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signs of summer

just some summer photos to share.

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talby, scott and annie ate half a watermelon today.

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who is the cutest girl on the t-ball team?
i’ll give you one guess.

Kristi - I love the skirt and knee socks! I hope she never loses her sense of style!

traci - Im cracking up at talby in her skirt playing t-ball!!! How adorable. Just curious….I have never heard the name “talby” before….how did you come to name her that? I love reasons and history behind why people choose names.

kristin - that is the talby i know and love!!!!

Danelle Young - I love the watermelon photo. Once I ate a whole watermelon by myself!

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good weekend

it was so good.
the wedding and reception were so beautiful.
it started out hot…so sweaty! but the sun went down and it was the perfect night.
i saw so many high school friends i haven’t seen for many many years.
i laughed and laughed.
it felt so good.
i cracked up that all my memories of parties and things way back when contained many embarassing things about myself that i chose to forget i guess! lots of laughing over that. how many times did i hear “you don’t remember that?!” involving something so dumb that i did!
i just loved seeing everybody.
i love to see everyone grown up…and some married…with babies…
i am so happy that we aren’t the same people we were then…mostly. 🙂
i was so glad my sister was there too.
and our parents and their best friends too.
this reception was beautiful with such a classic style…white tent…lush green grass…sunset…delicious food.
amazing.
my husband had to drag my sister and i out at midnight.
i didn’t want that fun to end.
i wish adam and ashley all the best!
i will share more pictures when my sister and mom and mom’s friends email me some.
mine are not that good. of course now i totally regret not taking pictures of everyone.
for now i will just show a photo of my favorite shoes that i got to wear.

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kristin - oh yes…very good.

amy - uh, sure… because I want to buy you more shoes. that’s it! 🙂 (I think I’ll email my size to you. Some things just don’t need to be public knowledge!)

Megan Duerksen - because you want to buy me more shoes or because you want to borrow them?!! before i answer…what size do you wear 🙂

amy - Way too cute! What size do you wear again?! 🙂

traci - super cute shoes!!! Cant wait to see the fun pictures!
LOVE YOUR BLOG!!! I think this next week Im going to start my own blog…I’ve been trying to think of a really fun, creative, catchy name that will identify with my family and I think I found the one that just CLICKED!! Soooo when I get it up and running i will for sure send it to you and let you know who your blog stalker is…LOL

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just gotta dance…

there is nothing more refreshing than to wake up to a upstairs bathroom floor covered in water and your dining room below…table included…also covered in toilet water. ahhhhh….so lovely. and with company here too. it just doesn’t get better than that right? the good stuff.
my sister came down at 7:45 AM and i was mopping my dining room in my pajamas. i said “the toilet overflowed upstairs…i am not just some crazy lady mopping at 7:45 in the morning!” i got the mess cleaned…went to walmart and came back to the same thing again!
then i realized it was the pipe outside the toilet leaking…so it was clean water at least…not sewer.
gotta be happy about that i guess.

we shut off the water and headed out to party!

my sister and i took the kids to the zoo summer concert. craig met us after work and my mom did too.

chubby carrier and the bayou swamp band plays louisana zydeco music that is just too much fun. he calls himself the father of fun!

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it was a blast. we took blankets and snacks.
the kids starting dancing on the first song!
we had everyone on the “dance floor” except lauren and craig.
talby and my niece macy were loving every minute.

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talby shouted “i like this music! i LIKE dancing!” and she danced almost all night.
annie liked it too. she went on the stage for Rockin’ Robin. see the little kids wearing the little washboards! so cute. she looks scared but she was loving it! she can dance.

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it was hot and everyone was all sweaty but we didn’t care.
i convinced sean to dance halfway through.
he finally did! he loved dancing too.

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what’s not to like? it feels too good.
we grew up listening to all kinds of music and going dancing alot.
i do think i was the only 10 year old going to blues bars with their dad till the middle of the night.
thanks for doing that mom and dad. seriously.
i can’t ever hear a marcia ball song without dancing (and singing). even if it’s just at my kitchen sink.
i love that memory.

lauren took the pictures of us dancing! so technically she stepped on the dance floor but there was no dancing on her part.
she’s missing out.

Megan Duerksen - It’s all about the angles of photography! there are plenty of things in my house that are not so nice…but with the right cropping..they disappear!

traci - Been to your blog MANY times but for some reason I just noticed that you had TONS of pictures of you GORGEOUS home!! It is so nice that you know what to do with that gorgeous masterpiece of a home! I know a couple people who have homes similar to yours and have NO IDEA what to do with them. I also painted my master bedroom choc. brown but was struggling with a really great accent color… You have inspired me to just add WHITE. I love that look and I already have lots of white furniture since I have a pretty shabby chic decor in most the house. Love all your white furniture, your red dish collection (HOW FUN IS THAT?) …actually there was nothing in your house I didnt like….I even think you could make the blue wallpaper in the playroom work… lol…. Thanks for sharing!!!!

traci - Looks like SO much FUN!! In the end it isnt even about the dancing but just “family time”…you create that OFTEN and that is SO cool! So sorry to hear about the plumbing issue :(…but HEY, at least it was clean water!!!!

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missing scott

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it’s official…i miss him.
he’s gone till friday afternoon. it’s been quiet here and that’s nice but i miss that voice and breathy loud laugh. i can’t wait to hear about everything! his first camp! so much fun stuff.

my mom was here for a short overnight visit.
so helpful. the kids were read more books in one evening than they heard all summer. thanks mom.
she also helped me clean a bunch.

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in the spirit of keepin’ it real i thought i’d share a picture of what happens when i cook.
i don’t want you to think that since i shared my blueberry buckle recipe so pretty that i was anything like martha. this was my first batch of waffles for the evening. i mean…do i have to make such a mess on the first round? it was so crusted on by the end of the meal. i burn alot of food. i am so distracted. and i think i will remember things without setting a timer. why? i have never remembered!

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my mom distracted my kids today with washing the truck while i got started on this!

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i got the ground pretty level and we laid out the liner. my mom went to her friend’s house and i put annie down for a nap. talby, sean and i sat outside and put the entire pool together our selves. they were big helpers…honest. they got the pegs ready and handed them to me. they put the feet on the legs…ran the pipe through the top…helped me build the ladder…they cleaned up the trash.
craig was shocked when he came home.
he even said “let’s take a picture of you!”
he was not expecting me to even touch it let alone level the ground and BUILD IT.
it’s filling with water now.
once i started i saw it wasn’t difficult just takes time. it took me a good 6 hours…probably would have taken craig 3. 🙂

then my sister arrived with my 2 nieces for the rest of the weekend.
awesome.

diane - Hey, I found your blog through the creative blogs blog. I have been frequenting it. Usually I am nursing my baby when I catch up on blogs so it is kinda hard to leave a comment…anyways, love your house and your craft room.

amy - you go, girl. love the picture with Scott. was that taken at church?

traci - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the picture of you and your son!!! That picture needs to be enlarged, framed and put somewhere important in your home!!
Arent grandmas the best?? My kids spend alot of time with grandma and grandpa in the summer and it really mold who they are and who they want to be. I see it more the older they get.
Love your waffle maker!! forget the mess tee hee…what a NEAT waffle maker!
Last and not least…YOU ARE WOMEN, HERE ME ROAR…lol… doesnt it feel GREAT to do something and accomplish it that normally hubby would do?? GREAT JOB!!!

traci - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the picture of you and your son!!! That picture needs to be enlarged, framed and put somewhere important in your home!!
Arent grandmas the best?? My kids spend alot of time with grandma and grandpa in the summer and it really mold who they are and who they want to be. I see it more the older they get.
Love your waffle maker!! forget the mess tee hee…what a NEAT waffle maker!
Last and not least…YOU ARE WOMEN, HERE ME ROAR…lol… doesnt it feel GREAT to do something and accomplish it that normally hubby would do?? GREAT JOB!!!

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feelin’ groovy

it’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do.
i feel the exact opposite of yesterday.
yesterday i stood up in the middle of dinner and left the room and shut the door because i had hit my limit of noise and whining.
yesterday i yelled so loud i hurt my own ears…and it was a misunderstanding – not even over something bad.
yesterday i threw a bunch of toys into another room because i was sick of toys.
and i can’t figure out why everyone else throws tantrums around here! 🙂

today is a better day.
i made coffee first thing. that was the beginning of my downfall yesterday.
i drank the coffee.
i began to clean…get something done before i start anything fun.
the sun is out and shining! we NEEDED that.
we turned off the tv at 8:30. that’s big.
we made play money – in normal amounts…12,000 and 29,105 dollar bills.
the costumes came out…black cat and jedi knight.
the playdoh too.
made many different birthday cakes with real candles (no fire)

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i am feeing very in love with mr. duerksen today.
we had music on this morning and green eyes by coldplay came on. while i was singing it loudly i was remembering when craig sang this song to me on my 27th birthday with peter on guitar in front of all our friends. it was so romantic and beautiful and silly. i loved it so much. it is one of my favorite memories. honey you are my jack campbell.

speaking of green…he painted the walls in the foyer! they are a lovely green…pea soup-ish. love it. and he is an awesome painter. perfect. he won’t even let me help anymore…i’m not heplful.

my sister and my 2 nieces are coming tomorrow. and my mom sometime this week.
i should be cleaning.
i did some…the refrigerator…and microwave…but the rest is pointless until my kids go to bed.
so we will go outside instead.
get some sun on our faces.
soak it in.
because it will probably be gone again tomorrow…raining.

traci - THANK YOU for sending me your blog address again!!! Love the fact you let your kids play with playdo…that may sound strange but I have been a preschool teacher for years and there are MANY parents who dont want playdo or paint in their homes (too messy I guess). Glad your not one of them 🙂

Leslie - Loving your blog, it makes me want to be a better mother. I need all of that I can get during the summer! Can’t wait to make the blueberry buckle. YUM!

kristin - i can’t imagine you yelling…i can imagine you giving your kids a table full of playdoh and candles…summer is the hardest time of year for me…tension runs too high…grrrrrrrr.

amy - every wife needs a jack campbell. i love him. (jack, not craig.)

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father’s day photos

at our house…holidays are downplayed.
i wish this was not the case on mother’s day or valentine’s but it is.
this means no big bows…few presents and very little fuss.
this also means i can get away with taking two “special” days still not having finished one simple project for my husband. i bought him a frame for his birthday and said i would make him something for work.
that was in april.
now it’s father’s day. well….i got the pictures taken!
but they are still in the computer.
but hey one step closer right?
he swears he doesn’t care.
he better be telling the truth.
here is a sampling of the front lawn photo shoot on thursday.
it’s not easy to get 5 kids to look at you (or listen or smile)
there was not one where they are all looking even!

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i will get the frame made soon.
i will order the prints this week.

for father’s day we had 2 kids gone all day.
scott left for camp! his first camp. he was nervous and excited all at once. i fully expect a very stinky dirty boy when he returns. i seriously doubt he will shower at all.
lauren was with my grandmother at a play of High School Musical. she liked it. she was sure she wouldn’t.
we did go swimming. craig got to watch golf. i made Mr. #1 Dad a yummy breakfast.
i called my dad but got his machine..sorry dad.

traci - OMGOSH…what fabulous pictures!!!! Your a talented photograher!

amy - love the one of Lauren and Annie! very sweet!

Stefanie - Your children are just delicious Meg! Great photography.

kristin - beautiful!!! i want to try a feet shot of my kids…i love it.

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little mama

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my girls play babies all the time but this week talby was being so cute.
she found my coffee cup from the gas station in the truck (that i washed out for her and we filled water). she gathered her purse and baby. she played in the truck for a long time.
i was watching her from the kitchen and it was just too funny.
she buckled her baby in the carseat…got in the driver’s seat…picked a CD…looked in the mirrors…pretended to put on make-up…drinking her “coffee”….blew bubbles for her baby!!!
then she came in and got a basket full of play food and asked me to come open the trunk for her…to put her groceries in…just like mom.
she kept that coffee cup with her all day. where has she seen that? ha ha
i love how she can play by herself for hours lost in her thoughts.

in the yucky dining room we have misc. furniture serving no purpose at the moment. i came in and saw this!

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the empty armoire is now a triple bunk bed for babies (and bears)

Katey - That was soooooo me as a little girl!! I also played for hours interdependently with my baby dolls. I would pretend to drive around with my babies too. No wonder I now work as an infant teacher at a preschool. I still love the babies! <3

kristin - by the way, if you ever can’t find a purpose for that armoir, i think i could….hee hee hee. : )

traci - what a total cutie!! I have 2 little girls who do the mommy thing all the time and it is A WHOLE lot of fun to watch…especially when they discipline the dolls..lol
I LOVE the baby bunk bed in the armoir!!! How creative is that!!!

kristin - YES YES YES!!!!!!!
hooray for a day open enough for this kind of play!!!!!
made my day.

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