My Fourth of July

After having had some very busy days at the lake with all my children home, the 4th of July came and I was exhausted.  Tim, Amy, and Skye came to the house around 10 a.m. to get the rest of their belongings before heading home.  It was hard to say good-bye.  After they left I napped on the couch until Ben, Ashley, and Angela came by to say good-bye before heading off to Lincoln.  They had stayed out at the cabin and helped mom with cleaning up and carrying up the laundry and trash before they left so they didn't get on the road until around 1:30 p.m.  I was glad they could spend a little time here even though I knew they would be getting home late and they all had to work on Thursday.
After they left Curt and I lounged around and then went to Babb's to get some iced coffee and a sandwich.  We came home and watched "Tower Heist" and then when the sun was setting and the sound of fireworks was heard throughout the neighborhood, Curt and I did something we have never done before... we took a walk and walked down the streets enjoying everyone's fireworks displays.  It was really fun!  Usually we are setting off our own fireworks display out at the lake but because all the kids had to be back to work on Thursday, we shot off our fireworks on Tuesday night at the cabin.  So we spent a relaxing time walking about the neighborhood and enjoying the sights and sounds of the 4th!

Fun Times at the Lake

My Confession

My children were all home for Skye's first birthday party.  It's the first time since last March, when we had my mom's 80th birthday celebration that we have all been together.  I have to confess that every time my children come home I have a tendency to want to be quite possessive of them.  I hate to admit it but I have always be a little jealous of my mom and the attachment my kids have to her.  Because she and my father practically raised them on the farm and they seemed to prefer being on the farm to being with me in Jamestown, I have at times resented her.  And now her cabin out at Spiritwood Lake has taken on that same attraction. The kids were all staying out at the cabin and I felt that I was missing out on a lot of quality time with them because I had to be at home planning a meal for the day.  So on Monday morning, July 2, I was hurrying around in my kitchen trying to get some scotcheroos and a taco salad put together to take out to the lake and the time was rushing by.  Jeremy and Krissy were going to be leaving at 11 o'clock and it was almost 10:30 and I began to have a severe pity party.  It was your typical "Martha complex",  feeling sorry for myself that here I was working away and I was missing out on all the fun at the lake, missing out on seeing my kids water ski, and playing late night Rook games and other fun times.  And like before, my mom is there and I am here crying and feeling sorry for myself.  I really hate myself when I get that way because I don't want to be jealous of my mom.  She is a wonderfully, amazing lady at the age of 81.  So I did a lot of praying and talked my way out of my self-pity so I could put a smile on my face and enjoy the short time I had to spent with Jeremy and Krissy.  I was hard saying good-bye since I felt that I had so little time with them but all is well and I look forward to the next time we will all be together again.

Skye's One Year Cupcake Party

Amy wanted to have Skye's 1st birthday party here in North Dakota at my mom's cabin.  So even though her birthday was on June 28th, we didn't have the party until July 1st due to family members arrival times.

The morning of the 1st was quite busy at my house as Amy, Donna (Tim's mom) and I were making cupcakes from the "America's Test Kitchen" cookbook.  Amy had researched out the different cupcake recipes and had decided on two that sounded quite decadent.  We made yellow ones and then a absolutely delicious chocolate one with a chocolate genache filling.  They were frosted with a white buttercream frosting and a rich chocolate frosting.  They were very delicious and the the time spent making them was a nice bonding time for Donna and me.  I was very fortunate to get to know her better, since we had never spent much time together.  The  party was attended by all my children and their spouses, my mom, Brandon, Kristine, Cole and Jordyn, Warren and Carol,  Steve and Donna and of course Curt and myself.