Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Lauren! I can't believe I remembered. I hope you have a wonderful day with Kenny and L. I love you bunches!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Kyle and Carrie! Carrie you left you bouquet here, but don't worry I am enjoying them for you.

Labor Day Weekend Recap

I'm a little behind in posts, but I've been busy! After 16 hours sleep starting last Monday evening, and a good 8 hours the last 2 nights I think I'm good to go. What a great weekend! The only downfall was the uninvited guests. Not only were they annoying, they bit. Stupid mosquitoes. The weekend went by way too fast. There wasn't enough time to really visit with everyone. It still amazes me how our family is all spread out across the US but when we get together it's like we see each other all of the time. Joe said it's probably good that we don't live closer because with all of the antics that the boys pull someone would be getting hurt on a regular basis. Just for clarification when I say "boys", I don't mean the little ones. I mean the adult nephews.

Here is my abbreviated account of the weekends events.

Converged on Friday, got lost driving to the airport (Duh), laughed and hugged, ate beans, drank, raced go carts, ate more beans, viewed the ultrasound of Lauren and Kenny's precious baby, visited grandma, had a bonfire, got eaten alive by mosquitoes, drank some more, laughed our asses off, farted from the beans, ooh'd and ah'd over kids and babies, laughed and farted some more, watched an amazing video my children prepared for my birthday, cried and laughed, Shane farted, went to the farm, raced kayaks, drank, played games,jumped on the moon walk, Bryan beat me up with the boxing gloves on the moon walk (ouch), rode the 4 wheelers, shot guns, fished, ate lots of good food (especially the cheesecake that I ate with my fingers because I didn't want the fork to distract me from the yumminess), drove home in the rain, was sad there was no bon fire, drank, played cranium, Shane and Kyle cheated, Lauren gritted her teeth, watched kayak race videos on my computer because my TV broke (yah!), Shane, Kenny and Karl tried to blow up their lungs with an air pump, had to open windows to fumigate the house from the methane gas, got up early to take back moonwalk, got pissed because the a-holes weren't there, Dunkin Donuts closed for the day, took lots of pictures, hung out, everyone got ready to leave, There may have been more farting but I'm not sure (we were too sad to fart), tears and hugs, last group to the airport at 5:30, Delanie wanted to stay with me, went home, sooooooo sad that it was all over, went to bed, slept 16 hours.

I'm sure I missed something because it was definitely a busy fun filled weekend.

I have to tell everyone how touched I am that you took the time and effort to travel here and be here for my birthday and all of the festivities. This has been the best birthday of my entire life! I missed everyone that couldn't be here. Because we all live so far apart we could easily be out of touch and I don't want that to happen. I credit Lauren with helping us all stay a part of each others lives (and face book). She's relentless with her emails (I mean that in a good way). I want to thank my local family for all the help preparing for this weekend and Brian ,Lorrie and Julie for being so accommodating with all the craziness. Bryan and Amanda, the video you made for me is the most precious gift I have ever received. You're the best!

I love you all and will cherish these memories for the rest of my life.

PS: I'm still trying to figure out my new camcorder. I will have a funny video asap.

Happy Anniversary

September is a busy month for Birthdays and Anniversaries.

Happy Anniversary to Lisa and Walt and Karl and Monica. I think it's probably 5 years for Lisa and Walt and 4 years for Karl and Monica. I hope you all have a great day. I love you all lots!!!!!!!

Correction! Both have been married 4 years.

It's Started Already

Well it's happened. I recieved my first senior citizen solicitation by mail. AARP sent me a membership card and application. Funny thing though; I've already been a member for about 10 years because of Joe. The letter actually came addressed with my former last name so I just pretended it wasn't me. Yes I'm in denial. I don't feel old. I still find it weird when people call me a Grandma. Also lately I've been getting a lot more emails related to being old (thanks Jan). Just for the record, I'm fighting this old thing for as long as I can. By the way, do I get free coffee at McDonald's yet? I'm gonna use the hell out of any senior citizen discount that I can!

Rain Rain Go Away

I didn't sleep much last night agonizing over the weather this coming weekend. I checked AccuWeather.com before I went to bed and it showed rain on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I spent most of the night trying to figure out plan B for the party. I really try not to fret over things I can't control, but I want everyone to have a good time. Plus I can't put the moon walk/boxing ring up if it rains. I'm really looking forward to punching Bryan in the nose. Maybe not his nose, I don't want to ruin his pretty face. My agony gave way to joy this morning when I checked the forecast again, and it changed. Now it's going to be partly sunny the whole weekend with only a 10% chance of rain. I even checked two different weather sites. I know it could change again, but for now I am going to relax a bit about the weather.

I can't wait to see everyone. Relatives and friends from Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado and California. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you take time out of your lives to travel here and be a part of a milestone in my life. I love you all!
Wait.....are you coming to see me, or are you coming for the free food and moon walk?
Don't answer that, it doesn't matter. I still love you.

I'm pretty sure that Connor, Addison and Harrison are coming for the 4 wheeler.

Choices

Do we really need 15 different ways to clean our toilets? I was clipping coupons today and noticed how many different products there are to clean your toilet. You can use wands, pads, scrubbers, wipes, drops, gels, cakes, and probably many more. What happened to go 'ol rubber gloves and a little elbow grease. Way too many choices. That's my problem, I don't know what to choose. Which one works the best? Which one is the most environmentally friendly? Which one is the cheapest? Ahhhhhhhhhh! I can't take it! I go to the store with a list and the minute I walk in I am overwhelmed. No wonder I hate shopping so much. It's information overload. I want to buy a camcorder but I'm afraid. What if I pick the wrong brand? What if I don't pick the right features? My personality doesn't fit with so many choices. I have a need to try to do everything right and with so many choices it makes it difficult to maintain perfection.

As far as the toilet cleaners go, I chose scrubbing bubbles fresh brush. It has a wand with little pads that can be flushed after you are done. They are ok for the inside of the toilet bowl, but what about the rim, seat and outside of the toilet? I have to choose another product for that. This debate will never be over because just about the time I finally choose, there will be a new product available that claims to be the best ever.

Countdown To The Party

The food is ordered, rooms are reserved and according to AccuWeather.com it should be 75 and partly sunny. I think I have most everything ready for the Labor Day party. I'm soooooo excited. The only thing that is slightly bumming me out is the weather up to this point has been so wet that I can't get the stones put around the lake. If you've been to the party in the past, you know that it's pretty soggy and mucky by the lake. This year we decided to bring in stones to help keep the lake edge from eroding and to have a solid place to stand when getting in the kayaks for the race. Right now I have a 5 foot high pile of field stones sitting about 50 feet from the edge of the lake. It's too soggy to bring a bobcat in to move the rock to the lake edge. I've thought about doing it by hand (and I still might) but I'm hoping for a few days of dry weather so I don't have to. I've already been out in the boat around the shore line with hedge trimmers cutting down the tall water grasses. Don't worry, they weren't electric trimmers. I want to have a clear path for the kayak race. I expect lots of participation this year. Since Bryan and I won't be a team, it will give everyone else a chance. Ha Ha! Seriously though we did kick ass. However, since our win last year was met with less than enthusiasm I decided we need to do something different. We will draw teams randomly so everyone will have a fair chance. I can't help it that Bryan and I are just superior athletes. It's a curse that we have to live with daily. Be fore warned that when Bryan and I are competing against each other, we fight. So it could get ugly. I'm just sayin.