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Happy 9th Birthday, Kassi!

Her birthday was actually two days ago....

The years are speeding by really fast now!  Since she likes comics I decided to try to use a funky photo filter to make a picture of her :)  We finished up her overnight birthday party this morning and I had to do something I have never done before....I had to leave to get her a present for a birthday party she was attending right after hers was over :)  In all the planning for her party, we forgot about the other one. :)  Then, when we picked her up from that party we attended another birthday party....feeling a bit frazzled and stuffed with cake :) Tis the season!  Why didn't Kassi want another piece of cake?  Because she already 8 ;)

Kassi, we love you and hope your BIG day and all the parties since have been wonderful for you!  

Daddy, Mommy, Vannah, Kenna, Danielle, Karly....and Kooper too!

Ice Cream and Cake...and Cake

There's a little ditty that is popular with our youth group right now called Ice Cream and Cake and Cake...well, that's what I call it....they performed it for me with a little hip hop dance number when they returned from their mission trip because it was my birthday and they just performed it last night for Kassi after the Casting Crowns concert (WHICH was AWESOME too....too many potential blog topics!....Mark Hall is a great communicator and I truly enjoy the spirit of worship in CC music....so real and so much depth...words can't describe the experience....people really do enter into worship and I didn't want to leave....KEEP CHEERING PEOPLE!....maybe they'll do one more song...so glad they came to Michigan!  We thought we would have to catch them in Valparaiso, IN.  I think it is incredible too that they are still making their youth ministry their main focus and I have to admire that they have not abandoned their calling in response to this moment of fame...I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY MANAGE IT ALL, but God gives them the energy and where it is HIS WILL, there is a WAY!  Well, I said "no words could describe it" and then I used a lot of those silly things with vowels and consonants :)

So, we all have birthday buddies: 2 in May, 2 in July, and 2 in October....except for Karly....she gets the whole month of February to herself :) Thus the title...and cake and cake :) This shall be an interesting cake venture because we are trying to make a TIE DYE cake :)  I don't really want to know how many harmful chemicals are in all the food coloring I have used to get it to look like tie dye :)  We will partake of it tonight!

Not perfect, but FUN!  I layered it....so I can't wait to cut into it and see the colors...I am so weird....

things that make me happy :P

Hopefully we will not CURL UP AND DYE....(just kidding)....remember that name for a hair salon in Runaway Bride?  That is a great segue to this news: I GOT MY HAIR PERMED THIS WEEK (with some of my birthday money)....(that's in caps because it is big news for me...I am not yelling at you) It takes me a really long time to make hair decisions....ask Brad....I talk about ideas for a long time before I pull the trigger.  I had it done on Tuesday and I am still trying to get used to it....finally the ammonia smell is wearing off :)  On Tuesday Brad asked me where I was planning to sleep...haha!  I always remind him the bed was mine before we were married....you would think he would have bought a new bed by now with all the times I use that against him :) Anyway, I think I will enjoy the wash and go aspect of my new "do" this summer....especially since we have some camping plans.  I know you want to see a picture, but I have not tamed it yet :)

The girls are getting to ride horses twice today....a neighbor to Grandma and Grandpa Foster invited them to ride this morning and we are going to one of our neighbors tonight to ride for Kassi's birthday party....HEY, NEIGH....bors :)...or even, HAY, NEIGH....bors :)  Please won't you be my......whatever....sometimes I just shouldn't type....late night....early morning :)

Sometimes you really do get to have your cake and eat it too :)  Life is a lot of colorful layers!

Birthday FUN.....Part II

Crafting....Tie Dye Shirts

2nd time on horses today...

Our neighbor wants us to ride at least once a week so the girls can get good at it :)  This time I rode without a guide....(that kind-of freaks me out).  Brad took a picture of me on the horse....he is always great at capturing my most beautiful kodak moments :)  This is why I take most of our pictures folks :)

He clicks a picture like this and calls it good......hahahahahahahaha!  Well, the horse is pretty....If that is my best....I am in sadder shape than I thought.  I think I had just found out I was riding without assistance....not sure what words I am beginning to formulate with my mouth.

AND, it was fun to cut the cake and eat it too :0, :), :P, :)

Flood Warning

Did you know if you have a date in Constantinople....she'll be waiting in Istanbul?  :)  We did have a real flood warning this week, but for some reason....Brad recently dug out his They Might Be Giants, FLOOD CD and he is trying to get the girls hooked on it :)  A couple of them LOVE the music....the others are like, "I don't understand"...."what are they saying?"...."why would anyone want a prosthetic forehead on top of their real head?"...haha!  I told them you can't ask those kind of questions of late 80's and early 90's music....you just bob your head with the music and try not to ponder the words too deeply :)  For any of you who are not familiar with They Might Be Giants, their music is not inappropriate....it just has silly words and ideas that don't always make sense.  Kenna asked if these were the same guys that write Silly Songs With Larry on the VeggieTales videos.

Kassi and Danielle just returned from NERD CAMP....I love that being a nerd is a GOOD thing right now :)  There were about 350 kids at the camp and (I think) eleven authors.  All the kids were able to meet 3 authors and hear about how they write their stories.  They got tons of books and were able to get them "otter" graphed.  Danielle thought that was really funny because one of her books was about an otter.

Kassi loves Sci Fi and comics, so she was thrilled to meet an author who writes those kind of adventure/fantasy books!

Danielle is getting into lots of artsy stuff, so she likes the illustrations....she was pretty excited that this author drew a little picture in her book.

The Wind Is Strong and the Water's Deep

How many times has God whispered "Peace Be Still" to a storm you were facing?...

Or calmed a whirlwind of your own making?

(This isn't going to be a long poem....yet....because our power could go out at any moment :)

I particularly like that these quotes are attributed to STORMIE OMARTIAN 

I think God could gives us all the nickname, Stormie :)  But, His love never fails!

JUST SAW THIS PICTURE....AMAZING!

PERFECT ILLUSTRATION....in so many ways....when we know Christ, we have nothing to fear....let the storms rage on :)  Imagine what it will look like when Jesus comes for His bride.

I am a member of the CCA

...Cartoon Criers Anonymous

Today, I am thinking of my parents who are celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary.  

Happy Anniversary...and God bless you in the years to come!

WARNING....get your tissues ready and make sure you have applied waterproof mascara (if applicable) before watching this video from the movie UP :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y4_BivnrwM

Life is a vapor....it is not so much about checking off all the items on our bucket lists...it is about how much we love others (and sometimes we forget that the most important "other" to love is our significant other) in the days we have.  

Why do we need this much time?  Well, I am not at a quarter of a century yet in my marriage, but I think we need a lot of practice to get good at laying down our life for another.  McKenna's teacher said something this year that I thought was important to remember...she said, "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect."  She was a very challenging teacher :)  BUT, it's true...we cannot be careless in loving others....we have to put 100% into loving them.  And, it is possible to be a cheerful giver :)

228 Krazy Kaplan's Billboard Signs Later

We arrived in Dixon, IL to celebrate our nation's Independence with the Brinker side of my family :)  It was a tradition throughout my life that we would visit my grandparents in Mt Morris, IL for the 4th....a big part of that was due to the fact that my Grandpa Brinker was a WWII Veteran and had been a POW....he has a pretty amazing story and the little town of Mt Morris, IL has always known how to celebrate the day in style.  Our family gained a strong sense of patriotism from Grandpa's service and that holds true today as well.  Though both of my grandparents on the Brinker side have passed on, many of us decided to make the trip back there and relive the tradition.....it was so fun!

We decided to rent a house on Rock River with my mom and dad, aunt, uncle and cousin, and did not know all the specifics about it until we arrived....we had just seen a few pictures.  Once we arrived, we realized it was actually on an island and the river was pretty high, so we had to drive through some water to get to the house.  We made some jokes about the fog rolling in at night and said we might have to play Survivor and kick someone off the island  :)  There was a rickety wood bridge that went from the house to the opposite bank of the river that the owner said we could use in case of emergency....if the river flooded us in...haha!  I LOVED THAT!  BUT, we couldn't use it unless there was a real emergency.

In all our email correspondence with relatives before the trip we had been referring to our group as "the river rats" just to distinguish between others who were lodging elsewhere...but, we had no idea how accurate our nickname would be.  At about 1:30am on the first night, Kenna woke up.  She and Savannah were staying on the lower level of the house on a blow-up mattress.  We had left a lamp on down there so they could see if they needed to come upstairs to use the facilities.  She glanced over at Savannah who was sleeping and saw something furry by her shoulder and chin....and McKenna realized it was a mouse.  She quickly woke Vanner up and they threw the covers off of Savannah SOOOO fast.  THEY DID NOT SCREAM.....I DO NOT KNOW HOW THEY STAYED CALM!  If it were me, everyone on the island would have known about it (there was only our group on the island, but still...).....So then, they made a plan.  Savannah said, "OK, on the count of three we run upstairs and tell mom and dad...1"  Just then, McKenna thought she felt something on fuzzy on her leg......so there was a really fast "2,3"....and they ran into our room and told us Savannah had a mouse on her face :)  So we made bedding accommodations for them UPSTAIRS and those of us "in the know" about the mouse on the face slept the rest of the night with one eye open :)  So, the house left some to be desired....besides the mouse (or, possibly, mice)....the water was really stinky and we weren't sure if we smelled better or worse after a shower :) BUT, it had a really nice, big open room that we were able to use to host our family for two dinners....we had about 45 people out to the "River Rat" house :)

On the 4th we enjoyed the Fly-In Breakfast, the ceremony at the Grand Stand...where we met Colonel Chris Miller...he actually came over to meet us and wanted to stand by us to ring the bell....not sure if our family was a good photo opp for him or if it was just a fun fluke, but we enjoyed meeting him and we really enjoyed his speech, we got to ring the Liberty Bell (a replica) at the same time as they ring the one in Philadelphia, we met up with our extended family for the parade, then went to the "River Rat" house for pulled rat....errr I mean pork...ha...WHAT IF! and tons of songs...stories...meeting some of the great grand kids who we had not met yet.  Everyone had a chance to meet Savannah and Danielle....that was a blessing to me.  Then, we headed to Mt Morris for the fireworks and some of Uncle Denny's popcorn :)

Seeing all the airplanes was a highlight for Brad...I know he and my grandpa would have loved talking airplanes together :)

The Mt Morris "Liberty Bell"

All the girls with Colonel Chris Miller...we are holding the rope for the "Liberty Bell" waiting for the OK to pull it at the same time as the real Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

We had some free time on Saturday morning, so we toured the President Ronald Reagan childhood home in Dixon, IL.  We attended a birthday party for one of the great grand kids at a Splash Pad in Oregon, IL....then we got together with all our family again at the "River Rat" house and had some KRAZY fun....Family Minute to Win It Games and a Taco Bar.

This morning we all met up at the White Pines Lodge for brunch....these are a few of the great grand kids that were still with us after brunch...16 in this picture, but we were missing 11 (I think...if I counted correctly).  I told my girls the story of when I was at the Pines for breakfast and Grandpa sneezed his pancakes and syrup across the table onto my face....FOND MEMORIES :)

Not sure why, but we (all the cousins) always used to hang our spoons on our noses when we went out to eat...so, I am working on passing this tradition to my girls :)

It was a fun adventure!  I will always...always remember the "River Rat" house (and so will Savannah and McKenna :)....and all the laughs we had meeting up with my KRAZY cousins, aunts and uncles...and all our families :)  Hopefully, we can meet up more often!  

On the way home, Brad found a coke "with his name on it" at a gas station (genius marketing). 

He deserved it after spending the weekend with my KRAZY family, I guess :)

It's My Potty and I'll Cry If I Want To...

It is scientifically proven that having too many birthdays can kill you.....but, not having them can also kill you....what?

It is my birthday today and I just found out my birthday is on the exact middlest day of the whole year....interesting trivia that your own children can teach you, right?! :)

I got my birthday wish at a little after 10pm tonight....all I wanted was our POWER to come back on....and all that goes with that.....this was the second full day we did not have electricity and we really were missing it....I especially wanted to be able to flush our toilets....I know, TMI :)