Family Ties

we have had an exciting week thus far and are truly exhausted from it!

we found out a few months ago that two of my dad's sisters (from northeast missouri & iowa) would be traveling through southeast missouri during their summer vacation. they wrote stating they would like to stop by to visit and see our home. as excited as i was, i was just as nervous thinking about cleaning the damn thing :)

we have 14 rooms in our house that we do actually use. therefore, each one is far from tidy. i do semi-well keeping up with the kitchen and ryan keeps the living room tidy. other than that - it's a free for all. ha! when people find out where we live and ask what our decor is... we honestly tell them "sticky". tiny handprints are on every glass door/window (most likely a few tongue prints) and door jambs... cheerios can probably be found under couches... tupperware and pots & pans clutter the kitchen floor (the only 2 cabinets ellie is allowed in)... shoes and laundry are piled on the backporch/mudroom... and don't EVEN get me started on the upstairs.

we tackled our home with fervor the past few weeks. one room at a time. forgot to eliminate cobwebs or vacuum the stairs - but other than that, ryan did a great job! ha! it was honestly fun having the house practically showroom ready. made us anxious to spend more time there and a bit proud of what we have. too bad it takes having company to make us clean!

i was able to leave work at noon and prepared our meal and dessert. cut fresh flowers to put in vases and even remembered to order 'the anvil's' famous onion rings for snacks (the other famous delicacy in ste. genevieve is liver dumplings... ugh... must be an acquired taste). left at 4 to get the kids and our guests had arrived with mom while we were gone.

we all had a FANTASTIC visit and i laughed more than i could explain. the kids were well behaved, for once. and i honestly never thought about the house one they were there. they made me feel so comfortable, i never even worried about it. now that is the greatest kind of company to have ever!

we decided wed. that we would take the kids and visit ryan's grandparent's in bismarck. we were to have a late lunch, then stop by mom and dad's to see his sisters again, have dinner and go home and crash. we left at 1 - got home at 10. was a hot, long, weary and wonderful day.

i took some photos at ryan's relatives but when i got the camera out at mom & dad's the batteries died... just my luck.

the kids slept on and off during our car rides, so ellie was up until 1145 last night! i was miserable this morning with warren fighting taking a bath and ellie pooping her pants right before we were to walk out the door.

i'm now looking forward to a weekend of nothing to do. at least the house is picked up (so far)...

after our recent visit we're thinking about taking a little trip up north next month to see my grandparents. they have never met ellie. yeah, i'm certain i'm THE worst grandchild they have. ryan and i are putting our heads together to come up with a sensible vacation plan, therefore those of you in houston, columbia and kahoka may see us soon!

grandma and grandpa counts

aunt theresa helping ellie clean up

ryan grilling for our lunch

ellie and her juice cup she wouldn't let anyone take away

Can You Tape Kids Up?

okay, so i'm a horrible parent... wed., while finishing the last section of the cabinets the kids wouldn't leave me alone. therefore, i gave them something to do... neither belly looks pleased

up until a few weeks ago ellie would have nothing to do with our friend tim. he has quite a deep voice and his presence alone frightened her. tonight she couldn't wait to dance with him and yes... thank the Lord... she fell asleep.

just kidding...

Say "Cheese"...

photos taken last month while the 'kids' visited mom & dad's.

the cutest photo of josie i think i've seen!

grandpa and jack

the girls sitting in the shade

josie and ellie eating oranges

the watson's: barry, brittany & grace

warren stole the camera...

gram's 4th birthday!

America's Got Talent

the 3rd season of america's got talent began this past tuesday, and it's especially exciting to watch this year.
neal boyd, the last contestant that sang opera, is the baby brother of our sports editor, mike boyd. mike was able to tell us about neal's upcoming performance towards the end of may. family members had been sworn to secrecy since christmas.
no one (except neal) knows how far he has progressed.
so if you get bored on tuesday evenings, check it out!

Kitchen Upgrade

well, kinda-sorta.
as you all know our home is ancient. we love the house, just not the maintenance. yet that comes with homeownership no matter how new your building is.
i decided last week to take on painting our kitchen cabinets. our kitchen is dark and depressing. there is only one window to let in light and an awning above it outside. our light fixtures are antique and barely brighten the room. in order for us to alter the kitchen, within our means, painting the cabinets seemed the most logical.
i began last wed. and by sat. finished the top cabinets. yesterday i completed one section of the bottom. only one more section to go which i hope to finish sunday.
has been an exhausting process, but we are truly pleased with the results.

besides painting cabinets we've had a good week. hoed the garden yesterday, planted more flowers and got in to clean out the kids' swimming pool. ryan began mowing and finished yard work this morning. mom and dad drove up to see barry's new house today and will be coming over to our place sat. to babysit so ryan and i can go see nick swardson in st. louis. he one of ryan's favorite comedians and i bought him tickets for our anniversary present. i intended for him to take a friend... but instead he has settled on taking me. i don't know who will have the worst time. ha!

sorry not much to share - just wanted to show the fruits of my labor...

kitchen cabinets... before

kitchen cabinets... after

nick swardson... may have seen him on 'reno 911', 'the benchwarmers',
'grandma's boy', 'blades of glory' and more

Sexytime

there must be something about this house, yard, whatever...
apparently it's important that disturbing animals fornicate in our yard. more to come.

were surprised by my parents as they came down yesterday with dinner and stayed over. dad grilled brats and smoked chicken, while mom prepared homemade potato salad and creole beans. but the best was mary's recipe for homemade lemon poppy-seed cake... i used the leftovers today in a trifle with whipped cream, and fresh strawberries.

had a great evening watching the disappointing baseball game and following it up with caddy shack. we couldn't linger outdoors long - dad had a mosquito bite within 2 seconds... ugh!

they left long before we woke up. perhaps i felt a bit guilty, but i made sure i was productive today. we went to the farmers' market downtown and were thrilled with our bounty. buttercrunch lettuce, green onions, radishes, strawberries and chocolate chip cookies - all for $7.50. wherever you live, take advantage of your local produce. it's amazing! we then chose mcdonald's for breakfast and i have to admit that new chicken biscuit is awesome! don't worry - i worked off the calories all day.

i began working on our kitchen project before 9 and finished my appointed task by 5. in between ryan had to work on the magazine and i was bound and determined to get the kids' swimming pool set up. now, that was a nightmare. is a 24"x8' and requires an air pump for inflation, a filter/pump for cleaning and 3 hours keeping an eye on the water hose to make sure it didn't slip out. looks great and if the rain doesn't come tomorrow warren and ellie will be elated.

while on my last jaunt outside to check the water level i saw a humongous black snake cross the brick patio. i don't care if it's harmless or venomous... anything that slithers disturbs me. i screamed for ryan and his close inspection showed it was not a copperhead. to me, unless they are striped or green - they look like copperheads :)

we watched it in fascination for some time and were immediately chuckling by the tiny birds swarming, diving at it and chirping nonstop. there were 3 that simply would not leave it alone. just when we thought it was gone, on our many checkups, we would hear those birds and instantly see the snake moving below them.

after two hours i went outside and saw it lying in the grass by the swingset. it wasn't moving. as hesitant as i was, i tiptoed behind it to find it lying completely still and creepily crooked.

i yelled for warren to get ryan because i knew either it was deceased or had a belly full of a chirping little bird.

the boys ran outside and walked right up to it. ryan tossed a leaf at it - nothing. he then found a long branch and swatted it. suddenly he laughed.

yeah... there were two snakes. TWO - BIG BLACK SNAKES makin' LITTLE black snakes in my back yard! as bothersome as it was, i ran inside to get the camera.

think about it... first bats? how horrifying have those been since the concoction of dracula? and now snakes? what kind of karma is this?

by they time i ran back outside they had finished. how i hope she was satisfied...

i know they aren't dangerous. i know they won't hurt us. but i bet money (as if i have any) that i'll have nightmares tonight!

Kindergarten, My Day & Freedom

how many feel like cursing me? yeah, it's been over a month since i've written. i'm not proud. we've been busy... and lazy.
the first week of may we endured warren's kindergarten orientation and 'buddy day'. the night of orientation i thought i would emotionally handle it. i was terribly wrong.
we met his teacher (turns out it's the woman who gave us our exit interview during his screening), saw his classroom and found out she is pregnant and due in nov. my son welcomes adversity, therefore, her absence for 6 weeks shouldn't effect (or is it 'affect'?) his education. while we went through the 'stations' of kindergarten, the children were to watch a movie in the lunch room. once we arrived in the cafeteria, all was well. the kids finished watching the 'berenstein bears' and i heard warren shout, "can we watch it again?" :) before the lights came on - i ended up having a panic attack. the worst i've experienced in the 3 years i've 'lived' through them. i thank God ryan was with me. i couldn't fathom the outcome if i were alone.

can you only imagine how i'll handle his first day of school, august 15? Lord, help me...

his 'buddy day ' was much better. i dropped him off at the kindergarten center at 830 and picked him up at 10. he had made a frog puppet and was truly upset he had to return to daycare. he obviously thought his kindergarten years should start then and there!

mother's day was the following weekend and ryan made an amazing breakfast. we didn't do anything spectacular, yet is was a blessing to be with ryan and the kids. that is what makes mother's day after all...

memorial day weekend we welcomed jessie's family down for a night then traveled to mom & dad's for lunch that sunday. the weber's were there (are dearest friends from kahoka) and mom & larry fried the best catfish ever! was a relaxing afternoon and this time no one was injured :)

the following weekend carrie's & barry's came down to mom & dad's. we spent sat. night with them and celebrated gram's 4th birthday. was especially exciting because will, caleb and judah showed up! will is mine and ryan's best friend (i can say that because it's probably the only person we both like - ha!) and he always makes us feel so good about ourselves. is he full of it? probably :D

other than that we are doing well. will finally celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary this month as i surprised ryan with tickets to see nick swardson. still trying to finalize the babysitting - but it will work out.

ellie is starting to talk a bit more. nothing significant - but she certainly understands EVERYTHING we say to her. especially 'no, don't, and be careful'. that is when she literally gives us her 'go-to-hell' look (don't worry - i'll get a picture of it soon - it's horrible!). she fights incessantly to be outside, but the mosquitos are so thick it's been a rough few weeks.

warren is tall, tanned, and mouthy - sound like his dad, or what? :) gets to go swimming tomorrow at school and one would think he has won the lottery.

speaking of which (no, we've never won), we did have our roof repaired last month. didn't break the bank and we're not as nauseous when it starts raining now. one baby step at a time, they say. right now we are working on our kitchen. once we've accomplished this nightmare, i'll post before & after pics. how i pray it works! sorry for the suspense...

hope everyone is well - i'll try and write again soon!

Ellie came home in May with two French braids!
How come she sits still at daycare and not for me?

Uncle Jason with his son, Jack, and Ellie.

Ellie playing at Grandma and Grandpa's.

The BEST part of taking the kids to my parents'...