Fun at Lake Lure

We had a great time over Memorial Day weekend. My parents invited us to go with them to Lake Lure. They have a timeshare, and we have been going every year since I was a baby. It is so fun to be able to take my family now, and them see and do the same things I did a long time ago. 

We drove up Saturday afternoon, and got checked into our condo. Arnold and I had our own bedroom, and the kids decided to camp out in their Grandparents' room, so that was nice! The first thing we did when we got there was take the kids swimming. They had been bugging us all week to go do that first! They have an awesome outdoor pool area, with 2 pools, cool sprinkler things, and a lazy river circle you can go around in a float. The kids played in the water for awhile, then we went to get some icecream at the little shop down by the pier. The icecream for all of us was $20-- kinda pricy.. but they gave you HUGE waffle cones, and the oreo icecream I had was YUMMY so it was all good ;) That evening we all ate snacks and played games I had brought with us. We had bought Headbandz but hadn't gotten around to playing it yet. It was a lot of fun! That night we had mom's homemade lasanga for dinner. She had tried a different kind.. chicken and ham. It was pretty good, but she says she will stick with her traditional recipe from now one.

Sunday morning we got up, had an awesome yummy breakfast made by mom and dad (scrambled eggs, bacon, and english muffins with jelly!) and ate outside on the deck. Then we got ready and went down to the pier to do some fishing. My dad had bought the kids all their own fishing pole. The kids had fun, but they were really impatient and kept asking when they were going to catch anything.. and we didn't! They were really upset about that! I was able to take some gorgeous pictures of the lake while we were out there. After awhile we gave up and went swimming again. Mom and I hung out in the shade and read books we had brought with us.. it was awesome :) After swimming we went out to lunch at a restaurant called Huckleberry's. It was a home that had been turned into a restaurant, and it was pretty neat. 

That afternoon we went back to the dock and dad got us tickets for a scenic boat ride. We had done it last time we went up there, and really enjoyed it. You have a guide that drives the boat, takes you around the lake and points out facts and neat places. Part of the lake and the area beside it is where some of the scenes of Dirty Dancing were filmed! That is one of my favorite movies, so it's always neat to see that. There were a lot of older couples on the boat and they were giving the kids a lot of attention, and they ate that up. I LOVE going on boat rides, and it was very relaxing. About halfway through the cruise it started to storm. There was lightning overhead. I knew we were in trouble when the driver looked worried and called back to the dock! We cut the trip a little short and went back to the dock. We got back just in time.. it had started to pour right by the time we got to the car! The kids had been so freaked out that we wouldn't make it back in time! Anyway, after that adventure we went back to the condo and rested for awhile. Since we had to head back home Monday, Mom and Dad decided to do our memorial day cookout a night early. We had hotdogs, hamburgers, and watermelon! Yum yum. That night we watched some tv and about the only thing on at the time the kids could watch with us was Full House. That brought back some memories!! :)

Monday morning we got up and had another yummy breakfast! (I need to go places with my parents more often so they will do all the cooking for us ;) We packed up all our stuff in the condo and started loading it up in the van so we didn't have to worry about it later. Then we went back to the pool AGAIN! Those kids sure did get some sun that weekend! Brooke got a float this time to go around the lazy river, and loved it. It cost $6 for a float-- crazy.. but she got to keep it to take home! Then we went back to the condo and got everyone showers and dressed in new clothes. We went out to lunch one more time before we had to go home. We went to Larkin's on the lake.. it is a beautiful view there and the food is great! Even if we did have to wait awhile for it. The kids got frisbees with their kids meals, so they thought that was cool.

After lunch we hugged and said bye to mom and dad then got on the road. Mom and dad stayed for the whole week, but we had to get back so the kids could go to school. The kids were bummed out to be leaving and kept asking already when we were going back again! I was so happy to get home and see Sheldon, I had really missed him! Thankfully my sister-in-law had taken care of our pets while we were gone :) Sheldon was so excited when we got in that he was shaking and peed everywhere! Haha :) And he wouldn't leave my side all afternoon! We had a great time and I look forward to going again :)

Playing the headbanz game in the condo.

Arnold and I at the lake Saturday morning

Arnold had to document that I was actually fishing! I hadn't since I was a little girl!

Brooke and Pop Pop at Huckleberry's for lunch.

They had a HUGE rocking chair outside so we had to take pictures :)

We got a family shot after leaving the restaurant

Rachel loved playing in the sand.

On the boat ride, it was a lot of fun until the storm came!

The steps from the Dirty Dancing movie! Look familiar??? ;)

Sunday night everyone was exhausted and piled on top of me! 

Doing what i do best.. reading by the pool! I'm not a big fan of swimming!

The kids loved the umbrella sprinklers!

Brooke and Grandma at our lunch before we had to leave

Lions, Tigers, & Bears, Oh My!

This past Friday, Arnold and I went with Brooke and Caleb and their school to the zoo. We were lucky that the 1st and 2nd grades both went, so we were able to spend time with both of them at the same time. The grandparents watched Rachel while we were gone. We had to get up at 4:30am so we could be at school at 5:30 to leave the school at 6am! I am not a morning person at all, so that was rough! We were out the door at the last minute! Thankfully we got to take nice charter buses, so the seats were comfortable. Most people slept some on the way down there, but of course Brooke was excited and kept talking the whole way. They also played some movies for the kids to watch. We made a stop on the way at a nice rest area to go to the bathroom and they handed out biscuits for breakfast. 

We got down to the zoo around 9am. It was already hot when we got down there.. I think the high that day was around 90 degrees! We loaded down a backpack with waters, sunscreen, and everything else we might need while we were there. We went in with the school then split up to do our own thing. While we were down there, Arnold and I were responsible for another child in Caleb's class, named Silas. I think the kids enjoyed having another kid to hang out with. We ran off to see all the animals we could before lunch. We saw monkeys, flamingos, and lions. We then went indoors (it was so nice and cool in there!) to the aquarium to look at all the fish and other sea creatures. The kids got a kick out of a big shark swimming by them in the tank. A little while after that we realized that Silas' bag was missing. He had brought a bag with his camera and his wallet with money for the day. Of course we would be responsible and then lose his stuff! So we ran around to all the lost and found areas, and no one had seen it turned in. We finally went all the way back to the aquarium and someone had hung the bag on the door! And the money was still in there! We were soo lucky it was still there.. I wouldn't have wanted to tell his parents we lost all his stuff!

Around 11am we met up with the school to have lunch. We went to some picnic tables in the shade. We had packed lunches for us to eat.. although it was so hot out we didn't have much of an appetite! I downed a whole water bottle right when we sat down! By then I was so hot and sweaty I was miserable. And my feet were already hurting (I felt old!) After lunch we set off to explore again. We went to see the other animals we hadn't seen yet. Then we stopped by and saw a lady doing an educational thing on giraffes and ostriches, so we sat down and watched her. It was nice to rest! And she ended up using the kids to help her demonstrate some things, so they loved that. After we left there, we went to get the kids some ICEEs. Turns out that place took debit cards, but the Dippin Dots place didn't, so I didn't get any :( I don't know why we didn't think to bring any cash with us!

Before we left for the day we stopped by the Gift Shop. Silas had brought his own money and bought himself a big stuffed tiger. We wanted to get something for Rachel since she hadn't gotten to go on the trip, so we bought her a big stuffed monkey. It was originally $30 but on special for $18. Still crazy for a stuffed animal! Rachel had a little money she used to carry around EVERYWHERE when she was really little, but she lost it.. so we knew she would love getting a new monkey :) After the giftshop we still had time to kill so we took a walk on the bridge across the river. Brooke saw people ziplining across the river and kept begging us to let her do it. She also wanted to climb the rock wall. That kid is a daredevil! She is not scared of anything. And has been that way since she was a baby! ;) After that we went to one more indoor place to look at the koalas, and found a lot of the school there, sitting in the air conditioning (smart ;) Finally it was time for us to leave, around 3pm.

We drove a little ways down the road and stopped for dinner at Cicis pizza. yes, we had dinner that early!! It was nice because they brought pizzas and drinks to us and we didn't have to do much. I swear I drank 3 glasses of tea right away, I was sooo thirsty! When we got back on the bus around 4:30pm, we found out our bus' air had stopped working! We had taken 2 buses and of course our's was the one that stopped working! So we had a very miserable ride home! I ended up falling asleep for a little bit and woke up with sweat ALL over me. It was so gross! Two kids on the bus threw up... poor things. You can imagine a hot bus and tummies filled with pizza is not a good mix! I hope someone complained to the bus company about that ride home! I almost kissed the ground when we got back! 

We all went to bed really early that night, and Arnold and I just about swore we would never do something like that again. Although I'm sure the next time the kids ask us to go somewhere.. we will.... ;)

Brooke was so excited that the bird sat on her arm :)

Pretty flamingos

The lizard was looking right at Caleb!

The kids with their friend, Silas

Taking a break. Arnold was pretty tired I think ;)

One of the giraffes came this close to Brooke! It was neat!

One of the lions was sleeping upside down! Hilarious!

Caleb lost a tooth while we were there!

The kids with their friend, Madison. She is in Caleb's class. They play together a lot :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

~Brooke had her awards ceremony for American Heritage Girls the other night. I invited my Mom to come out to watch her, and we had a surprise of my Grandpa and Father-in-law that came, too. So Brooke had her own cheering section ;) She got a pin for joining this year, and some badges for some things she learned and earned. They are now done for the Summer, and I think Brooke wants to go back again in Fall!

~We also go to spend Monday evening with some good friends. After the awards ceremony we went over to sonic to eat dinner. Nothing quite like chili cheese dogs ;) We also got milkshakes, but we waited right until 8pm to order them because they go half price then ;)

~Arnold and I rented "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" to watch the other night. It was sort of a weird concept of a movie, but it was really good!

~We took the kids to Kohl's the other day because they all needed some new shoes, and shorts for this Summer. We ended up making some Kohl's cash, and I was able to go back again today and get them some more clothes.. including some patriotic stuff for Memorial Day ;)

~We had our first counseling session for Brooke, although it was just for the parents this time around. I think the counselor now has enough background info on Brooke to start working with her. Her teacher was also awesome enough to fill out a LONG form they wanted, to evaulate some learning issues. She is scheduled for another EEG, just to rule out any medical issues first, since she had some seizures when she was younger.

~I am glad I chose Target to go and buy our groceries today... because they had some good deals. They had some good sales and clearances on things already. Then they had a $10 off $50 or more on groceries coupon you could get. And then I used my Target debitcard, which took about $5 more off the bill!

~Tomorrow I have an end-of-year conference with Rachel's teacher. I hope she is doing well! Although she seems to be.. she knows all her ABC's, a lot of numbers, colors, shapes... and has learned tons of songs this year. I am pretty sure they will give her the go-ahead for Kindergarten! ;)

~We are headed to the zoo with Brooke and Caleb's class on Friday! It is going to be a LONG day. We have to be at the school by 5:30am that morning! At least we get to ride on the big, nice buses there! We are loaded up on plenty of sunscreen and bottled waters.

~Arnold usually has to work on Memorial Day, but he was able to take off this year! So we are headed to Lake Lure with my parents this coming weekend. I went there every year growing up, and it is so neat to go back now, as an adult, with my family. We will get to go swimming, have cookouts, play putt putt, go to the lake, and all sorts of fun things. The kids are so excited!

~Caleb has a project due tomorrow at school. He had an animal he had to research and he has to write a paragraph about it, and make a model of it. I helped him with the research and writing, since that is what I'm good at. And Arnold helped me be all crafty and make the leopard, since he is good at that! They made it out of wood and painted it, and you can def tell that a 6 year old did not do it! But at least it's "A" worthy ;)

Mother's Day 2014

This weekend was amazing! I wish it didn't end. My whole family spoiled me rotten! They did so much for me and it was just wonderful. I can't thank them enough.

Friday I met my mom at the mall and she took me clothes shopping for Mother's Day. It was so much fun because I picked out a lot of clothes and we went into the dressing room area together and she gave me her opinions on things I tried on. I know she is loving doing that now since when I was a teen I hated going clothes shopping! Strange, I know. She ended up getting me a really cute dressy outfit that I wore on Mother's Day Sunday, a jacket type thing, and two other cute tops. After we parted ways I went over to Arnold's work to take him some food and have lunch with him. 

That evening Arnold surprised me with a Mother's Day gift that I had NO idea he had gotten me. A heart necklace with little diamonds in it. It is beautiful! He was excited to give it to me so he gave it to me early. Then him and the kids took me out to dinner at my favorite place-- Olive Garden! We got there early so we wouldn't have to wait in a long line. I could eat my weight in just the salad and breadsticks there ;) After dinner since it was still so early we went to some stores to walk around. We went to Old Navy and got us some flipflops.. love their flipflops for the price! Then we went to TJ Maxx to pick out a birthday present for one of Caleb's friends. And we went to A.C. Moore to get a few party things for Rachel.. and I got the kids some of those wooden masks you can color.. they love doing that! On the way home we got a Mother's Day cake... all chocolate! It was so yummy! The kids were excited to have cake so close to bedtime ;)

Saturday Arnold watched the kids for me so I could go have some girls' time with two of my best friends, Erika and Joanne! I slept in as late as I could, then went to meet them at the nail place, and we all got our eyebrows waxed. Then we went over to Walmart so Erika could return something, and we all ended up in the dressing room trying on clothes.. that was a lot of fun. I ended up buying myself two new dresses! And that is a bigdeal because I never wear them! But after feeling how comfy the outfit was that Mom got me, I decided to try some more like it. After Walmart we went to lunch at Chili's. I got a yummy grilled chicken sandwich. We took a bunch of pictures in the parking lot of course.. we are cool like that ;) Lastly we went to the movies to see "Moms Night Out." I was expecting it to be pretty good, but it was GREAT! I was pleasantly surprised! I was cracking up the whole time, it was so funny. And the message was amazing.. every mother needs to hear what they said! And the movie was rated PG and had a lot of Christian references in it. Just proves that a movie doesn't have to have naked people and cussing to be entertaining! Especially not for me!! 

After my friends and I parted ways, I browsed around a few stores waiting on Arnold and the kids. They met me at Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Another one of my favorite places! ;) Then when we got back home the kids wanted to give me their gift, too. They picked it out all by themselves. The other night while they were at the mall with Arnold, they saw it in the store and said "Mom would love that!" so he got it for me, from them. It was an owl top, and I just love it! I am wearing it today, actually. And forgot to mention.. all day while i was out with my friends, Arnold was being super dad. He did yardwork, took Caleb to a birthday party, and took the girls AND one of Brooke's friends to Chuck E Cheese. So I KNOW the kids were thinking he was super dad that day ;)

Sunday morning we all got up early since i had to work in the baby class during early service. I got all the kids dressed and then realized that they were all wearing purple. Not planned, but really cute! Before we left we took a bunch of pictures outside. At church we ended up with 8 little ones under 3, and once again I was holding a lot of babies and doing a lot of reading. Arnold asked me not to wear my new necklace to church because he was worried with the babies.. and sure enough the first thing that happened when I was holding one little guy was he grabbed my necklace and was trying to chew on it! (I wore one with big beads instead) After church we went to Mom and Dad's house for lunch. We gave mom her presents from us and then hung out on the deck. Dad made low country boil, which is one of my favorite meals ever! Between the 7 of us, we finished off 3 1/2 lbs of shrimp! I can't get over how much our kids love shrimp (just like us!) After visiting my parents, we went to visit Arnold's parents. On the way we stopped by to get some gas, and we were right by Taco Bell, so Arnold went through the drive-thru and got me and the kids some of their Freeze drinks. And it was happy hour so they were only $1 each! The little things in life ;)

That afternoon when we got home, I laid down for a nap (ahhhhh, the life!) and Arnold and the kids worked cleaning up the house. The kids had messed their rooms up again, so they cleaned them up again. Then that evening we had dinner while watching old Duck Dynasty re-runs. After the kids went to bed I laid in bed and started reading some new books I had downloaded on my ipad. They had a lot of good kindle deals this weekend. Then I started on the new season of "Call the Midwives." Love that show. While I was doing that, Arnold swept and mopped the kitchen, and vaccuumed the living room. Sign him up for Husband of the year! I swear, I was so, so blessed this weekend by everything he did for me. I couldn't have asked for a better husband!!! :)

I hope everyone else had a fun weekend celebrating, also! :) Now back to being super Moms! ;)

Dinner at Olive Garden on Friday. Wearing one of my new tops Mom got me.

My yummy dinner! I usually get five cheese ziti, but I got the cheese ravioli this time.

The Mothers' Day Cake! It was ALL chocolate. It was so good. 

The top the kids got me. I love it! And the perfect color, too!

Out to lunch on Saturday, with the girls!

Waiting on the movie to start.

Taking pictures Sunday morning before church

The kids wanted to take some silly pictures too!

Mom opening her gifts from us.

Me with my wonderful Mom!!

We took a walk down to the pond while we were waiting on lunch.

Thumbs up for this lunch! I ate till I was seriously stuffed!

Arnold and the kids with his mom on Sunday.

Mother's Day in a Dream World

So Mother's Day is coming up this weekend, and I was thinking of how different things are now that I am a Mom. I love my kids. And I wouldn't change a thing. But this stuff is hard. I know all  you other moms would agree with me. I came up with a list (for fun) of what a Mother's "day" would be like in my fantasy world. So here you go. Let me know if you agree with any of this ;)


In my Mother's Day dream....


~I would be able to sleep in past 7am

~All the rooms in the house would be clean at the same time. I don't think that's ever happened!

~I would be able to eat a meal without having to cut up someone's food, listen to whining about foods touching or who get's the last biscuit, and having to beg and plead for them to eat their vegetables.

~I would be able to watch MY favorite shows, instead of Doc Mc Stuffins and then singing that darn theme song the rest of the day because it is stuck in my head.

~I would go to the store for FUN, and browse around looking at stuff for ME, instead of looking for new shoes for Brooke because she outgrew hers, or supplies for Caleb's class project, or snacks for Rachel's upcoming party. But I would end up buying stuff for them anyway.. because it's just so darn fun.

~The kids' clothes would stay clean all day. (mine too) No dirt stains, blood, snot, paw prints from the dogs, food, etc. No lost shoes. Bows stay in the girls' hair.

~I get to use my own computer, to blog or get on facebook. Instead of the kids fighting over who gets to use it and play Animal Jam. Or Moshi Monsters. Or Angry Birds.

~All stretch marks and extra weight from my pregnancies would magically disappear (hey, a girl can dream, right?!)

~I could drive a rented car around all day (something sporty) instead of the minivan. The van which practically screams "mom." No crumbs all over the floor and seats. No jolly ranchers stuck to the seat. No Dora the Explorer playing on the dvd player in the backseat.

~I can blast my own music as loud as I want and sing along.. without having to turn it down when a bad word slips out... and not have to explain what things mean!

~Absolutely no whining, tattletelling, hitting, crying, screaming, copying each other... you get the picture!

~The kids would go straight to bed at a reasonable hour. No begging to stay up. No questions on why adults get to stay up later than kids. No last minute trips to the bathroom. No asking for a glass of water. No talking to keep your sister up an extra hour.

~Homemade cards from the kids with sweet messages inside telling me how much they love me and always will. So that I can look back at them on the days when they become teenagers and I wan't to pull my hair out! And I can prove to them that one day they really did think "I was the best thing ever."

~BASICALLY-- A whole day of not worrying about messes, homework, driving kids around to activities, breaking up fights, planning out kids outfits, makings kids' meals, pickings up toys scattered throughout the house.... a day that every mom dreams of.. at least once a year!! ;)






Happy Mother's Day :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

~Today is my good friend Cori's birthday! So a quick shout out to her! Hope you have a wonderful day, girl! We are getting so close to 30... eek!

~Yesterday I went to have lunch with Brooke and Caleb. I love that they have the same lunchtime, it makes it so much easier. And they each brought a friend up to sit with them, too. Usually at the end of lunch Caleb gets up and goes back to his class, but this time he turned around, looked at me, and ran over and gave me a hug!!! :) I was so happy. I am glad he is not too embarrassed to do that yet!

~When the kids got in the van yesterday they told me they were making their moms surprises at school since Mother's Day is this weekend. Then they started to tell me what it was and ruin the surprise! I told them to stop talking and I'd find out soon enough ;)

~We got fliers sent home this week that it's time to order yearbooks! I can't believe it's that close to the end of the year already. I looked back through their old ones last night and almost cried at how much they have grown! I also almost cried over the fact that 3 yearbooks will cost me $60 but oh well! ;)

~I got the invites for Rachel's birthday party sent out this week. I know it is a little early, but Summer is sooo busy for everyone, so this works well for me to figure things out and people to plan ahead. I am having so much fun planning her big bash!!

~I am going to have lunch with my friend Jessica and her daughter Stella tomorrow! Looking forward to it! Jessica moves around with her family alot, since her husband is in the military, and I don't get to see her that much anymore! We are going to the Blue Moon.. love that place!

~My latest background on my computer is a picture of 3 doxie puppies sitting together! It makes me smile everytime I look at it. I have asked Arnold a few times if Sheldon can get a little brother or sister but he says no everytime.. that Sheldon is more than enough ;)

~I am soo excited because Saturday I am going out with some friends to go to lunch and the movies! I told him I wanted a girls's day for Mother's Day!

~I finished another book yesterday.. it was "When Joy Came to Stay" by Karen Kingsbury. It was amazing... I was kept wondering will the very end of the book. Lots of sad parts and I really felt for the girl.. because she had placed a baby for adoption in the past, so it was near to my heart. The ending was very heart-warming though and I loved it!

~The weather has been amazing this past week, and I decided to take the kids to a surprise visit to the park yesterday right after school. They were excited but didn't last long out there, because it was HOT! We also got a good look into the building we rented out for Rachel's party.. and I think it is going to be perfect!

~I am having fun coming up with ideas for the kids' teachers this week.. it is Teacher Appreciation Week. The kids made them cards on Monday, and I sent them in cookies on Tuesday. Friday I am planning something a little bigger, and hope it turns out well.

~Monday night we went out to El Paso to eat some yummy mexican food, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! We went with the Stamey family. Everyone else had the same idea because that place was packed!!! We were there for about an hour and a half. But I had a good time. And chicken fajitas always impress :)

The kids at the park after school. Don't know why Brooke's mouth/cheek looks so weird, don't know what she was doing!

What I did for the teachers on Tuesday. I thought the "smart cookie" saying was cute :)

Out to eat on Monday night. Half the time I can't get Rachel to look at me anymore!!! 

Weekend in Review

We had a pretty good weekend. Friday we took the kids to get icecream since they made A's on their spelling tests. Arnold took Friday off from work since we had a lot to do, so we got all that done. He also did a lot of yardwork. Mowed our yard, took down some bushes in the front yard.. I am looking forward to planting new things there and making it look pretty!

Saturday we worked a lot around the house. Then at 4pm we dropped Brooke off at the church she does her American Heritage Girl meetings at. They were having a fundraiser dinner. They were supposed to be early to help set up and get things ready. So while we waited for the dinner to start, Arnold the little kids and I went over to Walmart, just down the road. We walked around and got some stuff we needed. Then at 5pm we met his parents and sister and niece at the church to have dinner. They had BBQ, sides, rolls, tea, and cupcakes. I think they had a pretty good turnout. Brooke was running around crazy and playing and I had to keep telling her to go help out. She helped some with the drinks, cupcakes, and then the rolls. While she was helping with the rolls, she was standing there eating one. *sigh* They have an awesome playground at that church, so the kids were able to run around outside and play while the rest of the dinner was going on, so that was fun. Our next AHG event is going to visit the Biltmore House in June!

Sunday morning we went to early service, and I worked in the baby class. We had 10 kids under 3 this week, and it was a mad house! It was like they came in by two's! And several of them were clingy too, so at one point I had two on my lap, the other girl did too, and they were surrounding us! It was crazy but it made the hour go by fast! It was actually closer to an hour and 15 minutes this week.. we had a guest pastor and he preached longer than usual! Anyway, I really do love it in there with all my sweet girls and guys. Every so often on the church Facebook page they feature volunteers, and this week they picked me and Allison to put on there. They took our picture and asked us some questions. When she asked me a fun fact about myself I couldn't think of anything. How sad is that?! Allison is the one who helped me come up with something... something about how much I read and between just last year and this year so far I have read over 120 books already??? Yeah what can I say?? I like to read ;)

After church we took the kids to Sonic. We don't live that close to one, but there is one right down the road from our church, so it is convenient and has become a tradition after a lot of church services. The kids love to go for the slushies. They added a TON of flavors recently.. so the kids were going crazy trying to figure out which ones to pick. (They also started half price milkshakes after 8pm.. just to let ya know! ;) It was such nice weather that we got to sit outside at one of the picnic tables. It almost reached 90 degrees this weekend... it was hot! While we were eating we started up some funny conversations.. asking the kids questions like what were some things that Daddy and Mommy loved and hated. The one that tickled me the most was when Caleb said "Well Mommy hates to work out!" So very true my son ;) I love those kinds of conversations with the kids.. where we are sitting around laughing. It will make great memories, I'm sure :)

Sunday afternoon we set up the new wireless fence we had gotten for Oreo and Pepper. We tried to train them how to use it like the book said, but they were trying to run away from us and didn't understand.. at one point Rachel got a hold of Oreo's leash and poor thing was almost dragged across the yard! We decided just to do what our friends told us and let them go. They got zapped a few times, would freak out, then run back into the yard. Ever since then they seem to be starting to get it, I think. They have hung out close to the house ever since. I wish Oreo would roam around more and be free!!! Poor thing. 

That evening Arnold made us a yummy dinner of chicken, mac & cheese, and veggies (love having a husband that is a good cook and doesn't mind helping in that area because I hate to cook!!!) Then a little while after dinner we went on a family walk. I love that there are sidewalks around town that make it easy for us to walk around. On the way back Rachel was complaining and Arnold had to carry her some of the way. But he didn't seem to mind.. he said it was just weight resistance ;) He has done so well with his weight loss and I am proud of him!! He looks like a whole new person! Anyway, after we put the kids to bed we caught up on some tv shows. We have started watching The Bible Series now that it came on Netflix. It is more violent than I had imagined, but I guess that is the way it really was.. no need to sugarcoat it. It is really a good series so far.. we have only watched the first two episodes, but I like it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead! :)

Being crazy... it is not an act! ;)

Riding in the cart while we did some shopping

At the AHG dinner. Pop decided to photo bomb! ;)

Zoey, Emma, and Brooke. Emma did a lot of work... more so than Brooke I think ;) She kept bringing me rolls and refilling our drinks!!

I took a few pictures outside while the kids were playing on Saturday.

Sisters telling secrets :) One of my favorite pictures. Rachel looks so happy :)

I told Brooke to smile at Caleb but she kept making funny faces ;)

Questions I have...

Here are some things that have been on my mind lately....




~What do I get my mom and Mother-in-law for Mother's Day? You think it would be easy to figure out, but I feel like I always get the same things! I need ideas!

~Why did Arnold drink the last diet Dr. Pepper and leave me with no caffeine this morning?

~Why did I stay up too late last night reading? And why was I reading a Jodi Picoult murder mystery before trying to go to sleep?

~How is Christina going to leave Grey's Anatomy? Tonight is her last episode, I think!

~Why do people take so dang long to RSVP to stuff? And some not at all? Isn't that rude??

~How can some people drop a friendship like it never happened? That really hurts.

~Why does Sheldon pull trash out and scatter it about everytime I leave the house? Is he mad at me?

~Why do I find Rachel upside down in her bed every morning? Your head goes at the other end!

~Why am I having such a hard time with the kids growing up?? I want them to stay little!

~Will Taco Bell bring back the Pina Colada Freeze this Summer? It is my favorite summer treat!

~Why is it so hard to get used to having bangs? They fall in my face all the time now!

~Why don't paychecks last longer? I swear I feel "rich" the first day we get it and then that feeling quickly goes away! ha!

~Why am I still sitting here in NC while my parents are off on a vacation?? They went to the Kentucky Derby. I can't wait to see pics of my mom all dressed up! (if she remembers to take them!)

~Will Brooke have a good day today? Or get silent lunch again for talking too much??

~Why has Rachel reverted back to talking in "baby talk"? She is almost 5!

~Why wasn't Pinterest around when I was getting married and having babies? Ya'll know I would have totally had gender reveal parties if I had known about them! ;)

~Is 30 old? That is how old I am turning next year! Man that snuck up on me fast!

~Will Brooke always "hate" boys? Last night she told me she will never hang out with boys, and will still love being with me when she is a teenager. We will see ;)

~Why are movies never as good as the book? I saw Heaven is for Real yesterday and it was pretty good.. but didn't come close to compare to the night I read the book.. all in one sitting! Amazing!