Our random summer so far...

Well, I seem to be doing ok updating the blog with all the important things like vacations, birthdays, and holidays.

But I haven't really included any random day to day information or pictures.

We have had a fairly laid back summer.

Very quiet.

Work has been slow.

As you can see, even the cat has been takin' it easy this summer, LOL!

(No, he shouldn't be on the coffee table, but he thinks he rules this house.)

The boys are enjoying being off school.

They love being able to stay up later than usual.

Nate and kitty usually snuggle each night while watching a little tv before bed.

Looks like they're both getting sleepy.

My peace lily bloomed this summer for the second time in TEN YEARS!

I have had this plant about ten years and it had blooms on it when I bought it...
And then...

Nothing.

For ten years.

It was healthy.

But no blooms.

Then out of the blue...last week, it bloomed!

We are attempting container gardening for the first time this summer.

We are doing tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and strawberries.

So far, so good.

We have a HUGE cucumber almost ready to harvest.

The broccoli and cauliflower are getting really big.

I have a little yellow pepper (that the bugs are fighting me over).

We have five tomatoes coming in.

And the strawberries are coming in one by one each day!

Ev has had a pretty quiet summer.

He decided to wait until next summer to take driver's training.

He is "technically" old enough.

But he is still one of the youngest in his grade.

He will still be only fifteen next summer, so he's decided to do it then.

He has applied for a job at about half a dozen places, but just like the "adult" economy, teens are having a hard time getting jobs too.

I think cat was going crazy over Ev's beef jerkey in this picture, LOL!

Evan was trying to eat a bedtime snack and Oreo was giving him a hard time.

The boys have been doing some target practice.

Evan got a bb gun for his birthday.

And he has been letting Nate use his old air soft gun.

Dad and Papa have enjoyed doing this with them.

Nate stays busy during the day dragging out old puzzles, games, riding his bike, and such.

Oreo celebrated his sixth birthday in July.

We've had him for four LONG years now, LOL!

We love that silly boy.

He's such a part of our family.

My third son, LOL!

This was the first harvest from my strawberry plant!

Yay!

Don't ask.

I have no idea what Nate and kitty are doing!

Those two are so silly!

My roses are doing amazing this year.

I know nothing about them.

I prune them quite frequently and they seem to come back bigger and bigger each time I do!

I won a drawing this summer too!

This cute little basket, cookies, and a cookie cutter compliments of Ellie's Bites Decorated Cookies!

You should check out her blog, she's really amazingly talented.

In fact, she's got another giveaway going on right now!

http://elliesbitesdecoratedcookies.wordpress.com/

I planted my petunias as usual this summer.

They don't seem to be thriving like they do most summers.

Who knows.

One of my clients gave me this hanging basket at the end of the school year.

I have never grown begonias.

I hope I'm treating them ok, LOL!

Well, that's a bit of our summer in a nut-shell.

You can see all the other trips, outing, and celebrations in other posts.

But these are our random lazy days!

Happy summer!

New post at "Sweet Ivy"...

Check out my review on the BabyCakes cake pop maker!
You can find it here.
http://sweetivyconfections.blogspot.com/2011/07/thoughts-on-babycakes-cake-pop-maker.html

To clear up any confusion...

When I posted the other day about my new "Sweet Ivy Confections" blog starting up...
I just wanted to let you know, that I'm NOT stopping this blog.
This blog is staying ACTIVE. :)
This will remain my personal blog, I will just be using "Sweet Ivy" for all of my baking.
I will put a link in here each time I update "Sweet Ivy" so you can continue to follow my baking journey.
I'd love it if you'd pop over there and follow my journey too!
Join me! :)

I am starting another blog! (and FB, and Twitter)

Many of you know, I have been on a baking/decorating journey for a little less than a year.
I have been encouraged, inspired, and supported by so many other wonderful bakers/decorators around the world on Facebook, Twitter, and by following their blogs!

This has become more than a hobby for me.
And it is my dream to one day, bake for a living.

In the meantime, I need all the practice I can get.
More practice baking sweets, than my family can eat!

So, with the encouragement of fellow bakers, I have named my baking endeavor and started a Facebook page, Twitter account, and blog JUST for my baking journey!

I will be doing MANY GIVEAWAYS!

So...check out our Facebook page, Twitter account, and blog!

My name is:
"Sweet Ivy Confections".

I am specializing in cupcakes, cookies, pops, and specialty sugarcrafts.

The blog is brand new and I am playing catch up by writing my history and adding pics of all of my cakes during my journey.
The link to the blog is:
http://sweetivyconfections.blogspot.com/

You can find me on Facebook at:
Sweet Ivy Confections

And on Twitter:
Sweet_Ivy_Conf

Helpful hint to the fellas...

Helpful hint to the fellas...
Unless you flat out say, "Your hair looks great!" or "That's a good cut!", there's a good chance your wife/girlfriend won't take it too well when you say, "Um, did you have a different stylist this time?" or "Is that how you WANTED it to turn out?" or "I thought you were planning on ____".
That's just my helpful two cents for the night.
Saving you a little bit of grief with the wifey/girlfriend.
Ha! ;)

One of the only things I've ever attempted by "Martha"...

Though Martha Stewart creates some of the most beautiful things...

I don't think most of us average people out there feel very confident attempting them.

These cookies however...

When I saw them on the cover of her Martha Stewart Living magazine...

I HAD to attempt them.

They were just too pretty not to.

I did them in red, white, and blue on my first attempt and they looked like fireworks!

They turned out pretty decent for a first try!

I made a gift basket for my dad for Father's Day.

You may remember seeing that post earlier.

They also kindof remind me of tie-dye.

I think this is one of my favorite techniques I've learned yet!

Do I have to work? I'd rather just practice decorating all day!

Tried some more decorating yesterday.

Just playing around with different things.

I am never quite satisfied with my end results.

I don't know if I ever will be.

I don't know if it's because they really aren't that great...

Or if I'm just too hard on myself.

But imagine my pure delight...

When...

My ten year old son exclaimed,
"Mom!  These are the most beautiful cookies ever!"

Awwww.

Thanks sweetie.

You made my day.

Whether anyone else thinks they're pretty or not...

My sweet-pea loves them.

When it's too hot to go outside...practice your BAKING/DECORATING! :)

It has been so hot here lately.

There are Air Quality Alerts, High Heat Warnings...

They're telling us "stay inside", "check on your neighbors", "stay hydrated".

With the temps in the 90s, the heat index over 100, and the humity levels at 60-70%...

There is NO WAY I'm going outside.

It's miserable.

And unhealthy.

So...

What else is there to do?

Practice some more of my baking/decorating skills!

Although I must admit...hubby wasn't too thrilled at the thought of me turning on the oven...
Even with central air...our upper level gets WAY hot.

So he usually retreats to the family room downstairs or to our bedroom where it's always about 10 degrees cooler for some reason.

I just thought I'd try some different things.

I've never done anything like this.

After reading so many wonderful baking blogs...

(Check them out some time...they're all listed on my sidebar!)

I get the itch to try new things.

They turned out "OK".

Not perfect.
Not great.

But "OK".

I still don't have a very steady hand.

I baked a whole bunch of shapes, but only decorated these three tonight.

So...

As long as it's too hot to go outside...

You'll probably be seeing more of my work!

Practice "bakes" perfect...

Today I did some more practicing w/ my baking and decorating.

I did one of the classic Wilton cake designs.

Let's just say...

Heat and humidity are NOT kind to bakers and decorators!

Even with central air, my drop flowers and icing were melting.

Ugh.

It was fun, none the less.

And I'm sure it will taste great.

And we all know practice makes perfect...

But can't I have perfection now?

LOL!

Oh well...

Let them eat cake!

A good end to a not so good day...

So after my previous post about how I've really been struggling with work and my passion/purpose...the day ended lovely.

Hubby made dinner tonight.  He actually cooks dinner quite a bit for us.

He's quite a good cook.

We had tacos and nachos.

No, these aren't actual pictures of our dinner...

These are just clip art I've found to enhance the post, LOL!

But still...it was a VERY yummy dinner.

We bought some donuts from the bakery the other day and finished those off for dessert.

Yeah, I know...real healthy dinner/dessert, right?  LOL!

But hey, it was just what I needed...comfort food...after a day like today.

Went out and watered my veggies.

Excited to announce that I have yet ANOTHER cucumber popping up!

That's two!

We have six tomatoes.

And the cauliflower, broccoli, and peppers are doing quite well too!

The strawberries...well, they're too many to number now!

Yay!  I can't wait for our harvest!

I even got to sneak in a nap after work, which was pure heaven.

After the boys settled in with a new episode of SpongeBob and a bedtime snack...

Hubs and I watched "The Social Network"...again, LOL!

Quite a good movie, I must say.

We're not the most exciting family...

But that's just the way I like it. ;)

Our July 4th trip to Mackinac Island...

This year, we started our trip in Mackinaw City.

We hung out in the city doing a little shopping at The Crossings.

We "thought" this fellow was a copper statue...

Until Evan said, "He waved at me!"

He then moved and said "Hello!" and a woman passing by screamed!

LOL!

(The dog WAS copper.)

Then we went down near Fort Michilimackinac at the beach area and the boys skipped stones and just played around on the beach area.

My babies!

Silly Nate...always hamming it up.

Jamie was in love with the idea of taking pictures from underneath the bridge...

So he and the boys went down and got some shots.

My three guys.

Skipping stones.

Love those boys!

They humor me with all my pictures.

Yes boys, one more picture...please.

Me, Nate, and "the frog" at The Crossings.

(Excuse my frumpiness that day, ugh.)

Jamie loves taking scenery pictures.

I love taking people pictures.

Sunset at Lake Huron.

Nate and I being silly.

Getting ready to start our day!

We're on the island!

One of our favorite spots.

The marble seat by the school.

A great place to take a break before heading up the hill by the Grand.

I think we take a family pic here every year.  LOL!

Always a wedding happening on Mackianc Island!

The boys spend some time in the spa pool at The Inn on Mackinac where we stayed.

Silly boys.

Me and my honey.

Yes...we were quite sunburnt.

We always apply sunscreen, but we always somehow miss certain areas, LOL!

Marquette Park.

Heading up to Fort Mackinac on July 4th.

Keep going!

You can do it!

Another shot of Marquette Park.

The boys at the fort.

Me and the babes by one of the cannons.

Old glory.

My three handsome soldiers.

Love the interpretors at the fort.

We have made it a tradition of always going to the "All American Picnic" put on by the Grand Hotel at the fort each July 4th.

It is so yummy!

Evan and me being silly.

(Excuse the flat hair, ugh.)

Dancing at the fort!

Jamie surprised us and purchased tickets to Shepler's Fireworks Cruise.

This is something we had never done in all the years of coming to the island.

It was WELL worth the money!

They stopped and took us right under the bridge.

Can you see the car going by?

Grand Hotel at night.

Fireworks!

Ooooooh!

Aaaaaah!

WOW!

We always take in a game of golf at Mission Point.

Cool dude Evan.

Cool boat going by, so I snapped a picture, LOL!

Ok, don't laugh.

So I wore my strappy little flats the whole time we were there.

I wore sunscreen.

But...

As I mentioned, I always forget somewhere.
Yes, my feet were the victim of my latest bad memory.

Evan told me I should post this on our Zeeland facebook page for their "Feel The Zeel" ad campaign to promote the city, LOL!

Yes, I suffered sunburn to promote our lovely town.

No...I'm not "feeling the zeel" right now...my feet are sore!

We had a lovely room at the Inn on Mackinac.

We've stayed there before and really liked it.

Evan having his nightly hot tea.

Silly boys.

Nate snuggling in for the night.

Our last day.

Boohoo!

The boys spending a little time skipping stones before we go.

Nate never missed a chance to ham it up on camera.

Bye bye Mackinac...we'll be back in August!

We miss you already.

I don't think any of our friends or family understand or love Mackinac the way we do.

We have a certain "connection" with the island.

We love the rich beauty and history.

It's a different pace of life.

Someday...yes...someday...we WILL have a place there.

I just know it.

Until next time...