Look What we Got!!!...

An EDIBLE ARRANGEMENT!!!...

Our "Shy Child's" girlfriend came for a visit before leaving for Austria this Saturday (we are VERY JEALOUS as that was one of our favorite destinations when we lived abroad) for a semester... and as a "Thank You" she (and her parents) sent us an EDIBLE ARRANGEMENT!!!

Lilley-Kate was SO EXCITED (she's really into "as seen on TV" items) and I have to admit so was I (having never seen one "in person")...

The fruit was YUMMY and included CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES and BANANAS TOO!!!

Funny though... the delivery base... and hangtag was quite adamant ' Handle with care. For saefty in case of an accident, transport arrangement away from passengers, for example in the trunk. Never allow a passenger to hold the arrangement when vehicle is in motion' THANKFULLY it was delivered to our doorstep in a company van!!!

All In The Family...

One of the things that Michael "passed on" to the kids is a LOVE of GOLF... which even after 20+ years of marriage I still don't "get"... anyway...


It has become an evening "ritual" this Summer that they have chipping and putting practice in the back yard... Michael sets up a little kiddie pool (it use to be ABBIE'S pool) out in the yard and they practice chipping the balls into the pool... Michael and our "shy child" hit it more times than not... Lilley-Kate has hit it 4 times this Summer (and done the "Tiger arm pump" each time)...


Soon the nightly ritual will end... as school and activities take up the evening hours... but it sure has been nice to be a spectator of growing relationships in the back yard...

SORRY...

DANG... I had Lilley-Kate's Spring Concert outfit all ready... the concert is TOMORROW EVENING... got the 411 home from school yesterday about the event... "required dress"... SCHOOL UNIFORM!!! WHAT??? *sigh*... well... we'll go with that...

Nick is home from school for the Summer... he and Lilley-Kate have been having a daily evening game of SORRY... it was a FAV of Nick's when he was little... and Lilley-Kate LOVES playing it!

TAP PORTRAITS this evening...

Our weather is forecasted to be SUPERB the rest of the week... THAT makes me VERY HAPPY!

FOUND... not LOST... Yet...

Nick came home for the weekend... announcing yet again ANOTHER REMOTE had "disappeared" out of his school suite... that is TWO this year (he seems to think someone is playing a joke... a not so funny one in my opinion!)... Michael and I were able to do some errands and shopping ALONE (a real treat)... and found Nick a REMOTE that will be HARD to lose!

Michael found it... I thought it was HILARIOUS... it is HUGE measuring 5" across and 11" long... it looks like a prop from "Honey I Shrunk The Kids"... we laughed so hard when we saw it people were giving us concerned looks in the store!...


If THIS remote decides to "take a little walk"... Nick will just have to make due "the old fashion way"... GETTING UP to change the channel on his television!

Totally Addictive...

Nick's girlfriend Samantha came for a "post-holiday" visit for a few days... It's always nice to see her (and Lilley-Kate LOVES her)... she's super sweet... and gives Nick an intellectual run for his money... Well... shortly after she arrived on Friday she got a hold of Lilley-Kate's FIND IT tube (a gift from SANTA... at the suggestion of a VERY FABULOUS ELF!!!)... and then found Nick's FIND IT tube...


I think every chance she got... she had one of them in her hands... searching for the HIDDEN ITEMS... thinking maybe I'll be purchasing another one as a "belated Holiday" gift!!!

I must say though... FIND IT Tubes are TOTALLY ADDICTIVE!!!

Christmas Countdown...

Last night we decided to take a bit of a "road trip" to a (not so) local nursery to visit "Santa's Lane"... this has become a yearly tradition... the trees (there are about 100 in all) are beautifully decorated and there are LOTS of holiday ornaments and decoration to see...

Lilley-Kate was THRILLED that Nick agreed to come with us...

The PINK pointsettias were a FAV of both ME and Lilley-Kate (I think it was the glitter on all the petals that we loved the most!)...

LOTS and LOTS of beautifully decorated trees... I think I have come to LOVE the "very decorated" look... (I got lots of good ideas too of things that can be ADDED to trees... other than traditional ornaments)...

A big "trend" was the Colored trees... Lilley-Kate and I particularly like this PURPLE tree... they also had PINK, ROYAL BLUE, WHITE, RED and even a BLACK tree...

The most favorite tree of all of course had to be the BALLERINA TREE...

I hope everyone is getting their last minute things done!!! Tonight we will be popping popcorn and taking a ride around our nieghborhood to see all the Christmas lights!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!

Hi Ho... Hi Ho...

It's "off to school" Nick goes... is it POSSIBLE that I have a kid who is a JUNIOR in COLLEGE??? They grow up WAY TOO FAST!!!...

My "camera shy" child was "kind enough" to allow a couple of few pictures to be snapped with Lilley-Kate over the weekend...

We'll miss having Nick around here on a daily basis... but I'm sure he'll be back soon... as soon as his Laundry bag gets full... :o)

It SEEMS Like Just Yesterday...

We welcomed you into the world...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK!!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up...

Well... time to prepare for the upcoming week... After picking up Lilley-Kate from school on Friday we went to pick up Nick so he could spend the weekend home (and of course he needed some laundry done... LOL)...

Saturday had a slow start... Lilley-Kate and I colored... I sewed a bit... made a run to Wallies (Nick needed some snacky stuff for school too)

Sunday morning I spoke to my sister on the phone... we took Nick back to school... stopped and had lunch at McDonalds... when we got home we spent some time outside and Lilley-Kate practiced riding her new bike (that she got for Christmas) and we played frisbee... then later worked on a Dance Poster (it's for a contest for National Dance Month)... Lilley-Kate picked out the pictures... wrote the captions... and decorated the poster with stickers... we watched a short Maisy Movie and ate pancakes... then off to bed!

One down... two to go!!!

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL weekend!!!