So much for a clean van!

Adam finally got the last part he needed to fix the riding lawn mower after the Brit catastrophe. He put it on last night and started mowing. I was sooo glad our mower was in working order because our grass was looking pretty bad! Shelby and I thought we'd wash the van for the trip we're going on this weekend. Adam was mowing away in the backyard and I noticed all the dust that was flying in the air but didn't think too much about it. It's been really dry here lately. I didn't even think the front yard (where I was washing the van) would be so dusty because we don't have as many patches where the grass doesn't grow. Shelby and I went inside after washing the van. I was going to wait until he was done to vacuum it so he could watch the girls. Well...Adam came in and said, "It's good you washed the van, but now it's coated in dirt." Ooooooh, I was so frustrated! My clean and shiny van had a nice, thick coat of dust on it. I didn't even bother to clean the inside!

Hannah Montana

1. Hannah Montana 3D glasses, check.
2. Frozen pizza straight from the oven, check.
3. A super excited 5 1/2 year old girl, check.

Saturday night Shelby HAD to watch the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert on Disney. She got on her PJ's and 3D glasses and was ready to go. She danced and sang to a lot of the songs. I can't believe my 5 year old is into this stuff already!

Coupon Clipper

I'm officially a coupon clipper. With the rising cost of EVERYTHING these days, every little bit of savings helps! I found a really good coupon for the dishwasher detergent I use which knocked off a whole $2.50! I was really excited! Imagine getting excited over coupons! Shelby and I have fun with it though. Once a week we cut out coupons together. I think I even have some coupons for Olive Garden and Red Lobster (my favorite restaurant!) that maybe we can use some day. We're not going out to eat as much as we used to either. We're trying to save as much money as possible! It's overwhelming using coupons because I have so many. I have this little organizer that I put them in and take them with me to the store. I think I just need to pull out the ones that I need before I go so I don't have to be searching all over for the coupons I'm looking for. We buy generic food items as much as possible, but sometimes those coupons cut the cost on the name brands quite a bit.

Weekend Update

Well, Brit is presently back with her former owner. She was very happy to see her I might add. I guess she didn't like us...

I cooked a roast in the crock pot all afternoon. Baby carrots, red potatoes, onion wedges and savory spices were added. It was so good! Adam went to get seconds and guess what he discovered-the plastic thingy that collects all the blood that drains from the meat!!! Yep, I cooked it right along with the veggies and meat! GROSS!!!

I'm getting the cleaning bug (Thanks Amber!). Adam and I cleaned floors today. Even moved the furniture in the living room to get underneath. I'm embarrassed to say that the furniture hasn't been moved in a while so there was a colony of dust bunnies living under there! I'm daring to go into Shelby's room tomorrow while she's at school and reorganize her room. Wish me luck!

Bad News for Brit

Remember our new dog I was telling you about a month ago? Hmmmmmmm..... If you come looking for her, she's not going to be at our house! No, she's not in doggy heaven or anything. She is going back to her previous owner. Aw, "Why?" you may ask? She's apparently very angry for some reason. A couple of weeks after we got her she started getting out of our back yard. She got out 2 times until we finally figured out where the little rascal was getting out. Adam had to chain her up until he could get our fence fixed so she wouldn't keep running to our neighbor's house where all of her doggy friends are. She COULD NOT STAND being chained up. I know, I wouldn't either. But, we had to do it. I know our neighbor was sick and tired of finding her in her backyard all the time. Then, when we got the fence fixed and Brit figured out she could not get out, ohhhh she was upset! We have Lily (our Chinese Pug) for her to play with but I guess she wants to run with a larger crowd. First, Brit retaliated by chewing up Shelby's Princess bicycle helmet with the matching knee and elbow pads. Next, she knocked over our grill and proceeded to chew, no SHRED, the cover on it. It was in a million pieces. And, the straw that broke the camel's back was when Adam went out to start his riding lawn mower and it would not start. We didn't blame this on Brit at first until Adam began looking under the mower and discovered that ALL BUT 2 of the wires had been CHEWED COMPLETELY THROUGH! Did I mention this lawn mower is brand new? Adam was seeing red! He told me to find the lady's number where we got Brit from so we could give her back! I agreed. We can't have a dog that chews up everything in sight. Apparently she's not happy here anyway. The previous owner was sure sorry about the lawn mower but was glad to be getting her back. No, unfortunately she did not offer to help pay for the cables. We did not figure she would. Adam has ordered the cables and they should be in today. ($100 later!) Hopefully the cables are easy to put in. Adam found instructions on how to do it in the owner's manual. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets them back in and it runs like new...because it is!

It's been good knowing you, Brit! Bye, bye!

I've been tagged so here it goes...

Thanks to Dr. Jen, I've been tagged. Here's my answers to these burning questions:

1. If you could inherit a comfortable home in any city in the world that you could use but not sell, where would you want it to be?
Somewhere in Florida...a nice house on a quiet beach...we could go there any time we wanted to get away.

2. If you could be instantly fluent in one other language that you currently do not read or speak, which would it be? Why?
I've learned a little bit of Spanish in high school and college...I'd like to be more confident in that language.

3. If you were given an hour to spend an unlimited amount of money in any store in the world where would it be?
Couldn't pick just ONE!!! I'm a shopper! I'd go to Grapevine Mills Mall. I LOVE that place! It would obviously take more than an hour though!

4. If you had to give your children to the care of someone famous, whom would you pick?
Oh my goodness, I don't know of anyone famous I'd leave my kids with. I'm not real trusting I guess! Don't know the answer to this one...

5. If you could cast an actor now alive to play you in a new film, what kind of film would it be and whom would you choose?
Julia Roberts (not that I look like her or anything...she's way prettier!) in a romantic comedy (because I love romantic comedies). Adam and I got to meet her once. She was REALLY skinny and had that HUGE smile. She was really nice.

6. If you could have an elegant dinner alone with anyone presently alive, whether you know them or not, who would you want it to be?
My hubby. We'd go back to Mexico where we honeymooned and have a candlelit dinner on the beach. We never did that and I do not know why!

7. If you could resolve any single dispute, anywhere in the world what would you solve?
Where do I start? There's so many...

8. If you were instantly able to play one musical instrument perfectly that you have never played before, what would it be?
Well, I'd definately like to play the piano better, but I've played before so I guess it would be the clarinet.

It's my turn to tag someone -Amber and Jill. Have fun!

High on the Mountaintop

We had a very relaxing fourth of July weekend. We traveled to Mount Magazine State park where we met Adam's mom and dad and sister and her husband and kids. We all shared a 2 bedroom cabin complete with a hot tub with a mountaintop view. It was so beautiful there! The weather couldn't have been better. We didn't swelter in the sticky heat like we would where we live. It was 10-15 degrees cooler than down in the valley. The guys enjoyed nature hikes while the girls chatted, napped and did some cooking. Cory (my bro-in-law) got in the kitchen quite a bit too! He's quite the cook! We saw a couple of interesting programs about the bears that live on the mountain and about the soldiers back in the day that came to the mountain. We visited the beautiful lodge right down the road from our cabin and went swimming one day. Shelby mustered up the courage to slide down the slide into the water. That only happened once. She did not want to continue! July 4th, we went to an overlook to catch the sunset (which was gorgeous) and tried to see some fireworks but they were too far away. They looked like tiny flashes in the sky. We couldn't even hear them. Sunday morning before we packed up and left, we sang a few songs from a hymnal Adam brought. We were going to go outside on our back porch to sing but were afraid we'd wake the neighbors! Cory shared a devotional about fearing God and really did a good job relating it to the kids in a way that they could understand. It was nice! We all really enjoyed our little church service!
If you ever want a relaxing weekend away, check out Mount Magazine! We are sure glad we went!

My Busy Bee

I have a very little busy bee and her name is Bethany! She keeps me on my toes ALL of the time! Just today, she's "rearranged" my pantry, pulled down my cherry 7 Up from the end table and splashed it around on the floor (and herself), played with her toys all over the living room, tried to eat the cat's food (again) and opened up a package of cherry jello (yes, I DO feed the girl). You may think, "Is there anyone watching her?" And the answer is YES. She is quick. She moves in the blink of an eye! Speaking of...

Hi, Uh-Oh and Bye!

Bethany's learning new words all the time! She is now learning thank you, bible, mommy :) and daddy. Of course Adam eats up that she goes around the house saying daddy! In the video, Bethany is saying the 3 words she has down pat: hi, uh-oh and bye.

**Please pardon Shelby's messy room!**