ON THE WAY.........................

................TO THE AIRPORT in Kansas City!!!!!!!


(then lunch at a fantastic Mexican place called Abuelo's and on to a surprise for Sherry....a visit to Archiver's!!!!)


Here's hoping for a fantastic day for all my friends and readers! (where are you guys??....only my faithful Jamie has been commenting lately!!)


Anyway....my heart needs this visit so badly!!!! I cannot wait!!! Her plane lands in 2 1/2 hours!!!!!!
(have safe travel Sherry!)

I am beyond **EXCITED**

Sherry will be here TOMORROW!!!!!!!

AND I CAN'T WAIT TO GIVE HER A GREAT BIG HUG!!!

Self-Portrait Tuesday

I bet you thought I was going to forget. I bet you thought I wasn't going to do it. Well, I didn't. (not to say that one of these days I won't forget!)



Anyway....we got home at 2:45pm today and we went straight to the pool! We stayed in the pool until 5:15pm and when we came in I grabbed my camera and snapped this one!

I am exhausted! Today about did me in! Crazy busy!!!!

BUSY OVERLOAD!!!!

Just today we:

• left at 9am for the 3 boys to go to swimming lessons
• went to Sam's for some major shopping! (ouch....$404 later!)
• went to the bank....and all this before lunch!

Tomorrow we have to:

• leave at 8am so I can go have some bloodwork done
• be at swimming lessons from 9:30 - 10:15am
• get to M's first swimming lesson (different place) from 11:15 - 11:45am
• get some lunch
• have L to school by 12:15 for his gifted testing from 12:30 - 3:00pm

(think I'll make it thru this day alive?!?!)


Wednesday is my last chance to straighten up before Sherry gets here on THURSDAY!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!


Forgive me if I don't have a bunch of time to post......but, I'll try!

A Day at The ZOO

We had a blast at the ZOO!



Here are a few pics from our day! PaPa and MiMi really enjoyed the time with the kids. And the kids had so much fun!

I guess the giraffe was hungry...
he was eating the tree!!

This is a North American Pronghorn. The name makes sense, but I have no idea what it really is!

I love this picture of me and the kids. Most of the time I am behind the camera instead of in the pictures....Marinne was actually throwing a fit because she wanted to get out of the stroller and stay out!!!

The best part of the day was the petting zoo. All of the children loved it! Even Marinne wanted to feed the goat. Logan was so sweet to help Marinne. They all just really enjoyed this part of the zoo!

And it was so much fun to watch!! The News Director says that it's hardest to work with children and animals because they are so unpredictable. Well, I think that's what makes this so fun! Because there was just no telling what was going to happen. You can't predict what the animal will do or what the kids will do, either!

Look at the pure JOY on her face!!!

When we saw this guy, I felt like we were back in Georgia!!

Alligators still freak me out!






Beautiful birds we saw in the "rainforest!" Being in there, in the humidity, also made me feel like we were in Savannah. Wowza....I do not miss that!














I don't know if you can tell, but the blue bird has "patterned" legs! Click on the photo and you should be able to see it! (sorry the pics aren't as great as I would like....but those darn birds would not sit still....they just kept running around!)

The elephant was in a cage, because the outdoor elephant area is being renovated. Marinne has really been talking about him. But, trust me, elephants indoors are a stinky event!!!!


All in all, we had a terrific day!

Woo Hoo!!!! Sherry will be here in ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Busy....

So.....my in-laws are in town. They are on their way thru to Oklahoma. Yep, they are moving back from Georgia to Oklahoma. The renters have to be out of their house Friday and they start cleaning up and wait for the 1st of their 3 moving trucks.


As usual, these visits have drama. Actually, the drama was before they got here. Somehow when I told her of our busy schedule thru June, it turned into "we don't have time for you" in her mind. Geez. I hate that I can't say anything w/out it being turned around against me. So, anyway, she had an attitude, then Ike nailed her about it and now it's over. She was just fine yesterday when they arrived.


Speak of the devil....they just called and they are on the way over from the hotel. (Yep, they refuse to stay in our home. Weird, I know.) Anyway, I'm sitting here blogging and I gotta go get dressed!!


We are supposed to be doing something today....not sure what, though. I hope the day goes ok.......

* self~portrait * Tuesday

The eyes are the window to the soul.

Sick Baby Girl

Fever 102.1

Vomiting

poor little sweetie...

Let's see...what's been up?

• I'm still sick, although not nearly as bad as earlier this week. It's all allergies, but now it's all in my chest. Just call me WHEEZY!
• Schools out for Summer! And the kids are overjoyed!!! Swim lessons start next week!
  
• Report cards were awesome! (after I kicked Logan's booty in gear on that Math grade- which was completely due to being LAZY!) Logan got all A's and one B. Jensen's grades were all great!
• Ike and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary on the 23rd. It went by with 2 sick parents w/ no babysitter for the 4 kids. We didn't feel well enough to go out...so we ate hot dogs and potato chips for dinner! Fancy! Ha ha!
• The weather is stinky....raining and cool....no pool or outdoor play for us! So much for the holiday!
• The News Director actually got a day off! Woo Hoo! I can't even remember the last time he had Memorial Day off! Seriously! He's home today and so happy to not be at work!
• It looks like someone mowed our grass for us out back. Don't know who and don't know why! But appreciate the gesture all the same......
• Sherry will be here in 10 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING??????

Geez....do I live on the prairie or what?!?!

So, this is the baby Blue Jay bird that we rescued outside our window TWO times today!! You see, when you have a basement, you have these windows that have window wells that lead down to them. (I suppose the windows are so you could escape in case of fire or something....) Anyway, in our front flower bed we have this window well, directly below one of our big trees which has proven very popular for nesting birds. So, this baby must be trying out those new pretty blue wing feathers, but she's not so good yet. And twice, she's fallen/landed down in the well. Then, she just cries her head off (read: slightly annoying bird shrieking) and her mom/dad are at the top of the window well freaking out. So, Big Daddy has opened the window and rescued her. Then, we return her to the tree. But, of course, I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. (Oh, and L isn't pictured because he was holding back our cat, Christmas, from thinking Big Daddy had gotten him an afternoon snack! Sheez! You shoulda seen that cat switching his tail around after watching these birds up close and personal!)

Jensen is our animal lover. He has a real heart for all things animal. He was very concerned about this baby. He's spent much time watching her after we returned her to the bottom of the tree. He's worried for her safety. He definitely has a soft heart for animals.

Both Griffin and Marinne were just giddy with excitement to see the baby bird up close!

I'm not dead.....

I'm just sick. Hope to be back soon.

Self-Portrait Tuesday

Just me...

So, I went to see the therapist today. And it was great. She's very motherly. She's gentle and kind. I can't wait to continue down this road of discovery and continue to release some of these feelings that I've been experiencing. For today, I'm happy.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Self-portrait Tuesday is something I've been seeing on blogs for quite some time. I've been wanting to do it, but I was a little afraid to try it. Well, Jamie pointed out that there are never any pics of me, so I decided to give it a whirl, so my kids will have some photos of me. So, I tried it and guess what?! It's super fun!!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. My challange to you is: if you have a blog...join into Self-Portrait Tuesday.
Let others really SEE you!

Scrapbooking Show-N-Tell

Well, for being completely unorganized due to flooding and getting a migraine in the middle of the afternoon, I still did pretty well. I still managed to knock out 5 layouts! (And I even left for lunch at Applebees and got some tacos for dinner.)


<------------- So, this one is my favorite!!! (click on it to see it larger.) Don't you love the silver circles?!




















How cute is this one? (Just don't tell him the fish paper came from the baby section!!)

I love these layouts, too. I always try to keep the Portrait layouts pretty simple!

I love this one, too!!!! I just love the artwork and the pic really shows his personality!!

(journaling says.....My darling...you ARE a silly guy! And I love you for it!!! You mom thinks you are FANTASTIC!!!!

Green Snowmen??

They must be kin to green aliens......

This is what a ball of playdough and some imagination makes.

























Griffin comes in PEACE!!

Guess who lost a tooth?!?!

Believe me....he pulled it out. I can't handle it!

And the tooth fairy (yep, he still actually believes) brought a gold dollar and you shoulda seen his face when he saw what he got!! Priceless!!!!! Unfortunately, I was still in bed when he came in with "that face" so I missed it w/ the camera!!!!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!!!!

Hey everybody!!!! I just wanted to say have a HAPPY WEEKEND!!!! I am cropping tomorrow and I gotta go pack my bags and get to bed. 9am-9pm baby!!! Let's just hope that woman isn't mean to me. Otherwise, I open my can of miserable on her. And I am PMSin' big time. So, I just dare her to bring up schools....we can debate the issue now since I don't work with her!



I'm just gonna try to knock out a few pages. Right now...I have NO pages planned, so we'll have to see what I can get done tomorrow. I haven't scrapped in a few weeks, so I am looking forward to it. And my two little ones were awful today....so I need a break!



WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?????



AND IF YOU ARE IN SAVANNAH......JAMIE IS HAVING AN AWESOME SALE AT SAVANNAH SCRAPBOOKING!!!!! I ONLY WISH I COULD GO SHOP IT TOMORROW!!!!

Missing the South....

Big Daddy and I spent our honeymoon in Charleston back in 1992. During that trip we had our very first Low Country Boil. It was delicious.

So, we decided to perfect the Boil at home, since SC was far away from Oklahoma.

So, over the last 15 years, we've pretty well perfected our version on the Low Country Boil. Well, this is the first time we've made it since actually moving away from the South. And do you know, I actually couldn't find the spices I needed here in Kansas! They don't carry them!





Griffin actually loves seafood!




















Marinne prefers corn-on-the-cob!!!








The big kids sat down by the pool.

A great meal was had by all!!!!!!!

My rockin' Mother's Day gifts!!!

So, check out what I got for Mother's Day!! Yep, it's all new patio furniture. It's kinda hard to tell, but this table has a ceramic tile top. It's so pretty! It even has a matching lighted umbrella that is solar powered. How cool is that?! Come visit me and we'll throw something on the bbq and we'll break in the table!!!All these chairs need is you and me!!!

Seriously, this place is starting to look like a resort!!!!

(Oh, and too bad you can't see the pool....the water is crystal clear!!)

My darling friend AMBER

Amber totally rocks, but we all knew that.....so I am totally her blog stalker. A big fan of her work. And proud to call myself her friend.

So, I go to her blog the other day and this is what I found.....

Monday, May 14, 2007

This is for you Roxy
I have such a wonderful friend Roxann... aka Foxy Roxy. ( her blog is at right) I got to know her by working with her in the scrapbook store here. She was a teacher with me and one heck of a hilarious person. She was the most fun to be around and always made everyone feel so welcomed. (i'm making her sound like she's dead... she's not.... :)
She's been going through some tough times lately- see.... her husband had to go off and get transfered for his job, thus pulling one of my closest friends away from me. ( I'll never forgive you Ike.... :)
So this is for you babe..... Love ya tons!!!!! Oh.. and Rox.... notice what the stamp around the circle pic says...... hehehehehe ( and yes, this is another digi LO.. seems that's all I'm able to accomplish lately.)

I cannot even begin to tell you how surprised I was to find this. And even more, how touched I was by it. Seriously.

When I moved my friends made me the most wonderful scrapbook and they all made pages for me to put in it. It is one of my most prized possessions. I look at it often. Until they gave me that book, no one had ever made me a scrapbook. I'm the one who made them for others, not the other way around. In that scrapbook, Amber even wrote and "ODE" to me. (another reason I love her!)

Well, I gotta tell you Amber, thank you for caring. Thank you for brightening my day. Thank you for being a great friend. Just thank you.

Love, Roxann