Words to live by

I just read this and it captures a lot about what I believe in this world.

“Somewhere along the line, we seem to have confused comfort with happiness.”

Also, there is a little month long experiment I am going to be doing- I'll let you know in a few weeks how it works out.

July 4th Weekend by Isaac

Well, updates are long overdue. So much has happened- I have just been too busy to write about it!
Lets start with the 4^th of July weekend.

In 1941 Congress made "Independence Day" a national holiday.

Here are some fun facts:

Six states — California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Indiana — combined to produce about 80 percent of watermelons last year.

$128.8 million
The value of fireworks imported from China, representing the bulk of all U.S. fireworks imports ($135.6 million) in 2002. U.S. exports of fireworks, by comparison, amounted to $13.5 million, with Germany purchasing more than any other single country ($5.0 million).

$7.9 million
The dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags in 2002; more than half of this amount ($5.2 million) was for U.S. flags made in China. This was down from the 2001 dollar value of U.S. flag imports ($51.7 million), but still considerably higher than the total for 2000 ($747,800). That was the last full year prior to 9/11.

$646,452
Dollar value of exports of U.S. flags in 2002. Japan was the leading customer, purchasing $86,189 worth.

Has anyone heard of “Glamping” before? Think of it as high class car camping. It is a glamorous camping experience for those less nature inclined or people who want to experience all the creature comforts of home while outdoors. For now, the Wills don’t do family camping- we do family glamping! I save the suffer-fests for when I go out on my own.

Voyager Village seems to be the Mecca for our little Mahoney/Will clan. With only a few missing (and yes, you were missed) the meals along the 10’ picnic table were packed with people and mounds of food reminiscent of the movie “Hook” with Robin Williams- you know the scene- where the lost boys are chowing down and he doesn’t see the food, “use your imagination” a lost boy tells Peter- SHAZAM! The table is overflowing with brightly colored foods, grilled foods and baked goods. Unfortunately the epic food fight that follows in the movie never transpired around our table… yet.

Sleeping arrangements were another frequent topic of discussion, although ours was always the same answer. We slept in my SkyView 3 tent from Mountain Hardware. I have spent nights in -20 (ambient temp) with gusts to 60 mph- sure, it is a little robust for a family camping tent, but it is the only one I have. Yeah, you heard me right, I only have one tent- I am amazed every time I mention it as well. With my love of all things gear, I thought for sure I would have more than one- but this is the only one I need- and I digress. We inflate a 6” Queen sized air mattress in our tent and toss in multiple blankets- yes no sleeping bags for us (well, I did bring one for Nicole if we got really cold. In an effort to improve our glamping, I thought piles of down and cuddly soft fleece blankets that didn’t restrict your every move would prove to be a positive addition to the slumber-time experience… and I was right!

A quick check of the weather revealed a perfect forecast stretching through the weekend. We piled everything into Dimples (my Subaru Outback) and headed down the not so open road in a 3 vehicle convoy with Tim leading the way. We managed to dodge all the shredded tires, coolers, stalled vehicles and other random objects that holiday weekend warriors tend to loose along their way.

Being a vacation and a nice sunny day, we donned our swimsuits, slathered sunscreen and headed to the beach. I made a nifty waterproof camcorder housing so I can take the camcorder with me into the water to play. I’ll upload some of the footage.

If we weren’t at the beach, we were most likely sitting around a fire or riding an ATV.

Tim has managed to acquire 37.4% of the yellow Honda ATVs that were sold in Minnesota. Although two months ago Eliana could not sit on a 4-wheeler with out getting fussy, she embraced the experience and constantly asked: “Ride? Ride?” How do you say no to a beautiful baby girl?

Speaking of babies, Milo got his share of rides with Michael. I see many dusty miles ahead of those two. And speaking of dust, (do you like the segways?) Milo crawled through the dirt like I have never seen him before! He is really starting to put on some miles. So much fun!!

Next up- Whizbang Days with the Will/Schinke Clan. We can’t wait!!

Clipping Coupons!

My latest obsession is clipping coupons. It's another reason to get up early on Sunday morning- check out the deals in the Sunday paper. I clip all of the good deals for the foods we like to eat. Thanks to my mom, I remember when I was little and she would plan a food menu for the 2 weeks. She would ask us what we would like to eat and plan those "favorite" meals into the routine. Funny how we take on things from our past and make them ours. So, I repeat the cycle :) and ask Isaac what meals he would like, line up the coupons and make my grocery list. So...a couple weeks ago I saved $19 in coupons!! Yesterday, I saved $12 in coupons...now it's like a fun game I play. So on the menu this week is fajitas, chicken curry salad, tortellini with peas and Parmesan, quiche with spinach and tomatoes, brats, grilled veggies and LOTS of fruit. Eliana is a fruit eating machine- not bananas and peaches, she likes berries. Unfortunately, her cute little outfits do too :)

Friday the 13th.

I just finished the Mission Kilimanjaro video for Climbing for Christ. Check it out!



Well, back to doin...

Why didn't I think of this?

with all the rubber band guns I made growing up, I wish I had made one like this! The video is a little slow getting going, but this would really be fun to have whipped out at your friends when you got together for a rubber band gun fight.

I was thinking we could get this for Milo when he gets a little older?

Milo's 1st Birthday

What a party!

Here are some photos from the night. If you have pictures you can email me, please do.

Campin at the Interstate Park

Most people (from Minnesota) know this place as Taylor's Falls- but we were on the Wisconsin side.

We were glad everyone showed up- except the mosquitoes crashed the camping.

I can't believe I learned how to play cribbage.

We can all write a little about the weekend. My favorite memory was eating breakfast- it was a killer breakfast!

Anna- how about sharing that recipe with us?

What a wonderful group!



now, I am going to itch my ankles while I try to go to bed.