First Day . . .

It sounds like the girls had a GREAT first day of school. Delaney loves her teacher--said she's so nice and is going to let them do all sorts of fun things (of course, I'd be telling my kids that on the first day of school too. LOL). She did her first duty on the Safety Patrol and loved that! AND she was very exited about heading out again this morning!

More importantly (just because of the BIG-ness of it all!) was McKenna's first day of high school. She loved it!!! She said she's gonna love the block schedule (they have just four classes all day long--about 1.5 hours each--and change schedules by semester) and she loved her history teacher especially. And she's loving band. So life is good there! And--thank goodness!--she had friends in all of her classes. Yay!!

(I think the person who stressed the most yesterday was Sydney. When she dropped Delaney off, she cried, "I want to go to school" and kept on crying for quite a while! It was sad, but really kinda sweet too!)

Now, today, I seriously need to get some work done. I have an article due to the paper that MUST get done today (I really would rather be doing other things--I want to go buy a rug, and would love to do some scrapbooking!). I actually also have an idea for an article that I want to send out a query for (haven't done that in a while, so that would be good!)

Lots of stuff going on this weekend--Delaney is trying out for a travel softball team this evening (we tried doing it last night, but we had a HUGE storm that drenched everyone!) and McKenna's grounding is being lifted temporarily so that she can go to a youth retreat at our church (It's gonna be great!). Part of that involves me spending the night tomorrow night at church and being a chaperone over like 30 teenage girls!!! Aaargh . . if I survive, I'll post again Monday morning.

(And, oh, totally unrelated--Dad emailed me to let me know that my Alabama football tickets are in the mail! I'm SO excited!! College football is only like 22 days away and life feels like it's getting back to "normal" because I listened to my sports radio shows yesterday for the first time since the end of school last year. I LOVE sports and especially football, so I'm very excited!)

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!!!

Back to Normalcy . . . & Back to School!

I don't have a rug in my den and I still have a big pile of clothes to fold and put away, BUT I do have hot water. Hooray!!

The day of our Hot Water Heater Disaster, my mother emailed me and in closing said, "Remember, Cheryl, that joy comes in the morning." How true that is! Most people who know me will say that I'm a very positive person and that not much gets me down. I usually can find the bright spot amidst the worst of situations. There are times, though, when Life just gets me depressed--and Tuesday was one of those days. I was down in the dumps all day and night about the big ole mess downstairs. But, Mom was so right!! In the midst of the mess, I found some really joyful situations and discoveries. Like--

We were forced to clean out the utility room and, in doing so, I found some absolute treasures. Along with the smelly socks and old, mildewed sheets (yuck!), I found a box filled with Junior High School treasures. In that box were old photos, some Charlie's Angels trading cards (I had ALL of them at one time!), old comic books (when I was 12, I'd use my allowance to buy an Archie comic book, a Slush Puppy drink, and some "penny" candy), my junior high newspaper (it was a GREAT paper filled with gossip and all sorts of fun stuff; I was the co-editor, of course); old drill team and cheerleading pics; assorted notes; and my early versions of "scrapbooks" (just a place to keep pictures, movie tickets, and various mementoes).

(Margie, if you happen to be reading this--lookie, there we are in that first pic! OMG!)

I also found stuff from high school, and some PRICELESS videos from my college days. My friend, Jeff, made videos of all of our great events--I found ones from a party at the apartment I shared with Cheryl and Angela, and from a trip to Chattanooga with an Ad Federation team (TOO much fun in a hot tub, and all preserved on tape!). Watching those really took me back (I LOVED college!).

I even found this football practice jersey of Gary's from . . .oh my goodness, it must be like 1981 or 82. How bad does that age us???

(And when I said something to Gary about him being a bit big for it now, I reminded myself that I sure am glad I didn't find my old cheerleading uniform. It would be a HUGE effort to even get it up to my hips!)

And then the girls, of course, helped me keep it all in perspective. Kids will do that, you know? After Gary bought the hot water heater and the repairman got it installed, we had a big giant box just waiting to be played with. What would it become? A fort? a house? a school? Well, Delaney and Sydney decided it was a Drive Through Restaurant. (Here they are with Sydney placing an order from Delaney; btw--you "drove" around to the other side of the box to the Pick Up window. And a pic of them posing beside the box. . . ahem, restaurant. (And, oh yeah, there was even an ATM swiper on the box. Does that say something about my kids or what?)

(okay, icky--see my bare floor without a rug. I am SO going rug-shopping soon! LOL)

Another high-point of the day--Sydney got herself a tattoo to match the ones her sisters got on our vacation. McKenna and Delaney got air brush tattooes on Tybee Island and the whole time they were getting them, Sydney was saying, "I wanna tattoo, too." Of course, we weren't spending $10 on a temporary tattoo for her!! So imagine her joy (she actually SQUEALED about it!) when her sisters found a gumball machine that had temporary tattoos in it. Here is the flower tattoo she now has on her arm! She has to show it to everyone!

So, as always, life has a way of balancing back out--as Jerry Seinfeld said on one of my favorite episodes, "It always evens out!" Crappy stuff happens, then the good stuff comes back in and reminds us that it's never so bad that it can't get better! Joy does INDEED come in the morning--and thank goodness that lesson was reiterated to me again today!

Well . .. I'm writing this in the wee hour of Thursday morning . .. which means that the girls head back to school today (in about six hours!!!). It's McKenna's first day of HIGH SCHOOL, so she's a little bit freaked out (worried about finding all of her classrooms, having friends in all of her classes, wearing the right outfit, and all that good stuff!).

And it's Delaney's last year in elementary school; she's the BIG DOG on campus as a fifth grader. We had Open House and met with her teacher, Mrs. Clayton, who already knows Delaney well. I predict that it will be great year for both of them!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday. And remember--if it gets bad today, it WILL get better! I promise!!!

A Much-Needed Time out for a Random Tuesday Post of Silliness!!

Okay, you guys are great. I had several people post me, and several others call and email me to check on my sanity--to see if I was surviving the hell that is my den!! Thanks guys!!

Yes, we are doing just fine. Actually, things are definitely looking up! Water has been sucked off floors, clothes have been washed (I now have a closet FULL of clean towels. Yay!!), and a repairman is coming this evening to put in a new water heater. We also both have great parents, who are helping us with some of the surprise costs of all of this! We even took a break and had a "normal" lunch together--in the cold, where they served iced coca cola, and where there was running water.

I still have floors that need to be mopped, a driveway that needs to be cleared off (I told Gary that we are officially White Trash now, with the stuff piled up out there!), and clothes that need to be put up in their drawer and closet homes. But Life is much better this afternoon. We will survive!!!

Okay, so it IS Tuesday so I need to post my Random Tuesdayness. I thought today I'd go real simple, with some funny questions that might get your creativity flowing a little bit.

Okay, how about . . .

(1) If you were a superhero, what superpower would you have? I would want to be Clone Woman--I could make four or five other versions of myself. The clones would do all the yucky stuff like wash clothes, go on mindless errands, and wash bathrooms. I could do all the fun stuff!! (I also like the idea of being "Eat Anything I Want and Still be My College Weight" Girl. That would be cool!)

(2) If you were a rapper, what would your name be? C-Wray and the Posse of Young-uns (I don't know; that's a hard one!)

(3) If you could pick one day out of your life to re-live all over again, what would it be? For the sheer joy of it, it would have to be the second day of our honeymoon in Aruba. My own backyard beach, great food everywhere, and being SO in love.

(4) If you had a restaurant named after you, what would it be called? Sweets . . .and Nothing Else!!

Okay, join in the silliness and post your answers (or email to me and I will post for all the world to see) . . .

YUCKINESS!!!!

Why do I have to come home from a wonderful, relaxing vacation and then on my first morning back be bombarded with a flooding hot water heater????

Yep, yesterday afternoon our hot water heater decided to just KEEP on running--running until basically the entire den and half of McKenna's room was under an inch of water. It was disgusting, and it was one of those moments when I just felt helpless. I call Gary and he tells me to find the water faucet in one of the closets and turn it off. I do, and the water keeps coming! In the meantime, I'm yelling at the girls because they're getting in the way. Gary's dad happens to be down the road and comes up and finally gets the water off, after a pretty big effort (at least it made me feel better that he had a hard time getting it cut off to; wasn't just me who couldn't stop it).

The rest of the night I'm in a depressed funk, because the downstairs is stinking, my big pretty oriental rug is ruined, I have a TON of wet clothes sitting in my driveway (there were clothes in the utility room that got drenched!), there isn't a SINGLE dry towel in the house (used them all trying to stop the water), and it's gonna cost us $500 to get a new heater installed. So now I'm feeling guilty that we don't have more money to pay for it. And I'm fussing at the kids unmercifully. Just not a good night . . .

The only good things I see out of it-- at least this didn't happen tomorrow night when the girls were getting ready to go to bed before their first day of school (THAT would have been a mess) and I also found a treasure box full of old photos and mementoes from junior high tucked away in the utility room. So, I'll have those to enjoy going through at some point.

For now, going upstairs to get dressed and off to the laundromat . . .

(I had some cute ideas for my Random Tuesday questions today, but I'm gonna hold off briefly. Hopefully, I'll feel a little more upbeat about everything around mid-day and can post some.)

What I wouldn't give for another of those beach sunsets right now!!!

Home from Paradise . . . and Back to Reality!!!
(a really LONG post, unless you're ready for some photos!)

Well, "reality" isn't really too awful, so it's not so bad being back home (in fact, it's always a little nice when you see those old familiar exits and then pull up into the driveway; something very soothing about being home) . . . but still, I sure am going to miss the balmy evenings on the beach, the late-night ice cream treats, and the joy of exploring somewhere brand new to me. Anyone who knows just a little bit about me knows that I LOVE traveling--I love staying in hotels, trying new restaurants, and the plain excitement of driving down an unfamiliar street onto a brand new corner of the world!

This past week, that "corner" of the world was Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. We had a very fun and relaxing time! Walking . . . exploring . . . playing on the beach . . . my favorite kind of vacation!

For my post this Monday morning, I primarily wanted to post some photos so you could get a real FEEL for my vacations. So, day-by-day, here are some 2006 Summer Vacation photos for you to enjoy (we took like 300 photos on our trip, so this is just a small sampling. LOL). . .

Day One-- Savannah

We arrived in Savannah on Thursday afternoon (our high school registration for McKenna that morning went much better than expected and we were able to leave town by 9:30; we made good time and were in Savannah by 5 p.m. Yay!) The event for the night was a dinner cruise. Some photos of that (mostly of we girls looking photogenic, but a fun one too of the crew dancing to the cheesy singer onboard. There's something about hearing "YMCA" that just makes everyone want to dance!):

Day Two-- Savannah, then to Tybee

The girls and I explored some of Savannah's historic districts (the town's design is very cool, with the historic district divided up into blocks with different garden parks on each of them), and then enjoyed some of our hotel's amenities (the roof-top pool and the incredibly bouncy beds!).
(John Wesley's only American congregation was in Savannah) (the Mercer House--one of the main "characters" in one of mine and Gary's fave books of all time, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Read it!!)

Day Three--Tybee

Most of this day was spent on the beach--riding the big waves, making sandcastles, playing in tidal pools, and getting nice and toasty sunburned. (And, earlier in the day before any of the girls had the energy to get out of bed, Gary got up before dawn and went and took these gorgeous sunrise pics down by the jetties.) The last pics show how the tide had those same rocks submerged by nightfall.
(is that photo not just GORGEOUS??!! I love it!!)



Day Four-- Tybee, then home

We spent the morning going back to the far end of the beach, where the jetties and rock formations are. They looked very different than the night before--the tide was low, so you could actually see all of the rocks. This part of the beach is also cool because it is calm and waveless and reaches out to a huge sandbar. (Pics are of me being "reflective" by the rocks, Sydney grabbing a ride on Delaney's back in the calm part of the ocean, and Gary walking toward the sandbar.)

Sydney's last words as we walked off the beach for the last time was, "I don't wanna go yet." You and me both, Sydney!! But we had to head out, and so we did!

Enjoyed the ride home, amazingly!! The girls fussed very little and Gary and I actually enjoyed some time "by ourselves" while the girls watched a DVD or two. We had a few funny moments (when Gary heard on the radio that Pamela Anderson had married Kid Rock and in his mind was thinking of LONI Anderson. We laughed quite a while on that one!!) and enjoyed "Name that Tune" with songs from his Sirius radio 80's show (sometimes I scare myself with how much useless music trivia I have stored in my brain).

We hated to see the trip to come to an end! It was a really nice vacation!

And finally--A Food Tour of our Vacation

One of our favorite things about vacations is the FOOD. Yep, we're really sad but we get very excited when we try a new restaurant and discover a really yummy, moan-able dish. We even take pics of the occasion (as you can see here! LOL). So, here are some of our food discoveries: (okay, these things called Potato Wedges at Spanky's on Tybee were to DIE for; instead of fries, you could buy these, which were big thick-cut potatoes with this delicious, crusted edge around the, I could have just eaten a basket of those!)
(at The Crab Shack, you simply threw your shrimp and crab peels--and the rest of your leftovers--into the trash can in the middle of your table! LOL It was really FUN!)
(when this pizza arrived at our table at Fat Boys Pizzeria--HA!! how bout that one??--we all looked at it with wide eyes and wondered how we'd ever eat it all? Like 15 minutes later, it was ALL gone!!)

(okay, one of the funniest things on our trip was Delaney's impersonations of Rachael Ray during each of our meals; at each of our meals, she'd take a chicken finger, or french fry, or whatever, and put it in her mouth, then kinda moan like Rachael does and say, "Mmm, that's so good!"; then, when we ate at The Crab Shack on our way out of town, lo-and-behold, we saw this picture of Rachael at the restaurant for her "$40 a Day" tv show. Delaney had to pose with it. It was TOO funny!!)

Well, that's about it . . . LOL! (If you really want to see some pics, stop by sometime and I'll show you the other 200!!) Thanks for indulging me with all of those!!! But, you know, that photos are so precious to me. They are my way of reliving the memories of my life!

Now it's back to the aforementioned Reality (with a capital R!). No one's here to provide me with clean towels and I can't get a pina colada on demand. But at least I have the memories . . .

A Quick ""Hey!" from the Beach



I know people don't really read posts over the weekend, but in case any of wander on over-- am having a GREAT time on vacation! Lots of fun in Savannah and Tybee! We took lots of great photos, like the gorgeous one above that Gary took yesterday morning at daybreak. You can see the sunrise here on the Atlantic--very cool!!!

And I love this one of Delaney and McKenna having a "wipe out"!! The waves here are SO big; they are great for riding!!



Waa waa-- we have to check out today and head home. NOT happy about that!!!

I will post lots of pics when I get home tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing fine!!!

Calgon . . . Take me Away!!

Thank goodness we're going here tomorrow--

(the outside view of our hotel in Savannah; I had a picture of the rooftop swimming pool but it was uploading tiny, so you'll just have to imagine it . . . I promise you, it looks GREAT!!)

and then here the next day--

(the beach, pavillion, and pier on Tybee Island!)

Thank goodness we're heading out to these beautiful places because yesterday and last night were Stress-Filled!

*First, my washing machine decided to overflow AGAIN. We thought we had it under control but yesterday morning it decided to flood all over the den floor. Yuck!! So, I had to go to the laundromat to wash a TON of clothes!! The laundromat isn't really too bad (it was very cool, which was very nice!! and I popped all of my clothes in the two oversized machines so it didn't take too long)--it was just the stress of having to go there in the middle of my day, when I had other stuff to get done! You know how that is!! In between washing and drying clothes, I had to run and pick up McKenna from band practice for her lunch break. Let me just tell you that running in and out of places in this stifling Alabama heat is NOT fun!!

* Then . .. I cannot get one of my articles done that is due before I leave on vacation! The source has never called me back, then my editor emailed me about it to check on its status. I don't think she was too happy that I couldn't send it to her today, but hopefully she understood. Just do not like the stress of not getting my assignments done!

* Then, on one of the myriad of trips I had to make my right taillight decided to FALL off in the middle of the road!! Had to retrace my steps and find it--and there it was!! Hauled it into the car and will have to get that fixed. I HATE car repairs; they are irritating and they suck money out of the wallet! (Thank goodness we weren't planning on taking the car on vacation! So that's a good thing!!) Still, looking back on it, it was pretty funny; me, out in the middle of the street, holding a tail light! LOL

* Then, to top it all of-- McKenna has been grounded from, well, basically from EVERYTHING. She knew she wasn't supposed to text message on her cell phone and we had a bill today that was over $100 in text messages!!! Her cell phone is taken away from her, she's grounded from the computer (oh no, no MySpace!), and she's grounded indefinitely from activities other than school and church. She is not a happy camper, but when I told her about it she just looked at me with this look that said something like, "I know I did it. I just didn't think you'd catch me." What's so frustrating is that McKenna really is such a GREAT girl; she's a great student and very responsible. So it's hard to punish her so severely. But we have to set a standard--that you cannot get away with something you've been warned about. Gary was extremely mad about it.

But then later tonight, after we got home from church, McKenna's attitude seemed to be pretty good. She actually said to me: "I know I did wrong and I deserve my punishment." Wow!! (Of course, it would have been nice if she'd thought about not doing it BEFORE the $100 in charges got racked up! ). Hopefully, this will teach her that we are serious about our promised punishments if she breaks the rules!

*And tomorrow morning I have stress to Look Forward To!! I have to register McKenna before we head out to Savannah. We really need to be on the road by 9:15 or so, not any later than 10 (because we have to be on a boat for a mystery cruise at 5:45 in Savannah!)--but all of you know how hellish school registration can be! So, I'm seriously praying that it will go fine. We're arriving an hour before the scheduled time and I have copies of everything already made, so I'm doing my best to make it as easy as possible. We'll see!

So, I guess you can see why I need this vacation!

We're really excited about it! Our hotel in Savannah is right across from River Street, so we can walk everywhere and take pool breaks when we get tired and hot (which I'm sure will be often!) And then Tybee Island is this just really cool little beach town. Not big or commercialized at all, so it's a bit of a nice change of pace from a place like Panama City, Florida. We're all really looking forward to it!

Even on "bad" days, though, there are GOOD things too. And don't you think that's the key to it all? To realize that things are never too bad, too stressful, too negative that there's not some bright spots in the midst of it all? I think so! And today there definitely were a few of those bright spots . . .

In the morning, while I tried to get some work done, Delaney and Sydney decided to make a makeshift tent in the den. Sydney was calling it their "cave." Now doesn't that give me flashbacks? Who didn't build a tent (or a cave, or a fort) in their childhood? (I HAD a picture of this and it will not load onto Blogger--sorry. It was cute!!)

Yesterday we went to Walmart get Gary a few pairs of shorts for the trip and Sydney saw this Dora backpack (or "soup-case" as she's calling it). She fell in love with it! And it doesn't hurt that it's a rolling suitcase like her two big sisters have for trips! She was running down the Walmart aisles, pulling it along and screaming. It was the cutest thing!

And then this . . just lightened the mood tonight! McKenna has had marching band camp today and she got her uniform. She tried this on and then said, "And imagine, it will have a feather too!" McKenna is SO funny; she likes to try everything once! She's been a cheerleader and in the drama group, now is trying the marching band. Next year, she'll probably try out for the color guard. I just love that she likes to try everything; she hasn't pigeon-holed herself yet. Anyway--just thought this picture was the funniest! (And,oops, no picture again!! Shucks! It was REALLY funny!)

I'll be out of the blogging loop until we get back from vacation. There's always a possibility that I will get online and post a few pics. Otherwise, though, I'll be back either Sunday or Monday.

See ya!!!!

Some Scrapbook Layouts this Morning . . .

I've actually done quite a bit of scrapbooking here-and-there lately, so thought I'd share a few of my latest and favorites.

Just a real quick one I did with some pictures back from Father's Day. I really love those big chipboard letters, and my white pen (you'll see that I've used it in almost every creation here.) Love my family!!

It's kinda hard to see the words on this for some reason--ugh!--but it says "Summer Yums." I had to do something with these two fave pics of Sydney--eating a piece of watermelon and a popsicle. That's summer, all right! I journaled down the paper with, yep, my white pen! I also doodled little dots all around the page, which was fun!



Okay, I really like this one! It's of Delaney's travel team, Havoc. I really like that it's a sports page,but that it's feminine at the same time. I used floral paper, although at first thought it doesn't match the theme. But I like how it turned out with it! And I like the notebook paper I used to journal on.



Okay, this to me is what scrapbooking is ALL about. It's about telling stories! and I had to tell this one! When we were at the park once over the summer, Sydney would slide down the slide then bow to us (she loves to bow, in fact; last night she was racing back and forth to her room and bowing every time she finished). I want to remember those moments, so I made this layout to capture it with my photos and my journaling. Now I'll always remember that when she was 2 she used to "take a bow"!



Thanks for taking a peek at those!

In other news . . .

We are getting ready for our trip in the morning to Savannah and Tybee Island. Wait a sec--actually we're leaving in the morning, but I haven't done anything to get ready for it!! LOL Gotta wash clothes, pack, all that fun stuff! I'm excited, though, to get away, stay in a hotel ( I LOVE hotels!!), eat at new restaurants, sightsee, and enjoy the BEACH!! Yay!!

If anyone needs a good discipline idea for kids of any age, here you go!! We've used it a number of times in our lifetimes with our girls and it works!! Right now, Delaney and McKenna are in the midst of writing sentences as a punishment from this past Sunday. Delaney is writing 500 "I will not be a tattle tale" and McKenna is writing 1000 "I will do what my Pop tells me to do." Yikes!! That's a lot of sentences. And they have to get them done by vacation-time, or the sentences are added to! Let me tell you--they do not like doing them--but that's the price you pay!!

Have a great day!!!!!

Random Tuesday Has Returned!!

Well, after major upheaveals in my schedule (there were times when I was a good two days off from real time; it was like I was stuck in a "time warp" episode from Star Trek or something; Tuesdays felt like Saturdays, etc. ), I feel like I'm finally back "on schedule."

That means--yay for all of you!!! ha!!--that I'm back with my Random Tuesday post today. I have gotten to where I absolutely LOVE posting my Random Tuesday questions because it's helped me get to know so many of you a lot better, and a lot of your answers have just simply made me smile (or laugh out loud!). So, I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say today. (In fact, I've loved all your random responses from the past few months that I'm thinking of posting a "Top Ten Random Answers" some day soon. Be looking out for that in weeks to come . . . LOL)

Okay, so I got my inspiration today from this new book I'm loving--Simple Scrapbooks Magazine's book of quizzes. It is SO much fun. I recommend it, not just for scrapbookers, but for any of you who want to learn more about yourself or your children or your friends. A really cool book!

Anyway . . . I digress . . .

One of the fun quizzes in that book is an "Either/Or" quiz. So that's what I'm throwing out to you on this Tuesday morning. Remember to post your own answers (or for those of you who aren't Blog-addicted yet, email them to me and I'll post them). Can't wait to hear from you!

Here are my thoughts . . .

* Spaghetti or lasagna? (Okay, I love them both, but gotta go with lasagna. Especially if it's Chocolate Lasagna from Olive Garden. Does that count?)

* Cake or pie? (Gotta go with cake . . . I love it!! In fact, I'll go to weddings just because of the promise of cake!!)

* Early or late arriver? (you even ask? I'm late for everything!!)

* Blonde or brunette? (I guess I better go with brunette, or I might get in trouble. LOL
I especially like my guys with really DARK brown hair and mix in some blue eyes in there with it!!)

* Young Elvis or old Elvis? (Okay, this is so weird because I much prefer Young Elvis when it comes to his looks and his style, but man oh man I LOVE Old Elvis' songs. My faves are "Suspicious Minds" and "Burning Love.")

* Math or History? (Yikes, I still have nightmares about Algebra 2!!! Give me History any day of the week!)

*Early Riser or Night Owl? (I'm writing this at 11:15 p.m. on Monday night and will post it around midnight, so it will count as a Tuesday post. So, definitely Night Owl!!)

* Special K or Captain Crunch? (Neither--I really can't stand many cereals at all!)

* Oreos--whole or broken apart? (Whole--gotta enjoy the whole taste explosion happening at the same time!)



And now for a few extra happenings/updates--

I had a Major flashback last night as I watched Delaney model her new clothes for Gary! I remembered when Mom and I would go on our back-to-school shopping excursions and I would come home so excited about my new stuff. I would dress up in all of my new outfits and model for my dad. He would nod and smile and say, "That's really nice!" or "I like that one!" and I thought he was truly interested in my show! Now, looking at Gary, I see that he probably was just indulging me.

Gary was so sweet watching Delaney proudly show him her cute new shirts and pants from Justice (her favorite new clothing store!). He exclaimed over each one, but I could tell that he was just trying to make her happy. Guys are so funny--they really could care less about clothes. But fathers are even sweeter--they do whatever they can to make their daughters happy!! My dad did it way back when, and now Gary does it too!

Watched "Must Love Dogs" tonight and reminded me how much I love John Cusack. Such a cutie pie!! (You gotta go read Gary's post about it on his blog today. Too funny! www.garykwray.blogspot.com)

McKenna had her first day of marching band practice. She said it's much harder than you'd expect to hold a french horn steady and move your feet at the same time. LOL It really wore her out!!

Talk to all of you again soon!

My Massive To-Do List for the Week . . .
and some Weekend Photos!!

Well, I feel like the Countdown to School has begun (about a week and a half until the kids go back) and along with it is our long-awaited vacation to the Beach. So, this week is going to be VERY busy!

My To-Do List for the week includes--
* Getting McKenna to Band Camp each day this week at 9 a.m. (and, because of that, trying to get the girls in bed much earlier than they've gotten used to!)
* Registering Delaney for school on Tuesday
* Buying a few more school clothes for the girls
* Buying school supplies
* Writing and submitting two articles before leaving on vacation
* Buying McKenna another copy of one of her summer reading books (which got soaked today in the torrential downpour we had and is now un-readable!)
* Washing clothes (still getting caught up from McKenna's DC trip, plus having to do smaller loads--so, I'm behind even worse!!--because our washer has decided to spring a leak!)
* Buying anything for our trip
* Packing for our trip
* Registering McKenna for school on Thursday (and praying that we can get it done QUICKLY, so we can be on the road to Savannah/Tybee Island by 10 a.m.!!)
* Doing all the other MANY tasks that I know will crop up on my list!!!!!

We had a good weekend--mostly filled with small events and activities (which I LOVE, because it means we really don't have any big things ruling our lives!), and we ended the weekend with a birthday gathering.

On Friday, we left Sydney with McKenna and Lori (Delaney was at a birthday sleepover) and went BY OURSELVES to Habaneros. Of course, who would we run into but Les and Lisa, and Greg and Karen? So, we had an impromptu margarita party with them! That was FUN!

On Saturday, we attempted to have Havoc tryouts--although a thunderstorm DELUGE attacked us and we only got about an hour of tryouts in.

On Saturday evening, on the way to picking up Lori and McKenna from VisionLand, I went and bought "King Kong" and "Must Love Dogs" on DVD from Walmart and picked up dinner from Zaxby's. I LOVE their chicken fingers and their ranch sauce!! YUM!! (And Sydney ended up keeping me awake until all hours of morning, since she went to sleep originally at 8:30, but decided that she needed to wake up again at 11:00, then stay awake AGAIN until about 3 in the morning. Yikes!)

On Sunday, enjoyed church and then headed to Tuscaloosa for a birthday gathering for Danielle. Had grilled hamburgers, yummy cake (chocolate with 7-minute frosting, which is Mom's signature cake creation!!), and homemade butterfinger ice cream. It was delicious! I made Danielle a framed layout, which I was really pleased with and she really seemed to like a lot! It was really fun doing that for her!

(ooh, that glare is really bad on that frame! sorry!)

(Sydney enjoyed blowing on the party noisemakers, although all she could really do was blow into it and make a humming sound. LOL) (I think that's just the sweetest picture. Danielle had the boys blow out her candles for her!)

In between these moments were the even smaller moments that make life fun and worthwhile!! Most of these revolved around the things that Sydney does to just crack us up. She definitely keeps life interesting for all of us!

(not really sure why she does this, but it sure is cute! she grabs her tongue and then makes funny faces! here, i caught her doing it!)

And things like--her telling us that she was seeing mommy, daddy, and sister dinosaurs out the car window (this was after seeing parts of "King Kong" with us, which, I'm sure, inspired the dinosaur "sightings"); singing "Dora the Explorer" for all of us at church, then bowing for us as we clapped; dressing up with the cutest pigtails in her hair and telling us, "I'm like a queen!"; her leaning over to Gary as she was drifting off to sleep and hearing their conversation ("I love you, Poppy," "I love you, Sydney," "I love you more, Poppy!").

On that note, and as you prepare for a Monday to begin yet ANOTHER week, I leave you with a Quote for the Day--

"Smile. It increases your face value."
(Dolly Parton, in "Steel Magnolias")

Quick Sunday Post!!

It's a gorgeous Sunday!! I love Sundays most of all--it's a day of worship, family, relaxation, and a respite for one more day before the grind of the week starts back all over again.

Just wanted to post a quick pic of my new little cousin. This is Zachary (Zac) Ellis Townsend, born to cousin Melissa on Friday. Isn't he just a cutie pie!

Had a really good church service this morning. It was one of my favorite Sundays of the month--our healing and wholeness service. I had several people on my mind as I kneeled at the altar. I was especially thinking of--

Grandma Sloan

Clancy

Nikki

Debby

Mike B.

Mom and Dad

Marci's cousin

Gan Gan

And all the other people that need a special touch right now! It's just a great opportunity to keep things in perspective and remember that sometimes we need to reach out for help. We can't do it all ourselves! We need God to intervene!

Heading down to Tuscaloosa for hamburgers and homemade ice cream (butterfinger!), plus birthday cake for Danielle. Yummy!!!

Swimming Fun, Pizza Overload, Thrift Store Finds, and Back-to-School Fashions!

Yesterday, we had a great time visiting with Mom and Dad in Tuscaloosa (and also my two nephews). The day was very HOT, so it was a good day to swim--which we did for about two hours and which I paid for with a nasty sunburn! The kids had a great time! I love these pics of Garrett, Matthew, and Delaney in mid-jump (every picture I took seemed to show them on their way INTO the pool and not actually IN the pool. LOL)



After swimming, we ate at Cici's Pizza--one of the girls' favorite places to go (and I think one of Dad's too!). It's one of those all-you-can-eat pizza places; a place where you go and, even with your best intentions, end up eating 7 pieces of pizza, cheese bread, AND a few slices of dessert pizzas. Places like that really should be outlawed! (But it was GOOD, if not totally inappropriate and gluttonous!)

Then it was time to go see what treasures we could find at the Salvation Army! Let me just tell you right here that my mother is a thrift store fanatic and can find the BEST deals! She has the nicest things in her house that came from thrift stores (and consignment shops). And I LOVE to go to thrift stores, especially to look for books. (And, lucky for us, it was 25 cent book day today!) And now I've decided to start looking for stemware at the thrift stores on a regular basis.

I am ADDICTED to stemware--it is truly one of my favorite things in the world and I have a ton of glasses (wine glasses, ice tea goblets, champagne flutes, martini glasses, dessert glasses, whatever I can find I love!). Well, today I found these treasures . . .

They are the coolest glasses. I guess they are champagne glasses, but they have the most unique stems on them. If you turn them sideways, the stems actually like look the Christian fish symbol! They are just too cool and I just love them. They were in perfect condition, AND they were just a quarter each! How about that? (Now to find a place to put them . . . I'm running out of space!)

After resting back at the house for a while, Mom decided that she wasn't up to shopping with us (she'd told the girls that she would buy them each a back-to-school outfit) so she decided to just give us some money and let us go shopping ourselves. (She really was too tired from all the day's activities and she has to be careful about overdoing it!) So, the girls were VERY excited about getting to go clothes shopping!

First, we had to meet up with my friend Angela (she lives in Northport, so any time we go down that way we try and see her). We met at the Mellow Mushroom for dinner and I ate what had to be the BIGGEST Greek salad ever! (and it was the "small" salad on the menu!). It was SO yummy! (And so was Angela's roasted red pepper-bacon-onions-feta cheese pizza that she created. Double yummy!)

Then, it was off to the mall and JC Penney's. My girls LOVE to shop for clothes, so they had a great time! (Even Sydney loves to try on clothes; it is TOO cute!)

We quickly learned that several things are in style this year for back-to-school fashions. They include--

tunics (long shirts)
bermuda shorts
gauchos
anything polka dotted or stiped
screen tees with cool, random, freestyle designs on them
layers
hoodies
tube tops and halters (although those won't be worn to school! LOL)

The girls found some great stuff and some great deals! Delaney got a pair of bermuda shorts and two shirts, and McKenna got four shirts. (And yep, Sydney found some things too-a shirt and a dress. She calls one her "baseball shirt" although it really has a basketball on it and calls the dress her "fancy dress" although it's really just a casual dress. But, again, TOO cute!)

The girls are in style, for sure, don't you think?



I've told the girls that we can go next week--on Payday, and before vacation--to get a few other things for them. Delaney wants to go to Justice, and McKenna wants to go to Platos' Closets and Rue 21.

The plan for today? We are cleaning out drawers and closets, finding space for our new clothes and getting organized for the school year coming up. (I may even try and clean out my closet--which will be a HUGE undertaking, but something that needs to be done.) We can clear everything out and donate it to our church's clothes closet. Will be a good thing!

(By the way--big blogging news! LOL My dh, Gary, has started his own blog. You'll have to go check it out: www.garykwray.blogspot.com. It's looking good so far!)