Ugh! It is sooooo hot!

Hello all! I can't believe it is already the middle of July. Although this heat today is doing it's best to convince me. I have not felt like doing anything, it is simply tooo hot. The girls and I have spent four out of the last ten days at water/amusement parks. Yesterday we convinced Ernie to join us. We spent the entire day at the water park, having a blast. Mal was so tired. She fell asleep during the car ride home about 7:oo and slept until 8:00 this morning. She must have jumped into the pool 100 times. I woke up with a stiff neck from some of the rides. The young man kept telling me to keep my chin tucked, which I found very difficult to do with my eyes bulging out of my head! Thank goodness there are no photos to document some of my facial expressions. Ernie of course had no expression at all, well, maybe a small smirk. He looked as if he were going for a lazy afternoon stroll. I tried going backwards, maybe it would be less frightening. No not really. You just see the drop again on the other side!

While I am here, I will give everyone a brief update on our latest going ons.

Ernie has started back to school. He is operating on even less sleep but so far is hanging in there.

Devin is still in Western Kansas. Not sure when/if he is coming back.

Mal...........well, spends a lot of time playing and telling everybody what to do. She has become EXTREMELY independent. Ernie walked in the kitchen this morning. She was warming up a piece of chicken in the microwave. It was set for 79 minutes.

McKinsey starts volleyball camp tomorrow. The countdown to the first day of school begins.

Morgan is driving like a pro. Although she did say it unnerves her when I scream while she is driving. Guess I need to work on that.

As for me, I am still trying to stick with my exercise program. This heat makes it very difficult and I only went running twice this week.

As a matter of fact we're headed to the track right now. I need to work off Popeye's Chicken. But let me tell you, it was worth every bite!

The Fountains at Crown Center

Here are a few pictures of a recent trip to Crown Center. A few of them need to be clicked on to get a better view of the image.

Peace!

"Run Boo, Run!"

Tentative at first.

Very inviting on a hot summer day!

Soaked in the end.

My Pedometer

A few months ago I bought a new cell phone with a built in pedometer. I want to take just a moment to tell you all how this has changed my life, really! I started out with the goal of taking 10,000 steps a day, which for some may be a piece of cake, but I found myself struggling to get those in everyday. Once I was able to do that everyday for a week I slowly began to increase my weekly goals. My daily goal now is 18,000 steps a day and there are several days I take 20,000 to 23,000 steps which is the equivalent of 9 to 10 miles. I realize all these steps are not high cardio although about 1/3 at this point involve running/walking. I figure if I am moving I am not eating. Maybe that should be my motto! It is amazing how this competition with myself has simply made me look at things differently. I NEVER take the elevator. Instead of sitting and waiting for the girls at the mall, etc. I walk. I take a walk everyday on my break. I entice my class into races. Until last week when we had to change playgrounds I usually had a crowd of 5 years old's trailing behind me during recess. . Soooo, long story short I am really happy with my new phone! lol

Although I am very impressed with myself, lol, when we go hiking little Mal puts me and the big girls to shame. She hangs right in there on our 5 mile hikes. I am sure her little legs take her much farther simply because she runs ahead then doubles back a lot. Although last week we did get "trapped" in a creek. The sides were really steep for about a mile. I wasn't sure I could get myself and Mallorie up the embankment and she absolutely refused to walk in the water. There were 1000's of water bugs covering the surface. I am sure her shrieking was heard for miles therefore I carried her. For a little thing she sure can get heavy! One thing to be said for the long walks/hikes everyday, she sleeps VERY well.

Another Teen Driver

Well, just as I became very comfortable with Devin driving, Morgan now has her permit. She is doing a fantastic job. I am the one have a difficult time. I am heading to the store to pick up plenty of hair color for myself. Mal thinks it is absolutely hilarious that Morgan is driving. "What? Morgan you driving gen?" All of this said in a fit of giggles. It is very hilarious to her. Must say it has had the opposite effect on me, but note to self: do not ride in car with teenage daughter while both of us have PMS. (Makes for a very emotional trip around the block. ) lol Her driving is just another sign of things to come. I really, really don't want my kids to grow up. But as I am typing this I am thinking I really, really want my kids to grow up. Not unlike the way they must feel at times.

Hiking in the Rain

My current conditioning routine for our Pikes Peak Hike includes LOTS of cardio and a few fun hikes a week. Yesterday we had lots of fun hiking in the rain. We took Mallorie with us(dad was at the BBQ). Suprisingly she kept up pretty well althought I did get an extra workout carrying her here and there, especially uphill, the mud made everything very slippery. lol She loved getting extra dirty. Her reward for being such a trooper was playing at the playground.



Yes, I know I am biased, but don't those cheeks just make you want to smooch them until you can't smooch no more?

BBQ Weekend

Part of the perks of having a BBQ guru for a neighbor is getting to attend all the festivals for free. And believe me we take advantage of this at every opportunity. This weekend is the Great American Barbecue Festival in KC which includes food, music, carnival, fireworks, hot air balloons etc. Ernie has been spending most of his time there since Thursday while the girls and I have been going back and forth since Friday.

It took a some convincing to get Mal to go down, but once McKinsey offered to take her she was ready to go. Her expressions kept us in stitches. You could definately tell when that last bump tickled her little tummy.

Another successful ride! Thank goodness the guy in the parking lot gave us lots of tickets or mom would have put a stop to this a long time ago.

I think the balloon glow at the end of every evening has been the best part of the weekend. Mal was up for the slide but still can't convince her it would be a great idea to ride in one of these. lol There has been about ten balloons lighting up every night. Unfortunately we missed the races Friday morning(had to work).

Not So Newsy

It has been so long since I last posted that you would think I had tons to write about. Hmmm.....not so much. I will just give a brief update on what everybody has been doing.

Mallorie is..... Enjoying dance class, although I have held her out of the recital. I really did not feel like spending hundreds of dollars to have her hang on me backstage. We will wait until she is four to do that.(Hang on me backstage I mean) She is obsessed with eating pizza. She argues with me about EVERYTHING...the sad part? Often she is right. She will only be going to school two days a week this summer. McKinsey will keep her the other two days. I see lots of pool time in their future.

The big kids are really ready for summer. Devin and Morgan plan on working quite a bit. And McKinsey? Well, since she is not old enough to have a job. She will be my slave for one more year.

The girls and I took Ernie to the airport this morning. He flew to Denver to pick up his new truck. I am sure he is smiling the whole way home. You know how it is. Country boys and their trucks, lol.

Ernie and I had our 17th wedding anniversary this weekend. We went out to dinner and were in bed before nine 0'clock. Get your mind out of the gutter....we were watching PBR(professional bull riding) with Mal in between us. I was asleep by 9:15. Oh, it was sooooo romantic. lol

Oh yes, and Mallorie has a new puppy/horse. I can't say much more about him right now. Except, I must have been drinking A LOT the evening we decided to get him!

Mallorie with Max. Check out the attire. Classic.

"Max" To give you an idea of his size, his pillow is 3' x 3'. He just turned 4 months.

I have been staying extremely busy with school. It also keeps my busy just driving/following everybody around. We went to World's of Fun last weekend. Here are a few pics.

Morgan and McKinsey are second and third from the left.

Click on the picture to get a really good look at Kinsey's face.

Another successful ride on the Wacky Worm.