Happy 4th of July

This holiday ranks right up there with Christmas in my book. Maybe it's the colors? Or maybe it is the entire day spent with family? One thing I do know for sure is that I am so proud to be an American. I am so very grateful to have been given the chance & blessing to grow up & live in this free land. I am so thankful for all of the many men & women who serve & protect our country. I am very blessed & for that I am PROUD, GRATEFUL, & so very THANKFUL!

We spent the 4th of July @ my parents house with my Mom's side of the family. The kids played baseball on the front lawn, they had squirt gun fights, they played on the slip n slide, we had a yummy BBQ, strawberry shortcake & 4th of July cupcakes for dessert, wore our 4th of July t-shirts or red, whites, & blues, lots of photos, we enjoyed sparklers in the front yard, watched the HUGE firework show downtown, Grandpa treated the grand kids to the glow necklaces & bracelets, & then the long ride back home. We rolled into our driveway @ 12:30 am this morning. We are exhausted but love the memories we have made. We hope each & every one of you had a safe & Happy 4th of July.

**Lots of photos below.

Around the house

OK...because she is MEAN, HolleAnn (hey I copied & pasted this paragraph straight from your blog -LOL)tagged me for the most invasive tag ever. AND because i am a SUPER COOL, CUTE, FUN GIRL... i am going to play. The only rule for the tag is NO CLEANING BEFORE YOU TAKE THE PIC...not nice, BUT i didn't cheat...so here we go.

1. Dream Vacation I don't have any pictures of New York & I am too lazy to find some off the net right now. I want to travel to NYC. I want to see & take in all of the sights & sounds. I wan to see a Broadway play, ride the subway, visit the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, ride in a yellow taxi, eat @ all the yummy restaurants. see the Empire State building, Central Park. You know... all of the touristy stuff. Someday....

2. Self Portrait: Man, I knew I should have put some make up on this morning before I left the house. I did curl my hair though...but that is as far as i got this morning. I have been busy cleaning & doing laundry all day. I took this picture in the bathroom mirror after I snapped a photo of the bathroom (see #8).

3. What are the kids doing?: Tanner & Carter have been out front for about 3 hours playing with the neighbor boy. They go between our house & the neighbors. He moved in last summer & it has been the best thing for my boys. Finally, someone their age to play with. Garrett & John are getting two new tires put on the Tahoe right now. It is just me & my little shadow. He was acting so sweet & snuggling on the couch with me.

4. My Closet: I am mortified to show this picture. My closet is a disaster. I won't even show you John's side. Had I been able to clean & organize, I would have refolded all of my jeans & organized all the stuff that has been thrown up on that shelf over the last six months. I do like to hang my clothes on the white hangers & I hang them in color families, not necessarily in the ROYGBIV order. The black & browns are towards the front because I wear lots of those colors, I guess. If I had taken a picture of the floor, you would have seen my shoes nicely stacked on my shoe shelves, shopping bags that need to be discarded & scrapbooks. I have about 5 completed albums in my closet , about 7 more in the linen closet & about 6 in my scrapbook room. They are just waiting for a shelf of their very own.

5. Favorite Room: With out a doubt, my favorite room is my scrapbook room. Again, another room that I am wishing had been cleaner today. On most days, everything is in it's spot. Right now I have piles & boxes that need to be unloaded. Things are organized by color (my paper, my eyelets, flowers, buttons, ribbon, etc...) I purchased these super cool school year kits & I have been going thru all of the boys school pictures, awards, art work (by school year), etc... I love that I have a room for my hobby/passion. I love that I can shut the door & little hands can't touch my stuff.

6. Favorite Shoes: Need I say more? They are black with polka dots. These shoes make me happy.

7. Laundry room: What does this room say about us? It says that we use Tide detergent & that I need to unload that bag of baby clothes that have been sitting on the dryer for oh... about 3 weeks. See that red key, hook thingy. I have had it for about 2 years & the tag is still on it. I wasn't sure I was going to like it or keep it. I guess it is time to cut the tag off. I love it. We hang our canvas bags on the hooks. I am trying to do my part with the going GREEN thing. This room has the dirtiest floor in the house (notice there is no picture of the floor). We rarely use our front door. We walk from the garage, through the laundry room into the house. As the vinyl saying on our wall reads: "Laundry room...drop your drawers here", the boys really do just strip down in the laundry room & drop their stuff right into the washer. I am thankful for this room especially during the heavy sport season (soccer, baseball, & basketball). Better to have the dirt fall in one place rather than through out the rest of the house.

8. Bathroom: You get to see the boys bathroom. I happened to have cleaned theirs this morning, thank heavens! I will spare you the photos of my bathroom, the piles of laundry waiting to be washed. This was the very first room we painted when we moved in. I found all of the whale stuff at Pottery Barn Kids. John did an awesome job painting the waves on the walls(didn't take the photo @ the right angle for you to see the waves). I clean this room twice a day. With four boys, I am probably not doing it enough.

**I could not get a good shot (lighting) of this room or my fridge for some reason???

9. Kitchen sink: Not much to the sink. I clean it daily. I always have a bottle of Bath & Body anti -bacterial hand soap sitting there. I like that I have a view into the family room while washing dishes. I can keep an eye on the boys while they are playing. I did not get around to washing the knife I used to cut the crust off the boys sandwiches & there sits the bowl we used to make brownies-mmmmmm!

10. The Fridge: This is what I call the the HUB of our home. On the outside of our fridge, we have photos of the people we love, magnets that are special to us, reminders of things that need to be done or places we need to go. It is also a place where the boys put things that they are proud of, works of art & awards. Um yeah! You can also see that it is time to go shopping. If you look hard enough, you can see the empty Go-Gurt box that some one left in there (the story of my life, empty containers). We buy two kinds of milk right now. Garrett will tell you the red lid is for Brody (whole milk) & that the blue lid is for the rest of us. The one good thing that came from having the flu last month was that I don't drink as much Diet Coke as I used to. It didn't taste very good for a few good weeks after being so sick. There are some days that I don't even have one, yeah me!! I still keep a 12 pack on hand... just in case I really do need one. The inside of the fridge door is a wreck. Any time the fridge door opens, Brody will run as fast as he can & see what he can grab. Some of his favorites are Soy Sauce, BBQ sauce, pickles, etc... So any time he gets one, it is shoved up on one of the higher shelves. Pretty soon, those bottom shelves will be totally empty.

Okay, that was scary & fun all rolled into one! It is truly a day in the life of the K's. It's our life & our home & we love it. I am tagging Jacque, Erin C., Barb, Amy K., Eve (it can be one of your 1st posts), Shelly. Oh heck, you are ALL tagged. I would love to see this post once you've blogged it. Keep me posted. Good luck, have fun, & NO CLEANING!

Summer happenings & some winners

We have had another fun filled week & it is only Wednesday night. Garrett started swim lessons on Monday. He looks forward to his lessons each morning. He is such a little dare devil & very much so a free spirit. There are 4 boys in his group & two teachers. He is supposed to sit on the edge & wait for his turn. Every time the instructor turns around, he wiggles his way back into the water & just smiles. It has become a game. I am thinking "what a little stink pot".

I love this picture of him. The sun was so bright, he couldn't keep his eyes open.

Yesterday we headed over to the local library to see the Science Wizard. This was a free show hosted by the Friends of the Library. I had logged on to this guys website before hand & saw that his cheapest party package was a $195.00 & we totally got to see it for free. He performed cool science experiments for a full hour. He entertained the crowd by: using fire, melting things, forming solids, melting his girlfriend,Sheila's head (a Styrofoam head) with acid, & blowing large quantities of bubbles. He held the boys attention for the entire hour, so you know he was good. Brody on the other hand, was not so good. When the kids would clap or laugh, he would join in @ a higher octave. He is so loud. We watched the show from the big glass windows (on the outside).We sure do LOVE our new library.

Today was another action packed day. We started it off @ the pool for Garrett's swim lessons. He worked hard today on his kicks & BIG scooper's. He is getting the hang of the swimming thing. After the lessons, we met up with some friends @ the local bowling alley. Steph & Lisa found out about these cards for the kids that allows them to bowl any weekday during the summer, for free. The shoe rentals were even free too! Between the three families, we have a total of 11 boys with us! Crazy, good times. The Moms decided to bowl too! I can't even remember the last time I bowled. So much fun! I wasn't good @ it...but I had a great time. Garrett was cracking me up. He was trying to throw the bowling ball like you would throw a baseball. After the bowling excursion, we headed over to the Parker's for a BBQ & swimming (thanks for hosting Lisa). These boys did not stop for 2 1/2 hours. John was tossing them all in the pool & helping them do flips. It was another great summer day!

And now on to the winners from the last post. Thank you all for playing. Again, it is fun to read your comments. My trusty assistants were willing & able to help pick names. They also drew which prize everyone would win. I wrote a couple of my favorite things down & then the boys would pick the favorite thing & then a name. The winners are (in no particular order):

Congrats ladies! I will pop you prizes in the mail by the end of the week. Steph & Jacque, you won a Kit of the week from Green Tangerines. I will see what they have in store tomorrow & email you with your choices.

Enjoy the sunshine!

One year BLOG-iversary

One year ago today, I started our little family blog. I was skeptical at first. I didn't think I would be very faithful about keeping up on the posts. One year later, I will admit it, I am addicted to Blogging. It has become our little family journal...our way to stay in touch & keep tabs on the people we love. We have also had the chance to reconnect with friends we haven't talked to in years. It has been easier to document our happenings here rather than writing it down five times over in every one's journals. We still have journals. I tend to go into more detail in my own personal journal. The older boys are writing in their own journals & it has made for a great summer activity. I am a firm believer in documenting ones life...the joys, the things that make you tick, your dreams, your testimony, the burnt cookies(the things that don't go quite so well) as my friend Camie would say.

As a treat to myself, I am going to have our Blog posts bound into a little book. Have you seen these? My cousin Katie blogged about it on her blog a few months back. At http://blurbs.com/, you can have your blog posts bound. See, it really is a journal...with photos. The story of our lives.

If you know me, you know that we can't have a Blog-iversary & not have some fun give aways. Leave us a comment, tell us whether or not you keep a journal or maybe you are addicted to Blogging too. If you don't journal, what are your excuses?

As a bonus, if you can answer the following questions right, your name will be added to the pot a few more times. For each correct answer, I will put your name in the draw, giving you extra chances to win. All answers to the questions can be found in past blog posts (I kept them simple). Good luck & have fun. I am hoping everyone will post & let us know you're out there. The boys love reading the comments just as much as I do!

Here are the questions:
1. What is the date of my first blog post? ( I am giving you this one people)
2. What was my childhood nickname?
3. I have been able to escape two times this year with some of my closest friends, name one of the two destinations.
4. How long have John & I been married?
5. Which one of my boys made the select soccer team this year?
6. Whose favorite color is red(besides me)?
7. Why was John home from work for two months after Brody was born?
8. Who am I going to see in concert next summer (no matter what)?
9. Who learned to ride a two wheeler this last year?
10. Who can be found perched up on the kitchen table @ any given moment?

**EDITED** Lisa P was the first to respond & got them all right- way to go Lisa. You can do what Jacque did when answering...Just use the honor system. My brain wasn't thinking about how to post the answers w/out giving everyone a fair shot.
Have a wonderful evening!

A little Randomness for your Saturday

I don't have any jaw dropping news to report today. I thought I would post RaNdOm thoughts & what we've been up to this week. Here we go...

- We enjoyed a FREE Wednesday. We started our morning off by seeing a FREE movie @ the local theatre. They offer a free G & PG movie every Wednesday. We saw Shrek the 3rd. The boys had seen it before, I had not. Then we enjoyed kicking the summer reading program off @ our local Library. Fun games,book characters & live music for the kids. Then we hit Barnes & Noble & picked up their summer reading logs. When your kids have read 8 books, you turn the log back in & then they will receive a free book. Carter has already earned one free book. He has been a little book worm this summer.

- Old Navy, can't get enough of that store this week. I went in this afternoon to return a pair of shorts for Garrett & was surprised to see the lines hitting the back of the store. All solid color flip flops are on sale for $1.00. Yes, you read that right. Didn't buy any flip flops but still managed to walk out there with a bad full of summer goodness.

- The boys enjoyed a fun afternoon at the local water park. As a Mom, with four little boys, I LOVE {with a BIG ole' red puffy heart} the person who created such a cool park. The park is PURE genius in my book. Endless hours of cool playtime.

- I enjoyed a fun date with my sweetie tonight. We met up with some friends @ CRUSH29. It was fabulous to visit & have actual adult conversations.

- I am so tired of the smoke & the thick Haze covering our skies. I am ready for the blue sky to show it's self again! Tanner's select soccer practices were canceled this week.

- I am looking forward to the 4th of July & spending some time with my family. I love 4th of July... the colors, the BBQ's, the fireworks, & basically just having a day to reflect on the freedoms I enjoy.

- I have a project due on Monday for an upcoming class. I haven't started it yet, it's in my head, the papers & embellishments are all picked out. I just need to sit down & focus!

- I LOVE watermelon & all of the other fresh fruit. I can't get enough of it this summer.

- I am still annoyed when I think about the woman who cut in front of me while standing in line @ Bath & Body Works this afternoon. Then she had the nerve to look @ me & look annoyed when Brody started screaming & crying. HELLO!!! I would have been out of there faster had she not cut in front of me. I love shopping in that store with 4 little boys (who by the way behaved just fine, with more manners than that lady).

- I have about 6 loads of laundry waiting to be washed. I have no desire to do laundry today. I am telling myself "One load at a time".

- John finally hung a little rack that I purchased for my necklaces. Just looking @ this makes me happy. Their previous home was over the medicine cabinet. Now they won't get tangled & we can shut the medicine cabinet. Simple things.

- I have been reading like a mad lady in my spare time. I have read Mercy, Keeping Faith & am almost done with the Friday Night Knitting Club. They have all been great reads.

- I love this little boy ( as well as my 3 older boys). When the big kids run in & out of the house all day to play, he is my constant companion. My little sidekick! There is always a trail of "stuff "behind him as he tromps through the house.

Hoping your weekend has been filled with sunshine & laughter.