Paul, Gretchen, Pierce and Hope

2 weeks

2012-01-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

So, I'm still on this hair adventure thing. You know, grow it out for the husband for his 10 year anniversary gift. And me being the ~~obnoxious~~ dedicated blogger I am, I can make almost anything for the blog, including my hair growing out. I plan to take pictures every 2 weeks to watch the hair grow, like watching a baby bump grow, but not nearly as cute.

This is the first picture...

And me being the classy gal I am, wasn't really sure how to document it today. So, I tried the whole picture in front of the mirror (people always crack me up, when they load these kinds of pics to facebook )

Then opted for Hope to take a picture of me. In front of the toilet. Even classier.

Oh, let me just tell you all, I saw this girl yesterday at church with the cutest short hair, and I felt a serious pang to cut mine. Let it grow till December? I just don't know....

Girls just wanna have fun

2012-01-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Friday night Brittany had us and some other friends over for a little celebration for Blake's birthday.

33 years old.

Did we all say the same thing when we turned 33? Same age as Jesus.

I did my best to get a group shot of the kids, but that didn't turn out so well. A) All the kids would not cooperate. B) My camera acts up sometimes, and the picture of all the kids on the couch, they looked like the were sitting on the sun. Soooo frustrating :/

I did manage to get a little time holding Miss Ella. She's so cuuuute!

Then we (by we, I mean the ladies and kids, the guys stayed downstairs watching sports) all went upstairs for some play time.

And at first it was all about the kids. They were running around like banshees...

Playing up a storm! Sweating, bouncing, playing ball, singing, and dancing...

BUT somehow, in the midst of child's play, the ~~women~~ girls took over, and it became ALL about us.

You get a group of girls together, and turn on 'girls just wanna have fun' and we revert, and act a fool. (My favorite is Karen on the left. She looks like she's doing a little praise and worship!! Picture courtesy of Brittany)

And while the women folk act crazy, all the children can do is look on in horror.

But it's true.

Girls really do, just wanna have fun.

A good reminder

2012-01-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

I ~~stole~~ borrowed this from Jill, because it's just a good reminder for myself....

Sometimes, I just need these gentle nudges, about what's really important.

Pinterest? 'You are my sunshine'

2012-01-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

When I heard about Pinterest, I initially of course, had no desire to do it. That's my usual m.o. I don't want to try the new thing. I finally caved, because all the cool kids were doing it, and I didn't want to be left out. And I'm so glad that I did! It has given me soooo many ideas. It's like a kick in the brain, for the non creative souls of this world.

Lots of party ideas....

Hope would just DIE!

Fun things to try with the kids..

Ta-da!!

New recipes, that I have ventured into trying...

And when I made this nugget recipe, Paul said, "this is the best thing you've ever made." It only took 9 years to hear that!! :)

But then, one day when I was perusing around, I saw THIS, and I knew that it was just what I wanted. I had been wanting to do something different in the living room, but everything I saw, just didn't peak my interest. But this I loved.

So, as part of my Christmas from my parents, I ordered it, and it came just a few days ago! I was so excited.

I had a whole idea of what I wanted to do, and Paul being the good husband he is, had to do the tedious job and put it together for me.

If it were up to me to put it up, it would be a m-e-s-s.

But he did it perfect!

And I love it!

It's just different enough for me

And adds the pizazz I was looking for.

And now I'm thinking I need some chevron pillows, and a throw. Back to pinterest I go..... ;-)

Going to keep it honest about hat day

2012-01-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

Soooooo. Today was hat day at school. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? And it's really tempting to show you this picture here and say how fun of a day is is....

Happy Hope. Oh boy, hat day is fun!

But that would be a lie. So, let me keep it honest here. THIS is how Hope acted about wearing her hat.

I took Hope out yesterday,and let HER pick out a special new hat for school today. THIS is what she chose to wear, oh yippee skippy. Yet today, when it was time to wear the new said hat, she fell apart. I wanted to ring her little neck (even though, I remember my mom FORCING me to wear a LAMB hat one time, and I sobbed the entire time. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right mom?!) We went three rounds about it, and I assured her that she could wear it in, and then take it off.

She went into school happy, but we still had to go through a myriad of emotions before getting there. Oh my soul people. :)))

The great wall of animals

2012-01-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

You know how China built that ginormous wall to protect its borders from any harm? Well, Hope has her own wall built every single night to protect her from harm too.

All animals must lay against inside wall, and why I asked? "To stop any monsters from coming through."

Hope and China. Both brilliant.

What a sweet melody to a mother's ears

2012-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated in a while about Pierce's karate. We took a little break around the holiday's, but he is now back at it, and he is now sparring.

When we got his gear it came with some important instructions...

Take a close look at the smaller print here.

'Read all warnings and instructions before use.'
'Keep for future reference by all users for the life of the gear.'
*and by far my favorite one*
'Failure to follow directions may result in injury, disability, and death.'

I mean really, those are the sweet words every mother wants to read when sending her younglin' off.

Heaven help me.

Glorious 13.

2012-01-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Thirteen. Oh glorious thirteen. When you can officially be called a teenager. When hormones rage, and you start leaving childhood behind. Wait a minute....was 13 really glorious? I remember zits, bad hair, and mean girls. Well, hopefully for this next generation it's a little kinder.

We've just returned from the holy lands, known as the Hoosier state, to celebrate the life of this teen right here..

Nathan Corey

Sweet boy. He's growing up, sooooo fast.

And here's the woman who pushed him out 13 years ago. I was working at Cracker Barrel at the time, and brought her a piece of chocolate cake, and she's never forgotten. Cake is one of our love languages.

Pretty women of the Robinson clan.

We must have been feeling huggy this weekend or something.

Nice picture Cody. Ha! I was able to watch Cody play ball again on Friday night, another win for the Braves! And crazy aunt Gretchen was in the stands actin' a fool.

You know something I love so much about my TEEN nephews? How they play so well with my kids!

It's so sweet.

And you KNOW, I cannot blog without our infamous 'round the table pic' We had a treat today, my cousin Seth (on the far end) came to dinner with his girlfriend. Felt like the old days :))

And besides celebrating with family, I also was able to see some friends. Saturday night, I had dinner with two of my high school friends. Lyndsay brought pictures from high school and we were rolling. I mean, honestly, WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

And then I even got a little visit with my gurls, who I miss everyday.

It was a really great weekend, and this is proof positive of it.

Confessions

2012-01-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

I've seen lots of other blogs do this. The blogger kind of confesses to some things, that they maybe wouldn't otherwise admit, and I think they are fun! I've decided to give it a go!

*I've always thought the show the Bachelor/Bachelorette was duuuuuuumb. I mean, ridiculous! Yet, last season Tracey and I got sucked into watching the Bachelorette. (Tracey I am taking you down with me) I found myself excited for it each week, and was rooting for one particular guy, like it actually made me nervous she wouldn't pick him. Tracey and I would text each other each week about it, "Ashley, is getting on my nerves, I mean quit crying already." And dare I admit more? Okay...I have my DVR set for the Bachelor this season. Heaven help me.

*I round brush Hope's hair after every bath. Like, sit her down and make her sit there while I round brush it. It feels very Toddler's and Tiaraesque.

*Speaking of Toddler's and Tiara's. Hope has INCREDIBLE eyelashes, like the kind you dream of. One day I put mascara on her. I KNOW.

*Sometimes when I hear the kids arguing, I pretend I don't, just so I don't have to deal with it.

*My favorite thing to do when both the kids are in school? Crank up my 80's and 90's music and dance away. I guess it kinda takes me back to being younger and carefree. Yet, I'm reminded of my age, when the running man makes me get out of breath now.

*I never drank coffee until I turned 30 years old. But, in that 7 years I've become, well obsessed. When I go to bed each night, I can't help but think how excited I am to get up in the morning and have a cup.

*If I had the means, I really think I could be a shopaholic. Like, hit the stores up every.single.day. Buy stuff for me, the house, the kids, my family, etc. Shopping is up there with coffee. It excites me.

Okay, I think that will be all for this time.
Shew! I feel better now. :-) Come on fellow bloggers....fess up.

Little girl playdate heaven. Pierce had fun too though.

2012-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Between last night and today, Hope has been in little girl paradise. Last night our small group leaders had us over for dinner, and they have two little girls. It was like pink heaven. We warned Pierce early on that he would be outnumbered and to bring his own toys, but I still think he was a little overwhelmed by all the girlie goodness.

Tea parties with doll babies!

And lots of dress up! With a semi, sorta performance for us. :)

Thank you so much Todd and LeAnn for having us over! It was delicious, and all of us, even Pierce, had a great time. :)

And as if last night was not enough, today there was MORE playdate heaven! The kids were out today for MLK day, and Karen had us over. Fun! Lots of dress up and make up...

And a few dance performances for us.

You just have to love it! Karen and I even got up and shook it a little with them.

AND THEN! I know, the excitement is just too much. Brittany, Layton and Luke joined us for a bit, and there was an awesome dinner prepared for us. They also had a birthday party for me, and when Karen asked Jax how old I was he said, "42?" Kill.me.now.

But the one who was the most miserable? Check out his face right here. He wanted no part with all this dress up, dinner party, girlie nonsense. But don't feel too badly for him just yet...

Pierce and Jax had an alliance going, and even a fort (that's not a fart)

And they were gun toting, destroying, wild boy machines.

Who loved to torture the little dancing girls.

And even antagonized them. :)

But before the playdate was over, they broke into the Wii! What fun!

But the highlight for me? A curling your hair lesson, with a straight iron! Who would have thunk it? (Tracey, I can teach you now! :))

Brittany has great hair, and I've always wondered how she gets those pretty curls. Well, now I know!

Plus, Brittany is itching for a little girl to get her girl on with. So, we let her have at ours!

Um, look at this! How adorable is this little curly head!

Such cutie pies. :)

Can't leave out the back of the hair...so cute.

We managed to get them all lined up before we left. Such great memories.

I'm blessed with great friends in Kentucky and Indiana! But someone please remind me to never wear that jacket again. :) I know I'm shameful looking, but the other two are quite cute.

A reallllly laid back Saturday

2012-01-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

This post will have drama, sword fights, tears, and a dramatic elimination.

Okay, it will have none of that. I'm just trying to rope you all in.

Wanna hear about our Saturday? Good.

I took the kids to Target to spend their gift cards. Pierce knew exactly what he wanted. He went right for the Pokemon!

Hope on the other hand, had a very hard time making a decision.

And after much deliberation, she finally settled on ...

Barbie stuff. Let me be honest about Barbie, I'm not a big fan, but she's drawn to it. I just try and limit the amount she has.

Onto another thing I did on my Saturday. See this lamp here on Pierce's dresser? I think he got this when he was 2! so it was high time to make some changes. But let me show you what else I've done...

I bought this sign, and ordered this canvas of Pierce.

Then I updated his lamp, and now I'm thinking I should go buy another one for the other side.

We also hung his new Pottery Barn hook.

And while I was showing Pierce his updates, he added what he thinks is a perfect addition.

A reshiram. It's Pokemon, and I don't understand that stuff at all! He thinks it's cool though. :)

I plan on doing something similar in Hope's room, I want to order a canvas and get a sign, I just want it to look more feminine, so I'm keeping my eyes open.

Oh, and I made a pinterest recipe in the crock pot! (I'm fully aware that these riveting details in my life, are what keep my ten's of readers coming back for more)

Yeah, it looks like something that shouldn't be eaten, but I swear it was good! Chicken, cream cheese, salsa, corn, and black beans. Cook for 7 hours on low, and serve with rice or on tortillas. Yum!!

And I've decided to start taking my picture once a month, to watch the hair grow. Kinda like a baby, except not nearly as cute. So, here is month one. Exciting stuff, I know.

Happy weekend!!!

Snow day, numero uno

2012-01-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally reached our first snow day here. Last year we had a mere 14! snow days, and I'm sure hoping we don't do that again. :) A snow day here and there, I have to admit is kinda fun, so today was a treat. And we wouldn't let the massive dusting stop us from getting out.

We met up for some play time at the connection center at our church. They kids bounced and played really hard, and then of course worked up a big ol' appetite.

Or maybe more like just looking for another reason to go play more with friends. God bless Chick Fil A.

When we got home, it was time to break out the big play guns.

Dodge ball....

Pedicure.

Connect 4. And I didn't take any prisoners.

Butterfly Bingo.

Child Labor.

And my Achilles heel. PUZZLES. Lord, how I loathe puzzles.

Then I called in reinforcements.

Daddy.

Who came home with projects for the kids! Woot! Pierce worked on a solar system that he had to paint and we will hang in his room.

While Hope had sand art to create.

Today was a really fun day. I love winter and I've always loved snow days. Now, if I had to work out in the cold weather, I'm sure I would feel differently about that. AND if we work up to another 14 snow days, I will be crying a different tune as well.

Report card time

2012-01-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Man, I still remember that sick feeling I would get right before report cards were handed out. And now, I kinda get it right before I look at Pierce's. I know he's doing well, but it's just that universal grade fear. Just like the reoccurring dream I have over and over, the one where I am to be in class and have an assignment due, but of course it's not done. I just have a fear when it comes to learning, I guess. Ha!

Pierce got his report card today and everything looks good! They took a group reading assessment and diagnostic evaluation, and one for math too. In reading he tested right at average, and in math he tested above average. On his teachers progress report she said he's working at grade level in each area, except for follows direction/rules, and there he scored working above grave level. That does my heart good. :))

A few special notes....

'Pierce continues to grow academically and socially. He is very good at math and a pleasure to have in class.'

'Pierce is a leader among his peers.'

And do you like my ghetto attempt to cover up the other names? If I were computer clever, I could just blur them out, but I'm not, so here you go. ANYWAYS, he is a leader in handwriting! :))

We are so very proud of you, Pierce Matthew.

Life according to my 4 and 7 year old

2012-01-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

Mommy: "Hope what did you do at school today?"

Hope: "We played a game where the object was to not get burned by the hot lover."

Mommy: (shocked) "You played WHAT?"

Hope: "We played a game where we tried not to get burned by the hot lover. You know the volcano would erupt, and we would try not to get in the hot lover."

Mommy: (Quite relieved) "Oh yes, the LAVA"

Hope : "Mommy, do you know that you have a mustache?"

Piece: "There is this girl at karate, I think I kinda like her."

Mommy: "Oh really? What's her name?"

Pierce : "I don't know"

Mommy: "Okay, what's she look like?"

Pierce: "I don't know"

Mommy: "Have you said hi to her?"

Pierce: "No"

Mommy: "Well then, what is it you like about her?"

Pierce: "I just like the way she is made."

It's on

2012-01-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

Let me give a little set up first. Paul likes long hair, always has and I suppose always will. When we first met, I had really short hair, I guess that didn't stop him, huh? I grew my hair out for our wedding though, probably the longest it had ever been, excluding high school. But once we got married I cut it. (that's a good wife, reeling him in, then lowering the hair boom) And, since then it's mostly been on the short side. But the last few times I've went for a hair cut, I've told her I would like it to grow out a little, so for me, it feels kinda long. But apparently still not long enough....

Me: "Have you noticed how much longer my hair is getting?"

Paul: Blankly stares at me a few moments, "No, not really."

Me: "I've had several people say that it looks long. How come you don't notice it?"

Paul: "I guess because I see you everyday. I mean if it were long like when we got married, I would notice that."

Me: "You will just never let that go, will you? You only liked my hair then?"

Paul: "How about this. How about you let it grow out for our 10 year anniversary, as long as it was on our wedding day, and that can be my gift. And from then on, I promise to never bring it up, or ask you to grow it out, ever again."

Me: "Really? Never again?"

Paul: "Yes, never again."

Me: "Okay, how much longer does it need to be?"

Paul: "About 4 or 5 inches longer"

Me: "Okay, it's on"

We just celebrated 9 years in December, so I have about a year to grow my hair out 4 or 5 more inches. But I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard time with this. I'm a change my hair up, kinda gal, and generally not a fan of long hair on myself, however I am really going to try. Do you think I can do it? And do you think I should ask for something in return if I do make it? Or just be a sweet wife, and make that Paul's decade gift? His wife with the longer hair he's been dreaming of since the the first chop, chop....

We made up for the last time

2012-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Tracey and I try and set aside a little girl time about every 3 months. However, it seems like something always comes up, and I mean that literally. Remember last time? I ended up getting sick at her house on Saturday morning, and I had a two hour drive home, after I had been throwing up. Meh.

Anxiously, we planned this trip for January, and prayed that all of us would stay healthy, and thankfully we did! Yipee! (Even though I am now battling a lovely head cold, but a mere head cold cant stop me. I'm tough like that)

It was important to me that Tracey and Brittany meet each other. It's strange to have friends, and your other friends don't know them. You know? So, a plan was set. Friday night...bum, bum, bum.......

Tracey and Brittany finally met, and I was like an obnoxious mom. "Brittany, Tracey has been to Australia and Russia on mission trips, isn't that neat!!" It was like I was trying to set them up or something. What can I say? I love them both and wanted them to like each other.

I don't think they needed me though....

We sat and ate and gabbed, and discussed important things, like how do you get your hair to curl like that, Teen Mom, and The Bachelor. And within no time, we decided to go shop.

Seeing that I had gift cards from Christmas burning a hole in my pocket, we mostly looked for me. And I don't even want to admit out loud, where we ended up. Sheepishly, I will admit it....FOREVER 21.

I recognize that I am in fact 37, and 21 has well since passed. But Kelly Stamps says she shops there, so if she does, then I can, right?

I also handed off my camera while I was trying on all my outfits. Somebody was having too much fun while I was in there. My boots....

My boots again...

Self portrait of some pretty girls....

Random young people who belong in FOREVER 21!

More random young people....

And me channeling my inner young girl, circa 1997.

But take heart, I was not the only one playing around. Check out Brittany here, who looks like she belongs on Dallas, with a scotch in her hand. Love it! It was a fun Friday night. :))))

So, Saturday Tracey and I were ready to do some more shopping damage. But first we had to represent that we are in fact Indiana girls at heart.

We decided to head to Nashville to shop, the first mall we went to was Cool Spring Galleria and I did not take a single pic. Head cold was coming on strong, and I was also in the heat of shopping. Shopping, takes serious concentration, you know? After lunch though, I spotted something in the distance...something so good, that I just had to frolic around a tree....Starbucks.

Tracey tried her first Frappacunio. Even though, I'm not sure if it counted. It was strawberries and creme, no coffee in it. Wimp.

We, well I, was hopped up on caffeine and decided we would find the other mall that everyone had told us to go to. The Mall at Green Hills. Who needs GPS, when you have Gretchen giving you directions? And can you believe we found it???? I give all the credit to Tracey though, you know if it were me driving, right now we would be in Alabama.

First stop. Brittany had told us to check this place out. It's packed with NEAT painted furniture, for reasonable prices! SO cool!!

After Nadeau, we finally made it to the mall, where one of the first stores we ventured into was so fun!!

This place was a HUGE jewelry/purse/just pure fun store. We must have looked around for an hour! JaimeMac, I took this for you. Just a very small portion of the store that was just purple jewelry. You would have died!

Dad, I saw this and thought of you!

And mom, I saw this and thought of you! They serve gelato!!

After we had shopped most of the day, we headed back to BG, I was in need of some medicine. Speaking of which, I bought some NyQuil, and got carded!!! How funny is that?! Guess they think I'm going to make some Meth with it?? Who knows.

But only being able to breathe out of one nostril didn't stop us still, because there were two more things we knew had to get done before this weekend was over.

First, we had 3 cupcakes to attend to. At 9:57 at night. Oh.my.word. We split these between us, and seriously almost died from sugar and butter poisoning. I'm happy to report that we did survive though

And we went to church together this morning. I really wanted Tracey to see where we go now, and I'm SO happy that she could go. I felt really rough this morning, but it was so good to have here there.

This was such a great weekend!! I'm thankful for Paul and Eric, who took the kids for the weekend for us, and are understanding of letting us have our time. We missed you Jami! Hopefully next time you can join us. :) And mostly I'm happy to say that we made up for the last time. No puking, no sick kids, just pure blessed friend time.

Hope House

2012-01-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had an opportunity to serve at Hope House. Hope House is a ministry that helps people in need, with food, clothing, furniture, etc. Kinda like Goodwill, except that the gospel is given to every person that comes through.

Our jobs tonight were to fill bags with food for at risk children.

By the time we finished, there were 437 bags filled. (We didn't fill all 437, there had been shifts of people throughout the day.)

437 bags=10% of children here in our area that will go hungry this weekend. 437 bags that are filled every single week to be handed out to kids on Friday's.

In fact, their last meal may be on Friday at school. So these bags with milk, bars, fruit, etc., will help tide them over throughout the weekend.

437 bags is only 10%!!!!!! How blessed my children are.

How blessed I am.

And blessed to have friends to serve along with. (LeAnn and Averi)

And I pray that we as a family can continue to serve others.

And maybe next time I start to whine about wanting a new camera, or table, or clothes, or whatever I'm whining about at that moment...

Maybe I'll just take a moment to think of those hungry kids, and just shut my whiny mouth.

My little hoarder

2012-01-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

My little blue eyed, precious boy. The one that I would die for, the one that I would take on a 2 ton grizzly bear for, the one that I would scale Mt. Everest for, makes me crazy. You see, he likes to keep EVERYTHING. Any little trinket he picks up, any little thing from school, anything that is bought for him. It's all gotta stay, and it all needs to be displayed.

Example right here. Shelves are loaded with things.

And I go through phases with this. Sometimes I just let it go, and try and ignore it.

But eventually, I can't stand it anymore, and I just have to purge.

And while I'm in the throws of purging and being frustrated with my precious blue eyed boy

I come across things he's drawn or written

And just like that I'm mush. And somehow appreciate my little hoarder and what makes him, well, him.

Not to say that I didn't try and tidy up some of that stuff! But now in a I am appreciative of who you are, kind of way.

Back to reality

2012-01-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a bittersweet day. Alarm went off and I knew I had to get right up, instead of my normal, hit snooze a minimum of 4 times then get up. Back to school, and Tom and Pam leaving. It's been a wonderful few weeks filled with lots of fun, but yet I'm ready for my routine. Not to mention my house is a mess! We will miss Meemaw and Grandpa though.

The last few day, the kids have been all about this house right here.

One of those that you color after you put it up (like the one you have Jami)

But Hope has especially loved it!!

It's just her size, and she loves playing pretend in there.

She's eaten dinner in there, and who else could convince grown ups to crawl on in. Hope of course.

She even set up a Christmas tree with gifts for her very own Christmas. And yes, my Christmas is still up. I know, I know, get it down already!! Maybe I'll just leave it up year round....

I thought it was great that we had just a little snow last night! Enough for the kids to romp around for a few, and right before it was time to go back to school. Honestly, I thought they would probably cancel, considering our 14!!!! snow days last year. :)

But back to reality for these little two right here, meant saying goodbye to Meemaw and Grandpa. Sigh.

Now back to cleaning and organizing! I'm on a mission....

Scanning is addictive

2012-01-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

When it comes to technology I am always 20 steps behind. Always. And if you know anything about my dad, he's about 20 steps in front of the rest of the world. I know my dad just shakes his head, when he has to spend 965 hours talking me through the simplest things (hi dad!) And thanks to him, I now can scan stuff. I am well aware that people have been scanning for a long time now, but it's a wonder I don't blog by typewriter and telegraph.

So, between last night and today, I've just been looking for things to scan. If you sit still long enough, I might try and scan you.

I started with my favorite subjects of all!!

Next two things, were gifts Hope made for us at pre-school.

Practicing her name!

One of Pierce's spelling test, that he got a perfect score on!

And one of his journal entries. 'I like having a feld chrep and riting a bus'

Then, I decided to move onto random pictures....Look at my sweet baby girl.

Makes me sad.

Oh snap!

Waaaaa!!!!! (This is me crying like a maniac)

And how about we check me out in high school.

Holy tanning bed batman. Let's just ignore my hair why don't we?

Photo booth at the RIVER FALLS MALL, shout out if you remember that!

Hi-larious. I went to the Prom with a guy from NEW ALBANY high school, that was big time for a Graceland chick. Also, Hope saw this picture and said, "mommy who is this?" "Oh, just a friend from high school" "Is this daddy?" "No, it's not" (then she starts making an ugly face) and she proceeds to say, "I don't like him, and I want you to throw this picture away!" HA!!!!

In my twenties, getting ready to go out.

I think this was a night out in Memphis.

During the blonde era.

And here was my super short hair phase.

But my two of my favorite things I scanned today, is Paul not even a year old. Sweetness!

And my Grandad.

Oh what fun and how addictive scanning is!!!

2011 was a record breaking year for me

2012-01-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Those professional Olympic athletes are breaking records every year.

Regis Philbin broke records for hours on t.v.

My sister broke the record for most points in a basketball game her senior year (50 points!)

And I myself broke a record in 2011, drum roll please......

I blogged 173 posts in 2011.

Hold your applause please. I understand, it's astounding.

Check out my previous stats though.

In 2008 I posted 31 times, and might I add those posts were pretty darn boring.

In 2009 I brought it, and posted 125 times.

In 2010 I posted 100 times. Ouch.

And this year was a whopping 173 times.

So, here's to 2012 and outdoing my previous record!!

On NYE, we hiked and sat in Corvette's

2011-12-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

When trying to find something to do, DURING THE DAY, on NYE, you don't have that many options. Apparently, most things are shut down, or either they assume you will only want to do things at night that involve alcohol. We tossed around many options, and finally decided to take the in-laws to a local cave. Unfortunately, the water was too high for a boat ride, but we decided to go ahead and hike the trail.

Christmas was still up there. Sniff, sniff, it makes me sad that it will all be down soon.

Remember our last visit there? There was much adventure and all the things that creep me out! Not much different this time, but today I decided to be a little more adventurous. You know, adventurous for a middle aged white mom, that wears mom jeans.

Pam started the day, saying she found dinosaur poop that had become a fossil. More like an ugly rock actually, but dinosaur poop sounds much better.

Thank goodness, Hope decided to fore go the walking stick this time! Last time she and the stick became one. Only Pierce was our Moses.

Can I just say that the weather is bizarre! It was in the 60's today! I thought we should get home and dye some Easter Eggs!

The kids really LOVE doing this kinda stuff.

Climbing and being adventurous.

And feeling like they conquered small little mountains, and in turn convincing their pitiful momma to give it a try.

If this isn't a sight, I'm not sure what is. My back end trying to climb slippery rocks.

But I did it, and I did not fall on my face or backside.

And the kids were pretty proud of ol' momma.

Now here is where I just about came undone. Paul had both my offspring down here in this large ravine. They were climbing, scaling walls, and making me a nervous wreck. Hope decided she wanted to be with the big guys, doing EVERYTHING they did. I mean really? Do these children know how hard they were to come by?

Paul, Tom and Pierce...

And Hope giving it her all...

And finally success for her! And success for me too, because I am happy to report that she is with me tonight, safe and sound. :)

And maybe just maybe, this outdoor stuff is starting to rub off on me.

After we had all acted like Bear Grylls for a while, it was time to go to our next place of fun. The plan was the Railway Museum, but they were closed. So, we went to the Corvette Museum instead.

None of us had ever been here before. And while it's not really my kind of thing, it was fun to get a chance to sit in a Vette! Even Tom had to try it out. Looks good Tom!!

Can't you just see me guys?! I could just make the kids ride in the trunk.

And check me out here....now can't you see me, laid back listening to some Jay Z? Who am I kidding, more like Celine Dion.

They had lots of nice displays

With Corvette's throughout the decades

And check this out. Representing gas from the 50's, and there wasn't even a place for a dollar sign. I could handle that!!

And success for us girls! A purple Vette for us!! :-)

It's been a very full NYE for us, and now I'm just wondering if we can all stay awake to ring in 2012. :) Happy New Year everyone!!!

Date Night!!!

2011-12-31T08:47:00.000-08:00

So, my wonderful, fruit cake makin', in laws offered to watch the kids Friday night, so we could go on a date. We ~~ran out the door as fast as we could before they changed their minds~~ gladly took the opportunity to get out, just the two of us for a while.

We ate at Shogun, and went and saw the movie, 'We bought a zoo.' The movie was soooooooo good! I loved it! And the company I kept wasn't too bad either. Even if he makes ridiculous faces....

Christmas break=play and fruitcake

2011-12-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Well our week can be summed up like this.....

Play with Meemaw

Play with grandpa (aint that a sight! 3 generations of men playing x-box)
Play at a play land
Dance
Because dancing always fits into a week.
And fruitcake.
I just want to take a moment and defend fruitcake. I know that fruitcake is kind of like mother in laws, they both generally get a bad rap. However, there ARE good mother in laws, and there is good fruitcake I say!! My in-laws make it every year, and I love it. So in-between play and dance, I eat fruitcake.

Mmmmmm

RIP toaster

2011-12-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

I got this toaster right here when I was 19 years old, so that would make my toaster a mere 18 years old. And while it has served me well for 18 years, it's pretty well, um, nasty. Plus, this toaster would not toast bagels, or at least you would have to hack up your bagel so it would properly fit into it. Yet, I just never would bring myself to replace it. New toasters are just not high on my priority.

But yesterday my father in law declared he was buying me a new toaster, it was time to move on. So, here she is, my red beauty. I'm excited about my new toaster, BUT only I, miss sap could get attached to a toaster, and be a little sad to bid her goodbye. She's served me well. Lots of toast over the last 18 years, and hacked up bagels. RIP dear toaster.

Christmas 2011, just may never end

2011-12-27T16:27:00.001-08:00

Hey kids, why don't you stand here and pose for the 65787756 time in the last 48 hours for me?

And guess why? Because Meemaw and Grandpa are here, and we are going to celebrate Christmas AGAIN!!!!
We are very happy to report that Paul's parents made it safe and sound last night!! Yea!! Within less than an hour of their arrival we dove into some more presents.
I think it's so fun to watch other people open their gifts.
And I would say even Hope agrees with my feelings. Do you see her little smiling jumping self in the corner of the picture? She was so giddy when her daddy opened the beef jerky that she picked out for him. Too cute!
Big enough knife Paul? Good griefness.
And I got some very sweet gifts, that my children picked out just for me!
Please enjoy my slide show....
Ahhhhhh
Ooooooo
Niiiiiice
Enough with me already! More of the cutest people in our house....

I include the one on the left, as one of the cute people.
And our pride and joy for the night was receiving the gifts that Pierce had painted for us. Sweetness!
I'm thinking that these should be framed!

And I would say that the best part for the kids, is having their grandparents here to spend time and play with them.

We have a week to spend with Pam and Tom, and I would say that we are all in for a rude awakening after they leave. Back to reality for sure! For now though, we are going to make the most of this week. Tonight, we are going to watch 'The Help' so if you hear sobbing, just ignore it, it will be me.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T06:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas had come, and it was ready and waiting for two bright eyed little children.

The one on the left here awakened at 5:30, ready to go. Thankfully Papaw got him to go back to sleep, but by 7:30 we couldn't hold them off any longer!!
As tradition in my family continues, the kids are not allowed to go see anything until the adults say so. So, they were upstairs chanting every few seconds, "can we go down yet??"
And finally, the day that the whole kid year revolves around had arrived.
Ripping and tearing....
Excitement...
And joy!
And within a matter of what seemed like moments, it was over. Or so I thought! Paul told me, I had forgot a present over there, and I said, "no I didn't, that was all of them" "no, there's one more" "no Paul, that was it!" "Gretchen, there's ONE more!" Ohhhhhh, sometimes I'm slow like that. So, I went and looked and found a small box on the tree, and it was for ME!!! Paul, completely surprised me with a beautiful ring!!!!

Lovely picture of me, huh?
After rampage of the gifts, it was fun to watch the play.
Happy Napper that she had been asking for months for was a big hit! Yea!
And check out Neena here, taking no prisoners playing Hungry, Hungry Hippo!
The rest of the family was to be there for lunch and then gifts after that. Jo, and I had to take a moment of course.
And you KNOW, that we had to have this picture right here!!!
After lunch, we sang to Jesus for his birthday. :)
Then it was time for even MORE gifts.
More rampage...
And more fun, watching everyone be excited for their gifts!
And several wardrobe shows...

And sappy ol' me, just has to say how lovely a day it was. I love my family and love seeing them all together.
And I pray that the children look back one day with fond memories of how much we loved them, and loved being together.
It was a fantabulous Christmas!!!

HOWEVER, I still had one more very important date I needed to attend to.

McDonald's and my best friend, cause that's how we roll.
We drank diet coke's, exchanged gifts and laughed! I made her this hilarious calender, that she got a big kick out of. :)))
And check out what she made me!!! I LOVE IT!!!!
Never seems we have enough time, but I will take every bit I can get! Love this girl!
And that in a nutshell was our Christmas Day of 2011. But Christmas is not over yet! More posts to come....:)

Christmas Eve, 2011

2011-12-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

Let me go ahead, and sound like an old person, NOW. How can Christmas and another year be over?? I say this, every.single.year. But, I always feel the same way, every.single.year. I've decided I'm just to darn sentimental. The end of another year always makes me sad, but from here on out, I will be happy about it. Okay? Hold me to it....

We started our Christmas Eve, with our annual breakfast. Okay, this was only the second one, but I will still refer to it as annual. This time the Reid's decided they were to good for us, and bailed out. So the Bush's and Lee's represented. How cute does Cameron look sitting there on the end, alone? Ha!

Steve had to get in the picture too. :)
Most of our Christmas Eve, was just hanging out at my moms all day. In the evening, the family got together for our meal, and to exchange gifts with Christopher and Jaclyn. I forced the kids to dress up for me and take pictures.
I couldn't stop them from taking breaks to peek at the gifts though. Oh, what fun!
My mom, had a wonderful meal for us, and we enjoyed it in the beautiful candlelight.

And you know that the Robinson clan, HAD to get the 'round the table picture!
Christopher had to work on Christmas day, how dumb is that?! So, we had our gifts with them after dinner. Aren't they cute?!
And in between gifts and fun, I took umpteen pictures. Cause that's what I do people. Please note, the man in the background throwing deuces.
Might be just a little too close...
Better.
My three nephews, and beautiful sister.
We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve.
The kids were CLIMBING the walls, and just being general wild, excited monkeys.
And though I thought of maybe using a tranquilizer gun on them, they finally fell fast asleep.
And it's a good thing they did, because this was what awaited them when they would wake up.

Aint no party, like an office party

2011-12-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday we were going to head up to Indiana for all of our Christmas festivities, but before we left the kids and I headed to Paul's office party. Paul decided the DAY before the party, that it would be an ugly sweater party. Nothing like a last minute decision for something! I was prepared, because I still had my award winning ugly sweater hanging in my closet.

Of course, I would never go intentionally go buy ugly sweaters for these two! So, they just showed up cute.

However, Paul had gotten rid of his previous white sweater, but kept the lovely dickie. Ha! So, he went on Thursday and found his self a lovely white cable knit. Too funny. And listen to this! He had scheduled for a turkey/ham platter to be delivered for the meal. Well, they called him 10 minutes AFTER it was to be delivered and said that their truck had broken down, and he would have to come pick it up. He got there, and it was packed! Had to wait in line for 30 minutes. In that time, he saw people getting out their phones taking pictures of him! HA! You know people were probably uploading pics of him to facebook...."check out this dork!"
Sharky brought his Wii from home, and we had some heavy competition going on. And the guys wearing those awesome sweaters, were breaking out in a sweat.
And Pierce here, would take on anyone there! Too cute!
I didn't take that many pics at the party, and once we got home, and I had to re document this lovely, lovely thing I wore.
Hanging balls on a sweater. Now that is classic.

"This is the best night"

2011-12-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Last night, Pierce and I went out to do a little shopping for his sister. He wanted to get her a gift, seriously he has been ALL about gift giving this year!!!! Anyways, so just the two of us ventured out, and it was SUCH a fun time. He and I do not get nearly enough one on one time together, and I miss it.

He must have said to me 5 times last night, "this is the best night momma."

And you know, I might have to agree with him. We laughed, sang, skipped like buffoons, and just enjoyed each other.
He brings his own money everywhere these days, so he can give to the Salvation Army bell ringers. Love that!
And we ended the night with a special treat all of his own. I don't ever want to forget our special night together.
This will probably be last post for a while. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. My heart is heavy for some, and I'm praying. I love all my bloggy people. :)))))

Giving birth to a monkey, baking cookies, and about Christmas cards

2011-12-21T13:10:00.001-08:00

This post will be a little all over the place, so bear with it please.

Look who is into pretending she's going to have a baby.....

And we even experience the birth!
It's a.....

Beautiful pink baby monkey, that she always names, Hope. :-)
So, I decided today that we should do some Christmas baking. Before we were getting started, I got out all my stuff, and look who pulled a big ol' Tracey. Expires, Nov 15, 07. Oops...
Is it just me, or does baking always seem better in theory and idea, than the actual doing it?? Well, I know it's not just me, it was Tracey that said, "I always envision us sipping hot chocolate, Christmas music playing, and the children saying how much they love me. When in fact we end up acting like Sanford and Son." BA HA HA.
The kids were super excited though, and even had to put on their aprons for baking.
I would say, for about every 3 that we decorated, 1 was eaten.

And this one, ended up so messy..
That I just had to take her straight to the bathtub.
Where I taught her the important act of putting your hair up in a towel. Just one step closer to womanhood now. :-)
Lastly, Jaime Mac brought up another idea of another blog off topic. Christmas cards. Do we send them? Why do we send them, etc..

My take on Christmas cards is that it's just part of the whole tradition thing. I read that they got started in England in like 1840 or something like that. I have gone years where I did not send them, and some years I do. If I don't get one from somebody, I do not get in my feelings hurt or anything like that. However, I really do enjoy getting them!! :)

Bad Santa

2011-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

I am L-O-V-I-N-G Christmas break with the kids! It's just so nice to have them home all day, (even when they drive me to drink hard liquor) and I am loving the change of pace. We've been relaxing more, playing lots of games, putting puzzles together, reading, eating lots of junk, and trying to finish up Christmas. I have two more to buy for and then I will be d.o.n.e.

Somehow this little guy even convinced me to play this game where I run while he tries to shoot me. It's like living in downtown LA.

Oh, and I have dominated in this game right here! I take no prisoners.
And I must be crazy, because I'm about to show something I only save for my family. I've been told on *several* occasions that I always look put together. Here I am to prove to all though, that many times I look like this...
When at home, I pull my hair completely off my head, and expose a forehead that is 95 miles long. Good thing I have a charming personality, huh?! Poor Paul. HA!
And one last thing, today while the kids and I were out doing our Christmas shopping, we saw Santa pulled over. HA!! It cracked me up. Santa even had on his blue tooth thing, maybe him and Mrs Claus were chatting. Bad Santa!!

Things that remind me of my childhood--Christmas Edition

2011-12-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

I am a VERY nostalgic person.

Usually at the beginning of every new season, I find myself reliving those nostalgic feelings. For example, when summer begins, I usually think about my time spent at my grandparents more. I remember the summers spent going to the fair with them, playing in their yard, the window air unit that would freeze me out of their living room, my Grandad's tan line from mowing, their garden, and my grumpy grandma cooking in her kitchen. Sometimes those feelings are so strong, it's almost paralyzing. I hope I don't sound too crazy saying that.

Anyhow! One day I was reading Grass Stains Blog, and saw where she did some posts about things that reminded her of her childhood, and me being the nostalgic soul I am, absolutely loved it! So, I've decided to take a crack at it.

And hands down, the season that gets me the most nostalgic is Christmas. There are so many triggers, all it takes is a song, a smell, a sight, and I am this girl again.

Here we go..

Tins. My mom would bake a TON when we were kids, and she always put the goodies in tins and gave them away.

Fudge.
Mexican wedding cakes (or at least that's what my mom called them)
Magic Bars
And chocolate crinkles.
All of those goodies, instantly remind me of my childhood, I mean I can almost taste them NOW!

Another thing that I fondly remember? Ornaments such as these. Especially at my grandparents house!
And large colored light bulbs. These always decorated the outside of our house.
And was it just us? Or did anyone else have these crazy stars atop their Christmas trees? The movie, It's A Wonderful Life. I remember starting to watch this when I was very young, I probably thought it was boring at the time, but now I love it.
Oh man, probably only my siblings will understand this one. We ALWAYS watched Little House on the Prairie, and to this day when I watch the Christmas episode I think of drying my hair by the fireplace and probably eating one of the above said treats.
We also never missed Rudolph! And holy cow, the abominable snowman always freaked me out!
The Andy Griffith Show. Seriously watch this episode, every.single.year.
Of course Frosty the Snowman...
And my favorite Charlie Brown.
And lastly, the thing that reminds me of my childhood the most? Hands down is music! It only takes a few bars of a certain song, and I think of my dad playing our records on the turn table.

Andy Williams. Love it!
And Ray Conniff is always the winner in my book! We must have listened to this record a thousand times over.
And now a grown woman, I appreciate all those nostalgic feelings and triggers. Sometimes it's just good to sit back and remember....

Twas the last weekend before Christmas

2011-12-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

Our weekend has been busy (I'm sure like everyone else) so much so, that falling asleep is just kind of however you land. Yes, that busy.

Friday was Pierce's last day of school before Christmas break, and Hope and I went to help with his party. I still remember my parties before Christmas break started, and just how excited I was! I always wonder if my kids are feeling the same way I used to...:-)
Friday night, Brittany invited us, and Cindy and her family over for Taco soup, and it was YUMMY!!
And Brittany and Cindy have these two a-dorable babies. Darn them. Makes my ovaries cry out. ;) And this little Luke, cracks me up! He's always into the food! At one point he had pretzels hanging off his clothes, and chocolate all over his mouth and hands. Too cute!
Cindy's baby girl. SO cute!
Brittany is the picture queen! She's always wanting to photograph moments, I think she even trumps me. So, we attempted to get all the kids together...
This is the best we got. :-)
And Brittany insisted on one of the guys. They were less than thrilled to say the least, HA! Kudos to you Brittany for making them do it, who cares that one of them wouldn't even turn around. Boys are weird.
Saturday, I shopped and attempted to get my Christmas finished. I failed.

Saturday night was the Christmas dinner for the fire department. Sharky here was awarded, firefighter of the year. Woot, Sharky! (Who wore the same sweater, two nights in a row? Bill Cosby here)
We still have another party tonight, and then I think we are officially done with the party scene.

The majority of the weekend though, has been spent doing THIS....
And I'm not the only one. I want to remember how much the kids have been into making gifts this year. It's been VERY sweet to see the kids (especially Pierce) think so much about everyone else. And yeah, he's basically worn the same thing all weekend too. He gets it from his father. :)

A 4 year old fashion show

2011-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

What happens when you have a sassy 4 year old with multiple Christmas outfits?

Why, of course you have a fashion show.

My model even requested music, and would shut the door to change so she would come out in a surprise outfit.

Have I ever mentioned she is too much?
Check her out though...
I am not even kidding...
She was loving it!
And then my model got caught up in the music, and couldn't help but start dancin'
It was hilarious...
I think it's time she officially starts dance
Or maybe lock her in her room?
Because sometimes she makes me nervous. :-)
But she is adorable!

What I've learned in 9 years

2011-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

9 years and 20 pounds ago, we said I do. It was a beautiful wedding, and the moment I laid eyes on Paul at the end of the isle I cried. Not tears of nerves or anything like that, it was just out of happiness, you know I'm one of those who cries over any emotion. :) So, here we are 9 years later, and I would say I've learned a lot about Paul...

I've learned just how completely opposite we are.
I knew this going into the marriage, but you know after the honeymoon is over, the differences are more noticeable. :)
I learned that giving you the nickname Rico, was perfect.
You are out of control with your suaveness sometimes.
I have evidence of this over and over...

I've learned that you cannot get the concept that these dishes...
Just go in this thing right here, called the dishwasher.
I've learned that sometimes you whistle so much, I want to shove a straw in there and choke you.
I've learned that I could scream fire and be naked when you play x-box, you would never notice me.
I've learned that you will always be one of the first ones on the dance floor.
And you can get down for a white guy.
You will also belt out a karaoke tune if given the opportunity.
I've learned over and over what fun you are.
You are usually up for anything

I learned very early on what you are truly made of.
Your strength and determination inspired me for years, as it still does today.
I learned the heartbreak of watching you suffer, and I learned that you NEVER give up.
I learned that you could face loss, and never doubt the one who gave it to you in the first place.
I learned what a good dad you are.
And that you help keep me balanced and sane parenting with me.

On that day, didn't we think we knew it all?? Hardly. I had lots to learn.
Most importantly, I've learned you are still the one for me.

Pictures according to my parents

2011-12-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some pictures that my parents took while we were in Mexico. Of course, I can't give you my normal play-by-play in each shot, but I can always make up stuff I guess. :)

BUT this first picture I did take. The very first thing my mom did when she got to our place, was start to put on these white gloves. I was totally perplexed and asked her if she were cold or something, to which she said "I'm ready to give you the white glove inspection" and then we all started to crack up. I guess after my little rib about cleaning until I saw green men, she thought she would just run with it. Touche' mom! Your not foolin' me though mom, I know you were shaking your head at my house skillz. :)

The rest of these though, are just a little glimpse of time spent with Neena and Papaw, whilst momma and daddy were acting half our ages in the Caribbean.

My mom giving Hope the finest shopping training there is. I know this, because I learned from her myself. :)
Sweetness.
One of the hardest parts of being gone was knowing I would miss Hope's Christmas program. Hard for me, but not for her! When I told her we would not be there, but Neena and Papaw would, she broke out into the 4 year old happy dance. Mom and dad were sweet to not only take oodles of pics, but also video it for us.

Thank you mom and dad again for taking care of our babies. It always helps when you know they are being taken care of, cough cough, and SPOILED, I think we should be called the Betty Ford clinic for a week or so, because we have some serious de-toxing going on this week. Okay, I kid. Sorta.

In all seriousness, thank you.

Tis' the season, for kiddie programs

2011-12-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Pierce's Christmas program, it was called The Reindeer Whisperer, cute!

I made him pose for me before we left, and I cant help but look at this and think, what a little man he looks like! Gee wiz!
I was *slightly* annoyed, because I could hardly see him in the packed room. Errrrr.
It was a really cute program, and I loved watching him belt out his songs. Every time he would see us with the camera though, he would stop singing and smile. HA!
A friend of ours Michelle, happened to be at the program taking pics for her sister in law, and offered to take one of us. I LOVE Hope's face!
Another fun night of memories made. I just want the whole thing to slow down though, it's all going so fast....

Proud to be a Starbucks sister

2011-12-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

This sweet girl here decided she would start a Bible study months back. She was also sweet enough to invite me to join. We meet on Monday mornings at 6:00 a.m. (which I thought was really big of me, until I read Radical, ha!) we have studied two books of the Bible and read two books so far. Also, let me point out Karen here on the far right. If it wasn't for our meeting at Chick Fil A, last January I may not be in this group. She was sweet enough to invite a complete stranger to her church, and help me get involved.
Like I said, this group of ours meets on Monday mornings, and always at Starbucks. Brittany decided we needed a name, and she named us the 'Starbucks sisters' which stuck. Last night the whole group of us got together to have a Christmas dinner. You know at 6 a.m., there isn't a lot of time to just chat and get to know one another. Last night was great! Fun to just sit back and get to know some of these sweet ladies. :) And guess what Brittany did? She had shirts made for the whole group...
Here we all are (minus 1) The Starbucks sisters.
And I proudly wore my shirt today.

'Starbucks Sisters. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17'

Home.

2011-12-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

Today when I woke up, I was in for a rude awakening. No one brought me breakfast in bed, nor did anyone make my bed. I had to warm up my van before leaving for school, and this certainly was not my view..

No more cute animals made out of towels, along with my newspaper.
And long gone are the pool boys (which by the way his name was not Carlos, but I called him that anyways)
But despite all the changes I've had today, I am exactly where I want to be.

Home.

What happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico

2011-12-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

A little beach party, always leads to this.. Right?

Relaxing, pampering, and beautiful night on the beach

2011-12-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going to be in for a rude awakening when we get home. No one to bring me food and drink at my command, no sleeping in, and no more views of this....

Yesterday, we mostly relaxed all day.

And I went for a massage. It was incredible, I felt like a limp fish when it was over. This is the room where I went for the first 30 minutes, just to listen to the water and get my relax on.

I laid here for 30 minutes, drifing in and out of sleep, until 'Edith' came and got me. Believe me, I wanted to take pics of the massage, but didn't want to send her screaming out of the room. :)

Last night was an a little awards ceremony for the company, on the beach. It was GORGEOUS.

I went a little overload on the pictures, but trust me, it was so beautiful.

There was a full moon, that reflected off the ocean, candles everywhere, music playing, it was just simply lovely.

Paul and some of the other managers, got an award and were recognized.

Sharky, who got here yesterday,was also recognized.

Last night alone, made this whole trip worth it. I am very blessed to have experienced this trip, especially so close to our anniversary. :)

We leave Sunday for home, and I'm ready! I miss my babies something terrible now. I also miss my routine, because I'm old. Sorry, I haven't been commenting on everyone else's blogs much, but I'll get back to it when we get back. :) Okay, back to the pool for now....

Fine eating, entertainment, turn down service, and a lost bathing suit.

2011-12-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

Second time around blogging and it's much easier, I'm getting the hang of it here in Mexico!

For the most part, we have been soaking in the beauty down here. Lots of time spent at the pool and the beach, but we have managed to squeeze in a few other things.
First up, when I saw this I had to take a picture of it. How funny is this?? Hispanics know a good book too. :)

Let me tell you about this resort, they are all about keeping you entertained, and lots of activities. One of the things yesterday, was a fashion show. Check her out in her red cover up and hat. Of course they hope you see this ensemble, and run to the store here and buy it, that's the whole purpose of it. Oh, and this peso's thing is confusing as heck! More on that maybe in a different post.

This is a work trip, but for the first 2 days, it has just been managers. Last night a group of about 19 of us met up for a dinner. From tonight here on out, there will be more like 60 Bankers people here.

The place is called Maria Marie, and it's mexican-french fusion cuisine.

The place itself was very pretty and service was outstanding! I have been pleasently surprised at the food here, and we have eaten ourselves silly.

I'm sure everyone here thinks I'm coo coo for cocoa puffs, because I take pictures of everything. But for reals, look at this food! This was our salad.

Main course. Paul about died when it came out like this. You know how fancy food gets kinda weird? This was really good though

And of course dessert. Look at that fork on the plate, it was made out of cocoa. So YUM!!

The first night we got here, I'm embarrassed to say we were asleep by 8:00! HA! Last night we were determined to see the live entertainment. They have a show every night around 9:45, so after dinner, we just hung pool side for about an hour.

Check it out! I know these pictures are kinda dark, but hopefully you can make this out. These men and women dancers just danced their little hearts out, it reminded me a lot of a Vegas show.
Minus a performance from Celine Deon. :)

I'm not much on shows like this, but it was pretty entertaining.

So, after the show we came back to the room and Paul had requested turn down service. They it candles...

Turned down the bed, put robes, slippers and chocolate out.

It was worth it, just for this alone. Rico, in a robe and slippers. HA HA HA!

But listen to this. When we got in from swimming yesterday afternoon, I washed my bathing suit out and wrapped it up in a bath towel to help it dry out. I just assumed I would hang it out to dry when we got back for the evening, and I had no idea that Paul had requested the turn down service. SOOOO, guess what happened when they came in to fix up the room? They grabbed the towel with my suit inside of it, and took it out. They had no clue it was in there of course, but off it went to the laundry with hundreds of other towels. I immediately called the front desk, but laundry was already gone. I called again this morning and there has been no sign of it. UGH! So, guess who had to go to the shop and buy hereself a new suit? 380 peso's, but that's not as bad as it sounds. ;)

Oh, and let me just say, it does not feel like Christmas here at all! It's so weird. I will be glad to get home, and back in the Christmas spirit. For now though, I will soak up the last few days. Oh, and I miss me a little blue eyed boy and a little hazel eyed girl, something fierce.

We've landed in paradise

2011-12-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hola!! Greetings from Mexico!!

I am happy to tell everyone that we made it here safely and it is paradise. I'm not going to type a whole lot, because blogging from here is like trying to find a cure for bad hair days. Almost impossible. However, I really wanted to try.

Our flight was smooth as could be, and the views are spectacular up there.
Once we made it here and I saw THIS I knew everything would be fine.

Our room is very, very nice. We have a big jacuzzi hot tub thing.

Bathroom amenities are very nice.

Besides a beautiful room, the service has been impecable.

Last night at 8:00, Paul ordered shrimp, sandwhich and fries, and chocolate cake. Just because we could!

And I was very happy to stick my toes into some white sand shortly after we got here.

The weather is amazing! It's been about 80 degrees, and there is a constant breeze. Perfect!

This place is HUGE!! It goes on and on and on.

Really, my camera cannot capture how big or pretty is actually is.

I'm the super white chick here that stands out from the rest. :)

Anytime I get to the beach I always forget just how beautiful it actually is

So, these are all the hallways that lead you around and there is this breeze that just flows through them. I swear it's just WONDERFUL.

Oh, and check this out. This is an outdoor hut thingy...

Where you can get a massage, which is surrounded by these fountains of running water. Uh, hullo!!! Sign me up please :)

Last night after had walked around and checked out most of the digs at the resort we decided to do a little shopping. It's neat here, because it's right out from where we are staying, so we can just walk there. Paul loves the art of haggling with these people.

Imagine my surprise to see this in the midst of it all!! I went on in and got me a yummy coffee! It felt like a little piece of home.

We had a great time, just walking around and seeing all the sights. So fun!!

Like I said, blogging from here has not been easy, but I really wanted to try!! Am I loyal blogger or what?!? I miss everyone! It's strange not being 'connected' but it's also been a nice break. Paradise seems to win out over my blackberry...

A baby shark is on the way!!

2011-12-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

I know I've mentioned Sharky and Megan on my blog before. Sharky is the guy that works for Paul and is also the guy who was instrumental in getting Paul interested in firefighting. Megan and I have slowly come to know each other through events at the fire house and work stuff. In fact, the very first time I met her I just came out and asked her if she was pregnant, (sometimes my filter doesn't work well) and in fact she was and they had told NO ONE, but she didn't want to lie to me. So, we've bonded over pregnancy and talked lots over the months about babies. :)

They have zero family here, and I wanted to help give her a shower. She is due in the beginning of January, and I'm excited to meet and hold baby sharky.
Another friends of ours made the cake, and I think she did a great job!
Due to fact that she very pregnant, she cannot make the trip to Mexico, but her husband is going. Let's all pray, that she does not go into labor while he's down there. Can you imagine?!
This is my last post. YIKES!! Our flight is bright and early tomorrow morning, please pray for safe travels if you think of it. I will do my best to blog from Mexico, but not sure how all of that will work. Will they tell me to pay them 687 pesos for 2 minutes of Wifi?? If they do, I will just flirt a little with Carlos, and hopefully he will work me a deal.

Adios my friends!!

I've spent most of my weekend getting high on Clorox fumes

2011-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I sent this text to my dad...

'I've cleaned all weekend. Like, scrubbed till my elbows locked up, sniffed Clorox till I saw little green men, and dusted things I don't even think belong to me. All for the sake of my mother.'

It's true. Green men danced for me a few times, maybe they were elves. But now maybe my mom will only have to say, "John, I didn't raise my kids like this" only 5 times instead of 25. :)) (Hi mom!!)

So, I am in full anticipation mode this weekend. Getting ready for my parents to stay here, and trying to think of everything I need to do to make this trip as smooth as possible for everyone. It did dawn on me last night though, 'oh crap, I need to give myself a pedicure!!' So, after I had scrubbed my last knick knack for the night, I settled in to watch one of my all time favorites while my toes dried!!
I heart George Bailey.So, not that much to blog, but I will leave you with not 1...
But 2 of my sweet Christmas babes.
I am helping give a baby shower today, I will try to blog once more before we leave. We'll see....

Let me share a few things

2011-12-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Pierce's class keeps a journal and they write in it every day, look at his entry for today. 'My favorite time of day is gowing hom be cos I git to see my famliy' Sweet boy.

Pierce has also been asking every day to get on the computer and look up toys he would like for Christmas. I told him to write down exactly what it is he sees that he likes. When I said "exactly" he took it and ran with it. Look under the toy description 'be the first to review'
And lastly, we had to do a timeline project for Pierce's class, I think it turned out pretty cute. (who has a nasty mouse pad?)
Let me tell you something my sweet husband said though. I was telling Paul that this would be hanging outside the classroom on the bulletin board for everyone to see, "you are putting THIS picture of you on here for everyone to see?" Why yes, schmoopie poo I am!
Nothing like a little positive reinforcement the same day you had to see a dermatologist for acne. 37 years old, acne and gray hair, oh and I have TMJ and need dental work. Good thing I can still wow people with my charming personality. :)))))

Playa Del Carmen

2011-11-30T09:41:00.001-08:00

This time next week, I will be here. Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

I have been vacillating between feelings about this trip for months. Right now though, I'm leaning more toward excitement. I'm sure all moms would understand what I'm feeling, it's just the idea of letting go, even if it's just for 6 days. I'm used to being the one in charge/control (or the feeling of, I understand God is in fact in control) of things at home. The idea of handing the kids off for an extended time is scary to me. My parents will be here at our place, which is a first time (talk about trying to clean up your underwear drawers) and I know the kids will be in very capable, and slightly spoiling hands.

However, despite all my reservations and sinful fears, I am on board for this trip. Paul and our marriage come first, even above my children. So, with all this said and off my chest.... bring on sleeping in, feeding me and me alone, late nights, fruity drinks with umbrellas, strolls on the beach, bluest of waters, and a cute cabana boy I will nickname Carlos.

The rest of our visit, and meeting BETH.

2011-11-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry Jami, but I will be doing some combining on this post. I simply don't have the patience to break up all of these. :)

Between lots of play. (Which one looks outta place?)

And time spent with grandparents.
I managed to squeeze in a few more things to do, while in the promised land.

Made a trip up to Salem to do a little shopping and have lunch with Aunt Linda.
Good griefness, even my mother is sucked into the electronic devices.
We also got to see Cody play a game. We were rooting for those Borden Braves!
There he is, #34, he's a really good ballplayer.
It was a fun game, and Pierce really got into it this time. We had a lot of fun!
Why is Cody taller than me? Why does he have facial hair? Why do all the girls text him and scream for him? Could somebody tell me where Cody bear went, because this is ridonkulous.
AND I also got to see my girlie's AGAIN on a lunch date. And this is where I met someone I've been stalking for years!!

There I was sitting in my booth, chowing down, when lo and behold I see a child and a man in the corner of my eye, that I recognized in a second.

Let me back up, I've been reading Beth's blog for as long as I've been blogging, but I was always a secret lurker. Tracey knew Beth from college days, and I just thought she had a funny/interesting blog. So, imagine my HORROR when one day she went private, and I could no longer read it! Geesh. Thankfully, one day Tracey outted me to Beth and she invited me to read it, and come to find out she was reading mine as well. God bless blogs.

Anyways, so here comes Josh and Isabella, and I am not kidding you all, I wanted to scream, "LOOK IT'S ISABELLA AND JOSH!!" It was hard to contain myself, but I did. Jami also knows Beth, so I was the odd man out, but I was like "I wanna go meet them!" And I even got all nervous feeling, ha!! Beth and her accompanying family were just as sweet in person as I had always imagined and I think I held it together, even though I really wanted to start snapping pictures. HA! It was so nice to put a whole family with the faces!! :-)

Even though I didn't create a scene taking pictures with Beth and the gang, I made us girlie's document just one more time.

Take #1.
Take #2.
And success.
Great Thanksgiving weekend I would say. Now the countdown is on for another trip, but I will let everyone in on that maybe tomorrow....

My FAVORITE meal of the year.

2011-11-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner is by far my favorite meal of the year. I just love dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, and pumpkin pie, YUM!! The turkey itself I've never been a big fan of though, it's always just so-so in my opinion. This year though the turkey was seriously wonderful, and guess who made it??

Look at the yummy bird just waiting to be eaten. Do you think that I made it? I know with my awesome pie baking skills your just sure that it was me...

You know better right? No, not me. Before I reveal, check out our place setting my mom had for us girls. We each got an ornament from Williamsburg, a Santa from Williamsburg and a tin of her homemade fudge. So nice!!
Here he is, the man with the golden turkey lurkey touch. He did a great job, it was for reals the best turkey I've ever eaten.
And then he carved it at the table like a scene from a movie. I kept joking that it would explode like the one in Christmas Vacation. But it did not, the whole meal was wonderful!
Pierce only had one thing on his mind on Thanksgiving, heck the whole weekend. Where are my cousins?
I wanted to capture some sweet memories in pictures (of course) and look who thought he was HI-LARIOUS taking these kinds of pictures of me. He actually said, "this is the face I wake up to everyday"
Take #2 honey.
No worries, I got him back.
We also celebrated my and Chris's birthday on Turkey Day, and this is the only picture Paul got. If I die before him, you better believe captured moments will cease.
Our Thanksgiving was good, and like every year I can't believe another one has come and gone. And I will leave you with my dad's traditional 'family round the table' photo.

Where oh where do I begin?? But of course, Breaking Dawn.

2011-11-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

I've gone back and forth about how to blog this weekend, and I thought I might do one big post, that was until Jami told me not to. She said, "it's too hard to read" hmpf. So, I have lots to blog, lots of catch up reading, and I leave again in a week. So, here goes. (Julie, do you still read my blog? I've seen your dislike of Twilight on FB, so you might as well skip this post, ha!)

Tracey and I were late bloomers when it came to the Twilight series stuff. We both held out a long time reading the books, but of course once we gave in, we were hooked. Ridiculous sounding story line, but somehow addictive none the less. My friends were sweet enough to work the movie around my visit to Indiana, and these plans have been set up for a year!! Dinner at Puerto first, so we could catch up, and talk about how excited we all were to see it.

Honest to Pete, we were ridiculous with the photos. Tracey and I even felt we should strike a traditional Olan Mills pose.
I was so happy to see my favorite Jami and Jaime.
And you know that we didn't stop the picture madness once we got to the theatre.

No. Between giggles and flashes going off, one would assume we were HALF our ages. Hardly. We were just acting half our ages.

The movie was REALLY good, definitely the best so far. You have to know though, my favorite part was being with all my girlies for a fun time. Edward was just a bonus.

Thankful. Thankful. Thankful.

2011-11-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

In two days I will be with my family and eating my favorite meal of the year. In one day I will be with my friends eating, gabbing and swooning over Edward.

While today I will be cooking, packing and staying in from this nasty rainy day! And while I'm busy all day I will be making a conscious effort to dwell on all I have to be thankful for. So cliche' isn't it? However, so true. And let me say, I am a thankful, thankful, thankful girl.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday.

From our turkey to yours.

Happy Birthday to meeeee!!

2011-11-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

This new blog look is my birthday gift from Paul. Thank you honey!!

Okay, that's all I have for now. Ha!!

There's no place like home.

2011-11-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

After a LONG 10 hour drive, we finally made it home last night. Is it just me, or when you get back after being gone a week do you have a new appreciation for your house? Of course we had a good time and miss Meemaw and Grandpa, but there's something about your own bed. You know?

I don't have much to report. We went to church today, and then Cracker Barrel for lunch, where we tried on goofy hats and squeezed our way through the gift shop.

This is what awaits me, 87485 loads of laundry. I will get it all done and then it will be time to head back out of town.
And Tracey just wanted you to see that I'm proudly wearing my Colts shirt today. Not quite sure what I'm doing with my face, but hey, it's what I thought looked good at the time.
And I want to document something Hope said to me today. "Momma, when I grow up and become a mommy, I want to be one just like you." I'm enjoying the fact that she really likes me right now. :)

Winding down in Michigan.

2011-11-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

Today is our last day here, we'll load up tomorrow and make the long trip home. It's always sad to leave, and I would imagine we'll have a very sad little boy on our hands tomorrow. I thought today I would kind of do a catch all post, various other things that we've done while staying here.

Hope has had a great time here too. She has done lots of pretend play, but honestly her most favorite thing has been the cats. Especially the kitten Micky, who I never managed to get still enough for a decent picture.
When we first got here last Saturday Pierce had one thing on his mind. Giving his grandpa a gift that he bought for him with his own money.

Tom served in Vietnam, and Pierce bought him a knife that commemorated it. It was all his own idea and I thought was super thoughtful.

Meemaw has played lots of games, and even taught the kids a few new games.

Last night we even attempted something none of us have ever done.

We divided into teams, Meemaw and Hope.

Versus Pierce and Mommy.

The kids has a ball doing it!

Look how cute the one Pierce and I did turned out!!

Obviously Hope was excited about their caboose.

Today we even dove into it. Ha!

As we all know though, all good things must come to an end. I'm sure the reason for that is so we enjoy those special times even more in the moment. And thankfully, with holidays surrounding us, we will be with our loved ones much more in the coming weeks.

We love you guys!

37.

2011-11-17T16:41:00.001-08:00

Thirty seven.
3-7.

Holy cow, I am now 37.

I totally get that age is relative, and in 10 years I will look back at 37, and say WOW I was young then. However, in the here and now, I cannot believe that I'm 37. You know the soul doesn't age, and I only feel like a kid. A kid that just happens to have a husband, two kids, gray hair, and some crow lines. I can now say that I'm on the downhill slide and my hands are up, 40 I'm a comin' for ya.

Okay, so let me tell you about my day.

The kids were sweet and itching to give me my gifts early. McDonald's gift cards! PERFECT.
And lots of pictures they colored for me.

Such thoughtful sweet kids.

Pam also made me a giant cookie, with dark chocolate icing. YUM!

Then we got all gussied up and were ready to hit the big city for a date.

And literally the minute we were about to leave, TWO special packages came for me!!!

'Gifts from home'

Tracey sent me this awesome INDIANAPOLIS COLTS shirt, which Paul refused to take a picture of. Ha! And some yummy red hots from Schimpff's.

And Jami, you got me all teared up! I know you've always told me that Isaiah 40:31 reminds you of Paul and I. So when I saw this and what you wrote, I blubbered like the blubbering buffoon I am.

I so appreciate you girls and thinking of sending me gifts here, it really was very sweet :-)

So, Paul took me into Grand Rapids, which is like an hour away and kept our destination a secret.

I love Italian, and I love big old houses. Tonight I got both!! This place was fab-u-lous! And to boot? It was snowing while we were there eating, I was in heaven.

It's been a great day, and I'm so grateful for so many things! Birthday's always make me reflect on my blessings, and just how much I like being alive! HA! In all seriousness, thank you Lord for this life you gave me.

Goodbye 36, you were a good year, but I'm moving on.

Small town livin'

2011-11-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Last time we were here (which was TWO! years ago) I did a post on what there's to do in Pam and Tom's town. Since it's been a while, and I think I may have had all of two readers then, I decided to re-visit that topic.

It's been unseasonably warm for Michigan, so I took the kids with me on the walk to see the town's hot spots.
While we were on the walk Pierce got a phone call from Sarah, and this was prime opportunity to photograph his outfit. He's been in hunter mode the.entire.time, and it's quite cute. BUT, mommy made a mistake when packing and didn't pack Pierce a belt. Duh mom. Hunters need belts for their knives. What do you do when your desperate?

You wear your sisters bejeweled and bedazzled belt of course. We can add it to the therapy list.

Okay, back to the towns happenings. This is a very small town, VERY. And I find it very comical, that they have a bar. Pam was telling me, it's quite busy on many occasions, and that cracks me up.

After your drunken bender on Saturday, you can head to church on Sunday and listen to my father in law preach!

If your not the bar type, in the summer only, you can get yourself an ice cream cone.

There is also a gas station. And that's it!! The closest McDonald's is about 10 miles away, which I or Paul have made a trip for my diet coke everyday, because a girl has priorities of course.

You all know I'm a city girl all the way. I don't think I would do so well in such a small town, but as we were outside playing yesterday it was nice. There weren't people everywhere, and it just felt safe. If only they could get a mall to replace the bar then we would be golden. :)

You hunt. I'll relax.

2011-11-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

Seriously, this picture scares me. And it just happens to be my husband. My husband looks like he could be the plot of a horror movie, "Deer killers who come after you, part 1"
This morning started with the two great hunters headed out to do their thing bright and early. After Pam and I drank our coffee and Pierce and I did his homework for the day, we went to decorating their Christmas tree. Fun!

Hope and I decided to stay in our pajamas and be laid back about the whole thing.

But Pierce had to be ready for the call. So, he decorated in his camo gear waiting anxiously to hear from his dad.

Oh, and check out this little cutie at 9 years old. Far cry from the mass deer killer in the first picture. :)

And then it happened, Pierce got the call that his dad was coming to pick him up. He was super excited! This was a first for him, the chance to go help get the deer out of the field with his dad.

**If dead deer bother you, here is your warning to quit reading!!!!***

Is my son really holding up a dead deer? Oh yes, he is.

You know I don't 'get' the whole hunting thing. However, being married to a hunter and loving his family who loves hunting, I appreciate it more than I did. I'm happy for Paul and his dad that they've already had success, this means meat for the families for the winter.

And I think I have an ally in the whole 'we don't like hunting' thing, and that would be Hopie. She did agree to get her picture taken for a brief second though.

The men head back out in the morning, hoping for more success.

While Hopie and I will probably be doing more of the same. Snuggling, watching movies, gaining 45 pounds each, and of course....

Snuggling by the tree. Not gonna lie, I'm enjoying all this relaxing!!

"This week, daddy gets to be a redneck."

2011-11-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Today was the day! The day to visit gramma, and to be a gun totin', NRA supportin', camo wearin', shootin' family.

I have to re-tell a conversation I heard between Paul and Pierce first though. I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I heard Pierce ask his dad, "why are you dressing like that everyday, and not shaving?" To which Paul said, "because this week, daddy gets to be a redneck."

Oh dear.

Paul was VERY excited to see his grandmother, they share a very special bond, and they think the world of each other. Grandma has a hard time getting around, but that didn't stop her from making a homemade apple pie, for her boy.
One of my favorite things about 'grammas' house? The real fire!! Ahhhhhh. Nothing like the snap, crackle, pop and warmth from a log fire.

But Pierce had one thing on his mind. An opportunity to shoot his 22 for the very first time.

I sat back and watched my little boy experience a right of passage.

He had two generations of Bush's giving MANY instructions.

And it paid off! He shot the cans dead on!!

Then it was time to practice on the other target, the one with the bulls eye in the middle of the sheet.

But some others had to have a turn to show off. Grandpa, the master of the Bush's.

Paul. The king of rednecks this week.

Meemaw the Queen of the Bush's.

And me. The odd man out of the group. The one who has never shot a gun in her life. What to do? What to do? Why, throw on some camo and join your redneck husband.

And please look at the target, I am the one that says mom. Boo yah!!! I might just be good at this redneck thing after all. :)

We're up North, dontcha know?

2011-11-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

We are here! We arrived last night after an 8 1/2 hour drive, not too bad, ey?

Once I get to Michigan I feel the need to speak northern. Dontcha know? I only wish you could hear me speak in my make believe Northern accent. And wouldn't you know, that as soon as we crossed over into Michigan there was SNOW.

Not much, but enough for all of us to get excited!
Not going to blog much today, just wanted to report in. We are enjoying catching up and just being with each other. Tomorrow we go see Great Gramma (another northern thing, you call grandma, gramma, leave the D out) and then Tuesday is the big day. You had better run Bambi.....

Hope everyone has had a great weekend! I hope to keep up while we are here. :)

L-O-V-E

2011-11-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well, the effort and some might call it annoyance of getting our pictures taken, paid off. :) Michelle Rhodes took them, and she did a super job!! I really don't have much to say, except that I really love them! Oh, and Pierce is really starting to look older! Funny, how it takes pictures to notice that sometimes. Now, the really fun part for me, deciding which ones to frame!!!

Let the festivities begin!!

2011-11-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

I might be giving the Queen a run for her money this year with lengthy birthday celebrations. My birthday is not for another week, but the festivities have already begun, and I am going to milk every last birthday minute of it too.

I don't get sappy too often, but I just have to today. Brace yourselves. The women that wanted to celebrate my birthday are 'new' friends. Last year I didn't even know them. Last year, I was probably sitting at home sucking my thumb on my birthday, singing old country songs and drowning my sorrows in brownies. My bestest friends and family were home, and I felt like I had no where to belong. Yet in the midst of my pitiful state God has blessed me yet again. A woman who deserves no blessings, has been given the gift of more friends.

Brittany, Maru and Laurie.

And then Liz came too.
I only wish I could have my Indiana girls here to meet my BG friends. Surely, that will work out one day!!
What have I learned in the last year of my life? In the midst of your darkest times, the Lord may give you the most bizarre answer. Uh, hullo, move to BG? You may feel as the blessing is partly a curse. You might worry that your friends will move on without you at home, and that you will never meet anyone who likes you. You might revert to junior highish feelings at the age of 36. And you might even worry that your friends will be upset at the idea of you making new friends. You will might feel guilty for leaving your family and be torn up all the time at the thought of them being upset. You may question your sanity a few times in the process as well.

Okay, so I actually did feel all those feelings.

Here I am though. Meeting new people who like me, and making a life in a strange to me place. Treasuring the old and the new.

And holding onto 36 with all I got!!!!!!!

It was like an episode of Wild Kingdom.

2011-11-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday my kids were out of school for election day, and I had no real plans for the day. With the lovely time change we just had, Pierce had me out of bed before 6:30, which was actually much better than the 5:40 wake up the day before. Seriously, who invented the time change? They must have not had children. Anyways, I'm sitting on the couch, drinking coffee trying to wake my pretty morning self up, and I get a text alert...

Brittany: "Hey, would you be up to going to the Louisville Zoo today? My sister in law is going and said I should come up, and I thought it might be fun if we rode up together."

And with that a plan was born.

I went into get my people there with me mode, but everyone already had commitments. Sad. It was weird to be in LOUISVILLE and not see anyone, but I waved and blew kisses to each and every one of you!!!!

Here was our excited little group. On the far left is Maddie (I hope I spelled that correctly!!) she belongs to Brittany's sister in law and brother, who live right in St. Matthews. Then we have Luke and Layton and of course my two offspring. This picture was taken right as the lions were roaring up a storm. It's amazing just how loud and far a lion's roar actually carries. Those two lions faced all of us gawkers and bellowed out some serious noise. I said, I know they are telling us, "I could so kill and eat you in a second, just remember that."

The weather was lovely, and the trees were just gorgeous!
There was lots of questions, gazing, and sweet moments to capture.
However the biggest hit for the kids? The wagon!
Brittany and I joked, we should have just stayed home went to a park and let them pull each other around.
We had lots of opportunities to catch some cute moments.
But I was surprised at how much Pierce and Hope wanted me to take pictures of EVERY-THING.
Mommy, take one of the giraffes..
Mommy, take one of the rhinos.....
Finally, I just handed the camera over to Pierce and Hope, and let them have at it.

Then you get home and find pictures where you realize your hind end resembles a pancake.
Or that you are in serious need of dental work.
Sigh.

But the highlight of the zoo trip for me, and I would say the rest of us, were the grizzly bears. I hadn't been to the Louisville Zoo for probably a year and half, and this exhibit was new. We come walking up and lo and behold I was smack dab in an episode of, 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom' (a show we used to always watch when I was a kid) These bears were amazing! The entire time we were there, they were playing and acting like juveniles!

Chasing each other...
Round and round they would go!
Then get in the water and just wrestle their little bear hearts out.
Pierce and Layton were besides themselves with excitement. And I gotta say, it was really, really neat to see. :)
After a full day of fun, and getting up while the stars were still shining, we had some pooped out babes.
Fun day!!!

Our Tree. Our Fire Dept. Our Michigan.

2011-11-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

Our weekend has been busy! We have had lots to do, and with an impending trip in less than a week, it's just getting crazy. Anyone have a Xanax I can borrow?

I'm about to make some eyes roll, and people shake their heads (Jaime and April) because we put our Christmas tree up this weekend. We've always been early tree puter uperers, but this is even a little early for us. Normally, we would wait another week or so, but in the month of November we will be gone for 12 days and in the month of December I think 10 days. Seeing as how much I heart my tree, I wanted to go ahead and do it now, and not later. Don't judge me people.

The kids were SUPER excited to get it up, and to help me decorate.

Sometimes it's a little stressful to have 4 extra 'helping' hands in the process, but it's worth it.
I even let some of my control issues go, and let them put ornaments where they wanted. :)
Last night, I just sat in the dark and enjoyed my tree, and was so glad we went ahead and did it. It makes me happy. :)))
Yesterday was also a big day for our Fire Department. It was an open house/meeting/fund raiser thingy, that they have been planning for MONTHS. Lots of hard work went into this event, and we were all praying it was a success.
Rico was in charge of selling the popcorn. Doesn't he looked thrilled over there?
They let the kids take turns trying out the water hose thingy.
Hope would only do it if her daddy helped her. :)

And I had the opportunity to meet Paul's second wife.
I heard all night, "Hey Gretchen, you met Paul's other woman yet?" "Gretchen, did you meet the other wife?" Apparently, Paul's quite enamored with this truck right here, and everyone knows it. Paul was so excited for me to sit in it, and turn on the sirens it was ridiculous. I guess I can kinda understand though. It's like when I made him watch Twilight with me one night, I was giddy, and thought he might love it like I do, but he was bored. So, this is kinda like his Edward.

Seriously, the kids just love it out here. It's just like a kids paradise!
And they even had entertainment for the adults. This guy sang for us, and he was really good!
It was an all you can eat spaghetti dinner, and Hope LOVES her some spaghetti. I think this was plate number 2. :)
The best part of the night for me though, was seeing Paul so happy to be doing something like this.
It means so much to him to be able to help others.
And I love that about him. Overall, I would say it was a very successful night for the Barren River Fire Department.
Of course we went to church this morning, and of course I had to get a picture. I wear these kids out with pictures. :)
And lastly, we are in full countdown mode to getting to our Michigan. We have not been there in 2 years, and we are all itching to go.

My hunter is psyched to kill and gut and howl at the moon, declaring his manliness.
I am hunter, hear me roar.