She Said Yes!

To celebrate Bryan and Jennifer's engagement,

we went to "Upper Beanblossom" to the Farmhouse Cafe.

I had anticipated a celebration, and had made a reservation.

We were, however, a bit late since we had to watch

the entire hour of the six o'clock news

to see the fifty nine second clip of Bryan popping the question.

We had a lovely salad,

fresh fruit,

and I had the stuffed chicken breast.

And for dessert, strawberry shortcake. We didn't go away hungry!

After dinner we took a little walk in the garden,

saw some new garden critters,

and got a sweet photo of the happy couple.

Pretty bottles. (Photo by Jennifer.)

Back at the lake house, we celebrated with a little champagne.

(Another photo by Jennifer.)

Cheers!

And to see the Channel 8 News video of the proposal, click here.

It Must Be Love

Exciting news to share. Bryan took Jennifer to an art gallery last night

and they found a painting they liked.

 After she saw it, she turned to find him down on one knee

with a ring in his hand.

So sweet!

They came to the lake this morning to share the good news

and celebrate their engagement.

Hopefully I will have more pictures to share, and a video clip.

It seems that Channel 8 was there, and they will be on the news tonight at 6:00.

That part was a surprise to them both!  :)

 

Here is a closer look at the painting they found hanging in the gallery.

That Bryan is a clever one!

Congratulations and love to Jennifer and Bryan!

Phone Photo Friday

Garden angel ~ Impatiens ~ Fleur de lis fence

Smiling Shayne ~ Hail of a storm ~ Thankful for light

If a tree falls ~ Faith ~ Blue skies

Bananagrams ~ Mountain of white Ts ~ A star is born

Linking up with Camera Phone Friday at My Home Sweet Home.

More Memorial Day Memories

Sunday was finally warm and sunny, and we were able to enjoy the lake. Sam tried out the kayak, and Matthew was able to hitch a ride across the cove.

Jim and Ted enjoyed the deck.

Matthew was ready for a paddle boat ride.

He worked to get it loose from the dock.

And went for a ride with Grandpa.

Jennifer and Bryan enjoyed the hammock.

They needed a rest after their morning run at Brown County State Park.

Haleigh walked around on the dock. It's hard work with a life jacket on!

Alli and Adam gave Haleigh a little rest on the bench with them.

Matthew discovered something in the water.

He got his dad to help him.

It was a huge log!

Time to relax on the oasis.

Darci and Ella enjoy the dock.

Matthew tried out his inflatable Shamu. It was tricky to stay on him!

This is Jim after swimming out to retrieve the runaway whale.

We took an evening ride on the pontoon boat. 

Adam and Alli.

Jennifer and Bryan.

Janelle.

Jennifer, Bryan, David, Adam, Alli, Shylah's dad Don, and Shylah. 

(Janelle is hiding behind Bryan.)

Haleigh is happy to be taking a boat ride.

Andrew, Ella, Haleigh, Darci, and Matthew.

On Monday morning, Matthew decided to toss a line in the lake and try a little fishing. I got him some worms, which work better for him than the artificial bait that Big Jon uses. He can bait his own hook, 

and it didn't take long for him to catch a fish!

He caught three total, and since Big Jon always measures his fish with his foot, we thought we should do the same with Matthew's.

It was a busy weekend, and by lunch time on Monday, 

Haleigh was plum tuckered out.

She took a little nap break during lunch, then woke up and finished eating. 

Sooooo tired!

It was a great weekend of game playing, boat riding, campfire sitting, late night talking, lake floating, and sharing together with the ones we love. 

A full house indeed, but even fuller hearts. So blessed.

Here Comes Summer Hodgepodge

I will be posting the rest of the photos of Memorial Day weekend sometime soon, but first, I thought I would get back to the Hodgepodge. Last week, I was too busy getting ready for the weekend and waiting for our power to come back on after the storm to participate! Be sure to hop on over to Joyce's blog check out the posts by our blogger friends.

1. Have you ever been to the US capital-Washington DC? If so, what's your favorite site? If not, what would you most like to see on a visit to that city someday in the future? Is it even on your list of places to visit?

We took the family to Washington DC in the spring of 1997. The kids were ages 14, 12, 11, 9, and 6, so we thought the time was right for them to be able to understand and enjoy the history of the city. Of course, the kids loved the Smithsonian museums (even though their father got lost there, but I really don't want to mention that again), and they enjoyed the monuments. We especially liked visiting the Jefferson Memorial at night. The city is so beautiful after dark.

My favorite might have been the Tour and Tea at the National Cathedral. I am always amazed by the beautiful, massiveness (is that a word?) of cathedrals, and of the planning and work that it took to build them. Our tour took us to many areas of the cathedral, ending with tea in one of the towers. Now the children weren't all that impressed with the refreshments served (they would have preferred chips and coke to tea and scones), but the view was amazing. Here is a photo in front of the cathedral.

We also met up with a young woman from our hometown who was working for a Senator. She took us through the tunnel from the Senator's office building to the Capitol, and gave us a great tour.

 2. When did you last attend a wedding? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? Were you a summer bride? If you're single, is summer the season of your dream wedding?

I think the last wedding we attended was the wedding of my daughter-in-law's cousin Katie and her husband David. Such a cute couple! We do have a couple of weddings on our summer calendar, including the wedding of our pastor, who will be married in July just before our own anniversary of 30 years! Wow! How did that happen? Yes, I was a summer bride, and Jim would say it was at least 100 degrees in the un-airconditioned church that day.

3. What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?

My favorite way to eat strawberries is with ice cream. My dad had a strawberry patch when I was a teenager, and I remember more than one occasion when I was out in the patch with a flashlight picking just enough to eat on my bedtime ice cream snack.

4. What is one thing you are especially looking forward to this summer?

I am looking forward to lots of this:

And also getting together with this group of  high school friends. We gathered last year in celebration of our 50th birthdays, and had so much fun, we are going to try to make it an annual event. You know, the first anniversary of our 50th birthday, and so on!

5. Do you use/like the self checker at the grocery store?

I use it sometimes, when I only have a few items, but I don't like to use it if I have a whole cart full.

6. Share a favorite piece of common sense advice.

Since I mentioned Bambi in yesterday's post, I thought I would continue with that theme and share "Thumper's Rule":   

"If you can't say something nice..... don't say nothing at all."

7. Barefoot, flip flops, tennis shoes, sassy sandals-your first choice for summertime?

Flip flops or sandals. I have a hard time wearing shoes any time after spring break.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I finished my first "summer book" at the lake this weekend, Heart of the Matter, by Emily Giffin. I have read her other books, and wanted to read this one as well. I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read, and, without giving too much away, I was happy with the way it turned out. Despite mistakes and questions, the characters are able to hang on to what really matters in the end.

One of Emily Giffin's earlier books, Something Borrowed, has just been released as a movie. I am hoping to see it soon. How about you? Have you read any great books or watched any good movies lately? What is on your list to read/see?

Happy Wednesday!