A little brag......

Abigail has been bugging me to get her a sewing machine. (Really that's just one of the things she's been bugging me about.)

Anyway, I told her that first she should learn to sew by hand because there are some things that can't be done on a sewing machine. And, if she learns the mechanics of how things work and/or go together it will only help when she is creating things on the sewing machine.

She has a bag of clothes in her room that she doesn't wear anymore so I told her to use those things to work with on creating something new.

Here's what she came up with.

The red was a shirt that she cut up and turned into a jacket. She took the bottom of the red shirt and used it to make the flowers and used the buttons from the red shirt for the center of the flowers.

She did a great job, didn't she?

Sharing

Hmmmmm, I wonder if Berty cares that Dax didn't want to share his glass of water.

Sixth Grade - Day 2

I left the camera and a note asking Dax to take a 'Day 2' picture for comparrison.




And he actually did it!!!!

I hear they weren't thrilled about having this picture taken either.

They don't look so different from yesterday, which raises the question of why I spent 30 minutes getting hair done.

That's going to require some thought now isn't it?

Sixth Grade!!!!

I still can't believe that our children started 6th grade today!


It just doesn't seem possible.


They were all in a hurry to get to school this morning. When I went to make breakfast (about 15 before time to wake them) they were already dressed and ready to go.


They didn't want me to take a first day of school picture today, but Mom can be pretty mean if she doesn't get her way.


(Did you notice that I referred to myself in the third person so that I could try to distance myself from the 'mean' a little?)


Anyway, here's the picture.

In case you're wondering (grandparents), Wyatt does not have a black eye. Yesterday he and Dax were out doing shooting practice and one of the cartridges got stuck in his safety glasses when it ejected from the gun. That's a burn mark under his eye. He says it doesn't really hurt, but I don't believe him because it hurts me every time I look at it.

 

Okay, back to the subject at hand.

I have a dental appointment very early in the morning (I have to be there by 7:00) so I thought I'd try to get Dax to take a picture tomorrow morning of their second day of school.

I'm feeling pretty sure that they won't be springing out of bed and that Dad won't be doing their hair.

Getting ready for school.......

I've bought all the school supplies and passed them out accordingly.


The back packs are ready to go.


That just means it was time for the real back to school preparations.

On Saturday morning the girls and I headed to the salon. I let them look through the books and make their own choices for hairstyles.

Addison played it really safe and picked one that mostly looked like her hair already did. She mostly just got it layered a little on the bottom.

I don't have a picture of her because after about 10 failed attempts, I finally gave up. lol

Abigail got her hair a little shorter with layers.

She's having a bit of 'buyer's remorse' though because she likes Kirsten's new hairstyle. I think she'll probably be a little more daring the next time we go.

Kirsten's choice was the most dramatic change.

It doesn't look it here, but it's much shorter than it was.

She was very nervous for her Dad to see it and spent much of the day contemplating ways to avoid seeing him. Unfortunately, our house isn't big enough to get away with that.

But, after he saw it, and after he screamed, fainted, and regained conciousness, he told her that he thought it was cute.

Now the test is just to see if the hair gets done each morning before school.

Still enjoying our vacation......

There are some things from our cruise that have translated into our everyday lives.


Addison has made up menus and we get to have bread, appetizers, an entre', and (sometimes) desert just like on the cruise. I even bought ramekins this weekend so that Addison can try the Melting Chocolate Cake recipe that she found.


The kids have also been taking turns leaving towel animals for Dax & I.


Here's one of Kirsten's creations.

Although, the other night, Wyatt's was just a towel rolled up and then shaped into a 'V'. How pathetic an attempt is that?

What is wrong with me?!!

I am my own worst enemy!!

Really. It's true.

Welcome, Berty, the newest member of our family.

We already have a house full of animals (4 dogs, 2 cats-before this addition- a mouse, and a rabbit.)

The kids are constantly asking for new pets and I've told them at least a million times 'I don't want another living, breathing thing in this house.'

And then I'm the one the one that shows up with a kitten!!!

But, she was climbing into the engine of a truck in a parking lot and I just couldn't leave her there. I know that the way I would have felt at just leaving her there is far worse than having her at home. And I know that it's just one of the ways that God likes to put-me-in-my-place when I get too mouthy.

Besides, she's been really sweet and lovable.

And it's a lot of fun watching her play.

Some day soon we'll have to get around to introducing her to the rest of the animals around here.

Note to self......

Be sure that all dishes are free of dish soap meant for handwashing before they go into the dishwasher or you end up with a lot of suds.

This is after two cycles!!!

I wish I had thought to take a picture when the suds were so plentiful that they totally filled the dishwasher.

It only took FOUR cycles and almost a whole container of salt to get rid of the bubbles.

GAAH!!!

We're back!!!

Did you think we fell off the face of the earth?


We've been gone on vacation (and a few days recovering from being gone on vacation.)


We went on a cruise to Progresso and Cozumel. It was wonderful!!!


Addison started the vacation the same way she starts all of our vacations.

We left out of Galveston on Monday, and since that's several hours away from us, we drove over on Sunday and spent the night at the Tremont Hotel.



It was a really nice place and the kids enjoyed relaxing the night away.

We got up the next morning and met the rest of our party for breakfast before heading over to the ship. We actually had VIP passes so were able to board quickly.

The rooms (which were wonderful) weren't ready for us at that point so we headed off to do one of the most important things that you can do on a ship.

EAT!!!

Later in our room.....

We were on this vacation to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary that happens later this month. I hope that they enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

We saw a lot of beautiful sights.

Sunrise

Sunsets

Flora

Exotic fruit

And, we stumbled on a photo shoot for some hot male model. Woohoo!!

The guy from the Six Flags commercials

Just kidding.

It's our friend Steve.

But he does look like the guy in the commercials

Here he is with his wife Celia.

We stopped in Progresso where we headed shopping and out to the beach.

(Can you see the stud-muffin in the background with his shirt pulled up? I didn't even notice that when I was taking the picture but it makes it all worth while, right?)

After shopping, we got on the bus to head back to the dock.

You can't tell how miserable this bus ride was from the picture. Actually, when I took the picture it wasn't a bus 'ride' yet. It was a bus wait. They wouldn't leave until the bus was full, and if you were 'lucky' enough to arrive early, you had to sit on the bus and wait. Oh, and it was about 190 degrees outside (only a slight exaggeration), the bus was not air conditioned, only some of the windows could still be opened, and there was no breeze to be found. Can you tell that we were some of the lucky ones that arrived before the bus was full?

But, on the bright side, we made it back to the ship most likely a few pounds lighter from our time in the traveling spa. (That's probably how they should advertise the bus, don't you think?)

The next day we stopped in Cozumel and did more shopping and sight seeing.

All of the walking has been hard on Abigail's feet.

But after a pedicure, she was able to find a new boyfriend.

I did have one concern though.

We bought the kids the cards for unlimited soft drinks (we knew that would be less expensive in the long run), but they have to get their drinks at the bar.

Isn't that teaching them a little something I may not want them to know?

Here are Addison and Wyatt at the bar ordering their drinks.

See what I mean?

Maybe Wyatt's had too many?

Or maybe they learned it from me?

After a few nights, though, nobody would sit with poor little Wyatt.

Just kidding, we were the first ones to the table.

And, as you can imagine, we were all exhausted by the time we got back home.

Overall it was a wonderful vacation and I wish we were still on it!!

Unfortunately, while we were gone someone did this to our mailbox.