"GIRLS HAVE MUSTACHES TOO YA KNOW"

FRIDAY NIGHT A couple of my friends and I went camping out at Bartlett Lake. I sit down to blog this but cannot begin to know where to start. It was one of those trips that "you just have to be there"...but ill do my best!
SORT OF A last minute invite from a friend of my friends, we left around 7 Friday night and got to Bartlett just in time to watch Jaws projected onto a sheet on the shore with the other groups. After the classic production intended to scare us, we decided to go swimming..go figure. But back it up..this request came from Brandon! Brandon is not what one would necessarily call a camper, in fact he genuinely dislikes it. So with Brandon in rare form Dave and I quickly agreed.


I believe this was the only moment in the last 7 years that I was grateful for the 115 degree weather that had so brilliantly warmed the lake. Followed by a dozen others we got to talking about the last time we went swimming in a lake at night. Since high school! That is way too long. This discussion led to another coveted high school era "activity", Truth or Dare! skipping right over the details we got out an hour or so later, dried off and played some poker before turning in and talking/cracking up until 3 something in the morning. But not before one more solicitation from Brandon offering a bit of his pot pie...8 hour old CHICKEN pot pie. We declined and threatened Brandon with warnings of what a chicken pot pie might do to a person after 8 hours in an Arizona desert.


The next day

TAKING PICTURES THROUGH a floaty raft thing???

FOOTBALL

VOLLEYBALL

CHILLIN IN THE car playing with the camera waiting for Gina to get in. Happily filthy dirty, tired, and ready to go home.

BENBLUBALLS . MANGO STRAWBERRY FRUTISTAS . POT PIE . TRAUMATIC BONDING . DAVE SHARK . PARTY CRASHING . DEBBIE DOWNER . BENS SLEEPING BAG PILLOW . GIRLS HAVE MUSTACHES TOO SAYS THE BANK TELLER . SPF 60 . BLUE SHORTS GUY . BLACK SHIRT GUY . RED SHIRT GUY . MARRY DATE DO . DAVE SAUCE . RED CHIP . STEELY DAN . LETS GO TO CALIFORNIA...I AGREE!

THE UPSIDE OF GHETTOVILLE!

THURSDAY NIGHT I came home from a movie (Ironman) I went to with my friends to find a complete flying ant infestation above my apparently very warm and inviting night stand lamp. Stunned, I stood in disbelief wondering what it was I was supposed to do about the situation. WELL...instead of launching out the door and over to my night owl neighbors whimpering theatrical girly sound effects in an attempt to illuminate my helpless despair, I decided to give the ants a grin and asked if they had any last words!
THE UPSIDE OF ghettoville is this - Poor as dirt, not nice sand or moist potting soil, but dry dusty dirt poor, living 20 paces from a halfway house filled with "gentlemen" always happy to be your audience during constant smoke breaks, single parent (I don't mind this), full-time-student(finally)-full-time-job-kill-me-now, THEN come home to flying ant infestations, ... one can still be happy as a clam grinning at each new challenge and calling it a grand new adventure with the potential for growth; and without trying to step over that social boundary set concerning what we should say out loud about ourselves to others...I am proud of myself! I really like who I am and I am grateful for the spine I grew this year and all that I have done with it.

"ITS POTTY TIME" (says the Elmo toilet)

THE PROCESS HAS begun! Shelby decided she wanted to start sitting on the potty every once in awhile. I was tempted to post the picture of her first "poo poo" in the potty, but decided that the others are exposure enough.

NEW YORK BOUND, my modern day baby enjoys working on her laptop while....well, you know!

NOTICE MILHOUSE IN his 'big girl' panties!

HER REWARD..SHELBY loves stickers.

I LOVE IT! Everyday is worth something so far beyond myself.

CANT HELP IT

I JUST HAVE to post this picture...for obvious reasons.

HER PERSONALITY #2

SHELBY IS CRYING for one reason and one reason only in this picture, and trust me, it is not because she is eating chocolate. In case you couldn't tell...my daughter is a clean freak! She was so upset that she got some chocolate on Milhouse, she was begging me to clean him off; also frustrated that I was laughing at her reasoning for being upset, AND maybe a little because I was taking pictures of her. Shelby always runs and grabs the hand towel off of the oven handle when either she or I spills and makes "a mess". I wish I could take credit for this behavior.

ALL DRESSED UP

MY SWEET BEAUTIFUL girl got all dressed up May 31st for her aunt Noelle's wedding reception. Josh and I could hardly believe how cute she was running around the shin dig. I never could have guessed the capacity I had for adoring someone so much.