At least someones getting some use out of my treadmill. 

4 girls on a road trip

My sister, her two girls and I all set out yesterday on a road trip to see our grandma who is in the hospital. Other than my sister's driving it turned out to be a perfect day, we visited with Grandma who we discovered is eating real food after having a feeding tube for 3 months, we did alittle shopping, had some girl talk, had some icecream, ran through the parking ramp of the hospital jumpimg up to hit the overhead beams, all with nice weather. Everytime I get together with her and the girls we spend most of our time laughin, I have so much fun with them, they make life so interesting and I love them all dearly...But lets get back to this driving thing, I am used to bad driving, after riding with my husband for 17 years ya seem to come to terms with the fact that you will be trying to hit the invisible brake, grab the dash, grab the door handle, and generaly scream for your life and that of your offspring in the backseat. I was certain I had seen it all in my 35 years. Do you know the phrase "own the road", will my sister takes it literally, she owns the road allright and the sidewalks and curbs too. I have seen this woman run stop signs, space out a red light, drive down a one way the wrong way with oncoming traffic waiving for them to get out of "her" way, try to drive her vehicle in spaces where others are trying to drive, changes lanes in a manner that would give her passengers neck braces and I have even heard her use the phrase "they"ll get out of the way" before. Yet the question still remains how can she drive on curbs and sidewalks, spin her vehical out on a dirt road not ice mind you a dirt road and be one of those all around scary drivers but yet have a flawless 6 inches from the curb parallel park, I just don't get it...And she's even one of those drivers who still beleives in the 10 and 2 (left hand on 10:00 and the right hand on 2:00 on the stearing wheel) just the way her instructer taught her, but yet again I find myself saying "I just don't get it"...Sis ya baffle me I'm sure I'm brakin some kind of law just ridin with ya!!!!

Over looking the landscape from the bridge just down the rode from our house, takin on one of our evening walks. 

Little Acrobats!

My beautiful little neices showin me how good they are on their trampolin. Em and Sar you two are quite the little acrobats, and your equaly as good at playing Flip the pancake and The budda bounce, are these real games or were ya just pollin aunties leg again. Had a ball with ya over Easter weekend, your both so much fun to be around. I miss the two of you tons.

How To Tick Me Off

Snitchin some of my Ben & Jerry's, Dave Mathtews Band Magic Brownies ice cream, ya know its my favorite. Jaker B ya terd I know it was you, fess up kid. Can't ya just be content with the big bucket of vanilla/chocolate I get for the three of you? Is nothing sacried? Paws off momma's stash ya hear.

Never a dull moment

My husband has a lawn care service that he does every summer, and when I say lawn care I'm mean about 26 or 27 lawns once a week all summer long, and then of course fall and spring cleanup. Its a real family affare. We all help in some way. Well after 13 years of equipment braking down, working in the scorching sun, and several mishaps and very little time to play. We decided this was the year to cut back to about7 or 8. So yesterday started off the season without a hitch, do some leaf removal, trim some pompus grass, do some all around general cleanup, how hard could that be, accouple hour job, uneventful right, Wrong. It turned out to be a 3 1/2 hour job, truck was full of leaves and branches, trailer was so full we had to leave our riding lawnmower at the place we did and come back for it. So the hub took all the yard waste to the dump, came back home hooked up our littler trailer to our suburban (so he wouldn't have to bring the pickup truck and the big trailer back to town, with gas prices being what they are) got his faithful red ratchet strap and off to town we went. We picked up some takeout, loaded up the riding mower, strapped it and off we drove feeling so content in the fact that the first day of the season had gone off without a hitch, nothing braking, knowone getting hurt, no vehicle trouble, nothing. Yah right! what weed was I smokin(not literally) content soon faded to total embarassment as my husband rounded the turn to get on the main road and gunned it as our ratchet stap broke, which then proceeded to send the mower flying off the trailer and firmly plant it right in the middle of the road, as cars drove around us staring in amazement, my husband drove the mower back to the trailer and I picked up his ramps that had still been attached to the mower with bunge cords. After the red faces and the words like "how embarassing" and "what the F***"(this coming from the hubby) and the comment from the teen on how" everything happens to us" and "If someone drove by from school I'm going to be so mad" where finished we soon thanked the good Lord that knowone had hit it and that nothing had gotten hurt except our pride and a little metal peice on the mower that the hub said he could bend back with a B.F.H. If it had been during rushhour instead of around 7:30 who knows!!!

Through Anna's eyes!

All of these takin from my backyard, cropped to clearout the neighbors house and sheds of course, but hey I do get the most beautiful views of sunsets and cloud formations, these are just three reasons to thank our heavenly father everyday for all the beauty we are surrounded with.....

Truck Nuts!

I really don't get it, what is the point to those little set of balls that hang from the back of peoples trucks. The hub would like to get a set to put on our Suburban. I live in a home surrounded by nuts (me being the only girl in the whole house besides Jakes Guinea pig Harrietta) and he expects me to drive around town with them on my vehicle too. A girls gotta draw the line somewhere. So hun the truck nuts thing "ain't gonna happen".

Who The Hell's Mindin The Store?

Each day after school when I pick my little men up we discuss the day, how things went, and if theres anything to share. The teen promptly said while talking over the 11 yr old, that in his Civics class they where discussing current events... Apparrently a 6 yr old boy in Detroit had called 911 for his mom who had passed out on the floor. He was told to hang up and stop making prank phone calls. They did not check to see if it was an emergency. He called back some time later to tell them about his mother a second time and again was told to stop making prank phone calls or they would send someone out to arrest him. A third time the boy called back, and this time they finally sent someone to his house, but not for help, they thought he was just playing. By this time several hours had passed and by the time help had finally arrived it was to late the mother was dead.... And in another case a woman had been shot in the head by her husband and called 911 for help. She was having trouble speaking and telling them what had happened to her. They thought she was mentally ill and they asked if they could speak to her husband or someone they could understand. They did not take the call seriously at first. She tried several times before finally getting help.........These are not rare cases people things like this happen everyday, and in some black neighborhoods in the bigger cities help does not come at all... This just pisses me off to no end, I mean come on were do are tax dollars go, and for that matter shouldn't every call be treated as though it were the real deal. What is going on, would someone please tell me? I realise they do get prank calls and that a few bad apples spoil it for the rest, but who judges weither it is or it isn't, how would you really be able to tell. And how would you sleep at night knowing that you choosing not to send help ment that someone would die. I just don't understand how they did not respond after the second call, I mean really if you were a prankster would you call back a second time and risk getting caught, (hello caller Id) I really don't think so. And in thinking about this should you really have to make a second call to get help? Isn't the motto for the police "to serve and protect" well I ask you who do they serve and protect? Apparrently who they good and well please to.... I respect the police just as much as the next guy, but this is just plain wrong in my book. Get off your Dunkin Donut eatin ass and check the 911 calls you get. Check it out, if ya get to the address and find it was a prank, spank them, fine them, drag their ass off to jail, send them a ticket, what ever at least check it out, after all isn't that your job.....Incidentally the family of the woman who died is going to sue the Detroit police. I hope they get every penny, but sadly it won't change a thing, a little boy is still motherless, and he did just what he was taught to do in case of an emergency.....call 911, but apparrently knowones mindin the store....

Takin last weekend as the sun was setting, the sky was so alive with color, and the rings around the glow from the sun ranged from yellow to orange to peach, it was breathtaking..... 

Pillow Talk!

Ya know you've been married along time when your husband drops ass next to you in bed, laughs about it, then tells YOU to "shut the hell up so I can get some sleep"~We've finaly reached that mature stage in our marriage, were stuffing my head under the covers or waving the blankets as to spread the smell, have lost their charm........

Anna's Favorites

Just a few movie quotes I like: Not neccessarily from my favorite movies, just some quotes Anna found noteworthy:

Point Of No Return.....Maggie (Bridget Fonda) says to Bob (Gabriel Byrne) "Well Bob, what if I say you can kiss my ass, right in the crack" (this one I use on the hubby) you know when he wants sex, dinner, the house cleaned, the vehicle parked in the garage just so etc...

Pushing Tin....Connie ( Cate Blanchett) says to Nick (John Cusaick) " We did it , the grand of fricky frick, we did it all over the house, we went upside down, we went sideways, we should have worn helmets" (not sure where you'd use this one, but I thought it was funny)

Jarassic Park 11 The Lost World....Ian(Jeff Goldblum) says to the phone "You BASTARD"(this I use while driving, uising the computer, using the cell phone, etc.)

And my personal favorite...
Tremers 111, BackTo Perfection: Burt(Micheal Gross) says to Jack(not sure who this guy is): "Is your head up your ass for the warmth" (this one comes in handy when dealing with a teenager)

don't ya just love the quotes you can use in everyday life, don't ya!

A boy and his shadow (Jacob mad he lost)
Another boy and his shadow (T.J. after winning , the usual look of a teenager, a frown)
3 guys fighting over two swings, apparently their mother never taught them to share (this pic taken by that mother perched nicely on the third swing which they let me have without a fight (the pouty mouth and the sad eyes works everytime)
The 3 buddys, where T.J. and Jacob are, there Ted most also be.

These pics were takin this weekend, we were all able to spend some much needed family time together, no schedules, no abligations, no urgent things to take care of, just free time...... Friday night we had loads of snacks and watched the movie "King Kong" which we seen in the theater and loved so we bought it......Saturday while the guys were out fixing the brakes on one of our vehicles, I cleaned up the house alittle and did some laundrey, got ready, and then it was off to the park to shot some hoops and goof around for a couple of hours. Since the boys usualy pick fishing or park and basketball, and our fishing liecense was expired, it was park and basketball. And me being as coordinated as a 1 legged dog it was quite the game, I wonder why all three say you get mom. (come on guys I'm not that bad, am I?) .....It was a beautiful day to be out and hangin with the kids....I cherish every day with them, their 11 and 16 and growing up so fast, wish they could stay little forever!! When they do growup and have their own lives I will miss every goofy querk they have, the laughter, the moodiness, the jokes, the picking on mom, the restling, the prayers and the goodnights at bedtime, the "MOM" yelled from another room, the mini lego's and mini Gi joe guys sprolled out on a blanket on the living room floor with both of them playing together... I will miss every single card game, board game or puzzle and meal at the kitchen table, every "Tremors" or "Jurassic Park" marithon watched on cold winter days and even every trip back and forth to school...... T.J. and Jacob you make life beautiful and fun, I love you both very much!!!!!!!