Happy 4th of July/weekend wrapup

We had such a fun 4th of July. It is my favorite time of the year.

I took Thurs. off to get the house ready & food prepared for the 4th.

Sherry and Johnny showed up around 12:45 and then we got ready for the parade.

T saw Mr. L on one of his trips to the grocery and asked it was ok if we sat in his yard again this year. He said we could bring down our chairs and stake our area, so T drove them over there ahead of time.

The Swans showed up and we all walked down to Main St. We took the shortcut, too.

We weren't under their big trees this year. We usually are right by their driveway in the shade. It was cloudy enough that it wasn't bad. It really was perfect weather, not humid and not too hot. The kids got so much candy, they got picky and didn't get everything. I like Sherry's rule with L, "Don't pickup what you won't eat"

Lindsey was ready for the parade to start. They were so excited.

Strayers showed up after the parade started, but they found us.

Our local grocery store, Stracks, passed out these popsicles. Then a bit later someone else was passing out these awesome blowpops!

Baby David's first 4th of July parade

He fell asleep and was calm as can be even when this float went by with a loud band playing. Too funny, huh?

4th of July parade from M.E. on Vimeo.

After the parade, we had a cookout at our house. Here is the spread...I forgot to take a pic before it was half gone, though. Kiddies eating all together...soon after this they were all running around playing in the backyard.

Break from playing to have a cupcake

Then we moved to the front yard to play bean bags, which I think everyone got to play at least once. We set up ladder ball, but just the kids played it a little.

T is happy with his cool drink holders... It got comical how he was so excited over them.
Kids heard a bunch of fireworks and ran out to front. They thought it was the big display at the fairgrounds. If you notice it is not yet dark. It was just our neighbors quite pricy display of fireworks.
It got a little cool that night and we needed sweatshirts. So odd for 4th of July!
Found these 2 sitting inside watching ICarly.
Then sparkler time. Ethan looks amazed by it. I think this was the first year he really held one and wasn't scared. Well, until he held it by his feet and a piece fell on his foot! He cried and it T helped him.
Ethan and Lindsey with their sparklers

We had such a nice & fun time with our friends. I was surprised it went by so fast!

Trent was excited to use his bean bag game he made from scratch. I helped with the paint pattern. He knew I would want them to be red, white & blue.

He had an idea for drink holders to use when playing bean bags. You don't have to bend down to pick up your drink from the ground at our house. Oh no! I must say I am proud of him with the construction of these holders. He made them totally out of scrap wood, too!

They are pretty cool & they don't tip over in the grass! Great job, Trenty!

Today is my dh's birthday!

Happy Birthday to Trent!
Ethan and I gave him a shirt (that doesn't fit), cargo shorts, swim trunks, a new ear buds for his mp3 player. I think I surprised him with the ear buds. He had been looking for small ones and I found great ones through verizon. They even had interchangeable colors, so I had to take the purple ones and they fit on mine!

Trent has started painting the bean bag boards. They look great! Need to take a pic of them. He ended up buying bean bags in red & blue from the local farmer's market. 8 bags for $30. T liked that it didn't cost him that much because he used his $50 winnings from poker last night! He only had 5 guys last night.
I cleaned up the house some today, then E & I went swimming. It was such a gorgeous day today. Perfect weather, not humid or super hot with a breeze.
We had 2 openhouses that provided nice dinners.
We went to one last week that had a slushy machine that E loved. Well, I told him that we had 2 parties to go and he said, "Yea!! Slushies!!" Had to explain that not all parties have those slushies!
We ended up seeing the 'slushy' family at the first party and had to relay that story. Too cute & funny! BUT, the 2nd party we went to had a slushy machine!! E was so excited to have a red slushy. Then I was excited to see yellow slushy was for over 21!! Yummy!
Ethan played bean bags at both of the parties. The 2nd party had their street blocked off so there were like 4 sets of beanbags in the street. They had a great dj music setup with a speaker in front and back of their house. Loved the mix of music & Ethan was singing along and dancing to the ones he knew.

I didn't get T a cake. He doesn't get excited over cake. I told him I could just bring a candle and put it in a piece of grad cake! I mentioned his birthday at the first party and D started singing to him. It was fun seeing a lot of our the kids' parents we are friends with.

I only put up a couple patriotic things today. Need to finish it up tomorrow.
DirecTV is coming tomorrow to fix our messed up satellite. We haven't been getting locals and some basic channels. It goes out of an evening and doesn't come back until 9-10am!! We haven't had tivo and no HGTV! It really is a hardship on me. Luckily our lcd hi-def tv is working fine.

Getting ready for the 4th of July

I love the 4th of July! I love decorating the house, inside & ouside.

This year my friend, Sherry, is coming up with her family. She came to our party back in 2000.

Such fun times back then...

I don't know that blonde lady...and didn't know she was even in the picture until we got them back. (T was taking the pic and this was before Digital)

I love Sherry's expression there, I look like I didn't think he was taking it yet.

Me, Sherry & Johnny...back in 2000 before any kids. This year will be fun with the kids playing. Her daughter will love the parade. We will go to Main kind of by our house. I hope she is ready for all the candy she will get. T knows alot of the kids in the parade so we get doused when they see him, plus we sit at the beginning of the parade.

Shooting off fireworks at our 'old' house where we had no trees . The field was undeveloped back then, so it was great for shooting bottle rockets out there. Trent used to hit golf balls into that field back then, too!

I am going to put up all my patriotic decor this weekend. I ordered more bunting for the front of the house & just found out it is on freakin' backorder! I wanted 2 more so it looks more complete. I hope it comes in before the 4th! S&J are expecting it!

I'm so excited that they are coming up this year! Let's hope for perfect weather, not humid & no rain!

We have invited a couple friends over for our cookout, too. Not sure who all is coming yet. My sister's fam always comes over, but this year they are going up to Wisconsin at Dan's family cabin. Plus they get to bring their puppy up there!

I am so happy I FINALLY have my own Dyson!!!

Kohl's had a great sale, plus I got $50 kohls cash to use!

It is the old original model, but it works like a champ so far! I love it so!

So happy for the weekend! I'm going to Kohl's tonight.

T has poker night in the garage 7pm.

Wedding & Grad Party Season

We went to a wedding on Friday. It was really nice.

Here is T with the bride..

And with his former student trainers from 2004...

Lovely pic of us....taken by me! I didn't get any of his parents, I should have asked them just to take our pic.

On Sat. we went to T's cousin's house for his 'grad' party. It ended up just being family. Ethan was planning on going with his T's parents, then we got a call that we really should be there. I was out shopping. We ended up at the party for around 4 hrs. It was fun just hanging out in their backyard playing fun yard games. We hardly ever do that at our house. Well, except for our 4th of July party.

He loves playing with 2nd cousin, Madison. He pretty much followed her around.

Checking if the corn is knee high-with Aunt Collette

We stopped by the Taste on the square that night for a quick bite. T really wanted a gyro. E had fallen asleep on the drive there! By the time we ate that had deflated the bounce house & slide, which was upsetting to the 5yr old.

We went to an Open House on Sunday that was a gorgeous house! Loved it so. We call grad parties, Open Houses up here. It is a regional thing. Ethan thought it was so cool because they had a slushy machine. He had like 4 glasses of it, too! We saw a lot of people we knew there, so that made it more fun!

Ethan tried out taking a shower last night for the first time. I'm getting sick of the baths, just take longer than they need to be. Well, tonight he actually asked me if he could take a shower! First, he never ever reminds me that it is time to take a bath! He was actually excited about it!! He didn't act scared of the stream of water getting in his face this time.
Funny quote:
E: "The water was dripping off of my dude, but I wasn't peeing."

He actually napped today, so of course it is 10:20 now and he isn't ready for bed.

T built bean bag game boards today. They look awesome! I have to decide on a paint design for him. I think I want red, white & blue. He is puttying the screws holes now. It will be fun for our 4th of July party! We just need the bean bags, though!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 9th Anniversary. And T is at convention. It almost always seems to happen that way. He didn't go to convention the week we got married.

9 years ago - June 19, 1999

Since 1999 was before digital, I think, these are all scanned photos. I need to scan a couple more that are favs. I would so LOVE to be the weight I was in all these pics. I did lose around 30 lbs before we got married.

Happy Anniversary, TW!

All my girls after they decorated the limo in my fav purple!

T comes home on Friday around 1pm. We have a wedding on Friday night to attend. It is a former student trainer of his. Ethan is excited he gets to spend the night at cousins.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Trent & my father-in-law, Dale.


We took my dad out to breakfast / brunch. It was noon by the time we were served our food. Busy Sunday for our local spot. I think we waited 45 min for the table. But it was a table of 9.

It was a nice get together. I got my dad a #1Grandpa hat and shirt, from Target.


Ethan had made a card at preschool for T for Father's Day. It had been sitting out since his last day there a month ago. T had mentioned he would like to go fishing on Father's Day and take E and his Dad to a neighborhood pond. Well, so funny that he got a fishing lure included in E's card. I know, like Ethan even remembered that was in there. It was a cute little poem with a fishing theme, too.


After our breakfast/lunch the 3 of us went to the movies and saw:

I really enjoyed it, cute message, and Ethan stayed awake and paid attention! He was excited to have his own bag of popcorn, too. We got him the kids set. I ate way too much popcorn. T & I shared a large popcorn and then he left and got a refill, too!

When we got home T & E started digging up worms in the backyard. They knew not to even ask me. They got their rods together and went fishing. I told T to bring the camera for some shots. He met his dad there and they had a fun outing of fishing. We got his dad the same set of hat & shirt. I know his dad will wear the hat! He came by with stuffed shells for us and he was wearing it!

T really loves to fish when he has the time to relax and do it. Here is a pic of one of the big guys he caught.

Seriously, look how happy he is with this fish... HE is beaming!

He said it was the biggest fish he ever caught, so that is why he is thrilled. I have no idea what type it is. I think he said it was about 18 inches.

Dale and Ethan fishing in the distance

I think this one is a different fish? They strictly just catch and release there. It is just a neighborhood pond, but is nicely stocked.

I'm taking the next 2 days off of work. So excited for some days off. We have a wedding on Friday, so E gets to spend the night at cousins. He is so excited about staying over.

Hole-in-one, Baseball, Soccer, Puppy

Congrats to my dear husband on his FIRST HOLE-IN-ONE!!

He didn't believe but he got one, playing last Friday with his teacher friends.


So cool! He just left this certificate on the microwave for me to find, like no big deal.



CP baseball made it down to semi-state in Lafayette. We all went down on Monday. It was perfect weather, so nice! Ethan & I both got some sun.

T even had to go out and check on a hurt kid that was hit in the foot with a pitch. Walking back with the coach...

Unfortunately, they lost 7-4. Such a bummer.

Ethan's highlight of the day...

A SNOWCONE! It turned his lips & tongue blue, of course.

Funny quote from Ethan later that day...

Uncle Dan was asking about the baseball game & the score

U. Dan: "Was it close?" (meaning the final score)

Ethan: "No, it was far. I got to bring the dvd player."

T drove around Purdue for me, too. We went by my house and then by my dorms, Windsor Halls. So surprised to see all this was going on... I thought it had caught on fire, but they were just major rehabing it all. I googled it and found out they are making suites and even putting in air conditioning! Finally!

This past Sat. was Ethan's last soccer game. Last time doing the clapping-good game part, Ethan's fav part.

We did treats for the last game with another girl on his team. We just brought capri-suns & ritz bits peanut butter. Their coach gave them all little medallions plus gift certificates for DQ, which E can't wait to use!

And introducing our new little 'cousin puppy'....

LIGHTNING
He is a black lab and 8 weeks old now.

Hiding under the deck stairs...so cute!!

We got him some cute little 'T' treats and a Chuckit ball thrower, thing with a handle that whiffs a tennis ball & then you can pick it up with it.

I should have taken a pic of the kids playing with chuckin that ball with this thing. They loved playing with it! The puppy, well, not really ready for it yet. He loves M's soccer ball though! So funny!

Tonight is 'Hometown Fun' at the Cornroast. I love it so. I hope it doesn't rain!

Hope to have a fun weekend! Hopefully we'll get to go swimming in our pool.

Summer projects...so far

T & I have quite a list of summer projects.

First one accomplished was staining the deck. T redid it last year with his uncle, but it was never stained or protected at all. We chose Canyon Brown and it is dark brown. T really likes it, I think it is too dark but matches our house and patio furniture really nice. I love that lattice divider thing looks sooo much better. It took the longest to paint.

I'm loving our new patio set. We got it from Home Depot. Not sure if I want to add an umbrella. Our deck gets shade in the afternoon. I need to take a pic of it on the new deck.

Another mini project T did one day was replacement the beat up landscaping timbers with pavers and edge the border with the bricks like we have around the pool.


We are keeping it with just 2 rows. I have removed that extra random paver.

So far this weekend I have done a lot of weeding. It was really needed & I'm just about done.

T project this weekend was opening the pool. Since baseball was postponed due to rain on Sat. he got a great start on it. He did more cleaning & filling up the pool on Sunday.

We went to Lowes again today. Trent wanted stain for the pool deck. The pool deck really needs it. I don't want that dark brown stain for it though. We got the higher quality Cabot's in cedar.

We also got 3 perenials for our sunny areas. T decided to buy an electric hedge trimmer. It was only $24 and he used it on 5 of our bushes in the backyard today. The burning bushes just get soo big. He really needs to mow the yard, too. It down poured today, so he thought it was too wet again.

On our way home from Lowes we went by our old house on Dogwood and noticed our old neighbors outside so we stopped by to say hi. I was amazed they remembered Ethan's name. He was 1.5 when we moved, so he doesn't remember that house. They have the same name as my maiden name & they always have a funny story of someone asking if they are my parents. I guess they got a random call from a former student of my dads.

Last week was E's last day at Mrs. F. He loves going to her house. He usually goes 3 days a week Mon, Tues, Thurs. She is losing 5 kids that will be going off to kindergarten in the fall. She had a little party for them on Thurs. They got to swim & slip/slide which Ethan loved. He got a great sunburn, though. Here he is with 2 other 5 yr old buddies.

Mrs. F cuts back her hours to just Tues & Thurs in the summer. E will probably still go there a couple of times over the summer.

Ethan with Joshie-who I had never met before, he is always picked up by the time I pick E up.

Hannah and Ethan, she is 4.We actually need her tomorrow. CP baseball made it to semi-state and the game got postponed to Monday due to rain. I am going to take the day off to go down with the T & E. I'm hoping for nice weather, they are saying more rain to come. Good luck, Bulldogs!