Apparently we don't get out as much?!?

Randy and I decided to pool our Anniversary money/gift cards/stock options/life insurance cash value/firstborn to eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We had never been there before and the food was really good; we both agreed though, that it wasn't worth the price and it wasn't exactly our kind of atmosphere.

First of all, I don't like people standing and watching me while I eat. I appreciate that you want to keep my glass full of the 6.95 a bottle "spring water" (I can get a case of it for 4.77 at Costco people!) and you want a good tip, but just back away. Poor Randy on the other hand couldn't get a glass of tea to save his life. It took asking the "assistant server" and the real server twice each!!

Second, the music. I haven't spent my life avoiding cheesy jazz music to be subjected to hearing it while trying to eat. It reminded me of the days at dad's store when Pat would be upstairs in the office blasting her elevator music. Didn't we all just dread having to do school work up there while waiting for mom to return from the grocery store? There's nothing like feeling stuck between the second and third floor of a department store for an entire afternoon.

Honestly, the food was good, but we probably would not go back unless it was free.

After our dinner we cruised to the movie theater to catch Ocean's 13. We called ahead and found out the showtime (well, we called mom, who graciously looked it up on the internet for us-I love modern technology) and I pulled out our free AMC movie tickets that have been in my purse since Christmas. As I proudly spread them out at the ticket counter and requested two for the 9:30 showing, the nice clerk informed me they were not an AMC Theater.

Oops.

It was one of those embarrassing little moments like ordering a 'Happy Meal' from Wendy's and then requesting it "to go" in the drive-thru. Fortunately, I had one free ticket in my purse for that theater from when Paula and I watched The Pursuit of Happyness with almost no sound (it was actually kind of nice). A bit sheepishly, I walked back to the ticket counter and settled on the 9:40 showing, thanks.

Apparently, we don't get out much.

Ten Years Later.......

Then:


Now:


Where has the time gone?!?

Three beautiful kids, two dogs, three states, three apartments, three houses, eight vehicles, three boats, two four-wheelers, from firefighter to firemedic to captain, from the bank to insurance to stay-at-home mom, lots of joy, some sorrow, neat and clean house to toys everywhere, more wrinkles, a few gray hairs (on you ofcourse!), making grandparents out of our parents, lots of trips to Mimi and Papa's, winter trips to San Diego, summers to the cabin....

Ten years have FLOWN by, and I can't fathom spending this much time with any other person on earth than you, Randy. Here's to looking forward at what God has in store for us in the next ten years and beyond, I LOVE YOU!!!

Look at all my teethers!!!

Saturday we attended a family picnic at the Bondurant's place (Antisdels blog). The kids had a great time jumping on the trampoline, playing in the tree house and splashing in the water. Their home is in the cutest little town and sits on a little more than an acre. The house itself is an old red farm house that they have transformed into a charming abode. Since they are professional photographers, the house also looks like a beautiful gallery, displaying Kia's amazing shots of her kids and family. We had such a great visit with them and it made me long for country living again; her garden was awesome and she was so sweet to send me home with a bag full of freshly picked lettuce.

We have had very full days since Saturday and have celebrated Ashlynn's birthday twice already (the official day is not even until Sunday)!!

Thursday Randy and I will celebrate ten years, more on that tomorrow.......

UV Overload

We have been to the pool a million times now (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration) and the kids are having a blast. Grams mentioned the other day we haven't even left for vacation yet and the kids have already been everywhere. Must say, it is so different living in town and not being pregnant this summer. We basically wake up, lather up and head to the pool. It keeps the house clean (well, if it would if it were actually clean to begin with...) and wears the kids out for a nap (sometimes anyway).

Hopefully the sunscreen is working and I am not damaging the kids skin permanenlty, as I do worry about things like that. My neighbor actually referred to me a s the sunscreen Nazi! Just because I reapply on the hour doesn't make me extreme, does it? At least the kids are used to it; just today Ashlynn wouldn't go in the water until I used the sunscreen stick under her eyes, that a girl!!

Now I just have to take out a loan to continue to purchase the $26.00 a tube of chemical free sunscreen so they don't get cancer from the sunscreen. It's all starting to feel like a vicious cycle.

Fun Day!

Ashlynn at work.


Ryder at work.


Ashlynn swimming out to "sea".


"Safety First"



The kids and I went to a really cool lake/beach today. As you can see in the pictures, they had a blast, sorry none of Gage! He ate plenty of sand, crawled in the water and enjoyed playing on the beach. We stayed and played for about three hours, came home and NONE of the kids took a nap, I thought it would be a guarantee....who am I kidding.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

Dad, I'm so blessed to be a part of your life and so grateful for how you raised me. The memories of working with you at the store are moments I will cherish for the rest of my life. And now that I have a family of my own, I appreciate even more the values you've passed on; the ones I hope to teach my little gang.

I love you dad and hope your day is special! Just wish I could be closer!!!!

P.S. Thanks for flying half way across the country and making it to the birth of EVERY one of my kids, it means the world to me dad!

Happy Birthday Bekah (aka Power Heels)!!

Happy Birthday to my sis Bekah! Does is feel different to be an official homeowner on your birthday this year?? What's that thing about responsibility coming with age? Oh well, at least you can still have fun, it's not as if you are ancient or anything. Must say, it definitely makes me feel better to think I am only a mere eighteen months ahead of you... :-)

Thanks for being such a great sister, and with four of us, I'm glad you're one of them!

A day late and a dollar short...

A BIG (and day belated) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my S-I-L Stef!! Sorry for not having a photo, but since my brother is a world class photographer (Enchanted Images blog), a quick visit to his site is sure to turn up a great one of his beautiful bride!

Hope your day was filled with lots of fun things and yummy treats (James did take you out, I hope!). Thanks for being such a great "in law", though I don't look at you that way. Without you, I would have never been brave enough to move back to the Midwest permanently; you caused me to see it in an entirely different light and now I can't imagine living anywhere else!

And now here we are almost eight years later, both with kids and all the trials and joys that go with our crazy busy lives; glad that you are part of mine....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Moon Sand: A Product Review

Perusing through Toys R Us several weeks ago in search for Ryder's birthday presents, I came upon an endcap featuring Moon Sand-on clearance too!! As I read about the stuff, it seemed to be just what I was looking for. "Molds just like playdough" it claimed, "but never dries out!" it went on. Could it be? It sounded wonderful, finally there would be no more worry if they left the lid off and I wouldn't find crusty masses of the stuff under the kitchen table. My decision was made and the moon sand was tossed into the cart.

It only took a few minutes after the gift was opened to see why it was clearance.

First of all one should never purchase anything for children that will be used indoors with words like "sand" in the title. This should have been my first hint. They might as well have brought in the sand from their playbox outside and just dumped it all over the basement carpet.

The "never dries out" should have been the second hint. At least when they are done massacring the playdough, you can just sort of ignore it for several hours until it dries out and then sweep/vacuum it up. On the contrary, moon sand sticks to everything. The carpet, the table and chairs, the train set and trains, the tricycle tires and the bottom of shoes. All of this proceeds to get tracked around the entire house and you can just imagine the joy I felt in seeing this.

I'm sure the "children must be supervised" was not necessarily in concern the children might consume the product, but more for their personal safety when their mother sees the mess it created.

Another byproduct that was not mentioned, clean up would not be easy. In fact, clean up broke the vacuum. I'm assuming the heaviness of the "never dries out" sand was more than my vacuum could take and it literally just would not turn back on.

Wonder if I can make a claim with the sand company?




These pictures do not do it justice, it was horrible!

Final Product Review: -5 out of 5 stars.

Bubbles......

For Ryder's birthday, mom found this awesome bubble maker at Costco. As you can see the kids LOVE it!! They ran around for at least an hour chasing bubbles and giggling. Thanks mom!!!

Fever, Ebay and Planning

Poor little Gage man had a fever from Tuesday afternoon through today. The sweet babe is getting at least four teeth (that's what I can see for sure) all at the same time! Never have I had a baby get so many teeth at the same time. He basically has a soft whine and whimper throughout the day and doesn't want to eat a thing-he only nursed three times today! I pray he sleeps better tonight and those darn teeth pop all the way through.

Randy and I spent the evening putting misc stuff on Ebay. Hopefully all will sell and for a good price. It's a lot of work, but it's stuff that should do pretty well, so we'll see...

We are now in the major planning phase for our summer vacation up north (at least Randy anyway-wish I had his amazing God given organizational talents). You should see him. He has this yellow legal pad with the longest list of "things to do" I have ever seen and I know he will get them all done. I'm sure he's itching to get to his computer to type it all up and make a hard copy.
He asked me today if I had my list and I informed him "I'm not the list sort of making girl, like to pack and plan as I go". After the initial cardiac arrest he experienced, he advised me to just start small. So we'll see......

Feeding time....

What day is it?!?

It's been a whirlwind around here since Thursday. Took the kiddos to a local farmstead and they had a blast. They bottle-fed baby goats, fed the cows and chickens, and played in a one room schoolhouse. It was lots of fun and FREE!!!!!

Friday and Saturday was our neighborhood annual garage sale-one of my favorite times of the year. I'v been told (and believe it to be true) that donating the goods and taking itemized deductions on your taxes nets a better profit, but for me, there's just nothing like the cold, hard cash earned at a garage sale. Pre-pricing everything is way to time consuming, I like to just make up a price right on the spot. I usually (ok, always) under charge, but in the end an extra couple of hundred dollars is worth the time.

Aside from what I sold, the kids made a water (lemonade would require supervision) and cookie stand. In the end they doubled their money, so I may skip everything else next year and just sell food to the weary bargain hunters.

We've been to the pool five or six times since it opened and will probably be there everyday this week, ahhhh summer.