Some days I Just Want to...

...bury my head in the sand! Today is one of those (sigh) My sister and I decided my name could be "Grumpie Girl" for an online name today! You would think I would learn not to say "It couldn't get worse" after a while...but NOPE...I don't! Let's just say it is a no-good-very-bad-day and I think I am just gonna crawl back in bed and try again tomorrow--even if it is only 4:00 p.m.

Okay...I Admit It...

...I Googled myself today. I always read the jokes about people doing that *smile* My mom ran into an old friend of mine from high school yesterday and I was so paranoid of her "finding me" again. I have intentionally tried to stay lost from quite a few people in my past--and she happens to be one of them LOL I wanted to see if you typed in my name--if I would show up *grin* So now I know...if you type in my name...you come up with lots of recipes I submitted several years ago to the Sister-Share mailing list, the information where my sister and I redesigned the LDS Humanitarian Aid ABC Coloring Books (and then they quit using them about 6 weeks later UGH) and a link to when my family was featured in the "Family Fun" magazine! I thought that was pretty funny!! But...it would be very hard for her to actually "find me!" and that is a good thing...so SHHHHHH...I am still hiding :)

So...if you're curious...here is the color book patterns (they are fun just for kids to color):

http://www.sugardoodle.net/Humanitarian%20Effort/index.shtml (under "Service Opportunities)

And....this is our super cool "Family Fun" article that came out a couple years ago! Silly Easter Bunny...do something once...then it becomes a TRADITION...and it has to keep happening. I tell my kids every year..."This is the year we have bunny stew!" We have even set traps for him, but all we catch is a little bunny tail fur in our trap every year. (sigh)

Video Game Day? I Thought Every Day was at My House!

Yesterday was National Video Game Day--At our house EVERY DAY is video game day *smile* My kids LOVE their gameboys and the Nintendo! I guess the humor in the holiday would be that Stevie was grounded from his gameboy! Steven and the kids did sit and play games last night for awhile though--we're still sorting out all the Nintendos--this is a LONG project!

I was thinking about video games though while they were playing. Boy they have come a long way in the past 25 years! I remember playing the old Atari at my sister's house. I loved playing "Asteroids"! It was worth babysitting just so I could play *grin* I also played Intellivison (I think that was the name of it) at another sister's house. We played "Night Stalker" a ton! I had an OLD gaming system--I can't even remember what it was called--but it only had one game "Pong"! Now there is an old game! Hit the ball back and forth across the screen. Or even worse was the old Vic 20 computer where I would program codes FOREVER until the little ball would bounce across the screen LOL Compare that with all the new games--a world of difference!! I guess my favorite game would have to be "Bubble Bobble" on the old NES Nintendo--my handsome and I would play that for hours when we were first married and broke! I still love it even though I rarely play games anymore--I wouldn't let him get rid of it :)

Spending Time with My Handsome!!

Yesterday Steven had the day off! We decided to take the day ALONE and go to Austin to play *smile* I am usually worried about gas prices--we haven't done a lot of driving lately--so this was a SPLURGE! The kids aren't thrilled with our "scenic driving tours" (meaning: we usually get lost at least once) and chose to stay home. We started with a trip to Wolf Ranch Shopping Center--didn't buy much but had fun looking and wishing! We had lunch at MY favorite place in Georgetown--"The County Seat" where they make the BEST chicken salad sandwiches EVER! This time I even looked like the cheesy tourist and took a picture of Steven outside the restaurant with the waiter statue *grin*

Then we were off on more shopping/looking adventures! We went to Joanne's Craft Store (a Heidi no-no store) where I got a new cartridge for my Cricut--the kids were thrilled--it's a Winnie the Pooh one. (Now I just need to learn how to use my machine LOL I got it right as we moved to Texas and haven't tried it much yet) We stopped at Hobby Lobby--yes--ANOTHER craft store! Then it was off to "The Container Store" which if you know me very well--that is MY PLACE!!! Think of all the things to organize and play with *smile* I actually got out without buying any new boxes or keepers LOL I think that is a first for me!

One thing I notice a lot in Texas is their pride in their Texas Star. It is EVERYWHERE! I have decided that we are going to do a "Texas Star" Scrapbook! It is on signs, buildings, cars, clothes, and even the roadways! In Austin we have found it in many overpasses and roadways. This is one the ones I saw yesterday that I thought was pretty cool!

Then we went to Lakeline Mall to check out the Build-a-Bear store--I was scouting for an idea I had for while Steven is deployed--okay maybe I just wanted to go see all the bears--I WANT to make my OWN bear one day!! *grin* We also hit the Disney Store where my loving (and totally understanding) hubby bought me a Beauty and Beast Polly Pocket LOL! Yes...I am 38 and have my own toys! (MAYBE I will even let my kids play with me with them once in a while!) We also spent time up in the food court looking at the walls and ceilings. This is my FAVORITE food court I have ever been too! See what you think:

We stopped at the outlet mall in Round Rock on the way home--but didn't find anything fun except a BIG rainstorm while we were in an outdoor mall!! On the way home, after a LONG but FUN day of shopping and visiting, we stopped at one of Steven's favorite restaurants "Chipotle" and had chips with salsa and a burrito. It was YUMMY! They have the best chips and salsa there! We had a nice drive home in the rain and it was fun to be together all day! I am so glad I married my best friend! I can't imagine not being with him--he makes life fun!

Fun, Food, and Fireworks on the Fourth!

Okay, so it wasn't ALL fun! The kids had to do homeschool on the fourth too--story of our lives *smile* We are almost caught up--next Friday is our goal date and we are getting close! We spent the morning doing homeschool--at least it was fun stuff like making science models out of magnetix and making paper airplanes for science (see...I'm not such a mean orgre teacher!) We had LOTS of food--Steven outdid himself on the bbq--and it was all for our own family--we didn't even have anyone over LOL! We had hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, macaroni salad, watermelon, ice cream--typical picnic on the 4th food! The kids played nintendo with dad (still trying to go through all those games) and I played with my stamps! When it finally got dark, we went outside to play. I have never used sparklers with my kids (I watched my nephew step on one and it went right through his foot) but I always buy them LOTS of glow sticks and poppers. Then we sat on the swing and watched Ft. Hood's fireworks right from our house! They were beautiful! We also watched a neighbor up the road start the field on fire with fireworks--stupid people--there was a burn ban on Ft. Hood! Luckily they were able to get it out. We also watched a car accident--which was very sad. People hurrying to get home from the fireworks went off the road--it looked like the car caught fire. Kimberly said I should have labeled this blog enry "Fun, Food, Fireworks and Fatalities on the Fourth" *sigh* I never could find any information on what happened or if people were hurt. I hope not!! Anyways...here are a few of our favorite fourth photos!

The Last Wild Weatherston Wednesday for Awhile!

I know this post is late...I just haven't been in a blogging mood! I have been enjoying spending time with my husband the past few days! We have spent many lunches and shopping trips alone without kids (Thanks for babysitting Kimberly!!) It has been nice...but now I get to catch up!

Wednesday was another fun "Weatherston Wednesday"! It was wild! We had over 25 people here this time. It has been so fun to get to know people in the ward!! Thank you everyone who came! We had tons of food and friends LOL!

We were having LOTS of fun playing on the slide and trampoline until...

...the slide got an owie! The lady at Toys R Us told us that the Texas heat is horrible on toys--and to make sure we took out the warranty--I am SO glad we did--since this is only about 6 weeks old!

We tried duct tape...and NO...it doesn't work on EVERYTHING!

We finally had to make a line for the kids and only allow one at a time or else it would start to collapse! UGH!!

We had SO many people here this week--it was SO MUCH FUN!!

This is my new BBQ cart *grin* I got it for $5 at a yard sale--I thought it would work well in my scrapbooking "zone" but then decided it works pretty good in the BBQ area too!

Sonia brought ice cream and cones for everyone--YUMMY!!

We had watermelon for dessert too! It was a lot of fun having everyone over! The toy is out of commission for a bit--so there won't be a party this week. Toys R Us is refunding our money since we had the warranty--and Steven thinks he might be able to fix this one still--but he's going TDY for a couple weeks! When he gets back...we'll have to have another Wild Weatherston BBQ!

Every Day Can Be a Celebration!

I know I write a lot about the weird holidays we celebrate...so this is YOUR chance to celebrate with us! When I was in super-volunteer mode at Ft. Lewis, I taught a class at Women's Conference on "Holiday Fun Throughout the Year". We had a LOT of fun in that class!! I have also taught it in many different wards since then for homemakings. (The other class I taught at WC was Birthday Parties from A to Z--which was a BLAST also!) Anyways...I am rambling because I am tired *smile* so here is the list of just a FEW of the holidays you can celebrate in July: (Oh...and if you DO find something fun to do--let me know--we may steal YOUR ideas next year!)

July

Fun Excuses to Celebrate This Month:

1st: Build a Scarecrow Day
1st: Canada Day
1st: International Joke Day
1st: National Postal Worker’s Day
1st: Princess Diana’s Birthday (1961)
2nd: First Zeppelin Flew in 1900
4th: American Independence Day
4th: First Bus Built in 1829
4th: National Country Music Day
6th: First Picture Postcard Made
6th: National Fried Chicken Day
7th: National Macaroni Day
8th: Liberty Bell Cracks (in 1835 while ringing at the funeral of John Marshall)
8th: Video Games Day
9th: National Sugar Cookie Day
10th: Teddy Bear’s Picnic Day
11th: Cheer Up the Lonely Day
12th: Paper Bag Day (Paper Bag Manufacturing Machine Patented in 1879)
13th: National French Fry Day
13th: National Children’s Day
14th: Bastille Day
15th: First Boeing 707 flew in 1954
17th: Sewing Machine Patented in 1790
18th: Cow Appreciation Day
19th: Stick Your Tongue Out Day
20th: Chess Day
21st: National Ice Cream Day
21st: National Junk Food Day
23rd: Ice Cream Cone Introduced in 1904
24th: Amelia Earhart’s Birthday (1867)
27th: Bugs Bunny’s Birthday (First Debuted in 1940)
29th: National Lasagna Day
30th: National Cheesecake Day

July is also “National Blueberry Month”, “Anti-Boredom Month”, “National Baked Beans Month”, “National Foreign Language Month”, “National Hot Dog Month”, “National Ice Cream Month”, and “National Recreation Month”.