I can't seem to catch up.  I am so incredibly behind.  Kate spent 3 weeks here.  It was great.  However, now I must get back to work.  I have so many pics and videos I want to share.. but I can't seem to organize time well.  I don't know how others do it.  So far I have planned a whole month of dinners.. Not really planned what days but just wrote down everything we can make this month with the food we have stock now.  We should only have to get some produce and dairy between now and the middle of next month.  Right now I am going to pull out every single school thing I need to work on.  Going to just dig in and start planning. 

Where did the summer go??

Last Thursday was a typical day around the house.  As usual, the girls slept in late.  They were able to spend about an hour in the pool.  Our goal was to have shepherd’s pie for dinner.  After dinner the girls wanted to go to the local pet store.  Kate wanted to see a chinchilla and a flying squirrel.. our pet store has both. 

The dinner got ruined.. thanks to a fly that decided it would be a good idea to land in a pan of ground beef as it was browning.  The fly was not discovered til after I started to transfer it to the baking dish.  That was the end of that idea for us.  We packed up and headed out to get pizza instead. 

After the pizza we went over to the pet store to find that they close at 7.    Sad girls they were.  So we headed over to PetSmart.  However, there are not many to look at there. 

After that we heading to Walmart for essentials..   David had asked if we could pick him up around 9 - 9:30.. but he wasn't answering his text..  His boss makes them silence the phones.. So we sat outside the military gates (subase) til 10pm waiting.  Turns out he had promised to help someone move and was hoping we would wait for his call before we headed out to get him.  Sometimes the cleaning up takes longer then expected.  I have to say.. sitting out there waiting.. I was getting nervous.  He wasn't answering and the worse things were going through my head.  I had no clue if he was in there.. or if he had started walking .. maybe his phone died and he couldn't call us.. ugh.. just bad thoughts.  I was grateful he was fine.  He must have gotten a ride home because I checked his room Sat morning and was in there sleeping.  It is extremely rare for him to make it home. 

After we got home.. we watched Percy and the Lightning Thief.  It was a good 1am before the girls got into bed.  Kate decided she will stay for a 3rd week but that she has to go home after that.  LOL. 

Last Wednesday (not yesterday) the girls wanted to make goo.  Goobleck is another name for it.  Have you every heard of it.  It is fun.. yet very very messy! 

After we were done with the goo.. we had to get rinsed off.  The kids heard the ice cream truck so the girls went running to the corner, hoping he would come by..  



Kate was such a sweetie!  She got 4.00 from David and decided to buy Anna and Ethan a treat.  She made sure Ethan could get the Spiderman pop.



Then it was finally time to go swimming.  We found the little frog below hiding on the inside flap of the top of the pool.
 



Ethan wanted to show me how he could go under the water..

While Anna continued to enjoy playing with the frog.
 

We decided to spend the last day of vacation, mining for gems.  The girls really enjoyed it.  They were directed to a cave where they had 10 minutes to dig in the sand looking for any gems they could find. 

After they were done digging, they were sent to identify the gems.  This part was tricky! 

After the gems they went and checked the sand art bottles.. 

We also enjoyed looking around in the shop.  They have alot of neat things here.. Kate picked out a shark’s tooth and Anna chose a worry stone.  

We ended the day with some roasted marshmellows and glo sticks. 

Friday of Vacation week.. We took the kids bowling.  Poor Ethan cried at first.  I don’t wanna go bowling.. I want my mommy!  However, when we got there he had a blast.  They even had a lightweight bowling ball just for him. 

The first ball he rolled.. he kinda dropped down the aisle.  After that, he preferred to use this handy equipment. 

I am not sure which was more fun for him.. the bowling or the bubbler..

Below are some clips of the kids bowling.  Kaitlyn can definitely bowl straight down that alley. 

Next up.. Anna gets a spare!! 

Ethan surprised us all!  love the walk of victory..  lol

Anna did so well.. she beat my score!  Well, I am pretty bad though..

Not a bad way to spend a rainy day..

A few weeks ago (July 20th), Angel took the week off work.  That Tuesday we decided to head out to the local beach.  Of course, after we leave I realize I forgot the sunblock.  I ended up running into a dollar general to grab some, while in my bathing suit and shirt.  Believe me.. I ran! 

The Beach was beautiful!  However, there was a huge drop where the tide breaks on the sand.  I practically fell into the water and then couldn’t get out again!  The girls were just laughing at me.  I look and notice 3 jellyfish just cruising by.. at that time I notice Kate was getting out of the water in pain!  The Jellyfish got her.  Then I look down and there are these huge fishes swimming around my legs.  Talk about freaky.  I just don’t remember all of this at beaches in Florida?  Maybe because I was just young and loved the water.  That was probably all that mattered to me. 

We decided it was a good time to have lunch.  We sat in our chairs.. girls on their towels.  Angel had his sandwich in his hand.. when a seagull out of no where.. tapped him on the head.  He looked up and then down again and his sandwich was gone.  The bird just dived for it.  Poor Angel lost his lunch. 

We went back into the water.  I had fun tossing Kate around.  She just loves the water.  Then I stepped on a crab.. had to be a crab.. it closed right on my feet.  No pain.. just freaked me out a bit! 

It ended up being a good day.  We loaded up and went home.  However, I discovered a problem.  I completely burned the areas above my knees, my neck and my shoulder.  I did wear sunblock.  I guess I should have re-applied.  I am really not used to getting burned.  What happened to that dark olive skin I was born with.  sigh.  I spent a few days in a bit of pain, but thankfully it didn’t last too long. 

I recently became a member of BzzAgent.  Here is a little snippet of who they are. 

As a BzzAgent, you join word-of-mouth marketing campaigns to try new products and services from some of the biggest companies around. Your honest conversations, reviews, videos and Facebook posts help people you know, and help influence brands like Tropicana, Kraft and Philips.

A few weeks back I received Covergirl LashBlast Fushion. 

Normally I am not a fan of mascara.  However, I decided to give it a try.  I really like it.  It definitely added volume to the lashes and it lasted all day for me.  I have started wearing it often.. which is very unusual for me.  I like it alot and think it is worthy to recommend. 

Along with the free sample, I also received 5 coupons (2.00 off) to share.  The suggested retail price is 8.99.  If you are interested, email me with your address and I will send a coupon to you. 

Life has been busy.. for sure. 

Last week my brothers were both coming up from Florida.  I don't think they have ever been up here at the same time.  We decided to have a cookout on Sunday so we could all spend some time together.  However, David was working all week and Angel had courses to do for work.. so that meant I had to mow the lawn.. Seriously??  I think I mowed a part once in the 9 years we lived here.. there was no way..

But I did it.. I seriously did it.. wow.  It took all day.. and it was hot.. but I did it.  I am proud of myself.  I did have a problem with the side yard, which is like a swamp.  The mower clogged and got stuck.  Angel managed to finish that part for me. 

Chicken Pox...

I mentioned a while back that I thought Anna had the chicken pox.. nope.. she had these dots ..with clear puss filled tops.. but they never got cloudy or even scabbed over.. they just got smaller.  It was the weirdest thing.  They did not even spread after a warm bath.. she did get maybe 2 or 3 more the next day.. but that was it.  She probably had a total of 23 spots.  So odd. 

We bought a smaller pool for this summer.. it is only 3 ft high but Anna and Ethan have been having a blast in it daily.  However it is cold today.. so it is not happening today.  Here are a few pics though.

 Here there is a bug crawling on Ethan’s hands.. he was fascinated!

I am not a huge fan of bugs.  Not at all.  When Anna was younger she loved bugs.  All kinds.  This is no longer true these days. 

I feel so bad because she is really terrified most times.  But then you can’t help but laugh.  I have no clue how to help her through this fear.  The day after the video, a huge Lunar Moth came into our home and chilled for the day.  After her freaking out a bit.. by the end of the day, she was more comfortable.  We spent a lot of time learning about them.  It was fun. 

Let’s see.. about 2 weeks ago, Anna had a slight fever, headache and running nose.  Last week her cheek swelled up and we thought, sinuses.  So I put her on Clariton.  When she got back from my mom’s on Sunday I noticed what appeared to be a few pimples on her arm.  Yesterday, there were about 16 and they looked more like Chicken Pox.  I went all over the web.. and yes, that is what it looks like.  However, there are so few of them.  Today she has 25 that we can see.  She hasn’t been very itchy til this morning (I forgot to give her the Clariton). 

David was about 9 when he got them.  But he was completely covered.. all down his back.  If this is what Anna has.. it is a very mild case I guess.  wow. 

Guess our plans for the day are not happening.