Teaser Pic

Here's a teaser pic for the whole Witkowski family from this weekend's festivities!! More to come!

Picture Post

A bunch of pictures for your enjoyment...the kiddos, the flowers and our new friend, Mr. Toad!

Fun Weekend

We've had a wonderful weekend with our friends the Bohannon's :) Amanda is one of my oldest friends and is Gabe's Godmother. We've had fun catching up and meeting her new hubby (whom we all adore)

All the kiddos (for now anyway...)


Miss Emma to be


Bitsy and her new "best"


Me and my "best"

Filling the Bird Feeder

Our flying pigs empty our bird feeder as quickly as we can fill it!

A Seed Sown...

"The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies." -- Gertrude Jekyll

One of the things I love best about being a (mostly) stay at home mom is the opportunities I have to teach the kids about all sorts of things; today we learned about starting seeds and planting flowers. Our garden will be expanding this year, partly because we have more space, partially because we *want* it to, and partially because we are concerned about where our food is coming from and want to show the kids the process from seed to food.

Today we started some herbs. Some of you have seen my rosemary-my little baby, Rosey, how do I love thee??-she started out about six inches high and has turned into this monster:

She's my tasty, tasty monster. She sits in the kitchen during the winter time and soaks up the sun (and a half a gallon of water every other day!!) and makes my kitchen smell delicious. The kids love her (yes, I refer to the plant as a "her", I'm a *bit* crazy) and Bitsy regularly plucks leaves off of her to smell and to give to people; after all, she is the "Rosemary momma" Both of the kids will walk by the plant, rub the leaves, and smell their hands, I've even been known to put rosemary in their bathwater when they aren't feeling the best. It's an all purpose plant, for sure. (and my baby...don't judge me :P)

Yesterday the kids picked out oregano and chives for this year's herbs (last years, lavender and thyme didn't do so hot; the lavender is dead and the thyme is barely hanging on, we're hoping the warm weather and being outside will help it) We bought all the little pots and potting soil and the kiddos and I made our own "greenhouse" We ended up putting oregano, chives, and pumpkin seeds (wisely saved from our eight dollar a piece pumpkins from last year) into pots. Gabe labeled the pots, I filled them with potting soil, Bits tapped down the seeds, and Gabe watered. They had a blast.





After all that we headed outside to plant pansies and a very special Bitsy flower; Bitsy likes to dig in my flower beds-which is NOT a good thing, poor girl is trying to be helpful but has dug up a bunch of roots which is not helpful in the least. Geo and I promised her a special flower in her own special flower bed next to the porch. Yesterday she picked out a gorgeous little primrose. She proudly showed it off to daddy this morning while I napped after work and I'd bet she's going to show him "her" flower bed tomorrow when they take Gabe to the bus.



They ended their gardening afternoon with a ride on the garden wagon and a wiggly worm; a good day for all (even the worm who was put back gently in the flowerbed after he was touched and talked about!)

Vacation Recap

Now that we've gotten settled back in after being on vacation, I'll do a brief recap!
We went to my parent's house in Harbor Beach (the Thumb of Michigan!) They live about two blocks from the beach, so we were at the beach A LOT. We barbequed, we celebrated birthdays (my mom and brother) we went to the Cheeseburger Festival in Caseville (A Jimmy Buffet themed summer festival-so much fun and so so tasty) We went up to Point Aux Barques and saw a light house from the 1850's and skipped stones. Gabriel went fishing for the first time and caught himself EIGHT fish. My dad, Geo, and Gabe all put in a dollar for the first fish caught, the biggest fish caught, and the most fish caught. Gabe ended up "winning" all of those things and was three dollars richer when he came home. Lucky boy! We saw plenty of deer, bunnies, and a special treat, Beefalos!! We had a great time visiting and wish we could have stayed longer, but on Friday it was back to reality. This weekend is not only Elburn days (a festival in the next town over) but CornFest in DeKalb AND lucky us, Geo is off all weekend! Woohoo!
Now, for what you've ALL been waiting for...


My siblings and I, including the birthday boy!


Gabe and his Pop


Bits and her Pop


Beefalo!


Bits and her aunt Buzzy


Gabe and his prize winning fish!



Me and the kiddos at Point Aux Barques


Skipping rocks at the lake

We Love Our Fire Department!!

Earlier this week, our fire department did a "family fun" night to educate the kids (and community at large) about the services of the fire department. The kids learned about stop, drop, and roll (and cover your face! This is a new addition since I was a kid learning about fire safety!) They learned about gun safety, got tattoos, climbed around the fire truck and ambulances, and, Gabriel's personal favorite, got to spray the hoses on the truck. Thanks to Maple Park Fire Department for such a great night for the kids!!

Working the fire hose!


Fire Chief Bits!


Resting his weary bones; it's hard work being a firefighter!


Checking out the truck


And a bonus picture, completely unrelated to the night...our first green pepper!!