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!

What a week!

We have had so much fun this week! Super Girl is doing great with her tubes...she is so happy most of the time! She still has her little attitude, but that's just part of her personality! Anyway, things are really going great. Tall Boy has been absolutely amazing and wonderful! He is very accommodating and is taking a very active role with the kids. He is an amazing man and I love him more and more everyday...

OK, enough of the gushy mushy stuff...

We went camping this weekend at the red rock formation place. We bought a tent trailer last week because we thought we'd like it better, so we tested it out. It has it's pros and cons. The biggest pros are that the beds are bigger, there are 4 beds and 2 tables, and it tows much easier than the other trailer. The cons are the time and effort it takes to set up and take down, the lesser amount of storage space and the fact that we were cold at night in the middle of summer.

More about the camping trip...

We went with Tall Boy's friend from work again, and we also invited another family along, a couple from our neighborhood. In all there were 6 adults and 7 kids. All the kids played together and enjoyed getting wet in the creek and building a dam. The adults enjoyed the kids playing off on their own and the chance to have some adult conversation time. We ate some good food and enjoyed some delicious smores (made with PB cups instead of the normal chocolate bar...
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!)
We stayed up late and got up early (thanks Super Girl) and went to a Lavender Festival! The kids played and rode rides. The adults learned about the farm and enjoyed seeing the kids play. After kids went to bed, we stayed up playing card games and laughing and joking. It was a great break from everyday life. We will definitely have to do it again soon. There were some pretty flowers there, I couldn't resist snapping some photos...

In other news, Super Boy and Super Girl are taking their 1st trip without mom and dad! Gma and Gpa are taking them to Cali to see friends and family! They will leave on the 4th and come back around the 19th. I am both nervous and very excited. Tall Boy and I were discussing the things that need to take place before this weekend, we have our work cut out for us. We will be tilling the front yard, digging trenches for sprinklers, laying sprinklers, and laying sod!!! We will also probably be tilling the whole yard, but we shall see! I am super excited for the changes our yard will be seeing soon. Mostly I am excited that the kids will be able to play and we won't have to worry so much once we get the fences up. That will probably happen next week, but wow...I'll definitely have to take some before and after photos and post them!

Anyway, that has been our fabulous week...hope you all had fun too!!!

Tubes and the rest of my week...

Sorry it took so long for me to post the results of Super Girl's surgery...everything went great. She was amazingly alert and happy after the surgery. She was a little whiny the day after, but other than that she is back to her normal self. She has even picked up a few new words in the past couple of days. She now says "Go" and "What". She also recently started saying "it's stuck". So I think the talking explosion is right around the corner. Here are a few pics of her the day of surgery...


































The rest of my week was pretty eventful as well. We had 2 families with kids come over (13 people including us) for dinner on Friday night. We chatted and ate and the kids all played. It was so much fun! They all went home around 9:30p and about an hour later, our swamp cooler died! So yesterday morning, we fixed the swamp cooler. I was not happy about being up at 7am after the week I've had, but I'm happy now! Yesterday was also supposed to be my "day off". So that's why I was so cranky about being up at 7am! Anyway, yesterday afternoon I had a 2 hour massage!!! It was PURE BLISS!!! I usually don't fall asleep during massages, but I dozed off quite a few times yesterday!

Anyway, so that has been my exhausting week...hope you all had an easier one!

Fun in the Sun...

We have had lots of fun in the sun lately...on Thursday last week we went with a friend (from now on I will call her Hot Mama, cause "my friend gets so old!!!) to a pool. Then we went again today to a different pool near Hot Mama's house. Super Girl sure is a water baby! She loves swimming around and hates it when I have to hold on to her! Super Boy is becoming more comfortable in the water and asks me everyday if it's time for his swimming lessons yet! We'll be signing up for those later this month. After we went swimming, we hung out at Hot Mama's house and her little girl was playing with Super Girl. We just can't get over how similar these two girls look alike even though they are almost a year apart!









Super Girl also enjoyed playing with their dog...


In other news, Super Girl's surgery is set, it's official...she's getting tubes in on Thursday! I'm nervous and excited. Hopefully this will be the end of ear infections, or at least will help diminish them. I'm nervous because this is the 1st time any of my kids will have surgery where anesthesia is required. I just wish I could go in there with her and be there by her side the whole time.

Well, you are all caught up! Until next time...TTFN!

Updates...

Well, it's been a little while since my last post so I thought I'd better pipe in and tell everyone what's been happening the past week.

Super Girl has yet another ear infection. We were referred to an ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor) but we couldn't get in to see him until July21! So my friend told us about the ENT she took her daughter to, and we got in yesterday! They want to put tubes in Super Girl's ears, and we have a tentative surgery date for next Thursday! Talk about fast service! So, we are waiting to find out what it will cost, and then hopefully ear infections will be a thing of the past! Super Girl is also entering the very curious and busy stage of getting into EVERYTHING!!! I'll have to keep my eyes open, and all the gates and doors closed! Wish me luck with this one!

In other news, Gma and Gpa are planning a trip to Cali and offered to take kids with them! So my hubby and I have decided to do some much needed upgrades on our home. We are planning to put in sod! 2 weeks of no kids should give it a fighting chance! We might do concrete as well, but we haven't decided for sure on that.

Super Boy is chomping at the bit to get back to school. He's so excited about the 1st grade! I decided to do a countdown calendar on my blog, and when it gets a little closer (like a month away) then we'll make a paper chain or something like that for the house. What am I going to do with 8 hours of peace a day??? PARTY!!!

Anyway, I am excited for this summer. I am feeling more and more like my old self everyday! So hopefully things will continue to get better and better, and we can have lots of fun and get a lot accomplished too!

Thanks for tuning in yet again! Until next blog...

I got my book!!!

IT IS SO COOL!!! I love my book created by my very own hand (or blog)!!! I gave one to Gma and Gpa downstairs and today I'm sending one to Gma and Gpa in Cali! And we have one to keep for us! I think this will be my format for our family scrapbook, but I will continue to do the traditional scrapbooks for my kiddos! Anyway, just thought I'd share the joy! If you wanna see it, you gotta come over!

My book, boating and funny messes...

My book is being shipped as I type!!! Hip hip hooray! It didn't take very long! I think I turned it in on the 28th and it said it was shipped on the 31st! TOTALLY AWESOME! I can't wait to see it and hold it...my very own family book!

In other news...

We had a very fun weekend. It was warm enough to go out on our boat. Tall Boy got his Father's Day present a little early...it's a tube to pull 2 riders behind the boat! The kids both loved it, and I loved driving crazy with Tall Boy in tow! We got some sun and had a great time together.











Then today, I was preparing for a friend to come over with her kids. I fed my kids lunch and this is what Super Girl decided to do with her jam sandwich...

Too cute to NOT POST!!!
Anyway, life is pretty good around here!

Also, I have a book recommendation...I just recently hear of the Twilight saga/series and bought them online (sale + free shipping = I BUY!!!) I absolutely LOVE it!!! I haven't been able to put it down. There are 3 books out now, but the 4th and final (I think) is due out soon. I got the books on Friday and I'm already 2/3 of the way through the 3rd book!!! It helped that I wasn't feeling very well yesterday, so I read the entire 2nd book yesterday! Anyway, it's a series about a girl in love with a vampire...I know it sound awful and horrific...but it is an amazing series. The author makes you feel like you are there in the moment with all the characters. If anyone out there likes the TV series Moonlight...I HIGHLY recommend these books! Anyway. The 1st book is called Twilight, the 2nd is New Moon and the 3rd is Eclipse. The Author is Stephenie Meyer. I can't wait until the 4th comes out...it's called Breaking Dawn(naturally I've pre-ordered it already!) Anyway, enough of my gushing, I better muster up some desire to get dinner ready!

Thanks for tuning in...until next time...