Summer Fun

I love fire.I love hot dogs.I love summer.I love sunshine.I love family.

I love the way a hot dog tastes when it's been cooked over an open fire. Nothing like it. Nothing better. Except maybe a second one. Or a third.

Ha. We found a way to keep them still for a minute or two!


Just ketchup please.....

And then the masterpiece. The crown jewel~ Dill Relish. No sweet pickles please.

Doctor Dolittle

.......THE MAN WHO WALKS WITH THE ANIMALS - TALKS WITH THE ANIMALS - GRUNTS AND SQUEALS AND SQUAWKS WITH THE ANIMALS........

This dog was fascinated with Ty. The feeling was mutual.

Who wouldn't be fascinated with this kid? Obviously I am.

Jeans

So I work on the fourth floor of my building.

There are no offices above the fourth floor.

There are many places that I have to visit on all the floors below me.

I make LOTS of trips to other places in the building.

Our elevator is broken right now.

I don't take the elevator often but it's a nice break once in a while.

Four flights of stairs SUCK at 6:00am.

My jeans are getting tighter in the thighs.

These are jeans that have been worn more than once since that last washing and are nice and stretched out. --But not filthy. Sorry Tiffany.

Did I mention that they are getting tighter in the thighs and not the waist, hips or tush? Sweet.

Broken elevators SUCK.

Road trip

This weekend we went visited Mount Rainier National Park. I LOVE Mt. Rainier. Really love Mt. Rainier. I was so happy to share my favorite mountain wiht my kids. I have so many memories from growing up of time spent with my family hiking, swimming, and camping up on that big pile of rocks.

Yes summer has officially begun but there is still 10 feet of snow at Paradise, our destination for the day. Not that we thought about that one as Ben and I were getting dressed that morning. The kids had pants, shoes, and jackets. Ben and I however.......

It was a little cold for him in the snow with the flip-flops I suggested. Ooops. But hey, who doesn't wear flip-flops in the snow, that's normal right? Or is that just me? Okay, my toes got a little chilled too but the sun was shining and the pavement was nice and toasty :)

So there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE. It is a mountain. And I couldn't help but take a million pictures of them. I even included the family in some of my pictures.

And then there is always the selfportrait photo opp. Snuggle up hon. Cheese!

Hey Tiff, how come Ben didn't smile like that for our photo shoot?

Then there is always the time you have to take to throw rocks. You MUST stop and throw rocks in the water when given the chance.

Loved this waterfall. Love the boy by the waterfall even more though!

After running around all day why not stop and play on a climbing wall too? We actaully had to wake the kids up to get them out of the car.

Have I mentioned that Madison has a fear of heights? I'm not really sure I understand her fasination with climbing but she loves it. It's just the coming down that makes her nervous.

We had a great trip and are planning on going back. Soon. Maybe for a night or two this next time. I'm thinking I have a four day weekend coming up in a bit. Sweet. Pack the bags honey. Wait, that's my job.

Any Ideas?

So Tyler is ready for his new redneck name.

Do you have any ideas?

The Unveiling

So to the one that I promised this to over a week ago. SO SORRY. Here it is. Let me present to you Our New Deck! Let the BBQs begin--Dates to be announced in the future.

So a year ago our house looked like this~


And then there was the work to be done in the hot, hot, hot sun...

But in the end it was SOOOOOOOO worth it! Did I mention that it was Ben and I doing all of this work.
Oh man, the number of screws that I put in. I wish I could have kept count but I'm pretty sure I can't count that high. Lets just estimate it at over 2500. I think that's pretty fair(and probably a little low).

Did I mention the aching muscles? and the sore back? The plus side? Working in the sunshine wearing my sunbathing attire! If you have to sweat you might as well get a tan while your at it :)

I can't wait for the hours and hours to be spent out there. Last night after Ben and the kids had been wrestling for a while we took some of our floor pillows and a few blankets outside and laid out there. We listened to frogs. Madison and Ty danced for us. The dogs came and visited and lounged with us.

I dreamt of patio furniture last night. Ben's alarm went off this morning. He said it was time to get up. I told him I was dreaming of shopping, give me five more minutes.

Do you think there is a patio furniture fairy that will magically leave a set or two of couches/tables/chairs for us?

B-day card...

So I got the bestest birthday card a girl could ever want. It's sitting right here in an envelope on my desk and if you ask me that is such an injustice. I'm dying to take it out and hide it in the corner so that I can take a peek whenever I feel the fancy....



Who could blame me? Look>>>>>>>>>>




I might have peeked a few times. Okay maybe four times.


And on the back>>>>>>>>>>(who looks at the back of a card? me. SO worth it)

Somebody got a barn?!? I need one now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He can stay in my barn ANYTIME! Where did I put that barn..........

Who needs a stinking kitten. They make me itch. And sneeze.

Love you too Tiffany! Have I mentioned how much you rock?

Five times.

Six.

It might be a long slow day at my desk :)

is it wrong to pet the card?

Keep it coming!

And the day just gets better and better! I had lunch today at Noah's with Misty and Tiffany!

It was so stinkin' yummy. The meatball sandwich with provolone and pepperoncinis. And a Chocolate Milkshake only the way Noah's can do it!

It's a good day! :)

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yes this is a shameless post to get all of you to stop for 15 seconds and wish me a Happy Birthday.

Or none of you.

Either way it's a great day for me!

This morning the first thing my husband said as he turned off his alarm, turned on his side, and then did my oh so favorite~~putting his arm around me and pulling me towards him for some morning snuggling, was "Happy Birthday". At 5:00 in the morning, he remembered how much I love my birthday!

(Did I mention HOW MUCH i LOVE when he throws his arm over me and pulls me close. I wait for it every morning when I hear him rustling over on his side of the bed! )

Here's to a day filled with smiles and love and fun!

I like it!

Yesterday I was introduced to a newer employee in the building. After the name exchange she said "You're the friendly one."

I like that.

You're Fired!

So this weekend I tasked Ben with what I thought was a seemingly simple task. Pick up some Toilet paper. WE ARE OUT!!! O.U.T. of one the most absolutest necessities. Pleas honey, just grab some while you are getting the few other things on the list.

Apparently I either 1-Need to be more specific when I say buy some toilet paper. or 2-Just fire him from any sort of paper product purchasing.

This is what he brought home:

It might have been packaged a little more like this:

SAME THING! Obviously HE doesn't have to wipe every time he goes. If he did then maybe he would be slightly more considerate when purchasing the most important form of paper. Maybe to teach him a lesson I should hide said tp and only leave in sight some other options......

Maybe a nice cheery bowl of holly leaves?

Nothing like baby porcupines, hey they're even washable, good for the environment, bonus!



Maybe pieces of shark jaw, those never ending teeth might come in handy....

Ughhh. All of those might be better options than the industrial size package of cheesy toilet paper I now have hiding in my closet!

Teaching our Kids

This morning as I was driving into work, listening to the radio instead of rocking out to my iPod since Ben needed my car after work, the guys on the radio were talking about patriotism. They were discussing whether it was genetic or learned. Yeah I was sorta scratching my head at that one too. Can you really be genetically patriotic?

Then I had the thought, I love that Ben is teaching my kids to love our country. I work for the government. So do my parents, always have. My husband as well. We all work at a Naval base. Both of my Grandpas were in the military. Navy for one Air Force for the other. One spent Vietnam on a ship helping fix those who were injured. The other rescued people who were in need from a helicopter, until he was lost, for a long time. They both came home. Neither of them talk about it much. They were both career service members. No three, five ten years in and then out. They both spent decades of their lives serving our country. Giving time with their families up to protect our rights and privileges and way of life as we know it today.

I grew up living next to a submarine base. A few times a year a local group that headquarters right down the road from that base protests. They protest the nuclear weapons that are stored and ready if our country every needs them to protect our freedom, rights, and happiness. So if you haven't figured it out, I'm all for our country having the arsenal required to deter anyone from ever pushing us that far. The day that someone would have to make the call to actually launch a nuclear weapon would be a sad one and I know that it's not something our leaders would take lightly. But I also know that I appreciate that our country has been blessed by the ability to develop technologies above those of countries and organizations that would love to see us fall. As I see those people standing in the road handing out their fliers and using their rights to protest the very organizations that helped them receive those rights sorta breaks my heart a little. And I think to myself, "If you don't like it, why don't you live somewhere else?"

Obviously I have a pretty wide red, white, and blue streak running through me. There are days that I cry when I hear our anthem played. One of our favorite songs is "I'm proud to be An American". That one can make me cry too. I love that Ben teaches our children who our leaders are, even if we may not agree with their policies. I love how strict and expectant of the kids he is when the Anthem is played. I'm so glad that I can see him teaching our children to love and respect this amazing country that we all live in.

Tyler has already told me that he wants to be in the military when he grows up. I'm sure that he doesn't fully understand all of the risks and trials that come with that. And he may very well change his mind many times over the next 12 or so years. But it really warmed my heart to see that my son had a love for his country, a desire to serve. And I can honestly say that if either of my children ever decide to join our country's military I would be so proud. Scared and praying, but proud.

What are you teaching your kids?

One other bonus of living here: We get a day dedicated to playing with fire and blowing things up! Love the 4th of July!

Yeah, Right.

Days I wish I was a teacher....

Love kid art!

Yeah, mommy works at Home Depot, nice try. Not falling for it.

My Ty

Not to be confused with a Mai Tai, although he can make you just as delirious and give you just as much of a hangover :) His favorite color is RED. He is ALL boy. He is my boy. My Baby Boy. He's told me that I can call him that forever. -Just not in front of his friends-

Ty has a never ending love affair with Dinosaurs. We have had four dino birthday parties out of six.

Not only does he love extinct giants. He loves all living, moving, breathing things. It doesn't matter if they crawl, hop, have ears, 20 legs, dig, hoot, or live a million miles from him, he LOVES them.

Big or Small, He is fascinated.

He will sit down and read books about animals. He will watch Discovery or Animal Planet snuggled up next to me for hours.

He even likes animals that aren't real.

He still thinks he can fly.

He takes time to stop and enjoy the really little things in life.

He is a lover and along with that comes his sensitive side. He is a sweet BOY who relishes the seconds, minutes, hours, days that he can torture his sister. But he also can be crushed. When he is sad I think any one who knows him would give him the world just to see that radiant smile of his again. It does wonders for you, trust me.

He loves to be silly. He is such a goof.

He is always getting into something. Every barrier is a challenge for him to overcome!

He's got spirit that for sure, and tons of determination.

He is my boy. I love him dearly. Yes some days he is whiny, or sneaking food from the pantry-okay that one is a constant-, sometimes he's just doing his best to be under foot. Other days he's helpful and wants to do any thing he can to help. He loves to make things. Drawings, pasted pictures, random things out of even more random STUFF found around the house. And after all of that to make it even better.....

He dances with me.

I love all the sides that Ty has to offer because each one of them makes him who he is. I can't imagine how my world would be with out him and I am so blessed to have him for Eternity!

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for the whole bunch of this that we have been getting:

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure sun burns fat!

I put my sunning attire on as soon as I get home and work on whatever it is outside that needs to be done. You know, like my deck or my book and tan......