Imagine A World...

The other day, my friend Donna posted on Face Book... "Everyone I speak to has a fantasy football draft to attend.. Is there one for husbands? So if I don't like him I can drop or trade him?" I replied, "I just wish there was a "bootcamp for husbands" to send them too!" That got me to thinking....Wouldn't it be great if there really was a bootcamp for husbands?!?!? Imagine a world where you could home to a hot cooked meal, lovingly prepared by hubby himself. Then after supper while your kicking back on the couch, he will clear the table and not only wash, but dry and put the dishes away too! Then while soaking in a bubble bath, he will put the kids to bed, clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, do a couple loads of laundry and mop the floor! I bet if there was such a place it would cost big, big bucks. But, I'd also bet it would eliminate over 99% of all the PMS in the world! Just imagine....

Another Fort

I helped Landon tie this tarp around the lower branches

of one of our backyard trees the other day.

I "assumed" (Why do I do that???)

that he was making another fort to play in.

Last night as he was headed out the door he said,

"Hey Mom, I'm gonna go and check out my cat house!"

"Your what???"

"My cat house! It's gonna get cold soon and

Momma cat and her babies are gonna need a place to stay."

                                                 (Yes, they are still hanging around. Ugh.)

So, this morning I went out there to "check it out"

and there was Momma Cat chowing down

 on the "supper" Landon left for them!

She got spooked and I didn't get her picture,

but I am sure she will be back.

I'll let it be for now, but sooner or later it's coming down!

.

A Little Sign

A little sign of fall.

The Butterfly Whisperer

Last night Landon caught over a dozen

 butterflies in our back yard!

Letting them go...

Another D*et Update.

Well folks, I'm HALF WAY there!!!!!! 20 down. 20 to go....UGH!!!!!!! I had Tim take a couple of pictures to post, but I don't like any of them. So, no picture until the grand finale. (Probably in 2012 sometime...lol) There are a few on previous posts that will have to do for now. So, a couple of weeks ago, I went school shopping for Landon. I was a little excited because I wanted to try on clothes for me too. I used to LOVE shopping for clothes. I had so many clothes it was sinful. But, then I packed on 40 pounds and clothes shopping was a nightmare. I'd go home in tears everytime. (I'd also stop at DQ for an ice cream sunday to help with the tears.) So, I've been cleaning out my closets. I hauled several car loads (No joke!) to several different charites. I got rid of all my bigger size clothes (I told myself that if I gain the weight back, I will have to just go naked. I will not buy bigger clothes! That thought terrifies me, so it should work!) as well as my smaller clothes. It has been years since my smaller clothes fit and they were waaaaay out of style! Momma jeans I had. You know the kind that go up to your bra? They used to be hot! Imagine that. lol... Anyway, trying on the clothes in the stores was fun, but the problem was I didn't like the colors! Everything was really drab. They were all the nice fall colors, yellow, orange, green...but, they all had a grey tint to them. Like someone washed them with a pair of black jeans. I didn't buy any of them. But, I guess that's the style now. Seems I am always a year or two behind in the styles. If I had the $$$ I'd start designing clothes for real women. Not that plus size garbage that's out there either. Anyway, there was one thing that caught my eye that I LOVED!!! Western shirts are back!!! I felt like I was transported back to my cowgirl years. The colors were great too! Vibrant and cool. I wanted one in every color! But, I only bought one because I am only half way there. I promised myself a kick bottom shopping spree when I do finally reach the end. Now, just to stay there, once I get there. UGH!

A Few More Great Ideas

Last night Landon decided he needed to have

 his supper inside of my cupboard.

With my lamp and my chairs and my throw...

His argument was, since I only stored "DC stuff"

in there, it wasn't really "my stuff" that he was messing with.

He had all his camo clothes on

(He took off his flannel camo because it was hot in there!)

and the black lines on his face are for camo too.

He claimed he needed to be in the cupboard to "hide out."

I let him, but I also made him put everything back

where it belonged before he went to bed.

If you go to the previous post you will see a

picture of ONE cage over the baby bunnies.

We did this to protect the bunnies while the

DC kids were playing in the yard.

Well last night, Landon decided that

ONE just wouldn't do.

 We needed SIXTEEN cages and flags

surrounding the bunnies within a ten foot radius!!

I am trying to have patience. I really am.

Momma Bunny's Back

Under our swings, there are patches/holes of dirt.

Last night Tim noticed one of those patches of dirt was moving!

Momma Bunny had decided to put her babies in one of the holes!

Tim put up a cage to protect them while the kids are in the yard.

The DC kids were so excited!

Baby Bunnies.

I still can't believe the kids didn't find them!

That momma bunny is one brave bunny!

Shooting Star Fun!

Happy Birthday Kenny!

The Girls.

This is what happens when two people

are taking pictures at the same time.

You don't know where to look!

The boys.

Don't they look happy?

Kareoke in the afternoon.

No. We didn't sing.

They were all too good!

Dancing with my man!

Fun in the ladies room!

Made some new gal pals.

Hard to tell who is 20 and who is 40.

Right?? lol

(((Hugs!!)))

24/7 in the evening.

This band was good!!

This little boy asked me to dance.

ALOT.

He loved to jitterbug.

FAST!

I kept thinking,

"If he lets go of me, I'm going over the railing!"

(He didn't.)

Tim was so happy he came along,

 so he could get out of dancing duty!

The machines were cold, but we still had fun.

The end.

A Special Fishing Trip

Jeff took Tim and Landon fishing on his boat last night.

Landon didn't want to take pictures.

He wanted to leave, NOW!

Jeff is pointing to the plate of banana bars I sent along.

They caught 30 Sunfish!!

The big one.

Supper!

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

Fish Lips.

Landon said,

"We gotta get a boat!"

Tears

Opie is gone. He went to a wonderful family in the country where he can be with kids and other cats and chase mice and butterflies. (The family asked us not to tell who they are as they don't want other people to start dropping off their cats too. We totally understand!)  I know he will be incrediably happy. But yet, I can't seem to stop getting teary eyed. He was the most sweet, lovable kitty ever. However, he stopped using the litter box and started leaving little "surprises" for us. After almost two weeks of this, we (Landon and I. We were the ones who had to clean it all up!) just couldn't take it anymore. None of our other cats have ever done that. Never. Ever. It was a bit overwhelming. When Tim came home from work, he took Opie to the farm. I couldn't do it. After all we went through to keep him, I still can't believe he is gone. Landon was fine with it as he was really, really tired of cleaning up the mess. He also was in charge of Opie's litter box and he hated that! So, he was o.k. with Opie going to the farm and was really happy with the new home he was going to. I am the one having the hard time. I can't stop crying. I will be perfectly fine and then, BAM! Tears. Dang it anyhow. I get so attached. I know it had to be done. I know it is a good thing. I know Opie will be happy there. I know all of that. I can't help it, I still miss him.

Yee Haw!

When Zach walked in this morning in his cowboy outfit,

my heart just melted.

When Landon was his age, he had a cowboy outfit too.

It was my favorite.

Later today the cowboy outfit also brough a lump to my throat,

as it reminded me of a bittersweet memory with Landon.

It was Memorial Weekend 4 or 5 years ago.

(I can't remember! I swear I have dementia!)

Tim, Landon and I were at the cemetery putting flowers

on my grandparent's gravesites.

We came across a young boy's gravestone

with a horse on it. Landon asked me about it.

 I explained that the site was for a young boy

who had died, and that he loved horses.

Landon thought about it for a second

and then he said,

 "I know! He can have my cowboy boots!"

He wanted to go home right then and there and get those boots.

My heart was bursting with pride.

But, we explained to him that while it was a wonderful idea,

we couldn't let him do it, because you were suppose to only leave flowers.

Looking back now, I wish we would have let him leave the boots there.

We could have always gone back later to get them.

But, we were new parents and we were "following the rules"

and doing what we thought we were "suppose to."

But now, with a few years of parenting under our belts,

 like a good pair of boots, we are all broken in.

Rules? Ha!

They were made to be broken!

Ride on Cowboy!

Fun with the Norton's and Bainbridge's

Last night the Norton's and Bainbridge's stopped by to say hi.

Kay, Dillion and Heather check out the hammock.

Success!!!

Oops!!!

Shaun, Tim and Jeff

enjoy the show with a few adult refreshments.

Dillion is the hula hoop king!

Kay is the queen!

Playing ball in the dark.

Now there's a challenge for ya!

Thanks for stopping by guys.

What a nice surprise!

My Stuff, Your Stuff

When I was little I used to love to rearrange my parent's furniture. (I'm still at it in my house!) In every room. All the time. I also loved to organize (Or so I thought!) every closet and cupboard in the house. (Still doing that too!) I drove my mom insane! I can still hear her voice, (Slow, quiet and trying very hard to control herself from blowing up.) "This is my house. When you get your house, you can do whatever you want with your house. Your stuff is in your bedroom. You can do whatever you want with your stuff in your bedroom, but leave my stuff alone!" or she would tell me, "I can't wait until you have a child and they do this to you. Mark my words. You just wait!" I would tell her that when I did get my house I would let my child do whatever he or she wanted to with any of my stuff. She would just laugh and say "We'll see." Then it happened. I had my child. Landon. He is ten times more creative then I ever was. He is also a super duper organizer. He drives me insane! I try really, really hard not to get upset when he starts to move my couches or my tables or my dishes or my desk. I try to remember how I felt when my mom got upset with me. But, all I can feel is how my mom must have felt and the maddness of the situation overpowers me and then I tell him, "This is my house....." and then he tells me, "When I get my house....."
I am so sorry mom. You were right. It is true. Mom's always know best.

Cuddle Buddies

Cuddle Buddies!

Lucky and Opie bonded instantly.

(The other cats, not so much.)

Nothing like a good bath!

Wherever you find Lucky,

you will find Opie.

Wherever you find Opie,

you will find Landon.

What a trio!

Warm fuzzies.

Yard Work

When Tim told Landon that they couldn't go fishing

until all the grass was mowed, he decided to take

matters into his own hands.

That's my boy!

It was almost dark when they finished,

so as a compromise they decided to

make chocolate chip cookies instead.

Worked for me!

Yes, We Have No Green Thumb

See the pretty green plants by the bike?

Oops. I meant, see the pretty green WEEDS by the bike?

We have no green thumb.

Tim did spray the weeds once and then we

had brown weeds. I liked the green ones better.

I think because of all the years I spent as a child

weeding our huge garden, I now have an

adversion to weeding. It looks terrible, but

I just can't get out there and weed.

It's even worse along the side of our house.

Like a mini jungle.

Landon has been pulling weeds and doing yard

work all summer for his Grandpa to earn a little money.

I think I might have to hire him.

Before we can no longer see the house.

*Update

 I offered Landon $10 to pull the weeds out of the rocks in the landscaping around our house. He came back in after a couple of minutes and said "That's gonna be a $20 job." I told him that was too much and he said "I gotta have $20 or I can't do it." While I didn't like his answer, I loved that he knows what he's worth and held out. I'll probably cave this weekend and pay him the $20. :) :) :)

You Know Your Getting Old When....

A while back, my friend Nancy and I were on the phone and we were talking about.... the weather. In the middle of the conversation, I realized what we were discussing and said, "Ohhhh... maaaan. We're old!. Of all the things we could talk about, here we are talking about the friggin' weather like regular old people!!" It was really funny and we had a good laugh about it. I guess you had to be there. But, why do we do that? You will never hear a bunch of 20 year olds sitting around saying to each other, "Hot enough for ya?" or "Better cover your plants tonight. We're getting frost." Do we simply run out of things to talk about as we get older, or is it because the weather doesn't require a lot of effort to talk about? Also, why is it that as we get older we also start talking about all our aching, broken down body parts? If I go somewhere and I sit a long time, I find it takes a while to get my feet and legs up and moving. Seems like all the blood just runs to my feet and I can't move. The worst part is, as I am trying to get up and walk away without hobbling like a 98 year old, I tell the people sitting next to me about it. "Not exactly a pebble in my shoe here... just getting older... shouldn't sit so long..., I can't seem to jump up as fast as I used to....blah, blah, blah...." and then they are so gracious to share with me their irregular bowel movement troubles that occur from sitting too long, and how I better be careful or it could happen to me too. My fault. I asked for it. But, I have to admit I haven't been sitting down as much lately. Sometimes it's good to be a regular old person.

VBS

Oliva, Zach and Landon

check out the ship at Vacation Bible School.

Landon's cousins, Jack, Grace and Katie.

Thank you for taking pictures Tim!!

A Real Man

I snapped these pictures out of the window in

my purse booth this weekend.

(Big Stone County Fair)

I haven't a clue who these people are,

but check out the husband.

He's carrying his wife's purse,

and not just for a few seconds either!

The wife orders for them.

He holds the purse.

She gets the money out of the purse to pay for the food.

She carries the food to the table and he carries the bag.

Now, that guy gets my vote for

Husband Of The Year!!!

Tina and Lena

Tina and Lena performed at the Big Stone County Fair this weekend.

If you ever get a chance to check them out, don't miss it!

They are so FUN!!!