biting off more than i can chew

so, some time ago, i figured out how to take apart my dryer, fix a broken belt and put the whole thing back together again. it was incredible. i was so proud of myself! and, naturally bragged about my new-found mechanical ability to ed.

then, while we were en route to MN, we were pulled over so that a police man could inform us that one of our tail lights was out. (for the record, we knew it was and had asked for that repair to be done when our car was in for other repairs... apparently they forgot. and how would we know? it's not like we follow each other around in our cars and check out the lights!) so, not wanting to be pulled over again (quite scary to be pulled over and really have no idea why!), i resolved to fix the light myself. so, i was directed to the nearest car part store, got the right bulbs and my father-in-law and i figured out how to open the back panel and fix the lights. again, quite pleased with myself.


now, i have determined to repair our broken antenna on the truck. a while ago, some punk kid broke the antenna off the car (ed says people saw it happen) and we've just managed to go without all this time. but, when we went to see the dark knight at the drive-in, suddenly, not having an antenna was a major problem. (thankfully, we had a radio with an antenna and all of the other cars around us had their radios playing the movie loudly. clearly, we cannot be drive-in movie fans and not have an antenna. and, frankly, i'm REALLY sick of the cd's that are in the car. so, i'm going to figure out the antenna problem. how hard can it be?? HA!

recent activity

geez, i just run and run and run and never seem to get anywhere! anyway, in the past few days, we've been really blessed to have great (and not-so-great) activities! friday, our friend, aaron, took us on his sailboat for a ride down the ohio river... okay, not always a scenic area, but the sail was lovely and the sunset was fabulous! saturday, ed & i worked in our yard. i HATE yardwork, but was trying to make my hubby happy. i ended up with blisters on my fingers and what looks like poison ivy (don't think it is, but i'm not sure what it would be). however, our yard does look a lot better! saturday night, we had dinner with good friends. sunday - before church - i was up on our roof cleaning the gutters... this time, the thrill of such a dangerous task was more scary than exciting. i think we'll go with ed's plan from now on and hire out! then, after church, we headed out to monroeville to attend a party for sheela, chris & kaya (who are moving to bangladesh... i hope that's not going to be the new "hot spot" to move to... although i think sheela's "lady of leisure" experience might be one i want to have!). still a little strange to think that this is where my friends are moving (i thought friends moving to hawaii was too far!!), but i'm really excited for them! what an incredible opportunity!! after the party, we stopped by at my parents' and took part in the "sunday dinner" with the rest of the family in the east end. (we usually don't drive all the way out there for the weekly gathering.) finally, yesterday, ed & i headed to children's hospital after work to take dinner to my friend, lisa, who is there with her 4 year old (waiting for a heart transplant). despite the location/situation, we had such a fun visit! (helps that he's adorable and has one of the BEST personalities ever!) anyway, it's been a whirlwind few days. tonight, we'll slow down... sorta... actually, i'll be heading to walmart for a "big shop"... yes, that's what you have to do on a regular basis when you have 4 growing boys who eat so much that the cupboards are empty all the time! good times.

our trip to "God's country" (aka MN)

we had an incredible time in minnesota with our family. we spent several days at the lake (ed's parents' home) riding on the jet ski and water-skiing, tubing, fishing, volleyball, etc. noah's highlight was learning how to ride on one ski (he got around the lake!) and evan got up on ski's. drew & ed both had fun water-skiing too and taylor and i both went tubing (my favorite). actually, taylor pretty much lived in the tube for most of the time we were in the water!

in addition to our lake fun (which included fireworks on the 4th - ed took most of the kids (all 4 of our boys) out on the pontoon for the fireworks while i stayed back at the house and visited with family), we also got to be part of heather's graduation party (yeah!), we went to duluth (the boys & my first visit) to see the cousins dance in a competition (and we got to see various other family members... apparently duluth was the place to be!), we bet on horses at canterbury, caught a twins game in the dome, and so much more! we had SUCH a wonderful trip - the whole time! ed always says that each visit is better than the last and i think i agree! on our way home, we detoured a bit and stayed at kathy & mike's home so we got a very short visit with them and the kids. here are some pics...

pics for fun

i know, it's been so long since i've posted anything... sorry! a few pics of ed's new grill (for father's day) - it took all five of them quite some time to put it together, but we're so glad to have it! summer is so much more fun with a working grill! then, noah & i got to go with mel & jim to the pirate game. it was such fun!! we had a fun buffet dinner first and then we sat 3 rows behind home plate AND got free nachos, drinks, etc. it was really fun and noah had a blast. (i think he had to keep pinching himself!!)