there's no place like home...

Destination: Home.
One.
Two.
Three.

Little Darlings in tow.

Plan: Meet sister halfway so we can travel together.

Feed the kids and hope they nap.

Mission Accomplished.

And we're off!

Arrived at Mimi and Papa's safely.

The kids didn't waste any time finding something to do.

Coloring, drawing... anything to pass the time till Mimi and Papa got home from work.

5

Five Grand babies.

Goodness me! Time flies.

Mimi and Papa got home from work and it was time to

chow down some delicious stew and then head out to ride.

Casi and Jodi - My beautiful sisters.

Birch and Mimi

Bailey and Mimi

Pauly and Mimi

Sweet Pea and Mimi.

Waiting...

Casi Jean Bean (Hint: Bean is NOT her last name :) and Bubba

Birch waiting for his turn.

I loved this picture.

Isn't he stinkin' cute!?

Such a character.

Mimi and Papa's Baby Girls.

The Tractor Man.

Everything is tractor, Everyday, Everywhere.

Tractor, tractor, tractor.

I love him.

& I love her.

Billy playing on the blankey while the kids play at the park.

Our kids love picnics at the park.

Bailey Boo and Sweet Pea too.

Eat your lunch!

...then you can go play.

Mimi and Papa's Little Men.

Papa and Splash ready to go!

Aunt Cece ropin' calves.

Dirt.

Our. Kids. Love. Dirt.

Sweet Pea? Who threw dirt on you?

Birch.

Who threw dirt on Birch?

Bailey.

Who threw dirt on Bailey?

Pauly did.

Who threw dirt on Pauly?

Pauly.

eh?
~~~

Pauly, who threw dirt on you?

I did it.

oh jeez, marg...

Picnic at Grandma Great's and Grandpa Bills.

Lay out a blanket with some toys - kids good for hours.

Miss Bailey.

She's the oldest grandchild -

so it was super weird for me to see her being such a big girl and so mature.

She's a sweetheart.

Isn't she beautiful? Love those sweet pink lips.

Me and my Grandpa Bill and Daddy-o.

I love these two men with all my heart.

Mama and Jodi.

Grandma Great giving Pauly a bite of her delicious Cherry Cheesecake.

She worked her tail off and we had a wonderfully delicious meal - potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, hamburgers and hot dogs and for dessert - German chocolate cake and like I said... her Cherry Cheesecake.

Heavenly.

I love laughing around with family.

This is my Aunt Lyn.

Aunt Jo Jo helping Pauly chase Birch around.

Uncle Mark taking his turn chasing kids.

They loved it!

Uncle Mark and Grandpa Bill...

pretty easy to tell they're father and son - huh.

They stand exactly the same.

Time to color with chalk on the back patio.

Hold still!

This was so tough... took me several times to get something half-way decent.

Kids. So squirmy!

Pauly boy.

My attempt to take a crafty pic. :)

Cool shades chica!

She's ALL girl.

It was HOT! her little cheeks were so flushed.

his too.

It doesn't get much better than this...

well.... then there's this.

pretty sweet, huh.

Back to Grandma Great's for some fun in the kiddie pool.

In and Out.

In and Out.

The kids would run through the pool and Aunt Jo Jo would spray them.

FUN! FUN! FUN!

Aunt Ce Ce and Mimi.

Gorgeous.

Then Papa gave two little boys some hats.

They adore them.

I think Pauly wants a rope for his birthday... he better not ask for a goat, Papa.

I won't be able to handle a goat and chickens in the city.

BUT... I do have a ton of weeds that need ate.... hmmm.......

Birchy loves his Mama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Mimi and Papa for the wonderful time! So glad we were all able to be together.

I love you all so much!

To the moon.

Pooped and Cooped

We're back from visiting my parents. SO TIRED! but we have so many wonderful memories! & LOTS of pics. I can't wait to share all with you.

For now, I'm leaving you with these pictures of my husband and his chicken coop. Didn't he do a fabulous job? We're sure proud of him!

Now, I'm off to feed my kiddos and get my factory up and running.

Toodleloo.

skipping along

Last night Pauly told me that he was Lightening McQueen and I was Mator... tickled my heart.
Then I thought, well that means daddy is probably Doc or maybe Mr. The King and brother is most definitely Red - the firetruck that cries at the drop-of-the-hat.

Perfect little family, wouldn't ya say?


We had a great weekend all-together.

Now! Off we go to Mimi and Papa's House. We'll be gone for about a week - I'll have lots of pics to share with you and interesting stories, I'm sure.

I'll miss ya

- and we'll miss you too daddy!

Happy Day,

Five Stripes

First off, Happy 4th of July to y'all!

Speaking of Stripes...

have you heard of the company named Five Stripes yet?

Five Stripes was featured in the July edition of Martha Stewart Living (page 24)

My jaw dropped.

&

I fell in love.

Below are just a few treasures that I found!

Cyan-Ivory Candle

Herringbone Wrap
Seafoam Striped Socks

Sing Sing Pen

Striped Salad Servers

Sage-Cyan Candle

Sonoma Candle

Green Stripe Pillow

Ivory-Morris Green Candle

Celadon-Sky Candle

Cotton Stripe Scarf

Lalibela Cotton Scarf

50's Striped Cotton Apron

Baby Towel Set

life's little instructions

Sing in the shower.
Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
Leave the toilet seat in the down position.
Never refuse homemade brownies.
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Plant a tree on your birthday.
Learn 3 clean jokes.
Return borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full.
Compliment 3 people every day.
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
Leave everything a little better than you found it.
Keep it simple.
Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.
Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
Floss your teeth.
Ask for a raise when you think you've earned it.
Overtip breakfast waitresses.
Be forgiving of yourself and others.
Say, "Thank you" a lot.
Say, "Please" a lot.
Avoid negative people.
Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards.
Wear polished shoes.
Remember other people's birthdays.
Commit yourself to constant improvement.
Carry jumper cables in your truck.
Have a firm handshake.
Send lots of Valentine cards.
Sign them, "Someone who thinks you're terrific."
Look people in the eye.
Be the first to say hello.
Use the good silver.
Return all things you borrow.
Make new friends, but cherish the old ones.
Keep a few secrets.
Sing in a choir.
Plant flowers every spring.
Have a dog.
Always accept an outstretched hand.
Stop blaming others.
Take responsibility for every area of your life.
Wave at kids on school busses.
Be there when people need you.
Feed a stranger's expired parking meter.
Don't expect life to be fair.
Never underestimate the power of love.
Drink champagne for no reason at all.
Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.
Don't be afraid to say, "I made a mistake."
Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know."
Compliment even small improvements.
Keep your promises no matter what.
Marry for love.
Rekindle old friendships.
Count your blessings.
Call your mother.

by H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Daphie's home... where she belongs.

Not sure if you read the post below about our sweet baby Daphnie Dog disappearing last night, well I called a few of the vets around here and a gal had picked her up 1/2 block from us at midnight and took her home - then this morning took her to the vet to get her checked for a micro-chip. Daphnie doesn't have one but since she took her in - when I called looking for her, the secretary there connected all the dots...



Daphnie was home a 1/2 hour later, sawing logs on my rug.



We're so thankful to all for their prayers and actions to get Dapher home to us.



Mattie, Elizabeth, Jeanie, and Jane -

you're all angels.

Thank you for your assistance helping us find our baby girl.

come home my sweet

Our sweet little Blonde Cocker Spaniel,

Daphnie,

disappeared last night.

Sometimes she sneaks away for one of her own little strolls

but returns within 30 minutes or so,

but last night she never came back.

She is a Blonde Cocker Spaniel with medium wavy hair.

She's precious.

Foolishly, I had took off her collar as she shakes it and wakes up my boys.

So she's lost, with No Tags.

I got her for my 21st birthday from my parents.

She's my baby before I had my babies.

I want her back so badly.

I pray that she is safe.

We miss her so.

It is a sad day here at her Household.

Daphnie, I love you so ~ please come home.

something green, something blue, something do...

I got my necklace in the mail today!

I ordered from her.

She made it just for me.

The "Do" is to remind me of this.

Lucky Me, huh!

Guess what! You can be lucky too -

cuz you know what?

I happen to know she'll make one

just.

for.

you.

too.

I soooooo love mine.

Thank you my dear friend, your talent is admirable.

good question...

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."

Kathleen Kelly~ You've Got Mail

something new with a do

Becky over at Farmgirl Paints is extremely talented. I adore her artwork, as I've said before. I saw that she has these super cute little key chains and necklaces now -

SO, I had her make me one. I've always wanted a piece of her art and I thought why not now, since I have a good reason... right?

I sent her an email and she custom made me this necklace with my "theme word" 'Do' and I really wanted wings around the 'Do' so that it would encourage me to keep on going and not give up.

I have to admit, I haven't been noting in my food journal or exercises journal just yet - I've been quite sidetracked and really need to get back in The Word and get focused on our menus, exercising and staying active.

Just keep swimming...

(as the Lumberjack's wife would say... what movie is that from? *tee hee*)

Didn't she do an amazing job designing it for me? She asked me what colors I wanted and I didn't specify - I just asked her to be creative and go with whatever leads her...

you know, do your thang, girl!

Well, I have to say...

I adore.

When I get my necklace I'll take a picture and model it for ya! Can't wait!

We call him Daddy

He makes us laugh.

He holds us when we cry.

He can fake a good accent.

He's got a great smile.

He likes to wrestle and play around.

He loves to garden.

He has baby chickens.

He reads... a lot!

He loves Louis L'amour.

He hates reality television.

especially the Bachelor.

He's good at Jeopardy.

He stinks at drawing.

He works hard.

He can cook!

and he's good at it.

He loves Magnum P.I.

and M*A*S*H.

He grew up in Alaska and would sneak up behind a moose, hit it and run!

He got spanked for hitting a moose and running away.

He plays basketball.

He played Rugby.

He coaches Rugby.

He looks forward to the day when his boys will play sports.

He is awesome with kids!

His career is based on helping kids.

He has a large picture of a random baby in his office, he's quirky like that.

He's supersticious.

really supersticious.... mama thinks it's weird.

He loves to laugh.

and make people laugh.

He can tell a good story.

especially if he is telling it in an accent.

He strums his guitar and makes up songs.

He's good at it.

He loves having a good coctail...

especially if Mama makes it for him.

He loves soda.

His favorite is Orange.

He listens to terrible 80's music,

on purpose. We don't understand it.

His favorite food is probably steak or at least some form of beef, if not prime rib...

unless we can afford sushi.

He tends to roses.

They make him happy.

He has a heart of gold.

We call him Daddy.

He's ours.

(I think this is the same t-shirt different day, still reading and different facial hair... glad the "lone" mustache has took a hike!)