Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Daddy's Home!

After a couple weeks on the road, we are excited to have MJ back home. The girls and I survived without him, but just barely. Time to unpack, get some laundry done, relax a little, and then we are off to the Poconos for the holiday weekend. Have a wonderful 4th!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Little Loo, Please Swim at the Pool

We have been enjoying the pool  for the last few days. It really is the only thing you can do in this heat and humidity! Little Miss loves playing with her friends, and she is old enough for a little freedom. She can touch in the junior pool, and she swims all over. She still has yet to swim with her head under the water, but we are working on that.


Peanut plays nicely wherever I put her. Her favorite activity is to climb in and out of the baby pool. She loves to take a break and have a little snack.

Then there is Little Miss Loo. It is like pulling teeth to get her to swim. She would prefer to swing while at the pool, or maybe play in the sandbox. Then today, she found the shower. She can reach the rope to turn it on but I need to get up to shut it off. She thinks that's part of the fun. 

Friday, June 25, 2010

Hello Peppers

The storm that brought down tree limbs all over my neighborhood did some damage to my beautiful garden. Most of my tomatoes were laying on their sides. I tried pushing the cages back into the ground but the soil was so wet and the tomato plants are so heavy, they just toppled right over. Fortunately, with some borrowed cages from my neighbor, I was able to prop them back up. I even tied up some of the top heavy branches with some pantyhose. Lets hope that holds them up till they all turn red. I am now on a red watch. I'm hoping that some turn before the 4th of July.

The good part of the storm was all the rain. My peppers have finally exploded! Check them out.

Goodbye Pear Tree

We had a really nasty storm blow through yesterday. The skies opened but it was a quick storm. My backyard neighbors had a tree crew come in and do some much needed cleanup to their whole yard. I was outside telling her how well her yard looked, when one of the tree guys came over. He said he wanted to give me a free quote to take down or trim up our half dead pear tree that may have qualified for the ugliest tree award. After some thought I decided that it should just come down. Just taking out the dead sections would leave me with a really skinny, slightly lopsided, really ugly pear tree. I wouldn't normally take down a tree but it was really sick, more and more died each year, and did I mention it was ugly! So while I ran into the house to get them a check, they hopped the fence and went at it with a chainsaw.












Unfortunately, Little Miss was quite upset that her favorite tree was coming down. We had lots of tears! But the yard looks much better now.

I am hoping some day to plant something beautiful to replace it.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day

I wanted to wish a Happy Father's day to all the great Dads out there. Especially my favorite three! Love you guys.
To MJ: You are the best Daddy our girls could ask for. They miss you tons! Hope you have a relaxing day at work and get some sleep.
To Grandpa D: Thanks for everything! Can't wait to see you again in July!
To Grandpa J: I hope you have a wonderful day! See you soon.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

My MJ

It is our anniversary today! Six years ago today I married my MJ.

It was a gorgeous day, and it went by way to quickly. That day he became my husband. In the six years since, he has become my best friend, my confidant, my shoulder to lean/cry on, my partner in crime, and the best daddy to three precious girls.
Thank you for the love, the laughter, and the beautiful babies. I love you babe and miss you tons! Hurry Home.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Willy the Waterbug

Meet Willy...

He is a Waterbug. He is old. And he is still tons of fun.

I have lots of memories with this little guy. My parents sent this to me a few years ago. Whenever it gets hot out and we need something to do, we just hook him up to the hose. They love it!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

J..E..T..S... Jets.. Jets.. Jets!

We may live in Eagle country, but this family bleeds a different color of green. Jets Green!
I saw free tickets to the Jets Mini Camp online last week, and quickly grabbed five. We got lucky and MJ got the day off, so up the Turnpike we went.
It was the first open practice at the new Stadium. They have very comfortable seats in the lower bowl. I am sure those seats come with a pretty price tag as well. We didn't make it up to the nosebleeds (where more reasonable ticket prices can be found). I wonder if they are as nice up there?
Little Miss was impressed with watching the big football players. I got to check out my boy from Iowa, Shonn Green. I know he is originally from NJ, but I'm willing to overlook that part. He played for the Hawkeyes, and might I add, did a pretty fantastic job!
I forgot to take pictures of the players but I got a few good ones of the girls with their daddy! And yes, I made the girls T-shirts the night before. They only had Jets sweatshirts and it was way to warm to wear those.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

When it rains, it pours

This weekend just didn't go as planned. Where do I even begin? So many things went wrong.
I worked all week at getting my stuff together for a yard sale at my church. I figured I could get rid of some things and make a little money for a few things on my want list. MJ was going to help me setup and then watch the girls. That all got cancelled when MJ had to work all day Saturday.
Then he also found out that he has to travel next week for work. He will miss our anniversary dinner date.
He is a good man, so made plans to take me out for our anniversary dinner Saturday to make up for all the crappy work interruptions.
We chose a highly rated Japanese restaurant we hadn't tried yet. We stopped for a bottle of Saki before going to the restaurant, and that is where someone backed up into my minivan. The damage isn't bad. The car still drives, but I can't open my door all the way. Luckily he stuck around and we got his insurance information, but it still put a big damper on our dinner out.
Despite the accident, dinner was excellent, and I can't wait to go back.
We made it back home without incident, that is until about 2am, when the carbon monoxide alarm started going off. No need to worry. All is fine. Just a little lacking in sleep now.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Look how Haley's Garden Grows

Our garden has been in for just over a month and it has really taken off!
Check out those tomato plants!
We will soon have more tomatoes than we know what to do with!

With one exception...

I planted two rows of string beans. They sprouted in 6 days. We were so excited as they got their first leaves. Then one day, the leaves were gone. Darn bunnies and ground squirrels. I may start leaving Jaxie outside all day. If you haven't seen her hunting abilities, check it out here.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Grandpa

Happy Birthday Grandpa!
It's my dad's birthday today. We were lucky to have him here last weekend while he was on the road for work. Not a bad little travel perk! We got to go down to the pool and just hangout at home. It was great having him here. We miss you already Grandpa! (We miss you too Grandma!)


Friday, June 4, 2010

Finished Beds

In the 90 degree heat yesterday, I finally finished the other front flower bed.
I even remembered to take a before shot.
Here is before...
I wish I could tell you that all that green next to my overgrown bush was grass. I must confess, it is all weeds! I think I pulled up crap for an hour.
Here is what it looks like now.
Much better.
Truthfully, I would love to rip out that overgrown bush (and all the overgrown rhododendrons in the other bed as well) but I don't have the time or the power. Maybe next year.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

And will you succeed??
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
-Dr. Seuss

My baby graduated from Preschool today.

I am so proud of her! She has learned so much in her first 5 years.
I can't wait to see how much she grows in the next 5.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Hunter

**  WARNING! IF THE SIGHT OF DEAD ANIMALS MAKES YOU QUEASY, THIS IS NOT A POST YOU SHOULD READ**

Everyone, meet Jaxie the Hunter

We rescued her from the shelter when she was 5 weeks old. She was adorable! They told us her mom was a terrier mix and they didn't know who/what the father was. She would grow up to be 15-20lbs.  Never believe what the people at the shelter say. 95% of the time they will be bigger. Jaxie is about 50-55lbs.

She really is a great dog. She loves the girls and loves being outside. We have a fenced in yard for her to run around in. Unfortunately, Jaxie has Lyme's Disease, which makes her a little slow and sometimes she limps. It mainly effects her right hind leg. We thought that this would curb some of her hunting abilities but so far this year, it has not. She kills about a bird or two a week, and all the moles, chipmunks, and squirrels that wander on our property. I never thought she would be fast enough to kill this...



Yep, that's a bunny. Well half of it anyway.