How many more days of summer?

Don't get me wrong - we have had an awesome summer! It has been crammed pack full of fun, adventure, sun, sand, water, friends ,laughter, and lots of excitement ........ i am exhausted!

Before I go any farther.... update....... Logan had a great time at camp. He loved it and wants to go back next year!

So.... Kevin and I have one more adventure and then I think I am ready for reality to kick in and to get back to a normal schedule. My workout schedule has gone to pot. My kids sleep schedule is to not sleep. I need some major "Me" time.

I am a little anxious about my children beginning middle school and high school but nonetheless... i am ready.....i think?

how many more days?

I miss him

My son L has been at Camp Peniel for five days. This is the first "real" camp he has been to where I haven't been able to talk to him on the phone or have any communication with him whatsoever.

What do I mean by "real"? You know, sleeping in a very primitive cabin, canoeing in the lake, riflery and horseback riding.

The camp takes pictures each day of the children doing various activities. Of all the 500 pictures taken this week he appears in 4 of them and they are all close-ups except for one of him swimming in the lake. It drives me crazy because I have no idea what he has done all week except swim in the lake!!! Ugh! And one of the pictures he has this really horrible look on his face! Why would anyone post that picture? We are supposed to see our children laughing and having fun at camp, right?

Kevin assures me that he is having the time of his life - not to worry.

Above is a picture of L & I on our family vacation at the beach! This is the kind of pictures I had hoped to see of him - my happy, comical, silly L!

Well, we pick him up tomorrow morning - I CAN"T WAIT!

Their Back

Our cute little deer family has been visiting quite a bit lately. Usually bright and early in the morning and sometimes at dusk they come to visit our neck of the woods. It is hard to get a picture because when I open the door of course their cute little ears perk up. As you can see in this picture they are very aware of me. I was only able to catch one of the babies here but there are two. The other night we actually had two different moms and three babies visiting. It is a special treat to my day........ i imagine after awhile it won't be that exciting to me... but I enjoy watching them now. Not sure if they can jump over our fence. I might not be as welcoming if they help themselves to breafast in our flower beds.

And the question that I still ask is.... where do deer live? I know in the woods, but where?

OUCH!

My husband and son were in an accident last Friday. An eighteen wheeler ran a red light outside of our subdivision. L and I happen to be right behind them and witnessed the whole thing. We actually saw the truck coming for them before they did. I was talking to my husband and I screamed when I saw it coming. Scary, huh?

God was protecting them because it hit in front as you can see and neither of them were injured.

Praise God!!!!!!

Extremly Eventful Weekend

My uneventful weekend changed drastically on Sunday. K had a 10:00 am game and a 4:00 pm game. His team ended up winning second place. K was disappointed. He is very competitive. I was very proud of him! He had an awesome month of baseball. Out of I think twenty five at bats he only got out two times and he had the most RBI's of his team. During his last game Kevin called to tell me that L's team won their third game of the day making them one of the top four teams out of 32 in the South State AAA USSSA Select Tournament. L's team has been together three years and this was by far the most successful tournament they have ever had. Because they won they would stay over into Monday to play in the final four.



I decided I needed to be there to see them play. A friend and I packed up and drove to Beaumont at 9:45 pm Sunday night and arrived in Beaumont at 3 am. The drive wasn't bad at all. After a few hours sleep we woke up, ate breakfast, and went to cheer on The Jammers in their first State Championship Game. Unfortunately they lost 8-4 to a Houston team but it was so worth the drive to be there! We drove home later.

We are so proud of The Jammers!

Uneventful Weekend

I shouldn't complain. I have been waiting patiently for one. And now that it is here..... ugh! I just can't stand to miss out on fun eventful weekends, but I am.

Kevin and L are away at our last baseball tournament of the season. K and I are home for his tournament. Unfortunately, we were awaken by a nice thunder storm with heavy rain this morning which would normally be wonderful except not on a baseball tournament weekend. We waited all day to find out that K's game was postponed until tomorrow. So basically we sat around the house all day. I did get alot accomplished but I felt like we were really missing out on the fun with Kevin and L.

We ended the day with a very nice shopping experience at Target. We lingered around the deoderant isle smelling Axe (that's good smelling stuff) . We had a nice conversation with the checkout boy about the fact that there must be subliminal messages unconsciously heard while shopping there to "buy, buy, buy". Am I the only one that spends way too much money in Target? We also visited Marble Slab and Hollywood Video. Came home, grilled chicken and in a few minutes I will be enjoying Tristan + Isolde and if I can stay awake Prime with Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman with a nice glass of Chardonnay. K decided after watching the soccer games recently he would rent a soccer video game- not sure how that is going.

The baby deer haven't come back for a visit yet.........I am waiting patiently.,,,, if they come to visit it would definitely be worth staying home this weekend. Of course, my quality time spent with my teenager is well worth it!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Fathers Day Weekend was Over the Fence!

Whew! Today is my first day of rest, well besides the fact that my house is somewhat unorganized and I have loads of laundry to finish and lots of other stuff to do.

One week ago I completed my fourth sprint triathlon. I was competing against myself again this year. I wanted to beat my time of 1 hour 44 minutes from last year. Drum roll.........................

My time this year was 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My swim and bike were my best ever and I did better than last year on the run taking 6 big fat minutes off my time! Woo Hoo! I am very reluctant to post this picture (swim caps don't suit me well) but this is before the swim with my friend Mendy. This was her first triathlon and she definitely is a very tough cookie!

Anyway, back to this weekend. After a week at camp, I returned home on Friday to both boys baseball tournaments. K's ended up being cancelled because we had some really nice rain on Sat and Sun which was too much for the fields but L played. On Saturday I was late getting to his game. L's team was first to bat and he is the first batter. On a full count ( 3 balls and 2 strikes) he smacked one over the fence for his very first homerun!!! Another Woo Hoo! Of course I missed it because I was late which is quite a bummer, but very exciting none the less!

We finished off the weekend with an awesome steak and shrimp dinner grilled on our new Weber and a nice rest in Kevin's Fathers Day gift! Ahhhhhhhh!!!


Oh, I forgot..... as we were eating dinner we saw the absolutely cutest sight in our backyard. Two baby deer and their mom. The babies were playing in the greenbelt as their mom supervised. I didn't get my camera out in time, but I hope they come back for another visit.

The Lazy Days of Summer?

Hello Everyone - although I don't know who all is out there lately. I have been so swamped with end of school activities and training that I have neglected my blog. This week begins our summer which is so exciting to me although most of June will be unfortunately busy.

Our Memorial Weekend was quite nice. We finally broke down and purchased a pool table, which was unusually stressful for me, but I am good now. Of course, we have been pooling most of the time. I am raising young pool sharks.

We invited some friends over for dinner Sunday night. It was very nice, although I am still working on my hostessing skills. I tend to overdo when I entertain. I always prepare way too much food, which I guess is better than not enough. And I tend to fret too much about every little detail. I am trying to train myself to relax and enjoy, which I did most of the time. I think overall everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves - I hope!!!!

This week, at least for a couple days, the boys and I will sleep late and be lazy. After that we will play baseball ( every weekend this month), celebrate K & L's birthdays, participate in VBS, attend baseball camp, K starts strength and conditioning camp which last for the first half of summer, Danskin is on the 11th, and on the 12th L & I leave for church camp in San Marcos for a week.

My definition of summer is sleeping in, laying around the pool drinking lemonade, and walking around barefoot in a tank top and shorts and doing absolutely nothing and having fun at the same time. Maybe in July?

What is your favorite thing about summer?

I am thankful God has given us so many wonderful opportunities this summer!
I hope yours is full of fun as well!

May flowers are here!

May is an extremely busy month in my house. I have one son finishing middle school and the other graduating from elementary. They both have many end of year activities including the continuation of baseball. It is exciting, fun, and emotional!

I haven't been very faithful to my blog but I will be around every once in awhile!

I hope your April showers brings lots of May flowers!

Bless You!

Step by Step

My twelve year old son wrote this poem for his english class.
My husband and I were impressed with it.

I think he is growing up........

Step by, step by step
She glided through the hall
Walking slowly, walking tall.

I suddenly got the nerve to say hello
Thinking about her soothing soul
She kindly said "hi" back to me
Then she walked off beautiful and pretty.

All day long I thought of the girl
Her and diamond pearls
The ones that shined ever so brightly
I suddenly saw them glowing in the night.

I ran over to achieve my destiny
Hoping she wouldn't get the best of me
I never thought it would turn out like this
She hugged me and gave me a kiss.

Cute, huh?

Tri Training - Yahoo!

This week begins my annual Danskin Triathlon Training! I love it! I love it because I need the weekly guidance it gives me. My trainer telling me each day what I need to be doing, how far, and how fast.

Every Thursday and Saturday morning I will meet with my group to swim, bike, or run ( or a combination of two). The other days my trainer gives us a schedule to follow. I wish we could meet together everyday. I love Meredith, my trainer, cheering me along with every stroke, pedal, and step.

I need a cheerleader following me around every minute of my day. "Great job, Peg!" "Way to go." " It's okay, Peg, you will do better next time." "Get your butt off that chair, girl." That's exactly why I can't go hardly a second without Jesus walking by my side. He is the best cheerleader I know! He is always walking by my side, unfortunately I need to be walking by His as well. It is a constant challenge. But just like the triathlon it is an awesome one!

I want to do better this year! I want to get in that open water and swim with great confidence. I want to spin like crazy up those hills. And I want to run, run, run with great enthusiasm up that really big hill at the end of the race. I am sooooo excited!

I will be posting our weekly training on The Runner Inside of Me just in case you would like to train too!

Come on - you can do it!

Happy Spring!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter celebration! We did! I have been so super busy with baseball and other stuff but I wanted to make a point of posting a note before I get to all the must-dos today. There are way too many, unfortunately.

One thing I love about living in Central Texas are the Bluebonnets. I look forward to them every year and every time I drive by a blue patch I ooooo and ahhhhh! There are very few around my area this year but one day I looked outside my front porch and saw this lone bluebonnet in my bed. I don't know here it came from but I am blessed that it has made a home there! I hope to see her year after year!

I know one of you could turn this post into a very inspiring devotional! Simple minded me will just say:

Thank You God for flowers and the joy and peace you both bring to the earth!

Realization

It came to my mind last night after dedicating a whole weekend working a baseball tournament for my son L's baseball team and watching Chef K's five baseball games; after reviewing our week's schedule of three more baseball games, two track meets, and another weekend of baseball and L's school carnival..... what will K & I do when our children leave and go away to college?

Cry, sleep, and work to pay for college? I can't even comprehend what life will be like......

I can't think about it.

"This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Five Wierd things about me!

I am a perfectionist procrastinator.

I am obsessed with poptarts and cereal marshmallows (it stems from my childhood).

I have an odd, dry sense of humor.

I will do just about anything for a back massage.

I love just sitting and watching people.

Do we have anything in common?

Obsessions!

One of my obsessions is sugar! I love all those chewy, gooey, smooth, crunchy sweets - Candy, cookies, cake, chocolate, cheesecake, and ice cream - anything with sugar involved. But, when I can't go a day without it there is a problem. So, on Ash Wednesday I decided that I was going to begin a forty day fast from sugar. In other words, rely on God, not sweets. Comfort in Him, not in dessert.

I have been successful so far and I will succeed because I have made a commitment. I am an expert at keeping commitments, It it just difficult making them.

Speaking of temptations....since that Wednesday ,Chef K has make chocolate chip cookies and then he made these beautiful delights during spring break - Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies - I can't even savor the crumbs. Shame on him!!!

But, together we made a wonderful meal last week from his Food Network - Favorites - Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs Cookbook. We made Dave Lieberman's Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Mango-Basil Salsa & Lime Jasmine Rice... and it was amazing! It had a subtle sweet spicy taste.

Here is another food picture for your viewing pleasure:

I was able to eat every single morsel - it was divine!
Bon Appetite!

Spring Break, already?

We all say it, "I can't believe how fast this year is going!" My children even say it now. So of course in my mind I am in disbelief that Spring Break is next week, already! Unfortunately, I am not really that excited about it. Because of my husband's profession we have no opportunity of traveling this time of year. I guess the boys and I could venture out on our own but nothing exciting comes to mind.

So, we will hang out and spontaneously find fun activities to keep us entertained. Bowling, movies, shopping ( they are both into that now), hanging out with friends, eating out, etc......
My hopes are that I will actually get some bigger chores marked of my list. Cleaning and organizing the garage, organizing the millions of pictures I have in my upstairs closet and begin the daunting task of scrapping, finish lining my kitchen cabinets with shelf paper, plant some flowers in the empty pots in the front yard. K & L are really into running track right now so we plan on heading over to the park for some sprinting. I would also love for Chef K to try out some of the recipes in his Food Network cookbook he received from me for Christmas. If so, I will post some pictures.

Sounds really exciting, huh? Maybe not, but I hope we will find some adventures along the way. Trust me, I will let you know if we do. I am very thankful to spend quality time with my boys! Before I know it they will be off on their own adventures without me!

What are your Spring Break plans?

Getting on with my day.......

Do you ever have the great opportunity of sitting around your house by yourself, in your pajamas, drinking coffee with bed-head hair , no make-up , really bad morning/coffee breath and doing absolutely nothing? Well, not really nothing....but close to it.

Well, that is what I have been doing this morning. It is 10 am! This is what happens to two hours of my day when I sit and email/blog on my laptop in my cluttered living room adjacent to my messy kitchen.

Okay, back to reality!!!!! I quit working about a month ago. My job was temporary. It was lots of fun. I really enjoyed being one of the millions of Americans that struggle getting out of bed, spend fifteen minutes figuring out what to wear, scurrying around the house to get everyone out the door, and joining the crowds that are sharing the roadways to experience THE daily grind. I liked the paycheck, too.

Now my job is getting my body back in shape and the other thirty tasks I have on my to do list!
What would I do without my list....... I would be lost!

So I am off to swim! Trust me, it's not fun putting on a bathing suit the beginning of March - UGH! But it will be worth it, eventually........

Hope your morning was much more productive than mine has been so far!!!!
Did you get anything crossed off your list?

Great Advertising

This happened to me one day. Since we moved in our new home many companies leave pamphlets on our door for lawncare, softwater systems, blinds & windows coverings, and rain gutters. One day I came home and there was a pamphlet and flyer laying on my entry way tile floor. I saw it, picked it up and the whole time I was thinking: "How in the heck did they get this in here?" I checked the door - it was locked. I tried sliding the info through the door - didn't work. I was really freaked out. Then I noticed it was an ad for a security company. Wow - this was a great advertisment. They know how to get in my house......I was thinking- they have proved my need for a security system! Whoa!

Turns out they did slide the papers through the side of the door. Kevin figured out how they did it when he got home that night.

They absolutely got my attention!

Viva Las Vegas!

Well, since you asked, jettybetty:

My husband and I had another glorious weekend in Las Vegas. This time we shared it with our special friends: Kim & Clark, Elvis, and The Blue Man Group! And not Barry Manilow, boo hoo!

My great friend Kim invited us to join them in Las Vegas to surprise her husband Clark for his 40th birthday. We have wanted to go on a trip with them for quite awhile and this was the perfect opportunity!

Kim had a great plan to surprise Clark. Kevin & I met a limo in front of The Venetian and snuck inside. Clark got in the limo and we yelled "Surprise" (of course). He was speechless and totally shocked! The limo took us to The Elvis Chapel! Kim had arranged for Elvis ( yes, he is alive) to renew their wedding vows! Awesome, huh? It was a hoot!

The chapel was very quaint. Not long after we arrived, Elvis greeted us! Elvis is looking really great for his age, don't you think? We took a few pictures with him and then we proceeded with the ceremony. Elvis walked Kim down the aisle as he sang a song. It looks like Kim was crying but we were all actually laughing hysterically. He led the ceremony- they exchanged vows and rings. He then sang another song. We took more pictures and went on our marry way.

The next night we experienced "The Blue Man Group". It was totally different than I expected it to be - really interesting and funny! The only disappointing part of the whole weekend was that Barry wasn't in town. We have to go back to see Barry! I missed you, Barry!


Other pictues from the weekend:
Shrimp Scampi, a famous scandelous ex-baseball player(do you know who it is?), The gardens in the Mirage, and dinner at The Venetian.
That's all the pictures I can show you because you know:
What happens in Vegas - Stays in Vegas! lol

My Romantic Valentine!

Although Valentine's Day was celebrated by most about six days ago, my husband and I celebrated this weekend! My husband is always full of all kinds of surprises, mostly really great ones. This Valentine's Day (the actual day) we exchanged gifts. My theme this year was red. Everything I bought the boys was red. K got a new red baseball bag and Under Armor shirt. L got a red Nike shirt and shorts (really cool ones). And I bought my hubby red running shorts and an Under Armor shirt. I did all my shopping at Academy in about twenty minutes. My gift to my hubby wasn't quite as romantic as his to me! He bought me a necklace that I was admiring in the Brighton store on our recent trip to Las Vegas. I need to blog about our visit with Elvis while we were there.......




Anyway, we had decided because of our hectic schedules that we would wait until this weekend to go out on a Valentine's date. I knew he was making the reservations. What I didn't know was instead of dinner reservations he was making Bed & Breakfast reservations in Salado, Tx. (and dinner ones, too) We had a super romantic overnight date. I love bed & breakfast inn's. We spent our honeymoon in one and our first anniversary- both my husband's surprise. Anyway, this one was wonderful with a cozy fireplace in our room. The wintery weather this weekend cooperated nicely! It was perfect!

Thanks for my romantic valentine , Sweety Pie!