Mud, Sweat, and Tears

On July 3, Bruce, me, and other members of our ward played in a mud volleyball tournament in Tuscola. Cherry and I spent 2 days making these cool T-shirts



Before the tournament, we had a team breakfast full of french toast and pancakes. We were ready to play in the mud. We really tried to be intimidating, as we started each match growling and jumping in.




Although we played fierce and gave it our all...



...we were not afraid of getting dirty...


...we ended up losing both games and going home early. In the 2nd game, we tripled our score from the first game - so there was improvement. We just had a hard time getting it all together. Oh Well!

Better luck next year Mud, Sweat, and Tears team. We will really make the others "EAT OUR MUD!!"

Happy 30th Birthday Mr. Bruce

When I asked Bruce what he wanted for his birthday, he said one thing..... A JELLO Slide. So... after buying Gordon's Food Service (a great place to buy in bulk without a membership) completely out of orange jello, mixing nearly 75 gallons of it, (I was a sticky mess, so was my kitchen) and transporting 2 heavy garbage cans to Bruce's lab for setting up....VOILA!!







And this is how it's done.








I didn't get a very good picture of Bruce sliding down the slip and slide, but if you want to see some better pictures, and one of me, you can click here.


When we mentioned it over dinner, the missionaries were totally in. Elder Stidham and Elder Rosequist had to get special permission from their mission president. It came at quite the cost.



Amazingly enough, those white shirts came clean.

Bruce can't have a good party without a little JELLO wrestling.




It was probably one of the more disgusting things I've ever done.


On the positive side, if you get a little hungry, all you have to do is open your mouth while you jump in.
I would do almost anything to make sure my awesome and wonderful husband has a good birthday. You only turn 30 once! :) You might as well make it count for something.

Summer Musings

AHHH!! I can't believe that it is July already. Where did all the time go? It seems like just the other day I was looking at the clock on June 3rd and waiting for the school year to tick away and mark the beginning of summer vacation. There are lots of things that I enjoy about summer.

First - the sunshine; I love being outside. Camping, hiking, and playing sports are some of the highlights of summer break. For example:



On Memorial Day, Bruce and I went up to Kickapoo State Park to do some hiking. We voted on doing the 7.6 mile loop. We took a few wrong turns here and there and ended up 1 mile away from where we parked our car. When all was said and done, we probably did closer to 9 miles. We got a chance to break in the new hiking shoes we got for Christmas last year. We wanted to do some canoeing on the lake there, but decided to head on home when the rain started pouring down in sheets. We made it to the car just in time.

Second - the ants usually stay outside instead of inside. This spring we had some major problems with ants. Every time I turned around, more ants were found crawling on the floor, the kitchen sink, the counters, and even some clean dishes in the drawer. If you don't believe me, here are some pictures. The first one is of an apple strudel I made. It was left open on the counter for no more than 20 minutes. When I came back to take care of it...this is what I found.

It's difficult to see, but if you look close enough, you can tell that those little black dots do not belong in an apple strudel. I don't mind some insects, but they do not belong in my house and definitely not in my apple desserts.

Third - Summer time = garden time = FRESH Produce!!
I am not an expert gardener. In fact, every year I struggle with something else. Weeds are the bane of my existence. I don't mind most of the conditions of the fall, but the stipulation of "noxious weeds to torment men" is curse enough. I mean come on....REALLY? I have spent countless hours in the garden getting rid of crab grass - I guess I can deal with weeds, but crab grass...YUK!! Every once in a while, all that hard work pays off. Check out the produce I got in one picking.


Fourth - FREE TIME!!
Don't get me wrong, I still am busy. My schedule isn't quite as rigid, and I have the flexibility of choosing a variety of activities. I don't have to be as picky at what I fill my time with; there isn't really anything so pressing that I have to get it done that day. I can take time to go on walks, hang out with friends, and play with kids. I can do those "projects" I've been wanting to do around the house. And I usually don't have to as rushed to do those things that must get finished. I can go to Youth Conference, Girls Camp, and other activities. I can go to aerobics and socialize with my friends.
Last month, I hosted book club at my house. For refreshments I made these mice cupcakes.


Do you really think I would take the time to decorate that many cupcakes like that if it weren't summer time? YEAH RIGHT!!!

The beauty of summer!! Stay tuned to find out what other things I've been up to this summer.