Happy Memorial Day Weekend! :)

Ok, so these pics are a couple weeks old (and have nothing to do with the post today), but I just realized I never posted them...so here ya' go...pics from Hailey (and Shelby's) church musical...I think the titles were "Building" (Shelby) and "Livin' Inside Out and in an Upsidedown World" (Hailey)...Hailey is the second one in on the very far right bottom row...
Too darn cute...Shelby and her Bob-the-Builder bud, Ben :)

Hailey and her good buddies from preschool (The Mallory's) :)
Shelby all smiles with Poppy Stegs :)
Hailey and her little brother...can you tell he loves her so much?!
Cousin Danielle (she was one of the lead roles) hanging with Dylan after the big show...and then Hailey and Kev's cousin Harrison...they are such good friends and we are so thankful they are fairly close in age since our kids don't have any real cousins of their own :)

Well, the long weekend is almost upon us and I am pleased to say we have have not a whole heck of lot going on! Phew! Ok, so saying that I know I'm gonna jinx myself and Kev will come home today set on doing our deck (he wants to seal it, which it needs after 3 years of being w/o it)...but I must say I was kinda just hoping for a lazy 3 days of nothing much planned, and tackling the deck would be a 3-day project knowing us. I know we all get in an itch to not waste time and get stuff done, but I think every once in awhile we need to just veg and do nothing. We'll see if my hubby agrees :)

Anyway...so with that I just wanted to post a few random things in bullet form and wish you all a Happy Memorial Day. It seems to me like 90% of the world is traveling elsewhere this weekend and I must say I am glad to not be doing that! We'll do enough traveling this summer and with gas prices up the wazoo I think that's a good enough sign to just stay put....Anyway...so w/o further ado....

• We are making one lil' trip this weekend to Danville to celebrate Race Day...for those of you who live in a bubble it's the big ol' Indy 500 on Sunday. While you all know I'm not a race fan and I really don't even acknowledge it as a sport I will say we enjoy the annual race day party in Kev's ol' hometown...his old neighbors throw a huge bash every year on their acres of land and it's just a good time for old and young...we get to see ol' friends we haven't seen in a year and meet all the new kids who have been born each year...it really is a good time...unless it rains (which it is forcasted to do and often does)...then it's a bit muddy and not as fun (so pray for sun!). But, we are looking forward to the party and who knows...maybe Kev or I will sport our awesome volleyball moves!


• Hailey has finally started asking questions about "stuff"...it started at Target this week when she asked "when can I wear one of THOSE things"...and she was pointing to her chest area....I said "a bra" and she said, "YES!"...like it was a dream come true to wear one. I don't even remembe my response cuz I almost got in a panic...but I think I said "Oh, not for a long time...they're no fun anyway" :) Oh my....she's only 7...please tell me girls aren't wearing bras at that age now! :( Soon she'll be asking even more questions about stuff...I'm just not ready for that :(


• Ants have begun to over-run our home yet again...it seems to happen every spring about this time. It makes me feel like our home is dirty cuz they swarm into our kitchen like it's a feeding ground. Well, to make it worse Shelby's been freaking out about them daily...and you'll love what she says..."I'm soooooooo 'busteraated' by these ants"...(translated to she is very frustrated by them) :) It is quite a hoot to hear her say it as she scurrying aroung the kitchen picking them up with a paper towel or stepping on them (she is our bug searcher-outer)...typing it doesn't do it justice cuz she tries to sound just like me when she says it (and yes, I do say I'm frustrated by quite a few things each day :)). Ah...isn't it fun to have little ones that mimic your every word?!


• The brother and sister are finally starting to bicker...yep, somewhere in the last two weeks Shelby and Dylan have become the typical siblings that quarrel. Now, I know that's completely normal, but I have to say since Hailey and Shelby were 4 years apart there has been very little fighting between them. So I had to laugh when Dylan started bullying Shelby and she is not one to sit back and take it...so she fights right back...now the fun begins. I must say Dylan has one quite a few of the battles...he has a really nasty throw and really good aim and he can throw a matchbox car at your face like there's no tomorrow and even I am knocked off my feet by him and his big bad boy ways. It's pretty funny and pretty painfull too I must say. It's gonna be interesting between the two of them since they are fairly close in age.


• Well, I finally broke down yesterday and got myself some new glasses....I think the ones I'm wearing are maybe from high school?? Ok...maybe not that old, but they are definitely bigger than any of the ones they sell these days. Now most of you know I usually just wear contacts, but I must say there have been days lately where I wish I had some stylish glasses to wear instead. So, I finally gave in yesterday and got some new ones. They are probably not as "hip" as what I should have gotten, but Dylan was raising a ruckus in the place and grabbing glasses from all over...so I picked a pair and went with it. I'll have to take a picture in them when I get them back and see what you guys think. I'm really self-consious wearing glasses, but maybe this will change my outlook. I am happy to say that my eye sight hasn't gotten worse in the last 2 1/2 years...that was something to be excited about! I'm not completely blind yet :)


• Our ol' pals from Calvin, Nate and Laura (who now live in the lovely state of CO), are expecting their second baby (in December??...is that right, Laura)...anyway they are 2 1/2 months along and we're so excited for them! Praying all goes well with the pregnancy and that big sister, Natalie (who will be 3 in December), enjoys her new sibling! Keep us posted guys and Congrats! :) Maybe we'll see you in the next few years...I have heard a rumor we will be in CO to ski in the winter of 2008??!!


• Hats off to our big girl Shelby...she has been sleeping in her bed all week w/o the rail on it! Wow!!! And she only fell out of bed once too! Awesome girl! And on the same congratulatory note...she has gone all week just wearing panties (only using pull-ups during bedtime)...and she has had NO accidents! Can I just say how proud I am! Bravo, Shelby girl!


• Hailey is having a "better" week this week. By that I mean...she didn't get grounded or get any of her toys taken away. Last week/weekend was bad for her. She was "ungrateful"/rude about some of her new toys (she said a very rude comment...we'll leave it at that) and because of that she got BOTH her American Girl dolls taken away for a week (yes, that was torture)...then on the same exact day as her "ungratefulness" we found her up in her room (after bedtime) popping a piece of bubble gum in her mouth (hats off to Kev who "caught her in the act")...anyway...so with that she got all treats/sweets taken away for a week as well (yes, that was also torture for our sugar-loving girl)....and then to make matters even worse this weekend she "blatently disobeyed". We were having a dinner she didn't like (chili...which is sooo yummy...Kev makes a mean (good) pot of chili)...anyway...she found out we were having that and then went and ate half a hotdog at our neighbors house. Well, I saw her out by their grill eating it and I was NOT happy...she got "no outside priveledges" for last weekend. So, it was not her best week. I am praying we nip all that stuff in the bud...I don't want her to be a disobedient, ungrateful child...and I know she's not...she is one of the best children I've known...but we all want our children to be the best they can be. Just praying for a better weekend for her, cuz when she can't go outside...we all suffer....


• I wanted to end on a sad note...tomorrow would have been my grandpa G's 81st birthday and this is an especially hard time for my family. I remember last year at this time he was in the VA hostipal in NC fighting as hard as he could to beat his leukemia. I actually still have the message he left me a year ago on my machine...he sounded so upbeat...like nothing could get him down, not even cancer. It is still hard to know he is gone Just please say a prayer especially for my grandma this weekend and in the coming weeks. It's been hard for her to remember all that was happening a year ago....and she and my aunt Mary are visiting his grave sight up in northern FL this weekend too so that will be very emotional. Not to mention my grandma's death anniversary is also coming up next week. It's just a hard time to remember. So, hug your loved ones and enjoy every moment with them...

I love you all and I hope you have a great long weekend and a wonderful Memorial Day whether you are traveling or just being lazy in your own home. And who knows...I might have some exhilerating "water-related" pics to share next week! Cross your fingers for me and stay tuned! :)