A perfect summer day at the beach . . .

We spent the most glorious day at the beach Sunday.  That's right - even here in Western Pennsylvania, we are able to enjoy the beach!  Well, the beaches of Lake Erie that is.  

Erik informed me Saturday that he was thinkin' he'd take us all up to Erie for the day on Sunday.  It was supposed to be warm, beautiful and NO humidity.  The perfect summer day.  And it was!

The kids couldn't get over the vastness of the Lake (I admit that sometimes it awes me as well).  To look out across the water and see it meet the horizon - it is just like the "real" beach at the ocean.  So cool.  

You know how we all have an idea of how Heaven will be?  Well, in my imagination, I believe that part of one's experience in Ultimate Knowledge in Heaven will be being able to look back through time and see how things were hundreds and thousands of years ago.  I know, it is silly, but I bring this up because watching the boats on the Lake, explaining to Walker that huge, big ships can navigate this lake to ship supplies and goods across the country made me wonder what early settlers thought when they encountered these Great Lakes where they could not see the other shore.  Were they like, "Man!  There are oceans everywhere?"  or did they realize right away that it was a Lake?  Other things I wondered:

• Who figured out that they could float big ships on the Lakes? Did they start off with small canoes and then upgrade until one got stuck?  How did they know how deep it really was?  
• Did people hang out and enjoy days at the beach then the way we do now?
• How hot must it have been to wear a wool swim suit?  

So, like usual, I digress, but those were interesting questions that I will try to explore with the kids this week.  That's the beauty of having a computer - we can google some of these questions and get some answers!

Here are the photos from our day.  

Walker & Will work on digging a hole.  We tried to fill it up with water but the sand just filtered the water through.  
Erik, who hates hanging out in the sun, was such a good sport.  

Can you tell this guy wears pants year round?  Oh - see that little white patch between his tan arm and his sleeve?  He didn't realize that his shirt had pulled up and that little patch got sunburned.  Poor guy.  That & the tops of his feet.  
Maggie is showing off her her "castle."  I don't know where she learned about sand castles, but she wanted to make one.  Unfortunately, all we had to build it were the 5 gallon buckets Pop got them.  5 gallons of sand is too heavy to turn over in one piece - so we compromised and just piled up sand and she smoothed it all out.  She was happy which is all that mattered.
Maggie & Walker working on their sand projects.
Walker showing off his hole.
Kids playing with Erik in the water.  The water was pretty cold - or maybe I should say the sun wasn't too hot, so the cold water wasn't as refreshing as it could have been.  The kids were shivering every time they went in the water, but those little fishes kept on swimming!
Will got pulled back a little bit in the waves and was taken by surprise.  Can't keep him down though - he popped right back up and kept going.  He really enjoyed crawling around on his belly in the shallow waves.  
All the kids enjoyed belly crawling on the beach.
Maggie & Erik sort through the sand to find sea shells, glass or other beach treasures.  
Swimming like fish!  Walker wanted to know if there were any sharks in the water. 
Walker is digging for treasures too.
Will didn't mind putting his face in the water at all.
Will steals a drink of Daddy's cherry Coke.  
Even on his day off, Erik finds time to get his hands dirty and run the heavy equipment.
Beach toes:  Will
Beach toes: Walker
Beach toes:  Maggie
Will is trying to figure out how to lie back on his elbows like his brother.  He couldn't figure it out for the life of him.  It was hilarious to watch!
After our day in Erie, we headed home to Vacation Bible School.  As we left the church, the sun was setting and it was just too beautiful not to take a picture!  The perfect end to the perfect day.  I taught Walker that old saying about the sky - his version, "Pink sky tonight, sailor's de-night."  Tranlation: "Pink sky at night, sailor's delight."  I couldn't have said it better myself.

Two little girls and a slumber party

Thursday night was "boys" night.  The Schwalm brothers took their boys to the Big Butler Fair t0 watch the truck pulls.  Woo- hoo!  Talk about exciting times.

Maggie had no interest in going and yesterday afternoon, Erik decided Will would be able to go with him and not be too bored and cranky, so that left me alone w/ Maggie for the night.  So, I deviously hatched a plan to invite cousin Taylor to spend the night with us so Maggie would be occupied with a playmate and I could "cut" the playhouse walls and possibly prime them.  

It was a perfect plan.  And it worked!  Maggie and Taylor had the best time playing with each other.  I don't think Maggie has ever had such a long period of girl play in her life.  First on the agenda was a marathon dress-up session.  They had a blast trying on the different princess outfits and sporting these fancy hats.

And the conversations!  Soooo funny!   They played princess dress up and applied about 14 pounds of lip gloss.  Then they headed outside to the sandbox and play kitchen where they played "cake maker." (wonder where they got that idea)  At one point, Maggie said to me, "Momma, pretend Taywor is the big sister and I am the young sister."  

I had so much fun watching these girls play.  It was such a privilege to watch. 

When they finally finished playing, we picked up a pizza and watched Tinkerbell.  Those girls ate EIGHT slices of pizza!  I guess I must have starved them all day!  It was so sweet to watch them wolf down that pizza like ravenous beasts, lips smacking and sauce all over their faces, then 15 minutes later, they were snuggled up under a blanket together, eyes wide in awe of the magic of Tinkerbell - wondering if maybe, just maybe, the movie might have some elements of truth to it after all.  

As the credits of the movie rolled, the girls told me they were ready for bed.  I took them upstairs, tucked them in and threatened them, "No whispering and staying up late telling secrets!  Or I'll have to come up here and you'll be in trouble."  I don't think I even made it to the bottom step before I heard soft snoring coming out of that room.  

Being a Mom - it's the best ever!

Bravery and Fear

Last night we met up with our good friends, the Nichols, to ride the carnival rides at the Big Butler Fair.  The Nichols twins LOVED to ride everything!  They went high in the sky on this ride.Walker did enjoy riding this "roller coaster" with them but . . .

The Schwalm's are not really ride kind of people.  I hate that feeling of my stomach dropping and I get severe motion sickness - defeating just about every rides purpose.  Erik hates waiting in lines in big crowds.  When we hit the fairs and festivals, we usually stick to the animals, free side shows and the food.  It's just more simple that way. 

Will and his girl friend, Ella, were not big enough to ride the rides.  They were both a little miffed that they didn't get free reign of the midway.  Will wandered off once and was then locked into his stroller.  We gave them both a bottle of tea and they were happy.

But, the Nichols had special passes which allowed us to get ride passes for free for Maggie & Walker and since we didn't have to pay, we hit the midway for the rides.  Let me start off by saying that for a traveling carnival - these rides seemed well built and maintained.  I saw none of the built up grease, rusty parts, etc., that I remember seeing in the days of my youth.  

So, last night, our children, given the opportunity to ride all the rides, explored.  Walker remembers doing some of the rides before.  He is not fond of any rides involving heights and dropping.  This includes the long slides.  .  He has not been on a "big" slide since.  And when given the opportunity to do the slides last night, he declined.  This photo is from two years ago.  You can see from his face  how much he liked the slide.  (On a side note, doesn't he look like a chubby little fellow?  And back then we thought he was stick skinny.  Who knew he'd get even skinnier?!)

Maggie did not and she soon learned she does not like the big slides either.

She starts off Ok . . .

But half way through, she realizes she does not like going this fast.  She then gets to the bottom and is not exactly thrilled with the ride.  

She is determined not to cry, but you can see in her face that she wants to.  

"Maggie?  Do you want to do this ride again?

"NO!  I neber want to do dat ride again!  Neber eber!  Can we pwease go wide the horsies?"

Maggie & Walker enjoyed these nice, easy circle rides.  Here they are on the "speed boats." Check out that crazy "fun house" mural.  Not sure who exactly they are trying to attract to this fun house, but I think the murals are crazy, not attractive!  

Noah on the speed boats.

I'm sorry, Will, but you just can't be trusted.  And you don't meet the height requirements for any of the rides.  Next year you can ride.  And next year you will understand what I mean.  I do have a feeling that Will is going to be the Schwalm that will ride the rides!  He is our resident daredevil.  Don't even get me started on him.  I'm seriously considering making him wear a helmet daily.  He considers himself a big kid in a little boy body.  It can be quite scary.

Maggie & Grace on the speedboats.  Grace is practicing her "princess" wave for when they go visit the princesses in Disney World.

Walker enjoys the speed boats too.   Again, see that crazy lady on the fun house mural?  She looks scary to me - not like she's having any fun.  I certainly hope that's not what we look like when we are at the carnival!  

My non-biological first born children

This tall boy in the yellow shirt is my non-biological first born. 

 I met Alex when he was about the size of Maggie, seen to the right of Alex.  He was a beautiful and active preschool fellow.  He was/is smart and knows it.  This led to the occasional confrontation, but, being the wise, practically- perfect- in -every -Mary Poppins -way nanny, I was always able to give him a logical and stimulating reason for why we were doing things : 

 "BECAUSE I SAID SO!"  

I promise his parents were aware that I used that line.  In fact, if I remember correctly, they endorsed it.  

Alex is now a man.  I recently drove my three biological children across the state of Ohio to visit my non-biological first born on the occasion of his graduation party.  Here I am in my early 30s and my non-biological firstborn had the audacity to grow up and graduate high school.  He'll be returning "home" to Pittsburgh at CMU.  I am way too young of a mom to have a child in college.  The sad part of this story is that my parents were not much older than I am now when they took me, their firstborn, to college.  As someone in my early to mid thirties - I can't imagine being my age and taking my child to college.  Some days it seems as if I just finished college myself!  That is ridiculous! 

This taller boy in the white shirt is my non-biological second born, Drew.
Drew was the size of my third born biological child (seen below in a series of shots of Will attempting to slide down the bridge on the min-golf course) when I first met him.  I met Alex and Drew at the daycare Center I had just been hired at my sophomore year of college.  I had originally signed on to this agency to do nanny jobs, but they had asked if I would be interested in keeping some hours at the daycare, and since I wanted extra money, I said "Sure!"  I remember seeing Drew in Miss Jackie's toddler room the first day.  Something about him just drew (no pun intended) me to him.  He was so very shy - really didn't want to have anything to do with me.  I wheedled, cajoled and bribed him with endless rounds of "The Wheels on the Bus" and the "Barney" theme song to like me.  He was just so adorable that I had to be around him.  It probably sounds weird, but looking back now, I know that God's hand was in this attraction to him.  God had a plan for these magnificent boys to be in my life and He led me right to them.

My life was changed entirely by my fondness of this boy - and by his family which unofficially welcomed me into their family - much to the dismay of the father : ) 

I cannot begin to explain the difference these boys made in my life and how much I grew to love them and their family.   I am so privileged to have been a part of their lives.


Now my children have been blessed with getting to know them a bit by our visits with them.  I know I have grown apart from Drew & Alex.  I'm not a part of their every day life anymore like I once was - which is to be expected.  I at least know that they still think of me fondly - andthat my love for them is reciprocated - at least that's my interpretation based on the extra tight squeezes I get when I hug these boys - I mean men - goodbye.  

Parades and Candy. . .

My children love parades.  Not because they are community events in which all ages participate.  Not because you can see the talents and efforts of community groups showcased in one place.  Not even to see the shiny red firetrucks or for the old men in silly hats careening down the street in miniature cars.

My kids love parades for one reason.

Candy.

A few weeks ago, our local town held its annual Firemans Carnival.  One highlight of the week was the Fireman's Parade.  Years ago, this parade boasted that it was the largest fireman's parade in the state.  Having grown up in a similar rural town in the central part of the state, I beg to differ, but I digress . . .

The day of the parade was a dreary one.  It rained off and on all day and it was kind of humid.  About an hour before the parade was to begin, I had doubts about our attendance this year because we had a down pour.  It soon was over and the place started to dry (and heat) up considerably.  As a precaution, I made Erik pack up and haul our Eazy Up tent with us so that if it did rain, we could quickly set up a shelter.  Erik did this for me without any hassle.  I am so grateful for the fact that he rarely hassles me about anything.  

We parked the car in a lot as close to the parade route as we could get and walked our way to the spot our friends had saved.  We spread out our blankets, got out our chairs, snacks and drinks and waited for the local high school marching band to make its way down the street to kick off the parade.  

My children waited in eager anticipation for the firetrucks.  For they know it is the firemen that throw the candy.

Never mind that I have packed them a snack of "trail mix" and some popcorn.  "We want CANDY!"
We will endure watching these silly men dodge in and out in figure eights down the street with bravado so we do not lose our spot to get some candy!
"Go ahead, Mister!  See how close you can get to us.  We're not moving unless you throw us some candy!"
Will sits patiently.  His brother and sister have wisely advised him that people in the parade will throw him candy - for no particular reason - if he sits carefully on the blanket and waits.Soon the children realize that sitting patiently isn't going to cut it.  They see kids across the street getting candy and understand that in order to compete, they are going to have to pull out all the stops.  In a valiant effort to distract the candy throwing firemen from the candy hoarding hoodlums from the opposite side of the street, my children start politely waving and hollering out, "Hi Mr. Fireman!"  DRATS!  it still isn't working.  It is time to get some attention!  As the next fire truck approaches, they stand up and start jumping and waving.  "Hello, Mr. Fireman!  Hello!  Thank you for trying to protect us from fires!"  
"Just let  us dash out onto the street here in front of you, big green fire truck, so we can pick up these fruit flavored tootsie rolls."  

Will collapses in relief!  "SCORE!  The guys in the green fire truck threw us CANDY!!"

and GUM!!!  

The queen of candy takes a moment to enjoy her hard earned lollipop.
Thank heavens for parades.  Where else would I get my stash of bribery candy?  

What kind of Guard Dog is that anyway???

This is our Livestock Guard Dog (LGD) Rocco.  He is a beautiful and grand Great Pyrenese.

"The Great Pyrenees excels at protecting livestock, especially sheep (goats in our case) that are grazing or hanging out in the pasture. It tends to sit around in a comfortable spot and then jump and let out a steady succession of loud, deep, bellowing barks to alert the shepherd to the threat. The dog will then dart to the threatened area and defend its livestock and territorial hegemony. Hesitant to attack and quick to intimidate, this dog is a safe bet when protecting your livestock. Intruders will probably not be maimed or assaulted by this dog.  They're 27 to 32 inches at the withers in males, and they're 25 to 29 inches at the withers for females. Some can reach 40 inches. The tallest dog ever is 42 inches, and so Great Pyrenees is huge! They can weigh up to 100 pounds, the males that is. Females are lightweights at 85 pounds or more. The Great Pyrenees is courageous, cautious, and devoted. It's reserved around visitors, whether they're human or animal visitors. It's wary of new things because it's a guard dog by nature."

I explain all of this because this beautiful, LARGE, supposedly intimidating GUARD dog is afraid of thunderstorms!

In an older post, I displayed pictures of the time Rocco got stuck under my mini van.  We never really understood why he crawled under there but in recent weeks, we have come to realize this big, giant, scary dog hid himself under my mini van in an attempt to hide from the thunder! And it is only getting worse as evidenced by his most recent attempts to find shelter from the thunder.

That's right.  This giant actually clawed his way through the screen door to get into the house. Unfortunately, we were gone the night that this happened or perhaps we would have been able to prevent it.  Now, I have to figure out how to re-screen my french door!

We had on and off storms today and usually I enjoy having the doors and windows open to hear and smell the storms.  It also helps cool the house down.  I no longer can do this as Rocco has busted through and ruined all of the screen doors and Erik showed me the evidence of attempts to claw through the windows in the sunroom.  

He sneaked in twice today and I had to practically drag him out of the house by his fur.  It's not that I don't appreciate house dogs - I just have vivid recall of the time one of our pets brought fleas into the house and how I had horrible bites on my ankles for weeks and all of the cleaning I did and bug bombs we had to set off in the house in order to get rid of them.  It is not fun - and that is why we do not allow the dogs in the house even for a short stint.

I'm just grateful the children are not afraid of the storms.  I told them that my Grammie used to tell me that thunder is just the angels bowling.  They get a kick of of hearing that and never seem to mind the noise.  I wish I just could get Rocco to understand that the thunder won't hurt him because it is just the angels bowling!

The three little snackers

Once upon a time there were three little snackers.  One rainy day, after naptime, their Momma decided to give them a snack.  She got out three little bowls, filled them with nutritious fruit and, as a treat, some organic Bunny Grahams.  

 The first little snacker was the oldest and specially requested blueberries.  His bowl was filled just right.

This little snacker then decided blueberries and Bunny Grahams were not what he wanted and he decided instead to get out crackers.
This little snacker promised his Momma he would eat his blueberries and bunny grahams.  This little snacker lied.

The second little snacker is a sneaky little snacker.  Again, Momma diligently prepared a bowl of fruit and bunny grahams.  As you can see by this bowl, this second little snacker prefers chocolately treats to her yummy nutritious grapes.  Her Momma had to beg, plead and cajole her to eat her yummy, nutritious grapes.

This is the face you get from the second little snacker when you beg, plead and cajole.  The second little snacker also hurridly turned over her bowl to hide the fact that she managed to give the baby snacker all of the grapes she was supposed to eat.The third little snacker is a good little snacker.  He obediently started to eat his nutritious and yummy fruit before he started eating his bunny grahams.  Unfortunately, being an obedient little snacker, he was overwhelmed by the amount of yummy and nutritious fruit his sister was pawning off on him and he never got around to eating his bunny grahams.  This picture is evidence of the third helping of fruit he ate.  First, he ate a bowl of grapes, but he was still hungry, so his Momma asked him if he wanted to eat the blueberries the first little snacker was not eating.  Our good little baby snacker replied, "Uh huh," and shook his head yes.  After eating the blueberries, he found himself left with a bowl full of grapes, which he diligently and obediently ate before eating the chocolately treat.  
What are you eating, third little snacker?  

Another grape.  It's just my size.  

And Momma lived happily ever after because the three little snackers each got the snack they wanted and left the table with their bellies full.  

For now at least.  Momma could swear she just heard one of the little snackers say "I'm hungry." 

The End.