Whew....

I'm so glad that we are going on vacation cuz I worked too hard yesterday!

Yesterday we:

• packed
• got oil changes for 2 cars
• tried to recharge the airconditioner for Dan's car
• vacuummed out my car and washed the floor mats
• picked up last minute stuff at Walmart
• and I played volleyball

Today before we leave Dan has an eye appointment and I have to finish packing and get the kitchen all cleaned up before we hit the road.

Branson here we come!

Vacation Time!

Dan is on Vacation this week! We are excited that he gets to be home and spend extra time with us!

We are also excited to be getting away for a few days! Looking forward to a different routine and doing fun things we don't normally get to do.

We're off to Branson tomorrow! We will only be gone 3 days but that is enough time to feel like we have gotten away for awhile and yet not feel like we need a vacation from our vacation when we get back!

Today's mission is getting the car ready...oil change, vacuuming it out, cleaning the trunk. We also need to pack our clothing and tidy up the house some before we go.

11 Years

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary.

We've been married a long time.......it's a little overwhelming, but at the same time it's been a blessing too.

I'm excited to see what the next 11 have in store.

It dawned on me recently that with Dan making changes at work and switching to day shift that we will have to "relearn" a few things...like sleeping at the same time...we've both become bed hogs and that hasn't been a problem because we sleep at different times...well that will be changing and it'll be interesting to see how long it takes us to adapt...

I love you dear, here is to the next 11 years~!

Ironically

During the school year Fridays are one of my favorite days of the week.

However, now that I am home all week long...Friday isn't quite as appealing as it used to be. Don't get me wrong I still love FRIDAYS! But I don't look forward to them as much as I used too...

Now I look forward to Saturdays and Sundays cuz those are the days that we get to spend the most quality time with Dan.

Volume Control

One little boy.

One sleeping daddy.

One little boy who enjoys talking.

One sleeping daddy who needs sleep since he's working some long hours.

One little boy who needs to learn to speak softly while talking.

One sleeping daddy who is sleeping and one stressed out momma who is trying to keep the little boy quiet.

One momma who is wishing her son had a mute button...but alas he doesn't so we are working on volume control.

It's really not working...any ideas on how to keep the little boy quiet and the sleeping daddy sleeping?

Love this!

I wish the computer had smell-o-vision so I could capture for you all the wonderful smell coming from the bathroom right now. I love the smell of shampoo, soap and the freshness that comes when someone is taking a shower. It's such a clean and delightful smell...Love IT!

A No Win Situation

Well, I received word and I am officially unemployed. The building for my school fell through and the church we have been sharing space with wants us out of the building by July 2nd. That being said, I have a closet full of stuff that I was hoping would be moved to the new space before school starts. Now that we don't have a space I have to clean it all out.

2 rubbermaids and a milk crate later I have about 1/2 of my stuff cleaned out. I went today and picked up lot of my stuff. I didn't take the kids since I am more productive when they are not with me. Bad thing is Dan is sleeping during the day and he is working lots of extra hours due to shifting his position in a few weeks and his vacation time which we are taking next week. I guess they were a little loud...so I'm not productive when they go with me and they are too loud when they stay home and now I feel like a bad mother and wife and I am feeling frustrated.

AAAAUUUUGGHHH...It's definitely a NO WIN situation that I am facing.

Making Changes

So with Dan's new job he has to change his work attire. He will be wearing more "office" clothing you know "professional" wear. Well, he doesn't really have a lot of that in his closet, he's more a jeans and polo, or T-shirt kind of guy. That means, we went shopping!

I had received a $10 gift card to get me to shop at Kohls, so to Kohls we went. Dan got 2 new shirts and 2 pairs of nice pants. We also got him a nice shirt when we went to the Bass Pro Shop(crazy huh?) over the weekend.

Well, we are now in the process of changing our bedroom and rearranging closet spaces and getting rid of clothing that is no longer needed or fits well. I'm hopeful that we will rearrange our bedroom to a different configuration.

Change can be a very good thing and I am looking forward to all the changes that this movement to day shift brings us.

Summer

Summer is here!

The kids and I have been too the pool 4 times this week.

I'm a little red and I have been wearing sunscreen.

I played volleyball this week on Monday and Thursday.

I get to sleep in and relax.

I'm accomplishing things and feeling more together.

I love Summer!

Beauty of the Stream

I'm always amazed at the beauty that surrounds the stream down at Bennett Spring. It's just so gorgeous and beautiful. It truly shows the handiwork of God and the beauty of his creation. I can't get over it.

Praising God

I'm so excited!

Dan interviewed for a new position in the company that he works for and it's a day position and we had been waiting to find out if he got it and Monday night he found out and....

HE STARTS WORKING DAY SHIFT ON JULY 12TH!!!!

Thank you God!

Fishing in the Rain

Friday's fishing trip turned into a Rainy Day....the kids both reeled in fish that Grandpa hooked and fished and got soaked by the downpour...Grandpa treated us all to a BIG breakfast in the lodge so that we didn't have to go back to camp and cook in the rain! We caught 7 fish on Friday! Guess the fish don't know it's RAINING!

Fishing

Camping

We had a great time camping with my parents this week. We even celebrated Janea's birthday again with them! My mom had decorated the campsite and we finished off Janea's birthday cake! Love getting to go camping and hanging out with the grandparents! Birthday celebrations for the 10 year old!
Presents too!

Jaron learns to cook a hotdog while Grandpa cooks the yummy trout!

Pictures while Driving

So taking picture while driving a car is not usually recommended but I did take a few shots on the road and while stopped at a few bridge construction zones. I also slowed down for some of the shots. We were headed to Bennett Spring State Park to go fishing and camping with my parents. The kids and I had a safe journey and saw such wonderful things.

Janea's Birthday

The cake...we boought a store bought cake and I added the words! It turned out pretty good!

A new book written by a favorite author that was really wanted!

The birthday girl with her birthday cake!

Blowing out the candles put into her piece...daddy was afraid of germs on the whole cake...lotta candles!

Janea's big present this year was the trip to Worlds of Fun but we had a nice day and fun on her actual birthday too. We also are going camping this week with Grandma and Grandpa...I think I will need a vacation from all this fun!

Wow!

I can't believe that 10 years ago today we were blessed with our wonderful daughter. Its been a lot of fun seeing her grow and mature from a small baby to a blossoming TWEEN! She is now officially double digits and I am a little sad at how big she is....yet I'm proud too. She is becoming a young women, a more complex and interesting individual. We've come so far in the last 10 years and I look forward to seeing her continue to grow and develop as the years go by. She is an awesome person and I love her so much!

We lost many of her small baby pictures during the flood 2 years ago when she had to swim out of the basement. Here is a picture of her around 5 months old. Here she is just a month away from turning 10!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANEA! WE LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!

New Brakes are Needed

So after waiting ALL day to find out what is wrong with my car. I found out that my front brakes need some work and the rear brakes need cleaning and it will come in under the amount that I budgeted for.

Praise God for it not costing an arm and a leg.

So the kids and I are going camping for the end of the week with my parents...should be fun!

I hate Waiting

I took the car into to have the brakes looked at.

I'm worried about how much its going to cost.

I'm hoping its an easy fix

I'm hoping they get it done today.

I don't like dropping and waiting...but I hate waiting around too.

I hope they call soon.

I hope it's not going to cost an arm and a leg

I hate waiting.

Worlds of Fun Day

Janea wanted to go to World of Fun for her Tenth Birthday. Her birthday is coming up on Tuesday so Saturday was the perfect day to go. It was hot and tiring but we had a lot of fun. Here's quite a few pictures of our day of fun and Family!

Janea's ready to go!

Jaron's super excited!
Tickets for the day!

First ride...Camp Snoopy and the Red Baron

Dan and I had fun with all the Snoopy stuff...like the Kite Eating Tree

Woodstocks Airmail...the Detonator for kids

Jaron loved it!

Lucy and I had a nice session...love that it only cost 5 cents!

More fun on the Easy rides!

Dan got some help too.

Dan fooled the guessers and won prizes for the kids

We got wet on the Fury of the Nile!

The kids with their Daddy won prizes...Jaron got a dragon

Janea got a Violet Wolf!

Dan and the kids waiting for a rollercoaster

Waiting to ride the Spinning Dragons

Jaron's not quite tall to go on most but could go with Daddy on this one!

On the rollercoaster!

Jaron after the rollercoaster

The Octopus....a spinning nightmare for Mom...got super sick on this one

Kids loved this one....would have rode it multiple multiple times if allowed.

Dan went one time with them....I was still recovering from the Octopus!

Dan picks his shot and the kiddos pick their noses at the shooting range

Dan and Janea went to ride the prowler and Jaron went to ride some Jaron sized rides.

We had a great time and will definitely go again another year! Love quality family time!