aloha!

Isn't it crazy how you get back from a vacation and just get flung into everyday stressful life again? Yeah, that's how it's been here ever since we returned Tuesday. I haven't been able to get through even half of the pictures that we took in Maui, but here are some of my favorites. Such an awesome trip!

{Ke'anae shoreline along the Road to Hana}

{at the Old Lahaina Luau}

{ahhhhh.......I remember how relaxing this was}

{beautiful scenery - Lanai in the background}

{spotted a rainbow in the West Maui Mountains the day we left}

random things I loved about the weekend

1. Getting to ride to Tara's shower with Erin, Mom and Grandma - so nice for it to just be us girls!

2. Cuddling with Eli (I've gotten over the fact that he threw squash at me and then threw up on me)

3. Talking and laughing with Erin, Ryan, Mom and Dad at the dinner table - miss them so much!

4. Seeing Tara, my aunts, and my cousin's kids at the shower - and yummy cake too!!

5. Twice people displayed kindness on the road during my trip home. Once I let a semi get over to my lane and he blinked his lights in gratitude and then waved again when I passed him. Another time a truck pulled out in front of me as I was coming over a hill and I stopped to let him go ahead and pull onto the road and he gave me a huge wave, too. I always do these things but rarely get any kind of gesture of thanks.

6. FRIED CHICKEN. Haven't had this in such a long time and it's just not the same as when you go to a small town get-together....this one was at Johnsonville Days. Oh, so good!! Plus there was mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans (with real butter and bacon, of course).

7. Getting to go to Sunday School with my mom. Loved getting to talk about the lesson afterwards.

8. Seeing some people from high school and just from growing up that I hadn't seen in a long time.

never a dull moment....

So I'm sitting on the couch at Mom and Dad's Saturday evening just at dusk and see these animals scurry down the tree in the backyard and start eating the cat food.

"What are those?!?!?!"

"Probably either some possum or raccoons" says my Dad

This caught the boys' attention and they were right at the sliding door watching with me....yep, it was a family of raccoons - a very stubborn mama and 3 babies.

The next thing I hear is a bb gun being shot off from the back door. Of course this brought squeals of excitement from Elliott (you see, after "spy school" ended last week I guess he considers himself a marksman)! He kept telling Grandpa that he could probably shoot it himself. I don't think so.

So here we are, all the lights off in the house, two of us standing at the kitchen window and the other 4 crammed into the back doorway trying to shoo that stubborn raccoon away with bb pellets. All the while Elliott is still squealing about Dad having the bb gun out, Dad is running back and forth between the door and the closet reloading the weapon and trying to figure out why in the world the raccoon is still standing there just looking at them, and Mom and I are standing at the window laughing. That mama raccoon was the most stubborn thing. The younger ones scurried back up the tree as soon as they heard the ping-ping of the bb gun, but mama stood her ground!

What made it even funnier was that Erin had left the room before any of this started and when she came back a few minutes later, there we all were with our noses against the window, lights off, shooting bb guns and squealing with excitement! I'm pretty sure she thought we had lost it.

frogs

Lately, all the buzz around here is about frogs. Almost every time the boys go outside they are off on their quest to catch a frog (well, unless spy school is in session, of course). Their friend, here, is pretty much a frog-finding expert, so they're always glad she's around to help them out. I am not a frog person so this is not my thing, but it's fun to watch them be so excited about it!

shivaree

Tagging pictures again and came across these:

When my mom and dad were married it was custom where they lived to throw a shivaree afterwards.

shivaree: [shiv-uh-ree] Shivaree is the most common American regional form of charivari, a French word meaning "a noisy mock serenade for newlyweds" and probably deriving in turn from a Late Latin word meaning "headache." The term, most likely borrowed from French traders and settlers along the Mississippi River, was well established in the United States by 1805; an account dating from that year describes a shivaree in New Orleans: "The house is mobbed by thousands of the people of the town, vociferating and shouting with loud acclaim.... [M]any [are] in disguises and masks; and all have some kind of discordant and noisy music, such as old kettles, and shovels, and tongs.... All civil authority and rule seems laid aside" (John F. Watson).

Yep, that pretty much describes what happens from the little video I've seen and the tales that I've heard. Apparently, there are silly games and tasks that the couple are "encouraged" to do. Looks like my mom had to drive my dad around in a wheelbarrow and the other picture is them is a trough full of water - this was in April so I'm sure it was cold, too! I know most all of these people who were part of the shivaree and I can only imagine how loud and fun it was (I'd love to hear comments from you - I'm sure there are things I don't know)!!

I love finding these little gems in my computer - love the stories they tell and remind me of. I'm glad that my sisters and I spent hours growing up looking through photo albums and that my parents took the time to tell us the stories - thanks Mom and Dad!

home decor project #1

This is my newest and favorite home decor project right now (we're working on some others, so we'll share when they are finished too). This plate hanger has been hanging empty in the breakfast room for 2 years now. I saw a project similar to this on another blog a while back but couldn't quite figure out exactly how I wanted to use it in our house. As I was tagging photos last week, I realized that there aren't a lot of current photos around for us to enjoy so I decided to use the plate hanger for a seasonal photo display.

It's super easy too. I just took 4 favorite photos from the past few months, cropped to 8x10 size, added some text, printed and put into clip frames I found at Michaels. This is hanging on the wall beside the powder room so all of us get a chance to enjoy it at some point in time :)

been to illinois lately??

Two quotes from Ethan today during our hiking trip:

1. As we drive past a cemetery,

"I wonder who is buried there?"

Hmmmm....probably not the typical 4 year old reaction to passing a cemetery, but Brian and I busted out laughing, knowing it was a sign he had been hanging out with Grandpa.

2. On the hike we get to this crazy looking tree and as the boys start inspecting some hollow spots in the tree, we hear....

"Watch out cause there might be some cats in there!"

Okay, I would've been thinking there might be mice or snakes in there, but this earned another snicker from us, knowing that this was a sign that he had been to Grandma Hosselton's house recently, where this huge oak tree has a hollow area at the bottom where the cats go in and out.