The Cutest Thing Ever!

You may recall that a girl down the street invited Mackenzie to go to the Taylor Swift concert with her. Well, her name is Blythe. We've tried a couple of times to have her sleep over, but she can't. Blythe is a diabetic. She has to have her blood sugar checked in the middle of the night and her mom just isn't ready to let her handle that on her own. She also has to wear a monitor at all times. It looks kind of like she's got a cell phone or something under her shirt. Anyway, one day she was over here along with another neighbor, Angelina. The three girls were having some fun with my stamps. The next thing I know they had made these:

So they could all be like Blythe (on the right, showing off the REAL monitor. How cute is that?

I'm in trouble

I talked to my sister today and she got on my case about not blogging. So here I go. I had tried to post a video of Joey singing karaoke, but it wouldn't load. This weekend he's going to get it up on his youtube account and I'll post the link, along with his band concert. How did it come about that Joey was singing karaoke? No, we didn't take him to a bar (althoug it was somewhat close). At the campground where Wes' family has a permanent site, they host karaoke on the "big" weekends. And Joey was the only brave one of our group. He sang Mambo #5, and the karaoke host was very impressed with how he did. He (the host) was sure with his age and shy demeanor that Joey would need some back up help, but he didn't, he did great. Better than some of the adults, although a lot of them were pretty plastered. I also made him do the Chicken Dance with me:

He also got up and did the Cha Cha Slide, I was busy taking the pictures this time:

What about Mackenzie? She was hanging out at the camper with Briana, and keeping an eye on Joel, who doesn't like loud music. But she did celebrate a birthday. Yep, I am now the mother of 2 kids of double digit age. 10 years old, where did the time go? I still remember when she didn't have hair. Of course, she was 3 before she had any, so it isn't as hard as you might think. We had dinner out at Applebees and they embarrassed her immensely by singing to her. Here she is opening one of her presents, she was so excited over what she got, I couldn't get it in the picture:

As for Joel, he just seems to make himself scarce whenever the camera's out. But here's one from a month ago of him doing the limbo in his pajama;s (sounds like a song title!):

The kids are gearing up for the end of school next week and their impending trip to PA to see Mike's family. Then they'll be off for a visit with my family. So with the anticipated absence of the kids most of the summer, we went out and spent an insane amount of money to see UP in 3D. Joel actually did pretty well. He got a bit antsy about halfway through, but I pulled him onto my lap and he sat through the rest just fine, until he had to use the bathroom. I made him tough it out though. Oh, and warning if you haven't seen it, the beginning is a tear jerker, but all together a great family movie. I don't know what I'll do without them all summer, it'll be way too quiet around here, that and I'll have to do the dishes.

Weekend Getaway

I managed to have a long weekend this past weekend. My regular days off were Wednesday and Thursday and I managed to get Friday and Saturday off as comp time for working holidays. I got errands done (laundry and a trip to the meat market) and I also got some pampering (Highlights and a trim). I spent some quality time with Joel, and even got to go to Wes' niece's softball game.
Friday evening we set off for Lake Marion. We got settled and spent the evening in. Saturday I actually got up kind of early, took a walk with the kids and spent some time at the playground. After lunch Lauren and Angie arrived. The kids and I headed for the pool, soon after joined by Lauren and Angie. Then it was time for Wes and I to head to Darlington for the race.
It was a great race! Lots of excitement, lead changes, crashes and even one inferno. We paqrked in someone's backyard for cheaper than the lot price and they gave us a short cut to the track. The other advantage was the house being on the side street so the traffic out wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. After a stop at a Waffle House, we rolled back into the camper at about 3 am.
Sunday after sleeping in, we spent the day down at the lake shore taking rides on the jet ski. Wes and I rode up by the Nature Preserve. Too bad I didn't have my camera. The cypress trees and herrons were gorgeous.
Then it was time to pack up and head home in time for me to catch a nap before work. Wes went to pick up Gillian from his mom's house only to find she'd jumped the fence. Dang dog. Jo called Monday afternoon to say she'd come bacvk, so after dinner Mackenzie and I went and got her. Don't know what I'm going to do with that dog!

Joel issues

I don't know if it is regression, or wanting attention or what, but Joel has been driving me nuts lately! He's been throwing a fit at every single little thing. He sneaks into the kitchen, takes a bite out of something then puts it back. Or he'll gorge himself on whatever junk he can get his hands on. He is banned from the computer because he keeps treating it like a drum set. But unless I keep it in my sight at all times, he will sneak onto that too. I'm now missing my space bar and my N key. Oh, and the receiver for the wireless mouse? He broke that off in the USB port! He is just driving me insane! And I have to somehow get him ready for kindergarden in the fall. The one good thing? We are totally out of pull ups, even at night. Now I just have to work on the thumb and the blankie, oh and the latent toddler behavior he's been exhibiting.

Now I'm missing my own important days

I used to be really good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries. I really did. Now I'm horrible about it. And now I'm even forgetting my own. It was my "blog"iversary in February and I missed it. Well, please feel free to send all belated well wishes and gifts, I'll still accept them.

Happiness Is...

Going to Costco. No, really. I haven't been in so long and there is something very comforting about having 100 rolls of toilet paper and a 5 gallon jug of shampoo.

Fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The nearest Krispy Kreme happens to be down the street from Costco, so of course we had to go, and wouldn't you know, fresh doughnuts were marching down the conveyer belt when we walked in.

Requesting time off from work and actually getting it approved. Ok, so it took them two months to approve, but never the less.

Using said time off to get out of town. Not a huge outing, just heading to the lake with the kids. But on Saturday Wes and I are making a detour to Darlington for the NASCAR race. Don't worry, the kids will be with Wes' sister while we're gone.

Getting caught up on laundry. And I don't have to start agin until Wednesday. A whole two days of not doing laundry!

Your daughter going to her first concert. A friend of Mackenzie's, and a neighbor of ours had tickets to the Taylor Swift concert and invited Mackenzie to go along. I told her at first she couldn't go, but only because I wanted to go. But go she did and she had a great time.

Getting a long overdue manicure and pedicure.

Chicken bowls from Kyoto. Seriously, I've never had anything like it. Kyoto is a local Teriyaki place and they make these chicken and rice bowls that are awesome by themselves, but then they give you this sauce to put on it and it becomes the best thing you've ever eaten.

Behind the times

A lot has been going on around here. Spring has hit in full force and the weather has been gorgeous (aside from a tornado and a flood watch). In Washington you knew spring was coming by the tulips, daffodils and crocuses. Here its the azaleas. And they are everywhere. Kind of like Tulips in Mt Vernon. We went to the Azalea festival last weekend, a big street fair. We had to leave before we hit the rides though, it started to rain and people here are wusses about a little rain.
We also have a new puppy. Wes the big softy that he is brought her home after a co worker had brought in a litter that had been abandoned on his door step. Briana got to name her and named her Sassy. She is very cute and the house training is coming along.
It was again report card time, and as usual the kids did very well. I also got brave and spoke at Mackenzie's career day. Joey's band participated in a state competition, something like the Abbotsford festival for those that remember my band days. For a middle school band, I have been quite impressed with them.
Work continues to be work. Although they've recently let someone from my shift and my building go so that has given me an opportunity for more responsibility. BUT since the letting go of said person I have been looking for a different job. The politics in this job are a bit more than I can take. The supervisors play favorites with no real criteria and even thought I seem to fit the bill, I don't like the game. That and I am really struggling with the schedule. So, wish me luck on finding a real 9-5.
I have pictures posted on facebook from the last month or so, and I will post some here soon.
Happy Easter to all!