I'm Officially A Tween

Today I was on the elliptical at my club house, and I saw two women approaching the clubhouse. I frantically grabbed the remote and changed the channel so they wouldn't know I was watching "Melissa and Joey" on ABC Family (to be fair, there is nothing good on in the 5:00 hour).

Then tonight I downloaded Selena Gomez's new album. In its entirety.

Beat that.

I Heart my Visiting Teachers

I have the best visiting teachers. A few weeks ago (not on the last day of the month like how I was out tonight), I came home to this little surprise along with a couple of sweet notes. It was a Wednesday and already the week had been terrible. They couldn't have known . . . but this thoughtful little delivery was just the pick me up I needed.

Family Reunion Fun

We had a family reunion over the weekend. A big hit for the kids was the slip 'n' slide down the side of the park. It was the perfect activity for a crazy hot day as it provided endless fun for the kids - both big and little.

Grace and Lauryn

Jena has the best smile


Brent with his wet girls - Grace and Maggie



Jacob and Emma are soaked too!

Lilli and Davis with his wet hairdo . . . thanks, Dad.

Stephanie, Shelley, Melinda and Kristen

Jacob cruising down the slide

Kristen racing down the slide with Emma and Jacob . . .

And, she got a little wet . . .

Grace and Kristen. Grace would rotate between coming for a bite of food and then was quickly back in line for a turn down the slide.

Brent and Taylor had a competition to see who could go the farthest OFF the slide. Brent was pretty good, but Taylor had a tight form that sent him a little further . . . even with the extra soap Brent added to the slide.

Grace

Jacob

Brent and Davis

Kristen and Davis

Julie with a nice wet hug from Jacob

Making Cookies

If at first you don't succeed...

Try

Try Again*

*Note: It helps to remember to put all the ingredients in the batter.

#16 Pay off my car - DONE

It was a glorious day today as I made the last payment on my car! I kind of expected my bank website to light up with little graphics of streamers and fireworks like they do when you win solitaire, like, "Congratulations!! You paid off your car!"

Instead, I got this:

But it's a beautiful thing to behold.

That Bugs

So, I totally had a bug fly down my shirt tonight. And then he kept moving around, so I got to try to discreetly fish him out in front of a large group of people. And I say that it was a he, because my mom always told me that men like "that area."

Parade of Homes

We had fun at the Parade of Homes this year and especially loved the "Up" house. They paid attention to every detail from the movie and the night we went there was a man that looked like the main character going up and down the driveway greeting people and a scout on the porch with his backpack. We were surprised how functional the house turned out to be. We loved it.




In order to maximize our time, we focus on homes that have a larger sales price because we really like to be wowed. Sometimes we get great ideas from checking out the houses. Look at this great tie organizer which would be perfect for Dad . . . who has many, many ties.