WANNA SEE SOMETHIN' PRETTY...?

I gave Emmi some makeup to play with...I thought I'd picked out a rather mild colored lipstick....LOL *ack!!* It was so funny when I came back to check on her and her whole face was pinkish! She looks like a little indian. Oh well...she had fun!

So...One day in October Joie was waiting for her ride to school...It was rainy out but not cold, so she took her umbrella out and jumped on the trampoline while waiting! I thought it was cute so

of course I broke out the camera!

And here's the Princess doing what the princess does...

Ember and Joie were in the church service on Oct 25th. It was an "all children service". Emmi dressed up like one of the sheep. (Here she is trying on her sheep costume.) The kids did skits, sang songs (some with sign language), said prayers, and spoke up front. It was very enjoyable! They did a great job.

Singing "Jesus Loves me" with friends--Papa is for moral support!

On Oct 18th we loaded up and headed to Tampa for the weekend to surprise Grandma Karen (Ru's mom) for her 60th birthday...Boy, was she surprised!! Kevin's sister Kim's family came from Maryland too, which was an even bigger surprise for Karen, as they traveled a loooong way just for the weekend! It was great to see everybody. We had fun just spending time--something we don't all get to do together very often... Karen told us many times to how much she appreciated the weekend! Happy Birthday Grandma Karen!

Hiding behind the sofa when she got home from church...and her reaction to the "Surprise!" jumping out from behind the sofa!..lol

Grandma Karen with the grandkids, and with Kevin and Kim.

Brennan and Ember helping her open gifts.

Some random pics from the weekend:

Kelly, Karen, Sean, Kaitlyn, Ru

Ember, Sean, Paige, Brennan

Sean and Brennan

"Hey, You're in my seat!"

Papa Dan & Brennan comparing "frogs".

"Spiderman...!"

Emmi and Brennan

The O'Grady's

The Ru's

Meme's Visit

My mom (Meme) came to visit us! She brought presents for the girls..one of the presents for Emmi was a new princess dress from Aunt Cindy! She also got a new princess tiara! And while Meme was here, we found some new cowgirl boots at a consignment shop...Here's Emmi modeling some of her fun stuff...(and Meme's glasses too!) LOL (Once again..Joie is absent from photos...haha!! she lucked out and got to go to school...)

Silly faces..

My kids and their silly faces they make when I try to take pictures of them....!!

IKEA

Wow....what a place! Ru, Ember, and I went to IKEA Yesterday with DAnabel and Mom. It was amazing...Any home furnishings or appliance you could think of or want, they probably had some terrific version of it...maybe 2 or 3 versions of it..lol Wish I'd gone with more money in the bank...would've come home with some serious furnishings and small appliances!! They had kids' dream rooms set up for display, my dream bed(s) and awesome, comfortable looking bed coverings...There were kitchens and counter tops, and couches and chairs...and lots of red stuff which is right up my alley! I could have spent 2 or 3 days there! They even had a free daycare, which we used briefly--just long enough for Ember to get some of her energy out while Papa Ru sat down and rested....lol And...they had terrific food in the eat-in area upstairs; no need to leave if you get hungry while you spend the day! We did come home with a few little things... I've always loved square dishes. So we found some rectangle plates that matched in color to the round dishes we already have and got 8 or them :) yae me! and we got a new cheese grater, and a couple of art supply sets for the kids. Oh, and some ginger cookies...yummm ;0) We had a great time!

Pain!

I ache all over today...My butt hurts...my legs ache...my head hurts...Unfortunately I have no pictures of the event, but we rode 12 miles on our bikes yesterday!! While Joie was in school, Ru, Ember and I wanted to get out of the house. The weather has been so nice with a breeze blowing and the trees rustling...So we loaded up the bikes and connected the "hitchhiker" to Ru's bike for Ember and we went down the bike trail to Fort White. It was a great ride! I'm real out of shape, so the up-hills were killin' me! But I was not so miserable that I wanted to stop...it was really such an enjoyable day! We stopped in Fort White at GTO, a little soup and sub resturant and had a good lunch then off we went riding back to the truck. I only had a short ways to go when Ru got back to the truck; I had told him to go ahead and I'd just keep truckin' at a slower pace on the way back. I could see him as he got in the truck and drove down the road to pick me up. I would have made it! I did real good :) I'm proud of me...heehee! Ember loved it too. She enjoyed the hitchhiker bike a lot. It's a one wheel contraption with handle bars and pedals that attaches to a bigger bike. She and Papa Ru rode together. If we could do that a couple times a week, I'd be a thinner healthier me! But boy, I don't want to do much of anything today...LOL!

Next time I'll get some pictures...

Ember and I went to a little second-hand store on Main St yesterday. With Halloween close by, they had some cute "costumes" hanging up. Oh boy! Cinderella didn't stay on that wall long! And that's exactly what I was hoping to find Ember just to play around in...just didn't think I'd find it so soon--and for such a great price! Yae us!

Oh...and as some of you know, I'm not a Barbie fan....When Joie decided she was all done with her Barbies I was ever so thrilled for her to give them away! However, now without any prompting from anyone, Ember has decided she likes Barbies....We came home with her first 2; The "Princess" and the "King" (I can't convince her Ken's a "Prince"....lol)

JUST A HINT

Happy Monday! Some of you have read this already. I just want to say, the coffee hasn't gotten any coffee-er, less actually...and the getting ready for school has gotten slower....And, although I appreciate her efforts, I had to nix her coffee making idea on the weekdays! But I still love the feeling this poem gives me, so I thought I'd put it here :)

The aroma of coffee

Wafting slowly through the air;

The essence of awakened morning

Pushing me from beneath the sheets of sleep…

Coffee grounds ever bold

Flowing warmly o’er my tongue

Water and Cream to flavor

With just a hint of coffee in my cup…

But each sip draws a smile…

The sweetest cup to savor;

With her proud little hands

She roused the sun

Just for me…

dgvarner

090408

(for Joie)

End Of Summer Bash

Well, we've had a busy weekend! Seems as good a time as any to start playing "blogger"...

Joie's school participated in the Church Service Saturday morning. So we enjoyed seeing the kids up front and hearing them sing. They had the children's story for us too. For some reason Kevin and I were all tuckered out that day, so we just did the lazy thing for the rest of the day! Sunday we got up, put on our shorts, threw together a taco salad and went to school! Well, not for school, but for the End of Summer Bash--a sort of family fun day event we have every year. The kids have a blast getting dirty from head to toe! They bring their pets and we have a sort of pet show-n-tell. They slip and slide on a wet, soapy tarp, they sometimes throw raw eggs at each other, they splash each other with whipped cream and chocalate pudding, there's a pie eating contest, hula hoop contest...sometimes a face painting, or watermelon carving...It's a great time...and messy!

After all that, I couldn't wait to get a shower...!! Then Ru took us to the Olive Pit (Garden..sorry...). One of my favorite places to eat :) A fun weekend...

So, now I should be sleeping...but I'm not.
I'll pay for this tomorrow....