Toes In The Water

We made it back from Mexico! Here is my Top Ten list from the trip. Mind you that the top ten is the most memorable, but maybe not the best:)

10. Drinking lots of coffee-from tiny little cups.

9. Experiencing the wildlife. I swam or stood in the ocean next to sea turtles!8. Experiencing the exotic plants-I have a little jungle rash from our mini golf game-and on that note let's just say that hills on mini golf courses should ALWAYS equal a par 4 or 5-sometimes 6:) 7. Not having to cook, clean or wipe bums!

6. Sports of all types and a few that Darrell and I were good at-go Bocce ball!

5. Montezuma

4. Soft serve ice cream twice a day.

3. Talking, laying, reading, eating and playing games

2. A REALLLY hot husband:)

1. Being able to do this while the Grandparents ran around chasing youngsters all week!

Typical

So of course I would have a Father's Day post since yesterday was the big day, but first I must say- Happy 7th Anniversary Sweetie!

Today's post will be for my Father, even though I have a wonderfully smashing husband who is an excellent father to our wildly rambunctious children-I will save that post for another day.

Thanks Dad for many things and here are just a few (oh and I realize that some other woman has a lot to do with making a great father:):

1. For picking me up from school on Fridays so I wouldn't have to walk home.

2. For saying stuff like: "Be a good guy, wear the white hat."

3. and "Look they saved that spot just for us"

4. and "It must be free"

5. for making hungarian nicaraguan fried enchiladas-yum

6. for reading to me every night when I was a kid (even if it was from an encyclopedia)

7. for taking us on great vacations (camping, disney, rafting, OLYMPICS)

8. for going to Spain with us and planning lots of it

9. for walking me down the aisle

10. for loving mom

11. for loving me and showing me how my heavenly Father can love even greater

12. for taking me to church when I was young

13. for paying for my education (college and high school)

should I stop now or keep going?

14. For loving your grandchildren even more than I think possible

and building them stuff like this:

and this:15. For putting up with Jackson's random calls because if mommy doesn't know the answer, "that's ok-granddaddy knows everything.

16. And lastly (for this blog anyway) for allowing your house to look like this when we come over to visit

Happy Father's Day Dad

Laugh until you wet your pants

I love the feeling of laughing.


I also love when someone else laughs REALLLLy hard.


Even better is when you are laughing REALLLLY hard.





Last night all of the above happened for Jackson and I.


Oh why did I not have my camera handy?



Last night Jackson and Darrell went out onto the front porch to watch the lightning in the distance. They both called me out there so excited to see a humongous fat frog on the sidewalk.

I obliged.

Told Darrell, "I'll give you $5.00 of my blow money if you pick it up."

Darrell walked up like he was actually going to do it.

I wasn't sweating-I knew he wouldn't

Jackson cheered him on

He got closer

I started to worry that I might lose that $5

Then he chickened out, "I'll do it if you get me some gloves"

"you'll lose your $5, but I will get those gloves"

I run to fetch the gloves, relieved that I didn't lose my blow money:)

Darrell, skirts around and yelps in a high pitched voice

Jackson folds over laughing

I start chuckling

and finally he picks up the blue ribbon frog.

I shout "don't get that near me-it is going to pee"

Jackson laughs even harder and I join in

Then it happens

Like a 40 pound excited dog it pees everywhere

A huge stream coming down and splashing off the sidewalk

Onto Darrell's feet and legs

Now the hysterical laughing commences.

I thought we might wake the neihbors.

Ahh laughing until the urination (at least until the frog does:)



P.S. don't worry about Darrell's feet-a little known fact about him that you may not know is that he washes those things EVERY night before bed.

Rites of Passage

I don't think I have seen Darrell quite as proud of Jackson as he has been this week. Jackson has been wanting to learn to ride his bike without training wheels for a while now, but it seemed that things kept getting in the way. Well, no more my friends-he is an official bike rider:) Woohoo! Time to get our bikes out and air up the tires.

Oh, and the other benefit of Jackson learning is that he wants Darrell right next to him the whole time. I can't tell you how funny it is to see Darrell working up a sweat jogging 3 miles an hour in sandals:)

FiFi

If you are not an immediate family member then just skip this post. For the other 5 of you that went to Spain with me look at this:
I went to a motor museum last week with my residents and they had on display a 1950ish Fiat minivan-how fun and it is even BLUE! It looked about the same size that we all crammed into in Spain too:) Just kidding on that, but it did have 3 rows.

Summer fun-redneck style

Ok, so going to the lake isn't redneck, but just keep reading and you will see. I LOVE the summer and I love going to the lake. This past weekend we got to go and meet the new girlfriend and of course we loved her.

And here is proof that she got up on the wake board. Shortly after this picture (approx. 1/4 of a second) she crashed, but any air between your bottom and the water counts:)
So here is the red part of the summer fun. Darrell had 4 softball games one weekend so I stayed home with the kids for 2 of them and we decided to have a little fun. We don't have a pool so I found the next best thing:

BUCKETS!

It's not just that they played in the buckets-

It's that Linley was in her diaper playing in a bucket

...and they loved it!

We went high class at this birthday party they actually had a cool pool that was made for summer fun!

Just wait for it... tomorrow's post will be about a passage into boyhood that has made Darrell so proud.

Free Chocolate

I LOVE to coupon and I am getting pretty good at it. I also LOVE to get free samples in the mail. Yesterday I was pumped when I got two coupons in the mail.


One was for FREE CHOCOLATE
-YUM!

and one was for free Hot Dogs (ok so I don't like hot dogs, but if they are free I will feed them to my family).

I was pretty excited about these until Darrell comes in from outside and nearly throws away the FREE chocolate coupon.

HELLO!

Me: Why would you throw that away?

Darrell: We never buy candy

Me: That is because it is never FREE. Do not throw that away it is FREE and it is CHOCOLATE and did I mention that it is FREE?

Darrell: Ok, (in a very confused, but relenting voice)

Later I go to Darrell and say: "Can I tell you something in a funny and not threatening way"

Darrell says hesitantly "OK"

Me: Never tell a woman at anytime (ahem-especially certain times) that you are going to throw away her free chocolate.

Darrell laughs and agrees that this will never happen again.

So today friends I will be going to buy my free chocolate with a big happy smile on my face.

Oh and if you want free chocolate you can go to the mars and m&ms website and they give it away every Friday!