Let the summer begin

The last two weeks have been a blur...

A blur of getting ready for school to be out activities...

Awards ceremonies...

Teacher gifts...

I know it's ten p.m. but I forgot I needed to go buy something activities....

I know we're almost to school but I forgot a paper I need today activities....

Helping make things for Kellie to sell in the "funny buck store"... this meant that I spent a lot of time and money making the "best things" because she wanted to have the best booth...and by helping I mean she made two and got tired and asked me to finish... this also meant that she was paid for these wonderful things in "funny bucks". 
Funny bucks that she can't spend after today.  She already had thousands of funny bucks but she really needed to sell things to make more.
You know what she bought with her funny bucks she made? 

Green hair.  That's it...

I spent all that money and she didn't even bring me a sucker, a can of sprite, a brownie, or even some used junk for my efforts.  She just invested in some green hair spray.  Green hair spray that rubbed off on the car seat and everything she got near...

But all is well because her fabulous things sold out in 10 minutes!  We have a million funny bucks if you know anyone who accepts that currency...my real money though, not much left...

Today was the last day for kids at school... I have to go in for a few hours tomorrow...It still doesn't feel like school should be out...

But, here we go...

Let the fun begin with my high schooler and middle schooler...

Laundry and more laundry

I was still trying to get last weekends laundry done after all the family fun...

and then we played and played this weekend and still, the laundry is not done....

 I need a laundry helper. 

Instead of laundry I took 5 girls about a million places...

one stop was for new sunglasses...

Then there was the unfortunate stop at Academy. 

Dear Lady in Academy who has probably called CPS on me,

I wasn't actually going to harm her.  I thought about it and yes, I threatened it, right there in front of everyone in the front of the store but she should have not talked so sassy to me.

Love,

The mom that left 5 kids in the store and went to the car.

Things got back on tract after that... we enjoyed some good company and grilling last night and headed to the lake this morning.

off to do the piles and piles and piles of laundry so we can have clothes for the last week of school.

I didn't think I wanted a pair

One day recently when I was at my sweet young neighbors house, I saw the Toms shoes she had been painting.  They were fabulous! 

But, I don't like Toms...
But I couldn't quit thinking about them....So, I decided to go buy a pair and paint them for Jennifer since I couldn't quit thinking about the cuteness of them and different things I could paint on them....
But, then I got there and they had them in BURLAP!  So, I guess you know what that means...I had to try them on. 
I love burlap you see.  I've covered a chair seat in it, I have dining room drapes made out of it, and I'm about to cover some lamp shades in it...
So, I tried on the Toms shoes I don't like but in burlap that I do like and guess what?  They were soooo comfortable.  Great.  Now I have to start liking them... and I had to buy myself a pair also...

So, I painted the first pair for Jennifer... Mike said it was her present for bringing Daisy to see him...She says she liked them... She also told me one of her students wanted to know why I painted 'toms' on the back of both shoes...

I finally painted mine yesterday. 

My favorite song lately is How He Loves by David Crowder so I added that line to the side...

And now since I am starting to like the Toms shoes I'm going to need a white pair to copy another pair the neighbor made...great...

All about the girls...

The weekend revolved around all the girls in the family...

 My niece, the college graduate and self proclaimed wine connoisseur was certain the weekend was all about her. 

She even had a couple of fits to make sure we all knew it...It almost killed Jennifer and Mike, but we were all on our best behavior with her...

But soon the focus shifted...

Katie had her 8th grade banquet Sat. night.  All of her friends were getting their hair done and such but since the girls had a dress rehearsal for dance we didn't have time for much.  We did fit in an early morning pedicure for all of us...

Then the princess sat down to make sure her nails were all dry while we ran to get her jewelry to match the dress...

I think her words were 'no, you go pick it out... could you come and put the computer in my lap and open it for me?'

I picked her up early from dance rehearsal and we had twenty minutes to get her ready

Some how we got it done

Dad looked a little sad...

We went to take a few pictures at her best friends house. 

cute toes... I asked her to please not fall and break her ankle...

They took one of their 'boy' friends with them...I heard rumor the waiter at dinner was so impressed he had two girls with him that they all got free dessert.

We went to fun family dinner after the kids went to the dance

They were a little hungry after from all the dancing

tired dancing feet

And the next day it was dancing time again. 

And after dancing flowers from everyone

It was a wonderful, crazy, busy, dancing, girly weekend.

Wait on me....

the family is in town for my niece's graduation. 

What's more fun than sitting through a college graduation?

Going in during a storm. 

Having the high umbrella you just bought fail you

Walking through knee deep water at the cross walk.  Jennifer took off her heels for the cold walk in...

Kellie wore her cowboy boots with her skirt...

 those boots were taking on water and the whole walk in, behind me I hear... wait, wait on me...

Wringing water out of your skirt while your sister who appears completely dry, say "we got wet too"...

Sitting directly in the path of the huge air vents while you are soaking wet...

Being proud of your niece and remembering how great graduation is...

Can I go back to school????

I love having Jennifer here...oh, and the rest of the family...

I had a little prize for Jennifer...  I painted on some Tom's... found lyrics to one of her new favorite songs

Hope she wanted them on her shoes...

Off for more weekend fun... we still have an eight grade banquet,a dress rehersal and dance recital to go...

I've turned into my sister

My sister is the queen of buying her own gifts.  Christmas, she picks out what she wants and tells everyone where to get it or better yet, she will buy it and then have them wrap it for her.  Mother's day, birthday, it's pretty much the same.  Unless, you branch out and buy her something not pre-approved all the while knowing it is going back to the store...  That's what I do... I'm the rebal.

I, however, love love love gifts I didn't pick out!  Mike does great in the gift buying department.  Jennifer does fabulous.  My sister, she likes me to tell her what I want....imagine.

But, this Mother's Day I was my sister.  I didn't mean to be.  I really didn't. 

But I was....

I wanted to get tickets to Wicked and then that would require a trip to Dallas so I said that could just be my gift. 

Oh, and then I bought a couple of place setting of my dishes.
I really needed those because the sister and family are coming next weekend and I didn't have enough of the dishes I got for Christmas.  That can be my gift...

Oh, and I wanted chairs for the patio.  I bought a table a couple of years ago and have never gotten chairs.  So, the chairs could be my gift...

Oh, and if I get chairs I'll need to put lights up.  I've wanted to do that for a couple of years too...

Oh, and if I have chairs and lights, I'll need new plants to make it look pretty... that could be my gift....

Oh, and if I have a great patio I think I need a pool... Oh, wait, he said no to that...

I may have even been worse than my sister. 

I didn't even have them wrap the items I bought.

The best gift was just hanging out with my girls.  A cool, cloudy day.  Church was great.  I feel sure Mike picked up some pointers on how to honor his wife from a very good sermon on that topic.  Lunch was good.  A little shopping and then a fun new ice cream place.  A great day.  I'm so lucky to be a mom!

I'm ready

I usually am not counting down till school is out. 

This year I am.
 
I am ready.

I think it has to do with my kids getting older and busier...

I'm hoping it slows down the taxi service needs...

I'm hoping it decreses the amount of evenings I can't even get home long enough for laundry...

I'm hoping it means I can cook dinner and not throw away the pork chops that sat in the fridge too long...

I'm hoping it means I can have time to clean all the spring dust storm dust out of my windows.  I can't see it everyday due to the blinds but I know it's there and it's driving me crazy.

I'm hoping it means more real time spent with the girls, not just while driving them around...

It's been a good year, only three more weeks....

and then I'll have a middle school and a high school girl.

That makes me want to cry by the way....

oh, Jennifer, could you please move back in?  I need your personal assistant services more than ever.  I only thought I was busy when they were little. You won't have to go out on late night paci runs but you could pick up the big girl at the school after her choir trip about ten tonight...let me know what you think...

Only one

So, the weekend has been crazy. 
Between the birthday party, dance rehersals, errends, etc. I have not been home at all.   You would think that since I haven't been home I would be using my little bit of time at home tonight wisely rather than on the computer... but, here I am.  I just can't get excited about the laundry and such I should be doing. 

Mike has been grumpy about how much he is working and how we didn't end up fishing a couple of weeks ago so today we all agreed to go fishing with him. 

He made me buy a fishing lisc.  The worst $30 I've ever spent...
Except for the $20 worth of minnows.  Minnows.  $20.00.  Really?  I thought they would be about a dollar. 

I could have had something way more fun for $50 than minnows and fishing liscense.  I'm sure of it.

He also wanted to bring the dogs. 

I didn't think it sounded like a great idea but it was his fishing trip....

 Katie worried that Ellie would fly out of the boat.  She didn't.  She did have some wind in her hair issues though.

last I heard the dogs won't be joining us on the next fishing trip

Elvis was admiring the fish

the fish that is "the biggest crappie" EVER

It was the also the only crappie of the day.  Kellie caught it the first time she put her hook in the water and it was all downhill from there...

And as I predicted, the girls wanted to swim instead of fish

Even if the water was 64 degrees

Only Kellie was brave enough to get all the way in

They were some tired fishing dogs on the ride home!

It was a fun filled weekend.