It's Wristband Night

Matt and I have had one night together in the last two weeks, so what do we choose to do with it?

Take the kids to the Mountain State Fair of course!

We started out at the animals.

Doesn't this look like a cow version of Slappy the Weiner Dog? Weird...

Our state fair is A LOT like the story of Charlotte's Web (which is one of the only reasons why I love it) and so the animals are a must visit part of the fair.

We spent the entire time convincing the kids that this was the coolest part of the fair and NOT the cotton candy or the toys that were hanging enticingly just outside of the animal section.

After the animal section, we moved onto the "I need to get my camera out" section:

My favorite part of this picture? The "metal hands" in the background.

It's always comforting to see this guy is still around...18 years after Vanilla Ice.

No comment, except in all fairness:

The Pig Ears are courtesy of Texas Pete at the Pig Races.

And well...we stayed here all night.

So we hunkered down and let the kids ride all the rides they wanted. Which meant five rides.

The first one was the Bee Ride.

They were so excited!

Until about 12 seconds into the ride, when Asher started to lose it cause the Bee went up AND down. This was horrifying to him and caused everyone to have their ride cut short by about three minutes.

All was redeemed by the car ride.

And then the motorcycle ride.

But for some reason, I had a hard time trusting the reliability of this one:

Take the time to notice BOTH words

Throw caution to the wind mom! Everyone else has!

A bite of cotton candy and a light saber ended the night. But we had to hide the cotton candy or else we were never going to hear the end of it, so Matt hid it in his shirt. (We still didn't hear the end of it)

Yes, we totally got ripped off by the light saber.

It was close to broken before we even made it home.

It's always fun to see how much your kids can cry before bedtime after you spend that much money in one single night.

What A Difference a Weekend Makes

Maybe if you will remember back in May when my kitchen looked like this:



And then on Thursday it looked like this:




And then on Saturday it looked like this!


And tonight...


TONIGHT, well this morning...it is 12:54am and...


Matt and Ben are attempting to still hook up the sink to the disposal. They have been working on the dishwasher and the sink for 12 straight hours right now.

Ugh. For them.
I got to go IKEA again today because during cabinet installation, one of the doors fell from a height of seven feet straight onto the tile. I did my best to break the fall but there wasn't much I could do. I did manage to return about $70 of other stuff that we over bought so that was a bonus.

Also, the kids got to play for the first time in the kids "Smailand" at IKEA and immediately asked if we could ever go back to IKEA. Ummm, let's see...hopefully not anytime soon.

Now all that is left to do on the punch list:
Install all of the hardware on the cabinets
venting the A/C under one cabinet
install hood over stove
level stove
toe kicks
tile backsplash (maybe) and tile behind sink
finish up paint
touch up countertop sealer
caulk sink
level all doors and drawers
install organizers in cabinets
window treatments
transition strip
decorate!
clean the entire house including getting the carpets cleaned.

Umm. Yeah. So, I am sure that I missing about a million and one half things. Those are just the things that I can think of.
But cleaning my house and moving my kitchen back into my kitchen? I can not wait. We are so so so so close.
Tonight, I spot cleaned the grout spots off the carpet from when it got taken all throughout the upstairs about three weeks ago. Miraculously it all came up.

Anyone want to come clean carpets with me? When that happens...this project will be done. Officially.
Maybe.


Edit: I just got up for the morning, and learned that Matt was up half the night trying to solve the kitchen sink.
Apparently, we installed the bar initially on the wrong "holes" and had to take the entire sink off of the counter after he and Ben had gotten all of the plumbing correct with no leaks or anything at 1:30am.
We went to install the doors and learned of the wrong installation and had to start over. I went to bed at 3am and they were still at it.
I just read Matt's blog and he says there is a slow leak in the kitchen sink.
Good to know. Since I just used it.

Don't Travel to Kansas City

It is time to recap our trip back from Trail West.

We packed up our kids and all of our stuff and left TW at 8:40am.
We arrived in Denver at 11:15am to return our rental car and report for our flight at 1:55pm.
We eat lunch and head through security.
We arrive in the terminal only to find that our flight has been delayed one hour and will depart at 2:55pm.
We are a little frustrated since we had planned on the 1:55 flight so our kids could catch a good nap.
At 2:45, we still haven't boarded and realize that we are in danger of missing our connecting flight to Charlotte.
The flight attendants insist that there is NO OTHER WAY to Charlotte today and we must board.
We get on and sit on the runway another 45 minutes. We realize that we will have exactly 10 minutes to catch our flight to Charlotte. We devise a plan that involves Matt getting off of the flight with Asher and running to the next gate so that he can hold the plane. I have to take Lucy and get the stroller from the gate check.
Plan goes as planned, except that it takes them 15 minutes to unload gate check.
I emerge from the tunnel and there in not a single airline representative to greet me. I have no idea where I am going. All I see in front of me is an emergency exit with a security guard stationed at the open door and to the left gates. So I head left and after three gates, it dead-ends.
I have to turn around with Lucy in the stroller and head back through the crowd of people. I get to the emergency exit and ask the guard where to go.
He says, "You just go down the hall to the left."
No gate #. No further directions. Just go left. And go out through the emergency exit.
So I head down the hall and Matt is calling for me to run. So I pick up the pace to arrive at another SECURITY CHECKPOINT.
Yes that is right. Both kids have jackets, shoes, Asher has a backpack on. All of it has to come off, AGAIN. Plus, I am wearing a jacket and a vest. Oh, and the DVD player, computer, ipod and camera all have to get turned on. We have to throw out the kids liquids in their sippie cups. And the security guards were taking their sweet time checking all of our paperwork. Even though we have already been through this once already in Denver. The security guards start giving us attitude, saying things like, "It's not our fault you are late for your plane." When I ask if Lucy really needs her shoes taken off; they say, "She's a person too."
Ugh.
So we get through security and run all 15 feet to our next plane which is scheduled to leave at 6:15, which means our kids are starving.
We get on the last plane of the day to Charlotte and ask if they are serving a snack box on this plane. They say nope, only pretzels. Fabulous.
After we get airbound, the merciful flight attendants drop a whole armful of pretzels, granola bars, biscotti cookies and Sun Chips into our laps.
So our kids ate sunchips and cookies for dinner.
Our DVD player dies 30 minutes into the flight. My laptop dies 10 minutes later. The only thing that saved us was the Target $1 spot. Which had beaded necklaces and temporary tattoos. We did that for the remainder of the flight.
We arrive in Charlotte. Matt and Asher head for Egypt, which is where our car is parked. And I go down to claim our luggage. None of it arrives.
While I am filling out the paperwork, Lucy decides it is a good time to poop up to her neck. And I have no clothes or wipes for her. So we head to the bathroom after US Airways gives us two crappy car seats to get us home and I have to bathe her in the sink. No joke.
Matt is still in Egypt, NOT YET AT THE CAR. That's right, I had enough time to not get luggage, stand in the enormous line, fill out paperwork AND give my daughter a bath.
Finally, she is all cleaned up and Matt has arrived. We head for the car, install car seats and head on our way to Asheville. Stop for some fast food and end up turned around in Charlotte. 45 minutes later, we pass the airport again on our way home. We hit Asheville and there is some snow on the ground. Lucy starts screaming for the final 40 minutes of the trip, like I haven't heard her cry since she was three months old.
Turns out she has pooped again. And is not happy about it.
We arrive at home, have no pajamas for the kids, or sound machines or clothes for yesterday since everything that fit them was packed for our 10-day trip.
On Thursday, the airline assured us that our bags would arrive at our house by 3pm.
Here it is Friday at 10am, still no bags.

Our kids did great, we kept our sense of humor. But the airlines sucked this year. It is nice to be home! It would be nice to get some clothes.

I thought we'd made it

I actually had the thought today..."We made it! We dodged the throw up bullet!!!" We got all dressed up for the 1840's night. Asher and Lucy looked so cute! We went to dinner and Asher didn't want to eat any BBQ, but instead opted for the classic watermelon, bread and corn dinner that everyone raves about.

Just as he was digging in, I noticed an odd smell about the room and he had an explosive diaper. So much so, that he had to eat the rest of his meal without his shirt on. No big deal. He ate about four pieces of watermelon and dessert and then we came back to the room to put Lucy to bed.

We left and went to see the Opera (for those of you who don't know, Matt and his fellow program guys put on about a 45 minute drama that culminates the story line for the week. They sing, they dance, they act like idiots and so it is called the Opera). We went to opera and Asher loved it like always. He seemed to be going strong at the end so I decided to take him to the dance. We walked into the dining hall where the dance is held. Every camper, leader, work crew, summer staff and assigned team member is in the dining hall in a giant circle for the dance and Asher walks into the middle of the circle and starts throwing up. That's right. Every bit of watermelon, corn, bread and of course; dirt cake. Right there in the middle of the floor that a bunch of handicapped high schoolers are about to dance on. AWESOME. I, of course, am paralyzed. I have no idea what to do.

Thankfully, a few of the leaders jumped into action and start cleaning it up. I felt terrible and I kept apologizing. One of them said, "Please. I have been wiping butts all week. This is cake!"

That's why we love Young Life.


That's right, keep eating that watermelon big boy.

I'm back

I'm back and I have nothing to blog about right now. It was a great time with the YL staff and I am so glad that I went. Although, there was nothing restful about it. I had a great time hanging out and laughing with women that I respect, especially Susan McSwain. It was refreshing getting to hang out with her. It made me miss the women in my life that have mentored me. Ahh memories.

Well we are back home and we head to the beach on Wednesday. So I will be wrapping up work loose ends and trying to prep the house, laundry, groceries etc. all week long. I can't wait!

What is it?

What's brown, liquid and has raisens in it?

Asher's puke.

We have seen it several times this morning and are deathly afraid of it infecting all of us.

Of course, he has no fever, is acting normally and it comes without warning.

Three changes of clothes, two carpet cleaning sessions, change the linens in his crib and mopped up the kitchen. All before noon.

Welcome to the weekend!

Would you like for me to come over and puke on your couch? I will.

I was just sitting there and then breakfast had to leave my body. Sorry.

You Knit Me Together in My Mother's Womb...

Great news from Buffy today! I will just let her tell you,

"The twins are both looking great and growing. The gap between the girls has gotten smaller. Last time there was a 30% discordance in their growth and this time it's a 20.7% discordance! We are thrilled that the little one is growing, and that the bigger one is growing too! The doctor said we need to keep watching things and come back again in three weeks. We are praying that they will continue to grow and that the difference between them will not increase."
We are so thrilled that the little twin is growing, I know one day we will all look back and laugh as the little one beats the crap out of the bigger one!
Speaking of that, we (me and the kids) are at Matt's parent's house for a few days as Matt is in Arizona and we are having a "grand ole time" as my niece Maggie puts it!

Maggie came up to visit with us while we are here and she is hilarious. I am sure you saw her YouTube video below, but she just turned four and has more personality that anyone in the house!

Today, the other cousins, Watts and Nate came over and Asher had quite a time playing with all of the older kids. He learned a new word today, "bup" which means (of course) "jump." The kids throw the pillows off of the all-white couch that we call "white fancy" and they jump on the springs like it is a really long trampoline. At one time or another at least two of the "monkeys" have fallen off and bumped their heads (just like the song). A little kiss and a rub on the forehead and they are back at it. I am sure that years ago when Linda bought this couch, she had no idea that her nice all white couch would become the playground for her four grandchildren, but so be it!

Away at the Moment

Hi everyone! Don't fear, I haven't disappeared off of the planet! I am just at my in-laws in Columbia for a few days and internet access is iffy at best. So I might be able to blog, I but I might not! I'll see what I can do! Ciao!