I almost neglected to show the small pile of branches the boys cut off of my overgrown shrubs and trees. Give them a chainsaw and they can perform miracles!


The pool is filling fast, and it looks so great! I can't wait to jump in. Maybe this weekend it will be warm enough.


Poor Poor Coty has a slight foot injury. They do not think that it is broken, but it sure looks like it to me. Neither he or Mitch will use the crutches though. He only came over tonight to get them because his mom asked him where they were. They have been here since Friday or Saturday.


It is Cotys birthday this next Monday so we are having the weekend Birthday party. The cake will be Saturday (strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, Coty said is his favorite)but the events begin Friday and go through Sunday. I am so glad we have the yard underway! No big deal to get the rest done for the party.

Tucker, just being himself, he brought his tests home from last week and the lowest grade was a B. One B, the rest were over 100% each. He did great and she had offered bonus questions on each test so he got them all right!


Mitch and Jeff both have research papers due tomorrow. Jeff has turned his in and Mitch still needs to finish his. It is going to be a very late night!

The Weekend:

What a weekend! so very busy, as always but very fun.

Friday:
Worked all day,cut and dyed hair for kids, went out for drinks with a friend. The guys played video games on the 360.



Saturday:

I had these two girls all day. All morning we pulled out all my art stuff and they played and played. Then we put on the feathers and went to Sam's club shopping and then to coffee and then to lunch and then to the house to make dinner for the little dinner party we had. Girls are tons of work! We had a great time though. Oh and then cut hair for two more guys.

Meet Chloe and Miranda my neighbors daughters. They were a blast!





Tucker wearing all the beads in his room, the funny part was he could not get them back off. Their were so many beads they were stuck, we almost had to resort to scissors!

New flowers for my room, because I wanted them. I love the orange!



Sunday:

We woke up and went outside and saw this.



We had massive rain this week, tons of pollen everywhere and the pool took a direct hit. So Mitch and I ran to the Home Depot tool center for this.



We rented the biggest pump they carried and had the pool drained in two hours. So then we had this. Tucker in his chem gear watching the water pour out of the huge hose, we moved it too the street. Just too much darn water.



Here is where it gets gross! This is what it looked like with no water in it. Very sickening! Luckily five guys showed up,

With their help and Mitch, Jeff, Tucker and two pressure washers (thanks to my neighbors Jenny and William, Thanks Guys!), scrub brushes, tons of pizza (to feed the help), and tons of bleach. Seven hours later we have this.

We are into the refill phase. I have already put in the shock and algicide just to be safe, read the H2O meeter (to get the deal the H2O Co. gives for pool filling) and the water is on. For the entire night and probably the next day. It is now 930 pm and I am going to take my first shower of the day and hit the bed. I really need some rest from my weekend, maybe I can get it at work!

Knocking on Doors...

This is a recent activity I have embraced. Simple, but very effective. Because of this, I have a good friend Jenny whose kids come over often to play with Tucker. I have coffee with someone I like to chat with.

Because of this, I have met more of the kids parents, and have found some whose interests are similar to my own. Who are friendly and funny and really great.

Because of this, Tucker has scouts with many new friends and experiences where he is the one doing the special things, not just the big guys.

Because of this, I now know Louisiana has Moles and they all seem to live in my backyard, but my neighbor Jeff is going to help me convince them to move on to someone elses yard.

Because of this, my circle has widened exponentially and I have met people who are interesting and from different walks of life like Mack. He makes me laugh at the end of a busy day by telling me work horror stories.

Because of this, I have many great friends for Tucker and I both.

All because I knocked on doors.

It just makes you smile...

A Brilliant Weekend!

OK there is tons and tons of pollen in the air and the pool. Seriously its not due to the lack of chemicals, just cloudy because of the pollen. That is my story and I am sticking to it!

Doesn't Mitch look like a big kid? I love it!

Here he goes!!!!

Shane, Jeff, and Tuck getting ready for a water gun fight that involved Mitch and the official wetting of the cell phones.

Brandon Showing up as he is just because:

It was a Wonderful Weekend! The one night barbecue ended up being an all weekend event that finally ceased on Sunday night with one last feast on the grill (Jeff is mastering the grill almost as well as Mitch) poker games and late night talks poolside in the chaise lounges. Thanks to Oma and Poppa for the great exterior furniture. My family are the only ones who would come all the

way across the country with car hauler full of furniture for the new house. Lets not forget CC who helped Poppa drive across country because of his minor back injury. We love you CC! Yikes! Anyway I digress. All weekend tons of kids, laughter, games, lots of people on the couch and I think it was RJ and Courtney who spent a night on the aforementioned chaise lounges. Hmm. Yup I think it was them.

I was rock'in out the food and such while in all day interviews and other such events. Tuck had his first scouting Blue and Gold banquet Sat night and his den did the opening and closing ceremonies. He had a speaking part and did very well. The big guys and I went in full dress code, the guys had suits and all on. Tuck loved having his big brothers be there for him. I did forget my camera due to the hectic making of pies and biscuits in the two hour gap between my meetings and the banquet. Shame on me but I just slipped up. Oh well, I will hit it next time.

Tuck is back to his normal bike riding, swimming, running all over with friends normal self, and I could not be happier. I spent an afternoon doing major bike repairs and his bike is back in running order. He still is a computer guy but not nearly as much, and he loves having friends all around our house that he can just run over and see whenever he wants too.

All day Sunday was just for laundry and relaxing. I got a tad of sun myself and had Tucks friends over for supervised pool time, then I took them in the car (sans top) for snow cones at Nona's snow cone shop. They are really really great!

More than anything it was just so very nice to have everyone here, and love the house, and feel as "at home" and at peace as we all do. The way all of the kids (seriously between 25 to 45 kids) just came, and stayed, and laughed, and had fun, just filled the house with laughter and fun. And this is just the beginning....

Great Days!

It's a Party!

I have shocked the pool within an inch of its life, and bought out the grocery store!


Another sunny day in paradise...
Plans for the day:
Get ready for barbecue starts at 12pm until ?
Make food
Hang out by pool and visit with friends

Today was a much needed mental health day for Jeff, Shane Johnny and I. Today we prepared for the barbecue, and I drank coffee, and made food.. Oh lots and lots of food.. Jeff and Shane made hamburgers full of spices and sweet onion. Fifty pounds of meat made into burgers. At last count less than 10 burgers remain. Did I mention we also served hot dogs? Oh and potato salad, and my friend Jenny brought a bacon ranch salad, and tons of brownies, and baked beans with bacon (a la aunt Linda's recipe). It was fun and great and lots of people kept coming over all day long. Some would come and then others would go and new ones would show up. Mitch manned the barbecue and Jeff hosted the day. I met more of the kids friends parents who are really nice. Did I mention we swam?

Tuck had his friends over Robert, Miranda, Chloe, and William. The kids played and swam very hard all afternoon. Then at the end of the night we fired up the fire pit and let the kids make Smores. I got to hang out with my friends and talk all evening. A really great relaxing day.

Coty showing all of his talent on the pogo stick. He is pretty good at it.

Jeff and RJ with a friend of theirs son. He is a sweet baby, was extraordinarily quiet and just made funny faces at all of us today. Jeff thought he was pretty great.
OK this is Snapp and Jackie... Yes he is temporarily sporting a Mohawk and Jackie's hair is blackish. They are going for the goth look. I was so happy to see them both, I really miss having Snapp and Jackie around more. Just one of the hazards of having 18 year old's, they grow up, it sucks! Don't they look great though?
The guys all coming and going and feeling very much at home makes me very happy. They listened to music and just chilled all day. As people were leaving tonight, Jeff and Johnny walked around, picked up garbage, cleaned tables, and the kitchen. My friend Jenny just looked at me in disbelief. She told Jeff he could have the next party at her house.

Just another one of those days that make me smile!

THE LIST

Everyone who knows me knows my lists. They are not only scattered all over the house, but never ending. I always have way too many projects going on and grandiose plans for the house, cars, kids, and life in general. I do complete lots of the tasks, but for every one off the list two take its place. I have found lots of joy in the planning and execution of projects so I have come to peace with the lists.

This is a list that is long overdue.

I am going to try to list the happy things that happen to my family, not only so they will not be forgotten, but to focus on the good things in everyday life that are all around, if I just take the time to notice them.

Here are the recent happy things:

Having Mitch and Jeff get Tuck from school today when I had a late appointment. Not so much the watching him thing, but the fact that I called and they immediately said yes, with not a hint of hesitation. When I came home Tuck was upstairs with Jeff and Shane watching you tube videos happy as a clam.

Cotys mom Laurie brought Magic Erasers over to me yesterday that completely took the silly string off of Jeff's walls without me having to repaint his room (don't ask). They work great! I had no idea, she swears they even take Sharpie marker off of walls too!

Tucker came home from school today and told me the following "He had a great day, he only got in trouble once every two hours and his grade for behavior was an F but he said he is improving and isn't it great!" I love a kid with optimism! I guess I have a little more work to do with Tuck on behaving in school. Just a little.

Coming home after Tucks scout meeting tonight to the wreckage of a rousing game of Koolaid Pong. The latest incarnation of quarters played with ping pong balls and koolaid. That is how these kids spend a rowdy Monday night.


From left to right the kids are
Johnny, Hannah, Coty, Garret, Jeff (the rebel with the cigar!), and Brandon...

Mitch is at the Gym working out (as he does 6 or 7 days a week) and life just doesn't get any better than this.

I have to go the guys are out front with the pogo stick and Coty just asked if the pool is swim able, I am surely missing something funny!

So this is my something funny.

Here is the end to the night:
Tuck watching Coty swim (it is not that warm!)


Coty in the pool (approx 58 degrees outside!)


Coty dying of hypothermia:


The last swim of the season was documented on November 2, 2008 we have begun the swimming season today March 16, 2009. Don't you just love Louisiana?

FRIDAY'S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

The Saturday Night Live Play...

Jeff and Courtney doing their Hanz and Franz Skit.

Tonight was Jeff and Courtney's play (with many other friends of course). The whole family went (of course) and it was frickin great! Tucker was howling along with Mitch and I. It was one of the funniest things that I have seen in forever, very well done. Quite a nice way to spend a friday night.

SMALL FIRES

Have you ever blown up your microwave?

Well I did. Now I really am not usually one to break lots of things, and I am slightly mechanical so this really wasn't my fault other than I was using it when the fire occurred. Yes fire. I hear a crack run for the microwave and pop the door open and I have a visual on fire and smoke. Burning plastic and wiring smoke. I pull out the bar to reach the plug and pull it out, I am at this point very thankful for the fire extinguisher my father installed in the kitchen for emergencies such as this. Thankfully, I did not need to use it this time, but you never know when emergencies will strike.

So this is Tucker heating up left over Chili until I go for a replacement.

I was laughing,I mean really, how often do things such as this happen in real life? Well to me, quite often.

ROOF'S AWARD!!

OK, so Mitch asked me to please stop calling him Roof (football nickname) and to stop writing it on all checks I give him (as people don't know who the check is for) and I have acquiesced. But this is an exception.


Coach Pipes nominated ROOF for an award and he won. It is the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year Award. It was sent to the school and Mitch received it today. He had a huge smile as he brought this one in. Now this is not just an award everyone gets. Roof was selected and it's a big deal. I am very very proud (as always) and it is another FABULOUS award to frame and place on the wall of fame as the boys call it. This is the wall of all of their awards from sports and such.




Let me give you a visual of the wall of fame, here it is:




Jeff and Mitch are beginning to cover the wall with all of their plaques and medals, I love it!

HAPPY NIGHTS

Our evenings after school are changing in a very happy way. Instead of the evenings being all about the big guys and their activities, Tuck is the one with all of the fun last night.Tucker had friends over to play and then attended his first cub scout meeting. Everyone there was very nice and he had a great time. The group is small with just five boys, but everyone is very nice and made us feel very welcome.

I love the scouts, they work on such fun ,age appropriate activities. Tuck needs that since he is surrounded by 18 year old brothers and all their friends.

JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS...

Tucker and I had an interesting day of Friday. One of those that you are counting the moments until you can go to bed and start fresh in the morning. I hate those days.

It was just rotten. So after a late afternoon appointment when we were both feeling quite blue I had a flash of inspiration.

We pass right by a really neat park on the way home. As we drove by the car just swerved into the parking lot (don't you just love it when cars do that?).

We spent a lovely hour just playing and running and swinging.

Like this;





It was a very happy ending to a very bad day. I am glad we don't have too many of those around our house.
and yes, I was swinging too!

Tucker with Books

Last night I found Tucker out on the back porch reading one of his books from school. He was out there for over two hours on his own accord, just reading. I am really glad to see that he enjoys learning.