, someone decided that they were going to drop off a box of cats between our houses. (we live next to each other, connecting driveways) He orginally only saw 6... well that was bad enough right?? Him and my step mother Jayne, decided to stick them under my house, for me to deal with.. YIPPEE! So, when I got home I went to investagate, but didn't see any, so I figured they ran off. Monday still no sign of them. Tuesday I went out and out pops one from the wood pile... then another, and another, and so on and on... Til, I start counting and there is 9... yes I said 9!!! Oh my! Nine cats... 4 baby kittens, 3 middle sized ones, and a couple adults... or so I thought... I started rounding them up, and putting them in a carrier for the animal control officer... Between Amanda and I we caught 6 of them... Phew! Then Amanda and I look... there is a 10th one! Oh my goodness... it was the mother of the 4 kittens. So, I figured I would give the others some time, and they would come out on their own, once they didn't see me. Left for a couple hours to run some errands, and when I got back, Andy was able to catch one of the baby kittens. We decided after a long talk, that we would keep it, cause our cat ran away, and the kids have missed Oliver greatly.... Then we set out a trap for one of the adults... we ended up catching the mother, so the other baby stayed close... After that one was picked up and taken, we felt bad for the baby, no mother, no food... So we got some moist food and went out to try and get it to come to us... sure enough straving it came out and we were able to catch it. The kids thought we needed that one too... Being that they were the same sex, and siblings, and liking to play together, we decided to keep it... Suckers we are... I know! One more to get, so we set the trap out again, and this time we got the white adult one. So, 8 of them went to the shelter, and since they are such friendly cats they are going on the floor for adoption, which makes me feel better. :) The people who left them in the box, left their address though, so I hope they get in trouble. That is so cruel! They also left a 20pd bag of food for them, so I am sure they meant no harm to them, just couldn't keep them all, but really! Find another way! That was my adventure for this week. We now have two very cute grey kittens.... I will put some pictures of them up soon. Thanks for listening to me rant! I will let you know their names when we decide!

Straight hair???

I've been fooling around with my hair lately.... I like the curls, but sometimes something different is nice. Well, my friend amanda straightened it the other day, and I was wandering what you all think? It takes a lot of time to do that, so I don't do it often, but for a different look every now and again... It is nice to have it short again, cause i can wash it and go... Which can be nice when you have three kids screaming at ya! I do miss my long hair some days though. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me what you think! :)

Family Reunion

For the last two years we have had a family reunion for just the Merry's... Meaning my grandmother, her children, us grandkids, and our children. :) Well today we had our second one... Held at my Uncle Eugene's and Aunt Doris's... located on Toddy Pond in Orland... I believe (still figuring that one out.. lol..) Anywho... after a long ride there, cause my daughter decided to throw a tanturm... and giving me a headache. It was nice to see everyone. All the family was there, except, my cousin tracy and her husband, my cousin Michelle, and my cousin Jessica. Not a bad turn out, or atleast i didn't think so. It was good to see Aunt Doris, (or as I call her Auntie Em) and my cousins that i only see once a year if I am lucky. Also nice to have conversations with someone other than a 3,4, or 6 yr old, once and awhile! lol... It was a beautiful day, as we got lucky no rain. My kids enjoyed playing in the water, always a highlight to them. Plus being able to play with their cousins they don't often see. If I can get my hands on a few photo's, I will post them later. I didn't have any batteries for my camera! UGH! Can't wait to see them all again next year!