One of My Favorite Things To Do...

This is a picture of us doing one of my favorite things as a family. So many reasons I love this activity:

1 - we're out of the house

2 - the kids aren't arguing

3 - i'm actually getting exercise

4- pumpkin pie is strapped into a seat and can't hit anyone

I took for granted how easy it is to open up the garage, throw the helmets on and ride around our awesome little town. I didn't realize that not everyone can do this, until last week Like I Was Saying mentioned that they were going for a bike ride... and they had to put their bikes on their van's bike rack and drive somewhere else - that was flat. I really had no idea... I guess I never lived anywhere hilly before.

I love my town... and I love bikeriding with my family.

Tagged??? Are you Kidding???

OK, so I got tagged. Fantastic. Thanks alot Krazy Klingers! I have been avoiding this post since I returned from vacation. (I do hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice).

Why you ask? For the six of you who actually read my blog - you already know everything there is to know about me! Don't you???

And if you don't already know it (because I am truly an open book), you probably don't want to know it... really. I'm serious.

In fact, several of you already know the things I would never want people to know in the first place.


Can you tell I've been thinking about this for a while??? Here goes nothin' - turn back now:


1- I played the trombone for six years. And I was good at it. I still have it, and the kids beg me to play it. I only remember one fight song from high school and Stretch is really sick of it.


2 - I love organization! I suck at it, but I still love it!


3 - I have an extreme disgust for boogers. I'll pick them out of my kids nose, heck I'll pick them out of YOUR KIDS noses. I just hate them. I've been known to use a Q-Tip to get them out. Gross, I know.


4 - I don't get nervous in a crowd of ladies, but ask me to do my "schtick" in front of my husband and forget it! I truly can't do it! Stretch has never heard my schtick before - and I don't intend to start now!


5 - I live in a house that is terribly wired... let me explain. If I want to microwave something and run my toaster at the same time - I can't. If I want to run an A/C unit upstairs in my daughters room and cook something in the oven - I can't. If I want to blow dry my hair and run a load of laundry - I can't. Gotta run the dishwasher? up, better make sure you don't have the coffee maker on. It's a major pain. I waste alot of time running to turn off one appliance just so that I can run the other. I already hate laundry, so then add in that I've got to run up and down two flights of steps to turn off an air conditioner, and you can imagine I let it pile up for a long time.


6 - I eat Lawry's Season Salt by the handful. I love that stuff.


7 - I have really stinky feet. I wash them several times a day... but they are still stinky.

8- When I write something down while I'm on the phone, I'll print it. But then as the conversation continues, I loop the letters together to make it look like cursive. You know what's really funny about that? I didn't even realize I did it - Stretch told me about this crazy quirk.

OK, so there you go! Weird, I know.

New Name, Same Great Site...

Check out this blog - it's got a new name and new look with the same awesome blogger: Like I Was Saying.

No Rest for the Weary...

So after four days with my family, we were heading off to the other side of the state to visit my dear friend, On Fire for Him, and her family. We had a great time with them. Here are some pictures of our time at an awesome children's museum in the area and a rockin' slide that's about 30 feet long that is in their backyard. Our kids all had so much fun together!

Chicken Nugget wants to know when we are going back to visit again. Well, since the trip took us almost 11 hours to get back home, it's gonna be a while until I volunteer for that trip again!

Next up?

We arrived home from Virginia Monday afternoon and took the next few days to do the laundry and pack it up again. On Friday, we left for a weekend at the Milton Hershey School. Then after being houseparents to 13 senior high boys, we took off on Sunday night at 10p.m. to drive half way to North Carolina. We got a hotel room around 1 a.m. and settled in for a few hours rest. Except for Chicken Nugget - who got a terrible case of insomnia - how rude. We were up until 2:30 - then awoken by her at 7 a.m. - No rest for the weary! Spent a few hours hanging out at the hotel, having breakfast and swimming in the indoor pool and then drove the rest of the way to my oldest brothers house in Rocky Mount. My family drove and flew in from all over: Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Jersey, and Arizona to spend a week together. Here are some pictures of our trip:

With seven children under the age of seven we were all quite busy! I guess that explains why we have so few pictures of the trip! It was great to see all my nieces and nephews - and especially to see them all playing together. My grandparents, who are well into their eighties came down from Vermont. It was really special to have them there. And a shout out to my mom who is the craziest and most fun mom out there - You rock! She set up a tent out in the backyard and camped outside with any of the grandkids that wanted to. She played just as hard as the kids did and I know she was sad to leave.

Tune in next time, when The House That Jack Built leaves Rocky Mount and travels across the state of North Carolina to visit good friends!

Where Have I Been???

We have been traveling around since the end of June visiting friends and family. Our first stop was to see our dear friends in Virginia who moved a year ago. He's in the Navy, doing his second year of residency as an OB/GYN. We had a fantastic time; "Red" was wonderfully hospitable and "Dr Fresh" was his crazy ol' self. The kids all had a blast together. Here is a glimpse of our visit: