The Garage

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One of the things I did miss at first when we moved to Adoni Acres back in 2009 was an attached garage.

You get used to what you have though, so I never really thought about it much!

When we purchased Twin Oaks, I was excited to have an attached garage again!

We have four vehicles here in the evenings, and a lot of stuff….so making our two car garage work for us took some creativity!

We basically had filled it with everything left from the move last August – and there it sat all winter!

I know!

CRAZY.

One warm, sunny Saturday we got started on this huge project!

As we worked, I started listing stuff on Instagram stories and Craig’s List – all for FREE because we just wanted it GONE!

We made piles on the drive-way of things we were giving away, things we were taking the to dump, and things to keep.

Pretty soon it looked like this!!

Then the guys starting building shelves!

We worked together another day organizing every thing that we were keeping and put it all on those shelves.

The garage project turned out great!

It’s a very usable space!

The first time I loaded everyone into the van in the pouring rain I was singing praises!!!

You are a sweet little place for us, Twin Oaks!

We are hoping to grow old with you!

A Recipe//Restaurant Style Salsa

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This salsa recipe is originally from The Pioneer Woman, but I revised it a bit.

I use my food processor to make this salsa and it whips it up super fast.

Restaurant Style Salsa

one 28 ounce can organic crushed tomoatoes
one 28 ounce can organic diced tomatoes (we like to use the fire roasted ones)
one 4 ounce can of diced green chiles (we use mild)
one large onion, quartered
three – four cloves of garlic, peeled
one large bunch of cilantro, the bottom stems cut off and discarded
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
2 TBSP lime juice (one fresh lime squeezed)

Place all but the crushed tomatoes in the food processor. Run on high until everything is chopped and thoroughly incorporated. Pour into a large bowl and add the can of crushed tomatoes. Stir well. Place in canning jars and store in the fridge. This lasts for several weeks in the fridge.

This recipe makes 3 1/2 quarts, unless your kiddos see you making it, of course!

** you can also add a jalapeno (seeded or not seeded) if you like spicier salsa, or 1-2 TBSP of honey if you like a sweetness to your salsa.

ENJOY!!

A Road Trip

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This past weekend had us on the road again!

Blake rented a BIG van – we all hopped in – and headed to Illinois this past Sunday!

Even Sadie went along for the ride!

Those of you who know me, and even those of you who just follow along here on the blog, probably know how well I ride in a van for hours and hours.

I am not very good at sitting still!

But my people made it very fun!

We even sang a loud squeaky rendition of Take Me Home, Country Roads!

At about 9 p.m. last night on the llooonnnggg drive back home!!

We had great snacks, of course, books on CD to listen to and books to read too!

Riding in a brand new van helped too!

Before we knew it we were in Illinois.

It was a beautiful day for a drive!!

And we stopped several times to stretch our legs!

We got to my Mom’s house around one.

First on the agenda – some yummy taco salads with her for lunch!

The kids made themselves right at home and were so thankful to be out of the van!

That afternoon we cleaned my Mom’s house!

It was a team effort, and went very fast.

While dusting I took pictures of these photos!

Or is it – I took photos of these pictures?

Anyway…this is me!

I see Lane as a baby in this photo!

This is Blake and my engagement photo!

Why does my head look three times larger than Blake’s?!!

I think it’s that HAIR.

Good grief.

That’s some big hair.

Blake and I then took Tate to the grocery store to get some food for dinner.

It took us two minutes to get there!

SO STRANGE.

Everything is at least 40 minutes away from Twin Oaks!

Tate loved shopping with us!

And shining his little light to everyone in that store!!

He is an inspiration, I tell ya.

And he thought a snickers candy bar was chocolate chewing gum…but that’s a story for another day!

Dinner was YUMMY.

Burgers, sausage, hot dogs, beans from home, and chips.

After dinner we had a little birthday party for my Mom!

She will be 76 on Thursday!

Addie made cup cakes!

We bought flowers!!

And strawberries!

And ice cream!

OK – STOP everything you are doing and go find yourself some of that salted caramel chocolate ice cream.

Really.

I usually don’t eat stuff like that….but I am here to confess….I was WEAK!

And it was SO yummy!!

SO, SO yummy!!!!

We took a sunset walk to get Sadie some exercise.

One of our favorite things to do!

Sadie took the whole trip in stride though!

She was very laid back about all the change, as you can see!

We borrowed my brother’s dog crate for Sadie while we were there.

He has an elephant for a dog!

His name is Milo and he is HUGE!

I sent my brother this photo to thank him! Ha, Ha!

We all headed to bed way too late – especially since some of us had been up since 3:30 a.m.

Ahem.

That was me.

The littles slept with Blake and I, and none of us moved until 7:30 the next morning!

Yesterday morning (was that just yesterday morning?!) we headed to a cute little coffee shop to meet up with Blake’s Mom!

The coffee was GOOD!

Grant had this Mayan Mocha made with ghost pepper that was a HIT.

We are going to be looking around for it here for sure!

After coffee we headed out to Blake’s Pop’s grave to set some flowers there.

It was a very sweet time for sure.

Lunch was…you guessed it….taco salads again!

With my Mom!

And soon it was time to head out.

We stopped and visited our sweetest Uncle Ken and Aunt Ann and cousin Doug – and I did not take a photo.

I regret that very much!!

On our way back to Wisconsin, we stopped again!

To see Blake’s Dad and his wife!

Yes, these visits were WAY TOO short!

But we are thankful for them anyway.

I just love this photo of the kiddos with their Grandpa and Grandma!!

We got home around 10 p.m. last night, and by 10:45 every last thing was put away, a load of laundry was going, and Blake was returning that big fancy van to the rental place!

Every one went to bed and I tried to stay awake until he got back.

Tried was the key word in that sentence, just in case you missed its meaning!

It was a blessed road trip for sure.

Memories made, memories tucked away, experiences for the littles were had, and another opportunity to keep the hearts of our family tied together.

There is just nothing better in this world than that!

Hope you all had a blessed weekend too!

Happy unofficial start of summer!!!

Déjà Vu

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I’m not sure if Déjà Vu is a real thing, but if it is, I have been having it a lot lately!

Like when I went onto the deck one afternoon and saw this –

Weren’t those Grant and Addie Mae’s shoes just yesterday?

Or when I sit down like this –

I am pretty sure I just read these books to Kayla, Grant, and Addie yesterday too!

Ok, maybe not Ree Drummond’s books.

Being that she is younger than me and all.

For some reason summer time has me feeling like I am getting to do it all over again!

Dreams do come true!!

We are eating meals on the deck every chance we get…..

Stopping for ice cream treats when we are in town….

Playing in water and in the yard on the hot days….

Baking yummy things on rainy days….

….And we are doing our summer school schedule – which is a Laura Ingalls Wilder read aloud and Unit Study that I did do with the big kids when they were younger!

First, we start our day with some singing and Bible time though!

Then we listen to our chapter book on Audible, and do some activities to go along with the story!

This past week we collected and grew bacteria.

Can I just say EEEWWWW?

We made some gelatin in bowls, and then used scotch tape to “collect” bacteria from all different places, and then pressed the tape into the gelatin after we numbered and labeled the bowls.

Yes, Tate collected some from my hand!

Did I already say EEEWWWW?!!

It took a few days for the bacteria to grow.

It did not grow on all of them, and some were much, much worse than others.

Great learning going on here!

The kiddos are also making illustrations and narrations each day after our read aloud.

These are Tate’s and Eliza’s!

Summer means smoothies.

Lots of smoothies!!

Summer means graduation parties!

So we took a road trip to one!

It was fun!

Our road trip must haves –

Summer also means you get to be big sister’s special helper!

I love when the bigs purpose time for the littles!!!

We still like to hang out at River’s Place!

And try to help out while we are there!

We are still working on Twin Oaks here and there.

The yard work will begin this next week, Lord willing!!

I am super thankful for this new fan – even though the plan was for two fans spaced on a wooden beam that spanned the great room.

That is a much bigger job, so maybe this winter when we are not working outside we can do it then!

We also picked up some beef to fill our freezer from a friend’s farm last week!

They had THESE.

I know, I know.

Just breath.

No, we don’t NEED a puppy.

Obviously.

So we just loved on them and PUT THEM BACK.

It was HARD!!!

Here was another Déjà Vu moment.

Another abscess.

Another tooth pulled – just yesterday.

More work needs done.

Praise Jesus we have a two week break while the custom band and spacer gets made.

Because I. Cant. Even.

When I called Blake to tell him how horribly that appointment went, he came home with gifts.

For Eliza, and for me.

Yes, he is great that way!

Have I mentioned it is summer here?!

Everything is turning GREEN!!

We have had a cool and rainy couple of days…but I just checked the weather and the sun and heat are supposed to return!

I just LOVE sun and heat!!

And spending my days with these kiddos!!

Blake and I have been making lots of plans and setting lots of goals for this summer – usually while sipping coffee on a date!

Summer 2018, I am excited about you!

Our first full summer at Twin Oaks!

What a great place we have been blessed with to make some new memories!

Can’t wait to keep those memories alive here in our little scrapbook!

Happy summer, everyone!!

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