Just registered kid #3 for Driver’s Ed. AAAACK! Seriously?
It’s Back!
And looking better than ever! We picked it up on Wednesday and are thoroughly impressed with the body shop we used. I know problems don’t always show themselves right away, but for now—it’s perfect! It honestly looks brand new. The people were friendly, helpful and had the car was ready when they promised. They detailed it, inside and out and gave Tyler a t-shirt so he can advertise for them.
We’re all glad to have our own cars again—sharing wasn’t always the most convenient. Spoiled, aren’t we?? Anyway, I *hope* we won’t have to use a body shop anytime soon, but if we do, we know where to go. (Moss Body Shop, for the locals.)
It was an expensive fix—about $6200. SO glad we have insurance! The guy at the shop told us that he had just gotten the car that Tyler hit. It was completely driveable so they weren’t in a big hurry. Plus, he said he orders Kia parts before ever beginning a Kia job. Hopefully they will be as happy with the work as we were.
Pinterest Mania
I’ve been playing with it for a while and have decided it’s the best thing since Facebook! :) Pinterest is basically an online bulletin board. When you see an image or idea you like, you “pin it” to one of your boards. My boards include Do-It-Yourself Ideas, Clothing, Food, Entertaining, For the Home, etc. Most of the time I just look on Pinterest and pin stuff other people have already pinned. Occasionally, I’ll find something while I’m browsing other sites and pin an image from there. Then, when I want to try that project or recipe, etc., I can click on the pin from my own boards. That takes me to the original site that lists the recipe or instructions. *Love* it! I’ve found so many great ideas since I’ve been pinning… Last weekend, I made “crack dip”, a recipe I found on pinterest. It was yummy! Ask Jim! I found a few decorating ideas for my recent Bunko nights, too. It’s a gold mine, I tell ya! ;)
You can choose to follow other people who might have similar tastes. I follow a lot of my facebook friends who also have pinterest. I also follow a few people I don’t know—I just saw that they had some boards filled with stuff I liked and followed them, too.
Right now, Pinterest is by invitation only. I have 6 invitations left. If you want one so you can give it a try, let me know! I just need the email address you want to use for Pinterest. Happy Pinning!
Fig-Prosciutto with Arugula??
Yep. We tried Pioneer Woman’s Fig-Prosciutto with Arugula pizza over the weekend. I was a little unsure about the fig—in fact, I bought a cherry spread for back up! But the fig turned out to be pretty good, actually. Definitely not your regular pizza, so you had to prepare your mouth for that. The sweetness of the fig countered the salty taste of the prosciutto and was a nice combination. Hadley thought it was ok. Lance wasn’t adventurous enough to try it. I know that shocks you all as much as it does me! :) David enjoyed it, too. My bread machine makes enough dough for two pizzas, so our second pizza was a bit more normal. We used a recipe that called for caramelized onions, prosciutto, and mozzarella. Lance really enjoyed that one! Here’s a shot I took of the fig pizza. It’s so much fun to try new things!
While shopping for the ingredients, we had to ask the produce guys to help us find arugula. The Wal-Mart worker did NOT HAVE A CLUE what arugula was. The United worker didn’t either, but had a handy little book that told him where to look. Ha!
While shopping for the ingredients, we had to ask the produce guys to help us find arugula. The Wal-Mart worker did NOT HAVE A CLUE what arugula was. The United worker didn’t either, but had a handy little book that told him where to look. Ha!
Bunko time. Again.
Sorta regretting it now, but I signed up to have bunko again in September. There were only a couple of choices left on the calendar, and I decided to just gut it out and do it right away. I’m not going all out this time, but still plan on some fun. The theme is Rosie the Riveter— I'm using red and white polka dotted table runners, glass-bottled soft drinks in a big galvanized tub, etc. The food will be pulled-pork sandwiches and potato salad. For dessert, a variation on Better than Sex cake. I’m also looking at a spinach artichoke dip and crackers for appetizers.
**So I scheduled this post before I really finished it... Totally forgot about it, so you got the unfinished version. Ha!
Rock The Desert
A couple of weekends ago, I took Hadley and Alli to Midland for Rock the Desert. It’s a 3 day Christian concert and is held outdoors. We couldn’t go to the first day because of school registration but made it to the other two days. There were some amazing bands there—Superchick, SwitchFoot, Skillet!, Revive, David Crowder Band, The Afters, DecemberRadio, Stars Go Dim, ShonLock, Remedy Drive and a few others. It was great to hear them perform all the songs I listen to everyday… One thing that kept dawning on me while we listened—I lose the meaning of the songs at times because I’m wrapped up in whatever I’m doing-traffic, kids in the car, my to-do list, whatever. There, the bands often told the stories behind the songs. The lyrics were so much more powerful when I actually listened.
Skillet was my favorite. They put on an incredible show—lights, smoke, flames, sparks, spinning platforms—and they were rocking the place! I really enjoyed their show and will see them again, given the chance. Revive was one of the bands I was really looking forward to seeing. What I did not realize was that RTD was their last performance together as a band. :( So, I bought a CD and got their autographs, along with a bunch of 13-year-old girls. Ha!
RTD had two stages set up—one was covered and called the teen tent. It was a much smaller venue. And cooler! Some of the bands played on both stages, so we got to experience that if we wanted. The teen tent was a more intimate setting, which I really liked. The larger stage was more like a regular concert—not as intimate and much louder. Also fun!
The forecast for all three days was a high of 106*. I never saw the actual temps, but I'm certain it was close. It was SO hot. SO. HOT. We took a beach umbrella for shade and there was usually a breeze. That helped, but unfortunately a breeze in Midland also means blowing dirt. We saw several dirt devils and were covered in dust by the end of each day. (Really glad I didn't take my good camera!)
Alli met a boy from Midland at her church camp earlier in the summer. Of course, she wanted to see him while we were there. His car was in the shop, so we picked him up and took him along with us both days. He was super nice—I was glad to get to know him. His dad is a pastor at Trinity Presbyterian there in Midland. Jon is a senior and is quite smitten with Alli. ♥
I think I earned some definite mom points for this trip… don’t you?
Are you tired of camp pictures yet?
Tubing with friends from home—Alyssa and Ashley, old soccer mates.
David and Lance wanted in on the fun, too!
This little waterfall did some major damage to Lance’s tiny hiney. There were rocks just under the surface. One trip down and he was DONE.
All the little fish that swallowed the hook became our dinner one night. And they were quite tasty!
And more…
The campground was alive with the sound of hummingbirds. As soon as we set up camp, we went to the little grocery store to buy a new feeder. Sure enough, they came!
Lance became quite good at cleaning fish.
We had this sign made by a cute little old man the last time we were at Fun Valley. *Loved* getting to use it! Before you tell me how corny it is, you have to know it’s totally “in” to have one of these at camp. All the cool kids do!
Riding bikes around is always fun.
The famous train. On one of our trips years ago, Hadley hopped on to ride without letting us know. She promptly fell asleep and continued to ride it around the campground. In the meanwhile, we were frantically looking for her! Ay yi yi. Glad that didn’t happen this time. ;)
More campin’
As you’ll see, David and the kids did a LOT of fishing! And a LOT of catching, too. The ones who swallowed the hooks became dinner, the rest were tossed back into the water to live another day. I was perfectly content reading and taking pictures of the fun.
Good ol’ catch and release. It’s the best!
What a great way to end the day. S’more please!
Never a dull moment
Got a call yesterday. One of those calls you dread. Tyler had been in a wreck. He rear-ended someone on Bell at the intersection at 45th while on his way to Anita’s. The citation said he “failed to control his speed”, meaning he was traveling too fast and was unable to stop when the car in front of him did. His car dumped all the fluids, so we had to have it towed. The other car had rear damage only and was driveable. The fun just keeps coming.
Funny thing, we had several people we know stop to check on us while we waited on the tow truck. David's mom, Roger Castleberry, Jayme Bandy and Tyler's friend, Dustin! (oh yeah—and Coach Stokes, the JV soccer coach at AHS)It was nice to see friendly faces in the midst of the mess.
Today is the first day of school for all three kids. Of course, Tyler wasn’t here for the obligatory first day picture, but I made sure he had muffins to start his day. I think Lance was nervous about his first day at AHS, judging by his grumpy attitude as we neared time for them to leave. Hadley is his ride today—and will be most days, I guess. This marks the first time ever that neither David or I are taking the non-drivers to school. Weird. I almost want to get in the car and drive anyway! Ha!
I am thankful that Hadley’s jeep is fixed and seems to be running fine. She would have been so disappointed to have to ride with me on the first day!
A few camping pictures
I decided to post a few camping pictures at a time. Seems I can’t find the time to get through the whole lot of them at once! These were taken on the day we arrived at Fun Valley. The kids were fishing before we even had our camp set up. It’s great how much they love it!
The campground was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it. We didn’t have too many choices for camping spots and this one was the best by far. BUT, the hook-ups were on the wrong side for David to be able to back the camper in. We couldn’t pull straight through because of a little creek on one end. So, he arranged it the best he could for us to try pushing it into place. The kids and I were on one end and David was on the end with the tongue. While we were pushing, the wheel on the tongue dug down into the dirt and collapsed, tipping the camper up and sending David crashing to the ground. It was pretty comical trying to right it---the kids and I stood and bounced on the back bumper while David tried to lift the front up. We weren’t having much luck until a neighbor came to our rescue. (He probably felt sorry for the idiot family! Ha!) Love how people are so quick to help. Camping brings out the best in people, I tell ya!
In spite of the crowds, we had a very relaxing time. Love the sights and smells there. Our camper was great---so much roomier than our previous pop-up. And, the ol’ suburban made the trip just fine-thank the Lord!! I don’t think I’ve ever prayed harder for safe and uneventful travels than I did on this particular trip! :)
And the fun never ends.
I still haven't even looked at all the camping pictures. Blogging from my iphone is about as good as it gets right now! Soon. I hope!
I wanna go back!
I still haven’t had a chance to go through our camping pictures and by the looks of the schedule, it’ll be next week before I get to them. For now, I’ll post this lovely picture. I want to go back!
Dem bones, dem bones, dem brittle bones
Mema fell last Friday and broke her hip. She had surgery on Saturday and is in the hospital recovering. In a day or two, she will go to a skilled nursing home for continued therapy and rehabilitation. It’s been difficult—she is more confused than normal and has been in quite a bit of pain. I just hate that it happened! I decided after Grandma broke her hip, I never wanted to do that myself. Watching Mema has confirmed~NO broken hips for me! I’m sad they’ve recommended skilled nursing instead of full-on rehab. The physical terrorists, er therapists, made that evaluation this morning. (That’s Dad’s reference. Ha!) I’m afraid she just doesn’t have the understanding or mental toughness to take the more rigorous rehab schedule. Skilled nursing will be easier on her, but may not get her back to where she was before the fall.
She wasn’t all that happy when I took her picture, but she went along anyway. Don’t you think she looks like Uncle Thug in that top picture? I’ve never thought they looked that much alike, until this hospital visit. Part of it is the un-styled, Einstein hair, I know. But her face looks more like his than it ever has before. Genetics are a crazy thing, aren’t they?
Just before this happened, four of us went to the mountains. I took a lot of pictures, of course! When I have a chance to look through them, I’ll post.
Guess they have something to say?
Seen at Logan’s Roadhouse last night… VERY unique. From what I gather, he’s pro-freedom, pro-smoking, pro-eagles and red/white/blue flowers?
Picnic in the Parking Lot
Some things never change… Tyler and Lance pestered each other the whole time!
Yesterday, I met Mom and Dad to hand over the kids for the week. Yippee! We usually meet at a roadside park that is almost exactly halfway between us. This year, Mom and Dad encountered a delay on the highway (probably a wreck) so we drove on a bit further and met them in Santa Rosa instead. Not knowing a park or picnic area to use, we met in the McDonald’s parking lot. I’d made sandwiches, so we just ate them right there in the parking lot. I don’t think McDonald’s minded. :) Tyler rode along with us even though he wasn’t able to go with Mom and Dad. David wasn’t able to go--he had an opportunity to work an extra shift on Sunday. In light of our recent major expenses, I thought it was a good idea, too!
I can’t wait to hear about all the fun stuff they do. I’ve already gotten text messages regarding hair color. And they weren’t from the girl! I’m sure it will be a great week for all.
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