family camping adventure.....

What better way to spend the last week in July than to camp??? Now everyone has their own definitions of camping; we have friends who put packs on their backs, hike a while on a trail, then go off trail and find a spot to camp - if you can't carry it, you can't take it is their motto!! Our definition is a little different! We have a travel trailer with ac/heat, shower and toilet, fridge, stove and oven, two tvs.... we camp at Thousand Trails campgounds so there is always tons to do! We got here the day before Big S's 10th bday so we got to make her cake in the oven - devil's food with chocolate icing which she decorated with m&ms! It was really cute!! We hung up banners and blew up balloons the night before so she was surprised in the morning! Any wway you slice it, eleven days is a long time to spend together in a confined space! So far we are surviving nicely!! There may be some sibling assault charges by the end of the week so if the heat doesn't kill us, they may still kill each other! BIL is with us too, so there are 3 kids and 3 adults in our little trailer - luckily I run a pretty well oiled machine when we are camping - unlike at home ;) I'll post later and let you know how we're surviving!!!

if I were on tv...

H and I were talking the other night while watching "Big Brother" and you won HOH, what would you want in your HOH roo, specifically your basket.  Good blog question I thought!

1. of course you want as many pictures as they will give you of your loved ones!  I can do without ones of me - either current or from the past like they often do - they have mirrors, I know what I look like!!

2. I would want an endless supply of diet coke (regular and Cf - or silver and brown as we call them in our house!) and hazelnut coffee with Splenda and 1% organic milk!

3. for my cd, I would want Sirius radio's Spirit channel to make a mixed cd for me - I can't commit to just one band

I would beg for books.. I am currently reading Janet Evanovich's series, so some of them would be nice - I would have already taken my Bible in with me since it has endless reading material!

4. snack - a steady stream of chocolate is a must - I'm not too picky, a huge bag of kisses would keep me going, I would want chips,salsa and queso dip, some extra sharp cheddar (VT not CA made) and some good crackers to go with it and strawberry twizzlers

5. I would want a deck of cards or two, maybe mancala since I haven't ever really gotten chess (of course with little else to do in the house, perhaps I could finally get it!!)

6. my knitting - several projects worth - give you something to do with you hands while you're sitting outside talking strategy!

Of course, who am I kidding, I would be gone so early in the game that I wouldn't have time to get all that bored!  I have a terrible poker face!!

So, my readers, what would you want in your HOH basket......

How hot is it??????

HOW HOT IS IT???

hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk....

hot enough to melt the truck, not just the ice cream in it....

I found these pictures and thought they were hysterical!!  It may not be quite this hot here, but it feels awfully close! We had such a mild and late spring and with all the rain this summer, we haven't had a lot of super hot days.  THIS is one of them!!  Big S and Little S are playing outside and although I gave them water bottles full of ice, they keep coming in to change, to cool off, to get something to eat... I think they are melting out there, but it was their idea!  I got back from getting my hair done by dear friend Lori and although I need to do yard work, it's not happening this afternoon!!  The grass needs to be cut, weeding needs to be done, tomato plants need to be thinned and staked up more.... not today!

There have been many conversations over the last couple of days that we hate the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer - why is it that we can't just be happy and live in the moment rather than wishing for something bigger or better?  Off on my philosophical horse today I guess.  As I work on decluttering and getting rid of stuff we just don't need anymore, I am constantly reminded of how much we have versus how much we really need to get by and have a good life.  It's funny because when we're camping, I love my little trailer.  It has everything we need and I can keep it clean and organized with very little effort  because it is so small.  I love our neighborhood and our neighbors, but I would be very happy to have less house and more land for us to run around and play on! 

 I think maybe I'll take some time to start that gratitude list that everyone talks about doing - I think it's important for us all to recognize the good in our lives like our families and friends (love you toetat5!!), good food, nice homes, good health etc... but also the little stuff like a hershey's kiss, the smell of a newborn baby, a good night's sleep, a pretty sunset....  Ok, you'd probably had enough of that for now!  Off to be grateful that I have a coat closet to clean out!!

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japanese beetles......

These horrible little creatures are my one true sworn enemy.  

I HATE them.  They are mean and ugly, they devour all my hard work in my yard every year if I am not on top of things!  They are nasty little things that come out every year in the summer and eat my plants and have sex - they are worthless creatures unless they are being devoured by a bird - then I'm all for them as bird food!!

I got back in town after 2+weeks only to find out that these evil little creatures arrived during my absence.  They have already taken the top off of one of my trees - I am out to buy some Sevin and kill them ALL!!

Do I have an anger management issue?  Possibly ;)  But I still hate them!!!

a visit back to our roots...

While we were out of town, the girls and I had a chance to go back to Connecticut where we used to live and visit some friends!  Trips down memory lane can often be fun - this was no exception!  We were able to show the girls our old house - doesn't look the same at all, when we lived there it was white, had a fence and a garage and no front porch, but they got the general idea!  The fun thing was that we planted a dogwood tree when Big S was born and it was still there!  Little S was only 6 weeks old when we left CT for sunny California and of course Little G wasn't even born yet!  They got a kick out of seeing it nonetheless!!

Of course, no visit back to CT is complete without a stop at ShadyGlen!!  We were there several times a week when I was pregnant with both Big S and Little S!!  They make all 30+ flavors of ice cream on site and their cheese burgers are to die for!  The rest of the food is great too, but nothing beats the 50s uniforms and paper hats the employees STILL wear!!!

Of course the best part of the trip was visiting with our old neighbor Chris and her family!  Our backyards used to overlap and we spent many after work hours chatting at the fence!  She doesn't live in the same town anymore either, but for some reason her house looked pretty much the same!  It was great to finally meet their daughter A - she is almost a year old and this was our first chance - darn those gas and airline prices!!  The girls had a blast playing with her and their Akita Tomo!  Chris and I finally had a chance to catch up face to face after not seeing each other for 2 years!  It was a wonderful 2 days!!

wedding fun....

So, last night we attended the beautiful wedding of Jamie and Nick (the bride is hubby's cousin).  My first 4th of July wedding and I must give serious props to the bride!  

I have never seen anything like it!   The theme was everywhere, but done with such class!  The bride had a red sash (as you can see above) and red trip on her veil and the maid of honor was in red and the bridesmaids wore blue (the corresponding men matched the women).  The ceremony was lovely - everything you would want - sweet, simple, meaningful...  My girls got to pass out the programs beforehand - made by the bride in the theme of course with patriotic paper and ribbon!!  We threw red and white rose petals after the ceremony - the girls passed those out too!

 

The flower girls stole the show in red, white and blue tutus -adorable!!!

Look at this amazing cake!  There was also a cupcake cake of red and blue cupcakes with white stars on them!!

The reception was amazing!  They had a live 12 piece band that was fabulous and a dj that took over when they were on break!  They had pails full of red, white and blue flip flops for everyone to change into for dancing - how thoughtful!!  There were tvs everywhere playing pictures that the photographers had taken throughout the evening (they were more like paparazzi and there was a videographer and his crew too!).  The lighting was amazing and they had the "Nick and Jamie" logo in lights on the dance floor.  They had a photobooth (which was broken unfortunately) where you were supposed to get those pictures in a strip taken and then put them in their guestbook - super cool idea!  Instead of place cars, they had those old-fashioned red, whit and blue swirled lollipops with your table assignment on it!  The tables were decorated really nicely and they had one separate kids' table with crayons and pads for the kids to draw with and then each kid had a flag colored bag on the back of their chair FILLED with fun stuff!  They thought of everything!  In lieu of favors, they gave out these "support our troops" bracelets and had made a donation in honor of their guests to an organization that 'supports our troops' - a really nice idea! 

 

Only Jamie could pull off these glasses!  They had pictures after the ceremony at a friend's gorgeous backyard!!  I can hardly wait to see the pictures!

have to put a little shout-out to my favorite great uncle (hubby's actually) Uncle Gene!! I love this man!  If I weren't married, I'd be his trophy wife in a second ;)  Sadly he was widowed a few years ago.

The girls and I played nail salon all day - I did 40 toenails and 40 fingernails!  Everyone's was different - everyone chose their own pattern!  What fun - the bride actually noticed and was thrilled!!  Can you guess who's is who's??

The bride and groom at the rehearsal dinner :)  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!!!!!!!!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!

Here's to hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, apple pie, cold beer and fireworks!! I hope that everyone is enjoying a beautiful 4th of July! We are attending Jamie and Nick's wedding this afternoon/tonight. The girls are excited to go to their second wedding!! The weather has been swealtering here on Long Island but frequent dips in the pool have kept everyone cool! We are looking forward to our visit with Chris, Pat and Avery next week!! Off for another dip in the pool! Happy 4th everyone!!