Computer Trouble

Hi all! It has been too long since my last update, all due to a computer virus. We had a virus infect our computer and start sending out emails from my gmail account...UGH! So it is in the process of being rebuilt, and I hear it is not all smooth sailing. Oh well, a few more days then. Meanwhile I am using the internet access at the library, so I cannot put pictures in this update. I will have bunches of pictures to share when our computer is back up. We celebrated Mark Jr's birthday last week and will celebrate Mark Sr's birthday tomorrow. School is going very well. Not much else is new. Blog enteries without pictures are boring so...see ya later!

Garrison Springs

During a trip to Ozark last Saturday we stopped by Garrison Springs. It is a beautiful spot to take pictures. It is pretty much someone's front yard, landscaped to the hilt, with a stream running through it and a spring that creates a nice waterfall. Very kind of those folks to open it up to the public, because it sure is a peaceful place.

A Worm Movie

While we were working in the yard today, Mark found a big worm:

Artistic Afternoon

The kids spent a beautiful afternoon in the back yard painting.















We are experiencing beautiful weather lately. If you catch the day right after a rain (and we have had our share of rain lately!), it is just right for outdoor stuff!












Those kids sure like to paint!

Saturday Night Fireworks Night

I'll let the pictures tell the story.
Here's a shot of the gang surveying the loot:And here's a video of the kids playing with fun snaps:
(click on the play arrow please)



I call this series of photos A Boy and His Smoke Bombs:



































And yes, fire crackers are loud!

He called this "Burning snakes":

















(PETA people leave me alone, they're not real snakes)

Maya helped to light fireworks this year! (in this pic she is following instruction to run away quickly after the fuse is lit)
They both enjoyed sparklers this year:
























In this next video you can see the fundamental difference between boys and girls. Maya dances gracefully with her sparkler and in the background you can see Mark "burning snakes" (once again, not real snakes)


Finally, this has become our family tradition. Light the flashers, then everyone get up and dance. Oh yes...it is cute!! (this is another video...click on the play arrow again)

Farmer's Market

Today we went to the C-Street Farmer's Market here in Springfield. Even though we didn't make it quite early enough to get any cucumbers or corn, we did find a lot of great produce and even some cookies and a bobble head lady bug (it was way too cute to resist!).












A pint of blueberries, a pound of green beans, a pound of baby carrots, half a dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies, 3 tomatoes, 2 pounds of new red potatoes and the lady bug: $20. Maya got a bracelet (the vendor said she was so pretty he wanted to give it to her) and Mark Jr. got to walk with Daddy out over the Jefferson Street foot bridge and watch the trains from above. I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said "smelling the diesel trains...it was stinky". Maya's favorite part was finding fresh blueberries, just another excuse to make muffins!

Beautiful Busiek

Busiek is a great State Park about halfway between Ozark and Branson. We hiked around yesterday while the weather was so pretty. We found cool rocks and fossils, dipped our toes in the water and watched the clouds float by. The Marks are especially good at skipping rocks on the water and making big splashes. You know, boy stuff.

Happy Independence Day!

July 4th is on a Friday this year, so we won't be out shooting off fireworks tonight, we will be at church. So, we will have to save the fireworks for a different day. I am sure I will post pictures of that when it happens, but I wanted to post on the holiday so I will put in some pics from previous years. Fireworks with the kids is always so much fun!
From 2006 & 2007:







































I just adore the picture of Mark Jr. jumping over the blue smoke bomb, it looks like he is being carried away by the smoke! And yes, Maya does have earplugs in! She has never been a fan of the noise of the fireworks!





Enjoy your freedoms this 4th of July, and remember to say a prayer for our Military persons. Remember that those freedoms are of great price. If you feel inclined to say thanks to a member of our Armed Forces, you can click on the Any Soldier link on the right side of this blog. It is so easy... pick a name, put your letter in a normal envelope with a normal stamp on it and mail it.
You can do that!

To our Marine, Army, Navy and Air Force friends reading this, thank you for your service.

Back to School and Browned Butter

For our family, July is back to school time. Next week we will get back into the swing of things with our studies. Mark will begin the Abeka kindergarten program and Maya will pick back up where she left off in her 2nd and 3rd grade books. I don't know if that will give me more or less time to update my blog...we will find out! As you can see from the picture above, this year we have school desks to use. That surely makes it more fun!! Mark picked these up at the Majestic Flea Market. They still had several last week, so if any of you home school families are interested you should check it out.
Here is one of those recipes that is so easy it barely counts as a recipe. Thanks to a tip from my friend Jodie E., I recently learned what a difference it makes to brown your butter before cooking with it. Yep, just put it in the pan and cook the butter until it is brown, then proceed to use it however you want. I used browned butter to cook corn cut fresh from the cob, diced zucchini and onion. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. It was soooo good. Serve it with any meat from the grill, and you have a meal that just tastes like summertime!

Photo Session

My sister Jennifer and her three youngest kids came over today. Jenny and I meet on Tuesdays to have a Bible study. Currently we are viewing the services from the series "Hungry for the Holy Spirit" series that Brother Moore taught a few months ago at Faith Life Church...it is an excellent series! (BTW, link to the church websites with free downloads to this and all other services to the right, in my favorites list). Today we had another objective: take pictures of her kids.

Here are a few of the boys. Michael and Douglas are twins, though you certainly can't tell! Michael is in the brown shirt and Douglas is wearing gray. Aren't they handsome boys?!!

The real star of the show today was my niece Emily. She is so beautiful and photogenic...and grown up!! I can hardly believe she is already starting high school. They grow up fast. Here are some pictures of her: