Study Buddies

Sissy and her study buddy BTK are JEAN-EE-USES! In an earlier post, I explained that Sissy would be in a Chemistry class that is actually for Juniors.  Yesterday, Sissy got her first Chem test back.  Sissy was a little anxious about this test, because the teacher had said it would be extremely hard.  When the students entered the classroom, they saw the overall results for all of the Chem classes on the chalk dry-erase board (I know I just dated myself).  Only FIVE students from ALL SEVEN CLASSES made an "A".  Only ONE student from Sissy's class PASSED. Not made an "A", PASSED.  Sissy did the "death march" up to the front of the class to receive her verdict.  She was the last one called.  When Sissy turned around, all the other students were blinded by the smile on her face.  Know why?

Things I Like

In my previous post here, I said I would post a pic of my favorite capri pants. They are from Coldwater Creek and are some of the most comfortable pants I have ever had. I could easily spend my entire paycheck in this store. Well, half. The other half would be spent in Charming Charlie, a great accessory store. Sissy, Sister D, Niece and I (Sister L has too much school work) will be making a trip to Charming Charlie Saturday. Good thing it's payday.

pants from Coldwater Creek, shoes from Charming Charlie, bow tie from Carrot & Gibbs (Okay, people. NO, I did not wear the bow tie. Marv was made to wear this bow tie to match my shoes. He WAS going to wear a bulldog bow tie, or turkey bowtie. I think I made the right choice, don't you?

I know the details are a little hard to see, but they are sooo cute. The shoes were a great find. Charming Charlie has some of the BEST prices around for "play" jewels. I am so glad I found this store. Sissy is REALLY glad I found this store since she usually gets (takes) anything I buy. Someday soon, I hope to buy some of their cute heels (one can always hope). The best part about the whole store? Everything is color coordinated. All the yellow accessories together, all the orange, etc. Super fantastic for those with OCD issues.

Intertwined bracelets from Charming Charlie

This ring practically covers my entire finger, but is too fun. Also from Charming Charlie.

Seriously?

When y'all were in your planning meeting for this event, where was THAT GUY that should have said, "Hey, maybe we should re-think the name of this thing" ? Seriously? Taste of Girl Scouts? WHO thought this was a good idea?

My friend Marty

My friend Marty (MFM) is going to kill me for posting about him, I just know it. But, he's in Kentucky and I'm in Georgia so I figure I can get a head start and he won't be able to catch me. I talked to Marty this afternoon after not hearing from him FOREVER. Okay, so I know my phone does dial out. I'll take responsibility for my part in the lack of communication.

So, Marty is living the good life up in the big town of Hartford, otherwise known as Nowhereville 2. Or should he be in Nowhereville and I be in Nowhereville 2 since he moved to his place first? No matter. it's my blog, so he gets Nowhereville 2. I took a trip up to see Marty quite some time ago when I THOUGHT I was ready. My foot/leg/arm had something to say about that. Okay, something to scream about that little trip. Needless to say, I had to cut the trip short and head back home before I was ready.

MFM has a great place with open space as far as the eye can see with a great house his grandparents used to live in that he has lovingly updated and cared for over the last few years. When I arrived, we just sat on the back porch and talked and caught up since he had last made the trip down. There was no traffic, no planes overhead, no noisy neighbors, just ... peace. MFM took me around the property on his 4-wheeler because I couldn't handle one on my own. And we won't even mention that my wallet fell out of my pocket at some point and we had to backtrack FOREVER to try and find the thing. No, we won't mention that.

Then, MFM made the biggest mistake of his LIFE!

He let me tool around town in this. Whoo whee! Can you say FUN?! I tried to get him to let me drive it back home but he wouldn't go for that. I have NO CLUE why. So, after I got to drive for a bit, MFM took over at the wheel and showed me around the big metropolises (metropoli?) of Hartford and Beaver Dam, KY. I'm telling you, the outskirts of these places are truly God's country. Green as far as the eye can see. Beautiful. I snapped a few shots of things that caught my eye and I've attached them below. I hope to go back soon and take the kids this time.

The backyard

Some of the wildflowers in MFM's "yard"

"Welcome to Hartford, KY: Home of 2000 Happy People & A Few Soreheads"

Random Old Store

Tobacco Drying House

The Town Jail (Seriously? Seriously.)

And finally, I saw this on the way home. I have no idea WHAT he is doing to this horse and I don't think I want to know. This horse? In the parking lot of a liquor store. There's no reference to horses in the name of this store in any way, shape or form. The town? No reference to any horse. I HAVE NO IDEA.

Love is a battlefield and I'm (nearly) pantsless

A wise woman once said "Love is a Battlefield" and I believe her.

Our friends Mikey D. and Brandi K. tied the knot this weekend at an historical battlefield (or so said the County Commission when they paid over 8 MILLION dollars for the place). When I first heard they were getting married on a battlefield, in August, in GEORGIA, where it's 98 degrees AFTER the sun goes down, I thought I would treat it like a spa day. You know, humidity + heat = sauna. See, that's a positive. Well, the nuptials took place at 6:30, in the shade (who knew there would be shade on a battlefield?) and there was a great breeze. Turns out these kids knew what they were doing all along.

The actual vows were short, sweet and to the point. The bride had jokes. When it came time for the exchange, all of the bridesmaids had the most gaudy, tacky (fake) rings you can imagine. All the men in attendance at the ceremony were so jealous when they saw the real ring. It was a titanium band with a camouflage insert. After the ceremony, we all retired to the "barn" for the reception. The tables were decorated with Mason jar centerpieces full of colorful Gerber daisies, tied with raffia bows. There were also smaller Mason jars with boiled peanuts to eat and for ambient lighting, Mason jars filled 3/4 with roasted peanuts topped with a tea light. Gorgeous and simple. In the picture below, you can see our "take-aways". That's right. Camo koozies "to have and to hold and to keep your beer cold." The back has the bride and groom's names and the date. Too cool. Haha ... "too cool" ... koozies ... get it? Notice mine is holding the cocaine of the South, Coca Cola. Dinner was catered by these local folks. Instead of the traditional "nobody ever eats enough of these things to warrant the cost" wedding cake, the happy couple had a top round tier to cut and the rest of the "layers" were cupcakes, mini pecan pies and ... wait for it ... Krispy Kreme donuts. Just take it and apply it directly to my hips, please. You know I didn't pass one up. I'd be kicked out of Georgia if I passed over a KK.

Much fun was had, much beer was drank (drunk?) with a little of this thrown in for good measure. There was dancing, if you're being generous about what was happening on the floor. And then, the happy duo rode off into the sunset. Well, okay, maybe not the sunset. But it sounds better to say it that way than to say they stayed 'til after midnight and stumbled off into the pasture to find this:

What you can't see is all the writing on the windows, the 50 beer can string and the 50-gallon trashcan tied to the bumper. Needless to say, they did not go quietly.

I know you're wondering about the whole "nearly pantsless" thing. The outfit I had planned to wear to this shindig was dependent upon a pair of white capri pants. My favorites (i'll post some pics tomorrow). Living in Nowhereville, we still take our dry cleaning to the best around. The best around happens to be about 25 miles away. Don't go thinking I'm nuts. I know you were. It's on the way to work. Sort of. If I go a little out of the way. Anywho, I took the pants to the cleaners in preparations for the wedding. This is how things went down via text the day before the wedding (keeping in mind I had asked several times for Marv to take/pick up the pants in the week prior):

Me: Can you pick up my pants from the cleaners?

Marv:

Me: Can you go by the cleaners and get my pants, plz?

Marv:

Me: Are you ignoring my question about picking up my pants at the cleaners?

Marv: No.

Me: Can you pick them up?

Marv: I'll try to get by there.

Me: Thx.

Later that day:

Me: Did you pick up pants?

Marv: I forgot to go by. I'll get tomorrow.

Me: What if you forget tomorrow?

Marv: You can wear khakis like me.

So, as you can imagine, I ended up picking up the pants after going out of my way because I KNEW he would most likely forget and I would be pantsless. Because let's face it. Once you have your outfit picked and you've matched his bow tie to your shoes, KHAKIS WILL NOT SUFFICE! Ugh. By the way, yes it is annoying that Marv will not use "txt speak" and I have to spell everything out.

So, as the expert Pat Benatar stated, Love IS a Battlefield. You pick at each other over the little things, you argue over the not so little things but overall, the good usually outweighs the bad. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have ... oh great. Now I'll never get this out of my head. I'm thinking by starting the marriage out ON the battlefield, you can only go up. And with all of us around to help, they'll still be going strong by the time the county has paid for the dang place.

Put a saddle on and time me!

I DO NOT remember giving this guy a key when we moved in ...

As I stumbled into the bathroom this morning to get ready for work, I flipped the light on and came face to grossness with this dude. He was HUGE! Now as I have stated before, we live in Nowhereville. I expect nature to abound. But NOT IN THE HOUSE! Where did he come from? How did he get in?

I immediately froze in what could be described as my Mexican stand-off pose or maybe even what some would call my High Noon stance. It was me and him and I was NOT going down like this. I quickly scanned my surroundings while keeping one eye on him (okay, so I looked slightly cross-eyed and scary but it was 6:15 in the morning for goodness sake! I was not ready for this. I didn't know I was going to have to do battle.) My only weapon at hand?

I got this picture here

Why was this at hand, you ask? Most people normally store this type of product away when not in use. I do, too. However, I asked Marv LAST WEEKEND to scrub the shower. It was in its home when he began the task. It did not make it back home after he finished. It has been sitting on the edge of the garden tub since Sunday. Could I have put it away? Yes. But, I WAS MAKING A POINT. However, this point is now moot. I cannot bring this to his attention and point out how I have been waiting for him to put it away because Marv, being Marv, will then point out had he not left it out, I would not have had a defense mechanism for my Wolf Spider Battle Royale.

So, I am now armed (and I would like to bring to your attention that this product is SUPPOSED to be enviro-friendly. I don't think this is what the manufacturers had in mind.) I'm staring Spidey McSpiderton down. He's staring right back and not giving an inch. I flex my fingers. My heartbeat is racing. One, two, three steps and BAM! Right in the face! Go GREEN! Uh oh. He's on the move. He makes a feint to my right and I blast him again. He darts back to the left and is looking for any way out. He's in the corner. POW! KAZAAM! He's moving slower and slower. Maybe this stuff is going to work. I dart out to our room and grab my phone so I can capture my kill on camera. But, since the stupid thing HAS NO FLASH, you can only see a brown blob. Curses!

I decide it's time for the royal flush. NO WAY am I putting him in the trash where he can recuperate and come back stronger. What if my using enviro-friendly products gives him super powers? My trash can is right next to the toilet. I am not looking to have that experience.

I grab some t.p. (okay, when I say some I mean enough to cover my entire hand practically up to my elbow three inches thick) and sllllloooooowwwwly approach my nemesis. He moved! Aggghhhh! He's now skedaddling along the baseboard toward MY SIDE OF THE BATTLEFIELD. He's not supposed to be making direct advances! He's supposed to cower in fear! I grab my automatic weapon and take aim, this time on STREAM. No more gentle spray for him. This is WAR! PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW (this is my laser sound)! He's trying to scale the wall. Up is his only option. Option no more, I say! KaPOW! I will say, at this point I have realized that while being a great nature-friendly cleaner, my choice of weapon is not so great as a ... weapon. It really DOESN'T harm nature.

This is it. He HAS to be finished. I go in for the grab. This is the riskiest move of all. What if he uses all of those legs like a springboard and just when I go to end this battle he JUMPS UP ONTO MY HAND?! From there, it's just a quick scurry up my arm, ONTO MY FACE, so we can go eye to eye(s). Ewww!

I go in for the grab and he MOVES. OMG. "I can do this. I can do this. I WILL NOT wake up Marv or Scootie to handle this. I CAN DO THIS!" ROOOAAARRR! I AM WOMAN. OMG, he just moved again. I whack the t.p. down onto him and hear a crunch. That's got to be good, right? Well, for me anyway. I'm sure Spidey McCreeperman wasn't feeling it so much. He's still moving. What is this?! Did I get the only spider on the planet that will not die? WHACK! CRUNCH! Still moving. This is ridiculous. Now, I'm mad. I've now spent about 10 minutes trying to deal with this ... thing. WHACK! CRUNCH! HA! I tamp my heebee jeebees down and grab him and scoot over to the toilet and send him swirling. Humans - 1, Wolf Spider - 0.

Now I just have to try to forget all the stories about things coming up peoples water pipes and biting them on the booty. Happy Friday!

Scootie joins the Air Force!

So the past two days were an adventure for Scootie. He reported on Monday to the recruiters office and was then taken to MEPS (here we go with the acronyms: Military Entrance Processing Station) at Ft. Gillem. One of the first things he did was take the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) which will tell the Air Force what areas he would excel in career-wise. He then took another test to evaluate his "personality" with choices like "I like to party or I like to sit at home." It's an either, or kind of like the lesser of two evils. Or, as Scootie likes to say, "How big of a d-bag are you."

Scootie and the other guys were then taken to a Hotel near the airport for the evening with a special area in the basement just for personnel from MEPS. I have no clue why they had to be in the basement, but Scootie said it was relatively nice. It was here he first met "Cowpoke." Apparently, Cowpoke went through everything the day before but was held over a day because he couldn't pee in a cup. In a few minutes, you'll figure out why it was so hard for Cowpoke to "pony up", so to speak.

Dinner was an all you can eat buffet ... for free! This was right up Scootie's alley. His critiques of the menu were as follows: " The catfish was a little dry, but I got the last of the tartar sauce right before Big Sexy J (an apparently self-bestowed nickname for Scootie's "buddy" for MEPS) could get to it. There was no sweet tea (gasp!) and no water. But I was THAT GUY and asked for sweet tea and they (the hotel staff) provided some. The steamed veggies were nice and there was a lopsided chocolate cake that was mediocre."

After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms due to a 0400 wake-up call for the next day.

Wait! I forgot the best part. At some point during day one, a lot of the enlistees were assigned nicknames. Scootie is now "Jonas" (I told him he needed a haircut!). There was also "Fiddy", "white Carlton" (think Fresh Prince Carlton dancing to Tom Jones), "Kobe" and, of course, "Big Sexy J". Well, Big Sexy J forgot about the whole "no body piercings allowed" thing. Big Sexy J had two big, not-so-sexy nipple piercings. That could only be taken out with pliers. So, picture this. Big Sexy J and Jonas go up to the front desk AT THE HOTEL and ask for a pair of pliers. Now, the front desk guy isn't just going to hand over a pair of pliers, so the boys have to tell the whole story. After Front Desk Guy gets up from the floor where he fell after laughing so hard and wiping his tears, he then calls Maintenance Guy. Maintenance Guy has to hear the whole story as well. After he finishes laughing, he gives the boys the pliers and wishes Big Sexy J luck. Guest services only go so far, I guess. So, after a lot of blood, sweat and tears the last ring was removed at about 0200. This is a life lesson people. If you're going to get your nipples pierced, one day it's going to involve four guys, a lot of sweat and a pair of pliers. Back to the story.

Apparently, Scootie's roommate hadn't showered in months, because when Scootie walked into his room, he was hit in the face with a stench even he couldn't describe. And that's saying something. Luckily, this not-to-be-named roommate got in the shower and saved Scootie's sense of smell from totally disintegrating. The one thing that Scootie hasn't learned yet? Fall asleep BEFORE your roommate because he might snore like a freight train and keep you up until 0300. Did I mention he had a 0400 wake-up? Yeah.

Day two was the FUN day! After a lovely breakfast of bacon, powdered eggs, french toast sticks, hot orange juice and "sounds like" starshucks coffee, the boys and girls were back to MEPS for fun and excitement. They then got biometrically entered into the vast "US Military database", fingerprinted and photographed. Everything is "signed" with a fingerprint these days. I wish I had known this. I wouldn't have spent all those years harping about Scootie's handwriting looking like a serial killers. Who knew he would never have to write again? Scootie then took his first ever (I hope) breathalyzer ... and passed! Whoo hoo! Then forms, forms, forms, wait, wait, wait.

Scootie then became "THAT GUY" again. It was now time for the "pee test". I hope I'm going to do this justice, because the telling of it was hilarious. At the start, you're given a cup and a bottle. You're told to put exactly 60ml in the bottle. If you can't do this, you become like Cowpoke and stay another whole day. Everyone goes in four at a time, but Scootie noticed no one was coming out. By the time he got in there, there were 12 guys standing around waiting ... meaning there were 12 guys watching Scootie try to pee. Scootie was THAT GUY because he's not into exhibitionistic peeing. When they reminded him of Cowpoke, he was finally able to overcome his issues and get the job done. Scootie says it was like a "firing squad watching you pee." Then came the hard part. He had to pour in exactly 60ml. Picture a mad scientist in his lab. Pouring potions back and forth ... back and forth. Scootie was worried in the telling of this because he didn't know how I was going to blog the motions he was making in the attempt to get 60ml. I think you can get the picture.
They then had to turn their pee cups over to the guy in the "drive-thru window" ... in the bathroom. I don't know and I don't want to know. I'm going to pretend it's a military thing and go about my business.

Blood tests are next. "Oh, I don't have AIDS, by the way." Good to know. Some kid who is afraid of needles went into some kind of seizure or convulsions during this little test. I'm not sure the military is the best place for him. I'm going to spare everyone the details of the part that came next. Let's just say it involved Scootie in his underwear with an old German dude and then Scootie not in his underwear with an old German dude.

There were more tests: ears, eyes, audio (isn't that ears?). Then all of the guys are sent into this large room ... in their underwear. They are measured for height and weight, then made to do some calesthenics ... in their underwear. They also do the duck walk and the Ranger Walk (I think Ranger Walk = Power Walking) ... in their underwear. As Scootie said, and I think it sums up the day pretty well, "It was just a bunch of awkward."

Scootie then was unofficially, officially sworn in to the United States Air Force and then met with his career counselor. He was instructed to prioritize his choices in the order he wanted. He chose some pretty good paths, such as Visual Imagery & Intrusion Detection, Ground Radar System, Satellite and Wideband Communication Equipment and so on and so forth. For those of you who know Scootie, I think his number one choice might just suprise you. **

He "most likely" will be going to boot camp in January and we are hopeful it stays January so we can give him a great Thanksgiving and Christmas before he goes to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX.

** What did Scootie pick? Security Forces. Scooties gonna be a Police Man.

Away for a bit...

Sorry I've been away for a bit. I was out of town most of the week for a training conference. I'll post more over the weekend.

I Thawt I Thaw a Puddy-Tat!

Today was pretty uneventful. At least for the human element. BTK had an adventure. Let's just say it involved RTD (Rudy the Dog) and a tree. Marv comes in the house and says, "Billy just ran up his first tree." Now, I know this is somewhat normal in the feline world. You would have thought Marv had told us Billy had packed his little kitty-sized suitcase and was hitting the dusty trail never to be heard from again. Sissy and I went running (Okay, Sissy was running. I was hobbling) out the front door to see Billy halfway up a tree, holding on for dear life meowing for all he's worth. "Oh, Billy, you poor baby!" " Billy, can you get down?" Like he's going to answer us. "Sure, I'll be down in a few. I just have to pry my claws out of this tree. They're sunk in about ten inches, so it might take me a minute." I, of course, being concerned for Billy, grabbed the camera on the way out the door to document the entire event. For your viewing pleasure*:

* No kitties or doggies were harmed in this incident. Except for BTK's psyche. All his friends are going to mock him because his mommy had to come rescue him. And yes, that is Billy's booty in the 2nd picture. Instead of coming down the easy way, he decides to go over the branch above him and come down on the other side.

A Busy Weekend...

Why is it the week always tends to drag on interminably but the weekends seem to last two seconds?

Sissy got her first day at a new school over with and it went reasonably well. The Niece and Nephew start school tomorrow. Scootie goes Tuesday to the recruiter. Sister L goes back to school soon. And the Little Man came down from A-Town after getting his stripe for karate. So, we had a good bit of celebrating. The PLAN was to have lunch, swim for a few hours, play some baseball for a couple of innings(Little Man loves baseball and is a fan of the Mets - seriously. He can name the entire roster, their stats and tell you who's on the injured reserve list. Did I mention he's like 6?).

We started out with the Little Man wanting to eat at Burger King and everyone else wanting Chick-fil-A. The majority won out, with the Little Man having an appetizer from the BK Lounge (ala Dane Cook) and the rest us of us having Chick -a -Flay (as the kids used to call it). Since it was Saturday, the whole free world was there to get their fix since the place isn't open on Sundays. Everyone has to get their fill so they can make it for a WHOLE DAY without their chicken.

At this point, it's like eleventy-billion degrees outside and we are going to the pool. I attempted to take some pictures of all the kids in the pool and was mildly successful after borrowing Scootie's flip flops. I think I left a layer of skin on the concrete when I ventured out of the shade with no shoes. Needless to say, they didn't quite fit.



It took about 30 minutes before all the fun went out of the waterguns and everybody was done with swimming. Maybe it had to do with the pool feeling like bath water.

Next up: front yard baseball. Did I mention it was now about 50 bajillion degrees with no relief in sight? If we were smart, we would have done the baseball first. Duh! Baseball lasted about 10 minutes with Sister D complaining about her seats and saying she was never returning to the venue again. I personally think she had the best seat. You can't get a baseball to the face if you're behind the tree!



Sister L wanted to go to the movies but Little Man wanted nothing to do with the movies. The game was over with a score of 3-2 ( I have no clue who won) and all participants scattering to the four winds. Scootie, Niece, Nephew and Sister D headed South, and Sissy and I headed to Mammy's.

I need to post this now because no one will believe it and I might forget. I can't believe I didn't get a picture. Sissy and Nickel (her cousin twice -removed) helped Mamy with her mulch project. Sissy PERSONNALY HAULED 21 WHEEL BARROWS FULL OF MULCH TO THE BACK OF MAMMY'S PROPERTY!!! I had the easy job. Making chili fries for Nickel. Ahh, air conditioning.

It's Scary ... and it smells good!

I bought it to freshen the air. I've found out it has a greater benefit. Apparently, it scares the bejeebus out of people because it's motion activated. Nephew and Marv were both caught quite by surprise at a most inopportune moment. Score!

Sissy is a Sophomore!

Sissy is ready for back to school...on FRIDAY. Again, who starts school on a Friday?! Apparently, Sissy.

Scootie took Sissy to town today to get her schedule and meet the teachers. Her first class of the day is listed as Visual Arts/Fiber I. Does this mean she'll be watching cartoons and eating things that are good for her? She also has been placed in an advanced drama class. Apparently, this class is usually for Juniors and Seniors. The teacher did ask Sissy if she thought she could handle the course. If I had been there, I could have told her Sissy is quite capable of holding her own when it comes to drama. Some of her performances in the past have been Oscar worthy.

She'll also be in a Chemistry class that is for Juniors. Apparently, she's a little ahead of the curve in the Science department. Bunsen burners and cool eyewear here we come! Whoo hoo!

The only thing about Sissy going back to school ... Who's going to hang out with this guy?

These Feet

Oh how these feet have grown in the last 18 years. When you were a baby, I used to watch your little hands and feet for hours and marvel at how little and perfect you were. As the years have gone by, these feet have taken you through a multitude of sports that you ended up realizing were just not for you, through adventures with your family and friends, through arguments with parents who just seem like the most unreasonable people on the planet ...

These feet have taken you through your first day of kindergarten all the way through graduation from high school. And now, these feet are taking you on one of your most important journey's yet. Next week you will be taking a huge leap toward your future when you take your oath to become a member of the United States Air Force. We are so proud of you and the steps you are taking.

We can't wait to see where these feet take you next...

Big Weekend in Little Town

First, let me apologize for the lengthy post. My fams was lambasting me for not having posted in a few days.

So this weekend we finally celebrated the Nephew's 17th birthday (they were on vacate last weekend...LUCKY!) and his actual bday was this past Tuesday. Anywho, on Saturday the sisters and I took off with the kids to the mall (or I guess I should say MALLS because we had to go to both ... both had Charlotte Russe [can you say "student discount"? Much love to CR!] for Sissy but only one had Justice for Niece) for some BTS shopping. I still CANNOT BELIEVE I went out to the mall(s) on TAX-FREE weekend two days before school starts for most of the free world. Sissy gets to start on Friday. Who starts school on Friday?!

Niece and Nephew spent the night with The Family that evening. To tell you the truth, I don't think they had much choice in the matter. Sister D practically threw the boys out of the car when we got back from the stores with a quick, "Okay, see you later...have fun...miss you" a wave and a cloud of dust. Apparently, the boys were in fine form. I know this because Sister L refused to ride any further in the car with them and we couldn't very well leave her at the mall (although I don't think it would be so bad...there's a CinnaBon -- 'nuf said!)

So, Birthday boy awoke to the smell of bacon (mmmmm....BACON) and had a strawberry muffin set ablaze right under his nose with all of us crazies singing an award-winning version of Happy Birthday at the top of our lungs. Needless to say, it wasn't one of his finer moments.

The day moved on and I took the kids to "town". It took about five minutes to go 'round town, but the most exciting part of the whole trip was the kids getting to see a real, original WalMart. Seriously, this thing only has six check out lanes (don't get excited -- only two were open). The kids had never seen anything less than the "Super-Duper We've Got Everything Under the Sun" WalMart. Our other adventure in town was me straight up messing up Scootie's game when he tried to get a phone number from the cashier @ Taco Bell. He WAS NOT HAPPY. Oh, wells. I needed my Chalupa and some caffeine.

Next up on the schedule was the "OFFICIAL" celebration complete with homemade German Chocolate cake (thanks to Sister D, aka Nephew and Niece's Mom) and some ice cream (thanks to Edy's) with another great rendition of Happy Birthday. After the festivities, we ran by the old house to check the mail (thanks US Postal Service for putting my old address as my new address. I guess that means the carrier has to take the mail out and then put it back in again? And for this, they are complaining that they may have to close some offices?!).

Back at the house, we just vegged out, except for Sissy. She proceeded to follow Billy The Kitty (BTK) around with the camera. Yes, I know I nicknamed the kitty after a serial killer. I'm sick like that.