first day of school!!!!!!!

Today is the day that parents look forward all summer.... the first day of school!

The girls were all up and ready without any problems - the neighbors even razzed us for be at the bus stop early (mind you it's at the foot of our driveway, but we often have trouble making it out on time) actually, we were out 25 minutes early to take pictures and then the bus was late, so we spent quite a bit of time waiting today!  Hard to believe that big S is in 5th grade already - last night she said that she wanted to stay a little kid (welcome to the club honey) but this morning she was really psyched to be in the highest grade and already talking about going to middle school next year!  

 

Little S is in 3rd and little G is in 2nd, so they still have a few years left in elementary school!  

 

Our bus stop is huge - 9 kids this year and all the ones who aren't mine are boys - the girls find them to be SO ANNOYING!!!
 

What am I going to do with all this time on my hands?  Ha!  I had my 2nd cup of coffee, blogging (of course).  Then I have to deal with real life - groceries, cleaning, laundry....  I want to be a little kid again too!!

A coffee cup toast to all other moms who's kids are finally back to school - and a nod to those of you who still have a couple weeks left of summer vacation!!!

a nod to my dear friend...

for those of you who don't read my dear friend's blog www.cheaperthantherapyjen.blogspot.com , she is a dear friend, part of the toetat5 and blogging mentor!!  These pictures from our recent camping trip are a nod to her - my inspiration!!  Tho I don't always buy my wine from the labels, these two I had to try!

Wild bunch was actually pretty decent.

Manage a Trois - who could walk by this one with out giving it a chance?  It's ok, but I prefer a drier wine - those of you with fruitier palates my like it!!  

Stay tuned for more labels as I work my way through the wine aisle!!

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!!!