Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Picnic for 4


By now you have probably noticed that I have gone comment free.  I posted about why I was doing this in an earlier post if you want to check it out.  It's at the end of the post here.

Yesterday the girls and I decided it would be a really good idea to have a picnic.  Seeing as how Mondays are my busiest of days, I had to squeeze it in while I was waiting for my payrolls to be released back to me.

We decided to dine in our front yard.


Riley decided on our lunch menu.  She went with an egg salad sandwich, cheese its, and apple slices.  A capri sun to drink was chosen by Madi.


Riley wanted to invite a special guest.  I told her that would be okay. 


But then I was told that this special guest was going to need to eat lunch too.  I thought really?  It kind of reminded me of this time.  Riley's imagination kills me.  She always surprises me with what she comes up with.



So, being the awesome Mom that I am, I went ahead and made Tinker a special small sandwich.  Just her size.  She thanked me, such manners that Tinker has.


Riley has been missing preschool.  She spends her days coloring, playing Mommy, and practicing her letters.  She brings me pictures with letters written down at the bottom and tells me what they say.  "This means that when you got married to Daddy at Grandma's house, I really loved you then."

She also tells Daddy..."Are you home today?  Are you all done with the moneys?  So you don't have to work today?  Yes!"

She's growing up, and she's a sweet girl.  You know when she tells me she loves me?  If I'm making her food, or I'm making a cake.  Those are the times she loves me the most.  But she "doesn't love me at Grandma's house.  She loves Grandma at Grandma's house." 

That's okay with me though.  This one always loves me.


And she should.  Because she's terrible.  And I haven't given her back yet.  Talk about trouble.  That girl is the definition of.

She loves to get under her sister's skin.  But wants to be just like her.


She repeats everything that Riley says.  It reminds me of the brothers on The Sandlot.  She is still in her crib even though she's been getting in and out of it for months now.  I don't think I'm ready for this little crazy to have freedom.


She will definitely take advantage of it.  I'm thinking she might crib it up until she's at least 12.  Or until she starts going potty on the big girl potty.


She's smarter then me.  The way her mind works is amazing.  "Madi, did you know that big girls that go potty on the toilet get to wear undies and have big girl beds?"  Mad: "Uh huh."  "And babies go poopy and pee pee in their diapers, it's so gross."  Mad: "I know, it's gross, blah."  "So Madi, are you a baby, or are you a big girl?"  Mad: "Oh, I'm a baby Mommy, I love my diaper.  No potty on the toilet.  I love my diaper.  I don't want to go potty on the toilet."


Really?  Because you can talk to me in sentences and tell me why you don't want to.  And you bring me your diapers and tell me to, "Change my stinky diaper Mommy.  Pee you.  I stink."  Really?  I mean really?


I even got her excited about undies at Target one day.  I told her she could only buy them if she went potty on the toilet.  She handed me the undies and said, "put them back, get diapers."

It will happen, and it's actually kind of funny how different this is then potty training Riley was.

Have you forgotten that this post was about a picnic in our front yard?  Well, I'll quickly remind you that we are on a picnic.

We finished our lunches off with a slow melting popcycle.  I had orange.


They were pretty good.  And it was a nice break from working.  It's one of the things I love most about working from home.  I'm able to take a lunch break in my front yard with my pretty girls.


How many people can say that they can do that?



It was one successful picnic.  With pretty good views.


Monday, June 27, 2011

Weekend Events






I know, I know, 2 times posting in 1 day.  I'm on a roll, and actually enjoying it!  I even have one more post I need to work on to post in a couple of days.  It has something to do with a picnic.




We had a pretty good weekend.  The pictures that you see are from Sunday.  Tim and I spent a couple hours out in the front yard cleaning it up and stuff.

Friday evening I had some neighbor friends over for cupcakes and wine.  It's always a good time when they come over but we found out some sad news.  Ms. Megan, Madi's daycare provider (we only use her on some Fridays, but still) will be moving.  I'm so sad.  She is not only great with all the kids she watches but she is a friend.  I'll be sad to see her go but I know it's for the best, and it's not until October.

I know one little girl that is going to be pretty upset about this.  But I'm not going to tell her.  She'll thank me for it later.


Saturday was kind of a bum day.  Tim had to work until 4:30 and then I headed over to my Mom's house to pick up my Grandma to stay with us for the evening.  My Mom was out of town to Rock Creek and Grandma was going to be alone for the night.  We can't have that.  So, I told her payment for use of the guest bedroom was tomatoes from my Mom's garden.  She didn't disappoint.

We had open face grilled cheese on sour dough with fresh tomatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper.  OMG.  I told Tim my mouth will be raw the entire summer.  I will eat those tomatoes until they are gone.


After a lovely evening, we all headed off to bed.  I had a cake tasting in the morning for 6 people.  Yes, that is a lot to have at a cake tasting.  Good thing it only lasted an hour and I was done at 11:30.  Madi went to bed, Riley had "quiet" time and Tim and I went to work on the front yard.



We cleaned up our side planter that heads to the back of the house.  I can't wait to get the palm trees out of that and plant something that I like.  I cleaned up my flowers in the front.  I see a trip to Home Depot in my future.

Tim's hosing down our front porch in this next picture. 


Do you like my little bistro? I repainted that about 4 months ago. It was white paint and the top wood had faded a lot. It just looked kind of tired. So, I painted the iron black and stained the top. It looks so fresh now!  I also don't know yet what I want to do in front of it.  I think we want a raised planter so we don't want to plant grass in that dirt area until we know.




After we were done with the yards, Tim took on his next project.  He recently brought home 2 dirt bikes that he needs to fix.  They belong to one of his friends and they gave Tim the go ahead to ride them whenever he wants once they are fixed.  His friend doesn't ride them anymore but doesn't want to get rid of them.

So before he could start working on them, he had to give them a bath.  We went down to Home Depot and hired a couple of workers to wash the small bike.


They did it in their skivvies.


And really worked hard.  So hard that their boss was pleased.


And gave them both a little ride!



It's funny that they actually got on that bike.  Both of them are very, very scared of the noise from the motor when they are on.

Tim took off on the big bike down the street just to give it a test drive and Riley broke into tears, "Oh no my Daddy, he's getting lost!"

Too cute. 

We cleaned up for the second time yesterday and headed back over to pick up Grandma for dinner.  We ate at Oggi's.  Love that place.  The food is so good.  Grandma and I both had the tequila chicken pasta because we like things spicy.  It did not disappoint!



Thanks for stopping by!

Hoop - a - Loops on Father's Day

Fathers.

They are the coolest.  They throw you up in the air, chase you around the house, and tickle you until you can't stand it anymore.  They teach you right from wrong, they sometimes yell at you and punish you, but it's all out of love.

When you get older, they show you guidance, teach you lessons, and walk you down the aisle.

My Dad is an amazing man.  For those that know our story, he is quite the guy.  I am so blessed to have grown up with his love and support.  The guy deserves an award I think.  He always does for everyone else, rarely, does he ever do for himself.  Like I said, he's quite the guy.

I didn't get a picture of him on Father's Day because he spent most the day working on the yard.

I married one amazing guy.  In many ways he does remind me of my Dad but honestly, they are two totally different people.  Tim works hard just like my Dad, and has the same moral values. 

Tim is one of the best Daddies I've ever seen.  My kids love him uncontrollably.  When he walks through the door, those two light up.  One little girl has been staying awake at night just to make sure she gets a kiss good night from her Daddy.

I'm a lucky girl.  I am so lucky to have found such an amazing husband and father to our girls.  And it makes it that much easier him being easy on the eyes and all :)


Father's Day was very relaxing and we spent it with the regulars.  My Mom had purchased some very overpriced Hula Hoops a few days before, for when she watched the girls for Tim and me.

She had heard how much fun these bad boys can be for the girls.  Little did she know, they were going to be quite addicting and the focal point of the day.  Let me tell you, almost every single one of us tried these things out.

I knew that you wouldn't believe me, so I got proof.


The girls were very entertained.  Giggles upon giggles.  Nothing better than that sound.




Even Madi got in on the action.



If we had had a contest.  The winner would have been Tim.  Hands down.  He had that hip movement down I tell you!  Hand off ladies.  That hunk of meat is mine!


Honestly, this just proves that he is one of the best Dads ever.  Not too many would Hoop-a-loop with his little girls on Father's Day.   Only the most secure of men can hoop-a-loop, haha!


By the way, Riley calls the hulla hoops hoopa loops, that is why I'm calling them that, and I realize that I totally overdressed my girls for the day.  We woke up to foggy overcast skies with a chill.  By the time we got our shopping done and got to my Mom's, the sun was in full effect!  It turned into a beautiful day.

And a beautiful evening that we ended in the outdoor kitchen that my Mom and Pops recently built.  I love it in there!  But, they need to invest in some shades!


 I know it's late, but Happy Father's Day to all the great Daddies out there!  They are such gifts!

Friday, June 24, 2011

THE Family Reunion

There are lots of pictures to accompany this post, just giving you fair warning, if you'd like to skip out now, here's your chance!

Tim's family has the best family reunions.  They do it once a year and Tim's cousin Shauna and her husband Dave always host it.  They have a huge property and gorgeous home out in Chowchilla.

This year, Tim and I were lucky enough to take my Grandma and Grandpa Kelley's RV.  We actually bought it from them that same week.  Long story but let's just say, Tim and I were not ready to buy a motorhome for at least another 2 years, but the opportunity arose and we just couldn't pass it up.  Tim and I both grew up with RV's / Trailers and have been wanting to start some camping memories with our girls.  We already have a trip planned for the middle of July up to Rock Creek with my Mom and Dad.

We got up to the reunion on Friday night along with the other "cool" people, Brian and Nicola and stayed till Sunday around noon. 



This next lady sure was happy to see us the kids.  We are hoping Tim's Mom and Dad will be coming to visit soon....hint...hint...


Can you believe that she hates that picture?  I think it's gorgeous, and I think she's gorgeous. 

We definitely had a few of these...


And some of us got caught doing something naughty a lot.  And threw fits when was told no.  I'm not one to name names on this blog, but...


and boy am I glad she didn't go into the back very often where 2 of the older girls (Paige and Breanna) found some mud to play with.  If Madi had found this mud, it would have taken me the entire weekend to clean her up.




She would have been swimming in it.  It's like the perfect size mud puddle for Madi.  I could have probably put a baby fence around this whole area and left her for the day.


The guys spent a lot of time playing horse shoes and talking man talk.



The men folk (Timmy and Brian) also had a good time playing with little pink bats...


and putting on a circus show for us.


The women folk did a lot of watching the children, playing with our cameras (this is part of Nicola)...


And bringing our apple cider moon shine down to where the guys shot guns and drove golf balls. If you are thinking to yourself that this sounds like a red neck reunion, well, it kind of is. And I look forward to it every year. It is always the best time. I've always been more of a country laid back chick then a city girl. So this reunion fits me like a glove.








Yeah, this is just awesome.  And this is Shauna.

Riley was there too I promise, but her and Shauna's youngest girl got along great, they spent the day together and played hard.  Can you tell from the look of Riley?

After shooting guns at golf balls, skeet, and bud lights, we headed over to the karaoke area to listen to the talented family.


And some of the family that embraced karaoke to the fullest.  This is Shauna's hubby Dave.

I think one of the things I like most about Tim's family is the love they have for one another.  It is so fun to see and be a part of.

The sun was going down and the men were trying to get as many horse shoe games in as they could before dark.




Let me just tell you about my husband.  He is the best guy in the world.  And a little shout out because we just celebrated our 5th Anniversary.  I couldn't be more in love with him and I can't believe that I love him so much more than I did when we got married, and I thought I loved him then.  Hmm, that might be a country song.  But that is truly how I feel.  He is a one of the hardest workers I know and he's my best friend.  He makes me laugh, he makes me feel loved, and he makes me feel like there is nobody else he'd rather be with.  You know, unless he's out shooting bud light cans with his family or striking a pose.

And did I mention that he's hot?

Well, that's about it from the reunion (you're thinking, finally, this post is over...just be grateful I didn't post all 600 pictures or all 99 that I did on Facebook).

We ended the evening by putting the kiddos to bed, more karaoke, a game or two of beer pong (let me just tell you, I'm undefeated) and lots of laughs.


Thanks to Shauna and Dave for always hosting such a great time!

On a side note, just wanted to let you all know that I will probably be removing comments from my blog.  I kind of feel like when I do blog, and then go everywhere to take the time to comment (and something thoughtful that takes a moment to write) it just becomes too much for me.  As much as I LOVE your comments, I'm thinking I don't want to have to deal with that too.  I'll probably put them back on in the future and it doesn't mean that I won't comment on your blogs, just not as often.  And I want you to know that I really do enjoy reading your blogs.  This way I won't feel guilty not commenting on every single post.  Thanks for understanding and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue.  I just really want to keep this up for the girls to read one day and am trying to make it appealing to update again and not such a chore.  It's just an idea that might happen, and maybe not.  But I want you to know why first before I do it.


 

Me

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I'm Kristi, the wife of one very lucky and handsome husband, and mother to two beautiful little girls. I'm honest and sarcastic, funny and easy going. I love to eat and love to hate that I love butter. And wine. And did I mention butter? I'm always learning new things, happy to lend a hand, and love my life. This is a blog of my family and the day to day crazy that we call Rush Hour. I hope while you are here that you enjoy yourself and come back often!

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The Rush Family

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