a bike ride and my favorite flowers (our trip part 2)

One of my favorite things about summer in IN is that it's the only time to see my favorite flower. I call them a tiger lilly, they probably have a different real name. They grow roadside in rural areas. I am sure they are probably all over the midwest, but I know they aren't here in FL. Hubby aired up his parent old bikes and we went for a little bike ride to pick a big bunch. We rode out by our old elementary school since I knew there was a large row there. Hubby got to ride back with them in his basket since my father in law has a basket for mail on his bike. The town we grew up in is so small that you go to the post office for your mail. How cute is he riding on a bike with flowers in his basket?

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Things we had to go to Indiana to do (for 2 weeks)

so 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home, but here are some things we had to travel 1000 miles to do. sorry for the picture overload.

go bowling for the first time:

Drive Grandpa's lawnmower all over the yard:

Catch minnows and crawdads (we probably have these in FL, but we also have gators in any and every body of water):

See a family of raccoons:

Pee in the river:


Spend a lot of time in the hammock:


Hang up the laundry:

Pick my favorite roadside flower:

Eat my grandma's blueberry pancakes:

Spend a lot of time rolling in the grass (you CAN'T do that here!- fire ants and scratchy grass)

Pick a lot of clovers:

Here are some other things and they will probably be getting their own posts: catching our first fish, feeding crazy large mouth fish, visiting trains, jumping everywhere, homemade ice cream, celebrating Bee's birthday, making a cake that could appear on 'cake wrecks', playing with other peoples dogs, and a few random craft projects, cooking projects, and remakes. I have another two weeks worth of stuff to write about!

unpacking, repacking, the big pack

There are suitcases to unpack... still. Suitcases need repacked... and then, yes, those are moving boxes in the background. In an interesting turn of events, during our trip, we confirmed our plans to move. The repacking of suitcases is for a house hunting trip to be done in a week or two. The big pack is for a move from Clearwater, FL to Evansville, IN (or in the vacinity). I looked on the map, they don't have a beach... This will be my 15th home, moving is becoming a hobby of sorts. We don't know anyone in southern Indiana, but hubby can live anywhere in a several state area for his new position... so that's where we want to call home... at least for awhile.

What to use this fabric for...

Our friend passed along this piece of fabric. It's really a curtain from IKEA. It's really a lot like a mosquito netting, which actually might be useful in our area. We have tried a few things with it, including this 'fairy net' in the yard. The hula hoop didn't stay level very well but was fun for an hour or so.

This is where the netting is now, Bee is pleased as can be to have a 'princess' bed. I think that the dinosaur sheets on her bed match it nicely. I think the cat may enjoy it too, we will see.

alaphabet pizza

We are working really hard on learning all of our letter, Bee is anyway. Here is an idea I've been waiting to try. We so rarely have frozen pizza, but when we needed a meal before our trip that wouldn't leave leftovers and wouldn't leave fresh things in the fridge in case we didn't use it, I thought this might just be the time. I saw this over at no time for flashcards some time ago.


First, Bee and Lou painted the sauce on the cardboard pizza board. While they did this, I cut out the cheese, veggies, and lettered pepperoni.



Arrrr.... he's wearing an apron, but where does he wipe his hands... his church outfit.




Lou helped glue everything but the pepperoni. When it was time for the letters, I laid them all out and let her pick ones that she could identify. She glued those on the pizza. I am happy to report that she knew all but 4 letters... 4 different ones than those she had trouble with a few days ago. Don't know what that says about out strategies. (Ww seems to be missing, be found it later on the floor) I recorded her progress in our I Can book. We will keep on practicing!

home and laughing

We are home... it's been two weeks since I slept in my own bed and dressed with clothes from a dresser, not a suitcase. Everyone seems happy to be home. The kids ran from room to room saying how much they missed every little item. I have most everything unpacked but left some fun sorting and putting away for tomorrow too. You're sure to hear about our trip in the following days. We got a new camera (HIP HIP HOORAY) so I need a day or two to mess around with the new software. Plus, I took about 650 pictures....


I am taking a break from all the unpacking to spend a few minutes on my new favorite website/blog awkwardfamilyphotos.com My sister and I spent an hour or so looking at all the back posts..... funny stuff.

new skirt

I've been so excited to share my new skirt. I used the 1 yard skirt 'pattern' at darling petunia. It was super simple. I used every scrap of fabric in the 1 yard since I added a little length at the top for the waist band and added pockets. Bee loved the pockets. She asked why I didn't wake her up to show her. So far I only have one top that looks really nice with it and it's a 3/4 length sleeve, not exactly summery. I will either just push up the sleeves or I might make it into shorter sleeves, I'm not sure yet. I'm really into this length of skirt right now. It's long enough to play with the kids, but is still nice and cool in this super hot weather we are having.

the gift of rainbows

This winter and spring when the kids were out riding bikes a lot, (that's right, it's too hot in the summer to be out much on bikes) they liked to find the 'rainbow pieces' that their bike reflectors made on the ground. When Bee's birthday came, I thought a pretty sun catcher would be fun. I found a really great crafter on etsy, Maggie girl, who made a really nice custom crystal ball sun catcher for us. 

I let Bee open it early, since we would be traveling on her birthday. As soon as we put it up to the window, the sun went behind a cloud. Her little lip puckerd up and she cried, "This isn't a present I want." Only a moment later, the sun was back throwing dozens of rainbows around the room. She and Lou both squealed with delight and ran around giggling and dancing in the rainbows. Daddy showed them how to 'catch' the rainbows in their hands and they had a really good time catching rainbows. It ended up being a present that she did want.

Here they have found some on the floor and decided it would be fun to sit on them. We have found that mommy and daddy's bedroom has great morning sun for rainbows and Bee's room has great afternoon sun.