Summer Hibernation

Well, Summer arrived in its full glory this week. Usually June is sort of a warm-up (pardon the pun) period before the real heat arrives in July. Hopefully this June is a replacement of the July heat! It has been stifling here this week with the combination of excessive heat and excessive humidity. Ahhh...Summer in Kansas! There's a reason I've always been a Fall/Spring kind of girl! We've been basically hibernating this week in order to avoid the heat. We got out early yesterday morning to pick raspberries and will do that again tomorrow morning (or maybe tonight...tomorrow morning is filling up). We did get out yesterday to go to the church for our exercise hour, and I had Bible study last night, so we weren't stuck in the house all day! We've got a couple books to finish today so we can return them to the library tomorrow morning. I really need to get to the store to pick up a few things and have put it off already. I think I'll have to bite the bullet tomorrow and just go - EARLY.

Doodle lost her other top front tooth two days ago. She's always had those chipmunk cheeks (I truly mean ALWAYS because she had them in ultrasound pictures early on), and those combined with the no teeth on top is absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen! It won't last long, though, because her big teeth are already through the gums. I need to take some more pictures, but I have to be sneaky because she isn't exactly cooperative! I catch myself watching her mouth when she's talking.

We're (that is to say I'm) trying to get a few things together for our upcoming trip to Branson. We stay in a condo, so I try to take most of the food we'll need. We're really looking forward to going again. It will be nice to get away and have some fun for a couple days. We're going to go back down in August with my parents and my sister and her family. I think that will be a blast! It will be so much fun! It gives me something to look forward to during these dog days of early summer! :)

Father's Day Weekend

We survived another week! We made a couple trips to the library last week, went to exercise at the church a couple times and enjoyed the week, for the most part. Friday I decided that part of Gary's Father's Day "gift" was going to be me fixing his toilet - for the umpteenth time. We also gave him some fantastic homemade cards and a measuring tape, which he desperately needed, but that's beside the point. The toilet repair was the real gift! It had been leaky (on the inside, not the outside) for a couple months. I bought the repair kit over 6 weeks ago and was waiting for him to decide to fix it. It didn't happen. I knew deep down it wouldn't happen, to be honest. Friday was the day. It took me all day (off and on...I didn't spend ALL day in the bathroom working on it) because I kept getting frustrated and having to walk away for a little while. After two or three times (or four or five...who's counting?) of getting fed up, taking a time-out, saying prayers for patience and help (yeah, I know it sounds strange, but I learned my lesson last time that I should pray before starting that or any other task), trying to get all the other work done, and then finally completing the job, I was cleaning up my mess as he was driving in the driveway. I felt a great sense of accomplishment, along with a realization (that I later voiced to the big guy) that I will NOT be doing that again on that toilet! I've fixed it too many times! :)

We had dinner yesterday with my parents and Gary's parents. I spent Saturday cooking oatmeal buns (to go on grilled hamburgers) and a peanut butter sheet cake, so I didn't have much left to prepare yesterday morning. We had a very nice time! Doodle's highlight of the day came early when she bowled a 258 on the Wii. She skunks me every time!

I'm afraid we're going to be stuck in the house (minus the trips to the church to exercise, trips to Meme's to pick raspberries and a trip to the library and store later this week) due to the horrific heat. Kansas weather is extreme, to put it mildly. We're just going to try to stay off of each other's nerves! :) It could be an interesting week...

Rough Week

Let's see... Since the last blog entry, all three girlies have been through a couple days of fever that seemed to last forever and spike uncontrollably. I think maybe that's over and done (although I thought that yesterday and was wrong!). Hanny has been at Meme's all week while the twinkies have been enjoying (sort of) their time at home. The two of them both have colds, but I'm not really sure about Hanny. We had to postpone our trip to Branson for later this month due to all the troubles we've been having. Oh well...

Our new siding is all but finished and is fantastic! We love it! We went from having a tan house to having a harbor blue house with white trim. I'm definitely thankful that it's almost done. Thursday evening we were without TV for a little while because of a little mishap, but they got that taken care of. We thought our troubles were over... Friday I noticed that the AC was making a squealing noise and wasn't putting out cool air - not a good sign. We called our friend Jason to come look at it, so he was there around 5:00 Friday evening. Long story short, we spent Friday night in a hotel (I hate being away from home with a sick kiddo - Boo was running an awful fever around bedtime). Jason spent all afternoon here yesterday putting in a new AC that is putting out the nicest, coolest air we've ever felt now! We're so grateful to him for all of his help!

We were talking afterwards that spending money on the necessary things is just not nearly as enjoyable as spending it on something fun. How often do you hear someone say, "Come on over and see my new AC - it's just great!"? Not often. But for us, we're now going to enjoy and appreciate it. So...Come on over and see our new roof, new siding and new AC! We're excited (well, maybe that's not exactly the word I'm looking for) about it and want to share! We can also recommend some great people if you have to have any of these things done! :)

Puny Update

Well, as is the norm, we have again caught someone's nasty bugs. Boo had a cold when she woke up yesterday morning. She says she doesn't feel bad, but is sneezing and blowing quite a bit. Doodle woke up this morning running fever - 101.6 - but doesn't feel bad otherwise...yet. Hanny spent last night at Meme's house, so we're going to quarantine ourselves to try to keep her out of harm's way as much as possible. I know it's just a matter of time, but at least we can try! I really hope these are quick bugs, because we are supposed to go to Branson Sunday for a couple days. I'm praying for a speedy recovery! :)

Big Weekend

I think we've almost recovered from last weekend. Well, Boo has come down with a cold today (courtesy of the weekend!) that will inevitably spread throughout the house, but besides that we've recovered. We headed to Wichita Friday afternoon, got moved into our room and headed to the rehearsal that evening. Saturday we spent walking around, going to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (can you guess who enjoyed that the most?) and getting dolled up for the big wedding. I knew it was going to take quite a while to get the girls' hair done, so I started working on that at about 12:30. Boo & Doodle were no problem and took only 10-15 minutes each, but I had to curl Hanny's hair prior to pulling it back, so it took forever. She was very patient, though, which was totally out of character for her. We left just a little before 3:00 to arrive in time for pictures. It was a beautiful wedding and reception! The girls were in charge of taking gifts and did a great job! I was afraid they would be scared, but they did just fine. By the end of their time there, they were arguing over who would get the next card/gift. It was a nice thing to hear. They were dressed like little princesses and loved it! Hanny made quick friends with Gary's cousin Bob. Boo & Doodle loosened up with Aunt Nancy as well. They take a little longer to warm up, just like their mama! :) We had taught them the chicken dance last week, so they had been practicing so they could do it at the dance. We waited and waited and finally got to do it. They did great! Hanny told us many times how it wore her out. We left right after that (10:25) and didn't get to sleep until after midnight (not the girls, though - they were out a little before that). It's taken us a couple days to get back to normal, but it was worth the fun. They're definitely girly-girls and are looking forward to many more weddings! :)

***BREAKING NEWS***

Well, actually, it was breaking news last night... Anyway, Doodle is apparently a bowling (on the Wii, anyway) prodigy. She bowled a 235 last night. Needless to say, that is the highest score any of us have seen. We don't plan to turn her loose with a real bowling ball soon, though. After a small "incident" at Donna & Jim's house last weekend we're relatively certain that our lives might be endangered if she really bowled! It involved a slight flinging of the Wii remote into the ceiling, then onto a shelf, knocking off a bird which landed dangerously close to her little sister who was sitting on the floor. Nope...not letting her use a real bowling ball! :)

Strawberry Eatin' Sweeties

So the strawberry jam was a HIT! Three containers of it made it to the freezer, but one is in the fridge and is mostly gone...after one meal. Yesterday morning I had decided to fix everybody (everybody but me, that is) pancakes for breakfast so they could sample some of the jam. As usual, I had two happy people (Hanny & Dad) and two unhappy little gum-bumpers (the other two). It's true what they say, you can't make everybody happy all the time, so I don't even try! I eventually convinced Doodle to eat a pancake, as long as I assured her that I would also sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top. Boo, on ther other hand, was SURE that she didn't want one and decided to have a piece of toast with peanut butter & strawberry jam. I did talk her into tasting one bite of Doodle's pancake, and she was hooked. She ended up eating her toast as well as a small pancake with strawberry jam and powdered sugar. If I can get them all to eat something without any complaints, I've succeeded for the day. :)

Doodle has been an excellent helper in the strawberry patch this year. She gets right down there and picks them, always being careful not to step on anything. She also gives her sisters strict instructions to "WATCH OUT FOR THE RUNNERS!" I told Gary yesterday that she will be a great mom someday (you know, once she gets past the idea of putting the kids in the backyard like prairie dogs...long story) because she's such a natural manager. Until then, I guess she'll just get to boss around her sisters...if they'll allow it! :)