Our Unitvited Guest...

Well, our long-awaited girls weekend at the beach for five has turned into a weather event for 6. Hurricane Sandy is indeed at the beach with us =( Our beach (North Cordova) has not been evacuated (not that we'd have to leave anyway as we are considered "owners" not "renters") so we are staying put! That means that we aren't able to do many of the things we'd planned to do, like hit the little shops and do lunch in town (Duck or Nags Head), but we all brought our Nooks/Kindles, we have laptops, lots of movies, food and oh yes, maybe a bit of liquid refreshments! We did venture down to the beach on Thursday night when we got here, but it was a little too dark to get good pictures =( We came across 2 fishermen who were happy to take our pictures of the 5 of us, but mine didn't take and Brigettes are very blurry, so we have none of the 5 of us =(

Greetings from the OBX!!

WooHoo!! I am on a 5 day get away with 4 of my very favorite people in the world. We've come together from Canada, PA and 2 from VA and then drove down to the family beach house of Brigette's parents. We are right on the ocean in Corolla, NC. WHICH, if you're following the news at all, you know that another female is trying to join our little group---Hurricane Sandy! We are watching the weather closely, but also enjoying our girl time =) These pictures are of the view that I have from the deck outside of my room. That's the Atlantic Ocean, Baby!!

Labor Day Camping

We had the opportunity to camp a few times this summer. I even purchased a tent and big fat air mattresses for our "comfort". Kurt has to work most weekends, so the boys and I just glom onto where my parents are camping. They (them and my cousin Courtney) have the bulk of the necessary supplies, so we're pretty lucky to get to horn in on their plans! These are pictures of the boys "celebrating" Labor Day in style--HA! Paxton is our little pyro--it is his personal mission to be in charge of burning all paper products in the campfire. In fact, Courtney will hoard some things and when he thinks he's out of material, she'll pull it out in exchange for an "I love you" out of him =)

A Wedding in the Family

We had a family wedding on this past Saturday night, my cousin Molly got married and we celebrated on her and Curt's behalf!! I took well over 100 pictures, but just picked a few of people who don't really have a say of whether or not they make an appearance on my blog--HA!! Kurt had to work, so Arielle was my date and Parker came out after he was done with his golf meet down in Iowa. A wedding is always a good reason for family to get together =)

Flashback Friday!

I mentioned to Arielle just this week how it's time to get Xmas card pictures done. Already! Man this year has whizzed by. In honor of that conversation, this weeks FF are some shots from our Xmas card taken 3 years ago. Look at how small the little boys look. You may also notice it is from this grouping that the photo for my blog heading came from--HA! That is on my to-do list, a blog makeover, to keep it fresh for my tens of readers =)

CARDS!

One of my very favorite things to do is make homemade cards. But I am sad to say that it had been FAR too long since I had made any and FAR-ER too long since I'd really mailed any out with great regularity. Both things that I hate. It was such a poopy, dreary weekend that I decided to start hauling stuff out and just create. I don't have a dedicated area to do this, so the dining room table and kitchen counter/bar area become pretty darn crapified while I'm in stamp, punch, glue, repeat mode. It was worth the effort--I made 35 cards and I'm pretty happy with all of them, I can't always say that, trust me! And who knows, one could be showing up in a mailbox near you someday soon =)

Menu Planning Monday

It's Monday again (OK, barely, but I tend to blog while at work and it gets late sometimes!) Another week of meal planning complete and ready to share with bloggers galore. Like the ones who share their families plans over at lots of bloggers link up each week to share, head over and click away!! For us this week: Monday: Kurt had fire, boys mooched, I had leftovers Tuesday: Chicken breasts prepared some way, sides Wednesday: Burgers on the grill, potato salad, baked beans Thursday: Steaks on the grill, potato packets, veggie Friday: Cube steak in Crock Pot, mashed taters, corn Saturday: I have a wedding reception, Kurt works--he'll work on leftovers, HA Sunday: Ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, green beans

July 4th & Matching Shirts

Can it BE a 4th of July without little boys in matching shirts? No, I didn't think so! I'm not a HUGE fan of the skull fad that is EVERYWHERE in children's clothes, but I did think these patriotic boneheads were cute in their tophats and shades =) As usual, Kurt had to work for the festivities, so as usual, we camped out on Uncle David and Aunt Mary Lou's deck to catch the light show. This year was extra fun because Piper and Carson were there too! I stunk at getting any pictures of the 4 of them though! Suffice to say that they all had a good time together!

Scenes from a Golf Course

Maybe not just ANY golf course. These were taken at Whistling Straits in Kohler (where the PGA Championship has been held twice). Parker has had the privilege of playing there 4 times, the first time he was only 14 years old. The course is FAMOUS for its rolling terrain and HUNDREDS of sand traps. It runs right along Lake Michigan, so the wind coming off of the water can affect play as well. Every time we've been there, we've heard the sheep (bells on their collars), but had never seen them. Not this year!! They were out roaming, doing what they do, not at all bothered by the golfers walking among them. They don't really let you approach them though, you can get close but then they wander away---the course manager says its no loss, apparently sheep are a stinky species!!!

I *heart* Wednesdays!

Yep, I do. I work through the night on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so being at home with my boys on Wednesday is a realy treat. Beckett and I usually hit the library, I get to do shower-duty for 2 out of 3 of them (Parker is on his own!), dinner isn't rushed because I want to lay down for a while before leaving and I get to sleep in my own bed!!!! The extra special Wednesdays are the ones when Kurt has the night off too. Like tonight. And the next 2 =)

Menu Planning Monday

Monday again!!! Making myself accountable =) plays host to lots of bloggers that also post the meals for the week for their families--take a look, tons of new ideas! For us this week: Monday: Parker and I had beanies and weenies =) Tuesday: Stuffed peppers, corn Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas Thursday: Tilapia (pinned a recipie!), rice, green beans Friday: Chicken breasts prepared someway, pasta, roasted carrots Saturday: To Die For roast in crock pot, potatoes, mixed veggies Sunday: Steaks, foil potato packets, veggie TBD

Hotel Translyvania

This afternoon we took the boys to see Hotel Translyvania. Super cute, the boys loved it. About halfway through, Beckett leaned over to tell me "We need to get this on DVD", which is as good as any 4 star review =)