Fun pics from the Holiday!

These girls are some of Olivia's favorite friends to play with...
She's known them for as long as she can remember.
Ashley and Kaitlyn are cousins, you'd think that Olivia was a cousin as well!

Sidewalk chalk with some favorite friends too.

Time to sing to "Uncle Rob" who is in the pic just below including his wife, Liz and Gabriel.
Dear friends and a great way to end a beautiful weekend!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Chef Curry, I presume!

Most of you know that Steve loves to be creative in the kitchen, almost as much as me... but here is the proof for those that have been debating for years (Ken & Chris) that HE's the one that likes fruit in the salad... notice the apple wedges stacked inbetween the pieces of grilled asparagus shoots and some raisins with Traverse City Cherries scattered so purposefully around the tops of this beautiful salad.

My herb garden...

The chives look lovely, the oregano smells divine, and the little viola's just make me smile.
Hopefully there will be some lavender sprouting soon in my herb garden in the top right hand corner of this picture.
If so, I'm a happy lady!

Sunflower Sightings...

This will one day (this summer) be the sight of our Sunflower House!

We enjoyed a quick seed sowing evening last week... just checking for sprouts!

1700s Reinactment Tent enjoys some use!

Who knew that this tent would enjoy the recreation time of the backyard now annually for three years. The kids have enjoyed it as a general store, a place to find a quiet nap and several other imaginary things they may not be able to recall.
It was originally used at the Historic Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne IN.
I believe it's last active duty post may have been the Encampment on the Missisinawa River in Indiana in 1994!

A Saturday to Remember

Over Memorial Day weekend, the kids enjoyed several hours of playing outside in their favorite park, our backyard. They had tons of fun playing with sidewalk chalk, climbing, exploring new ideas of play, and calling attention to all their great and amazing talents. It was so much fun, that Steve asked Sarah to take a few days off from house chores and just "be." For those that know, that is something that is really hard for me to do. But I managed to read a magazine and work on my summer tan in the process.
Here are some fun snaps of the kids on Saturday!

Laundry Day

Every once in awhile I get this "sick need" to take pictures of my laundry all stacked and ready to be put away! Years ago I took one in my laundry room on Cheboygan Ct., it was pretty funny to see it all piled up and ready to be washed. Now I just fill up the couch with clothes to be put away. This day was especially remarkable, because I had hung each of these pieces of clothing on the line to dry, and then... then the kids helped me put thier clothes away. A miracle in the making! They are learning how to be great helpers!

How Tall Am I?

This hugely popular "no reading needed" game has overtaken our house.
The kids love to play it almost as much as mom and dad love playing Settlers of Catan!
What a fun math game to play... and even Sophie enjoys watching!

Oh the woes of internet for those not of the digital generation...

My little adopted brother Caleb, was called in to rescue us from ourselves recently when we "switched" from high speed internet connection (formerly known as "sbcglobal.net") to the new fangled contraption known as digital... also known as other things.

Since we are NOT of the digital generation - also called "digital natives" these are new things for us to wrap our minds around... it's taken a while to get used to these new devices - and I'm sure that there will be many more things that we add to our lives to make them easier so that we have more time. My mind wanders back to our dear next door neighbor who never married, walked a few miles (down crazy windy, hilly roads in rural Michigan back in the day when a one room school house greeted her without heat for her day of work!) who still when she was in her late 90s washed her clothes in a wringer washer and hung them to dry. Boy did she make "the best" Chocolate Cream Pie... complete with a lard crust! What will our kids remember of us when we are old and feeble!

Thanks Caleb for rescuing us.

Friends, Family lend me your ear...

It has been brought to my attention that many more of my friends and family use this post to keep up with the Curry's... but you don't post notes or comments. When I write, I usually do so for just a few people...

Now, I'm wondering if I am such a boring writer for if you are a timid posting type person! Please feel free to leave a comment... it's kind of surprising to hear how many cherished friends keep up this way.

So don't just travel by and not share a thought or comment - :-)

Sunflower House

We planted the seeds for our sunflower house last night. It's a project that I saw in a magazine a few years ago... stay tuned for more picts to follow. Of course there is nothing to show for our hard work right now.

of conferences, kidney stones and congratulations

Update:
We've been participating in some great things lately - the kids would say otherwise... but - I thought I needed to update my blog a bit.

I played piano last month at a state-wide district church conference. It was so amazing to hear a full crowd singing while I participated. I lost my place in the music several times because it was so awesome to hear that many people all in one place singing! Heaven will be awesome!

The day after - Steve and I made a mad dash to the hospital with what we discovered later was kidney stones (several - in both sides). He's still packing one around with him.

Today is CMU's official graduation day - he finished up all his classwork, and is working today instead of celebrating completion of another degree. We decided to surprise him at work with flowers and balloons.

The garden is waiting to be planted, but my lavender from seed is sprouting quite nicely and we see signs of spring and soon summer all around us. Yippee!