Thankful Friday

Friday once again. This is the first Friday in a long time that has actually surprised me. A very nice surprise! I am thankful today for many things, except for the fact that we are not still on vacation, dammit!

• Most of all, I am thankful that our oldest daughter and her husband have survived the trauma of the last year. Tomorrow marks one year since our little Skylar made her surprise appearance. The events surrounding her short life were enough to destroy the strongest of people. I am so thankful that Ashley and Gary did not self-destruct but chose to bond and try to heal and recover together. It has not been easy for any of us, but they have shown such strength, and for that I am incredibly thankful.
• I am also thankful that my kids waited until the very last week before school starts (this week) to act like complete high strung fruit cakes with listening ears that no longer respond to my voice. I survived the week and actually look forward to school starting.
• Evyn and I met her teacher this week and were very pleased. I liked her from the start, and since then I have heard great things about her from a few of the other parents. No more pre-school for my big girl. She is starting kindergarten Tuesday and, thankfully, we all feel good about it.
• I am still so thankful we were all able to take a family vacation. It was a vacation that was proof of our expanding families - our son-in-law (still sounds so weird to say that), our cousin's new wife, another cousin's adorable baby. I had never been a huge family-centered person until now.

Time Warp

I feel like I am just coming out of WalMart and two weeks have gone by. I say that because whenever I enter WalMart,I am always amazed at how much time I end up spending/wasting in there - it is the time warp store. Life has created that same reality for me recently.

It is all due to summer vacation, so totally worth it. I spent the week leading up to our vacation working too much, telling the kids on an hourly basis that it was not quite time to leave for the beach (note to self, do NOT tell kids about upcoming future vacations until the day before), shopping, packing and unexpectedly dog sitting two young, energetic dogs that made Troy look mature and refined. Anyone who knows Troy is probably gasping right now.

Our two guests, Toby and Duke, or Beavis and Butthead as we liked to call them, spent the week with us while their parents honeymooned in Mexico. They spent almost every second of the day wrestling - serious wrestle-mania a.l.l. d.a.y. l.o.n.g. Duke, the Golden is a puppy and apparently had never been swimming before because when he tumbled into the pool head first, he had to be rescued by a fully clothed Holly. We laughed so hard - who has ever heard of a drowning Golden Retriever?? She was nice enough to support his body while he paddled his feet and quickly got the hang of the whole swimming thing. Well, from that point on, we could not keep him out of the pool. He found the Golden Retriever within and was non-stop for that point on - he even jumped in at 6 a.m. one morning.

Let me just tell you that just because Duke was in the water and Toby was not does not mean they could not continue their wrestle-mania. Toby chased him around the perimeter of the pool and the two would exchange playful bites and growls when Duke would briefly stop on the steps to catch his breath. Like you see here:

They definitely brought a new shade of "lively" to the house. I am willing to bet they crashed hard after the week-long party at the lively house. I know Troy did.

After the week leading up to vacation, we finally headed to "the North Carolina beach," as Evyn calls it, or Cape Hatteras as the rest of us call it. I will be back with many pictures, but this was us upon arrival:

This was the biggest, bluest house in the neighborhood complete with 12 master suites, a theater room with two rows of reclining seats, a workout room and lets not forget the pool and adjoining tiki bar. The best part... we were vacationing with Big Daddy "Puffy" Martin and his lovely wife, Sweet Sue, their kids, our cousins, their cousins and a few random but equally cool friends. You never really know how a large group is going to get along, and I had some small concerns, however, it was peace, love, harmony, sand, sun, a lot of alcohol and more love. I think it is safe to say that it was our best family vacation ever - it was definitely the biggest family vacation ever.

Anyone ever seen Bear and the Big Blue House? I still have that theme song running through my head. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the big blue house....

Evyn, where are your manners?

So yesterday I had just given Evyn a snack and stood next to her waiting for her to thank me. Since she did not even bother to notice I was still standing there, I asked her if she was forgetting to tell me something. She looked up and said, "yes, I have been meaning to tell you that the art I make is the best in the world." Oy!

Thankful Friday

*I am thankful that The Shark, AKA Mimi, has so much fun with the kids during her visit. I was looking through all of the pictures we took and this particular one made me smile today.

*The Olympics start today and I have been very patiently waiting for this day.

*This is the time of year that I like to think of as The House of Leo. Big birthday month (3 of the 5 occupants of this house) for us as well as several of our friends. Although I like to avoid thinking of my own birthday, being a Leo is cool! roar!

*My workload is light today and I will actually be able to enjoy my weekend and not be chained to my desk- this is a rare event.

*We have one more week until we spend a week at the beach in an amazing house with amazing people.

*Most of all, at this very moment, I am most thankful that my kids are both sleeping right now. They have pushed me to the edge today and I really needed a quiet break. Ahhh!

43 years ago today....

Holly was born. For every year since she can remember, she has loved celebrating her birthday - until THIS year. Although she has made it clearly known what gift she would like to receive, as she has ever since she could talk, she is grumpy about the whole birthday thing this year - not at all the Holly we all know and love. I mean, it was only three years ago that she very willingly celebrated turning 40, as she sipped tropical drinks while wearing a grass skirt at her birthday luau and bounced in the bounce house we rented for her big day. As her father says, "She has not changed a bit since she was five years old." This is true, however, I say she is at least 13 by now. I am actually a little bummed she is not approaching her birthday with excitement this year. Being the sullen, grumpy birthday girl is usually my job.

Happy Birthday Holly!

Maybe he should play the lottery.

It turns out that Reed is an exception to the rule. He is apparently one of the very few people who actually gets the chicken pox from the vaccine that is supposed to prevent it. At his four-year check-up last Tuesday, he got his last four booster shots. One of them was the second dose of the chicken pox booster. He started with a fever that afternoon which continued for the entire next day. His left arm was also very swollen, red and hot to the touch which is typical for him after vaccines. By Friday, he started developing pox on his trunk and several where the sun don't shine. The pediatrician confirmed that it was rare, but possible for this to happen. She also said that we have to stay away from other kids for about a week and that Evyn has only a 20% chance of catching it. Fortunately, it is a mild case and he is already recovering quite well. Hopefully we can still go to Alleigh's first birthday bash next weekend. We have already had to cancel a lunch date with Holly's newly pregnant cousin. Other than having to cancel plans, staying home this week and running only one or two errands does not sound half bad. Troy can supervise the kids while they swim while I take naps..... KIDDING! :)

A week later

and we are still having flashbacks of our cousin Matt and Heather's wedding, especially the reception.


Evyn was one of the flower girls and Reed was the ring bearer that could not quite carry out the task. He looked darned cute all the while bitching and complaining about his tie and jacket (it was a bit warm). I actually got a whole series of shots of him hiding behind this little wall in the church garden trying to remove the unwanted tie and jacket. I also snapped a few more of Holly re-dressing him while he cried in defeat. He sat quietly through the service in his suit and tie though, probably thanking the lord that we were not trying to force him to walk down the aisle and stand up with the wedding party while all 190-some people stared and smiled. Too much for this little man. Notice all of Reed's pictures involve him staring at the rose that he refused to have pinned to his jacket.





Evyn was a beautiful (and cooperative) flower girl. She did her job well but seemed to get bored up there standing (or lounging on the steps) during the ceremony. She eventually turned her basket upside down and placed it on her head. She seemed kinda proud that she heard some chuckling in the audience. One thing is for sure, you never know what to expect when you have kids in your wedding, especially if they are my kids.

Mimi came in to visit the weekend of the wedding which was really great for Holly and I, considering we had a designated driver and someone to play with the kids during the reception (plus we had a ton of fun all of the other days she was visiting). Neither of us usually dance but you would have never known it last Saturday night. As Holly said, "I was out there thinking I was Donna Summer or something." I think I had a steady flow of wine dripping off of my right elbow for most of that time. The bride's dress was apparently covered in various drinks as well as chocolate from the chocolate fountain. She worked it, was all over the dance floor and definitely got her money's worth out of that dress. She should have - she looked beautiful!


holly is going to kill me for this one:

And no wedding reception is complete until the bride bends waaayyy over and the groom slaps her on the ass....


In case you could not tell, fun was had by all.