I love popcorn.....

I have always had a fondness for popcorn but I tell you.. It is one of those comfort foods, I can't get away from... I can't believe I'm going to say it but I like it better than CHOCOLATE :)

When I came to work for Wilbur Ellis, they had a popcorn machine.. I always loved walking and smelling fresh popped popcorn. Tom, (our favorite fence post) actually makes the best popcorn, I've ever had... If you go to the movies, to the park, to the games, I have not found any popcorn as good as what he makes.

Now, when I'm dieting & being extremely good.. I love the 100 calorie Kettle Corn popcorn... It's a tad sweet, tad salt but extremely good & low in Weight Watcher points....

Now, Adrian's favorite is the one that has the most buttery flavor. He has popcorn everynight. I like the blast o butter but a little goes along way with me....

Well Jenn has turned me on to a new one... Who ever would have thought Marshmellow Popcorn"... It is like a rice crispy treat but on popcorn, and when it is warm... OH MY GOSH... a must try if you are a popcorn connoisseur.

And then when we go camping... I thought to myself.. "How can we have our nightly snack of popcorn in the mountains?" and then I remembered we useed to eat this when I was little...

Jiffy Pop Popcorn... and what fun you have popping it & I loved watching the boys eyes get bigger as it pops & fills up the foil!!!

So what type popcorn do you like???

Today is a much brighter day!!!

Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts & prayers. Today is a brighter day.

Last night Jenn, the boys & I spent the whole evening together. We were able to talk and for the first time I heard parts of a story that filled in some blanks for me, but for her she was able to get somethings off her chest that she'd been carrying for quite some time. We went to pizza, icecream & walmart.. now isn't that better than being in your room by yourself *lol*

But she also was able to talk with a friend / a male friend who is also an authority figure that was able to talk with her, that was able to communicate with her & able to get thru to her.... She came to work with a smile on her face & her bounce back in her step..... I think today will be a better day !!!!

Thanks again!!

I'm a little heavy hearted tonight.......

I wasn't going to post this but I can't get it out of my mind... so here goes...


My mom has always said, "she would much rather go thru the pain herself than to have to watch one of her kids go thru it". I really never understood it until I became a mom.

It's amazing how life can throw so many different ups & downs at you & somewhere within you find a way to deal with them BUT when life throws ups & downs at your kids and you have to watch them go thru it, it just about kills you.....

4 yrs. ago this week Jenn experienced something terrible. Something that I hope & pray none of you or your daughters have to go thru. It was so traumatic for her & our family and at the time I felt we handled it the best way we should have but now.. I'm not sure.... I sit and wander "What if"...

What if I would have said NO to the nanny job... What if I wouldn't have been on vacation....
What if we packed her up & moved to a different town.....What if??? Would she be handling it better 4 yrs later? How do you take that pain away, that fear away, the nightmares away, that bitterness away.. how do you make her all better???

You think the love you have for your child is enough to heal all wounds... but I'm not sure it is...

I told her today that on judgement day the trial faced will be much harsher than any trial on earth and the punishment will be far worse than the slap on the hand . I also told her it's times like this that we need to look to the Lord for our strength. That he normally is walking beside us but it's okay to need him to carry us thru the tough times. I just hope she can believe me, and trust him to get her thru this time.

I would do anything to take away her pain .....

Neighborhood Adjustment....

I knew moving from Warden to Moses Lake would be an adjustment. I was hoping the adjustment would be short and sweet. Well almost 3 weeks into it.. .I'm still adjusting

Lack of sleep - afraid I might not hear something if it were to go wrong

Neighbors - Now neighbor A is very nice, has a 4 yr old that likes to play with the boys BUT I know has quite the home based business cuz you can't believe the amount of traffiec in and out
of that house. Now you need to know the boys have to play in my yard when they play together and are not allowed over there.

Neighbor A's driveway is right beside my bedroom window. Being that I don't have an air conditioner, the window is opened during the night. They love to sit in their car and listen to music, smoke their cigarettes and visit at all hours... and being their work is based at home, I don't think getting up at 5:00 a.m. is much needed over there. Now, I being the new neighbor, have kept my mouth shut but have been tempted to turn my car on at 5:00 a.m. with the stereo blasting but know it probably wouldn't even phase them.

The other adjustment went from mosquito's to earwigs... I could not believe the amount of earwigs in & outside of the house... I went to work & they sent me home with some good stuff..
I've sprayed twice & guess what, they seem to have disappeared... THANK GOODNESS!!!! I hate earwigs... It was quite funny, I had apx. 1/4 of a jug of mixture left & I found what seemed to be their nest... I dumped the whole thing on them & yelled die suckers!!!! I had Nick a little worried, he was wandering if the fumes were getting to me!! *lol*


Neighbor B - She & her husband are extremely nice. He makes an honest living working nights & she is a stay at home mom. Visit with them once in a while out in the yard. We were talking about the neighborhood the other day and she told me that Neighbor A loved to sit in her car & sing... She said why she thinks we all want to hear her is beside me... Well , I got to witness it today.. No kids, I lie down on couch, stick a movie in on low & all of a sudden... Her car stereo goes on & she starts singing... She was singing louder than the stereo... OH MY GOSH!!!!!
She reminded me of one of the gals that auditioned for American Idol that thought they could sing & couldn't!!! I thought I was going to die laughing ...... You can't even imagine how bad she is.... and WHY??? WHY... Would anyone sit in their car singing up a storm knowing that everyone could hear *lol*.... TOOO FUNNY!!!

Now there are pro's to this whole situation -

I like my house. It's comfy, homey, it has a decent yard that the kids can play.
I like being incognito - no one caring what is going on in my life..
The kids are making friends with the other kids in the neighborhood that live close.
I'm close to my kids, who seem to pop in around either dinner or breakfast but I'm okay with that I love it!!!
I get to see my mom a little more frequent than I used too...
So all though there are still adjustments .. all is going well!!

Me Day!!

Do you ever take a me day????

Before I got the little guys, I used to not only get Me days but I got to have me weekends. Being a single mom you need it. Well, then I got the little guys & I still once in a while would get me days thanks to the older kids & Nick. Well, now that it's just me & the little guys, honestly I don't get very many me days.. I'm not throwing a pitty party and /or don't want a pat on the back I just wanted some time to myself...

Time to:
1) Go to the bathroom without the door opening
Time to:
2) Watch a movie without having to jump up to split up an argument
Time to:
3) Visit with my mom & actually be able to visit
Time to:
4) Take a little nap without "MOM, Are you sleeping?"

Don't get me wrong I love the little guys but lately things have been a little high stressed around our house so today, thanks to Alyson (Deb's daughter), I got a me day....Thank you!!!

Race Weekend!!

This weekend was race weekend. We left on Saturday afternoon & went straight to the hotel.

You know the saying "You pay for what you get well that was the statement we lived by", that whole weekend. The kids were able to swim, we ordered in pizza, & just hung out.

Sunday morning we got up and around, went to McDonald's for breakfast & headed for the track.

Eric had came down the night before & stayed. This was his first time going. We were actually earlier than we normally were getting there but I will tell you, it seemed we were in line in the car for an extremely long time. Once we got parked, it didn't seem like it took to long to get thru the lines. We immediately walked around all the driver's trailers. This year Adrian was more

excited about getting signatures & having picture taken. Nick had Elijah & they didn't get as

involved as Adrian did.

V. Gaines - Pro Stock Driver

Robert Height - Funny Car Driver

I love the sounds at the track!!

It was a beautiful day, the weather was great, lots of people but I love that they have a playground, so you can take the kids to play once they get bored. After the race it took a tad bit of time to get thru the lines but once we hit the road.. No problems..

Eric & I went and grabbed a bite while Nick took the boys swimming.. Eric took off for home, and we played in the water for a tad longer. Elijah actually learned how to swim/dog paddle without a vest on!! The boys slept quite well as we pretty much had wore them out. We got up on Monday and headed home.

We stopped off at Snoqualmie Falls..It was absolutely beautiful.. Adrian,Elijah and myself are afraid of heights .. so I will say it felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.., but it didn't stop me from taking pictures.

We then stopped off at the train museum, took a few pics of the kids on the Thomas the Train engine & headed home. By the time we got home we were all wore out.. The boys were tired of driving & we were just plain tired. It seems you really need a day to catch up from being gone...

We had a great trip.. can't wait till next year :)

Conconully or Bust!!!

When we had the family bbq for Kevin and Travis's grad party, the cousins got together & decided to try and go camping up at Conconully the weekend after the 4th. The plan was sat in motion but the closer it got the more that couldn't make it. It ended up Nick & I and the little boys. Jenn & Gabe came up Friday afternoon. Eric & Kevin came up Friday night & Annette, Kristin, Kristin's friend Emily & Annette's Mom Dorothy came up too!!

Conconully holds a very special place in my family's heart. That was my dad's most favorite place to go. We spent many of our family vacation's up there. We have only been up a few times since my dad's passing but every time we've been the memories flood back. I however thought I was the only one with those memories but that was one of the special moments of the trip. Eric & I were the only 2 up and he was sharing with me his memories of Conconully and of my dad. It made me so greatful to think that those times were as special to him as they were to me.

I had originally took Thursday & Friday off but Nick was supposed to work on Thursday and wouldn't be down till early afternoon. Since I had taken the week off before for moving, I figured I'd better go in. I no sooner got there and started working on a project and my phone rings. It's Nick he is already on 395 and headed to Moses.... AGHH!!!!! He told me early afternoon not early morning... He can never make up his mind... Actually he drove all night long so he could get home faster but still I was at work... I ended up taking off early & heading home. We were all packed up and totally looked like the Clampets off of Beverly Hillbillies *lol*. We headed out about 12:30. I was driving as he had had no sleep... We are almost to Soap Lake & I tell him it looks as if something has blown out .. He assures me we are fine. We stop at the store for water & a munchie & sure enough the egg crates I had just purchased had blown out.. He didn't seem to care until I told them that was $30.00 down the drain. We decided it was worth the turn around to see if we could find them.. Sure enough we not only found one but we found them both.. He looked quite funny running out in the field to pick them up... *lol*

We got to Conconully about 3:30. Annette had gotten there about 1/2 hour before us, so we just took the camp next to her.. The next few hours we spent setting up camp. Now this was actually the hard part. For the past 30 some yrs, I've been camping with my mom & dad, who had certain ways of doing everything, not only certain ways but in a certain order. Nick & I had already jabbed back & forth about different things & he had dubbed me the "Queen" of the camp. So I was out to prove him wrong... but I couldn't .. I wanted things done my way *lol*

After finally getting camp up, I was able to calm my nerves. It was beautiful.. There was quite a bit of wind, which had us all a little spooked .. Those trees that had been so calming were now crackling and falling.. I just said a few small prayers that none would fall on us :) Once it quieted down it was beautiful.. Our tent was less than a few feet away from this..

That night for dinner we thru some hotdogs on the bbq and called it good. We sat around the campfire & visited with Annette & her mom and then headed off to bed. It was quite chilly that night, colder than usual I would say... The next morning I was first up and wanted a fire. We had burnt thru all our wood the night before, so either I got off my butt & found some old dry stuff that would work or I go steal Annettes *lol*.. I did the right thing.. I looked around and found some kindling and then found some dry small logs/branches that I was able to use. Nick woke in the midst of it & started it for me. We were able to spend an hour or so till the boys woke. Nothing like waking up to the sounds of a creek, squirrels chirping, trees whispering, & the fire crackling.

The boys spent the days whittling, fishing, and just playing in the creek. Nick and I played a few friendly games of progressive poker with Annette and Dorothy. Good things we are all friends that game gets a little cut throat *lol*

We had purchased a dutch oven. I had asked several of the experts that I knew how to use it & for extra backup, I printed information and a few recipes off the internet,. That night, I thru pork & beef ribs in it.. They were b

asted in a bbq sauce. I wasn't sure how they would turn out so I thru a few on the bbq too. The ones in the dutch oven were awesome. I made bisquits in it the next morning & I also made a breakfast casserole.. Wow... who would of thunk!! I'm going to be looking for more recipes & ideas for this.. Nick and the kids loved it!

Now we all know camping isn't camping with out smores. Well according to Gabe, camping isn't camping with out marshmellows. This boy was roasting marshmellows morning, noon and night. It was hilarious. He likes his burnt to a total black crisp as Jenn likes hers golden brown it was quite funny watching the two of them trying to cook this silly white fluffly marshmellow.

Eric and Kevin brought their dog Kujo up. That dog was so funny. He loved running and chasing squirrels. He'd stand at the base of the tree and just wait & yelp.. Hoping for one to crawl down a little too low. The squirrels would actually tease him. As soon as he'd give up and walk away they'd start chattering again, just to drive him nuts..

The night before we left. The older kids put on a snipe hunt for the little ones. For those of you that don't know what a snipe hunt is you basically are sending them into the woods looking for a make believe animal.

Jenn put toothpaste on their face for protection.

Eric & Kevin were off in the woods hitting rocks together & chattering (snipe noises), Jenn lead them on the hunt with Gabe carrying the paper bag to catch them... I've never laughed so hard in my life. Elijah was pretty scared but it was precious. The whole time walking they were on pins & needles in search for this snipe..

Jenn goes to reach into the bush & pretends to get bit which made Gabe mad..

So he runs into the bushes with his bag to catch it . The little kids are yelling.. Get it Gabe. Catch it.. Well he pretends to catch it throwing himself from the bushes to the side of the road back to the bushes and then pushes the rocks out the end to show it's escape..

The kids were scared & Elijah was hysterical.. and being the good mom that I am .. I'm laughing so hard I'm about to pee my pants. *lol* We get back to camp & the 2 older boys had moved their position to Annette's camp. We are all yelling that we are sure that the snipe is gone (very loudly) I might add cuz Elijah had had enough & it was time to come clean. The snipe kept chattering so we told Elijah he needed to chatter back so the snipe would go away.. he literally stood on that picnic table chattering back every time he heard them.. But he finally had had enough and started to scream it.. It was so stickin' cute.. Yes.. I know I was having fun at his expense but it was funny...

Just than Kevin comes back dragging Eric thru the woods as if the snipe had gotten him. He tossed him to the ground & Elijah went nuts.... We finally had to put a halt to it.. It took us over an hour to convince Elijah it was just the kids having fun!!... We explained that Eric, Jenn, Kevin all went on snipe hunts when they were his age and now they get to be the snipes.. So when they have kids , him & Adrian could be the snipes and take them on a hunt.. Oh no he says.. I don't want to do that cuz that;s just mean *lol*... I still find myself smirking every once in a while thinking about him standing on that table chattering his little heart out...

Adrian pretended not to be scared but I caught him

with my camera chewing on his pillowcase. He took

it to catch the SNIPE *lol*

We had a great trip. It was hard to come back home but I think we get to go back in a few weeks with my brother & his family...

It was a much needed break from what has been a very busy life these past few months...

This weekend we are off to the NHRA Drag Races in Seattle.. Yep.. I'm so excited !!! I bet you are all dying with anticipation to see those cars & drivers I will be posting *lol*..

Have a great week!!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Blog Land!!! It's been way past 10 days since my last post & I can honestly say I wasn't sitting on the couch watching soap's and eating bonbons... I'm not sure even where to begin....

On Friday, I finally had received a call that I could sign my lease on Monday. Nick had gotten a moving truck from a company he used to work for. So Saturday we started packing up. We were able to get all the boxes into the truck.. Tom, the faithful fence-post(co-worker) invited us over to swim & BBQ. He made the mistake of telling Elijah (they are buds). All day long Elijah was bugging us to go over. We kept telling him no due to the fact we had to get all the boxes packed.

All of a sudden, that little guy was loading all types of boxes, he didn't care if it was heavy, if he could see over them, he wanted them loaded. I finally said "Elijah, why are you working so hard those boxes are bigger than you." He turned, looked me square in the eye and said" Mom, I figured if I jumped in and started getting boxes loaded than we would get done faster, and than I could get over to Tom's for that BBQ." *lol* It wasn't even us going to the BBQ it was him *lol*

And he was right. We got them loaded and were able to run over and let the boys swim for a while. I have no idea how many times I was reminded that I picked the hottest weekend of the year to move :)

Sunday, Jenn took the boys. Eric, Kevin, Nick & my brother Dave, loaded all the furniture & remaining items on that truck. We only had one close call. My grandma left me her piano, it's a Merrill -Boston... It is solid & very very heavy. As they were loading it in the truck. Half way up the ramp it tipped. It was headed for Nick.. Eric & Kevin grabbed, as I looked on and screeched.

Now most of you are thinking ...Oh no not the piano... but I honestly was thinking, "How will we pick up the mess it will make of Nick when it squishes him *lol" The boys made a good save & all was well. We were done early afternoon and headed over to my mom's for the night. Still had no idea what time they would let me "LEASE UP"... But was hoping for early.

Monday rolls around. We are hammered at work. I'm trying to get payroll done 1st thing & in walks Kevin with his grandma. He had 2 little abrassions under his eye and the screw driver had actually went in his eye but we didn't know the extent of the damage. I called the clinic & Dr. Warner was out, so they sent him to occupational medicine. I was on pins and needles.. I should have went with him. I know he's 17 lives on his own but I'm his mom!! Grandma ran him over. He had 2 scratches across the cornea. Besides the pain, and not being able to focus, he was doing ok. Then to top it all off, we can't get in to the house till after 3:00. I was not happy!!! I borrowed the Yukon from work & met Nick their after I signed the lease. We unloaded the Yukon and I headed back to work, taking both boys as Heather was going to watch them that evening so we could unload. With it being closing, we didn't get out of there till after 6:00. I was bummed... Annette, Dave & Nick actually was unloading all my stuff & I wasn't there.. .I felt terrible.... Did I mention it was the hottest weekend of the year to move... After work I stopped off at Walmart to purchase some fans. I grabbed a fruit tray, vegie tray, and meat tray as I hadn't eaten all day, and had been having problems keeping food down the past few days... .HMMMM - Is that what they call stress???

Well, I get home just in time to unload the last 20 boxes. Yep, they had it all done but that...

I was so greatful but felt so bad.. Dave told me he wouldn't have cared except he new I had been in the air-conditioned bar boozing it up.... *lol* Gotta love em!! Well, I started feeling a tad queezy and I needed to eat when I realized I had left all the food I had purchased at Walmart. Jenn ran down to get it and as she did.. I sat in the hot house with a cold rag on me cuz I was going to drop at any given moment... No food, and the hottest day of the year ...aghhh!!!! Well, all ended well.. jenn brought back the food.. I was able to pick at it and actually kept it down. We got both the beds up, table up and useable and the washer & dryer hooked up. I was set.. . I could do the rest tomorrow.

Tuesday we did sleep till about 7:00. I didn't sleep well.. New place, new noises. I jumped up and got around and we started unpacking.. I took a break & took Kevin back to the doctor. The good news was the cornea had looked to repair itself but the bad news was an infection had onset.

Have your kids ever said something to someone you are trying to communicate with that is not only off the wall but totally embarrassing.. Well, I was speaking with the nurse & Elijah decides to pipe in with, "Did you know that my brother, Adrian, thinks he pees like a rockstar?" OH MY GOSH... Where in the world did that come from & why.. why did he feel inclined to tell her that .....aghhh!!!! Either she chose not to acknowledge the comment or she didn't hear it.. I'm really hoping she didn't hear it. We got Kevin's antibiotics filled & off to bed he went and off to unpacking we went. By Tuesday night, we were considered unpacked!! The scraproom was 1/2 situated but still needed some work but the rest was done.

Wednesday we headed for Warden to clean, clean carpets, paint.. you name it that was the agenda. I was so overwhelmed.. I know there was several times, I just wanted to curl up and cry. But we kept plugging along. By Wednesday, I had only the stove & floor to clean . Woody had got 3 rooms painted so we were hitting it head on.

Thursday, I walked in to that house & began to cry... I was tired, I was sick of the mess, I was overwhelmed.. And I wanted done... The first huge obstical was the stove... Before I attempted, I thought what would Calvin do... "I put on my gloves, I said a quick prayer & I began pulling it out." Nothing was running, nothing was growling... but when I finally got it out OH MY GOSH!!!

There otta be a law that you have to pull it out at least every 6months.. *lol*.. I'm so glad I didn't have Calvin over with his trapping tools.. I would have died from embarrassment. Well, all went well, there were no signs of critters but I will say they had left behind some little markings. I know one thing, when I got done with that, there were some pretty upset little creatures.. The HOTEL was closed forever!!! About 3:00 that afternoon the neighbors, Linda & Charles came over & they helped us finish up.. They were the best neighbors ever!!! We got done at 8:00 p.m.

I had decided whether the landlord liked it or not I was done... I didn't have to pay a damage deposit , and he had been good about workin with me but $200.00 later and 2 days of Kevin's & mine blood sweat & tears was all I could handle!! I should have given him $250.00 and walked away!!

Friday was the 4th of July. My family came over for a bbq. It was alot of fun.. I sure missed my old house . From where it sat we had the best fire work show you can imagine. You could see for miles around the fireworks going off. There were lots going off around the new house too. It just wasn't the same. No neighbor Tom , no Charles & Linda.... but still enjoyable.

Saturday, Nick & I putzed around the house. He arranged the garage the way he wanted it. We made 2 trips to the dump & I spent the day in my scrap room. I finally got to what I'd been dying to do. I love Kim Anderson. I always wanted a room with her pics and figurines hanging around. So I printed off a bunch of her pics & framed them. I hung a few gifts that had been given to me from scrappin' friends. When I was done.. I loved it!! I only have one problem, I got rid of my wooden shelves I had for the past 2o yrs that were made for me.. but they were just hangin' on by a thread.... The problem being that is where I stored all 16 of my scrapbooks...

BEFORE

AFTER!!!

Now, 2 things - 1) I know this doesn't look like a room out of a magazine but it's mine :)

2) Don't mind the curtains... will have new ones up soon !!

There have been several things that I've already realized I'm having to deal with.. One is earwigs... OH MY GOSH!!! I have never seen so many.. All the neighbors have them too.. I will be speaking to one of our fieldman shortly.. I'm sure we have something from work that can take them out *lol*

But the biggest problem is the store that is apx. 3 miles a way does not & I repeat does not sell

Coke Products.. . NO DIET COKE!!!!! I was so desperate one morning, you actually saw me drinking this : I did tell them that by not selling Diet Coke that was UnAmerican.. Now, you realize I told that to women that may or may not believe in wearing a towel on her head :)

Well, for the past few weeks I've been going to right down my thoughts but I've really had no time... I'm going to wrap up this post so I can put it behind me and move on... Sorry, it's so long & rather boring.. I also want to say a huge thanks to : My kids, My family, Annette, Heather, and my job!!! Without all your help.. there is no possible way I would have made it .... THANKS A BUNCH!!!