Late Holiday Post

We had a great holiday weekend! It started off last Thursday when my hubby's sister and her husband got here and brought this cute little thing with them!!

He has such a beautiful smile!

We went out for dinner, which we hadn't all done together in a long time. The next morning we left for mom and dad's house. This is the youngest. We don't let the kids eat in the suburban, because it is our "nice" vehicle. So, here she is with me telling her to hurry. Really, a little cold headache never hurt anybody, did it?
We finally made it. I was so happy to see these guys! It seemed like it had been forever!

Of coarse, Uncle Shawn was happy to see Rileigh Cait.

My two oldest had been at my mom's for 2 weeks. The oldest didn't really seem to thrilled with the idea of coming home but my oldest girl was happy to see her Mommy. (She still calls me that, by the way. The oldest calls me mother but we won't go there right now!)
Even though she was ready to come home, she still had a blast with her little cousins!

This one especially.

So, a bunch of friends came out for the 4th. Mom and Dad have a bunch out for a fall get-together and the summer. It's always fun. I think the guys may be getting too old for the football games though!
(Please take note of my hubby's white socks. I'm not sure what the deal is. I guess it is what it is. Ughh. Really, I'm having an issue with the socks but I don't know why. Ok, I'm over it now. Not really, but I'll quit writing about it.)

This is my baby and her Bestest BFF.

The sun was starting to set and I thought this was a pretty cloud.

Why do people (who are normally reasonably sane) light fire on the end of a stick and give it to children? This really makes me a nervous wreck.

The next morning we headed back home. We made it in time to visit with our other family a little before they had to go back home.

That, and the youngest boy got to see Meme.

My sis-in-law put a couple of pictures on her blog of this but I thought I would too. My hubby took our nephew on a four-wheeler ride.

When I looked at this picture closer, I was instantly amused by the look on his face.

Do you see what I'm talking about? He looks scared to death but really he was having fun!

I couldn't let Uncle Shawn have all the fun so I had to take him on a ride too.

His momma did so well. I didn't know if she would let us take him or not. He had a really rough go of it when he was first born and she is a little protective. We're still working on getting her to let him come stay for a little while. Maybe before he's a teenager! :)

Borrowed Babies

I watched this show tonight. These teenage couples are put in charge of a baby for three days while the parents watch and hear everything from across the street. There were a couple of times that I was sure that these parents would come unglued. My teen-aged kids are definitely watching next week, even if I have to DVR it!

That's My Girl

My girl turned 14 yesterday. Holy cow. How did this happen?
She's not going to like this too much but I just can't contain myself any longer. This story must be told.
Four years ago this summer, I bought a some exercise equipment. It came with a little wrench to put it together. One night, this girl of mine, came out of her bedroom with big, HUGE, tears streaming down her cheeks. After a little questioning, this is what she showed us...
We asked her why she put it on her finger. Her response was, "Well, I put it on once and took it off, so I put it back on." Why did we even ask? Duh.
We tried soap and wiggling (the wrench, not the kid). Didn't work. We tried to use the Dremmel to cut it off. (OK, that seriously wasn't me. You know men and power tools) Anyway, the wrench got too hot so we had to quit. Whatever could we do?
Ahh, take her to the Emergency Department!

Do you see this? Two doctors and three nurses. Do you know how to get a wrench off of a little girl's swollen little finger? They didn't either. The end result was umbilical tape and KY. Why do I have a picture of my kid in the E.D., you ask? Well, because when our kids were little, we had no less than 3-5 visits per year. Please don't ask. I wasn't a nurse then and I was a little uptight.

Oh, back to my girl. That same summer, she got the worse case of poison ivy that I have ever seen, to this day. Have you ever seen anything more pitiful?

So my first girl is now fourteen. She spends her time reading big thick books that I wouldn't have even tried to read at that age and IMing on the computer. She dreams of being a dentist or maybe a veterinarian. She worries about mistreated animals and little kids. She's just a great kid. One to be proud of.
This was last July 4th. I'm so thankful that God gave her to me and I hope that she forgives me for this post!