he's just a little excited...

Curtis got a new (2 us) Trailblazer 2day!

it's about time that he ride in style...this is the 1st decent vehicle that he's owned...& he definitely deserves it! ♥

best of all - he can finally haul the kiddos & all their crap COMFORTABLY! ;0)

weekend recap...

this weekend, my entire family was camping - well, except 4 us

my mom & dad had their 5th wheel - & my sis & her fam were joining them...my brother & his wife had their RV set up at the same campground too

we're going with my parents after our beach trip in July...but since the whole family was there this weekend - & since it's been over a year since our last camping trip - they invited us 2 come down & spend the day with everyone

1st, we picked up Riley - she's the daughter of a friend...Riley's mom used 2 watch the girls during the summer & after school...in the process, our girls became fast friends! Riley just turned 4 in February, so she's a year younger than Corinn - but they r best buds...it had been a while since they got 2 hang out 2gether, so we invited Riley 2 come with us 4 a day of fun! :0)

my nephew, Matthew, was a real dare devil in the baby pool...he'd run & jump in like it was nothing!

after lunch & some pool time, we jumped on the campground "hay ride"...i was sure at least 1 of the kiddos would fall asleep during the ride...none did, but several were close ;0)

then we took a walk down 2 the infamous waterfall

see what i mean? BFF's!

my brother (& his dog, Molly) lead the way 4 Jaden & Deandra (my niece) - they really wanted 2 check out the falls up close this year

the girls had a blast on this little "slide"

& of course we had 2 get a falls pic of the kiddos!

then Curtis took the girls fishing (i'm sure Jaden & Deandra were off riding bikes) while we got dinner going

my parents BBQ'd 2 pork tenderloins & i grilled some burgers that Katie made up...throw in a few sides & we were having a huge family feast ;0)

the campground has live music at night...& it's right near a playground & sand volley ball court...everyone headed up there as it was getting dark, & we had a pretty fun time attempting 2 play volley ball in the dark! ~lol~ the kiddos had glow necklaces & bracelets & had a ball - & when we finally gathered them all up & threw em in the truck, they were completely tuckered out! about 10 minutes down the road, all we heard were snores ;0)

on sunday, we had plans 2 take the kiddos roller skating...it had been a few months since the last time we'd gone - so long, in fact, that we didn't even know about their "summer schedule"...turns out they're not longer doing the family skate on Sundays (we're going 2 try & catch the "cheap skate" next Wednesday)

the kiddos were a little disappointed, but quickly rebounded when we took em 2 "Kid's Castle"...it's a playground at a park not too far from the rink...they don't get 2 come 2 this park very often, so they 4got about the failed skating attempt quickly

we even ran in2 Gabby's kindergarten teacher there!

then we made a Slurpee stop

& headed 2 Shenandoah Lake 4 a little fishing

we didn't really catch anything, but the girls had a good time playing with the ducks...

Jaden really wanted 2 go out on a boat & fish, like he saw some others doing...we'll have 2 check in2 doing that some day

then, we went out & had dinner 2gether & headed home

daddy's off work 2day as well - so we gathered some fire wood last night, in preparation 4 a campfire 2nite...Curtis is gonna grill us up some steaks & it sounds like we're going 2 have a fun evening!

i hope u had a wonderful summer weekend too!

*update - it was brought 2 my attention that even tho i posted b4 & after pics, i didn't even mention Jaden's hair cut in this post...my bad! :0) this cut was Jaden's own design - executed by daddy on Sunday morning...i think it's pretty cool ;0)

SYTYCD - down to 14...

wednesday night, the performances on SYTYCD were all so good! but here was my fav...



i haven't been big fans of Ade & Melissa so far, but i really liked their rumba - hot, hot, hot!

i think i have a new crush too...i still really like Phillip, but have u seen Brandon lately?



he & Janette had a different kind of routine this week - hip hop, with a little rock flair...Brandon is a contemporary dancer - but look at him bust a move! plus, he's just so darn cute! ;0)

then last night, they narrowed it down to 14...Auska & Jonathan were cut...i agreed with the cuts - Jonathan just wasn't keeping up with his partner...& even tho Auska & Vitolio had amazing chemistry - i think she was holding him back

sad day...

"A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ."

-John Mayer

lovin' summer in a different yard!

b4 we moved next door, i talked about how much we'd miss our old yard...but i think we've really come 2 love our new (much smaller) yard too...

(we still have a lot of work 2 do & we plan on getting rid of that horrible bush/tree in the middle of the yard...but remember, we rent - we're just making it pretty 4 fun & not really trying 2 pour a whole bunch of money in2 it)

we've had a blast discovering new plants, flowers, fruit & creatures...

we're sooooo anxious 2 see what kind of grapes we have & if they'll do well!

we got the chance 2 watch baby birds grow up & fly away

& one of the girls' favorite things 2 do is fill up our bird feeder & watch/identify the many birds that frequent our yard

2gether, we built our raised veggie bed (in the backyard)...& the kiddos have really enjoyed helping me take care of it

something (i suspect a groundhog) ate one of our pepper plants, so we replaced that...& i got some more cucumber plants 2 replace those that didn't make it too...the lettuce isn't doing too hot, but look at all that cilantro! our onions didn't do too well either - not sure i planted those right? i pulled up a bunch of the squash that we planted, & we still have a huge plant or 2 that will most likely attempt 2 take over our tiny garden

& look at these tiny Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes!
u know Corinn is really excited about this! ;0)

the gorgeous apple blossoms r long gone...

& now we have apples!
still small, & mostly green - but it'll b so much fun 2 harvest these & come up with fun fall creations when that time of year rolls around!

having a clothesline rocks!

& we've totally enjoyed having a fire pit again...so thankful 4 a laid back landlord!

i think we've pretty much settled in2 our new home & yard...we're in full force summer mode & loving every minute of it!
:0)