I Live And Breathe

I'm here, I promise.

I'm in Utah enjoying family time and hot, hot weather.

Heat makes me bitchy. It makes my back hump sweat, and it makes me swear.

It's not pretty.

We've had a good trip so far. The kids did great on the flight to LA. We had a great day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. We stayed with Aunt Barbara, who we all love, and had a great visit with Donna, Mary, and Grandma Mary.

We drove to Vegas, and Gretta is lucky she didn't get drop kicked on the way there. She has this high pitched squeal, and when she doesn't get exactly what she demands, when she demands it, the squeal comes out in full force. I just about lost it. But, luckily for her, I brought along some extra happy pills, and life was soon good again.

Jill's was fun, as always. She has the best drop in house. Everytime we stay there, it reminds me of my mom's, and how people just automatically felt at home there. Jill's is the same way. We also enjoyed Elise's new pool, which at 12 feet deep, is one of the funnest to dive to the bottom of.

Now we're here at the Clayton's for a week, and soon there will be a wedding to attend. Life is good. I miss my family so much. I love being here seeing them. But I think I'm making a turn for adulthood, because I miss my life in Chicago, too.

And Noel, I totally owe you for watching the ferocious beast for me. Love you long time!

The Days That Were

Ah, summer. Long days, chilly evenings, fireflies, ice cream man, and kids frolicking in the front yard.

Or at least kids used to be frolicking.

Our front yard used to look like this:




But now, 4 of the kids pictured have moved. It's like a ghost town around here during the day. My kids are so sad. They have to play with just each other now.

We still have the fireflies, and the ice cream man, but it's just not the same without Neighbor Kate and her kids. They would walk right into my house through the garage door (like any good friend should), they would take drinks out of the fridge in the garage (like any good friend would), and we would "watch" the kids for one another, which is basically code for "don't let them go anywhere but in the circle, I'll be right back".

I miss her. :(

All I have to say is this; Georgia won't be the same now that Kate has invaded, and somebody cool better buy her house across the street. I don't need anymore freaks.

Since We Can't Get Enough Cheese

I love Wisconsin. It is honestly one of the prettiest places I've been in my lifetime. The rolling hills, the endless corn fields, and the cheese. Oh, the cheese. I heart cheese. And it seems like anywhere you go in Wisconsin, cheese is around.

This time we stayed at a way nice camp ground. No rednecks here. There were tons of activities for the kids, and they had a snack bar with, you guessed it, cheese nachos.

Sugar Daddy was in heaven. He loves a snack bar, and especially one with Wisconsin cheese on it's nachos.


There were canoes and kayaks for rent. We brought our own kayaks, so we didn't have to worry about using the ghetto ones they provided.


Speaking of kayaks, you may notice that Chad is floating down river holding onto 2 upside down ones. Seems strange, since there is only one of him, doesn't it?


Fear not, Sugar Daddy wasn't far behind him. He had been fishing around in the river bed for his glasses. See, he and Chad were bored with the slow speed of the river, so they had to liven things up a bit with a paddle war, and all out extreme kayak fight. I think Chad came away with little more than a dozen mosquito bites, and Sugar Daddy ended up with a good size bruise on his belly.

Brooke and I braved the river also, and had a leisurely float, until the time came to exit the kayak for the portage around the dam. Turns out, my width and the width of the kayak are exactly the same, and when you get wedged in the opening of the cockpit, the boat tends to flip over. Now I know.



Noel was grouchy. Here she is getting in a better mood, nursing her Diet Coke. After this, she was literally a happy camper. Her flip flops ended up finding their way into the fire, but it was worth it to have a good laugh.



And finally folks, I leave you with this. It's a "boat" with a motor tied onto a canoe. Or what I like to call, the redneck side car. Can you say cheesy?

All in all it was a good time. It always is. Mark and Kelley drove up for Friday night, which was awesome of them with a teeny tiny baby in tow. Brooke's parents also drove an hour to spend the evening with us. The food was good, the company was great, and it was nice to come home and sleep in my own bed.

Return of the Blogger

Hi all.

It's been a while. Remember me? Man oh man, has this been a crazy summer. And guess who has absolutely no pictures to show for it? Yep, not a one.

See, the thing is this. We got passes to Six Flags Great America. We've been every day this week. As much as I love it there, I don't dare take my good camera. I'm sure somebody would steal it. It's not one I can just put anywhere, either. It's a big, stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb kind of camera.

But we're having fun, I swear. I think those passes have saved us hundreds of dollars, and zillions of "mom, I'm bored"'s. Priceless, I tell you. It's nice to be able to just go for an hour or two, or spend the whole day, depending on our mood. Maggie is getting really brave, and even did Triple Play, one of my favorite rides. She's been a real trooper. Gretta loves it, and Emma thinks it's cool that she's tall enough to go on most of the rides. We enjoy the water park, especially people watching. It's amazing what people think appropriate water park attire consists of.

Tonight we're having a girls night out. It's Coasters After Dark, and it's from 10Pm-Midnight, and it's only for Season Pass holders. The menfolk get to stay home with the kidlets, and the women get to go off and play like teenagers. I'm sure we'll have a great time. We always do.

So there you have it. That is my life right now. Summers are hard blogging times. I'll be so much better when school is back in. Maggie will start Kindergarten, and has the morning session, so my mornings will be nice and easy, just like last year. That opens up a lot of time to blog.

Aren't you looking forward to the return of the blogger? I know I am.

Festive? Why Yes!

I had a weekend.

I mean a good weekend.

I slept in. I golfed. I birdied. We BBQed. I fell over backwards in a lawn chair and bruised some ribs. (What? Like you're surprised at my gracefulness? Do you not know me at all?)

I attended a parade at 9:00 AM, a softball game at 2:00 PM, and fireworks at 8:00 PM.

The fireworks were Lame-O. But we sat in the McDonald's parking lot and let the kids run around like chickens with no heads, and that was pretty fun.


Here's Sugar Daddy putting the "ass" in classy. Yes, that is a can of Dewski at his feet while he pitches at the softball game. Yes, he's also wearing flip-flops. Yes, he played the entire game that way. No, I don't think his team won. I don't think any team won. It wasn't that kind of game.

Today we had church (Yes, I went) and friends over for dinner. Cheese stuffed meatloaf. A joy had by all. I saw my first lightening bug, and discovered there isn't anywhere we know of in Lake County to purchase dry ice.

These are the things we talk about over dinner.

The holiday was awesome. Most summer days have been, so far. It's a nice reprieve from last summer when things were a little more stressful. I'll have a post about that tomorrow.

How was your holiday?

Fun For Friday

All I have for today's Fun For Friday is this.








Happy Friday.

The end.

Child Labor

Emma takes after me in a lot of ways. She has a head of beautiful blond hair, she has a sparkling personality, she's extremely humble, and she loves to read.

Her love of the books naturally leads to a love of writing.

So we decided to pimp her out a little. Not in that way, in a good way.

She has started her own blog all about being a food critic for kids menu food. How fun is that? She has always wanted to be a food critic, and this will be a great way to get her started.

So check out her new foodie blog here, and be sure and leave a comment. She loves it!