Brace Yourselves!

In a few minutes I will leave the house, drive to the title company and sign the papers to sell our house and purchase our new house!!!!!! I honestly have felt like a character out of the movie Groundhog's Day for the past month. But that may all be over soon. Hopefully we will start moving on Friday!

There are a few things I won't miss about our house but one thing for certain, I will miss this cute kid!!!!

Thomas and Austin are great friends. His family lives across the street and with the amount of time that Thomas spends over there, I'm sure they have wondered at times if he was joining their family permanently!

We couldn't have asked for better neighbors on our street. They are the best and we will truly miss them all. I know Thomas is going to miss his buddy. Oh sure, they will still ride the same bus, be in the same class at school, eat lunch together but it won't be the same as being right across the street.

I will miss this street and the safety my kids have enjoyed as they have run crazy up and down it. The neighbors will all enjoy a new quiet that usually only comes when we are gone on vacation. The family that bought our home has 5 children but they are older, I think their youngest is 8 and I have a feeling that even if they tried their hardest, they could never measure up to the noise that our family created.

I'm pretty sure they will never have 24 kids in the backyard on summer nights, playing kickball, swimming, shooting hoops, playing tag and having a campfire. It will be a very different neighborhood when we're gone.

Thank heavens we're only 2 streets over.

Look Who Got Her Braces Off!!!!

On her way!!!!

Wow, who is that girl????

Sabrina went to the orthodontist this morning to get her braces taken off!!! In just 19 short months (ha ha), her teeth got their act together and straightened up! Wa-Hooo, way to go!!!

We thought she was pretty cute with braces. And really, she was so used to them, they didn't bother her at all. It was a bittersweet moment for her.

But then, she got them off and the smiles just won't stop! She really likes having her teeth back. She can't believe how nice it feels! She can't believe all the extra room she has in her mouth!!!

We just can't get over how stinkin' cute she is! She kind of lost the younger teenage look and now has that middle teenage look. Oh, heaven help us!

Congratulations Sabrina! Keep smiling!!

Glencoe Crimson Tide! Go Tide!

Wa-HOOOOOOO!!! I just found out great news!!!!! Samantha tried out for the cheer squad last week and she found out today that she made it!!!!!

She sent her dad a text because he's in Colorado and won't be home tonight to hear the good news. She hasn't actually told me yet because I'm sure she's hoping to surprise me when she gets home..........Ha ha, but I already know!!!

Last year they had some trouble with the cheerleaders (bad grades, inappropriate behavior, etc.), so this year it was a smaller squad. Then this year they have had some injuries, etc. so they decided to hold tryouts again before the basketball season starts, to see if they could get a bigger squad. Since she is a Senior, she could only make the Varsity squad. We told her to go for it! She has a great smile, awesome personality and knows all the cheers (that's what happens when you go to every sporting event to support your school!). Might as well go out with a Bang your senior year!!!!

She tried out her Freshman year, but didn't make it. And to be honest, she was a little more quiet back in those days. We're proud of her to want to try it again. That's what kind of girl she is: if at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Way to go Samantha!!!!!

G...pause, G L E....pause, G L E N C, G L E N C O E........Glencoe!!!!!!! T I D E, Glencoe Crimson Tide!!!!!

See What It's Come To Over Here!!!!

This is sick and wrong. Eggs taped to my kitchen window???? Who does weird things like that??? Ok, pay no attention to my dirty window.....

So the story goes something like this: they found the egg outside in the grass. How did it get out in the grass? Oh, that's easy. See, the extra fridge out in the garage is easy access to little hands....that is until I decided to put a fridge latch on it! Anyway, this latest incident prompted the fridge latch. Isaiah had decided to take a few eggs out to the backyard. Of course he was the only one that knew about that plan.

Later that evening, the oldest two mature teenage girls decided to jump on the trampoline. They found this egg and thought it would be hilarious to tape it to my kitchen window. The next morning when I went down to start breakfast, I looked up and saw this disturbing little face looking at me! I couldn't for the life of me, think who would have done such a thing. Couldn't be the girls, they are way too mature for that. Couldn't be the boys, they couldn't keep a secret that long. And the younger kids couldn't reach that high on the window.......hmmm, most disturbing.

When they came down later, they couldn't contain their secret any longer. "Did you find something on your window?", they asked.

I was going to post some cute little pics of them in their younger days as payback, but unfortunately.........THEY ARE PACKED!!!!!

Thought you should know......

I have decided that our home currently resembles that of a Hobo camp. Everything is so haphazard right now, it's hard to make sense out of any of it. From the casual observer, it's probably hard to tell if we are coming or going!

Someone the other day hit the nail on the head when they said that this move is kind of like being pregnant. We don't know when this 'baby' is coming out!!! Everyone asks, "Have you moved yet?" No. "When will you????" I have no idea.

The end.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!!!!

In honor of this beautiful time of year, I thought it fitting that I post one our family's favorite recipes.....well, that and everyone keeps asking me for it! I have made this recipe twice in the past two days and so you can probably guess, we love it!!!!

I double the recipe when I make it. I haven't added the walnuts before but I'm sure it would be delightful with them if you enjoy walnuts! I usually cut the sugar by 1/2 but that's just because we're weird like that. I wonder what they taste like with the full amount???? Somebody let me know!!!

I hope your family enjoys them as much as we do!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

* 1 cup canned pumpkin

* 1 cup white sugar

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* 1 egg

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 2 cups flour

* 2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 teaspoon milk

* 1 cup chocolate chips

* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix in a large bowl: pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Blend well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Stir into pumpkin mixture, add the milk. Blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

4. Use a spoon to drop cookies on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes.

They are soft and fluffy. Mmmmmm.

Still Here........

Just when we thought we were moving......we didn't. To make a very long story short, our buyers needed more time to process their loan. So here we sit amongst our boxes. I think they asked for another 2 weeks.

Let's just say my type A personality is having a hard time dealing with the mess and chaos of living like this. I thrive on order and routine, neatness and clean.......none of which is happening at my house right now.

So let's look at some pictures instead!

On our bike ride last night, we came across this 3-seater stroller, sitting out by the curb with a 'Free' sign on it! We just happened to have a bungee cord with us at the time (don't ask why, that's an entirely different story) so we bungeed the stroller to the back of the bike trailer that Scott pulls and he towed it home. If that wasn't a look, I don't know what is!!! It needed some air in the tires when we got home and a few leaves blown out of the seats but the kids love it!!!!

The 'Squish' Hug!

Sisters......just doesn't get any better than this!!!

Um.....I'm not sure.

"Let's get this thing off the ground!!!!"

Watching airplanes!