Remember I told you they pumped our gas & washed our window? This pic was taken there.Pretty interesting,huh?!!!

The landscape of North Dakota is liberally dotted with these. In the fields we would also see the shiny cylindrical seed bins.So different from here,we just don't see seed stored one year to be planted on the fields the next. The farms,of course,also have seed bins & I also saw that many homes without a barn on their property had as many as five of them.We are talking BIG COUNTRY!!!Gone are the small farm practices in this Paul Bunyan-ese landscape.

I had to get a picture of this!!! Somehow, it tickled me to see a McD's ala cabin-style.This was taken in The Dells of Wisconsin.You drive & drive & then suddenly come up on these places in the middle of nowhere. This vacation hot spot was full of water parks,inside ones, outside ones & even one exclusively for pets. It's a resort town & reminded me of being up in our own beautiful Adirondacks. It appeared to be a rather prosperous town.

Nathan has safely arrived in Afghanistan. Thank-you for all the prayers & warm wishes,it means so much! Please continue to pray for him & those with him ,for continued safety.

Gavin had just beamed the most adoring, wide blue eyed gaze on his Uncle Nathan-of course I couldn't get THAT look captured!

Isn't this onesie darling? My sweet friend Leslie did these! This is Gavin with the monkey!

And our little guy Zane with the camel. Adorable!!! Wow! What a ride it's been!! And I mean that quite literally!! Dan & I drove out to ND to help move A.,M.,& twins & dogs!!! The first day on the road was pretty grueling,we got up around 5' & didn't get to our motel til 10'PM. Bedtime in our room was after 11:30 with the boys with us! Ashley's only wish was for a "genie nod" to make it all go away-I understood completely!! How'd those pioneer women do it??!!

The second full day on the road brought us into ND at about 9:30 PM.....we were all slightly less exhausted than the day before.....well, maybe Miles & Ashley didn't think so!! We go to check in at the desk to be greeted with an exchange something like this,in a rolling,melodious Indian accent."Yes,we tried to call you. The whole town has been evacuated.We have no water,no sewage, due to the flooding." Did we want the rooms minus water & sewer???!!At this time of night,after being on the road,with two babies,two dogs & when was our last food stop & bathroom break???Let's just say don't get between me & the wind whistling port-a potty!! There was no food in town either but they had a vending machine-it made for a poor supper-did you know you can get microwave popcorn from vending machines???

The third day we reached our destination around 2'. Dan & I were both surprised by ND.We loved it!Loved the land that seemed to stretch into an endless sky. Loved to see acres & acres of fields & grain bins for the durum wheat that is grown there. Loved the small town neighborliness. Loved the folks we talked with. Loved that they pumped our gas & washed our window,loaded our groceries for us & basically welcomed us with friendliness wherever we went.

It was with a happy heart we could board the train back to our home. A & M & twins have settled into a place we feel good about!!

Thank you everyone for your prayers!!! I am picking up Nathan in Syracuse around noon TODAY!!! The wedding will be as planned! YAY!!!

-A Very Excited Summer

Well, here are Ariana's eight month pictures. The little munchkin is only getting cuter and cuter!!! She is almost crawling on her hands and knees now. She does this belly crawl that manages to get her across the room rather quickly and mommy is finding that life is only getting busier with her increased mobility. It's adorable though and I am so thrilled to share and experience each new development and discovery in her life. She is such a joy and fills my heart to overflowing with an amazing love and happiness each day. I absolutely love being her mama and thank God for the blessing and privilege each day.

Things have been busy here as I count down the days until my Nathan comes home and our wedding. I just pray that the Army actually delivers him here to me with enough time for us to have the 24 hour waiting period after getting our wedding license. For the most part, unless I am missing something, everything is all done and set. Just a few little odds and ends left that I am working on the beginning of this week. April 11th cannot come soon enough!!! I am soooo happy and so very excited. God has filled and blessed my life so richly. I never would have imagined this at this time last year. But I would not have it any other way. It was not an easy path to get here, but I look now and though it was hard- it was worth it. I have a beautiful life that I love, a wonderful baby girl and now I am marrying the most amazing man that I have ever met! I want to thank all of you for your love, prayers and support this last year. You are the reason I made it through it all and am experiencing this mind blowing dream come true. Thank you so much! I love you all!!!!

-Summer and Ariana

Cleaning Continues

How's your living room looking? Did you take the Spring Cleaning challenge??
If so,some surfaces should be sparkling!! Let' s keep going!
1.Shedding some light on the subject-Lamps & light fixtures.
Begin by vacuuming with your dust brush attachment any lamp shades, to remove surface dust. Take a DRY rag & wipe light bulbs & lamp cords. Put a spritz of your favorite scented all-purpose cleaner on a rag & wipe lamp fixture.
Method cleaning products are some of my favorites!
2.Ceiling light fixture next. Unscrew the finial or whatever screws hold the light fixture on. Depending on how often you clean them, you may have a collection of dead bugs residing there.Wipe those off into the trash can. Next, wash the glass fixture in a sink full of warm suds, rinse, dry. You could also clean it with a glass spray cleaner & a rag. If your fixture also has a ceiling fan,wipe them off with a damp rag. You're done!!
Your room should really be starting to sparkle!! Stay tuned for the next challenge.Day by day, we'll tackle a bit more.We'll do it together,inch by inch. Each step should encourage you to do more & by the time we're done you're going to be confident to tackle more. Happy Cleaning!!

Yesterday was great,wasn't it? Sunny,mild. A day that shows up the winter dinginess left indoors that makes you want to spring clean. And that is pretty much what I did all day.I baked a cake,too. Dan's favorite-vanilla with chocolate frosting.Boys were adorable again-go figure!!!
How about you? Spring cleaning on your agenda?Here's some tips to get you started in the living room!
Pick up the room first. Put books back on the shelves,magazines back in their holder.
Put away anything on table surfaces that doesn't belong there.Throw out what can be thrown out.
Do you have glass bric brac? An easy way to clean that is in your dishwasher. Use your shortest cycle with warm, not hot, water. Everything will be bright & shiny with that layer of dust gone.
Dust all surfaces that can be dusted. I like to use the Pledge that comes in the blue can.It smells great & everything is all shiny after cleaning with it.
Side note- I REALLY like cleaning products!! I get excited about Mr. Clean erasers! I seriously considered getting Mrs. Meyer gingerbread scented cleaners in a cute cardboard caddy for gifts. That is till I said it aloud to Dan. Somehow it sounded a little crazy,my friends don't get excited about cleaning products the way I do....I don't think some are excited about cleaning-period. It must be the fumes, Orange Wood Glo, Pink Grapefruit All Surface spray cleaner,lavender fabric rinse,all combining to a heady cleaning high!!!