Sometimes he makes me laugh

Anyone who has known Andy for very long would be able to tell you that he is a little picky when it comes to food. To be fair, I will eat just about anything, so it doesn't take much before I put someone in the picky eaters club. But by any standard, Andy's tastes are highly discriminatory. Though I could list all of the foods on the "Andy-does-not-eat-list," that is not the real reason for my post.

The food I want to focus on today is bread. Not so much a loaf of bread, (because he doesn't really eat that), but sandwich rolls. I am gradually learning what makes a good (and bad) sandwich roll. The bread must be soft and a little doughy, with no type of seeds or other foreign objects on top, and any kind of flavor is out of the question. Its incredible how fresh and tasty the rolls can look in the package, and then when you try them they are tasteless, tough, or stale. Needless to say, I've learned by trial and error. Though Andy has been more than gracious, I always feel a little guilty packing his lunch with a sandwich I know he isn't really going to like. I usually have a flashback of my first-grade self, trying to swallow the lump of white bread and Bologna in my mouth.

All of this is a backdrop for the events that unfolded tonight. After Andy and I ate dinner tonight, I left to go grocery shopping. Among the items on my list for this week were "Good sandwich Rolls." I wrote it like this so I would remember to really look and find the PERFECT roll. I write this every week. Except that tonight, I actually found it! A new grocery store opened down the road just recently, and their selection is superb. So tonight, I found the perfect fresh, doughy, plain sandwich roll; I was ecstatic!

As I put the groceries away, I set aside the things I needed to make lunches for tomorrow. I could just imagine Andy coming home after work and raving over the sandwich perfection. (a little much perhaps, but you'd be surprised how excited he gets about good food) I was just finishing putting the groceries away when Andy came into the kitchen. We started talking about something, and it took a moment before I noticed that he was holding something in his hand. And he was squishing it. And it was the rolls! My perfect, Andy-approved, my-search-is-over sandwich rolls! My face must have conveyed my horror, because Andy immediately froze, then slowly looked down at the bag in his hand.

ME: "What are you doing??"

ANDY: "Uhhhhh...."

ME: "Those are for your lunches!"

ANDY: "I thought they were moldy!"

ME: "So you wanted to smash them?"

ANDY: "I was going to give them to the birds."

By this time, Andy looked so crestfallen that I couldn't help but laugh. You may be wondering, as I was and actually still am, why you would want to pulverize the bread before you would give it to the birds. You may also be wondering, as I was, why it was assumed that the bread was moldy. However, I feel it is best not to pursue the answers to these questions. I do know that next time, I'm getting two packages; one for Andy to eat, and the other for him to play with.

Happy Birthday Bweeza!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful (I'm not being sarcastic, as this picture may lead you to believe) talented, free-spirited, mole-match sister. I was very glad when mom had you, because I really needed someone else on the girl's team. And because you looked like Shirley Temple, but that wasn't until later. I love you Lisa!

Love Janell

Camping in the UP (or the DOWN)

If we don't start talking about this soon, August will be upon us and the only place left to camp at will be Pioneer Park. It's time to start figuring out who's available and where we might be able to go camping. Dad has the week of August 13-19 off, and he's determined to go camping even if it's only he and Daniel.

Apparently, Dad and Daniel stopped by Hiawatha National Forest on the way back from Steve and Rachel, and he verifies that it looks very good. Right next to Lake Michigan somewhere around Mackinac. Ben also proposed visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes. Please look at the below table to see approximate traveling times (in hours) for each party per campground.

Name	Hiawatha	Sleeping Bear
Ben	11	13
Janell	7.5	6
Home	5	3

As you can see, the largest burden will be on Ben. Steve and Rachel were not included in the table because mapquest could not locate the U.P.

I've talked about us celebrating my graduation (as well as all the other parties) sometime around the camping trip. Ben suggested that we go camping nearer to home (Sleeping Bear Dunes) and all meet here in Muskegon for the first weekend. We could celebrate all the parties, pack stuff up and go camping for the rest of the week. Who likes that idea?

So, let's find out who is available during this time and what everyone thinks of the options so far. Any better ideas?

The Blooming Yard

While the UP and frigid Minnesota are just beginning to throw off their annual glaciers, the sunny Southern Michigan is busy bringing forth fruit of the bountiful Barnhart yard. Last week we planted the garden, which promises a bumper crop of cucumbers this season. Also promising is the new irrigation system installed in the corner, cleverly hidden by one of the bushes. We buried a water line out to the garden and installed both a tap and a permenant sprinkler. Now we don't have to worry about the hoses messing up the lawnmower blades. Furthermore, the tap has come in quite handy for watering the apple trees, nearby.

Speaking of which, the apples are also come forth in great vigor this spring. All three apple trees finally have apples this year. Although the original apple tree (from a mail-order catalogue) is still lagging behind the other two in quantity of fruit, it's still growing nicely and has a healthy shean to the leaves. We've been watering the trees almost every day with a hose, and I'm starting to suspect that water is the key to growing large apples. It's only the beginning of June and look how big the apples already are! At this rate, they're going to be a fantastic meal for the squirrels come August.

In case any of you feel so inclined...

Well family, it's that time of year again, and I don't think I really need to remind you of what I'm talking about. I have a plethora of gift ideas for my birthday this year.

Gifts of which the expense may be shared with one other person (I can't have too many of you sharing one present because then I won't get as many :-D)

~a beadspread for my room. I already have it picked out from a catalogue. cost: $40
~a gift card to any of the following stores: Maurices, The Buckle, Express, The Buckle, Gap, The Buckle, or....The Buckle( I really need some new jeans :-)
~a DVD season of I Love Lucy. check with mom to see if or what season she already has.

Gifts of which the expense may be shared with more than one person

~I could really use a watch.

Other gift ideas may be obtained from mom. She has a few presents that I think she would be willing to share with someone else.

Janell and David are excused from buying me presents this year for the following reasons

Janell: you already gave me that amazing face mask. i was the envy of my entire dorm :-)

David: I still haven't given you a birthday present.

Isn't the internet amazing?

I found this video of Janell as a child. She's imitating the horse from Black Beauty. It's a great impersonation, if you ask me. One of her proudest accomplishments. Right up there with getting married to me.

Ella learns to drive

On our recent travels (much longer than anticipated, much more stressful than usual, and much more emotionally draining than I ever imagined), Ella came into her own. Her personality, size, and abilities all grew by leaps and bounds (not quite literally, but close). Ella has determined that her favorite place in the car is not in her car seat (where she should be and does indeed spend most of her time) but in the driver's seat....where there are lots of buttons and knobs and a steering wheel to be entertained by. As evidence, I add this photo, taken just days ago, for your viewing pleasure. It appears that she takes quite naturally to this new role, though I hope that it doesn't really take off for another 16 years or so!





I thought I'd add this photo, just because she's so adorable! We'll put more photos on our photosite soon, but we had to clean off our camera cards at my parents' house so that we had space for the wedding photos that we had to do before heading home. So we'll be getting those photos (from our travels 'round the state) from my dad sometime soon, and then you'll get to see Ella's amazing growth over the past few weeks!

A few of the things she learned to do while away from home: crawl, swim, eat carrots, eat peas (doesn't like them very much), eat potatoes (loves them - definitely Mommy's daughter!), and open dresser drawers. I think she also grew about an inch (just bought her some new clothes in the size she was wearing when we left, and I don't think she'll get much use out of them! AHHHHHH!!!!!) and her personality shines much more. She's very interactive....and loves to watch all of the dogs that are nearby (Fletcher wasn't with us on our travels, so she had just a few random dogs to see). I don't think Fletcher was quite prepared for her mobility on our arrival home, but he seems to be adjusting well. She's only grabbed his leg a couple of times, and he's been very patient with her. Or maybe he's just moping because he doesn't get to chase squirrels all day long here at home like he did while we were gone.

Finally, a video of Ella!

I thought everyone would be excited to see a short video documenting Ella's most recent triumphs in the art of movement. Although Steve and Rachel were trying to keep this hidden from the family, it seems that Ella has now learned to walk. It also seems that Fletcher has somehow turned into a cat. And Ella stopped being so cute. And Rachel turned into another person. In short, I believe that this video documents more than just Ella's first steps. It is also evidence of her double life. I am sad to inform everyone that Ella has a whole second life, with a whole new family (and a cat). Steve, Rachel: I think it's time you came clean on this whole thing. We need to know what's going on. Or, at the very least, we need actual videos of Ella so that I don't have to post stuff like this.