June 12, 2009

Today was consumed by laundry . . .




a few games of Candyland . . .



paying bills . . .




and a little dabbling in the horticultural arts . . .




After all was said and done, it was 11:00 before I made it to bed.



I don't know why summer vacation throws my schedule so far out of sync . . . but I've GOT to start getting to bed earlier. It seems like I'm staying up later and later every night and getting up earlier and earlier in the morning. Maybe I'm just getting old . . .

June 11, 2009

Today was the last "official" day of T-ball. Here's Bayleigh with her buddy Xandra . . .



During the games, Dave has been helping the coach out, so that leaves me to come up with something to occupy Eli, while sis plays ball . . .




Thank heavens for clover and little wildflowers! They seem to keep him occupied for at least the first half of the game . . .




Since we had two rain out days, it looks like we'll be making them up next week. They have their trophies, but it's not over yet!

June 10, 2009

Today was my first attempt at "My Journey of 10,000 Steps". Since I try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day, I thought it would be fun to record every little aspect of the journey. This was MUCH harder than I anticipated, but SO very rewarding.





Capturing some of the common duties and tasks of my ordinary life, through the lens . . .



was a very humbling experience. All the little things that usually get taken for granted . . .



and the things that will only be a part of our lives for a short period of time. Like watching Dora in the mornings, and braiding my little girl's hair . . .




She'll soon be fixing her own hair.

And yes! I'm a pistol packing momma. With all my years in law enforcement, I am just not willing to risk the safety of my family to some poor over-worked and under-paid law enforcement officer who already has too much on his plate. I believe in taking care of my own, and I won't hesitate to do so. I'm so very grateful that I have the privilege of protecting my family and not relying on some stranger, who may be hours away, if heaven forbid something bad happened.




It's so nice to drive with the windows down every now and again. It seems like most of the time, people are cooped up in their cars with either the heater or the a/c on, blocking out the world. I think they miss a lot. Like the smell of honeysuckle, the feel of the wind lifting their hair in the breeze, the sounds of the birds singing and of course the occasional road kill . . . UGH!




Today, we ended up going shopping for a special big girl bed for Bayleigh's room . . . she's growing so quickly!




But I hope this little bed will last her, for many, many years . . .




On the way home, we stopped by the hospital for one of Dave's staff meetings. I took the kids to the exercise park, and then on to the "real" park to play on the swings, until the weather started turning nasty . . .



We ended up getting stuck at the hospital during a tornado warning, but finally finished our rounds at Wal-Mart . . .



and made it home safely. We lost one of our beautiful old oak trees to the storm, but we were glad to get home. There truly is . . . no place like home!

June 9, 2009

My little guy has finally gotten over his fear of the skid steer . . .



Daddy and the kids moved some rocks, dirt and tree stumps . . . and filled in some holes, while I brought out my camera for a little nature study . . .



Bayleigh's legs finally fell asleep on the skid steer, so she hopped off to help me search for new "victims" to photograph.



The temperature was much cooler today, and after lunch we got a drenching . . . not to mention a few tornado warnings . . .



After the rain slowed down to a light drizzle, I found Bayleigh outside playing in the mud holes.


It's fun being five!

June 8, 2009

It was SO hot today. But I'm still holding off in regards to turning the A/C on. Unfortunately even with all the windows open and the ceiling fans going, it was still a little on the uncomfy side while I was doing all the laundry, cleaning the bedrooms and taking out the trash. I actually perspired! And that right there is a rare occurrence . . . Luckily I finished my Monday to-do's early, which allowed me to head to the beach with the family . . .



Eli played in the gravel/sand, and acted like he had an aversion to getting in the water. His experience in the creek last week was a little chilly, and I don't think he wanted a repeat.




Bayleigh, however, had no problems diving in . . .



I DID manage to coax the little guy down to the edge of the water, and slowly got him acclimatized to the temperature . . .

and then he braved a trip out to daddy and had a lot of fun. It was a great way to cool down after cleaning house all day.

I ended up taking so many pictures I filled my 2GB card for the first time ever. WOW! 614 pictures. I'm gonna have to get another card . . .

June 7, 2009

There was a lot of creating going on today. We started out with a few games of Candyland . . .



and then moved on to the Play-Doh. While I was keeping Eli busy with the Play-Doh . . .




Bayleigh shut herself in her room to play with the Lite Brite that I picked up at a yard sale yesterday . . .



Who knew these little pegs would keep her entertained for HOURS?! I'd say this was WELL worth the money.




Tonight I cut up our first cucumber from the garden. It tasted pretty close to heaven . . .



Can't wait for the next few to come along! This one went down like a box of Godiva Chocolates.

June 6, 2009

I caught my little guy talking on his banana this morning. He's such an innovative little thinker . . .



and later I caught him in Bayleigh's room, with one of her sticker packs. Guess he thought he'd detail his dump truck . . .




Then I caught the kids (namely Bayleigh) playing dress up. After observing their antics for a few moments, I found that they were playing the scene from Cinderella where the princess loses her glass slipper, and the Prince finds her and asks her to marry him. Hearing my two year old saying, "Will You Marry Me?", made mommy's heart stop for a few seconds.




Last night after I put the kids to bed, I took my camera out on the deck and captured a few pictures of my hanging plant, with the moon in the background. It's beautiful, but I can't wait until it stops shining in the bedroom windows and keeping me up. We've GOT to get blinds!




That will be at the top of a future shopping list.