Day 3 A.K.A Let's just relax today....day

So we blew up the little pool for a change and they had a great time with it.

Really the best $35 we ever spent. Do you believe it has lasted 2 years and was only $35 at Costco?

Candi & Ariel brought crafts for us to do....they had so much fun doing them.
Very festive, don't you think?
Then I pulled out the craft sand(which my husband responded with a "where have you been keeping a case of craft sand hidden?) and created
fun sun/star keychains. This one was an Ariel special.

Then we had an egg and spoon race and blew
bubbles.

We went in the big pool again and the kids were regular little fish...swimming further, splashing harder and getting braver.
After the pool, Candi treated us to chuck roast and mashed potatoes. You have NO idea how delicious it was. Charles made me take notes while she was cooking it. It was so good. Thanks Candi, for the yummy treat.


For dessert we pulled out my ice cream lazy susan and the kids LOVED it. Ariel asked if we could use that again next time she comes to visit. So sweet.

Ice cream served in special dishes make it taste that much better. YUM!

On the second day of vacation my hubby took us to

the Az Sonoran Desert Museum. At the museum there was a lot more..... cousin bonding....those girls really love each other.

cool cactis to look at and take photos of. This one is courtesy of Candi...I love it.animals off finding shade, but we were still able find a prarie dog, a roadrunner, a desert turtle, bobcats, mountain lions and sleeping javelinas.....oh and a tarantula up close and personal....can you tell who wanted to touch it in the worst way?
heat. It did start to get a little hot....who am I kidding it was over 1oo, but I love this photo of my girl. Not really her expression because she looks annoyed, but will you look at her skin? Oh, how I wish I had that skin....it's gorgeous and what about her lips...are they perfect or what?Mom & daughter quality time....that's what vacations are for, right?fish to look at than the day before. Who would think they would have large fish tank at a Desert Museum.

goggle time. Only this time it was to search for fossils. Wish we had went that way first....they enjoyed it so much.

Swimming afterwards! We all were so hot, we had to hit the pool. After an hour or 2 it was popsicle time. We had a great day!

Getting back to our daily routine...

Or at least trying to. Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments and cards. We really do appreciate them.

My cousin and her daughter coming for a visit helped keep our minds on more cheerful things like.....

Two cousins getting to know each other.
Two brothers playing together and enjoying it!
Aunt Candi chasing the baby throughout the park.
Just chillin' in the pool with all the fun pool toys that they brought with them from Florida.Enjoying ice cream cones after the pool.Wearing matching nightgowns with your cousin.The girls enjoying popcorn and a movie.

All of them snuggled together on the floor....nothing cuter than that.

That was only on DAY 1!

From 6 to 8!

At least for the next few days.....my cousin, Candi arrived along with my niece, Ariel. We have a house full now! I will try to add photos to keep up with our adventures. We are so happy to have them here with us.

June "Monthly Special" : The Grid

Itsy, Bitsy Spider

Marc from take-out photo has a monthly special where he teaches some tricks of the trade and boy, do I know I need them. Between Amy M's and Pioneer Woman's wonderful tutorials and now Marc, I should be able to do some pretty cool stuff. What do you think? Can you tell she is singing the itsy bitsy spider song? If not.....and you don't care about my horrible singing watch this..........

Rest in peace, Ralph.

My father-in-law, Ralph, passed away Tuesday night. What will we miss? His wicked sense of humor and his honesty. What will my children miss? Papa. My heart is aching for them. I don't know how they will handle the services this weekend. Lindsey told me that he is in her heart just like God and that he is an angel looking after us. Children have a wonderful way of thinking, don't they? We miss and love you Ralph.

No longer a kindergartener.

Look at this beautiful FIRST GRADER! We are so very proud of her. Natalie, Michael and I went to her "ceremony". Here, they are not allowed to make a big deal about graduating from kinder. How could you not? Anyhow, I was pretty anxious about having to deal with them and watch Lindsey. Lucky for Lindsey and really lucky for me, my Mom showed up. I was happy that she was able to be there to celebrate with us and she was a big help, thanks Mom!

Here she is accepting her certificate.....I didn't get the best pics with Natalie hanging/clinging to me.
This warmed my heart. Her little friend congratulated her as she sat down. Is that thoughtful or what?

Lindsey with "her" Mrs. Parks. She is a wonderful teacher and an amazing woman. She was Tyler's teacher and it was such a blessing to have her be Lindsey's.

A little video of the class....Lindsey is in the back row...2nd to the left.

May 1990

It's prom time and I thought how ironic it was that I found this OLD photo today when so many are probably enjoying their prom tonight. Man, I am feeling nostalgic.....especially when I turn on my Ipod on and there is "I remember you" by Skid Row. Don't pretend that you didn't like that song or didn't have a crush on Sebastian Bach....he was seriously hot.

Am I the only one?

Who gets so very happy when all their kids finish off a 2 lb package of strawberries? yummy.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

they say. In case you have noticed, I have been in a blogging funk lately. Alot has been going on here. We have been going none stop since the beginning of May.

*Our master shower has been out of commission for OVER a year and we finally got the whole bathroom done. It was being completed 2 days before, while we were out of town for 4 days, and 2 days after our trip.

We still have to paint, seal the tile, add switchplates, towel bars, and clean it up, but I am happy.

*While we were on our mini-vacation, my fil, went into the hospital with a very large blood clot in his lung and we learned that his lung cancer has come back very aggressively. It was really hard to enjoy our trip with this news, but we made it through. Can you guess where we went?

*Charles' new job starts Monday...such an amazing job opportunity, but I am nervous for him. It is going to be difficult for him to concentrate while his father is having hospice care at home. My heart is aching for him. Losing a loved one is so, so hard.

*On top of all this craziness, the kids are out of school next week and that means lots of celebrating...kindergarten graduation & party, Michael's pre-school pajama party, I need to make teacher gifts and there is a last minute field trip.

*Today, my fil's sister and niece are arriving to visit with him and tomorrow our good friends, the Harty's, are coming to town. Their daughter is graduating from the UofA, so I have to find a free moment to go see them.

It just seems like I am on major overdrive right now. I will try to blog when I can, but it probably will be pretty random. Or I might blog more than before, because it is fun to take your mind off of things and escape via bloggin.

til next time.

I am so unprepared.........

Only 5 days until summer vacation begins! There goes my sanity:)

Need a laugh?

You need to head over to Pioneer Woman's blog.....the woman cracks me up. Poor Charlie. Makes me miss my old basset hound, Bogie.

Bouncing, balls, and bubbles.

Michael's occupation as of today???

Car mechanic. Bring your car on in to his garage. He'll take care of you.
Check under the hood.

Fill er up.
Even provides towing service!During his lunch break, you could probably find him at the drive-thru ordering a hamburger sammich with ketchup, apple slices and a chocolate milk.

I love this kid!