Tired of coming up with a title….

Not much is new here. Boys are done with swimming lessons and passed their level. They are really getting into swimming now. I am confident that they can at least get themselves out of deep water if needed. They go underwater now too. My inlaws are returning home for 2 months on Friday. We have really missed them. They are watching the boys for us so I can get Phil out of here for some much needed R & R. We got a nice little cabin, south of here for a night. We will leave early in the morning and come home late the next evening. I want to make it as relaxing for him as can be. His eyes are swelling again due to stress and he needs to destress somehow. He has begun to tinker around in the garage more. That should help.
Brit is feeling good with baby #2 on the way. Elizabeth is doing great, we see them all in about 2 weeks. They were just in Minnesota for a wedding. Elizabeth did well with all the traveling and such. She is a very good baby.
It’s time for Lauren to move out! We have sit her down and chat with her soon. This is just getting to old, her being here. It was only supposed to be temporary but she managed to stretch it out too long. Also, she hasn’t even tried looking for a place. Well now she will have no choice. I will not have my husband lose his eyesight because of her! She causes a lot of stress and hassles for us. It’s not like she even spends much time here but when she is here, it’s rough. She riles the boys, leaves messes for me, and doesn’t respect our rules. That is the worst one! She doesn’t care what I say about how she dresses in front of the boys/Phil. She just runs over us! No MORE!!!!!!
Argh….it’s good to get it out.

Busy life…

So the boys have been doing their swimming lessons. They are going well. At first they were embarrassed at being the oldest in a level 1 class but they are ok with it now. Phil and Jake were camping all weekend but are home now. We grilled Italian sausage for Father’s Day. I also made baked potatoes, and peppers and onioins for the sausages. We had a great dinner. Now we need some dessert. I think we will head out to the grocery store for some junk! lol..I have been doing great as far as avoiding cheese and most dairy. Some things like sour cream, butter and lactaid milk don’t bother me. I have been really feeling good. Lauren went and visited with Brit a week ago or so. She took Elizabeth’s 5 month old pictures. So here are some of my favorites. At the end of the year, I will print off a bunch of pictures chronicalling her first year and give it to Brit and Jonathan as a gift. I hope they like it!

One more, showing her baby toes!

It’s over!

School is out for summah! Yeah! The kids had a blast at their party and carnival. All the 5th graders were soaked because it rained all day. The temps dipped into the 50’s but that didn’t stop them from water play and water balloon games. The DJ got them doing the Cotton-eyed Joe as well as other games and dances. Jake had fun. There was so much food left over. Caleb had fun too. He also just lost a tooth! How’s that for a last day of school memory?

I am exhausted. I ate a little bit of cheese on a sub sandwhich and am paying dearly for it. I got cramps so bad they burned. My face got red and hot and then the diarrhea hit. No fun. I know for sure I can’t eat cheese any more.

I am now relaxing because tomorrow I will begin purging my house of any and all school papers, projects and books we don’t need for next year. And laundry is backed up. Next Monday the boys begin swimming lessons. I also have to drop the van off at the autobody shop and get the repairs going. That’s about it for today.

School is almost over…

The school year is about done for the boys. All that is left is the end of year party and carnival. All 5th graders have a big party. They get to go putt-putt golfing, play kickball then head to the local park where we have lunch in a big cabin. There will be a DJ playing music, games and lots of fun. Back at the school will be the carnival for the lower grades. They get candy prizes as they play games. They get lunch and then a popsicle treat provided by the PTO. I am on the food committee for the 5th grade party. I bought all the pop, 25 2-liter bottles! I got the cups and some coolers to bring as well. I have to also provide a gallon of strawberries! A lot of parents are providing other food and chaperoning the party. It will be tiring but fun.
Today, Phil and I had lunch with Jake at school. All 5th grade parents were invited. After lunch and recess, where we played kickball, we had an assembly of recognition. The kids all sang some songs centered around the United States. They sang God Bless the USA. No matter where I am when I hear that song, I get goosebumps! It is such a patriotic and moving song. Lee Greenwood sings it best but hearing the kids singing it and knowing that we live in a free country where they can still sing songs about God’s blessings made it all the more special.
The three 5th grad teachers shared some memories about the year. I was glad Jake wasn’t one of the stories! It was a great afternoon. Next year, Jake heads off to middle school. I am not sure who is more nervous, him or me! Maybe that is why I am kicking back with an ice cold Corona right now! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….

The Adventures of Alice and Michelle

It was a normal day with a basic normal day trip planned. I drove to Alice’s to pick her up for our trip. We were going to see Brit and go to Elizabeth’s baby shower at their church. The drive out was uneventful and fun. We chatted about everything. Great sunny weather and beautiful landscapes made the 3 hour drive enjoyable.
We made it to Brit’s by 1:00 PM. We needed to leave and noticed it was raining outside. I mean pouring! It was bad. It was coming down in sheets. We made it into the van, a little wet but we were on our way. We got about 5 minutes from the house when the winds picked up and visibility got worse. I finally decided to pull over since I could barely see. Good thing for the new wipers! We noticed hail was coming down as we waited it out. After a few minutes it seemed to be passing by so we pulled back on the road. About 4 minutes later visibility was getting to zero so once again I pulled over. This time the winds were really bad and I feared a tornado might be coming. It was so loud from the rain and hail that we couldn’t even hear the radio for any warnings. Alice prayed and took authority over the storm and it slowed down to just rain. We were on our way again and this time we made it to the church. We found out there from one of the ladies that the winds were clocked at 60 MPH! After a few more minutes of driving the storm was totally gone and the sun was coming out! It was really crazy. I was trying to deal with the mixed emotions of it and refused to put on my sunglasses when 5 minutes earlier I was praying for my life!!! The baby did fine through it all.
After the shower, we headed back to Brit’s and visited for a short bit. We were on our way home around 4:45. We pulled over at 5:45 pm to eat dinner at a cute restaurant called Woody’s. It was very quaint inside and we knew we were in for a treat! Well the website for the Woody’s must not have been updated in awhile because the prices were much higher than quoted online. We ate there anyway since we had our water and garlic toast to munch on.
Back on the road at 7PM and we found we missed more rain while inside the restaurant. Good thing. I didn’t want to be more stressed out over the rain again but on the highway this time. About 8:30 PM we were in the passing lane, passing the semis when a deer ran in front of us. We hit it! Or I should say it hit us! I didn’t brake or weave. I just hit and kept on going. I passed the semi and got over to the side of the road. I expected the headlight to be damaged. What was damaged was the hood of the van. That was the only thing!!! Oh yeah, the left headlight is pointing down and the bottom of the front bumper has damage on the underside. Not even something that can really be seen. We are so thankful for the protection of God. It could of been worse. There was no one to my left, the deer probably landed in the median and died there. No one else swerved to miss it and no one else had to pull over. All we have to replace is the hood of the van! If it hit the bumper the airbags would have deployed and made the situation worse. We both were not injured. I was pretty shaken up but managed to drive home.
I am sure Alice and I will have a good laugh over this trip many times as we repeat it to our friends. It was a fun trip.
I have always feared hitting a deer and the fear of the unknown was the worst part. But now that it’s happened, and I controlled the vehicle, I am more confident about driving and not worrying about it any longer. It was a good thing in the end.
And thanks to Phil for working our getting out of debt plan, we have the money to fix the van. I had a total peace about that!
The best part of the day is that we got to see and hold Elizabeth and visit with Brit. She is feeling well and has to remind herself she is pregnant again. The baby is so cute and is now rolling over and almost sitting on her own already! She is a sweetie!

Pictures of the damage to the van…

Here is Elizabeth, at 5 months, with a bow in her hair!