Here is a picture of the floor in progress, it is now complete but I haven't taken a more recent photo :) I like how it turned out and definately improves the look of the entire space. We have all the baseboards back up and are prepping to paint those (again.). I began cutting baseboards for downstairs which has honestly been a real thrill for me. We had to replace several pieces from when we first moved in and I figured out how to measure them and cut them. Tim showed me how to use his cut-off mitre saw thing and it's really cool. What a feeling of accomplishment to cut wood and have it fit correctly :)

This next picture is proof that Quinton loves Strawberries. If he even sees a berry he cried until he gets some. Using a fork is a new skill of late and he is really excelling in it. Though he has gotten quite frustrated that you cannot eat pretzel sticks with a fork. And evidently, everything tastes better when on a fork.


School is officially out and the kids have been finding things to keep busy with. They covered the entire driveway with people pictures to the point that it resembled a mass murder scene with body outlines everywhere. Thankfully they colored them all in and it turned out very nicely. Of course they asked me to take a picture. How could I resist?













It has been lovely weather the last few days. The evening have gotten quite cool and it makes for great sleeping weather. Working on the house is the main thing on our schedule for the near future, but we are trying to plan a few day trips and some other short outings to add some excitement to the summer. More on those plans as they come together.

Everyone is well and we are thankful for that. Nothing much to report really :)

Home Today

I was on the schedule for the nursery this morning and actually made it to church... but, came back home. Earlier this week Quin's nose started running. He is getting more teeth (his canines... oh those are so fun :/) and allergies have been bad, so we just figured it was a combination of both things. Well, this morning he had a fever and the crusty yellow junk in his nose didn't look good. I took everyone in, got Tim's opinion on the matter and brought Quin back home. A sub was found for my nursery spot. He nearly fell asleep in the five minute drive so I just put him to bed. He slept for over two hours! Now I'm not sure if he'll take another nap later this afternoon (he normally only takes one after lunch) but he does seem to be feeling a bit better. Perhaps he was just worn out.

Tim and I started installing the floor upstairs yesterday. I now remember how frustrating putting in the first two rows are, but now that we are on our third row, it does seem to be going in easier. We had a later start due to some door frames that were still in need of more trimming, but at least we are on our way. What is down so far does look nice though :)

Hannah and I went and picked some strawberries last night after dinner. I got two batches of jam done last night and another two made this morning (when I wasn't at church). I've eaten a good amount already too. I love strawberries and fresh picked are just beyond good. Quin loves them too.

Today is the Pocono 500, so the trails are full and the traffic is heavy. I had planned to go to Kohl's and look for shoes for Hannah but had forgotten about all the traffic. It will likely wait until tomorrow night. The raceway is about 10 minutes from our house so this is a popular place for all the fans to stay. It wasn't too bad last night noise-wise. The Pennsylvania 500 (in July) is usually worse for fireworks (illegal here) and loud parties, but I'm still thankful for the quiet night.

We had what was supposed to be an IEP meeting for Jot on Friday. We actually were not able to have the meeting though due to so many changes necessary to the evaluation report. The actual IEP meeting was re-scheduled for Tuesday. I went into the meeting fearing it was going to be a huge argument, us vs. them, about services and needs for Jot. Granted, we are already at 80+ days of something that is to take no more than 60 days to complete, so I was primed for an argument. Nothing much was said about the late time, but we did manage to have some good discussions about Jot and his schooling. More thought on it is necessary before we can sign off on anything, but at least we made some progress. I'm still rather conflicted about the benefits of public school for our family and the benefits of homeschooling on the individual child. What is best for them and best for "us as a whole" seem to be different. All of it goes into our bucket of concerns and our prayers for guidance and wisdom. The issues this week with watching movies in school wasn't super encouraging either. Anyone that has seen The Princess Bride, please feel free to leave a comment as to the educational significance of this movie for a history class . The lack of reply to an email or return phone call sort of gets my back up too.

SO, in summary.... this week was full. Next week will be even more so (three doctors appointments, and IEP meeting and the last days of school), but our floor is going in :)

Well it sure has been awhile hasn’t it? Lots to catch up on I guess…

First of all, I was able to tape together my Bible and for now anyway it will be fine. And in case anyone was wondering, the missing corners were from Job :) How funny is that?



The play went very well. The sound drove us all nuts and Tim's expertise in that area could have been utilized well, but all in all it was good. Everyone did great and fun was had by all. Hannah is the third from the left in the picture (which didn't turn out too good but is what I have to offer :) ).

My mom came to visit over Mother’s Day. It was a short visit but we all had a nice time. We went to Boulder Field (That great picture of my mom is from there) and on Saturday spent the day at Knoebel’s. I’m so glad we decided to go. It is a really fun place. Just like the old time town carnivals. The crowds really weren’t too bad and everyone got to ride several things. I will eternally remember Faith on the little race cars. Oh my goodness… right out of the gate she ran straight into the wall. The workers hopped on board to help and she just let go of the wheel and let them take her around the track. Definitely a princess in the making. Which does remind me of a latest quote of hers. Tim: “Faith are you going to grow up to be a responsible citizen?” Faith: “No, I’m going to be a cheerleader”.

We are continuing to work on the house (nothing new in that statement). It is safe to say that I’m getting rather tired of living in a remodel, but the end is in sight. After much deliberation, we decided to go with a Mohawk laminate in the entire upstairs area (living room, dining room, hallway and kitchen). We got a great deal on a discontinued oak look that matches the kitchen cabinets and have it all ready to go. The last several days have been spent pulling up the remaining wood tiles. These, for some unknown reason, were glued (with what seemed like gallons) to the subfloor. It took much patience but all the tiles are up. Next we began work on the very crooked, very ugly, very pink-grouted kitchen floor. This had a ½ inch concrete backer board on it on top of a ¼ inch subfloor. All in all the “step” up into the kitchen was about an inch. It has been an eyesore since we moved in. Prying up the tile has taken longer than we thought (doesn’t everything?) but it is all up and already looks a million times better. It made a huge mess and we (Tim) carried around 20 boxes of debris downstairs. Thankfully a guy from church in Philly is letting us throw the mess in the dumpster, so we don’t have to pay to take the stuff to the dump.

The Memorial Day weekend was rather quiet in the Trails here. It bulged with renters, who in past years have been rather loud and disruptive, but we made out pretty good this time. We held a yard sale on Friday and Saturday which made us over $300. A nice little bit of money for a couple days of sitting in a chair talking to people. Lots of stuff left our house which was the point and for which I’m happy :) I took the profits and paid for some summer clothes for the kids, Chinese carry-out and Tim and I went to see the new Pirates movie.

As far as the Pirates movie goes, I enjoyed it. I held off watching any of these movies until just before we left for Disney. I have to say I enjoyed the first one WAY more than I thought I would. It is actually now one of my favorite movies. Tim picked up the Jack Sparrow accent immediately and continues to make me laugh with his lines. Anyhow, about the third one… I read several very negative reviews. They said it was too long, too confusing, even too dark. I found it quite fun. Of course it’s a confusing story line, that is part of the point. No one is on anyone’s side…. for me, that is much of the fun of it. It was a bit on the dark side, but no more so than the second one in my opinion. I was quite surprised by the ending, which I liked. I hate knowing what is going to happen. There were some great lines and some classic Johnny Depp. My only gripe might be that there was not enough scenes with Keith Richards. He was a hoot and does have the best line of the movie (again, in my opinion.). So in conclusion… if you are after great drama and serious story lines, choose Lord of the Rings. If you are after Princess Bride laughs and a fun movie, go see At World’s End. So much for my movie review :)

It’s a stormy raining night and I am worn out from prying up tiles. I think I’ll go finish cleaning up and take a shower :)

The last picture is of all of us with Mom. We stopped to look at the lake at Hickory Run after our trek on the boulders. Mom got a big glob of tree sap in her hair from leaning into the tree. Oops.

Oh, I nearly forgot. I broke down and bought new mixer attachments. Mom tried to bring me some from the KitchenAide outlet near her, but they sold her the wrong size. Evidently all of the parts do NOT work on all of the mixers, contrary to what the salesman thought. Anyhow, I found them on ebay and am now back to being able to mix things :) My oven is fixed too :) Things do appear to be looking up again, one month later.