Jenni's engaged!!! Jenni's engaged!!!!

I am so very excited to announce that my sister got engaged yesterday afternoon!!!!! Words cannot describe how happy I am for Jenni and "Tent"(Kent)!! It was a great surprise for Jenni, she had no idea it was happening!! Neither did I for that matter!!!! I couldn't be happier with our new addition to our family..."Welcome" Kent to our crazy family!!!!
I won't give any details on how he proposed, that's their story to tell not mine!! It was very unique and very "Jenni"!! :) I also got to see the gorgeous ring too...all I have to say is BEAUTIFUL!! Good job Kent!!

Two more days until we see the newly engaged couple!!!! :)

Gotta go...I have a ton of wedding magazines to go thru!!! :)

GG and Tent are on their way...

If you're wondering who GG and Tent are, these are the names chosen for my sister Jenni and her boyfriend Kent. When Hayden was very little and learning to talk he could not say Jenni, but when he tried it came out as "GG". And it had stuck and never do they call her Jenni. Case has been calling Kent "Tent" since he met him back in December!!
The boys and I will pick them up from the airport this Friday!!!! We are so excited!!!!!! I am sure we'll have some funny stories to post after their visit!! :)
This picture is of GG and myself taken in March when we spent a week with her!!
I miss her and can't wait to laugh with her and be silly!!

Weekend Activities...

Well, this weekend was busy for us...well, maybe just Sunday. We didn't do much of anything on Saturday except for get some groceries, take a nap, and stay in the house and keep cool. I quote Jim saying..."well, I guess it's the dog days of summer, you want to go outside, but it's just too hot." Thanks Honey, my thoughts exactly!!
Sunday we started our morning early outside working in the yard. We got several odd jobs accomplished while sweating profusely!!! Even the boys wanted to come in the house to cool off...it has to be very hot for them to ask of that!! Being the wonderful mother that I am, we had chips and juice for lunch...what...you can't say you've never had a lunch similar to that before!!! :) Anyway, after our gourmet lunch, we all went to our pond for some afternoon fishing. Jim was tickled at the luck he had...we caught several really nice, big fish...nice enough to keep and we're having them for supper tonight!! Yummm, I love fish!! It was a great time! Jim even caught a turtle and we witnessed a big snake trying to eat the fish that we had caught!! Yikes! While Jim cut the fish up, I got some crazy pictures of the boys...
spitting water out of their mouths...
dirty toes...
riding in the mower cart...oh wait, I need to tell you what this is...we have an old mower that Jim took the mower blade off of and we use it all the time kind of like you would a 4wheeler...and then we got a cart in the spring...so now this is our "work vehicle and cart"...the boys ride in the back anytime we have it up and running!
Anyway,back to what some of the pictures are...there's also some pics of all three boys with the fish...by the looks of the outfits and overall dirtiness of us, you would think we're the ideal white trash family...really we're clean and do dress nice when going somewhere...I just figure if you're going to stay home and the only people going to see you are the ones you live with, wear your oldest "work" clothes, even if they don't match!!!! :)

Today was very hot...of course it was, we live in Kansas and it's the end of July. Sorry, for a second I guess I thought I was sharing some new information!! :)
The boys and I were outside quite a bit today. I have some pictures showing some of our activities. We played in the kiddie pool...notice our lovely poolside photo.
Case is shown in one picture with his ever famous "3-wheeler". Yes, it's a 4wheeler, but he says three. Since he could walk, and I don't know, maybe even stand up to things, he's been pushing this toy around the yard. Jim and I are always trying to imagine how many miles he has ran behind it. We're sure this is why he stays so skinny!! He has me wash it off when I'm watering my flowers with the hose. Running the tires in slow motion thru the mud is one of his favorite activities. Anyway, I thought he'd be proud that I was sharing a picture of him and his "ride".
One of the other pictures shows the boys in their "tree branch" (tree house). Hayden has always called it that and I have no idea where it came from...and now Case uses the same name. It seems my family has some weird names for a lot of things!!! Anyway, they're both up there at the same time sitting down because Hayden was doctoring Case from a previous stick wound that resulted in a bloody toe!! It's okay, it's okay, everyones fine now. Case wanted me to take a picture of his wound but after examining his feet I decided it was not a good idea...you see, they usually don't wear shoes outside and the amount of dirt, mud, etc that was on his used to be cute little toes, was unimaginable. FYI...most of the time the dirt won't even come off at bath time!! Oh well, I still think his toes are adorable!!
Hayden's photo of him picking something from a tree is so Hayden...you never really know what this kid is up to or what imaginary world he's in at the moment. I never asked what he was picking, I guess I wasn't wanting to hear a 10 minute explanation at that moment!! I have to tell myself that one day when he's a teenager I'll probably be praying for him to say a couple words at all....next time I'll ask!! For the last two days Hayden's been carrying around a Spiderman pencil bag. It's contents are as follows: a magic hair brush, notepad and pen, a small bell, hole punch, camera, and a set of keys!?!?!!?!! He did comb my hair yesterday with the magic brush and did say that my hair grew a little!! Good deal, I've been wanting to grow it out. :)
Well, I must go prepare supper...not sure what we're having yet!
We're going to move furniture around tonight...I love doing that.

Picnic at the Park...

Well, we went to the park today for the MOPS picnic! I have two words to describe it...REAL HOT. It was 95 degrees not counting the heat index and the humidity!!!! Wow...my eyelids were sweating and I honestly don't think that's ever happened before!!! We had a fantastic time!! It was nice visiting with everyone and the kids getting to play with each other. The lunch was yummy too. The only "off" thing that happened was Case puking!!!! Yeah, that's right, he puked...while we were eating...I'm pretty sure no one witnessed this (thank goodness)!! Could it have been from riding the merry-go-round for pretty much the entire hour we were there before lunch? Or maybe the temperature and him sweating like crazy...my boys are "sweater's" like their momma! Or maybe because he gagged on a piece of roast beef? Who knows!?!?! All I do know is that something caught my eye by his plate and after further investigation realizing it was in fact puke....with a fair amount on the floor below.....!! I preceded to wipe it up with my wet wipes before too many people saw what was happening....good deal....we're good to go now!!

So...of course by the time we get home the boys and I are sooo ready for a nap!!!!!! :) So we did! Just another day in paradise.
Jim got home from work and we grilled out some awesome beef tender loin!!! Then I shaved the boys' hair....
Hayden took his first "by him self" shower tonight...he was so proud!! I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast!!

Jenni countdown...still 10 days!! :(

Coffee with the girls...

Hello. Last night I had a special treat...I got to go have coffee with some of the girls from MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). We went to Downtown Java in Parsons. It was so much fun!! Let me tell you a little about what MOPS is. It's for all moms that have children from pregnancy thru kindergarten. We get together 2 Fridays a month. Each meeting ranges from crafts, guest speakers, book disc, etc...I have been on the Steering Team, which is the team who plans and keeps the meetings and etc going all year...I am the creative activities leader. This is my 3rd year to be a leader and absolutely love it!! It has been a lifesaver for me and the boys...while the moms are having their meeting, the kids are in their "classrooms" doing their own activities...for about 2- 2 1/2 hours...it's a well-needed break!! This group has led me to some of my best friends and I am very thankful for all the friendships I've made and will make!!
Anyway, let me get back on subject...we met at the coffee place to get together one last time before one of our friends moves away...Cathy we will miss you so much....you're a wonderful friend and mother...I wish you and your family nothing but good things to come in the future!!

So I got a frozen coffee drink...which was a little piece of heaven to me...and needless to say I was up pretty much the entire night wide awake...usually caffeine doesn't do anything to me, but I guess this drink had "extra fuel" in it, oh well it was still really good and andI have already been thinking about when I could get another one today?!?!

The boys stayed here and went fishing with daddy while I was gone...it was so cute to see them all standing out by the pond when I drove up...Hayden and Case are getting so big, it makes me sad that my baby's aren't baby's anymore. :(

We have a big picnic Tuesday mid-morning at the park for MOPS...I will let you know how the "raccoons" behave there!?!?!?!?! :)

P.S. Jenni countdown...10 days... :)

Our weekend...

Well, as the weekend comes to an end, I am forced to look back on all the highlights...

Saturday we started our morning with our annual trip to the Four State Farm Show over in Pittsburg, Ks! This was our 3rd year to go and looking back, every year I say "why do they have it during the hottest time of the year"...but like idiots we keep going back to sweat like there's no tomorrow! I think we made it through about a 1/3 of the show before the crying, whining, sassing, "hold me", "hold me" started...ready to go Jim, yep let's go!!! Silly me to think our children, who are almost 5 and 3, could actually walk through this thing without any fussing...
I think it only took about 30 minutes in the car to cool down and stop sweating...I love it when my clothes are wet, yuck.
We ate lunch at Applebee's, went to a hunting store, came home and took a long nap...oh yeah, did I mention that I was sick the whole entire day...sore throat, achy, sinus headache...yes, fun times in the 94 degree heat...

So, come 9:15 last night after taking some "night time" medicine I was ready to hit the sack...Jim and the boys stayed up watching a movie.

Today we took the boys to our local "ocean". Many of you probably didn't know that we live only a few miles from the ocean. Yes, some also call it the Parsons Lake. We had a great time. It was nice and hot so the cool water felt good. Jim and I had lunch too...the boys were too busy digging in the sand and floating around. We stayed for a couple hours. When it was time to go, Hayden was not too happy with me telling him to gather his stuff up!! After I got splashed in the face and screamed at (with everyone looking at me), I was ready to pick him up by his swim trunks and drag him to the pick up!!!!! After 20 minutes of "peeling" wet swim trunks off and wiping sand of two little bodies, we were ready to leave.
And again when we got home, it was nap time!!! I love nap time!!! We were too lazy to cook, so Pizza Hut was our choice for supper. Good night everyone...talk to you tomorrow. Oh yeah, I am feeling a little better!!

P.S. Jenni countdown...12 days!! :)

The boys are back in town....

Well...they're back. After being gone for 6 days, Hayden and Case are here!!! Momma and daddy couldn't be happier. It seems they have grown inches and look older to me. Even their voices seem different...wow...I guess 6 days can really change a person!! :)
All four of us did sleep in the same bed last night, a little crowded, but worth it!! For the most part they have been very good today. They're really tired and have been laying around the house for the majority of the day...which was fine with me...I joined in and haven't as much as made a bed! Of course we took a nap. It was Hayden's idea- he asked so I couldn't turn him down!!! Aaawww, thank you lord...I'm exhausted...why, I'm not sure...everyone knows I've been on "vaca" for six days....
I know these first two posts have not been funny at all...maybe I'll have some stories for tomorrows post...so until then...

P.S. My sister and her boyfriend will be here in 14 days....we are soooo excited......I love her and miss her everyday.

Welcome to my blog...it's my first day...

Hello. Well, it's my first time to have a blog and I'm very excited about it. I thought tonight would be a good time to create one since the boys are at "the grandmas" house. Jim and I have been "empty nesting" since last Saturday. It has been very quiet around here. We miss them like crazy, but have enjoyed our alone time. Of course I have called a thousand times to check on them making sure there hasn't been any freak accidents...like the one's I dream up all day!!! I'm pretty sure my mom and grandma are wishing we didn't have any phone service right about now. :) Oh well, what can I say...the boys drive me crazy sometimes, but I do worry about them...miss them...and love them so much!!
Anyway, I go tomorrow afternoon to pick them up!! Yeahhhhh!!!!! :) It may sound funny, but I can't wait to wrap my arms around them and smell their hair and necks....if you're a mom you'll know what I mean! I have already told Jim that they'd be sleeping with us tomorrow night...good thing we have a king size bed. Well, I must go enjoy my last quiet evening before the raccoons (boys) return...