Brandon's Bright Ideas

I have promised my boys that once a month they may create their own post on my blog - so, without further adu:

Hey everybody, it's Brandon. Before I start here, I just want to say "thank you" to all the little people out there who made this all possible. This month's topic is the "Invention of the Month". For the month of May, our team of experts went out on the streets to find out what people thought should be the invention of the month. The people unanimously voted for the ambidextrous screw-driver. This little device can be held in both the left hand (as shown on the left) and the right hand (as shown on the right). This gets rid of the need to dig through the tool drawer to find the correct screwdriver. Another helpful feature is that it comes in both phillips-head and flat-head, as well as assorted colors.

The Three Little Pigs (and the BIG, BAD WOLF!!)

Purely for your entertainment - Jason and Reagan's rendition of "The Three Little Pigs (and the BIG,BAD WOLF)".

Memorial Day 2009

Memorial day 2009 - All across America today, people are gathering together in the form of ceremonies or parades to remember all of the Service men and women who lost their lives so that we can have family and friends over to swim, barbeque, and spend time with. Today is also a day to pay tribute to all the men and women who are actively serving so that we can enjoy the family and friends, swimming and barbequeing in peace. I say it is also a day to remember where that freedom and peace originated - in God who created all things, and in His Son, Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that eternal freedom and eternal peace could be ours.

This morning I took the twins to their first real parade, in Bath/Richfield, Ohio, to watch Trevor and Joshua march in a parade with their Cub/Boy Scout troops. Chris and Brandon went to Medina, Ohio, where Brandon marched in a parade with the Civil Air Patrol (see Chris' blog). As I am still new to this whole blog/computer/digital picture/movie making thing, my amazing son Brandon helped me put together a video of the parade. Enjoy!!

*Had to add a little note on this post to give credit to Grandma Faith for the beautiful placemats that are decorating our table this Memorial Day - Thanks Grandma!!

Beautiful Ohio

I was just thinking back to when our family first moved to Ohio - I so did not want to move to Ohio. Now, I look at where we live and I thank God for the opportunity to live in such an amazingly beautiful state. Every day I get to hear the most beautiful songs, sang by the most beautiful birds.

(A male and female cardinal - this picture was taken from my bedroom window)

I get to do dishes looking out at the cherry and apple trees in bloom, knowing that in just a couple of weeks they will be full of fruit and the deer will begin to frequent our backyard again.

And...I get to garden. Granted, my garden is extremely small scale compared to most of my neighbors - but - it is a great little garden!! The boys and I have planted lillies, zinnias, marigolds (to keep the rabbits and other woodland creatures from eating our garden - they hate the smell of marigolds), and some type of gerber daisy that my neighbor passed my way. None of these have bloomed yet - but watching them get bigger is so exciting. I cannot wait to see all the color!! We have also planted 4 varieties of blueberry bushes (so that we will have them year round), and strawberries - hence the marigolds;). The blueberries will not bud this year - they were a birthday gift to daddy and they will take a while to establish. However, the boys and I were out gardening today and we discovered that we actually have strawberries!! They are not ready to eat yet, but there are so many little clumps of baby strawberries, and flowers that will later become baby strawberries, that I can taste them already. My kids still talk about how much fun it was to go berry picking when we were in Oregon. I can't wait for them to be able to go berry picking here in Ohio.

(Jason and Reagan helping mommy weed and water the strawberries)

As everything grows and blooms I will update this Beautiful Ohio post so that you can all see how everything turns out. To be continued.......:)

Brag Blog #1

I am naming this post Brag Blog #1 because I am sure there will be many more Brag Blogs in the future:).

Everyone in Ohio today is talking about the Conference Finals game between the Cavaliers and Orlando, and the final, once in a lifetime shot, made by MVP LeBron James.
http://ballhype.com/video/lebron_s_game_winner_conf_finals_game_2/

I am here to tell you that there is another MVP in Ohio today - and a much cuter one. His name is Joshua Christopher Kopp.

The recap:

It was the final inning of the game and Joshua was playing third base. There was a man on second base and the batter hit a line drive towards third base. Joshua caught the line drive, and then proceeded to chase down the runner that was headed back to second base, tagging him for a second out. A double play, and the last two outs of the game!!! The team went crazy!!! They declared Joshua the MVP, and gave him the privilege of dropping the mentos into the 2-liter bottle of Coke, to create a Victory Coke Fountain!!!

A proud moment for the Kopp family, and a moment worth recognition on Lori's Loft!;)

All things feminine - my first post!

After seeing Patti and Mackenzie's blogs this morning I decided to start my own blog. With 6 boys in the house, I decided to have a blog where I can post stories, pictures, videos, etc. with a softer, more cushy edge. Let me know what you think.

The twins and I baked cookies the other day. We made Amish Whites ~ my favorite sugar cookie recipe ~ and the twins stamped each cookie with a picture of a mouse. Mom gave me the stamp several years ago ~ haven't used it much ~ but the twins had a blast stamping each of the cookies. Although I think they had more of a blast eating the cookies.