Brothers and peppers

I realized today that it's been a while since I posted a picture of the kids...

So after naptime I tried to snap a few.

What crazy little boys. :) They sure made me smile as I tried to snap pictures of them while they watched some PBS show...And yes, Spencer is wearing his helmet. LOVES that thing.

As many of you know, the kids LOOOOOOVE bell peppers. They all eat them like apples, and it's the big treat that they all go crazy for. But they can be SO expensive. Last year I made an attempt at planting them, which failed miserably. :) Due to my lack of a green thumb, I am always on the lookout for good deals on peppers. This past Sunday I saw them in the ad for a local grocery store--2 for .99 cents. I WAS SOOOO excited.

I have been super busy and haven't had the time to go until today. You know that feeling you get while shopping the after Thanksgiving sale where you just are running to get that great deal before everyone takes it all? That totally describes how I felt...I anxiously walked into the store and made a beeline for the veggie section, in hopes that there would be SOMETHING left. I was certain that the entire city of Cleveland had made a mad rush to this grocery store to pick up their peppers.

But as I rounded the corner...

SCORE! SCORE! SCORE! A whole bin full of them.

Loaded up my cart and headed home with my goods.

We spent some time this evening washing, chopping, and packaging up chopped up bell peppers to store in the freezer until we need them for a recipe. It's so easy to just pull out a little snack bag of peppers and toss it in whatever we are making...and for that price, It's a really economical solution for our pepper obsession...and we are still able to pick up our whole peppers throughout the year for snacks...

Number of peppers purchased- 16

Number of peppers eaten by the kids tonight - 5

Number of peppers frozen - 7

Number of leftover peppers - 4...which I am POSITIVE won't last long.

T.I.R.E.D.

T- Too much running around today! Lots to do, in the pouring rain, with 2 boys in tow. Nuff said.

I- I have zero energy left...and am ready to just lounge around...

R- Really not sure how so much will get done in the next week. I know it will...but...sigh.

E- Exhausted thinking about all I've done...and all I need to get done tomorrow.

D- Done thinkin' for the day...checking out. Good night!

p.s. had one thought today I wanted to make sure I wrote down...

Today I was thinking about how frustrated the kids made me sometimes. I was thinking about the crying, whining, breaking my things, ruining THEIR things, the messes, the fighting...all that stuff. And I had the thought cross my mind that I would do it all again...ALL OF IT...just so I could have the chance to raise each of my kids...because that has also brought me an immense amount of JOY...

Felony free

Just had to dedicate a whole post to the fact that, after a letter and a lot of phone calls, the warrant for my arrest has been lifted.

WHAT A RELIEF.

They did reschedule me for a new courtdate--instead of just waiving the whole case (wondering if that's how they have to proceed)--but at least I don't have the fear of the cops chasing me down and hauling me to jail over that driveway parking ticket. :)

Mini pies, kindergarten chaos, and getting back in the groove

On Friday Jenna's class combined with the other kindergarten class and they learned about Johnny Appleseed. I was so excited to go volunteer and be involved in Jenna's class.

So I baked. And I baked. And I baked. 50 mini apple pies.

And Friday came. I took my precious pies to her class. I loaded their little plates with all the donated storebought apple treats and placed my pie proudly on each plate.

WOW are kindergarteners CRAZY! :) Every 2 seconds someone was asking to use the bathroom or for more of something.

And some inhaled their food, some picked at it, and some just nibbled here and there. And after their few minutes of eating, I watched more than half od my perfectly portioned mini pies get tossed into the garbage.

I. WAS. CRUSHED.

Lesson learned...I will save my homebaked goodies for an age that might actually appreciate them...like maybe when my kids are adults. :)

_______ ____________ ___________

It has been an uplifting weekend. I had so many thoughts and things that just made me see things in a different light. I am so grateful for each of those lessons. And I am especially grateful for today...Sunday...it was spiritually a wonderful day.

Everyone needs a day like today.

I did, that's for sure.

And tomorrow I start fresh...with many changes ahead to be a better me. I need to be. Not just FOR me, but for my husband and family....and for my Heavenly Father.

Stepping things up, to stand a little taller and do a little more.

And I feel good about it. Really good.

_______ _________ ____________

p.s. did my post yesterday make ANY sense? If you have questions about it, I will help walk you through! Just trust me, it makes life so much easier...it will!

A rainy Saturday and a blogger tip.

It's been a rainy Saturday...the kind of day that makes you stay in your jammies until noon and have happy thoughts of soups and stews and homemade rolls...I love days like today.

We've been able to finally tackle some cleaning projects here on the homefront that we have been meaning to get to for...well...longer than it should have taken. :) And Brandon made brownies with the kids and read them stories from Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books...seeing him with the kids like that always makes me fall in love with him again. He really is an amazing dad.

I ran errands and got some things done, froze some celery, made dinner...and tonight I get to go be lifted and edified at the General R.S. broadcast. I LOVE FALL for lots of reasons. But that meeting is one of the BIGGEST reasons I love this time of the year.

An all around good day.

Now, onto blog topics...I love comments. LOVE THEM. Who doesn't?! But one thing I have found is that when I have a question, or someone has a question for me, I feel stuck knowing how to respond. Do I respond on my own blog hoping they see? Do I leave a random note on THEIR Blog and hope they read it? Who knows? The one way I have found that works the BEST for me is via email--(I have my comments setting so that I get my comments emailed to me--)

I have been meaning to post this for a while now, but just hadn't gotten it all written up. But the other day while reading over at sew many ways, she highlighted the very thing I had been wanting to post! So, I am taking the shortcut and using her words to share how to do this so hopefully blogger questions will be easier to respond to!

She says:
Here's a quick way for anyone to check to see if you can receive email back through your blog comments.

• first, go to your blogger dashboard
• near your picture or logo on the left, click "Edit Profile"
• go to the first section labeled "Privacy"
• in this section, the third line down should say "Show Email Address"
• make sure the IS a Check Mark in the "Show Email Address"
• if you don't have an email address listed, you can fill it in in the "Identity" section
• The MOST IMPORTANT part when you finish, is to go to the bottom of the page and click "Save Profile" on the bottom left side. If you do not click save it won't work.

That should do it. If you want to leave me a comment on this post, I will check to see if everything is ok. If it doesn't work, I'll meet you back here in another post!!

So, quick...go check your profile. Let's see if you are email ready! I love to respond to the comments I get and try to as often as possible. Leave a little love and I will send some right back! :)

Happy Saturday.

Feeling like a felon...

I know a blog is probably not the best place to confess this tidbit of information, but I am going to put it anyway.

I received a letter today letting me know I have a warrant out for my arrest.

I have never stolen anything, killed anyone, damaged property, or intentionally erred on the side of illegality. I try to be a good citizen, help out in the community, and aside from the smudge on my record from accidentally speeding, my record checks out as spotless....

What could be so terrible that I would have to post bond to be able to get a court date to clear up this situation?

I parked in my driveway.

Yes, folks...you heard it right. PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY.

And apparently if you park in your OWN driveway and any part of your car is hanging over the sidewalk (on YOUR property) you get a parking ticket for parking on the sidewalk.

Crazy, I know.

I went to court to fight this parking ticket, because I think a warning would be fair--seeing as how (in my own driveway) there is no sign saying I can't park our car behind the other. But no...

So I plead not guilty in court so that I would have the chance to explain this to a second judge (why the first judge could not just overturn this is absolutely beyond me). So, about 2 weeks after the first court appearance, I received a new date for my pre-trial appearance.

And I have got to be honest. I FORGOT.

I got the letter in the mail and set it aside to write on the calendar, and it got lost in the shuffle.

So getting this notice today was a shocker! I immediately went down to the courthouse to rectify things. Apparently, when you have a warrent out for your arrest (for not appearing in court) you have to pay $100 in cash for them to even be able to reschedule a court appearance, in which I would then pay an ADDITIONAL $100+ buckaroos...

FOR PARKING IN MY OWN DRIVEWAY.

I didn't pay. And that leaves me still at large in the eyes of the law...

I can only cross my fingers and say a LOT of prayers and hope that a letter to the judge will help get this all taken care of.

This whole thing has totally spun out of control And it makes me feel SO SAD. I have worried with every knock on the door that police are coming for me...and worried driving on the streets that they will run my plates and track me down.

I have nothing to hide...just a bad memory...

So why do I feel like such a felon?

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME! (A family 4 pack to see the circus!)

It's circus time here in the Cleveland area...and so this giveaway is for locals (unless you are willing to travel!!) I am SO excited to host this giveaway, since I myself have been wanting to go for a long time now. I think the kids will LOVE this show--it looks like it will be a BIG HIT!

With this giveaway, I have a 4 pack of tickets to the opening night showing (October 21, at 7:30 p.m.). Bring your kids or go as friends. What a fun night out!

HOW TO ENTER?

Leave a comment telling me one thing you LOVE about Cleveland. This could be a place, a landmark, an event, etc. I just want to hear what you think makes this city great.

Want another entry? Post about this giveaway on your blog so YOUR local friends have the chance to enter, and then come back over and tell me you did so.

For a THIRD entry?? Post on twitter or facebook about this giveaway and enter one additional comment so you will have 3 seperate entries.

If you don't win or are ready to purchase tickets NOW, there's a SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU!

Purchase a 4‐pack of tickets for weekday shows for only $44,

or receive $4 off any weekend ticket by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com

and entering the coupon code: MOM.**

Cleveland Show Dates:

Wednesday October 21: 7:30pm

Thursday October 22: 7:30pm

Friday October 23: 7:30 pm

Sunday October 24:11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Sunday October 25: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Monday October 26

Hopefully I'll be seeing YOU at the circus!!

GIVEAWAY WILL CLOSE ON OCTOBER 1, 2009 AT 11:59 P.M.

Buying stock...

Buying stock in this....

Because MY children would NEVER...

Ever....

EVER...

Write on the wall.

***as quoted before I had children who could magically find more writing utensils than I can.

Friends.

I have had a lot on my mind lately. In fact, I wrote up a whole extra post and just didn't post it because it felt like the weight of the world would be unloaded onto the whole handful of readers that read my blog.

That just doesn't seem important anymore.

Because today I learned a lesson.

Lately...like, basically the past 2.5 years, I have felt such a terrible loneliness.

I have wondered what was wrong with me that would make people not really click with me. I have wondered why I say and do really stupid things that make people not want to be around me. And I have cried and cried...and tried to move on...and become numb to it...and then been sad all over again at feeling so lonely.

And it wasn't that I never saw anyone or did anything. It wasn't that at all. I did. I went to girls nights and baby showers and other things with other people.

But I kept wondering and waiting for some magical moment when my life would transform and I would have that one "friend" that would mend the past years of sadness...that would call just because and that would want to come over and hang out with me, no matter how my house looked. I kept waiting to not feel completely alone in a group of people, and wishing I had a sidekick to talk to...

Today we had a lesson on this very topic in church. And my heart changed.

I realized that the days and months and years of wanting to fit in with the crowd and have that special shoulder to cry on were years I wasted by not being the kind of friend I so dearly wanted.

Yes. I invited people to do things and I arranged get-togethers...and I called people up just to talk. But there were many times I didn't, when I felt like I should have. And there were many people I never expressed my thoughts to...like wondering how they were really doing, or the fact that I loved their hair that day or that I really wanted to get to know them better. And in my deepest, saddest times, I just wallowed in my own loneliness and figured I was doing the world a favor by not annoying people.

And I had a terrible attitude. I have discounted so many people who were sharing themselves with me...and discounted many friendships because of the assumption that people couldn't like me for whatever reason--

I harbored some hard feelings...I became jealous of those around me. And these can be truly ugly feelings. I feel saddened that I have felt this way.

This evening as I was reading a few talks on this subject, I came across a story of 2 women, from completely different faiths, with completely different home lifes who became dear friends. One was a Doctor with her own thriving business, and the other a stay at home mom. The stay-at-home mom said, “If our friendship had been put through a computer matching service, I doubt we would have made it past the first hurdle. …
“… A woman with a busy medical practice, I assumed, would have little desire to discuss the color of the hospitality napkins for PTA.

She went on to say...
“Funny thing about assumptions—they can cut away the very roots of something that could flourish and grow if given a chance. I am forever grateful that assumptions were cast aside” (Shauna Erickson, “Unlikely Friends Sharing a Lifetime,” Church News, 18 Aug. 2001, 10).

One thing I realized today, is that no matter how many people are around us, we EACH want to feel like deep down inside, we are loved. And that love requires a little above and beyond...which is something that I know I can give. I have just allowed insecurities and my own assumptions to get in the way.


I felt impressed today with the feeling that the way I will find all I have been looking for is by giving of myself to others...by being selfless...by being the friend I have wanted, not so I can have that friend in return, but so I can feel the joy of BEING that kind of friend.

A little love in the air.

I took some pictures for my friend Jess today--she goes to school with Brandon (which is how I met her) and is engaged to be married to her sweetheart Henry.

I am posting a sampling here for my dad (since he is a photography buff and I was hoping for some feedback from him)...so if you're stopping by and seeing these here, now you know why I randomly posted 2 cute lovebirds...

sidenote...we actually did this photo shoot in a cemetery (which still makes me laugh), but there were some incredible places to take pictures there! When I was trying to take the shot below, I couldn't figure out how to prop the ring up...until I realized I could stick it in the engravings on the headstone. LOL...




TOTALLY can't wait to take my kids back here for their own pictures this year. SUCH a cool place!!

Christmas in September

This morning, while Jenna was at school, I took the boys to see the train tour for Disney's new movie coming out in theaters on November 6. This train set off in May from Los Angeles and has been on the road ever since--and when all is said and done, it will have logged over 16,000 miles. HOLY MOLY!

Due to the nature of this film, we got a taste of Christmas in September...with fake snow and all!

The train consisted of 7 train cars all with different displays or activities. We got to see lots of costumes from the museum in London and original works written by Charles Dickens.

as well as scenes from the new movie...

And we got to see the most amazing figurines. They had SUCH incredible detail!!

(everything so miniature!!)

We learned a lot about how the movie was made--which was fascinating as well. Apparently the people actually had to act out the whole movie by wearing special suits with hundreds of sensors so that every move could be filmed and they could get the most accurate movements and facial expressions, etc. This was a sample of that...
Jenny and Grace came with us, as you can see by their fireside pose.
P.S. This fireplace is SO for a family with small children...the flames were on a screen...like tv. haha...no burns here. :)
And the yummy Christmas table display at the end made me get all mushy and gushy for the holiday season...(p.s. can you believe the scene outside the windows isn't real?? It caught me so off guard! It too was on tv screens)
me+big wrinkle in the middle of my forehead+2 boys+2 hands in their mouths...
If you are in the area, it goes until 7 p.m. tonight--and it's FREE! If you aren't in the area, there is a chance it will be heading your way. You can check out details here. (Sorry West coasters...it's been there already :(

Gettin' in the holiday spirit...only a few months early. :)

Summer Lovin'

The past few days the weather has been so beautiful. PERFECT sunshine...warm air...with that hint of chill that reminds you that winter is on it's way.

And SO we barbecued with friends...trying to squeeze in as many more times as possible before the snow comes. Summer meals are the best. ABSOLUTELY the best.

Great food....fresh food...friends...outdoor dining under a canopy of leaves surrounded by a cool, sweet breeze...

Did I mention the good food?


And the good friends???
And the cute babies wandering around with bare feet in long grass??

SUMMER. IS. THE. BEST.

LOOOOVE IT.

Love the food. Love the feeling...Love it all.

Well, except one thing....

The FLIES.

Country Jam

I had such a busy weekend! Lots happened, but I had to highlight the big day I got to go to Country Jam 2009 . I wasn't planning on going--but the night before I had heard the tickets were only $20...and when I mentioned it to Brandon, he whipped out a $20 bill from a secret stash he had been saving for a rainy (or sunny) day--and then he ran down to get the ticket for me. I cannot tell you what that meant to me! THANK YOU BRANDON...

So, I met up with a few other gals who wanted to go too...and we centured out to this all day event (the all day part was a surprise to me...I was obviously uninformed...and went home really sunburned as a result!) :)

We had a fun time...Dippin' Dots (which for me, it was the first time I had tasted the real deal), a mucho burrito and some good laughs at the people around us...oh ya, and some good music! :)

(Lineup included: Lawless, Heidi Newfield, Jake Owen, Emerson Drive, Jamey Johnson, John Michael Montgomery, Blake Shelton, Josh Turner)

As good as the music was, the people watching was the HIGHLIGHT of our day...seriously...it's hard not to chuckle...

At one point in the afternoon I noticed that almost everyone around us had wristbands--and I almost panicked that we were supposed to have them too...until someone pointed out that they were alcohol bands. Nope, we didn't need those!

As the day got longer, and the crowd got bigger, and the piles of beer bottles grew taller, I had to wonder if any of these people actually went home with designated drivers. I have reason to suspect that no...they don't. And that fact alone scares me to death at who is driving on the streets after events like this.

But despite the smoke-filled air and drunken crazies, and the fact that I had to take off earlier than the others so I could finish some things before Sunday, I had a great time! Thank you Dina, Cindy, and Cassie for a totally hilarious day out.

Tired of my last post...

It's been a busy weekend! But I have to post something new because I am tired of looking at my last post. I will post more tomorrow...

:)

And that's how we roll tonight. Short and sweet and to the point.

Good night.

Are you a private blogger?

As a blog reader, I LOOOOVE checking my blogs through google reader...and I love clicking on the follow button to be able to keep track of people. However, in the past few months, SO many of you have made your blogs private, which to my knowledge, is not able to be tracked via google reader.

I have thought that would keep up on it and remember who was private...I thought I would go through and add people to my sidebar, but in the end, so many people were switching so fast that I got SOOOO behind.

And now I don't remember who has switched...and I feel terrible...

I want to keep reading your blogs...I do. But I can't remember who you are. Or if I DO remember who has private blogs, I don't remember your blog address!

So, could you please do me a favor and leave a comment with your blog (or email me) if you have added me as a reader, so I can get organized!

---and if you don't have me as a reader yet, but you read my blog, OF COURSE I want to follow you to the dark side! (haha) PLEASE SEND ME AN INVITE!!!

hollowayfam(at)yahoo(dot)com

Thank you...

recent rundown...

Today I got thinking of a lot of stuff that I hadn't put on here...

Things like our recent flood. Recent as in, this week. :( We had a ton of rain and it came too fast...the waters came into our basement again. VERY depressing. After the HUGE emotional and physical drain of the previous flood, it felt like being kicked while we were down.

Thankfully the damage wasn't as bad this time--credited mainly to the facts that we lost most everything last time, and I moved most everything else up off the ground now. We did lose some more things this time--but I think it's almost gotten to the point of being passed sad and being more MAD.

Our flooding is due to a problem with the city...and they have known about it for years. And yet they have not done anything to remedy the situation. That makes me angry...really angry. I wrote a scathing letter to the city and had it read at a city council meeting, resulting in a promise to take care of things. But they have yet to fulfill their part of the bargain.

Stinks.

The first flood, we didn't have renters insurance. We lost a LOT of stuff. This time we DO have it...but it wouldn't be worth it to try to make a claim--since we have a deductible and probably didn't lose enough to even have them pay anything towards the claim once our deductible is paid. So it's a lose-lose...

We will see how things unfold in the next few weeks. I just hope the city comes through and fixes this so that much of our street doesn't have to keep dealing with this.

Moving on from that...

With Jenna in school I have LOOOOOVED helping out with stuff. I am on the parent party planning committee for her class and helping to cut things out for file folder games at school. It's nice to feel needed and I love playing an active role in the classroom. My mom was always very good at this when I was growing up, and I appreciate it so much.

I have a confession though--this probably sounds super weird--but it's really hard to not be friends with Jenna's teacher. She is young and fun, and I love talking to her...but I have to remind myself that there has to be a line drawn and I can't just ask if she wants to go for ice cream! :) It's kind of weird to not be able to be friends with someone you could see yourself being friends with. Have you ever had this problem?

In sleeping news, the boys are in bunk beds. Doing well. Taking pictures soon. :) Just had to get it all set up and arranged. I am so glad we switched their bedrooms. I LOOOOVE how Jenna's room is coming together and the boys have just enough space. It's a good arrangement. I have to say that it's so cute to see Spencer on his bottom bunk...he's getting to be such a big boy. I can't believe it...where did the time go?

Speaking of time...going to go spend some with Brandon. I feel like we have hardly seen each other today... :)

Night.

National Running Day

So technically this was celebrated on June 3....but in our family, we celebrated it today...

WE RAN ALL DAY.

To school, to speech therapy, back home, to work, to pick up Jenna from school early, to Dr's appointements, to get some dinner, and then back home again. Ran to a meeting, ran to the store...RUN, RUN, RUN.

Thank heavens for my "running" partner, who loaded up to kiddos by himself and took them both for shots and checkups...it was a HUGE burden lifted off my shoulders. I couldn't have done this day without him.

I am looking forward to a slow day soon...whenever that day comes...a day to just take each thing as it comes...to watch a little tv, to lazily play in the backyard with the sweet fresh air breezing by, to write real letters...by hand. I am looking forward to a day where we kick off our running shoes and not have a single appointment or meeting or need to go to a store...

I think we're due for one of those days...soon.

The perfect fit

Part of my labor day celebrations yesterday included a trip to my local Fashion Bug to pick up some clearance shirts. While I was there I saw signs for what was praised as a revolutionary way to fit jeans to your body. It peaked my interest--since I have one of the WEIRDEST shaped bodies out there and pants are my enemy.



As I was browsing the clearance rack, I found some of these revolutionary jeans. I was told to try on a small numbered size (come on people...no matter what size you put on the tag, it won't cover up for the fact that I know my REAL size)...Into the dressing room I went...

There I was, in my confined little space, putting one leg in, the other leg in and then pulling them up...or should I say ATTEMPTING to pull them up. When the voluptious attendant asked how my jean fitting went, I retorted that it was TERRIBLE and I didn't understand their whole system (since nobody there would measure me, it was a guessing game as to what size I would really wear).

The kind attendant insisted they should fit, because after all, she somehow shoved her body into a size smaller than what I tried on. I was baffled and devestated...was I REALLY that...uh...curvacious?

Would have been nice to know there was a difference between the teens and womens jeans, even though they are all together on the racks. :)





One I got pointed in the right direction, I felt much better about the jeans situation and was determined to find the right fit! Let's see, I thought...blue. I am a curvy girl. Tried on blue...it was too big...was told to go up a size in the RED because the attendant was SURE I wasn't curvy enough for blue (obviously, and thankfully, she has never seen me in the buff) Red wasn't so swell either...too much leg room, she said. So then she pulled a pair of yellow label jeans out for me...because after seeing me in the other jeans, she could SEE that I was really a more straight body type.

LAUGHED SO HARD. ME? STRAIGHT!? No way, no how...not even a legally blind person without glasses on would call me a straight figure.

That fit, she said, was the best! Looked perfect. If only I hadn't had to shove in the results of every ice cream sundae and late night craving from the past few years to get my booty INTO those jeans...and getting out of them was like trying to take the peel off of an unripe banana.

Guess some people like it tight...

End result...she said I was somewhere between a blue and a yellow...

That would make me GREEN.

Green with envy that everyone else seems to be able to go in and pick a pair of pants...that fit...whatever stage of life they are in.

Brandywine Falls

We have had the most GORGEOUS weather this week, and I have been dying to go somewhere--get out--explore...

So we took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and went on a little hike at Brandywine Falls with Travis and Jenny (and Grace, of course)

B-EAUTIFUL!

I am so surprised at how early it feels that fall is coming, even though I realize it IS September...the leaves already JUST starting to change...and some already fluttering to the ground. How I LOVE this time of year...but oh, how I wish it would wait...just a little bit longer.

Grace = 100% pure cuteness.

The kids loved climbing on the rocks and exploring. No fear...really.

And ahhh....the beautiful water! I was bummed that I hadn't thought to bring my tripod, but I steadied myself against a railing to try to get that silky smooth water effect...not perfect, but it was fun to try.

I loved how Grace was peeking out while Jenny was doing some super shooting herself...

Okay, okay...nobody judge my waterfall shot too much. Remember, no tripod...

At one point, an entire bridal party came down to get pictures. It was fun to watch them for a while...made me think back to the day I got married...there's just something so special about being a newlywed couple and the new beginning that getting married brings.

More rockage....

We packed a yummy picnic dinner that consisted of mostly dessert--not planned intentionally, but I think it worked out that way. :) Teddy Grahams, oatmeal cream pies, pudding, fruit snacks...okay...so that was only some of it. We did have some tasty sandwiches, fruit, and chips too. And after eating, of course, the kids had to take off and explore. Brandon is always SO good about that--he is Mr. Adventure and the kids LOVE it.

The picture below makes me laugh SO hard. This is one of a series of more than 20 shots...and scrolling through them was like watching this whole scenario play out all over again. Brandon was helping the kids hang from the tree...Jenna was slipping, Spencer was laughing, Kaden was just looking around. And single-handedly Brandon was trying to help them all stay up. He was totally holding Jenna's legs here...but check out the look of fear written all over her face!

It's things like this that will make me miss having Brandon around during his externships...

how could I not?

Thanks Trav and Jenny (and Grace) for going with us!

Now we had a blast...really. But the HIGHLIGHT of my day was driving by a Mongolian BBQ...as in, Mongolian BBQ like they have back home...with the noodles and the sauces and the veggies and meat...where they cook it in front of you...

sigh...HEAVEN.

I have totally missed that place...TONS...it was one of our favorites...and finding something like it is flat out AMAZING. We can't wait to plan a date and head there to try it out.

I think I can officially live in Ohio forever. :)

Now, if only our families would move here...