Thursday, June 26, 2008

Quick Update:

Look below for a new post....Titled: MY 6 Pack

I started a post several days ago and never go around to updating it...
so it stayed in draft form. That is until now... I finally got around to posting the images with it today. So scroll down and read about Greg's Father's Day.

Also, I've been working on a new post...already spent 2 hours on it. It's all about last weekend up to today and darn if I'm not having trouble with the images. So I'll get it posted as soon as I can. Sorry about that...gonna have to start all over again! UGH!
Me sitting at my computer 12 midnight...pulling my hair for the last 2 hours!
I give up...it's time for bed! Nighty, Nite!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Good Day all!

I have a new video from Seth...

This video has been in the works for weeks now. For some reason I had a really hard time loading this one to the internet...it was too long and had to cut it down...plus Seth wanted me to add all the titles to each Star Wars figure he showed...that just took to much space (time) on my Youtube spot. So here is the Raw version of Seth and all his many Lego figurines! Enjoy!

P.S. I gonna post again later...about Britton during the Floods in Iowa and our busy weekend last week.



Monday, June 16, 2008

Iowa City Flood

Told you I would post Photos of the flood that was near Britton's Apartment in Iowa City.


She lives a block away from this road. Thank goodness her apartment is up a steep hill. So she was not affected by it. Her boyfriend Matt...Britton said by the time the flood had reached it's crest it was about to Matt's waist!


These are photos near the University. Greg use to work across the street from here!


Normal water level is about 10 feet below the bottom of the bridge. So this is extemely high!

My heart goes out to all the people that suffered a loss. I called many of my friends there and all told me that they weren't effected by the flood...only hard to travel around.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Got "My 6 Pack"...how 'bout you?

Oh man...I can't believe I forgot to post this! I saved it as a draft and forgot to go back to finish writing it.

Oh well better late than never...

First, let me say "Happy Father's Day" to all you Dads out there. Greg said he had the best Father's Day ever...I finally bought him something that he really, really wanted...can't tell you how many times he said it over and over again..."I really want a picture of the kids running blown up really big so I can hang it on the wall above the computer desk"...so that's what he got. Remember this photo?




Now here it is in a poster size...framed and ready to be hung in his office at work...titled;

"My 6 Pack"


I think he likes it! ha ha

I couldn't help myself...thought of this title after I bought the poster and as I was looking at all my youngin's running like a "Pack of Wolves" I realized that I have a "Pack of kids" and 6 of them to boot...thus a "6 Pack!" ha ha Perfect title for a RETIRED RANGER... I think he's still looking for his 6 pack! haha Shhhh...don't tell him I said that! LOVE YA HONEY!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Short Video of our vacation in Wisconsin Dells

I took more photos with my camera then I did with the FLIP. But here is a short video of Lily, Seth, and Leia by the pool.


Monday, June 9, 2008

5 minutes with Tess.

This will prove to be the most valuable 5 minutes in your life! Enjoy!
P.S. I don't know why this video is as blurry as it is...it's even worse on Youtube,
Sorry!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Weather Update:

Here's a new Video from yesterday. We had alot of severe weather and afterwards we had the most beautiful skies...rainbows and sunsets.

This a another video from Viddler...should be clearer and in a larger format. Enjoy!


Which is better?

Okay, I just found a new Video site called Viddler...similiar to Youtube. It's suppose to be better then Youtube because you get more time and a clearer picture...Youtube has a 10 min limit on each video and the picture is blurry. So let's put this to a test. I put the same video side by side. You can play both videos at the same time just remember to turn off the sound...click on the sound button on the menu bar of each video and drag it to the bottom level to lower the volume.

I can see a big difference...can you? Tell me which one you like better by leaving a comment.

I'm using a video you've seen before titled THE FLIP... cause it's short and quick to watch.

Vidder video:


Youtube video:

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Lil' home decor!

This lil' corner in my sunroom reminds me of Italy. I miss the romantic atmophere over there. The table cloth I bought while shopping downtown in Vicenzia, Itlay. The wrought iron table and chairs I found at Hobby Lobby...of course we got them on sale half price! The Capiz Shell lamp was handed down from Mamaw. She said she gave it to me cause I was one of the few people that would take the time to untangle it. Patiences does pay off! ha ha I love seeing it all lit up at night.
I found these colorful silk flowers at Wal-mart. Cheapo...but I love how bright they are. We all need a punch of color in our lives.
Here's to a Romantic Cheery Day!

Changed my looks...


So what do you think about the new design of my Blog?

I like that it has a wider format, it's has a clean and neat sidebar too.

Hope I didn't throw you off too much. The same info is here just a different
color and layout.

Never know what's gonna happen next around here! ~giggling~

Thanks for understanding! ~sweet winks~

Tess was in a Play last weekend...check it out!

Just a quick update: I moved my scrapbook pages to the bottom of the blog. I haven't added anything new to my pages in a long time so it's kinda old news...but if you enjoy looking at them they are still here just relocated to the bottom of this page now.

I'm also going to put a link to a specific video in each new post. Hopefully it will work. But if you ever want to see all my video's just click on the link in the sidebar on the right titled "Video Updates" it's here that you can see all my videos on Youtube. If you're having problems viewing the Youtube page you can always go to
http://www.youtube.com/user/mommamikki save this page in your favorites...then you will always have a direct link to my videos.
_______________________________

Now moving on to the main topic of the day. Tess in the play Mary Poppin's . She has the roles as Mrs. Banks. Tess likes to describe Mrs. Banks as the unconcerned mother of Jane and Michael Banks. Great description! huh?

Tess did a great job acting. She wasn't nervous at all and spoke her lines very well during the whole performance. She didn't make any mistakes...sh-woof!

As you veiw the video below take note of the backdrops. All of them were painted by the students in her class with the help of some parents. I love how Tess' teacher allowed the kids to take an active part in all aspects of the play...everything from setting up, staging, singing and preforming! She is an AWESOME teacher! (I would name her but we need to keep it confidential here)

Leia and I put together her outfit at the last minute. We needed to find clothing that fit the time period. It has been years since I've seen the movie Mary Poppins'...so I had to go on the Internet to check out Mrs. Banks clothing.

See her here: Mrs. Banks
I think we did a pretty good job getting her costume together. Love the hat and boots that Tess is wearing...I found them at Goodwill and the rest of her clothing is from Big sis Leia's, clothes closet!

Tess' teacher was so sweet and asked "how many times has Tess watched the movie?" I said I don't think she has ever seen it. Well come to find out the whole class watched the movie 1 time so they could get a good understanding of it...then they tried out for roles. Tess' teacher said that she (Tess) fits the role of Mrs. Banks perfectly...has her mannerisms and all. Too funny cause Tess is very motherly and mature in her speech...but the girl had only seen the movie once in her life. Then on Mother's Day of all days, THE MOVIE CHANNEL featured Mary Poppins all day long! How cool was that? Tess was thrilled to see it again on TV. We had fun watching it together...good thing cause I forgotten what most of it was about.

Now a little about the video. This is only part 1 of the play. Also, I only included highlights of the play...mainly the songs and scenes Tess was in. I also blurred most of the scenes too because I really don't know how other parents feel about their kids faces being on the Internet. Just wanted to let you know why it looks the way it does.

I'm so impressed with all the performers...remember these kids are around 9 or 10 years old. The gal that plays Mary Poppins has an awesome singing voice and so do the boys.

I thanked Tess teacher for introducing the kids to acting at such a young age...I sure hope this will inspire Tess to continue in this ART...she's pretty comfortable performing and is pretty darn good at it too! Enjoy!

Monday, June 2, 2008

It's Garden time!

Yeah! I finally got some things planted in my small garden.

Several kinds of tomatoes; Grape, Sweet 100, Early Girl, and Roma.
I sure hope they survive...last year the aphids came before I knew it and killed several of them. This year I'm keeping a very watchful eye. I'm also afraid that we might get some frost too. Living this far north has it's disavantages!

Also have some eggplant, bell pepper, cucumbers, herbs, and lettuce...my all time favorite is Arugula! It's a peppery lettuce...had lots of it when we lived in Italy! I could buy it in the grocery stores over there but here... I have to grow it if i want it! Love, love it in my salads!



This garden plot was here when we moved in. I don't have the heart to ask Greg to till me a new one...a larger one. So I work with what's already here. I put red bark in the middle for a walking path so I can weed. It's kinda like Square Foot Gardening...only I get lots of weeds in this plot! UGH!
Here's to Gardner's around the world! Good Luck!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Lazy Day's of Summer...

It's finally Summer! Well...almost! It's still a little chilly here in Wisconsin but with the sun shining so brightly it's getting warmer and warmer each day. We still have 40 degree temps at night and the days are in the low 70's. I can't wait for Summer to really arrive!

I happened to look outside and found these 2 basking in the sun. Tess knows how to enjoy the season at hand.
















Do you remember days like this? I do! I remember laying on the cold green grass outside looking up at the clouds above..."see that cloud? It looks like an elephant...oh there that one, it's a turtle...and that ones looks like a bird!" And my all time favorite thing about summer...GRASS BLOWING...where your hands became the instrument by putting a blade of grass between your 2 thumbs and blowing really hard to make a whistling sound...always tickled my lips...I can feel it now...those were the days!

Here's to Warm Summer Days!


Here Tess and Lily are enjoying the outdoors
The Girls are so sweet together!















Look who else decided to join in the fun...Zippa!
She's such a lovey dovey girl!