daddy to the rescue....

jack and max were "warring" upstairs and max's plane won.
jack's come crumbling down the stairs and ended up in 100 pieces.
poor kid. so daddy came to the rescue! the two of them managed to put it back together. when jack walked back upstairs max said, "jack, that is so much cooler than before i broke it so i guess it was a blessing in disguise".
i'm so glad i captured this picture of jack loving on daddy. he was so very thankful to daddy. too sweet.

finished projects...

finally, the pictures of the finished house color and patio that some of you have been asking for! (you KNOW who you are! :)) i took a few pics from the end of our driveway, looking east/south east. love the foothills. sorry, i would have more of the patio but i saw my neighbor outside and we started talking. before i knew it, it was dark....what?? me talking until dark.
shocking. real shocking.

mama got herself a new pair of pretties....

mama got herself a new pair of pretties!
like um?
hate them?
well, i'm digging them.
snazzy, sassy and a tad whimsical. they match with very little in my closet but personally,i feel like Dorthy, in the 'Wizard of Oz' must have felt when she put on her 'pretties'.
i feel simply exquisite, maybe even a tad brilliant.
hee. hee. :)

poor, pathetic little thing....

hobbies.
we all need them.
some of us (ME) already have more than i have hours in my day.
and yet...
i continue to hobby.
thanks to AMANDA over at www.vintagedutchgirl.blogspot.com,i've once again got the refurbishing/modifying bug. little miss handy-pants reminded me that on wednesday mornings the LC thrift store sets out 'new' stuff. lucky for me, this week was 50% off EVERYTHING!!!
SCORE!!!
since the 5 magazine holders i ALREADY have won't suffice....i HAD to have another. (collecting magazines is yet ANOTHER hobby!) this sad, sad excuse for furniture was sitting by, idly, waiting, possibly LONGING for ME. the pathetic thing even had a Stick-up under it's belly. can't you picture it now...sitting untouched, oppressed, in the depths of some woman's basement, just waiting, like the old toys in the movie, Toy Story, to be loved,to be resurrected. i'm SURE that this same,good intended woman, had a husband who finally had enough and hauled it out, behind her back of course, and brought it to the thrift store. i know all this because my husband/and father would be ONE OF THOSE MEN!
lucky for me, i have rescued it from the burn pile, the belly of the whale.
wishing it, WILLING it back to life.
mercy me.
since i now have 'nothing' to fill my days with and the weather is getting 'cozier', i'm heading out to that messy, pit of a garage (maybe cleaning THAT SHOULD be a hobby!) and start transforming to my little hearts content.
yup, that's what i'll do.
right after i catch up on blogging, facebook, cleaning closets, blah.blah.blah......
ya all better stay tuned!

'merlie'....

when i was a kid, we used to get together with our dearest friends, the koemans. one thing you could ALWAYS count on was LOTS of laughter. something we LOVED to play was 'merlie'. we would get on our knees, on top of a pair of shoes,shrink our hands into our shirts and mentally, instantly, make each other laugh. to this day, i crack up every time i see this. don't know where my children learned this but i'm so happy that they also find the joy in the little things in life. last night, they had us 'in stitches'(as my grandma would say). funny, funny little men.

i cook...

i know, that post title made some of you fall off your seats.
people, i have kept these 3 little boys alive for 10 years!! last night, i was asked to bring dinner to the in-laws. since my mother-in-law is a great cook, there was a tad bit of anxiety attached to my saying yes. but never the less, i cooked. i walked into the other room while preparing dinner & when i came back in, looked at my island, i actually laughed outloud. seriously, i'm a slob. if you've ever scrap-booked with me, you know i hate working in an unorganized space! and yet, bottom line, dinner was made and has since (mostly) been devoured. to my knowlege, as of now, no one has keeled over and died from it.
the bonus is...we have LEFTOVERS so i don't have to cook again tonight!!

it begins....

sam-5th grade.
max-4th grade.
jack-2nd grade.

wowsers.

first day. no verbal jitters from my boys. samuel was up at 5AM BURSTING with excitement. i think it may have to do with a little 4 foot something named emma?? :) max is thrilled because he has mr.cook this year who EVERYONE knows doesn't 'believe in' homework. jack was giddy because his very best friend, kaiden is in his class AND they even have desks next to each other!!
i decided that i could do without all the extra tears, which undoubtedly come every year when i drop them off in their classrooms. nothing worse for a new middle schooler than to have his MOTHER sobbing like a newborn. i love him too much to do that him and believe me, i would/do cry like that.(i'm sure they'll come a time when i WILL do that on purpose) plus, according to the boys, when you have a bus driver as cool as ours, why NOT take the bus on the first morning???!!!so, on the bus they went. the morning was exceptionally foggy so forgive the 'film' on the pic! can hardly believe that summer is here and gone. in one aspect, it flew by, and yet, in seemed to drag on at other times. as much as i LOVE having these little people here to spend my days with, it was time. time to get into a routine. time for mommy to have toilets clean for more than an hour at a time. time for all my little un-done projects to be done. time for the boys to hang out with their friends. time to re-learn all the things that have fallen by the wayside all summer. yup, it's time for ALL of us. my babies are growing up. this summer, at times i wish i could have 'bottled' this age. they are fun little creatures.
i'm so thankful that we have an amazing school here at Lynden Christian! these teachers go above and beyond to teach these children the important things in life! we are blessed....

my gina...

we have had the honor of having my dear, dear cousin, gina staying with us for 10 days. she was the easiest house guest that i have ever had. let me introduce you to her.....
she didn't ask for much. she felt free to invade my pantry at any given time. she stayed up late with me watching 'teen flicks' that my husband would never waste his time watching. she fit right in with my friends. she let my boys be boys. never complained (to me anyways) that they were too noisy. she can shop like no ones business. she is styling. always looks cute and put together, even when she wakes up. she takes as many pictures in a day as i do. she is kind. she has cute hair. she randomly cut my hair at weird hours of the evening, WITH A DULL KITCHEN SCISSORS. she is cool. she is trustworthy. she's going to be a total catch for some guy someday. she is dear friend. i am honored to call her one of mine.she is welcome back anytime. oh, i love this girl. i miss her.

done, accomplished, achieved....

i searched my Thesaurus and found many words that describe our emotions after the final brick was laid on our patio project....
*played out. tuckered out. fatigued. overtaxed. haggard. consumed. pooped (yup, that was in there!) sewed up. wound up. satisfied. content. joyful. gleefully. merrymaking. cheerful. PURE JOY!!! yes, we experience all those things. it was a labor of love and moments of asking each other, "what WERE we thinking"!! i posted a few pics of rye and dad laying the last bricks, just hours before the big party! i am so proud of them. thanks guys!
next year we start on the pergola over the eating area. don't tell rye, i haven't sprung that one on him yet. :)

reunion....

ok, so we love parties. a few weeks ago, rye's family had a massive family reunion. 2 of dad likkels brothers came from out of town with their kids & grandkids. since we were off camping that weekend we missed most of the festivities but were honored that we were asked to have the Saturday part of the reunion here. the day was filled with crafts and games for the kids, much coffee drinking, a healthy amount of socializing, an abundance of laughter. uncle stan & aunt lois even put together a grand game of lawn-golf. a true redneck game. (redneck in a good way! :)) the great news was that i had to do nothing but get our yard in order. i didn't have to cook...IT WAS CATERED!! :) i think the total count of folks that showed up was 114!! it was a blast! God has lavished His goodness on this family. from generation to generation He has cared and protected them. had dad been here, i'm sure he would have been proud. we sure do miss him.

i snuck upstairs and snapped a few shots. i'll see if i can track down a few more pictures from others. a good looking bunch i tell ya.

yup, parties, i love them.

another.......

Where is your cell phone?
CHARGING.

Your significant other?
A GEM.

Your hair?
OUT OF CONTROL.

Your mother?
GOLDEN.

Your father?
A ROCK.

Your favorite thing?
LAPTOP.

Your favorite drink?
ICE COLD CORONA-LIGHT WITH A LEMON,NO LIME.

Your dream/goal?
RAISE GODLY BOYS.

What room are you in?
KITCHEN.

Your hobby?
BLOGGING.

Your fear?
NOT RAISING GODLY BOYS.

Where do you want to be in 6 Yrs?
HOME.

Where were you last night?
HOME.

Something that you aren't?
A PUSH-OVER.

Muffins?
COSTCO POPPY SEED.

Wish list?
SIZE 8.

Last thing you did?
TALKED TO KATH.

What are you wearing?
MY FAVORITE WRS SWEATSHIRT. CAPRI'S. ORANGE TANK.

TV?
RIGHT NOW I'M WATCHING THE COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL & I'M ASSUMING RYE IS WATCHING SEINFELD B/C I CAN RANDOMLY HEAR LAUGHING COMING FROM OUR BEDROOM.

Your pets?
JOSEPHINA.

Friends?
THERAPEUTIC.

your life?
CHARMED.

Your mood?
CONTENT.

Missing someone?
MY SISTER.

Drinking?
DIET COKE.

Smoking?
GROSS.

Your car?
BLACK TOYOTA SEQUOIA.

Something you're not wearing?
SPURS.

Favorite Shop?
HOME GOODS IN NEW JERSEY.

Your favorite color?
RED.

When is the last time you cried?
WHEN I ACTUALLY REALIZED THAT MY BABY WAS GOING OFF TO MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Who will reply to this?
TAYLOR SWIFT.


Where do you go to over and over?
LAUNDRY ROOM.

Person who emails you the most?
EBAY.

My favorite place to eat?
MILLYS.

Favorite place I'd like to be at right now?
BED.

on that note....goodnight all.