Random Thoughts from a Crazy Woman!: July 2006

Honeymoon's over

After a near perfect weekend, I have come crashing back down to earth. I have taken a back seat to a 52 inch television, remote control and Brigg's gameboy, complete with a Ms. PacMan cartridge. I may never see Paul again...

Our weekend away...

I surprised Paul on Friday and picked him up from work at 1:00 to take him away for the weekend to celebrate his 34th birthday. Jennie had suggested a room to stay at in Galena that ended up being a huge suit with a 2 person hot tub and our own private bathroom and living room. It was within walking distance of the downtown area. Jennie and Sean had called ahead and when we arrived their was a bottle of champagne from the Galena Winery and a box of chocolates from the Galena Candy Corner with a birthday card from Jennie and Sean. So nice!! :)

We hit the hot tub and then headed downtown for the night. Here's a photo of us right outside our room at the bed and breakfast....we even had our own address! :)

We had reservations at Fried Green Tomatoes for supper, but they weren't until 8:15, so we stopped off at a bar for a beer and some appetizers. Turned into a perfect opportunity for me to kick Paul's butt in a few games of darts and a game of pool (he MAY have a different story!) Dinner was great and it really was a perfect night.

Saturday we walked downtown Galena...we had never been there before. We sat at a cute coffee house and even hit the Galena Winery and did some wine testing. It was great. It is such a neat little town!

It turned out to be a perfect weekend...and much needed. We have never in all of our almost 7 years of marriage spent a weekend completely alone together. Amazing how much your remember you have in common when you have no interruptions from children or puppies or phone calls from work, etc. So glad we did it. So glad I married him! Still so very in love with him.....

2 buttons to get into the ping pong ball drop.....$4.00
One fresh-squeezed lemonade.....$5.00
About 25 tickets.....$50.00
The smiles on the kids' faces as the carnies pick them up and gently place them on a carnival ride....priceless

It really was a fun night....I'm so glad it's over.

Facing her fears....

A couple weeks ago Nalani was afraid to go down the 2 foot high slide at the water park. I think tonight she may have conquered her fear of slides...she went down this one TWICE and wanted to go again and again....

Ping Pong Ball Drop

433 ping pong balls falling from the sky. Probably over 1000 prizes given away and only about 20 GRAND prizes. Brigg wins a game boy and tells the world he is 5 years old. One happy boy and a pretty happy child-at-heart dad....who is currently working on trying to "figure out" Brigg's game boy while Brigg is sound asleep in bed. A good night on the river front....

To My Fellow Grey's Fans....

What: A Grey's Anatomy Season Premier Party
Where: My House
When: Thursday, September 21 at 7:30pm (Grey's starts at 8:00)
Why? I figure since we bought a new gigantic TV, I may as well get some use out of it, too!!

RSVP to my blog

What a night

My dog is in her kennel...crying.
Paul is removing a broken lightbulb...with a potato.
My kitchen sink drain smells like an animal crawled down it and died...a month ago.
My living room carpet has dog "do-do"(i could think of a better word for it right now, but won't blog that) on it...smells like crap...literally.
I have an attitude right now...a bad one.
I think it's best if I stop there.
Better thoughts tomorrow...I promise.

My Children

"My children didn't have to do anything for me to enjoy them. I was happy to just watch them breathing, because I loved them so much. As their little chests would rise and fall, I;s smile, and sometimes tears of joy filled my eyes. When you are sleeping, God gazes at you with love, because you were his idea. He loves you as if you were the only person on earth." (Rick Warren)

Summer Flowers

They were just pretty enough to photograph today...

Chicken Wings and Silence

It's Sunday night, the kids are fast asleep (so is the dog) and Paul is out for chicken wings. It is totally silent. I almost don't know what to do with myself! Ok, obviously I do, but now I don't have my hubby whining in the background for me to come rub his back or scratch his back or massage his back. It's weird. And I hate to admit it, but I miss it. (I'm hoping Paul doesn't read this blog or I will be forever reminded of this!) Thank you Donna (my fabulous mother-in-law), for creating this little monster of a husband that I absolutely adore!!

A few more action photos

oops...he forgot where the brakes were and ran into nana and papa's neighbor's garage.

Lani had to get in on the action, too. She finally started pedaling on her own!

He got pretty good pretty fast!

Lance Armstrong, Jr...

A Beautiful Day

We had an action-packed day today! Paul had to be at work VERY early and worked until 1:00, so the kids and I tried to pack in as much as possible. The church had rented out a theater and showed the musical "Another High School Musical". It was very very cute and the kids were absolutely perfect throughout the entire movie! We hit Culvers for lunch and the had 2 buddies over afterward. They searched the house for as many weapons as possible and put them down the backs of their shirt, in their pockets and even down their pants. We headed over to the park and they saved my other children from "scary monsters". cute. When Paul returned home and he got a power nap in, he took Brigg outside for a bike lesson. After watching the Landers boys riding his bike, he just couldn't take it ANY more...he had to learn to ride! It was a great day and I am not sure the weather could have been any more perfect. I'll be attaching some pics from our bike riding lesson today...

Hmmmm.....

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." (Frederick Buechner)
Wondering where that is....
Any ideas??

What would I do without my mom??

In the last seven days this is what my very very wonderful, fabulous mother has done for me...
1. Baked and decorated 2 GREAT looking and TASTING birthday cakes for Brigg's birthday.
2. Bakes a bazillion homemade rolls, calico beans, cut up fruit and displayed it perfectly for Brigg's Party.
3. Kept my children overnight on Friday night so we could hang out at her house with Chris, Brenda and Bode and not have to go home early to get the kids in bed.
4. Kept the kids most of the morning and early afternoon on Saturday so I could prepare what I should have prepared throughout the week for the party.
5. Picked up a million water balloons laying in my back yard.
6. Took us out to eat at the Chart House on Sunday (Dad may need some credit for some of these, too, by the way)
7. Watched my kids on Monday night so we could go to small group.
8. Planned on watching my kids overnight tonight so I could go on a mini business trip. That got cancelled, but I did not get home from my trip until late, so she picked up the kids early and took them to McDonalds for chocolate milk and play time.
9. When I went to pick up the kids from her house tonight she had some items for me to take home. These are the items that she realized I had needed at the party, but did not have. i.e.--tongs, ice bucket, and plastic baggies.
10. She bought a cute tray and blue rubber ducky for the cake SHE is going to be making for me to take to a shower that I am helping host on Sunday.
Ok, I need to stop. I am making myself look really bad. I am so very grateful for my mom!! She rocks!

Cold Feet??

I guess Nalani had a hard time adjusting to the cool weather last night. I told her to put shoes on before going outside and this is what she came up with...