Father's Day Fishing with Family!

Amanda and Jason took Erin up to CL a little early and surprised Daddy on Thursday before Father's Day.  They stayed the whole weekend and we showed them around town!

We went to Cranker's for Dinner on Saturday



On the way home we decided to stop and go fishing at Roger's Dam



Erin is not afraid to touch worms!

A caught a fish

THen I caught my first fish ever!

and another!

And another!

Happy Father's Day!

Then I caught a turtle and got bored. Then we went home.  End of story. :)

Erin & Mommy

Erin drew this and said it meant "I love you Mommy"!  :)

Erin and Max

My brother got a dog a few months ago. He loves Erin and follows her around when she is around.  Erin calls him a "freakshow" and a "lummox".  Both of which are loving nicknames of course.

Max loves getting and giving hugs and kisses!

Ice Cream Man!

A few weeks ago, we heard the tell-tale sign of summer. The ice cream truck was playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" (Erin's favorite song.)  I told Erin to keep an eye out on the street to see if the truck made it's way down our street.  (We live on a dead end street so we don't often get such luxuries.) It made it's way down and we ran outside to catch it! Erin picked out a Jolly Rancher snow cone. Ahhh Summer!

Laundry Detergent - DIY

As most of you know, I am obsessed with Pinterest and am a bit of a Betty Crocker around the house. I decided to take it one step further and make my own laundry detergent and dish washer detergent.  Both work pretty well, make large batches and are relatively cheap!

Laundry Detergent

1/2 a bar of Fels Naptha soap
1/2 cup of Borax
1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Empty 2.5 gallon container
You can grate the soap if you wish, but I just finely chopped mine.

Toss the soap and about 5 cups of water into a pot on the stove and heat to boiling.

Boil and stir until the soap dissolves in the water. If your water gets sudsy, stir less vigorously, haha, and maybe turn down the heat a bit.

When the soap is pretty well melted, add in the Borax

& washing soda. Stir that until dissolved.

As with any home project, it always goes better with a glass of wine...

Fill your jug up about halfway with some pretty warm water and add in the soap mixture.

Wait for it to cool a bit, then shake to combine. Add in some more water to fill it up. Then set to the side for a few hours, maybe as long as 24 hours. The liquid is going to get gelatinous somewhat. I have been using a half a cup of detergent per load.  It is working pretty well so far! I'm pleased with the results so far and it makes a HUGE quanity!



Pierce Road Beach

We live right across the street from a beach in Canadian Lakes. The past few weekends have been super warm and perfect beach weather, so we packed up for a few hours and walked over. 

Looking for Shells

Friday Phone Dump

Erin Loves Big Boy!

Three!!!!!!!!





Bowling

I won free bowling at Strikes and Spares for 15 of my closest friends and family. Unfortunately no one was able to go before it expired so it was just Erin and I. We bowled four games and had a lot of fun just the two of us.

Being a rock star

Doing the Chicken Dance!

Memorial Day Weekend

Erin and I took an extended holiday weekend and went to visit "Daddy's house" in CL.  Had a nice relaxing weekend that was too short as always (despite being Thursday night through Wednesday morning)
Ryan and I celebrated our five (*gasp!*) year anniversary on May 26th and went out in style. Playing putt-putt at the "nice" course in BR and eating dinner at Cranker's new brewery.  Ryan joined the mug club and gets $1 off beers. NICE! :)

The Sampler

While Daddy worked everyday at least for a while, Erin and I played lots of board games out on the deck. Her favorite and mine, Yahtzee (or the dice game as Erin calls it. Also known as "I win" because Erin never loses at that game.)

While it was a sweltering 90+ degrees in many parts of the country this weekend, it was a pleasant and dare I say almost "chilly" in my world, 75 degrees.

All that fresh air tires a girl out!

Then for the holiday, Erin and I drove about an hour and a half northwest to my Grandparents' cottage on Crystal Lake!

Grandma and Erin

A brave little girl; the water was only 66 degrees!

The Dentist!

Erin had her first dentist appointment on Thursday afternoon. She was quote the trooper! No tears or anything. I think she is better about going to the dentist then her mom is!  She was quote proud of her shiny, clean teeth and showed them off the rest of the afternoon!