The Aussome 7

Bible Banter

ausfam6 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:30:31 +0000

It’s an unusual title I know but it’s become a fun game. One of my aunts came up with it and we now both have our Bibles cocked and loaded by our computers and daily we give eachother one of our favorite versus. The other one has to look it up and respond back. It’s been a great way to start a day or even end a day. If you have a friend or relative that can be your partner you should try this fun, uplifting game. It’ also helping me familiarize myself with my Bible more. Good luck and go forth in His name.

The Land of “Aus”?

ausfam6 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:03:17 +0000

Tonight the kids and I watched the Wizard of Oz – a longtime childhood favorite of mine. As we were watching Emily chimed in that our family could dress up as the characters for halloween. While my first instinct thought it sounded a little outrageous, the more we talked about it seemed like a great idea. Of course Emily suggested she would be Dorothy, Ethan the Tin Man, Andrew the Scare crow, Evelyn wants to the Wicked Witch, I would be the Good Witch and Paul would be the Cowardly Lion. So far everyone is on board except for Paul. We’re still trying to figure out how we can bribe him to dress up:).

30 Days…and Nights

ausfam6 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:17:25 +0000

This Thursday Paul is coming home for the weekend and the kids and I are very excited! It will have been 30 days since we’ve seen him. Friday we are heading up to UNI to pickup Ally for her 18th birthday on Sunday. OMG; is she really going to be 18? Saturday we will celebrate Ally’s birthday and probably head to the apple orchard for some apple picking and turnovers.

It’s going to be a busy weekend but we have a lot to fit in in a short amount of time. Next trip home….hopefully October 9th.

Pumpkins anyone?

ausfam6 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:32:56 +0000

This year we planted pumpkins in our garden and maybe a little too soon…..we already have 3 perfectly round orange pumpkins. What do you do with pumpkins in September? Well, a friend of mine from small group said she cut hers in half, scooped out the insides and baked them in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. After they cooled she scooped out the cooked pumpkin and is now ready to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake (which was delicious), pumpkin bread, etc. So, today Evelyn and I cut a pumpkin, scooped out the insides and it’s in the oven now. Looks like pumpkin cake for the parent social at school on Thursday. 1 down and 2 more to go – fresh pumpkin anyone?

Roadtrip

ausfam6 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:00:41 +0000

It wasn’t your average roadtrip – you know the kind where there is much anticipated excitement and sightseeing along the way. This was just a short 5 hour road trip to Osceola and back home with at stop at one of our favorite restaurants Red Robin. The 3 youngest kids and I packed some snacks and set out for Osceola where we would be picking Emily up from her dad. We pulled away with Emily in car for the return trip home about 3:15 pm. We pulled out of the driveway and Emily announced that she wasn’t feeling well – maybe car sick. We were only a half block down the road when she got sick in the front seat. It was then that I decided I should ask her what she had for lunch…..crab and corn from Joe’s Crab Shack. This should be fun to clean-up:) After we cleaned up and got back on the road – next stop Red Robin; Emily said she was feeling much better. About an hour later we arrived at Red Robin and placed our orders. Yum – I can’t wait to have one of their famous burgers. Emily decided that spaghetti would be a good choice. By 6 p.m. we were back on the road filled and ready to roll. We were oh so close to making it home when once again the words “I don’t feel so good” came tumbling out. This just happened to be about 1/2 mile from our exit. My quick response was put your head out the window (I’m going 70 mph what was I supposed to do?). While Emily has her head hanging out the window I can hear the boys in the back seat “Gross, there are spaghetti noodles on my window”. At this point all I could do was laugh. Once again, I pull over and get Emily cleaned up. We’re on our way again – literally less than a mile from home. I have one quick stop at the store for a gallon of milk. It turns out to be not so quick when the truck doesn’t start after getting the milk. Here I am stuck in the parking lot of a grocery store at 8:30 p.m. with 4 kids and vehicle covered in vomit. Ugh! A quick call to a good friend and 5 minutes later, the kids were on their way home and I was on my way to the carwash. Will this day ever end? It finally did after a couple of more times of vomiting, a load of laundry and a glass of wine. I’m so glad it’s a new week.

It looks like I’m back

ausfam6 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:21:38 +0000

I knew that it was time for a post when I received a text message from Ally (away at UNI) that read “you need to post something on your blog – I neeed something to read while I’m at college”. So, here we are – this is for you Ally! Last week was a whirlwind with a move to college, 1st day of school for the younger kids and Paul left for Maryland. This week doesn’t seem to be much different.

I had read that the local apple orchard (Wilson’s) would be getting some peaches from Michigan so I thought this would be a great opportunity to pick some up and make a batch of peach jelly. Apparently I misread the sign for half bushel which I thought said 20-25 peaches; it was actualy 20-25 pounds of peaches. I asked for 2 half bushels and left the orchard that day with about 50 lbs. So, my work has been cut out for me – with 42 jars of jelly made and about another 2 to go. I also canned 12 pints of peaches, made peach crisp and will try my hand at peach salsa. I’m not sure I’ll want anything to do with peaches for quite some time. I am really excited about the peach salsa though – I think it will be great on grilled chicken or pork. Unfortunately, I don’t think the kids will enjoy and since Paul’s gone it might not be worth doing. Looks like hot dogs, pizza, mac-n-cheese and burgers for the next couple of weeks….

Forgive me blog…

ausfam6 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:30:20 +0000

I know folks, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated the Aus Family blog. Trust me, there has been plenty to blog about but not enough time to do it. So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin so I’ll give a brief update. May of course was graduation – absolutely perfect! The weather was beautiful, the family and friends were plentiful and there is still pulled pork and beef brisquit in the freezer. Early June found us camping in our new camper in South Dakota. The weather was not so perfect but the camper was fantastic! We did a lot of sight seeing (Mount Rushmore, etc) and saw a lot of wildlife. The rest June was spent trying to recuperate from the graduation party and back to back vacation. July 2nd was Paul’s 40th birthday and were blessed to have our friends from Texas here for the weekend. Unfortunately, July 4th was a bit soggy but all in all it ended with a bang! The Coralville fireworks were fabulous preceded with a game of whiffle ball (kids against parents).

Friday July 10, was spent with some friends for our monthly porch party. The Plahn family traveled from Michigan so it was a special occasion. The theme for July was “down south” with a delicous shrimp boil. It was so easy and delicious. Large pots cooked potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage, shrimp and slew of seasonings. The meal was served (dumped) on the table (covered with freezer paper) and silverware was not allowed. The adults gathered around the table with beers in hand and ate until we could not eat anymore. The kids of course skipped the shrimp and went for burgers on the grill. It was a great evening and thankfully the weather held out. If you have never hosted a shrimp boil or attended one, I highly recommend it! It’s easy, fun and the clean up is simple. Visit http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/08/27/shrimp-boil/ for a fun summertime gathering.

The cost of 2 Senior Proms….Priceless

ausfam6 — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:37:50 +0000

Last weekend was Ally’s Senior Prom. It was an eventful weekend with 5 girls at our house primping, a stretch limo in the drive-way and parents over for priceless pictures. The next morning was filled with 10 teenagers over for breakfast replaying the night before. Where has the time gone? Can this really be Ally’s last prom, can graduation really be only 2 weeks away? It seems just yesterday that she was just a baby and now we’re sorting through those baby pictures to get ready for the graduation party. Yikes! I am very proud of my dear Ally. She has turned out to be a very beautiful young lady inside and out.

1 Prom down and 1 to go

ausfam6 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:47:04 +0000

Ally attended Prom this weekend with her boyfriend Nick. It was at a much smaller school than West High so they have a “Grand March” that allows the parents to come and take pictures while the kids walk a runway. West High Prom is on May 2 so check back for a wardrobe change….

“You’re Timeless to Me….”

ausfam6 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:41:24 +0000

As promised, here’s a picture of Paul and
Mark, AKA Wilbur and Edna Turnblad from
Hairspray. I’m still working on a video so keep checking back.