Fall Bounty

This past spring/summer the kids planted various vegetable and flower seeds into small starter containers and then once the little plants were big enough we transplanted them into our larger containers which we call our garden. We have all enjoyed watching the plants grow throughout the summer and picking the ripe beans, tomatoes, carrots and basil. Our container garden isn't very big but it is just the right size to produce a few cups of basil which we used to make pesto or put on pizza and in soup, a handful of cherry tomatoes gobbled up right after picking and crisp green beans that over a week can be collected and served for a veggie during dinner. Here is a picture of our latest bounty from our container garden. Even Drew enjoyed his first cherry tomato! It took awhile to convince the little guy that the red "ball" was edible. Finally, he popped the whole thing in his mouth and began chewing resulting in seeds squirting out from his mouth. He liked it because he said "Again" after he finished eating the first tomato.

Bad Hair Day

Lately our electric bill has been on the high side (mostly due to the air conditioner being used non-stop) as well as lights left on in various rooms throughout the house. Gary and I decided to get the kids involved with helping us save money and electricity by encouraging them to turn lights off. The girls were given a "chart" to check off little boxes each time they turned off a light in the house. After checking 5 boxes they could select a piece of candy from the treat jar. We didn't put any restrictions as to the time of day or type of treat they could select hoping that keeping it simple would keep them interested (nothing like a gummy bear appetizer before breakfast eh!) After they completed their chart we promised that they could pick out a toy or game from the store as a big "thank-you" for helping us reduce our electricity usage and bill. The girls did a great job! A week ago they both finished their charts and decided that the toy they both wanted was a little electric hamster (like a zhu zhu pet). A few hours after playing non stop with them Kami came running into the kitchen with a big problem - the little hamster was crawling towards her and ended up getting tangled in her hair! Enjoy the picture! After completely dismembering the hamster's motor/wheels/ect. the little guy survived and is hair free! Kami however has a small section of newly cut short bangs to help her remember this little event!

Mari's Visit

This past week we were excited to have Mari visit for a few days! Unfortunately Mike is in New York working and was unable to join Mari and the rest of us but we certainly did think about him often. Sunday, after Drew's nap we packed up the car and headed to Craig's Cruisers for an afternoon of mini golf, bumper boats and a frog hopping ride. The greens were well kept and perfect for our crew who couldn't resist dropping their ball into certain holes that would then shoot the ball out onto another adjacent green over and over and over and over..... again! The bumper boats not only collided with each other but they had a great squirt gun attached to the top that the girls got to shoot at the opposing bumper boat. The day ended with the girls riding on the 25 foot hydraulic frog hopper ride. The ride bounced them up to the top (25 feet up) and then "hopped" up and down several times until finally coming back to rest at ground level. I'm not sure what they enjoyed more from the frog hopper - kicking off their flip flops at us or the actual ride. Either way they both loved it!

SIX

I"m a little late posting this (ok, really late) but as the saying goes "better late than never", right? On July 20 Kami turned 6! That same day we hosted the tile mural party (see earlier postings) so she had an amazing birthDAY. Later, after everyone had left the tile mural party we went out for pizza with my cousin Jamie & Emma, who were visiting from Tennessee. The girls all dressed up in dress-ups so they could be fancy. Later that night we opened gifts. We had a family birthday party on the following Sunday. Kami chose a Hannah Montana birthday cake (because it had a cool headphone thingy on top). Thanks to all who helped us celebrate this great day for this great girl!

Liam & Luke

Last week we had the pleasure of spending a few days in Fremont with my Grandparents (O'Brien's) and my aunt Claire along with her two boys, Liam and Luke - by the way we missed you uncle Bill (he was working). I wasn't sure how the boys would get along with my girls and vice versa, but I shouldn't have worried because the boys and girls played with each other like long lost friends! They played legos, fished, swam, built sand castles, dug deep holes in the sand, camped in the back yard, roasted marshmallows, picked blueberries.....you get the picture! They were non stop action for three days. Here are a few pictures showing the fun they had.

Grow Garden Grow Tile Mural

Artist, Cara O'Brien

July 20 was an extremely FUN and busy day here at the Evans' house! Not only did Kami turn 6 but we hosted a tile mural party here at the house with Cara for the DeVos Children's Hospital art project she is working on. The weather was wonderful and the kids were a blast! When the tile party was done we tallied up the number of kids who helped stamp tiles - 57 kids in total! Cara, the tile mural artist thought all the kids did a great job following directions and showing off their creativity at each of the art stations. Kids were able to make a book mark which was used to stamp designs into the wet clay tile as well as stamp other interesting objects to make their tile unique. After they were done with the clay tile the kids could make a paper casting which will also be part of the art at the DeVos Children's Hospital. Enjoy the pictures!

 

TIMBER!!!

Maple tree in our backyard

The climberTrunk & StumpStump (not ground out yet)

Large pieces of maple for Chester/Cara!

For those of you who have been over to our house you may recall that there is a lot of shade in our backyard. This shade is mostly due to a big maple tree sitting smack dab in the middle of the yard. We've enjoyed this tree for years however we began to notice a significant amount of "sawdust" gathering around the center where the tree forks into to large sections. After a visit from a tree-hugging arborist who strongly suggested we either cable the tree (bolt large sections of the tree together with cable) or remove it due to significant rot issues. He thought a heavy rain storm or ice storm, both common in our area, could put extreme stress on the section of tree that was rotting (and leaning towards the house) possibly causing the tree to fail (translation - fall on our HOUSE). So Gary and I scheduled the removal of this great tree which happened today. It was an amazing process to watch beginning at 8am sharp and ending around 1:30ish. Three guys, one being the "climber", wielded chainsaws, hydraulic lifting machines and a huge chipper took down our tree. Here are some before pictures, during pictures and after.

10 YEARS!!!

Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary! It sure doesn't feel like 10 years - boy did it go by fast. I'm so blessed to be doing life with such an amazing guy.

For those who attended our wedding and friends we have met since, we want to thank you for your prayers throughout the years for us, our marriage and for our family. We truly believe that our marriage cannot survive without our constant seeking of God's plan and putting Him above all else.

With Love

Gary & Erin

"Colossians 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Ephesians 5:31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”"

Sew much to learn...

My latest "hobby" the last few years has been to learn how to sew. What I love most about it is that it accommodates my short attention span and provides countless opportunities for me to try new projects. I am self taught therefore how I sew is probably incorrect in many ways yet it "seams" (pun for my mom!) to work for me. Awhile back I checked out a great book from the library that had some simple quilts patterns and well written instructions showing how to piece the pieces together. I modified this one pattern to fit my interests and the result is my first quilt project. I call it the Pink Baby Blanket. Since I have a lot of scrap fabric (mostly with pink in it) this project was a great way to use up some of these pieces rather than throw them out or let them continue to collect dust. Here is a picture of my finished project. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and hope to try something like it again in the future.

Genuine Prayer From a Child

...."God please teach my mommy more about you so she can teach me more about you....."