gone but hopefully not forgotten...

I know that I have been gone for over a month - my most humble apologies to those of you who stop by every once in a while! We had spring break and were out of town the week before and then it took a while to get back into the groove of things, but I think we are almost there! Well, at least close enough! We only have 6 more weeks of school and it is my prayer that they go by quickly!! Just a couple nice days and I totally have spring fever and am ready for summer break!! Big S's racing season started with a race in NC the week before our spring break and now continues with back to back weekends at our home track - races BOTH saturday and sunday! It's not supposed to be very warm this weekend, but hopefully next weekend we will sun some tanning time between races!! The spring calendar already looks sooo busy - I love it and hate it at the same time! After a busy spring, we will likely welcome the slower summer schedule that lies ahead! Off to do a couple things before an early bedtime! Will be back again soon!

Summertime realizations...

As summer comes to an end, ok, not actually summer, but summer vacation, I can look back on the last 10 or so weeks and acknowledge a few things....

1. summer goes by too fast if you over-schedule

2. summer goes by too fast if you under-schedule

3. I wouldn't mind summer vacation ending if the weather would just continue indefinitely!

4. it is really hard to get back on a school year schedule if you have slept in all summer and are also jet-lagged!

5. fruit flies are super impossible to get rid of and once you think you've succeeded, they return

6. summer isn't as carefree as it was when I was a kid

7. summer blockbuster movies all come out at the same time and it's usually not the week when it's raining and you have nothing planned

8. Blockbuster is my best friend on rainy summer days

9. I hate doing laundry and housework even more during the summer

10. no matter what I promise myself, we never get to the pool as often as I want to

11. it is impossible to visit everyone you want to in just 10 weeks - even is you could convince someone else to pay your travel expenses

12. ice cream containers have gotten WAY smaller than they used to be and a family of five can kill one pretty quickly!

13. there is no such thing as a well scheduled summer

14. quarter midget racing is way cool and super fun to watch!

15. even if you get around to planting your garden, if you're never in town, it doesn't do well

16. what I find interesting and fun isn't always the same as what my kids would find interesting and fun!

17. what the kids find interesting and fun often surprises me

18. thistle is impossible to kill or even control when it takes hold in your yard

19. it's hard not to enjoy the "fruits of the Napa Valley" when visiting AND celebrating a wedding!

20. I love summer!!!!!!

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!!

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!!!!!!!!

life on the road

So, life on the road is always interesting!!!  The 3 crazy girls and I spent almost 2 weeks on the road - did over 1700 miles and I don't want to think about how much $$$ was spent on gas!  We did have a really good time!  We drove to my sister's place in Williamsburg and spent 3 fun, incredibly hot and sometimes crazy days with her and little man J!  Did I mention that it hit 101 while we were there? 

 I thought we were going to melt!  We did a fast and furious tour of colonial Williamsburg - apparently they didn't have air conditioning yet!  

Poor little man J had a baseball game in that heat!  They were real troopers playing 2 hours in that heat - anything for the sport!  We did manage to catch 'Kung Foo Panda' - great flick if you haven't seen it yet!  The highlight was probably the impromptu dance party the night that we got there!!  Words could not describe the sights, nor cameras accurately capture the fun (although I did try).  

We headed to my parents' place next, but not before stopping to show the girls where hubby and I went to college - they were actually old enough to think it was kinda cool - I think the last time they saw it they were in diapers!!  My parents' place was a much different pace - as you could imagine!  Big fun when mom and I took the girls to Dixie Caverns - they've never seen anything like it before.  The responses were a mix between cool and scary!  I think it was the only time during the trip that we weren't sweating!  

We celebrate my Dad's bday and father's day early since sis and little man J came out for the weekend.  We did the trip home in one day - ugh!  Luckily we had beautiful weather most of the time and the girls were really good - it just makes for a really long day - I walked in the house and straight to the couch - didn't even eat dinner I was so tired!  Now back to the chaos of our house for a while!!