Cracking the Whip! (...And the Honey Jar.)

 
I've finally been getting around to that "Spring Cleaning." :)  Better late then never, right?  I've gone through a lot of things, and I've just been trying to hit those hot-spots I never get around to.  It feels good, and hopefully it will last.  It's nice to have some good little helpers.

Especially when I make messes like this...  

(Doesn't that waste just tear you up?!  It's obviously time to "spring clean" in the pantry shelves so I stop knocking things over!

Speaking of "SWEET", check out our new ride... (kind of a splurge, I know.)

...OK, not possible, but how cool would that be?  I can tell you-- AWESOME!!!  Our good friend was in town for a job interview, and he tended our kids and shared his car-rental with us for a test drive.  Isn't he the coolest- a rare find!  We had a blast- we couldn't help it!  A Chevy Camaro convertible with a V6... it was all we could do not to speed.  Big thanks to Steve!  You're the best- you made our week!

(*And just for the record, the last time I drove a convertible was inside the Rick's College arcade.  It was red. And hard to steer- I hit a lot of barricades and did a lot of unintentional "off-roading."  And the seat wiggled and vibrated.  And I thought it was awesome.  But now I know what awesome is. AND I didn't hit any walls or spend way to many tokens to find out. Bonus!  :)

Additional Up-Grades (these ones are for real) :)

No- not this "beer/bare-belly" crew... the 32 inch screen and the blue-ray player they are staring at. (I don't think I even need to mention Doug's excitement. :)

And we went from this... (The couches of Doug's youth-- of which we have been most grateful... and most hard on.  There comes a time.)

To this...

Lest you think us too frivolous, you should know that we used yard sale money and got it from a guy that was moving to Austrailia and couldn't haul it, so he gave us a sceamin' deal.  Yay!    

Check out this wild sky! (Random- sorry.)

Double Trouble...

When this...

meets up with this...

 

I get this...
 

And this...

 And for some reason, I'm ok with it. :) 
Maybe it's because the sprinklers randomly came on in the evening of the HOTTEST DAY YET.  I ran through them with my clothes too... and they were dry before I got upstairs.  All's well that ends well. :) 

 

 

 

 

Caught in Charlotte's Web...

Our precious Amberlee got to be "Baby Wilbur" in IRTY's production of Charlotte's Web.  She did an awesome job!  She also got to be part of the ensemble as a spectator, fair goer, popcorn salesman and baby spider.  It was a great experience, and even after watching it three times, I could see it again!  I love how unpredictable kids can be.  We had a great time seeing her in action and they had a big audience every night!  We were those proud parents in the front row. :)  YAY AMBERLEE!

FIRST PERFORMANCE
 

 

 

(Her Father, a fellow thespian, it would appear. :)

Proud little brothers- who ate an entire bag of cherries to keep quiet.  (Briggy even ate the seeds, to demonstrate his obedience and dedication... or mom's desperation and heedlessness.)

SECOND PERFORMANCE

This was my favorite line: "I chalk it up to good clean living... and good healthy food."

"That's a mighty nice pig you've got there, folks!"

THIRD PERFORMANCE
 

Amberlee said she felt really uncomfortable when Fern looked at her and put her hand on her shoulder.  I tried to explain that she was just acting and that she should try to interact too, but she still thought it was "just weird." :)

 

 

At the end, Amberlee was one of the baby spiders that flies off into the audience, but for some reason, she got a bit distracted during curtain call and forgot to come back.  I was cracking up watching her twirl out in the north-forty.  When she finally made it back, all the other actors had exited, and the audience gave her an "individual" applause.  Way-to-reinforce the spaciness! :)

CAST PARTY
 

 

This is Zac, the director.  He did a great job. (I LOVE Amberlee's side-ways pants.  Things like that just delight me sometimes.)
 

 

She promptly rolled all the way down that hill after I took this- a need for movement after sitting on the stage for so long.  It took a lot of practice and time, so it's nice to have our evenings back again, but we're so glad she had the experience and opportunity.  
We're so proud of our precious, pink little piglet!

The Human Pretzel...

The poor kid... hunting for that last noodle, perhaps? (Look no further than your little bottom, Son.)  I'm not entirely sure how he did it, but he managed to lodge himself in.  It's always an excited surprise around here to find out what adventures lie at the heart of the screaming. :)  I think he inherited Uncle Abe's flexibility. 

Look at all the funny little people I find around here.  Seth (above) has just started figuring out "people"- he makes sure they are good and hairy... or maybe those are legs?

 I just liked some of Autumn's "Roald Dahl-ish" faces. 

 

We do our best to give this guy some lovin' after a long day of work!  These kids are great "lotioners" but half-hearted "rubbers" so we're working on that. :)
 

Lemonade Stand-- Check!

My friend and I had a yard sale last week-- it was a lot of work!  I can see why my mom always taught me to just donate it and that you'll always be blessed with what you need.  It is usually not worth the time, but we were able to raise enough money to up-date some of our furniture and I went through a lot of drawers and closets that greatly needed going through, so it was worth it for that.  We also got great tans... we picked a VERY hot day. :)
It WAS a great setting for Amberlee's lemonade stand.  She was dedicated, even with the heat!  She sat out there the whole time and was so helpful in setting up and going through things.  It was like she was my little organization coach.  She made lists and helped me assign prices.  She is amazing.  Autumn's amazing too, but the lemonade stand held her interest for all the wrong reasons.  She was one of our best, most supportive customers. :)   Funny the different personalities unfolding.

She also helps me organize and put away all my groceries- I love it!  Thanks Miss A!