Vacation is officially over...

Tomorrow I go back to work. After two months off, I am ready. I admit it! I really did surprise myself and not get bored this summer, but taking my Masters class in July helped. I still don't know my grade but that should come next week.

I have gone to the school twice already this week and worked in my room for a few hours. I love getting everything ready for the new year and deciding what to do differently and what worked and should stay the same. I will take pictures of the room when I finish. The only bummer about the room is that our building is getting painted but not until mid-September. So....we are going to have to take EVERYTHING down when they paint our rooms and then put it back up again. Why didn't they paint this summer? Good question! Big district and scheduling issues apparently...

Tomorrow it will be fun to see everyone (except for the sitting through meetings part! urgh!)

I went shopping with my Mom and niece today for back to school stuff and got myself a first day outfit. ha! Can you tell I'm ready to go back to school?

Happy Friday Everyone!

It's Play Time!!!

So much to look forward to ~ Woo-hoo! No class work for a few days...I am going to Hot Springs today with my peeps from work and hanging out on the lake all day!!

Tomorrow, my BFF, Michelle is coming in from NW Arkansas and staying the night. Because...guess what time it is....that's right.....it's scrapbook night! yee-haw!

Life is good! :-)

Update: I may have spoken too soon...in one of my finest blonde moments, I just locked my keys in the car. Where is the spare you ask? That is the question of the hour! urgh! You know the last time I had plans with these girls I had the flat tire. Think they are jinxed?

Wish me luck with finding the spare, I can't afford to have someone come jimmy the keys out of the car. Can you say poor???

9:30 pm Update again: Found the spare! woo-hoo!

Camping Weekend!!!!

Our Campsite this weekend at Lake Sylvia. We can now completely set up camp in an hour! Woo-hoo! We had a most relaxing weekend that included an adventure-some Saturday and waking up to a rainstorm today...complete with packing up camp in the rain! But was it worth it? Oh yea, even the chiggers! HA! Here we are Saturday morning (self-timer on the camera...heehee!)...after breakfast (and I do LOVE a good camping breakfast), we blew up our floaties (oh, and don't tell Dad that I can actually do it myself b/c I usually sucker him into blowing up my floaties..heehee), loaded 'em in the car and decided to go exploring. Wow! We had no idea where we were at times, but we saw some beautiful parts of Arkansas and felt like we were the only two people in the world. Because we were literally out in the middle of no man's land!
Just to give you an idea of the roads less traveled that we were on look at the picture below...needless to say, we never passed any other cars the entire time. We saw three deer...the first one was a Momma deer and her baby but my camera was in the back. The buck that later ran out in front of us was way to fast even if I wanted a picture! Look at the view ahead of us...we probably drove upward around 15 miles before we started back down the mountain we were on.
Turns out, we were in the Flatside Wilderness of the Ouachita National Forest. We were told this may be Flatside Pinnacle Mtn.??
We saw so many beautiful streams and creeks that I lost count!

Look at this old timey store we stopped at after we found our way out of the forest...it even has a sign out front that still says "washrooms" and points to the bathroom.
Now, we are just heading back to camp and notice a dam and lake that neither of us even knew existed in Arkansas, so of course, we had to stop and check it out too. Ever heard of Nimrod Dam or Nimrod Lake? I hadn't and thought it was a funny name! We climbed up on the Nimrod Dam and checked things out from above. You can camp on the river side or the lake side...the river looked dirty but the lake looked nice, and there were lots of people fishing on the river side.
We finally made it back to camp, had lunch, took a nap in the AC of the pop-up and then headed out for a late afternoon swim. Ahhh...relaxation!!
Of course, we then had to have some good 'ole campin' food for dinner...see the corn? That is from our garden!!! Yay!

Check this picture out: It looks like the towels are on fire but they are a long way off from the fire - I promise! It had rained earlier that day and the wood was wet. It was driving Kevin nuts that he couldn't get the fire going, so he got a bunch of brush and wham - we had fire! Thanks honey!Happy Campers!

(gonna have to crop out that trash in the background for the scrapbooks..ha!)

The best part about camping is that we BOTH love it!! There is nothing better than spending the weekend in the woods with your best friend, no agenda, just hanging out and seeing what adventures come your way. We are very lucky that we love each other's company and can do these things and not ever get bored with it just being the two of us. Love ya Kevin!

4th of July Weekend

Between us and the neighbors, I think we had a pretty good display of fireworks! Kevin was like a kid in a candy store when we went in the firework tent! I mean...look at how his eyes lit up over the silly chicken firework:
We had a cookout with the neighbors, and then my cousin and her family came over to watch and enjoy the fireworks. We had a great time! We had sparklers and Roman Candles for the kids, and then plenty for the big boys to stay entertained.
Look at that mess we made in the road behind Kayce...it was ALL worth it!
For anyone who missed fireworks on the 4th, here is a video of the last one we lit...our grand finale...it only lasts about 45 seconds. If you don't watch for any other reason, watch to listen for Kevin's excitement in the background..."hey" booomm....booommm "hey". hee-hee!

I'm BACK!!!

Did ya miss me? Well, I was on some much need "girl only" time!! Friday night scrappin' was a success of giggles, good food, and girl talk. Then, Saturday, I hit the road for the 3 hour trip to see Michelle (my BFF). We both needed some girl time b/c we had some stress to unload on each other. Isn't that what great friends do? hee-hee! And of course, we scrapbooked some more. I finally got out of my scrappin' creative slump, and I think I came up with an awesome Christmas idea for some family (but I can't tell ya b/c they read!)

Anyway - here are some trip highlights...first, a little background: Michelle and I have this list we made together of 10 things we each want to do that we've never done before...I think it started as 10 things to do in 10 years...but it may excede the 10 year mark. Of course, we don't care...we can change the rules. It is our list, afterall. Well, one of Michelle's items was to ride a roller coaster with me. HA! Fat chance! She is a roller coaster freak, and I hate them!! She finally gave up on the BIG dream and decided this baby coaster would do...ummm, it is a KID coaster and look at face when they took off!! Can you imagine what I would do on a big one? I'd be one of those people you read about having a heart attack!! I never let go of the bar and Jacob (Michelle's kiddo) had to sit with me. He is a little dare devil I might add and kept leaning over the side and making me a nervous wreck!!
Here is much nicer picture of us (although neither one of us likes it! ha!). We took one before church b/c we decided we hadn't taken a dress-up one in a long time. (and yep, her hubs gets tired of taking our picture! ha!)
The rest of the trip consisted of more scrapbooking, running errands, hanging out, and eating - unhealthy as possible - cookie dough (raw and cooked), Mexican food after church, bannana splits (yum), and beans and cornbread (one of my all time favs)...there was more food involved but I can't put into print just how much we truly love to eat!! That would make it real!! ha!
Thanks for a great visit as always Michelle!! (even though you think I side with Chris more than you...how do you think I score all that great deer meat? hee-hee) Love you all!

Spur of the Moment Camping Trip

Kevin finished up work early Tuesday and had today off, so we thought, why not hitch up the pop-up, load up the dog and hit the road? Which is exactly what we did ~ much to Jax's dismay! Above is a great picture of our campsite ~ which I thought was awesome! My family and I camp at this park every summer but are usually in different sites. This was the only section open because of all the flooding earlier in the year.
This is probably poor Jax's second and final camping trip ~ a camping dog, he is not! He was miserable. In his defense, he is ten years old and has arthritis. We took him out of his air conditioning and comfortable bed and put him on the hard ground and hot air! heehee! He paid us back with his ferocious gas in the car!! yikes! We got set up in no time and Kevin knocked out some grub. Then, we set off walking around the camp grounds to explore the flooding. It made me really sad to see all the litter washed up from the flood waters and to see so much of the campgrounds not open! We usually have gone camping by now for our big family camp-out every summer. That got cancelled because the sites were closed. My parents and I have reservations for the second weekend in July....but after what we saw last night, those are going to get cancelled too. It was too dark to take pictures, but after all these months, the water is still flooded over the road, some of the campsites are still completely under water, and the ones we have reserved have water all the way up to the tables....sad! :-( I had to see it to really grasp the damage though.
We had a gorgeous view but couldn't get out in the water b/c all the swimming areas are gone b/c of the flood. The water came right up to the decking of our campsite. But, our campsite normally is up on a cliff, so at some point, it just drops off to nothing...not real safe. So...we came, we saw, we relaxed, and now we think up plan B for our July trip!!

My Summer Top 10

1. barefeet (love it and my feet are dirty because of it!)
2. flip flops
3. going to the lake for the day or weekend (especially when my parents come and Dad drives us all over the lake in the boat)
4. CAMPING!!!
5. sleeping in...no alarm clock ROCKS!
6. no papers to grade - yes!
7. getting together with my BFF - Michelle ~ It's a tradition we have had for years since we are both teachers.
8. time to read books
9. toes...I love my toes and love painted toenails!
10. the smell of food on the grill ~ especially if Kevin is cooking!!

**Play along ~ what are your favorite things about summer? You can link up over at FlipFlop Mamma's site.

More horses and other stuff...

Since Kayce enjoyed Tuesday so much, I took her back to the horse show on Saturday. This time Mom had some kittens that she is trying to find homes for....anyone interested? ha! Anyway - this kept Kayce busy with a mission all day! She made a sign and walked the arena with it (I paid her $2 to do it - I didn't think she would! ha!). She tried hard and managed to find a home for one. As she was walking around the arena, when she passed people, you could see the kids read the sign, turn to the parent, and then the parent shaking their heads NO! hee-hee!

You have to admit kittens are cute - even you none cat folks! This one was my favorite...but my cats wouldn't like it if I brought another one home. Plus, TWO is plenty!! I love 'em, but I hate that litter box!

Autumn got several ribbons this week - she got first place in the flag race against the teenagers too! Yay Cowgirl! She is really a natural with the horses...just like her grandma!
This is her on Dolly:

Other random stuff:

Sunday and today, Kevin and I worked on finishing up the storage building. Whew - that was W.O.R.K! I admit that I didn't think we could do it by ourselves b/c we aren't power tool/handymen kind of people, but we did it! We put the finishing touches on the underhang of the roof and all the trim up. I'll take an "after" picture once I paint it this week!! Tomorrow, I am being a girl for the day and getting my hair cut and highlighted, so no manual yucky labor for me!! :-)

Also, I went to work with Kevin today and helped him with his caterings. I made the decision that I am NOT working this summer, BUT I will help him when he is in a bind like today. And it was fun and neat to see him in what he does everyday. I had no idea his day was so hectic and fast paced! Wow! I do have a whole new respect for him after today...I came home and sleep for 3 hours! ha!

**I am playing around with my sidebar trying to make updates...for some reason, Tasha, I cannot get the link to work to your blog. It keeps sending me to some weird site. I am giving up for tonight and will try again tomorrow! :-)

What 'cha think?

My man apparently can't handle me sleeping in past him - hee!hee! So, yesterday, he offers me a job. hmmm? What do you think? Should I sling burritos with him and help with caterings being delivered this summer? I mean, it's only for 8 weeks and only 2 days a week....it would give me something to do...or should I be lazy and stick to my to-do list at a leisurely pace??? Decisions....I think maybe IF he sticks to the promise of only 2 days a week, and we ride in together where I don't have to pay for gas! I am going to deliver a catering with him later today to see what it's all about.

(oh, and for those who are confused by the burritos - he works for a 'build your own burrito' restaurant right now as the catering manager. The BBQ is his catering on the side that will eventually, hopefully be our full-time business.)

Now ... do you see me as a burrito girl? HA!

How I spent my first day off...

I know ~ you are shocked ~ it was at a horse show! ha! But, I missed the last two because of our caterings. This one yesterday wasn't with the group she is regularly with. Yesterday was with the 4-H club. It was a little different ~ a lot more strict (riders were automatically disqualified if their shirt was untucked or sleeves rolled up) and by the book.
One of the "challenges" ~ not sure of the exact name ~ there were obstacles they had to get the horse to do stuff like walk backwards between two boards, walk over a plank, step over boards, and of course, check the mail!
I took our cousin, Kayce, for a girls day. She NEVER got bored. We left the house at 8am and got home after 8pm. NOT one complaint and wasn't ready to leave!! The child wants to pet the horses and ride so bad she can't stand it! ha! That is her getting the horses water above ~ those horses didn't want for water all day!! She would even dump it out if a bug got in it so it would be fresh for them! ha! We had a great day of eating junk at the concession stand, horses, snow cones (love 'em), and fast food on the way home with a stop at Bath and Body Works...A great girls day! She asked so many questions all day and was really soaking in her horse knowledge. She's ready for the next horse show! :-) How do you like Autumn's new show shirt? I love it!

Day at the lake

Yesterday was a family day at the lake! My Bubby & niece met me & my cousin for an entertaining ride to the lake ~ listening to a 7 year old and a 9 year old's conversation can be very interesting & funny! We met my Mom, Dad, Uncle and his girlfriend at the lake. We had an exhausting day of riding the sea doo, riding the tube, swimming, and getting lots of sun!! The girls were worn out (and so was I!!). It sure is nice to borrow other people's kids and just give 'em back at the end of the day! ha!

Summer fun...

Summer is almost over for us teachers! But I spent June & July enjoying camping & some laid back days with the neighbors! June was the yearly family camping trip where lots of good memories are made & many laughs this year!! Best quote from my 5 year old cousin, "What the BLEEEP!" or even when he said, "What's wrong with you woman?" to my niece! ha!

My neighbors and I had some awesome fireworks on the 4th of July. Way too many to share all, but I included one. Really this is just a test for me to see how to load pictures! :)

I'll do a better job next time!!