In Loving Memory...

My aunt passed away on July 21, 2012 at just 51 years old.  Cancer stole her from us far too soon.

She was the kindest, sweetest person I have ever known.  And I'm quite certain that every single person that had the pleasure of knowing her would say the exact same thing.  She truly had a heart of gold.

As a kindergarten teacher for over 20 years, she touched the lives of countless children and families.  She will be missed by so many people.

 
Love you, Aunt Mary Ellen.  You were an angel on earth; now you're one in heaven.  xoxo

Working and Smashing and Painting

Today started off great.  My job was at 11:00, so I hit zero traffic and the deposition itself was short and easy.

Before I ventured back to the house, I went to my happy place.

I ended up being trapped there for over an hour because a severe storm hit and there was no way in hell I was driving home in it.  I was pretty much scared out of my mind.

Anyway, Jayden needed some paint to complete a canvas she started the other night.

Ryan surprisingly wanted a a Smash Book of his own, so I got him one.  I threw one in the cart for myself as well.  :)

He's been wearing this cowboy hat nonstop since Monday.

Jayden was very pleased with my paint selection.  I think she was very excited to have an artist's palette.

 After they checked out all the loot, they got down to business right away, Jayden with her paints and Ryan with his Smash Book.
 

Here are their works of art.  I love both!

It says:  "I am a good friend, a good sport.  In first grade 2011 I was always a star.  I was giving examples to other students.

Ryan did a little painting, too.

I ended my day with another walk and some more Jillian Michaels' torture.  She is so mean!  My shins are so sore.  I think it's because I'm so out of shape and perhaps because I don't consume enough calcium.  I hope it gets better as the days go by.

Ouch!

This morning, as I was heading downstairs to get ready for work, I misjudged which step I was on and took a tumble.  I landed on my left butt cheek SO HARD and smashed my elbow into the railing.  Luckily, I'm fine other than that.

I've started an exercise regimen with a friend.  Both of us are in weddings right around the corner, and we would rather not be fat for the occasion.  In addition to Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred, we have been walking.  I'm not sure the mileage of our walk, but it's a pretty good mix of flat ground and hills.  I sweat buckets...no exaggeration.  I'm hoping to finally get in shape for once in my life.

I tried to embrace the camera today and take some pictures of me and Jayden.  There aren't many pictures of me floating around right now...I kind of steer clear of the lens as much as possible.  But I want there to be pictures of me for my kids' memories, even if it's making crazy faces.

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I love Instagram.  These pictures are kind of dark because there wasn't much light in the room, but I love the filters with this app.  

You're astounded by our beauty, aren't you?

I really hope I can move tomorrow.  Between the fall and the workout, my muscles are screaming!

Motherf*%!# Spiders!!!!

It is no secret to those who know me well that I am absolutely petrified of spiders. The sight of even the smallest of spiders paralyzes me with fear.

I know it's slightly irrational, but whatever. It is what it is. They're ugly and they crawl fast and they give me the heebie-jeebies.

It's now 4:00 a.m. I was just dozing off when I swear that I saw a big f'en wood spider crawling near me. I jumped out of bed like the house was on fire and turned all the lights on. Brand inspected the area and found no evidence of any critters.

Does that make me feel better? Definitely not!

Was I hallucinating? Probably.

It happens to me every once in a while. This is not the first time I've leaped 25 feet off the bed out of a dead sleep because of a demon spider. Even the damn imaginary ones torture me! And now I can't sleep.

This is going to be a great day, let me tell you.

Horseback Riding

On Monday, Jayden went to her best friend's birthday party at a horse farm.

She had been looking forward to this party for weeks, and then this morning she didn't want to go.  She was scared to the point that she had a stomachache.

She was supposed to be dropped off, but Brand stayed with her because she seemed so nervous.  Apparently, she asked him nicely to stay.  Let's face it though.  She's a daddy's girl.  She has him wrapped around her little finger in a big way.  He'll do anything for his Jayden Isabelly.

Once she got a taste of the fun, she never looked back.

Of course, now she wants a horse of her own.  She is such an animal person.  I will be shocked if she's not a vet or the owner of a shelter when she's an adult.

She got to groom the horse and had a short private lesson with one named Jojo.  Girlfriend is hooked.

 Ryan didn't get to go to the party, but Jayden brought him home a cowboy hat.  He's been wearing it ever since.  Notice he also gave himself a star neck tattoo.

On a totally unrelated note, I have started working out.  Jillian Michaels is officially kicking my ass.  Holy cow, I am out of shape....like senior citizen status.  Hoping to see some results soon.

Weekend wrap-up

It's Sunday night already.  Boo!!!  I definitely caught up on some sleep this weekend.  I think I slept 15 hours straight last night.  No wonder the weekend seems like it flew by.

Last night we walked to Baummer's Pond.  Jayden spent her time trying to catch fish/frogs, and Brand was putting Ryan through the wringer with some basketball drills.

Have you ever seen a little girl so happy about night crawlers?

She is in heaven at the pond.  She didn't catch anything.  She moves too much and scares the fish away.

 Jayden and I were almost assaulted by a gang (flock?) of geese.  Jayden was terrifed!  I was laughing my ass off.  Turns out throwing one tiny piece of bread at 30-plus geese isn't the greatest idea.

Ryan threw some bread into the pond for a little while...and then he headed over to the basketball court.

Earlier tonight I went to Michael's and bought Jayden a Smash Book.  She is big into scrapbooking lately, so this should keep her occupied for a while. 

I printed up a bunch of pictures, and she got right to it.

I bought Ryan a bunch of tattoos.  He thought it would be hysterical to stick one to his butt cheek.  I'll spare you the picture of that one...

Friday Night Treat

Turns out ice cream sundaes at 10:00 on a Friday night wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had.

Ice cream, sprinkles, cherries, whipped cream, hot fudge...the works.

It was like I fed them speed for dessert.

They started doing hand stands and were trying to walk across the kitchen on their hands.  Ryan busted out with his own version of the Thriller dance.

Jayden couldn't stop laughing...and then proceeded to say "I love him, I just love him," in reference to her brother and his silly antics.  I don't think I've ever heard her admit that.  LOL.

They were acting drunk...seriously.

 I have to admit, though, that it was a mighty tasty treat.  Yumm-o.

Swing Gymnastics

When it comes to athletic ability, my kids didn't learn/inherit any skill from me.

They are constantly doing flips or hanging upside down or performing other gymnastic-ish moves.  When I was a kid, I never did that kind of stuff.  I was always way too afraid.

It makes me happy that they don't take after me in that area.  They're much more outgoing and adventurous than I ever was...and I love it.

Notice her shirt is buttoned all wrong

I'm forever saying, "Don't do that!  You're going to break your neck!" especially to Ryan.  He is an animal!

He wasn't just hanging there...he was swinging back and forth full speed.

They have been getting along pretty good the past couple days.  Every once in a while, they duke it out with a wrestling match.  Jayden wins most of the time.  She's a tough one, but I think Ryan knows he's not supposed to beat up his sister and lets her off easy.

MONKEYS, I tell you.

This swing set has been standing for at least 20 years time.  Hopefully their antics won't knock the thing down...

Nothing wrong with a head full of dirt!

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I was sitting on the floor with Ryan, trying to take a picture of how desperately he needs a a haircut.  He was making crazy faces at the camera, as usual, when all I wanted was a nice natural smile.

"Bubba, smile!"

And then he saw something stuck to my foot...and that did the trick.

I bought a label maker to assist me with getting my mountain of paperwork organized (which I did last night!), and the kids found the label maker, put batteries in it, and got to making labels.

 Well, at least I got the smile I was looking for.

Happy Friday!

Beautiful Day

Today was a perfect day for playing outside.

After the kids woke up, their cousin came over to play and they all stayed outside together from about 1:30 to 8:00.  They had maybe two fights the whole day, which was a miracle.

These kids LOVE the woods.  Catching bugs is one of their favorite pastimes as of late.  The downside to this is poison ivy and ticks...which we've had to deal with both already this year.

It doesn't stop them though.

These worms met an unfortunate demise after being left in the sun for too long.

We have a rock in our yard that is shaped like a giant tortoise.  Jayden and Ryan spent some time trying to jump off of it and grab onto a nearby tree branch.  iPhones aren't so good for action shots, but you get the gist.

Aidan isn't the adventurous type.  He prefers to sit on the sidelines and watch.  Dude broke an arm once when he fell off a chair, so he's not taking any chances.

After their rock gymnastics, they decided to play their own version of Chopped (one of our fave shows on the Food Network.)  They all "cooked" an appetizer, entree, and dessert with mud and grass and leaves...and I was the judge.

The rest of the afternoon pretty much involved the sprinkler and water guns. 

At one point they had the brilliant idea to bob for carrots...since we were out of apples.  I guess they earn points for creativity with that one.

We're finishing off the day with some ice cream cones and a movie, Yogi Bear.

Summer is the BEST!  :)