Transferring the food from the old fridge to the new fridge.  

It sure is nice!

Memorial Day fun, Brownlee style...

Even though the shutter is not all the way open, she still knows how to 

look good for the camera...

Daddy likes to help aim the BB gun.  

I hit the can, first time, as always!

I can help aim too!

Just hanging out with friends

Kevin taking a picture of Shelby.  Micah and Jared look on...

Jared, with Micah the Monkey behind him.

Micah!  What a big mouth you have!

Ethan, looking so serious.

Colesy, shooting everyone with her stick.

Bear!

So, back to our bike ride to the swinging bridge...

on our way back, a little (big!) bear cub ran out of the woods from our left and went to the river on our right. We stopped, wondering were mama bear was. We waited for a couple minutes, and then 3 fishermen passed us on their bikes, so we figured there was safety in numbers and rode along behind them. They stopped after a bit and the baby bear came back up from the right and ran down the path in front of us. I was at the rear of our pack, and held my camera up and just snapped a picture hoping to get it. If you can find a way to blow the photo up a little, you can see a black spot running up the trail. (Usually if you click on the picture, it will open bigger in another page.) That is the cub. He ran up the left bank again, and about where the trail curves, just ahead of where he is, we could see him up high on a ledge. We never saw mama (phew!) and he ran off before everyone got a chance to see him up above us. Sure made for an interesting ride!

Speedy Girls

Today was track and field day at school for the elementary kids. They split the kids into 1-3 and 4-6 grades.
*Colesy won the girls 50 yard dash, with Shelby a very close second.
*Colesy also won the girls 100 yard dash!
*She took second in the sack race.
*Shelby, in addition to the second in the 50 yd dash, also took second in the three-legged race.
We had a really nice day, the weather cooperated very nicely, and the kids all had a nice time.

[Sorry there are not pictures to accompany this post.]

Finally at the swinging bridge...

Rails to Trails Ride

There is a swinging bridge, like Trinity, but smaller, across the Toby River in Brockway.  We loaded up all the kids and all the bikes and all the food...  and we went for a ride up to the bridge.  We had a really nice time.  Sorry about ALL the pictures, but they just turned out, and we had such a great time, I HAVE to share them all!

Before we could get there, we had to take a break at this bridge.  It was a nice place to rest.  The kids love being together.  Micah is in orange, Colesy in stripes, Jared in yellow, Ethan in grey and Shelby in the brown tank top.  

Sidewalk Love

the girls spent an afternoon coloring the sidewalk for me while Matt was gone.  They were very cute about it. I was NOT allowed to go outside until they were done, and then I had to go from the living room, through the kitchen and across the porch with my eyes closed!  

front yard

I took some pictures of the front bank. It looks so pretty.  Wish you could all stop by to see it in person. And you know that pictures never look the same.  

 

Short Story

Yesterday, I took all 5 kids to a pool party.  What an experience that was!  In short, all the kids did really well in the pool.  Jared especially, and Micah are part fish.  Shelby did great.  she was just getting the hang of swimming at the end of last summer.  Ethan kept the noodle with him at ALL times, so he was fine. Which leaves Colesy.  She was in the shallow end (3.5 ft) and so she was playing with out the noodle.  That was fine until she drifted just to wear she could not reach anymore.   I looked at her and saw the fear in her enormous eyes and saw her mouth full of water.  Instead of being the hero and jumping in to save her, I yelled louder than I ever have (I'm sure it was LOUD!) "GET COLESY!!!"  Brad, a dad, was in the water near her. I never took my eyes off of her but I saw Brad look at me and see where I was looking and he spun, as you an only 'spin' in water and grabbed her and set her on the edge where I could get her.  I was shaking so hard, we sat down and the poor thing took a ride! I couldnt get my legs to stop shaking.  I told her, "Peanut, you did great, but next time - SCREAM!!!"  She said, "I tried, but my mouth was full of water." Makes sense!  

Anyhow, she was fine, and got back in, kept her noodle with her at ALL times, and kept her eye on me.  She was making sure I was watching her.  And I was - and i checked on the others a LOT!  

Deep breath.  

This is Grammy and the girls. Not sure when But found it now, so thought I would put it on.












And this was a few years ago, but had to share it now as well. Its hard to find Uncles small enough to ride a tricycle!

Nathan sure did a good job!

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but makes me smile every time I see it!

Maybe you need a smile today too!

Shelby's 8th Birthday

Opening presents... Lots of fun!

Shelby decided that she did not want birthday cake and ice~cream this year.
She LOVES my (Gramsy Lewis') homemade chocolate pudding.
So, we made two batches. A cold batch for those weirdo's who like it cold, and another batch that was still warm for the rest of us!
We had to put a blob of cool whip in the middle for the candles.
And ALL the kids got a candle. (Hard to put 8 in a bowl of pudding!)
Left to right: Ethan, Colesy, Shelby, Micah and Jared.

Guess who...

played in the freshly cut grass!

No, they are not half Martian!  

(Although after looking at Shelby, maybe she was overtaken by one!)

They just had a LOT of fun!

Even the bath water turned green, and that was fun too!

And yes, they did need to get a bath before bed.  They could not figure out why...

Oh to be a kid again! :o)

Paula and Me

This is my friend Paula McCabe. She is about the funnest person I know. And I've learned a TON from her these past 4 years. She has become a very dear friend especially during the last two, and certainly now when I need her most, she has been a huge encouragement to me. If nothing else, she can make me smile. Love you Paula!

ATTENTION NELSON~

Please notice that I was successful in the
proper rotation of the pictures this time.
Thank you VERY much!

Rainy Day Tea Party at Grammy's!

The girls sold enough cookie dough last fall to earn a trip to a
Pittsburgh Pirates game.
(Thanks to all of you who bought...)
I didn't think they would like the 2 hour bus ride to Pitt, the baseball game, and then
the 2 hour ride back, so I made arrangements with Debbie to keep them for the day.

I didn't know she had such special things planned.

First they dressed up,

Then they had the party!

The best part, I think, was GRANDMA!

Spring Concert

These are my 5 kids! Kevin took this last week when we took a bike ride together. They have so much fun together.