Off to Disney

I'm heading up to my sister's house in MN today and we'll be on our way to Disneyworld tomorrow morning. This going to be so sweet! :) I'm sure I'll have a ton of pics to share when I get back next week. Until then, here are a couple random pics to get you by:

Catching up

I've been working on some scrapbooking this weekend. It's been months since I've touched it, so I was....and still am quite behind. I like to stay current so it doesn't become overwhelming. I had basketball for last winter, fishing from Canada, and swimming summer stuff. Now I only have 4th of July, baseball, Kyle's birthday and back to school.....is that all? ;) I even did some handwritten journaling. That is something I NEVER do, so someone ought to feel pretty special. Here are some of the pages that I completed:

Just cuz

This is one of my favorite Emma photos....she was so chubby and cute!

Fourth grader

Kyle started his first day of fourth grade today. Thankfully, unlike last year, it wasn't pouring rain on him. It has been raining off and on since then, though. It was hard to get back into the morning routine since we've been out of it for 3 months. I couldn't even remember what time we usually left. Now that's pathetic. ;) Anyway, here are a couple of pictures:

Emma's hair

It was bound to happen I suppose, but I was really hoping we were past this stage. Emma cut her hair. It's not too bad and you can't really tell now that we've gotten it cut, but still, I know it's there and I'm pissed every time I see it. She totally knew it was naughty because she dumped the chunk in the trash and then when I saw her, she immediately launched into the "I'm so sorry" bit. Here is a pic of the chunk and a pic of her after her haircut yesterday:

Mitt Romney

When this guy first burst onto the political scene, Rob and I were both like...what the hell kind of name is Mitt? As time went on we found our selves speculating what Mitt could possibly be short for. His name is actually Willard Mitt Romney, but it was fun to think of other names. It started out innocent enough: Mittford, Mittphry. Then it got a little drag-queenish: Mittleficent, Mittnirva. Then it got all crazy: Mittnan the Barbarian, Draco Mittfoy. But my personal favorite: Mittowlark Lemon. ;)

State Fair

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we went to the Iowa State fair without a camera. I can't beleive I forgot it. So, no proof that we went, had fun and that Kyle and Emma went on that ride that drops you to the ground....but it happened! It was hot as a bitch yesterday too. We went in the morning to try and avoid some of the hottest part of the day, so by 2:00 we were back home. Then out of the blue, it rained for like 10 minutes. Whatever! It is so God damned expensive to go there, too. Between the outragious prices for food, rides and anything else you come across, it's still $5 for parking. Ah, the fair.....$50 of fun per hour. ;)

300

I finally saw the movie 300.

Let's see.......

violence + bloodshed + beefcake = my kind of movie ;)

Random annoyances

A couple irritating observations for today. First, people who can't spell. That drives me nuts in this online world of spell check. I guarantee that even if you are a complete idiot to the English language, any spell check program will tell you that "tooken" is not a word. ie: the link above.
Secondly, this Duggar family on Discovery Health. I love watching shows with people with tons of kids. Mostly because I would never have that many and I enjoy watching the freak show, whilst my two are quietly sleeping. This family just had their 17th child and the mom was talking about having more immediately after. What is missing in your life if you are already planning more babies and can't even enjoy the one you just had? Another thing that only I would think of, because that is how my brain works.....check out this picture of them:



Look at the massive amounts of hair that these little girl clones have. Can you imagine all the hairballs down the drain? My husband, a plumber, could make a living just servicing their house alone. ;)

I have a 10 year old boy!

Well, not yet, but we did have Kyle's birthday party on Saturday. His birthday is officially Tuesday, but it's going to be pretty boring as he got all his gifts yesterday. ;) We had his party at this place that sells outdoor play equipment...swing sets, basketball hoops, etc. They let you use all of their stuff indoors and they have a party room. He had a great time and he had a pretty good turn out. I was a little worried that he wouldn't have very many classmates show as he's only been in school with them one year, but he had about 6 from school and then some other/playgroup friends. I made cupcakes this year as his theme was Yu Gi Oh and no one has that in cakes...at least around here. I was a little shocked when 2 or 3 of the kids declined a cupcake. What kid doesn't like cupcakes? Anyway, Kyle had 2, so I think the birthday boy liked them. Here are some pictures. One is of me and Kyle and of course, my brother had to put his "rabbit ears" fingers behind Kyle's head.

Check this nastiness out

Gladiolus

I planted some gladiolus by our new little tree this spring. They were just random bulbs, so I had no idea what colors they might turn out to be. Check this one out, all cute and orange-y:

Swimming pics

Finally some summertime pictures of the kids at the pool. Actually it's at the splash pad right next to the pool, but you get the idea.

Funniest Ebay auction I've seen in a long time

Can anyone say narcissist? Check out the photos with the decorative borders that really showcse his abilitly to pose in a cloud of chalk dust. GAG!

Emma's television debut

I took the kids to the Science Center in Des Moines today. After going through the "star" room they wanted to go over to the "rock/animal" room. Which is also where they do the live weather reports for our local NBC channel. Right as we walked in, the meteorolgist, JerriAnn Ritter was doing a live report. Emma ran right in front of her. I was so embarrassed and I couldn't yell, so I just stood there. Later on I apologized and she was cool saying that it happens all the time, etc. Emma was completely clueless that she'd interrupted anything. So if you happened to be watching Des Moines Channel 13 at about 12:55 right before Days of Our Lives you might have caught 2 seconds of a running Emma during the weather. ;)

Back home again

Where were we you ask? In Minnesota visiting my sister and BIL. Rob stayed home because he had to work, but the kids and I left on Friday and came back yesterday. My dad came there on Sat. and we barbecued. We also took Kyle to see the new Transformers movie. He thought it was great. It was hotter than hell most of the weekend. Like 100 degrees in the shade. Ugh! It's nice to be back home, but our poor lawn is so dry that it's even more brown than when we left. Rob even ran the sprinklers while I was gone too. That water bill is going to bite my ass! Here are a few random pictures of Kyle fishing in Canada last month, just cuz I like to post pictures. ;)

July 4th photos

As expected, I've got some photos from yesterday to share. The first ones are from the Urbandale parade and the last ones are from the kids doing sparklers at our house.

Once per week?

I remember a time when I had something to say every day, and now I can only come up with something to blog about once a week? That's pathetic of me! ;) I just don't have anything new to say. It is almost July 4th, though, so I'll have some pics from that coming up at least.
We've been going to the pool, hanging out, nothing really out of the ordinary. Emma did say something funny the other day. She likes to tell stories that start with "Once Upon a Time", but in Emma speak it's "Pon a time". The other night, as a bribe to get her to finish her dinner, I told her that I would take her to the park when she was done. That started the storytelling.

Emma: Pon a time, there was a wittle girl and she went to the park. There was a wake and she went swimming in the wake. There was a croc-e-dile and it ate her 'til she died.
Me: That's a terrible story.
Emma: No, it's not.
Me: Yes, it is.....a little girl gets eaten by a crocodile? That's not nice.

A little while later she was getting her shoes on and she must have decided to try and make her story seem happier because she said:

Emma: No, the girl not get eaten, it was her dog.
Me: That doesn't make it any better, it's still a terrible story.

So then, the next day I was talking to my mom and telling her the crocodile story and Emma over heard me. That started her in on a new story:

Emma: Pon a time there was a girl and she went to the park. She got a stick and it hit her in the head and she bleeded.
Me: Is there any story of yours that doesn't end in bloodshed?!

Lately

This weekend my family came to visit. My brother celebrated his 30th birthday and we had a good time making fun of how "old" he is, even though he is the youngest. We went to see Evan Almighty and it was cute. Definitley a family movie, not adult comedy like Bruce Almighty. I also made a good recipe last night that I found from Kraft food and family magazine:

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up

Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 50 min
Makes: 6 servings, one slice each


1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust



PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Cook ground beef, bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain; return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA; cook until completely melted, stirring frequently. Cool 10 min.
UNROLL pizza dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15x8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with meat mixture. Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so roll is seam-side down on baking sheet.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cut diagonally into six slices to serve.

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