The cakes

Here are pics of Sierra's bday cake. My totally talented friend Theresa made them for her. This two layer cake was for her friends party. She also made a one layer cake for the family party. I feel bad that I kept her so busy that week- but they turned out so awesome and they were sooooo delicious!! Hope to get pics from Chris or Dad soon from Sierra's parties cause I forgot my camera (hint, hint)! ;-)

How does your garden grow?

I secured a spot at our neighborhood garden, and it is huge!! I have never had much of a green thumb so I am leery about this project. Justice and Montana went with me last night to get things planted. We planted strawberries, watermelon, pumpkins, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, and forget-me-nots here and there to fill in the empty spaces and hopefully keep unwanted bugs away. Mom told me to use marigolds, but we already had the forget-me-nots so I hope they will work too.

We fertilized everything with Miracle-Gro and we will go check on things every couple of days. The garden has full sun 24 hrs. a day and there is a soaker hose that runs up and down all the rows. They have the hoses on timers and the weeds are taken care of by the lawn maintenance co- we shall see. So we will cross our fingers and get our bottling paraphernalia ready for harvest time. I hope to make some jam, salsa, spaghetti sauce, zucchini bread, and carve pumpkins this fall! It would also be nice to eat a few of these summer lovelies!! Let me know if you have any gardening tips!

Sierra turns 15

15 years ago I was eating pizza, and started feeling terrible. Being pregnant for the first time I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. But several hours of back ache later I decided I was in labor. We rushed to the hospital and 12 hours later she was delivered C-section. She was a blessing from the first moment I knew I was pregnant to this very day. At times- I can't believe we are even related. She is so smart, beautiful, talented, and such a great big sister. She is a parent's joy. I am so lucky to be her mother.

She celebrated with her friends and had a big co-ed party at her dad's with ONLY the girls sleeping over. Then we had a family party today with her favorite meal, some presents and a fantastic cake that I had my friend make. She was pretty spoiled this weekend--but she totally deserves it.

Happy 15 Bofera!! I love you with all my heart!
(I will post pics soon)

Montana the Entrepeneur

At our yard sale this weekend Montana ran her own concessions stand. She sold pop, candy, and chips. She had a couple of friends help her. After the first hour, they worked out a rotating break system so that someone would always be at the table. They started taking their breaks more and more, until they were breaking more than they were working. It was pretty funny. They had steady business so I wanted to make sure someone was there to take care of it. Towards noon, they were totally bored. They kept asking, "How much longer?", "When is it over?" So after almost 5 hours of grueling work- I sent them inside for lunch and freetime. Grama Dodie and I were able to handle things at that point. I was surprised at what a great saleswoman she is. She would ask everyone who came if they were thirsty or hungry- and do her best Vanna White impression with a flick of her hand. After a while people were coming just for the snacks. I can just imagine her being a little business woman someday. She did a fantastic job. They earned $17.50 profit. Not bad for a boring day.

The summer buzz

For the summer, Justice wanted to go "bald" as he calls it. So we took the plunge and buzzed off all his hair. Admittedly, I did a pretty crappy job, but I know it will grow out. Tip: Always use the measured attachments when using the buzz clippers. Then it turns out much more professionally.

Later that night, he and his friend Jordan were horsing around. Somehow Jordan's tooth punctured Justice's head. He came to show me what had happened and was very calm. He pulled his hand aways from his head- his hand was covered in blood and the blood was gushing all down his head. He saw the panic in my eyes and started crying and freaking out. So I washed off all the blood and it ended up being just a tiny little wound. It was nice that there was no hair in the way. It was easy to see just exactly what we were dealing with. Some neosporin, a bandaid, a kiss, and he was good to go. Why do head wounds bleed so much??

Here is Justice with his new do and a close up of his "wound".

I can't believe it!!

After months of work- I have accomplished a monumental task. Every closet, every room , including the garage has been de-junked and organized. Today was the yard sale and we literally (mom, the kids, & I) worked for hours and hours getting all of our belongings out to sell. It had rained all week and so I was worried about having it in the garage and having everything covered. But it would not all fit. So we set up a shade tent and put the rest of it under there.

The weather ended up being fabulous and we sold a ton of stuff. Everything that was left was hauled away and I was left with....hold on to your seats....a completely clean garage!! We have been in this house for going on 10 years and we have NEVER been able to park in the garage. I actually cried- what a weirdo I am!! It was way too much work- but I am sooooo glad we did it.


The clean garage :-)


CAR IN THE GARAGE!!!


Car in the garage with the door closed!! Wahoo!!

9th grade promotion

My baby is growing up. It's bittersweet- but I'm excited for her. High school is so much fun and I hope she enjoys it half as much as I did. Tonight her and 18 of her closest friends went to Chili's for dinner all dressed up, and then rented a limo to bring them back to the school for the big dance. Now this wasn't just any old limo- it was a GIGANTIC stretch Hummer limo. All the parents were there to take pics and you could hear the kids nearby oohing and aahing when it pulled into the parking lot. Then they all piled out of that thing like clowns out of a car at the circus. I got some cute pics of the group and her and Mark together. It's nice to arrive in style!

awww....the happy couple :-)


Video of the Limo