The Patio

Today we finished what seemed to be the impossible. Our patio is finally finished!!! I am so glad to be done with it! Now we just need trees, plants and rocks. I really just want to pay some day laborers hanging out at the nursery to do the rest. It's really hot outside.

Fun on the Strip

Today, we hooked up with one of my long lost friends and former roommate, Kim and had a blast on the Strip in Vegas.

First, we made a stop at the Bellagio Gardens. They are always so beautiful. The minature replica of the Bellagio and the fountains was really cool.

Then we headed off to Paris.

After grabbing a bite to eat at McDonald's, we spent most of our day playing games at GameWorks. Mackenzie loved the horse racing game, the dinosaur shooting game and flying the helicopter with Kim.

Then we went to the M&M factory and watched the 3-D M&M movie.

We ended our adventure with the awesome fountains at the Bellagio. Mackenzie's favorite, of course.

Conditional Love

Mackenzie told me that she doesn't love her mommy. I asked her, "Why?" She said that she doesn't love her mommy or daddy when they are upset at her and make her go to the corner. She did say that she does love us when we are nice to her. Wow! Is she a teenager already?

The Great Missing Wallet Mystery

It's Tuesday night. April has had a long, long day with the kids. She is dying to get out of the house and be alone. She finally makes the great escape to one of her favorite places in the world...Walmart. One can only imagine how bad her day must have been for her to choose to go to the darkest abyss the world has ever known. Still, it is nice to get away. She does some shopping and then leaves. At home, she unloads the car and realizes that her wallet is missing!!! [Dramatic music plays.] Where has it gone? Who has it and what are they going to do next? Abram orders her back to Walmart to look for the wallet. With no success, April returns home. Abram decides to go look himself. What is he thinking? It's Walmart! It would be easier finding a needle in a haystack! Still no luck. April calls her financial institutions to report her lost credit cards. She finds out that no one has used her cards. There is a glimmer of hope.
It's now 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. The phone rings. It is Wells Fargo. The banker is calling to report that another Wells Fargo customer has found the wallet and will drop it off at the nearest branch. April retrieves the wallet. Nothing is missing! Turns out the banker is a member of the church and from April's conversation with her it sounds as if the anonymous lady who found the wallet is too. What a miracle! Mystery solved.

Father's Day 2008: Not So Happy

I just want to take this moment to tell my husband "Happy day after Father's Day" since yesterday wasn't great to say the least.

It started off early in morning when Brooklyn woke up at 5:30 a.m. We hadn't gone to bed until after 1:00 a.m. so I was very cranky. I gave her a bottle and tried getting her to fall back asleep. Didn't work. I finally got up and went to the kitchen to make Abe's Father's Day breakfast. He wanted sausage, fried egg and toast to dip in his fried egg. Yuck! I got pretty upset when I noticed the clean dishes were still in the dishwasher. Abe had told me the night before that he had unloaded the dishwasher. I expressed my emotions to Abe when he got up to eat his breakfast. I guess he had unloaded the dishes Saturday morning but I had washed more that day and I thought he had unloaded them again.

After we returned home from church, I began preparations for dinner. I was making Homemade Chicken PotPie. It's really good and one of our favorite recipes. I totally screwed it up. I placed the veggies and chicken in the bottom pie crust and then put on the top crust and stuck it in the oven. A few minutes later I realized that I forgot to put in the sauce. I took it out of the oven but it was too late. The crust was too gooey to remove. We had nothing else to eat. So I got upset and just ran to our room frustrated. Mackenzie ran after me yelling, "I'm sorry your pie is ruined!' Abe, the amazing father and husband that he is, fixed the potpie which turned out to look more like a volcano. It was still really good. So thanks to Dad, the day was saved.

So, I am really glad I have a husband who loves me even when I'm at my worst. He's the best father in the world. Our children are so lucky to have him. He works really hard for our family and never complains. He always sees the glass "half full." I am very proud of him. So to Abe, I love you and appreciate you very much. Have a wonderful Day after Father's Day.

Locks of Love

Well, I finally did it! I chopped off my hair! Whenever I cut my hair short, I usually have hairstyle remorse. But not this time. I love it. My stylist, Linda did a great job. The best thing about this haircut is that my long locks are not being swept up off the floor of the hair salon but are going to Locks of Love. It's a charity to help make wigs for children who are suffering from hair loss. This is the best haircut ever! I feel great about my decision. I only wish I could have grown it out longer but it was getting very heavy, hot and difficult to manage. It was definitely time for a chopping! I told Abe that I plan to donate again in a couple of years. If you want more info about this wonderful organization visit their website at:

http://www.locksoflove.org/

When I got home from the salon, Mackenzie asked me,"Mom, why did you cut your hair like that?" I asked, "Do you like it?" Her response was, "Uh...No." Brutally honest. I think Brooklyn didn't even recognize me at first. She kept rubbing my hair and saying "Hi." I am glad she loves me unconditionally.

Good Old Arkansas

We just got back from our yearly trip to visit April's family in Arkansas. It was very hot and humid, raining almost everyday. We had a lot of fun though. Macky loved seeing animals everywhere we went. She saw wild geese, rabbits, squirrels and birds. Her favorite were the wild geese. Every morning she would look outside by the lake to see if they were still there. They were of course.

Mackenzie loved swimming in the pool. She has started to hold her breath as she swims with her head in the water. She's a pretty amazing swimmer. If she could, she would stay in the water forever. Watch out Beijing--looks like this one's going to take the gold!

Brooklyn loves sunglasses.

We took a boat ride on the Branson Belle Showboat. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a fun show. Mackenzie loved the Todd Oliver show. He's a ventriloquist that uses real dogs instead of puppets. It was a very funny show. I think Macky wanted to take the dogs home with her.

Mackenzie and Brooklyn up on deck by the Captain. Notice the person guarding the steering wheel just in case Brookie wanted to throw us off course.

We took a hike down the Lost Valley Trail to Eden Falls. Mackenzie was our "hiking adventure guide". It was so green and beautiful on the trail. Of course, Abe didn't appreciate it because he was dying from the humidity.