Ridin' Along

Derek loves riding on the tractor!

First Day of School!

The annual picture by the porch

waiting for the bus to arrive!

Believe it or not, school started this past week.  Summer went by way too fast!  The kids (and I) were definitely ready to get back into a routine though, so they were up early the first two days of school.  Both have wonderful teachers, and I am excited to see what the school year brings.  Eryn had the task of helping out a new girl in the class, so that was exciting!  Nolan lost his front tooth on the second day of school (despite my many attempts to pull it in the last week).  Derek, he's having a harder time adjustsing to the kids not being with him all day, or maybe its that they get to go on the bus and he doesn't??  At any rate, he lives to see that bus in the morning and afternoon, no matter what bus, thinking his big brother and sister are getting off of it!

I Love This Kid!

If one thing is for sure, it's that this almost-two-year-old has a great sense of humor (as you can see).  Love him to pieces!!!

Last Minute School Shopping

I don't know why I waited until the last possible day to do clothes shopping with the kids, but I am glad I did!  We headed up to Rochester this morning, bright-eyed and bushy tailed....except for Nolan who took a  nice nap on the way up (Thanks Dramamine;).  Once we arrived it was time to find some deals, and that we did!  Taking advantage of every coupon and sale we could, we got the needed essentials, and had a great time doing so!  I usually am not a fan of food courts, but in order to meet everyones' taste buds, it was the thing to do today!  Subway for Eryn, Sbarro Pizza for Nolan.  We all learned some things today:
1. It's almost impossible to win a stuffed animal in the games in the entryway of WalMart.  We tried...$5 later, still no stuffed animal.
2. Nolan likes to "test" out cologne samples for his Dad (he sure smelled good today!)
3. Eryn loves shopping at Justice.  I may have to get another part time job to meet this need!
4. Eryn loves to read to her brother, and did so most of the way home (Little House on the Prairie).  What a great big sister she is!
5. Derek doesn't know what to do without us!  He was so glad to see us this afternoon, and we missed our little guy while we were away!

I'm off to get the kiddos ready for bed before the big day.... I had a great time off from work, but it's back to routine for all of us in the morning!

Sunday Funday

On Sunday we decided to take a drive....didn't know where we were going, but "exploring."  We ended up at Lower Dam.  We both have heard of it before but didn't know where it was or what it was about.  We will definitely be back at some point to do some fishing! 

So Close....

In a last minute dash to enjoy the summer, I have the next two days off of work.  That said, I am trying to get in as much time with kids doing "fun stuff" as possible.  On today's agenda, Lake Meyer.  We live so close to this natural place of beauty, but never go....so today we did!  It was quiet, and we enjoyed soaking up the sun every minute!  Some time on the playground and a picnic were just the ticket to enjoy the day!  Stay tuned to see what tomorrow brings:)

Garden Produce Galore (Again!)

With all of the garden produce being ready at once, it was a busy Saturday at the Sabelka residence.  First off the kids and I packed up in the cool morning and headed to the annual United Way 5K.  It was a beautiful morning for a race, and the part of the trail we were on was awesome!  Eryn walked it with me, while Derek rode in the stroller and Nolan rode his bike.  They were all troopers!

 While the older two kids went to play at some friends, Derek and I did some cleaning and then it was off to the garden to see what produce was awaiting us!  Our green beans have been producing like crazy, so we picked some of those in addition to more cucumbers.  The zucchini are blossoming AGAIN so we will have yet a third picking of those soon too!  We also got our hands on some great sweet corn, so away for home we went.  Needless to say the stroller was packed with goodies, and Derek hoofed it the whole way back home!  I had been working all week on a great sweet pickle recipe, so I needed to prep those for Sunday's canning.  Then it was shredding some zucchini for some brownies (at Nolan's request).  I have shredded about 16 cups so far, and the kids LOVE zucchini bread!  After that, Eryn, Derek and I tackled the green beans and got them cleaned, blanched and frozen.

This morning, it was time to can the icicle pickles and get a batch of Dills done as well.  By mid-morning it was pretty well wrapped up.  The kids are glad, as they are not fans of the aroma of pickle making!!

The finished product!

Icicle pickles in process

End of Summer Fun!

The beginning of last week I had a couple of days off from work, so I thought it would be a great opportunity for the kids to have some friends over before school started back up.  The kids had a great time playing on the swingset in their "fort"and then wanted to head into the sprinkler.  With it being so dry, though, the kids had to wear their flip flops through it!  That evening we enjoyed a movie as well!  I can't believe in a couple of weeks school will be starting! The summer went by WAY too fast!

Family Addition

I wanted to post a picture of our newest members of the family....for some reason technology isn't cooperating with me this morning!  Yesterday I took the two older kids to Walmart to get school supplies.  Those of you who know Eryn, she has been begging for a dog for some time now, but we have come to the conclusion that we maybe need to start out small....enter goldfish:)  The kids each picked out a fish, and for extra fun we added in a fiddler crab for Derek (named Darth Vader).  Eryn named her fish Goldy and Nolan called his Batman.

Garden Produce Galore!

Despite the dry weather this summer, our garden is really taking off.  Right now we are in the process of making pickles and saurkraut, not to mention I am being really creative with how to use zucchini!  Thank goodness for the freezer!  The kids are enjoying gardening as much as we are, so it makes it fun, and I don't have to beg for help when it comes to preparing the items!  Last night we had fresh green beans for supper, and this morning I made a batch of zuchhini muffins.  Next up will be tomatoes and MORE cucumbers!  I have a feeling this weekend will be busy with canning!  I love this time of the year!