The Treat of the Trade

  All the practices. Her being goalie the first half of the games. Her # 2 shirt is now retired. Soccer cleats get pushed to the back of the closet. And we don't have anything to do for an hour and 15 minutes every Saturday and Sunday.   The heat is one thing that Jessie cant stand to be a part of. Its ok in the beginning, but once this girl gets hot, well its all over basically. I am however glad that the season ended before the 100 + temps set in. and believe me they set in just a few days later. That's why I was happy it was over. Sad because she has nothing to look forward to now. Shes happy its over because she wont have to run around in the sun. Shes sad its over because we don't have any where to go now. She had a good size team in the beginning. But with the summer days setting in and vacations taking priority this was the last team players of the season. They were a good group of kids that had such an eagerness about all things soccer. Until next time...

I love his teeth. I am so anel about floral hygeine i honestly should have been a denist. i told our family denist that i was the tooth brushing nazi and he gave me a high five! but you know.....3 kids and they have checkups every 6 months and we walk away with the best exams! so i am doing something right!

  It started because of a lightening storm. I turned on the TV after coming in from outside and Jurassic Park was on. So they shared a bowl of chex mix and played with the pretzels during commercials .   They are silly and best friends.   Then he got the dinosaurs out. Because they needed to watch the movie too!   And they were hungry. Actually very hungry because he was feeding them like they havent eaten in 4,000 years or something. Happy Sunday!

These were M&M cookies. I dont really have a cookie monster, I have an M&M monster. That leaves all the cookies with missing peices for everyone else in the house! :sigh:

I try. I try to make food last. I try to stick to a grocery budget and sometimes ( more than I'd like) I fail. I'm slowly getting better at buying the important stuff in bulk. Our main meats. Beef. Chicken. Pork. I can stretch that out for months. The big things of Sunny D last about 3 weeks....etc you get the idea. The worst thing I could possibly do is go to Sams on a Saturday afternoon. WHY?? WHY do I do that to myself? It's not like I'm that busy Monday thru Friday! O well lesson learned. When I do go back it will be on a Tuesday morning....a few months from now!

....and they make me look ridiculous sometimes!! HAPPY THURSDAY!!

  That makes these waterdogs happy!   It means more of this....   Quality daddy time....   Pretending we are mermaids... And hanging out in your favorite summer attire!! Happy first day of Summer 2012!!

  Thanks to Pintrest and my new interest in chalkboard paint, my house is about to get a makeover. Slowly but Shirley!   Josh cutting the edges off. Mind you with a very sharp steak knife. Hey it was small border! Almost finished project. All that's not here is the red border around my chalkboard. i figured i could leave the kids notes. they can write things down that we are out of instead of leaving empty boxes in the pantry. i can advertise what i am making for dinner. the possibilities are endless with chalkboard paint!

  I may have welcomed summer with my painted sign, but Josh one upped me and took Jill and his oldest daughter Jenny on a surprise trip to Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. I packed Jill's bag while she was at school. He drove to OK to pick up Jenny and then they were off to welcome summer in their own way....   This was their view from the hotel window. Six flags was literally a hop, skip, and jump away.   The Batman ride that they all loved!   Hurricane harbor took up most of their Sunday and wore them completely out for the ride home. The long ride home! This is Josh and the girls about to leave the water park. They had an awesome surprise. a great trip with dad. and many memories were made. I'm a day late on my fathers day tribute to him.....Josh....you are an amazing dad to your kids...well ....our kids. I feel that in all the obstacles you overcame in your life they are what made you the person you are today. you are the hardest working man i kn...

 School let out a little later in the year this year. It is usually over by Memorial Day, but they managed to squeeze in a few more days.....lasting until June 1. The girls got out at noon that day so i ran up to my local meat market and they gave me some butcher paper....came home to paint them a sign. Welcoming summer and all that it has to offer. The girls were pleased with this. Jessie is no longer a little 1st grader. Jill will be entering middle school. And my baby will start school this upcoming year. So this is his last free summer. He will understand later in life why we want summer to hurry and get here. And why his mom will always welcome the late nights and sleeping in. Sno-cones and afternoons at the pool. Mohawks and colored hair. Water gun fights and being barefoot. BBQs with dad and mid day matinees.

Its that time of year when we celebrate my little sisters birthday. This year it was everything mason jar!   Shirley Temples that she made. Along with the BBQ Cocktail. My husband cooked a brisket all day and we layered the jar with beans, coleslaw, and brisket. Topped with a pickle! I do have to say that was the best meal in a jar i have ever had!   For dessert....Banana Pudding Surprise and it was GOOOOOD!! She had great company. Good food. Presents. I am going to show favoritism here because my son painted her this picture. He even named it "Birthday Adventure" :) Here is to many more Jennifer!!