I'd like to thank the academy...

I won an award this morning! Well, not so much an award...but a recognition.


At our group run this morning they handed out certificates to the two highest fundraisers. I was one of them! They called my name and I walked to the middle of the circle while everyone clapped for me. I was honored.


Now, let me tell you the truth. I am probably not one of the two highest. Okay, I know I'm not. I'm just one of the top two who has the money turned in. My friend, Becky, has over $1,200 but just mailed her checks today. But that's okay! I have so little in life that I'm clinging to my card stock, yellow star, printed certificate.





I have so many precious friends, relatives, and complete strangers to thank for the money that I have raised. I am truly blessed! I still have a long way to go, but I am certainly well on my way.

If you would like to donate to this amazing cause, please visit my fundraising page.

Organization

Organization is not my strong point.

I try, but it doesn't work.

I have a filing system that makes Shawn crazy. The girls and I stack papers, notes, and everything else up really high on one of the kitchen counters and when someone is coming over I open a cabinet door and shove it all in.

Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?

I recently decided to make Shawn happy and clean it all out. I pulled everything out and put it on the kitchen floor. I then walked around it for two days planning my attack.

Today was the day. I sorted and piled, recycled and trashed. It was a thing to behold. I found graded papers, cute artwork, and notes from teachers I probably should have read 5 months ago.

Moving on.

I did come across something that made me question my skills...Valentine's Cupid Expresses to McKinley...when she was in elementary...okay, in first grade. She's in seventh now. Hmmmm.

But now it's all sorted and ready to be filed in the cabinet in the pool house. I feel better. Cleansed, proud.

Wait, what's this?? McKinley's Kindergarten report card. Dang it.

Block Party

Our Sunday School class has for many years had a summer party. It started out just for the couples but has evolved into a family affair. For the last three years it has been at a families house that has a lot to offer-dirt bikes, a pool, horses, and lots of land to roam. Imagine our despair when they left our class! Enter Shawn, he volunteered our pool! I really didn't mind. When we were trying to buy our house my dream was to be able to share the back yard and pool the same way it was shared when I was growing up across the street. Our neighbors also have a pool about the same size and age and are also in our class....the block party was born. With about 25 families signed up we were ready to party!

Of course, the girls are a little slow to get in the water. But don't they look lovely standing around?

The boys were already taking a break!

Shawn had the grill working hard. Burgers and hot dogs for 102! From the front of the house it looked like the back was on fire!Even with a big yard seating was getting tight. No one minded though.

As most co-ed parties go, the dads were the only adults to get in the pool.

Even a dad with much older boys took time to play with a little one of a friend.

Moms were happy to sit around and chat.

Things were going so well at our pool that I decided to walk over to our neighbors and see what was going on there. Imagine my surprise when I saw children that had just been at our pool. They were quickly going back and forth. There was a definite wet walkway to follow! I found all three of my girls there. I hadn't even known they'd left. I'm such a good mom, I just amaze myself.

As I was headed back to my house I heard huge splashes and applause coming from my yard. As I walked in I saw Craig and John taking turns doing tricks off the diving board. They had the whole crowd watching their every jump. They were highly entertaining and helped us get those extra couple of inches of rain water out of the pool. Oh, who am I kidding? They emptied at least a foot!

It was a wonderful evening filled with food, fun, friends, and faces!

What could be better?

Cooking for a Cure

I am crazily working on editing recipes for a cookbook we're using for a fundraiser for our TNT group. Cakes, cookies, stroganoffs, vegetables, salads, soups, oh my! I'm so hungry from reading and editing them!

All that to say, I can't blog anything of meaning or substance right now because I'm up to my ears in tablespoons and cups of recipes! But stay tuned. I have pictures of the Block Party and 102 people that descended on our backyard Saturday night.

Maybe tomorrow...of course, I might be cooking:C)

Jackie 'O'

Our MaltiPoo didn't know what to do with all the love and attention she received during the slumber party. Her feet barely touched the ground because she was carried everywhere.

She did however manage to run away a few times when a dress up outfit was being put on her little furry body. While 'The Great Sticker Attack of '08' was going on I found Jackie 'O' crashed under the coffee table. She was so tired that I was able to do anything with her. She let me roll her around and pose her however I wanted.

She kept dozing off but that didn't stop me.Isn't she cute?

Slumber Party-Part Last One, I Promise

Well, after I posted that last blog I found more pictures! I had forgotten that the 7th grade girls decided to cover themselves so they wouldn't look guilty when the little girls woke up. Watching them cover themselves just about sent me over the edge of laughing.
The next morning I found the little girls standing around like monkeys picking stickers off each other. Please pardon the blurry pictures. I had only had about four hours of sleep. Oh, and I was laughing!Look at that pile they made!
Oh, and what is that behind them?? It's Kirstin, asleep again! Instead of stickers McKinley and Becca decided to use some leftover grapes. A grape in her ear, why not?


On second thought...this probably won't end well.I was right.

Slumber Party-Part 3

So the stickers...oh, the stickers. McKinley recently spent the night with two friends. They each texted the other ones planning pranks. (Again, don't get me started.) It ended up that everyone ended up being 'stickered'. Don't know what 'stickered' entails? It's basically waiting for someone to fall asleep and then you put stickers all over their bodies. Kirsten's mom is a teacher so the stickers were in good supply. Each of the three girls got stickered that night.

Fast forward to our sleepover. The 7th graders had already planned their attack.

The ploy:put a movie on for the little girls-wait for them to fall asleep-cover them with stickers. Who would have guessed that when the movie was over not only were the little girls asleep, but so was Kirstin! McKinley and Becca got to work. Kirstin had brought 2400 St. Patrick's Day stickers. I sat and watched for a while but got tickled and couldn't stop laughing! I got Becca and McKinley laughing also and Kirstin started to move. Everytime she'd make a move we'd all hit the floor to try to hide. It's at that point that I decided to get the camera out. Kirstin woke up because of the laughter and was not amused! For the next two and a half hours I watched while they meticulously covered almost every inch of exposed skin on the six little girls. We had apparently worn them out because they all slept through it.

Their attention to detail was amazing. Look how they perfectly placed this one in the ear.

These were placed in this area to resemble Chicken Pox.

No part of the sticker sheet was wasted.

Look how each individual toe has its own sticker.Kennedy was the only one sleeping on her back so she was given special face decorations.As you can see, Jackie 'O' is an excellent bodyguard. She just about licked Kirstin's hand instead of defending her owner.

Kennedy got a lot of special attention. I think she got more stickers then anyone else. At one point all three 7th grade girls were working on her.

What a fun way to spend the wee hours of the morning. Here are just a few more of my favorite pictures.And just in case you were wondering...I'm still cleaning them up! They've turned up in the weirdest places:C)

Kennedyisms

Kennedy woke up very tired for the first day of school this morning. I asked her if she had gone to sleep as soon as she had gotten in bed last night.

She told me, "No, I was too exciting."

Slumber Party-Part 2

So here's my thinking.

Get ready to be amazed.

With three girls wanting to have friends spend the night that means there could be a friend over three nights a month. Three Friday nights, I don't think that works for me. Mainly because I don't want to have my house that clean that often. There, I said it. Let's move on. I had the brilliant idea to get two friends each over in just one night. We have a pool, a trampoline, a swing set, a sandbox, a Wii with Rock Band, and two highly entertaining parents...how bad could it be?

We did have fun, but we're all worn out. All nine of them were a blur, swimming, jumping, running...constantly. We did get them all to sit down and eat but it didn't last long. There always seemed to be some putting makeup on, some dressing up, some swimming,some sliding down the stairs in sleeping bags, some judging contests, some jumping, some painting nails, and some playing Text Hide and Go Seek (don't even ask).

We did get them together for Smore's...but there never seemed to be enough fire for them. Piper kept asking for the 'fire destinguisher' (the torch) to make it bigger. We brought out the bellows to help...but it just created quite a bit of smoke.

McKinley figured out what to do though.

Certainly didn't stop anyone from eating.Everyone was a bit sticky so a dip in the pool seemed necessary. Some though didn't want to go in.

It took some convincing.

By the time we settled everyone in for a movie the 7th graders where planning the sticker attack of '08. That will have to wait for the next blog!