Call it UniqUe...Call it Odd...I just CALL IT QUIRKY~

Quirky= peculiar, far out, unconventional

I think we can all be defined as a little "QuIrKY" at times...a little crazy, a little extreme and a little hysterical. I like to think that being a

little "Quirky" makes me "unpredictable" and "interesting"!

I am who I am...what you see is what you get...

This is a little bit of the CRAZY paRt of what makes me....

ME~

1. I am a little OCD...yes, I really am! I have many quirks about things that have to be "just so" or it drives me crazy. FOR instance: Before I get on the treadmill every morning, the family room (where my treadmill is located) has to be tidy, organized and the pillows have to be set on the couch just perfectly...yep-its the truth, otherwise I can't work out!

2. I can't read a book that doesn't smell good. If my nose is going to be in a book for hours or even for a minute or two, the pages have to appeal to my senses...otherwise I can't read it. Smells get to me, and you would be surprised how the smell of some paper differs from another...its not all GOOD, some paper really stinks!

3. I can eat just about anything CoLd...yes, even mac and cheese. Its amazing that some things that appeal to my taste buds when warm and wonderful, taste even better cold to me.

4. I feel super lazy if I sleep past 6:30am. Growing up, we arose in the morning around 5:30-5:45 year round. In the winter we caught the bus at 6:45 so we had to be up and going early. In the summer we had weeding (in our 5 acre garden) to do so my parents woke us up and drug us kicking and screaming to the garden. My internal alarm clock has since been set for 6:00am OR before.

5. I have a little guilty pleasure... I shouldn't share, but I will...just don't judge me! I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (carries on from my childhood too I guess). Yes, I know peanut butter is packed full of protein and that's good BUT its also packed clear full of fat too (and that's bad). Every week when I make homemade bread I just can't resist a piece smothered with peanut butter and strawberry jam OR peanut butter and Nutella.

6. I prefer water in a glass cup vs a plastic tumbler. I think water tastes better served in glass. Maybe its that I can see what I am drinking or the fact that I can't taste the plastic, I don't know...but its much better in a sparkling clean glass cup.

7. I am obsessed with TIME. I collect clocks, I LOVE them...I have big ones, little ones, fat ones, short ones, some that hang, others that stand...so you would think with at least a clock or 2 OR even 3 in a room that I would always be on time...sad to say, but I'm not.

8. I love to chew on ice. Back when we had an ice machine (it has been broken for a year or 2 now) I would set it to make the littlest ice cubes, which would be done in 10-15 minutes. Then I would fill my cup up and chew on them all until they were gone...it was a great snack!

9. I am not a competitive person. When it comes to games, I play to play...not necessarily win (although that's fun too). When it comes to looking a certain way or being something just to out do the next person....that's not me! I don't have the time or energy to worry about trying to out do my neighbor. My philosophy is...just be who and what you are...and Let's All JusT be FRieNDs!

10. Lastly.....I will always wear my hair with bangs. Not necessarily because I love bangs (because there are so many cute hairstyles WITHOUT bangs)...but because I have wrinkles on my forehead and I don't want anyone to see them....I am not a huge fan of wrinkles anywhere, but smack dab in the middle of my forehead just makes me cringe!. Wrinkles and grey hair are one of the many drawbacks of aging...and I'm going to fight them both for as long as I can.

.....there you have it, a few of the ODD things that make me who I am~

On the RoAd AGAIN.....JUST CAN'T wait to get OFF the ROAD again~

The summer flew by....

NOW it was TIME to SAY good-bye to Kim

AGAIN...as she flew the coop for another year

of College.

Last week, we loaded her belonging into the car's and headed out for the

LONG DRIVE.

Our drive was LONG anyway, BUT when you add in the fact that OUR AC stopped working a few weeks back and it IS THE SEASON for road construction...the RIDE was extremely LONG. We had an extra hour and a half ADDED onto our already long journey as we were stopped off and on throughout the trip by lovely flagmen dressed in bright orange jackets....I know they are just doing their jobs, but ORANGE quickly became a HATED color on our trip. It seemed we would just get up to speed and be making some progress, when out of the blue we would see bright orange signs and cones that gave us warning as to the "FLAGMEN" ahead and "PREPARE to STOP!" UHG!!

SO WE DID ALOT OF THIS....

looking at the side of hills......

...counting cars in the rear view mirror to see how many piled up behind ours..

ALTHOUGH you can't see how many were behind me from this grand picture I took of my rear

view mirror, there were over 20 behind me....makes for a LONG WAIT because that meant we were sitting there for a LONG time!

....we pulled faces, sang songs, put our feet out the window, all in an attempt to pass the time

in the HOT CAR!

We had packed a picnic lunch and planned on stopping somewhere nice and cool to eat it...

...lucky us we also had to use the bathroom-

so we ended up stopping at a REALLY NICE Rest SToP.

It had some fun little set up that was like a TRAIN station, where there were picnic tables and

some fun things to look at....so we took advantage of the spot and

snapped a few pics as we strolled around and ate our lunch....

Finally after HOURS and HOURS and HOURS of stopping and starting

we arrived on campus...where we unloaded Kim and her belongings and sent her out on her own.

It wasn't quite as hard as it was last year when we took her...

because this is her second year around, but it

was still sad and I had a difficult time not breaking down and sobbing my eyes out BUT

I was strong and shed NO tears (at least right then...we won't talk about later).

Kim seemed happy and excited to be starting another year of classes, meeting

new people and making new friends.

I am excited for her to have another great experience in the world of opportunities.

She is such an independent, awesome girl who knows where's she's going in life...

what mother wouldn't be happy about that?!

BUT...I do MISS HER A LOT!!!!

Let's get ready to RUmBLE...one last time~

It's the LAST "first football game" for Cameron....

His senior year will bring many "Last's" but will also bring on many "First's"

Cameron has started the year out SUPERB and is getting alot of playing time!

woo hoo!! It makes the game more interesting when you get to watch WHO you came to watch...

and for me...that would be MY SON, #70!

Every year the senior football boys put their names and numbers on the

Senior Football Fence...

I am kind of sad to see Cam's there this year!

He's growing up and preparing to leave the nest...

and when it comes right down to it, I don't think this mama bird

is ready for that!!!

Its FUN being a GIRL~

It's time to put on the walking shoes, pull out the newspaper ADS and SHOP for good deals, long pants, sweaters and new shoes....THATS right- its time to do that school shopping thing again! It seems that school just got out for summer break (although SUMMER has only been here for the past week) and now its time to start it all over AGAIN....*sigh*

Gathering school clothes for 6 growing children used to be a long, drawn out process, often taking 3-4 different shopping trips. Shopping was made up of finding pants for TALL children, stylish clothes they each adored and finding it all within my allotted budget. It was often (more OFTEN than OFTEN) stressful and left me dreading the entire experience...so I made some changes. I started taking the boys in one trip and the girls in another. THAT way we didn't have anyone dreading the shopping experience of the opposite sex...drudging through the girls section was always SO BORING for the boys and racing around the boys section was equally as boring for the girls. So taking the boys and girls separately did wonders for the OVERALL experience for us all! I let each group (boys or girls) decide on which place they wanted to eat lunch and then we tried to do something fun while on our trip...like go and get ice cream or have a picnic or stop for a walk up the mountain...I tried to make it a "mom and kid" day. I enjoyed the day more and so did they. NOW that I am down to the last 2 children at home...its a completely different experience all together. Cameron HATES to shop, so he does all of his school shopping online. He gets on the internet, orders what he wants/needs and calls it good. SO....that means that I only get to take ONE shopping! Last week Halle and I put on our walking shoes and headed out the door for a day in the city. WE shopped 2 malls, a Target, a Walmart, a Ross Dress for Less, a Rue 21 and a TJ Max...granted, it took 2 days but we got what she wanted/needed and I feel as though the trip was a success. Halle loves Mexican Food (how could that be?...its not like OUR entire family doesn't LOVE a "little Mexican food now and then"...) so she chose to eat at Cafe Rio and Los Hermonos (both are MY fav's too). Dayna endured hours of watching Halle try on clothes, go from one store to another and chase after the shoes of her dreams...so it was only right that she was able to join us for lunch and dinner too.

Wow...My oldest and my youngest............seems like only yesterday that Dayna was

Halle's age and we were out doing her school shopping and eating at the SAME restaurant!

"Guess WHAT I'm ordering MOM?"...

It was one of those FUN FILLED, exhausting, good kind of DAYS!

Dayna, Halle and I had a great time just

BEING girls!

(See what you miss Cameron when you SHOP online???

You should have taken me up on the SHOPPING DAY....

ONLINE SHOPPING IS SOOOOOOOO BORING! and it doesn't taste as good either!)

No "HORSING" around~

I love a good find!!! Dayna and I were shopping at a

second hand store a while back and found this HUMDINGER!

I think I paid $6 for it....YES, you heard it right $6!

He was in excellent shape, other than the wooden rockers on the bottom.

He needed a set of new batteries and some TLC

to make him look EVEN BETTER than NEW!

I made him a cute little bridle, some braided reins, a exquisite homemade quilted saddle

and then I painted the wooden rockers a bright yellow (because I have a fetish with the color yellow right now)....I have to say, I think

he turned out pretty ADORABLE...

...EVEN if I do say so myself!

BUT more importantly....Kenron thought it was pretty COOL!

FROM the excitement seen on his face, I think HE LOVED it!

Hopefully its something he can keep and have around to pass along to HIS own kids (wow, that sounds like a LONG time away, but it will happen before we know it!)

Another successful "RE-DO"!

Royalty...at least in our eyes~

Our prince charming competed in the County Baby Show a few weeks ago....

he was so stinkin CUTE!

He entertained the judges with his irresistible little smile...

...played with the fun rubber ball-

...and kept his Mom and I entertained with his giggles, smiles and smurks

as we waited for the contest results.....

EVEN THOUGH he didn't win...

HE WILL always be OUR

LITTLE KING!

We think he's pretty darn ADORABLE!

Running FASTER than I have StrEngTH...

Its now 4:30AM on this dark sleepless, Thursday Morn....I've been up since 3:00AM- I've made bread, done a bit of catching up on housework and crossed a few things off of my TO DO list. Its officially the FIRST day of school around these parts and I'm just not sure if I am ready for it all ( I ACTUALLY KNOW I'm NOT ready for it all). School means....."Schedules, practices, homework, pick ups, drop offs, stressful mornings, sports spectating, wake up calls.....and so on and So on and SO on!" I already feel as though I am stretched to my limits with "things to do" I really don't know how I will fit anything more on my "to do" list....its already bubbling over! I'm exhausted and I haven't even started the morning routine yet............UHG! I don't seem to have the energy anymore that I once had...I don't know why or where its all gone (because I used to be able to go from sun up to sun down...full speed), but I went in to the Dr. a few days ago and got a vitamin B12 shot, hoping that would help give me a boost....I'm still waiting for it to kick in. Hopefully today will be the day that happens, and I can get a few things accomplished. I've tried to eliminate the "don't need too's" from my list and just focus on the "have too's"...but someday's the "have to's" are OVER WHELMING. I've learned to say "NO" and not feel guilty(mostly)...for example: I had 3 different calls yesterday from people wanting me to do sewing projects for them (I have done A LOT of sewing for people in the past)...AND I turned them all down. I felt bad that I couldn't help them out, but I know my limits and I'm over the top as it is...one MORE thing just won't fit in right now.

Can I just say~

I really feel as though I am running faster than I have strength?!