July 5, 2009

On the way home from church, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk, and met up with my friend Nancy. She had my Stampin' Up order from the party we'd attended a few weeks ago. So I drove back to her house and picked up my goodies . . .


and I am REALLY feeling a serious need to create something. I MUST get the garage sale stuff packed up and dropped off, so I can get my house back in order and my mind back on creating!

I think I've just had too many late nights and early mornings and tonight is no exception. This is the view off of my deck at approximately 11:45 p.m. The moon was bright and fog covered EVERYTHING. It was beautiful, and well worth dragging myself outdoors for a few shots. I'll get back in my normal routine again soon. Or at least I hope I can!

July 4, 2009

I braved the crowds today, and took Eli to the Hermitage Market Days event. (*I also bagged up three bags of Bayleigh's good clothes that were left over from the garage sale, and swapped them out for a few bags of little boys clothes, from my friend Nicole. I SO appreciate all the clothes for Eli, not to mention having an outlet for some of Bayleigh's old clothes! THANKS SO MUCH NICOLE! YOU'RE A GEM!)



I didn't really plan on doing any shopping, but when I ran by Carol's booth I found a whole basket of "My Little Ponies". We did some wheeling and dealing and I came home with 16 of the little critters for $15.00. Bayleigh is in HEAVEN! Eli managed to con me out of a bag of cookies and a truck flashlight . . . and then I couldn't resist taking a stroll through "Jones This and That". I found a cute little dresser for $45 that I snagged up for our entry way. When I saw it, it looked perfect for the space, but I'll have to wait until next week to pick it up and see how it actually fits. (And yes! There will be pictures!)

I picked Bayleigh up from Grandma's and made it home before Dave had to leave for work. So I thought it was a pretty productive morning. Then the kids decided they wanted some watermelon . . .



and it just wouldn't be the 4th of July without watermelon!



The kids both ate their pieces . . .



and I basically finished off the rest. I'll be peeing for the rest of the day! But MMMMM, was it GOOD!

July 3, 2009

Due to the very late night, and getting up insanely early to go to a garage sale before opening my own up for the last day, taking a photo for the day somehow slipped my mind. HOWEVER, as late as it was last night when we finally made it to bed, I'm guessing that these pictures of the kids cramming down a 4th of July favorite after the fireworks, come pretty close to qualifying for today's photos . . .



I don't know what it is about watermelon, but I'm so glad the kids enjoy them as much as I do!




Of course, if they didn't like them, that would leave more for me. Hmmmm . . . just a thought.

July 2, 2009

This afternoon we decided to hit the beach, before having our annual Independence Day get-together. Since Dave works this weekend, we decided to cram all of our summer kick-off activities into one afternoon/evening. A little trip to the beach . . .

where the kids played and splashed for a couple of hours . . .

Eli decided to show a little "Independence" spirit of his own by not wanting anyone to help him, while he took off like he was born to swim. I'm coming to find that the boy has more of his momma in him, than I initially thought. I'm afraid he's going to out-do his sister when it comes to sports and coordination type activities.

Next time we hit the beach, I guess I'll just have to put my camera down and go out and participate. Hopefully I can teach my little girl a little more about the basics of swimming. Daddy just can't seem to explain it well enough for her to grasp. She sinks like lead . . .

After our trip to the beach we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items for grilling. I mean . . . what's a 4th of July celebration without grilled burgers and hot dogs?

While Dave was grilling, Eli and the girls took turns with the Gator and played some Frisbee . . .

and THEN it was finally time for the fireworks! I think the kids enjoyed the sparklers the most. The large pretty fireworks didn't hold nearly as much enjoyment as the one's they could actually hold in their hands.

It was a good day and I'm so glad we live in the great U.S. of A., where we have the freedom to celebrate all the simple things that life hands our way.

July 1, 2009

I contemplated laying in bed, when I realized that I hadn't snapped a photo for today . . . but just before the midnight buzzer rang, I forced myself up to take a few shots of Bayleigh's room, on the way back to my own.

We took her old bunk bed/desk combo down to put in the garage sale, and we're waiting for her new bed to come in. This room should look completely different in about a week and a half, when her new bed is set up. It's an exciting thing to see the progression as we continue to move forward on the remodel/addition.

June 30, 2009

Since Dave has to work on the 4th, we decided to gear up for the festivities a little early. Homemade chocolate ice cream . . .



and grilled burgers and hot dogs . . .

Here is our official kick-off to Summer!

June 29, 2009

Eli loves to help daddy grind his coffee in the morning. I hope he doesn't pick up the coffee drinking habit though . . . it's EXPENSIVE!



It was another crazy Monday. Lots of housework to catch up on from the garage sale weekend. I'm guessing it will take me a good month to get back into the normal swing of things . . .

I'm glad crazy weekends don't knock the kids out of THEIR strides, though. Eli ran around playing cowboy (with Bayleigh's old stick horse, my cowboy hat, and his water gun and red cowboy boots), and even though I didn't get any perfect shots, I think I still managed to capture the joy of imaginative play. I can't wait until I get back in my own stride, so I can squeeze in some imaginative play of my own!