monday rambling

anna is officially signed up for soccer. john is going to be her coach and they have chosen pink jerseys. anna's thrilled. she's already named the team the "pink diamonds." so, in keeping with the pink theme, anna tried on her new cleats with a pink swoosh and of course her new pink ball.

watch out boys. there's a new girl in town.



i came home today and found these waiting for me on my doorstep. i have tried to grow hydrangeas as beautiful as these and dry them, but i just don't have the patience. and the pH of our soil always turns mine pink. while i like the pink, i really L-O-V-E the blues and purples and greens. i found these on ebay of all places and i'm so glad i went ahead and ordered them. i am totally smitten. plus they are already dried, so no watering. bonus!


john cut josh's hair tonight too. josh wanted something really cool, so john went with, well, a mild mohawk.


that huge grin tells me that he thinks he's cool now! maybe ben's next...

and one last thing--every time i see this goofy picture...


i can hear this song in my head, "don'tcha wish your boyfriend was hot like me, don'tcha?" try not to laugh too hard!

random thoughts

just a bunch of random thoughts before i forget to share:

~i found this guy in our bathroom on friday. yup, that's right--in. my. bathroom.


i don't know who was more scared--me or the mouse--i trapped him in a shoebox then john and the kids let him go way behind our fence. he must be a quick one though...my neighbor told john she saw a little brown mouse run across her deck that same night...probably be seeing him again sometime.

~today i have been absolutely miserable. i don't know why either. the sun is shining, the kids are happy, but for whatever reason, i have been a big fat pain in the butt. oh well.

~josh is completely obsessed with board games, card games, any games at all. he loves uno and can't get enough of penn stateopoly. and his friends. he loves his friends almost as much as he loves us. it's real close.


~one big lesson i recently learned: no matter how much i want something to get done around the house, unless john WANTS it done too, it will not get done. if he doesn't care about it all, it will get put off and put off and put off.


~ben is scooting himself all over the place on his bottom and then when he's on his stomach, he can pretty much get anywhere. but he still does not use his knees!

~this picture pretty much sums up how anna feels about the loud boomer fireworks.


~and this is probably the scariest picture of uncle jay. ever.


~another lesson i recently learned: acting pyschiotic about things not getting done around the house only makes ME miserable and everyone else just thinks i'm a big fat pain in the butt.

~anna is such a little mommy. she corrects josh on everything: "jooosh! it's not 'POT-sicle', it's POP-sicle!"

~this big fat pain in the butt is now tired of typing. peace out.

happy 4th

today was a lazy rainy day. to keep the kids busy, we pulled out the rainy day craft kit. they colored beads, made bracelets and necklaces, and drew lots of pictures.



then uncle jay joined us for dinner and we gorged ourselves on burgers and brats.



the rain stopped just in time for fireworks. and luckily, we didn't have to go very far. the neighbors got together and we watched a nice show from the front porch.




the kids are snuggled in their beds, tired and happy from another fun fourth.


thank you soldiers for keeping our country free and safe. happy birthday america!

july celebration

today was ben and anna's 4th of july parade at school. john pulled them around in the wagon we decorated last night. the kiddos looked so cute in their red, white and blue.





and i can't forget to show you these cutie pics of ben i took in the car while we were picking up josh yesterday. he's such a ham--showing off those baby blues and giving me all kinds of smiles.




lots of smiles all around!

some old, some new

john and i always look at houses. we really have no true intentions of moving any time soon, but we like to dream.

lately we've been looking at new houses. and let me tell you, there are some really nice new houses out there. but there's just one problem. some of the things i really love--all white everything, old crackly accessories, vintage pieces--they just don't seem to "go" with these new homes. i like things like this





so the dilema still stands. what do i like better? shiny new granite? or shabby peely beaded board? vast open concepts? or intimate sleeping porches? walk-in pantries? or that incredible turqoise old screen door? i suppose, like any girl, i want it all!