Gratitude...

Today my heart is so full!!! I was working in the yard and I suddenly was so full of love and adoration for my beautiful family.

Super Boy's spirit is so pure, he has no malice toward anyone. He is one of the most tender boys I know and so super smart and inquisitive! He loves games and computers, technology of any kind. He also loves church and is a joy to have in my family.
Super Girl is a huge bundle of curiosity and energy. She needs to explore everything and figure stuff out for herself. Her spirit is so independent and vivid...you just can't ignore her unique personality. She loves animals and her brother. She wants to grow up so fast and do everything she sees us doing. She loves nature and exploration. She will be my challenge (to keep her out of major trouble) but also one of my greatest joys.
Then there is my husband. I adore him for making these beautiful souls with me. I love him more and more everyday for his role in our lives. He is a wonderful provider and fun father. I cherish the moments when we get to be "boyfriend and girlfriend" again...those are the best moments...free of life's pressures and responsibilities. Sometimes it's just a glimpse once a week, and others it is hours of precious fun!

Anyway, I'd better get back to work outside...what are you grateful for today???

Practicing my "skills"...

My friend ZB has a photography blog and I am always inspired by her amazing photos! Last week Tall Boy and I went to a comedian's show, and I brought my camera. There were so many amazing flowers and waterfalls, I decided to practice my "skills" with the camera. Here are some of my pictures...enjoy!!!

Don't think I'm super talented, I erased about 100-200 pictures because they were too blurry or just not right...Practice makes Progress...right!!!??? Hopefully someday I'll stop with the still life and be able to photograph people well!!! Here's hoping!

Also, I found this give away from ZB's blog too!!! This lady is super talented!!! The link to her give away...

http://bizzybeecreationscrafts.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-first-giveaway.html

The link to her super cool website store...

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5637889

Anyway, hope you enjoy!!!

Our Fun Sprinkler!!!

We had a carnival type activity at our church. The kids got to play on a rock climbing wall, a big bouncy slide, they had face painting, sack races, 3 legged races, wheel barrow races and of course fishing. There was a clown that made balloon animals and a magician that performed a magic show. There was good food and lots of fun. Right at the end, there was a loud thunderclap followed by an immediate downpour that lasted 20 minutes!!! I got a couple of pictures, but this was the best one...

My New Do!!!

Just had to get rid of major hair!!! I got a new cut and some highlights too! The hair dresser took off more hair than I have left!!! But it feels and looks great!!! Enjoy!!!

Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest, but this is the best I could do by myself with no makeup on!!!

Fun Stuff...

We have been busy lately, atleast it's just been having fun! No work on the yard (maybe today) just good times!!!

Super Girl has been loving the wild outdoors and has the dirt face to prove it!

Then we had our annual Hot Air Balloon Festival yesterday and today. We went yesterday with the cousins, The Fabulous 5, but we didn't get to see the balloons take off...too much wind and we were later than we wanted to be, right as they decided to take them all down. Super Girl loved playing with her favorite cousin, Super G...they are so cute together!!! The kids had a blast playing at the playground, so it wasn't a complete waste of a good morning!!! Super Boy decided his favorite exercise was running up and down a very steep hill...Super L tagged along on 1 long run. Super Boy also posed by a very cool fire truck!

Then we got up super early this morning and went to the festival again. there were 10 balloons and ALL of them got up in the air!!! We left the festival to go to breakfast, and we saw a balloon land in our church's parking lot! the owner/pilot was so nice, he invited us over and let anyone who wanted to get in the basket and take pictures! Super Boy was in heaven!!! It was all very cool!

So that's our fun...hope you are having great fun too!!!

Time to catch up!!!

I just got the pictures from Gma and Gpa from the trip to Cali with the kids, so I thought I'd post some of them for your enjoyment!

I also wanted to share some of our fun from the 24th...

Hope you all had as much fun as we have!!!

Let's Take A Trip Down Memory Lane!!!

My great friend Hot Mama had this on her blog, and I thought I'd play along!

Here are the directions

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know me a lot, anything you remember...

2. Next, re post these directions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool(and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory, I'll check your blog and leave a memory for you if you are playing too!!! Have fun!

Mommy's Night Out!!!

Oh so much fun! My friend J and I went to a concert last night! We heard 8 different people sing, and most of them were really good! We went mainly to see Kellie Pickler, but we had all sorts of other entertainment too! There were super cute cops and guys galore...there were a few crazy fans that looked like they were riding mechanical bulls or having seizures...there were quite a few people who were dressed in an "interesting" fashion, or showing a little too much of "something"! But we had a great night and topped it all off with some good food! We went to Panda Express for dinner and Denny's for dessert! It was amazing!!! Now we are planning our next concert...Reba/Kelly Clarkson here we come!!! Too bad we have to wait until OCTOBER!!! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Maybe we'll just have to find a little concert somewhere between now and then!

Yesterday wasn't all about a concert though. Our family went to visit Tall Boy's brother's family, the Fantastic 5. All the kids had fun swimming and jumping on the trampoline. We also had lunch together...hamburgers, chips & dip, fruit, jello salad, pasta salad, and angel food cake with fruit and cool whip for "dessert"! It was good food, and good fun!

Well, that was my fun day...did you have any fun at all yesterday???

More water woes...and Yippees too!

There are some water woes and there are some water Yippees! 1st, our beloved pool wasn't level and spilled it's 1900 gallons down our dirt...MUDSLIDE!!! Not fun, but not horrible either. Now we can reposition and level it out...basically do it right! Anyway the fun news is that as I type, the water company is here replacing our water meter and allowing us to hook up our new main line...water pressure here we come!!!

11:59PM Update...

We have awesome water pressure, no leaks anywhere to be found, and all our sprinklers work great! We are debating whether or not to put in sod this weekend. I'll let you know when I know!

Sprinklers are in!!! Kiddos are home!!!

Whew!!! The sprinklers are in the front yard!!! ~Your applause here~
We filled in the ditches a couple of hours before the kiddos came home!
We also finally started setting up our new pool! So when the kiddos got home, we all played in the water (it was about a foot deep by then!) I wasn't surprised how happy and excited I was to see my beautiful babies, but I was surprised at how happy tall boy was! We have been playing and talking ever since they got back at 5! So much to catch up on! I swear they each grew 6 inches taller and their hair is at least an inch longer! Crazy!!!
Here's a pic of Super Girl with some cute little corkscrew pony tails that I just learned how to do!

Water Works...

Well, last night and this morning we worked on our sprinklers in the front yard! We worked last night past dark with the assistance of a work light. Then I got up this morning and finished it off. I just need to move some bricks and I will be done! So my life consists of dirty socks, shoes, and lots of PIPE!!! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!

Water Woes

I just got done talking with the water guy, and it doesn't look good. He said we have crappy pressure (I could have told him THAT!) and being so close to the main line we should have tons. So he thinks the water company will replace the little 5 foot section between our water meter and the main. At least then we will be able to see the main...he said we were close to it when we were digging 4 1/2 feet down! So I guess I'd better change my clothes and get digging! But hopefully with that news, we can get back on schedule with the sprinklers and hopefully have some grass before kids arrive home on Saturday! I know, yeah right...with the way these projects have gone so far, I'll just be happy to have grass and fencing by next summer! Wish us luck...I think we'll need it!

Houston, we have a problem...

We have a couple of problems going on right now. 1st...NO COMMENTS on the past 2 posts!!!??? Come on people, this isn't supposed to be a monologue!!! And 2nd...we can't find our water main! We dug and dug and dug until we were 5 ft deep next to our water meter! No luck, so that put sprinklers on hold until we figure out if we will be able to replace the water main or not. SO FRUSTRATING!!! I had no idea how much work and planning went into all of this yard stuff. I thought we'd have everything done in 7 working days...HA HA HA...I was SO NAIVE!!! Now we will be lucky to get sod in before the kids arrive home in a week!!! Also, I didn't comprehend how much time would be spent doing nothing! It feels so counter-productive, but things have to happen in a certain order, and when you're on pause, all you can do is wait!!! UGH!!! Anywho, the kiddos are having a blast in Cali with Gmas Gpas and all the Aunts Uncles and Cousins that their little hearts could desire. Super Girl is saying a few new things, and I missed them :( She now says Yummy, ishy (fishy), I get out, up high, and missy sue. She also told Gpa "no no papa!" Too fun! I can't wait to see them next Sunday (maybe this Saturday, who knows) Super Girl will probably walk up to me and say..."mommy, I would like a cookie and some juice please." and then I'll just fall over from the shock of it all! We will find out later on today what will happen with our water main, so maybe I'll post a brief update later!

Our yard has a serious gopher problem!!!

OK, not really, but it was either that or the creatures from the movie Tremors... I chose gophers. Anyway, we had the trencher yesterday and got almost everything done, then it broke. So we still have about an hour of work when we get it back today. That trencher is one mean lookin' machine! Tall Boy and his brother manned the trencher and I was stuck with a shovel. Tall Boy joined me on the shovel brigade when his brother was driving the beast. We got very dirty, but it's progress!!! Tall boy is out right now buying supplies for the sprinkler lines and main line. So we just might have sprinklers installed (maybe not working) later today!!! So her are the photos of our awesome gopher yard! Enjoy!

Ok...I finally miss my kids...and other updates!

Am I a horrible mother? I haven't missed my kids until last night, that's almost a whole week!!!
The house has stayed cleaner than ever before, but it's very empty. I took a picture of Super Girl's cute, but empty, perfectly made little bed...

Anyway, I'm blogging to give you all an update. Our yard looks the same as the last post, but I think tonight that will change. I believe I convinced Tall Boy to replace our main water line to the house so we can have better water pressure and install fewer sprinkler zones. Less digging, less, putting together pipes, less work...sort of. So, I think it's happening tonight. I mapped out our whole sprinkler system in the past 2-3 days, so we just have to figure out our new water pressure so we can divide them into zones. I know... blah blah blah...BORING!

Ok, so for some more fun progress. I got to read a whole book in one day! My friend J recommended it. It's called Makeover by Shannon Guymon. I'm a fast reader, but it was a very easy read, it's 245 pages long. Anyway, I highly recommend it! It's a cute romantic story with tons of action and twists...you won't be bored, but you might be inspired!

Tall Boy and I have been having a lot of great together time. We have laughed, smiled, joked and flirted more in the past week than probably in 2008...sad...I know. But it's been great to reconnect and have some fun. we went to a really good Mexican restaurant that had cliff divers performing while we ate...it was very cool! then we went next door to the movie theater and saw Hancock. It was good. After we got home, we decided to take a ride around the neighborhood on the motorcycle! We had a blast. Almost every night we cuddle up and watch a movie or fall asleep...so nice!

For even more fun, I did a little bit of personal shopping and bought some really cute tops and tank tops for layering, a couple of scarfs that I can use for my hair or neck or a belt, some cute capri pants and one dress. The best part is that they were all on clearance (except the scarfs)!

Here's a slide show of the goods! Enjoy!

Yard Progress...

So, while the kiddos have been at play, we have been working our butts off! Does that sound right to anyone? We had the tractor yesterday and did a lot of work with it. We moved rock/gravel to prepare for concrete; we tilled our whole yard, not just where we are putting sod in, but I only took pictures of the future sod area. We also moved a lot of dirt in preparation for sod! We out it in our side yard where we had some major dips and valleys, now our side yard looks amazing too! Anyway, here are some photos of the front yard....

Before

During Tilling

During Dirt Removal

Finished! Until sprinklers and sod at least!!!
As you can tell by the darkness of the last photo, we worked until late. We didn't get the tractor until 3pm, so we were working until about 8pm. Hope this pays off in the body department! Maybe I really DID work my butt off....I haven't checked yet today....

Nope...still there...shucks...maybe next project! Until then...keep smiling!

4th of July and FREEDOM!

I know you may be thinking that I am talking about the freedom we enjoy as Americans, but I am really speaking of the freedom that I have for 2 weeks...Gma and Gpa took the kids to Cali!!! We have done some work in the front yard, but we have to wait until Monday to get a tractor to do the heavy duty stuff. We will be installing a vinyl fence eventually, and getting some concrete work done too, but for now we are focusing on the front yard getting tilled and ready for sod to be installed, hopefully this week or weekend sometime.


This top picture is of the shirts I bought for the rest of the fam...mine is red with blue butterflies and flowers. The next is Super Boy's feet next to mine when we were snuggling on the couch...much cuter in black and white than in color...trust me!

Anyway, on to the 4th of July. I really do appreciate the freedoms we enjoy and I do not mean to make a mockery of it. I love this country and everything it represents. I am particularly grateful to be able to worship how I please and vote on issues that affect me and my family. We had a friend take this picture of us on the morning of the 4th...Super Girl was not too happy, but at least she's looking at the camera!

We actually celebrated the 4th on the 3rd because the kids were going to be gone. We had Hot Mama's family over and did dessert and fireworks with them. We had a lot of fun and took a few cool pictures. The fireworks are really hard to get a clear picture, but I managed to get a couple cool ones that look better blurred anyway! But ZB, if you have any tips on photographing fireworks, I'm all ears!














I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July. God Bless America and all of you too!