A week in review......

I will start with a "Happy Birthday" to Russ...today was his day. We had a nice family day and spent the day around the house!

TJ had two soccer games this weekend....making up for no games last weekend. They tied their game yesterday and won today. According to Russ who took the pictures today, TJ was on fire. He played goal first half and scored 3 goals second half(one called off sides), they won 4 to 1. TJ seems so grown up to me lately...it is kind of scary. I remember a friend of mine telling me when her daughter was in 8th grade that in 4 years her daughter would be "gone", starting college and her own life....well that 8th grader just graduated high school and is on her way. I can't help but think how fast the next five years will go with TJ. Am I that old? Can it go that fast? I do believe time seems to pass faster the older I get.

Friday night we celebrated my Mom's and Russ's Birthday.....dinner, cake, and gifts. Saturday, we celebrated with Russ's Mom....more dinner, more cake, and more gifts. I am so thankful my kids have the opportunity to spend time with their grandparents. I was able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents growing up and I cherish those memories, I hope my kids will too.

As I have said before, Russ's Dad seeds me tomatoes every year. This year was no different. Russ's Mom brought them with her this weekend and I planted them yesterday. I was given a huge variety and I can't wait to see how they do. I have the smallest of small...currant tomatoes all the way up to the whopper and beefsteak. I will get some pictures this week, at the end of the summer we can see what the garden looked like start to finish!

School ends Wednesday....did I say, "School Ends!". I am not ready, no food, no plans, no ideas....I have less than 72 hours to get it all together!

This week is a big DMB week for all of us fans....Dave on Fuse Monday, new album Tuesday, and the Today Show Friday. According to my "ticker" on the bottom of my sidebar I have a little over a month until the big day! How time flies.....it seems like yesterday Russ and I sat at the concert last year. Summer is almost here, I hope I can make it!

Have a great week!

June and the super tastee pork rib.....

What more can be said.....super tasteeeeee!

The open road....

Our bike trip was a success! Once we figured out the best way to get the bikes on the rack we were ready to hit the open road. We have so many trails nearby we could ride a different one every weekend. Aside from the brotherly competition we had a great time....I was even able to keep up with all the testosterone:)

A week in review.....

Now......

and then....This week I had the privilege of helping my "oldest"(no pun intended) celebrate her 40th Birthday. We have been friend for 36 years. I have so many fond memories of our friendship over the years.....we started Kindergarten together in 1973 and journeyed all the way through college together. After 36 years I am honored to call her friend.....and I am still learning things I did not know.....who knew about the cow bell?:) Love ya, CBO, here is to another 36!

Above is the garden....it is coming along well. So far the weeds are staying away, so far. The orange and purple flowers are some of my favorite for my container gardens, I plant them every year. Next week, Russ's Mom will bring us more tomatoes planted from seed. I can't wait to get them in the ground. Every year Russ's Dad picks out a wide variety of tomatoes and seeds them....I love to see what we get and so does June. June loves tomatoes!

It is the end of the school year and things have been busy. TJ had his final band concert of the year and all of his extra activities are over.....yeah! As I say every year I am glad for the beginning of Summer vacation and I am always glad when they go back in August:)

June seems so grown up this week, well, grown up for 2! She continues to prove her independence, but at the same time seems to be doing better at conforming to the way things should be(check back next week!) June is also repeating everything everyone says.... enough said. June's favorites this week are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "Good Night Moon", and "Mulan".

Let's talk "Blogger" for a minute. My friend "R" and I had this conversation this week when "Blogger" was acting up. Will "Blogger" always be here? One day will it just disappear? Will it take my hours of self indulgence and family memories and go away? Will "Blogger" be here in 80 years for my Great Grand kids to see? Any thoughts.....it is kind of scary how many of us put it all out there with no guarantee of the future...look what happen to "8 tracks"!

Tomorrow we are trying out a new family activity.....trail riding with our bikes. Yesterday we bought a bike rack for the back of the car that holds 5 bikes....wish us luck.

Have a great week!

New bike, new doo....

Today, June and I made a trip to "Wal-mart" for household essentials and came home with a bike! June loves it and rode it for over an hour this morning.

Not only did I get a new "doo" this week so did June. I ran by my friend's house (also my stylist:) to pick up some hair magazines and she gave June some bangs and trimmed about an inch off the back. The picture does not do it justice, but, it looks so cute. The question now is bangs or no bangs? I was going for no bangs......but now I just don't know!

A week in review

Let's start with my "Spice" girl......one of the things June's foster mother told us was that she was stubborn. Well, she was right. June is strong willed, I knew it from our first week together. She has determination like no child I have seen....and my boys were no walk in the park. Russ and I joke that the red highlights in June's hair show just how spicy she is. She is spicy enough to tantrum for 1&1/2 hours over.....I don't even remember! But I warn you, do not take off her socks if she wants to do it. I am learning new way to parent this one because she is a piece of work, or "piece work" as June says.

TJ had a big week with FPS and track. He made it to state and sectionals respectively. Although it would have been nice to make it further I am happy he had the experience and happy I do not have to add more to our calender!

Jake had his 5th grade band concert and has decided to stay with the trombone in middle school. The good thing about sticking with the trombone is that some day Jake will be taller than his instrument and the case will no longer look like a machine gun...well maybe not!

Max is Max, sweet and loveable as always! A few week ago I was upset and not feeling appreciated and I let the crowd know...well Max now thanks me for every, and I do mean every, piece of food he puts in his mouth. I am glad someone listened!

Tonight I am "blogging" instead of paying bills and finishing the basement. Yes we are still working on the basement. I am glad to say the Salvation Army will be here on Friday to pick up our gently used stuff. It only took us 6 months to clean most of the basement. Now I can get ready for Christmas.....

Wish me luck, I get my hair cut tomorrow and I have been growing it out for about 8 months and it is driving me crazy! After watching "You've got Mail", I decided to go short again because Meg Ryan was so darn cute....but now the night before I am again confused....I know "R" how sad am I, short, blond, and sassy is how it should be! I also had a not so good revelation during the movie. Russ has been telling me for years that "Dave" looks like Tom Hanks. I have, however, resisted that theory because, frankly, I don't like it. Well one scene when Tom Hanks is talking to Meg Ryan.....he may have for a fleeting moment looked like "Dave". How could this happen? Would I like "Dave" if he worked at "Borders", according to Russ, probably not....it must be the rock star persona:)

Have a great week!

While you were out.....

While TJ was out at FPS the last two days we surprised him with a bedroom makeover. He was very surprised to say the least! As you can see the theme is snowboarding and skateboarding. Russ built a "shelf" to hold all of TJ's skate decks....it is almost finished and will be in place in a few days.....now TJ knows why I asked him to clean out under his bed:)

(June likes the new room too!)

Favorite things......

Two of my favorite things are lilacs and peonies.....lucky for me I grow both of them in my yard. The lilacs are in bloom and one vase fills the house with the most beautiful smell....only a few more weeks until the peonies bloom!

A week in review.....

Happy Mother's Day to all of my Family and Friends....This time of year is always busy, I can't believe half of the year is over...how can that be? May is full of school programs and sports. This week we attended Fine Arts Night at school. The 5th grade performed a historical musical review. Jake recited part of the Gettysburg Address and did a great job. After the program we were able to walk the halls and look at all the kids artwork. June, however, was plain tired by that time so we headed home. The next morning was the Grandparent's Day program. Max was a dancing crow in an adorable rendition of "Rockin' Robin". The photo below contains pics from both events.

The garden is coming along well. My Mother's Day wish was to fininsh my planters and work on my garden, since I had to work today, yesterday was the day! I finished my planters and planted green and red peppers, as well as Roma tomatoes. The carrots and lettuce are doing well and I think the potatoes are starting to sprout. Russ's Dad always seeds us tomatoes varieties you can't get at a nursery and we will plant those in June.

The upcoming week will be as busy as last with school programs and activities. TJ has a big week, his FPS team made it to state and he made it to sectionals in track....we wish him lots of luck! June continues to keep me hoppin' . The theme of the week is "June do", June wants to do everything herself....everything. At times my patients wears thin, then she leans her head on my leg and says "love you".....my heart melts and all is well!

Mother's Day project.....

To all "my Mother's" your gift will be in the mail....hope you enjoy!

A week in review.....

I will begin my weekly update with Max's Birthday...He had a great day complete with "Dibs" snack for school and a ride home in a vintage Porsche...Thanks Uncle Larry! Max is hoping to help Uncle Larry with his cars some day, we keep telling him when he is older.

Spring has finally sprung here in the Midwest. For a while I began to believe it would never come. Russ went away for the weekend with my Dad to work on the cabin and my Mom and I went to buy flowers for the yard. June loved carrying the small containers of flowers and placing them on the cart, she was a great helper! I look forward to next weekend...my Mother's day treat is a day of flower shopping and planting...I can't wait! Saturday the kids and I spent the whole day in the yard. I worked on planting and the kids played in the sand.

Sunday was soccer time. TJ had a great game, he scored the first goal of the game and played goalie and forward. The final score was 1:1.

After soccer I had to run to the "Jewel" to pick up a few things I needed for dinner. Let me begin my story with saying this is all for your reading enjoyment because I know everyone can use a good laugh every now and then...Picture a mom and her four kids ages 2-13. The oldest wearing his soccer uniform, they probably just finished a game. The mom is wind blown and wants to get what she needs quickly and return home after a long afternoon. The first stop is the bakery for 4 cookies after the cookies are distributed to said children all she needs is lettuce, grape tomatoes(BOGO) and a loaf of french bread. The mom, while carrying everything in one hand, gently holds the hand of her small daughter. Well, the small daughter starts to run, throws the mom off balance and before she knows it the mom is on her back on the floor missing a whole container of grape tomatoes....can't find them anywhere. The 13 year old is quite embarrassed as he helps his Mom up off the floor trying not to laugh......thanks TJ. Although we live in a small town, I don't think anyone I know saw me wipe out:)

Up close...soccer Sunday

Soccer you say....Well, I was poised at the goal with my camera set to get action pictures of TJ tending goal, however, the other team did not make it near the goal the whole half. While I waited for the perfect shot I took pictures of the others play in the dandielions.