We work, garden, swim and whatever else needs done around here.

We go to the library, Sunday school, and bible school starts tonight.

We play with the ever growing selection of animals at our house, currently three dogs, three hermit crabs and two turtles.

We’ve picked probably a dozen quarts of strawberries out of our strawberry patch, more gallons of blueberries than I can to count, off of my parents bushes, and 25 quarts of beans have already been canned.  And after having the stove on for more than 12 hours to can beans, we broke down and bought a pressure canner before it’s time to pick again, now I’m dying to get another picking to see how the new canner works – it’s so shiny and pretty!

We did make it down to Delgrosso’s Amusement Park for a few hours the week before last, unfortunately we got rained out before we could hit the water park, but the kids had fun anyway.  Ari even rode the big free fall ride that they have of her own free will – David had to drag Russ on it.

We’re hoping to make it back there before summer’s over – but it just seems to go so fast!

Yesterday we lounged around the house, all except for Ariana, who spent the day with her cousins, and recovered from the previous day. A very nice way to spend a weekend indeed!

Russ even finished the new flower bed out front, he was quite happy, as we all were, to see the last load of stone go in!

Well, that’s what the Prices are up to, what have you been up to?

Ariana loves to swim, and would spend all day in the pool if someone could sit out there all day with her. And that’s exactly what we did on Saturday. The whole family spent the day hanging out by the swimming pool, followed by a Father’s Day picnic down at my parents house, where the kids swam some more.

Sunday, after Ariana got home from church, Russ wanted to go up to the forest to play mini-golf, so we went and on the way home we stopped for ice cream.

It was a nice relaxing Father’s Day weekend! Hope everyone’s weekend was just as relaxing!

Ariana:

Ariana had her first friend stay over the weekend before last, it was her cousin Bradon, and they had a blast.  This past weekend she decided to try her first sleepover away from home, so she went to stay at a friend’s house.  She did good, we didn’t even have to go get her in the middle of the night.  But she sure is cranky come Monday mornings when she has such a busy weekend.

Last Tuesday Ariana’s class visited the Weather Center in Punxsutawney, and I parent helped for the field trip.  The kids loved it, as they had many interactive stations for them.  They got to see how tornado’s work in a mini tornado machine, and see lighting with the static balls.  They also got to learn about how the farmers used to use their animals’ behaviour to tell what was going to happen with the weather.  Their favorite activities though were the TV station where they got to be the weather forecasters in front of the green screen, the make a storm center, and the “be a tornado” slide.

David:

In the past three months David has definitely proven that he’s a teenager now.  He’s got the glasses, the braces and the girlfriend, although he doesn’t seem to want us to meet her.  Yep, definitely a teenager!

The Parents:

Work, housework, yardwork and driving the kids around – yep, that’s our life anymore.  But we enjoy it!

Weekdays are spent working, and going to school, for the kids.  Ariana’s still loving her two church groups, Son Beams and Awanas, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  David is once again going out for the Scholastic Challenge, and also involved in the Science Olympian, a group science competition.

Weekends are spent relaxing, cleaning the house, and attending children’s birthday parties.   Or just hanging around the Wii playing party games and pigging out.

It may not be exciting – but it’s life… Our life… and We’re happy!

Ariana is dying to play out in it, but the past few days have been way too cold.  The previous weekend, she and Russ built a snowman family, and since they’re still standing, she wants to add a few family members – she always tends to think big!

The snow on the garage roof is slowly sliding down, but not breaking off, so it’s overhanging the roof a good twelve inches.  The house is the same way in a few spots.  I’d sure hate to be under it when it falls.

I’m just glad it’s over, and that life gets back on schedule tomorrow when the kids return to school!

Luckily everything went well. Thanksgiving was nice, the shopping was good, the class reunion was… Well, it was trying to identify people that you haven’t seen in fifteen years, but it was a good time. And the birthday party went over quite well. All the kids had fun bowling, even Kenzie (almost 2) bowled an entire game, thanks to the bowling alley for providing a ramp for her to roll the ball down. I hate to say it, but she even beat my score. I guess I’m only good at Wii bowling. (I would post pictures – but unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so wee took the pictures with Russ’s phone – and he has it with him.)

David is of course hunting today – hoping to get his buck. I feel bad for him sitting out there in this cold wet weather, but I guess that’s all part of being a hunter. And part of why I’m not! The other part would be that I don’t think I could ever shot anything, especially something that’s done me no harm. But he enjoys it, and loves the venison.

Ariana is with her Aunts and cousins making Gingerbread houses for Christmas, I’m sure they’re having fun – and probably making quite a mess!

Russ is back to work, and I’m trying to catch up on things from taking so many days off – not to mention it being the nearly the first of the month, which is my busiest time of the month. I also have to make up hundreds of mini cream puffs for Ariana to take as treat for Son Beams tomorrow, and a birthday cake for her ‘real’ birthday tomorrow. Ugh, I need about an extra six hours today to get everything done.

Hope everyone else’s weekend went as well as ours did!

So big holiday weekend this week!  We’re actually having Thanksgiving with my family this year, as my parents are still in the area for the first time in a number of years, the kids are pretty excited about that.  Last year’s Thanksgiving was just the three of us, Russ, myself and Ariana, as David went to his father’s, and then my Gram and her friend came up for lunch.  Am I happy I don’t have to cook today?  Not really, I enjoy making the big spread – I simply can’t host the meal like my parents can though – as their house actually holds us all comfortably, and no one has to fight with my jumpy dogs.

So Neenie is doing most of the cooking this year, of course we’re still all pitching in.  Last night I made homemade rice pudding, in our new Rice Plus Multi-Cooker by Cuisinart, which is a great product that I have been asked to review.  (My review will be coming next week – but I have to say that so far, I am loving this new kitchen appliance, we’ve used it nearly everyday since it arrived, but rarely for rice – because it does so much more than that.) And today, I’m making Brazilian Chicken and Shrimp soup, a recipe that I was sent designed especially for the Rice Plus Multi-Cooker, by Chef Hubert Keller, it sounds delicious and we can’t wait to try it!

This morning Russ went up to have coffee with his mom, while I work on cleaning the house (a never ending job) and cooking (a job that I’m really starting to get into the last few years) and getting the kids ready for supper at Neenie and Poppy’s.

Saturday, Russ and I plan on Christmas/Birthday shopping, and Saturday night is my fifteenth class reunion.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been over fifteen years since I graduated.  Wow, we’re getting old I guess! I can’t wait to see everyone, and hear what they’ve been up to for the last fifteen years.

Sunday afternoon we’re having Ariana’s seventh birthday party, we’re taking all the kids bowling, and then back to Neenie and Poppy’s for some cake and ice cream.  Ariana is so excited about it.

Monday, David will be hunting with his dad for the first day of buck season – we’re hoping he gets his deer – as I’ve been digging up venison recipes for it.  I made a stew a few weeks ago from some venison his dad sent out, and they loved it.

Tuesday, of course, is back to school for the kids, and it’s Ariana’s actual birthday – so she gets to take a treat in for all her classmates.  After school, she has Son-Beams, her youth group down at the Knox Dale United Methodist Church, and she gets to take a treat for that too, but at least it doesn’t have to be store bought, so I’m making her mini-cream puffs to take for her birthday treat.

Well, that about wraps up what we’ve been up to and what we’re going to be up to for the next weekend.  Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and doesn’t over stuff themselves!

Photo by eye of einstein

David's favorite were the pigs.

They liked him too!

Ariana like the ducky races the best.

She couldn't get enough of them!

Even daddy liked them!

They tried some steer roping too.

The mazes themselves were a bit, okay, more than a bit muddy in places due to all the rain we got on Friday and Saturday, which of course we hadn’t even thought about when we headed up.  Luckily though, although there were quite a few close calls, none of us actually fell in the mud, and they provided a hose to wash off shoes, children, et., before heading out.

All in all it was a pretty good day for all!

36 quarts of grape juice concentrate.

28 pints of grape jelly.

And Russ still doesn’t hink we have enough – he’s planning on going to pick more grapes on Saturday morning.