Even since Connie made a post about going to Red Lobster and eating crab legs dripping in butter I have been wanting to go. So guess where we went for dinner last night? We figured we'd better go before the girls came home, they really do NOT like seafood. Even though they have other stuff there for kids that isn't seafood, I just don't enjoy my crab as much with the girls looking at me telling me how disgusting it looks. lol When we walked in Anthony was sleeping in John's arms. We sat down next to the lobster tank and it didn't take him long to wake up. John showed him the lobsters and Anthony looks and looks. Finally he says, "Oh, those are big bugs!" All night I had to convince him that I wasn't eating bugs. lol He wouldn't even try it and I know he would have liked it because he eats smoked salmon with Bill all the time. We ate way too much and as we were leaving Anthony points to the Red Lobster sign and says..... "Look, Crab Legs!" John tells him that it is Red Lobster and Anthony says, "Oh....Red Monster!" ROFL What a goof.

We went shopping for school supplies last night. The girls are almost home and I was going to wait until they got here but we were in Target and I actually found their school supply list there! You know how they post all of the local school supply lists right in front of all the school stuff? Every year I look for a list for our small town school and every year it is never there. There are lists for every small town in the area but ours is always missing. It was always annoyed me. So, when I saw it there last night I was so excited I just had to shop! ROFL It seems like these lists get longer every year although Brittany didn't seem to need much. She didn't even have crayons on her list! That really bothered me. She is going into 6th grade not high school. I am not ready for crayons to not be on her list! So of course I bought her a box anyway. lol I found an awesome Tony Hawk notebook so I had to buy it for John's nephew. The weird thing on Brittany's list is that she needed 5 bottles of glue! 2 tacky glues, 2 rubber cement jars, and 1 huge glue stick. What in the hell are they going to be doing with all that glue?! Another weird supply is baggies. I had to buy snack size, sandwich size and gallon size bags. This is the third year or so they've been on the list and I STILL have no idea what they use them for. Of course the whole time we are shopping John is loudly muttering that when HE went to school all he needed was one pencil and one notebook. He had all of the mom's laughing. Where were the dad's? I have no idea. There were only mom's there. They must have been smart and left their husband's at home so they didn't have to listen to the same muttering! ROFL

We didn't get to watch the fireworks for the pyrotechnic convention because we had a huge rain storm. They rescheduled it for tonight but guess where I will be? An hour and a half away at the casino on a limo run. Oh well, they usually come every other year so hopefully I'll be able to see it next time.

OMG, that was a long post I made earlier this morning! ROFL I think I was delirious from lack of sleep and kept rambling and rambling! hehe Well, since I'm more awake now, somewhat, here is my Friday Five.

1. Do you have a car?If so, what kind of car is it?
I have a 1995 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan. Wow.....isn't that sexy! ROFL

2. Do you drive very often?
Yeah, mostly hauling the kids around to one thing or another. Although when we go places as a family John always drives.

3. What's your dream car?
A '65 Mustang, although I did once have a '77 Firebird that I loved. I really miss that car. I wouldn't mind having it back.

4. Have you ever received a ticket?
Yep, two of them. Once for speeding plus I was fined for not wearing a seat belt and another time I was driving Bill's truck and got pulled over for having expired tags and although the tags turned out to be in the glove box, I got another fine for not wearing a seat belt. Can you say stupid? Sheesh.

5. Have you ever been in an accident?
Not while I was driving although I was in two accidents with my mom when I was a kid. Once we were driving with a friend of hers and she rear ended somebody, that wasn't too scary but another time my mom was going through an intersection and somebody ran a red light and hit us. Luckily she always drives those great big granny cars, I think it was an LTD, and although there was some damage to the car we were ok. Nobody really wore seat belts then and I remember my head crashing against the frame of the door, luckily the window was all the way rolled down but I had a headache for days. I did once hit a deer though...does that count? The deer ran off but I was driving a crappy astrovan and my radiator cracked along with a few other vital car parts. I felt bad about the deer until I found out how much it was going to cost to fix my van then I was pissed.

I am so so tired. I really have no idea why I am even out of bed. Well, except for I had this horrible dream that something happened to Anthony and he was really hurt and I couldn't get help. The dream in reality was really stupid and could never happen but I woke up with my heart pounding and freaking out because it of course seemed so real! Isn't that the worst? A dream that one of your kids or a loved one has been hurt or has died? I thankfully can't remember many dreams that someone has died but my mom has called me before in tears because she had a dream like that about one of the kids and had to tell me so that I could tell her that the kids are all ok.

Anyway, now I'm awake so I thought I'd write about my very long day yesterday. It actually started at 3am when I finally got home from my casino run the night before. I knew I had to be up by at least 8am because I had an early morning run but of course that made it even harder for me to fall asleep. By the time I fell asleep it was about 4:30 and when John was getting ready for work at 7:30am I jumped out of bed because I thought I was late. Anyway, I was up and ready to face an all day run. It wasn't until we picked them up that I realized it was for the owners of my favorite restaurant. They were treating most of their employees to an entire day of fun. We picked them up at 10am and drove them down to Detroit Lakes where they ate at Zorbas and then we took them to the Otter Tail River so that they could go tubing. I was following Joe (he had the 24pass. coach). When we got to the place where you rent the inner tubes we found out that we had about 3 hours to kill before they were done. So we headed back to Detroit Lakes and sat in Perkins for a few hours while we had lunch and talked.

Guess what? Joe got married last weekend! He met a woman in Canada on the internet and has been going up there often to see her. It was actually only a small ceremony with her family and his children, but it wasn't legal because they have to go through all the paperwork to get permission for her and her children to move here to get legally married. Looking at how happy he was, I guess the legal crap doesn't matter, in his heart he is married and was proudly showing off his gold band. :-) He hasn't really told anyone because he wants to keep it fairly quiet until it is official. But I warned him that I can't keep secrets! lol and besides, you're not gonna tell anyone, right? lol

We finally headed back to the river to pick up our party. At this time it was about 4pm and I was looking forward to my 5:30 drop off because due to lack of sleep and the heat and humidity I was exhausted! And I still had Jessica's 21st Birthday to go to. I figured I'd be home by 6pm in time to shower and have the limo pick me up at 7pm. It was at this point that I heard the owner talking about taking everyone for ice cream. I don't think I mentioned the real fun of tubing down the river. You take coolers and coolers of alcohol and just lazily float down the river getting as intoxicated as possible. I think our group had more coolers than people. They were definitely having fun. So it turns out that I had the owners in my limo plus the employee's that had been with them the longest and they wanted it for the rest of the night. I explained that one of my best friends was having her 21st bday party but that I would do my best to find a driver to take the rest of the run. They were really nice people and having so much fun I didn't want to ruin their party, so I drove until 7:30 taking them bar hopping until another driver showed up to take over. At this point I was tired, hot, stressed and just wanted to go home and go to bed. But of course I couldn't because it was Jessica's birthday!

I don't think I've blogged much about Jessica. She has been best friends with my little brother since they were in 4th grade. I can't even begin to describe their friendship. There is a love between them that is so obvious but they love each other too much to ever date. John thinks they will get married someday, I don't think so but it doesn't matter because she is already like my sister. She is the cutest, sweetest thing, although I guess she can be a bitch if you piss her off, which of course means she fits in well with my family. ROFL Her mom lives down the street from my mom and lately we have all been spending a lot of time together. Her mom was a lifesaver again and again as we planned for the wedding. I'm telling you, if John turns out to be right and someday they get married we will have the perfect inlaws! So we hung out at Granite City where Jessica works and drank with her friends there and had something to eat. Jessica was upset because she hadn't heard from her two sisters. They live out of town and have new babies and husbands and are planning to be here tonight to celebrate but she still felt bad. After hanging out for awhile we headed in the limo over to Playmakers where my friend Dave's band was playing. It always amazes me when I see all of the girls going wild over him. We worked together about 5 years ago and became really good friends. Even after not seeing him very often he waves at me from on stage as soon as he sees me walk in. He is such a sweetie.

Jessica knows him because they work together at Granite City. I of course had to tell him it was Jessica's bday and after she was pretty well plastered he got her up on stage to sing Happy Birthday to her. It was hilarious. She kept putting his hand on her ass and he was so embarrassed he kept moving it. After the song she told him to announce that she was looking for a hottie which he of course did. Half the guys had their hands up in the air yelling and those that didn't probably only didn't because their girlfriends would have killed them! lol One guy jumped up on stage and started dancing with her. It was quite a fun night. I must have danced all night, although most of it was dancing in front of John while he sat in his bar stool because the dance floor was too crowded and everyone was taking their drinks up there and of course spilling them everywhere. I'm surprised no one slipped and cracked their head! lol.....is that the mom in me coming out? hehe At one point Jessica almost made me cry when she was hugging me on the dance floor. She told me that I was the only sister she had that showed up for her birthday. I told her not to feel bad because she is the only sister I have right now. I'm so glad she had such a wonderful birthday. I won't even spoil it by telling you how shitty she felt on the limo ride as we took her home. :-) Hopefully she won't remember that part! ROFL

I finished my ad last night. It's not one of my best ones, but considering I had less than 24hours notice I guess it's not too bad. Today I have just been trying to get some laundry done, seeing as how I won't be home tonight. I am driving a group to the casino and won't be home until 3am and early tomorrow morning I have an all day run driving a bunch of people up to Otter Tail to go tubing. At least I don't have to wear the tux tomorrow because it is supposed to be really, really hot.

I got a letter from Danielle today. They went to the beach over the weekend. She isn't a real beach person, she is afraid of the waves, but she said it was fun. I am so anxious for them to come home, only five more days left! I still haven't bought any school supplies. Hopefully I will have time on Friday.

Well, so much for my boring day. I talked to my mom shortly after I posted last and was told that a limo ad for the Bridal Fantasy's newest publication needs to be finished by tomorrow morning. Of course, nobody thought to tell ME about it, even though I am the person who does the ads! So I have been scrambling for pictures and such but just can't seem to come up with anything I really like. It has to be weddingish and to be honest I must have wedding burnout because I just can't get in the mood! lol So I will probably be at it all night although I think I might go sit outside and listen to the loud, rumbling, boom of the Pyrotechnic Convention taking place not too far from here. I had forgotten it was coming to town. Their shows are beyond awesome. I have to drive tomorrow night and the night after is Jessica's 21st bday party so hopefully we will be able to go to the show on Friday night. Watching from the front porch just isn't the same.

Not much going on today. I have been trying to motivate myself into cleaning out the kids' closets and boxing up clothes/toys they no longer use. My mom had a call from my grandmother and I guess my Uncle Jessie (he is a few weeks younger than me) and his wife and five kids have moved in with her because they have no where else to go. I'm sure they could use the clothes and the toys would hopefully keep them out of my grandma's way. She's not a real kid type grandmother and I'm sure she's driving them nuts. My mom said she would pay for me to ship the stuff to Colorado, so now all I need to do is get it together. Unfortunately, I really can't seem to motiviate myself to do anything. I did find this at LaLa's and figured it would at least fill up empty space. You need to describe each item with a two word phrase:

Your home - Country Chaos
Your car - Minivan Extrordinaire
Your job - Fulltime Mommy
Your Significant Other - Sexy Workaholic
Your Family - Cherished Crazily
Your Friends - Select Few
The Internet - Unbelievably Slow
Television - Cable Free
Books - Escape Routes
Today - Muggy Boredom

Thanks Irma for the book recommendation. :-) I went and bought another Marian Keyes book since I finished "Watermelon" a few days ago and really enjoed it. After dinner, we went out to eat Chinese food with my mom, and then we headed over to Barnes and Noble and I bought two new books, one of them being "Last Chance Saloon". This should keep me busy for at least a few days. lol

Oh, I also cleaned up a few of my inactive blog links. If your blog is no longer listed it's probably because the last link I had for you is no longer working. If you are still blogging and I just didn't catch your new URL please send me an email and I'll be sure to add you. :-)

Yesterday was our "one month" anniversary which of course neither one of us thought about until half way through the day! John did surprise me with breakfast in bed. Isn't he sweet? lol....but of course don't tell him I told you so. hehe We had a very lazy Sunday, we did absolutely nothing. We watched tv, played with Anthony and read. It was really nice especially after my limo run from hell on Saturday!

The people I had were really nice (it was a wedding) but there were too many of them and they were too big! The air suspension in the car gave out halfway to our destination and the drive shaft started dragging. Next thing I knew, the back of the limo was filling up with smoke from all of the friction. I had to have John meet me at the bar where we were going (they were doing a bar hop before their reception) to see if he could fix it. The people were not very happy and I don't blame them. Unfortunately, there was just too much weight in the car. So we had to put one guy in front with me and a few drove with John in our van. These guys were huge, like football player huge and I had 9 guys and the bride. She was very sweet about it, actually they all were nice considering. But I was majorly stressed and was so happy when Nathan came to my rescue (again) and took the late part of the run in our largest limo to make up for it.

Not much going on today. I guess I should get something done considering I didn't do much of anything yesterday. The girls will be home in a week! Which is a good thing because Anthony is driving me nuts asking where his sisters are. Have a great day and Happy Monday!

Well, it's still raining but thankfully I won't have to wash my hair outside because our water is back! Woohoo! l don't think the neighbors would have appreciated listening to me "sing in the shower" LOL

We have water now........rain water that is. It's raining outside but still no water inside. Maybe I should stand outside and wash my hair? ROFL I have to leave in a few hours. Hopefully our water will be back on by then!

We have no water! I have a limo run at 4 o'clock, we have no water and I still need to take a shower!!!! I hate when this happens. One of the draw backs of living in a little town because this has happened way too often. Usually it's not that big of a deal although this does seem to happen right when I'm in a hurry to go somewhere. Hopefully it is just a maintenance thing and they will have it turned back on shortly. My mom is out in the shop washing limo's and I'm sure she's not a happy camper right now!

I was so exhausted yesterday. I only slept about 2 hours before Anthony woke me up. I was supposed to do an airport pickup late last night and almost started crying when my mom called to tell me that instead of picking them up at 11pm, I would have to pick them up at 2am because the flight was delayed. My mom must have heard the panic in my voice when she told me. I was soooo tired at that point, my contacts felt glued to my eyes and I could barely keep them open. Thankfully she got Nathan to do it instead.

So I got a good nights' sleep other than being woken up by Anthony crying in the middle of the night because he fell out of bed. He came running in my room for a kiss and then went back to bed and fell right asleep. lol

Not much else going on this weekend. I never did go school shopping. I'd better do that soon. I usually buy most of their supplies while the girls are gone but I have to wait for them to get home before I buy their clothes because they are both so darn picky I hate to waste money buying them clothes they won't wear. This year I think I am going to skip buying the glittery pencils for Danielle. Last year I found out that the girls in her class were talking her into trading them the glittery pencils for their boring, yellow pencils. So this year they will probably all have the glittery pencils, I bet they won't want to trade now! ROFL

I just got home. I had a last minute limo run to the casino tonight. It takes an hour to get there, a four hour stay and then an hour home. It makes for a very long, boring night. I forgot to take a book to read so I ended up buying a magazine. I lost $10 in the slot machines. Not a very exciting night although I did get a good tip which was nice. Since it's already Friday, I figured I'd do my Friday Five. I can't believe it's already Friday! I can't believe it's already August! Time is flying by way too fast which is good because the girls will be home soon but bad because summer is almost over. They had some really good specials at Wal-Mart on school supplies so I think I will head there tomorrow and stock up on stuff. I love school shopping! If I don't get a chance to post again, have a great weekend!

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
Both of my parents are Mexican-American with Mexican and American-Indian ancestory.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
Well, my options are limited so I would have to say Mexico :-)

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
Since I don't have any other country to choose from I guess I don't have an answer to this one.

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
We celebrate Cinco de Mayo every year with a pinata for the kids and lots of Mexican food and margaritas. I am very proud of my heritage but being in North Dakota I don't have many options to expose my kids to their heritage.

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
On my mother's side my grandfather was working on our family tree for many years before he passed away. From what he researched our family has been in the United States in the California area since it was still Mexico. On my father's side from what I know his great-great-grandparents lived in New Mexico so I'm not sure when they came from Mexico to the United States.

The honeymoon is over. We had way too much fun and it went by way too fast. We did miss Anthony like crazy so it was good to get home. We got home yesterday but didn't do much. We spent the day taking Anthony to the movie and then to the park. Today John is back to work and life goes back to normal. Wisconsin was so much fun, we stood here because it was kind of a center point to everywhere we wanted to go. We spent a day in the Dell's which was incredible, we couldn't believe how much stuff they had to do there! We are already planning to take all of the kids there next summer. This time I take a list though! LOL It was just way too overwhelming with all of the things they have to do there. We are both looking forward to going next year and can't wait for the kids to see it.

I do have to share one of those stupid moments that I swear could only happen to me! John and I were relaxing in our hotel room and I decided to light these cute little candles I had brought along (a gift from Sandy). The lights are already dimmed as I light one, two, three and get to the fourth candle. Suddenly, my thumb feels warm. I look down and the damn thing is on fire! Not my thumb but one of these stupid acrylic nails my mom insisted I get for the wedding. I look at it in shock and then blow it out. The whole tip of my nail is scorched and I feel like a complete idiot! I tell John and we both sit there laughing our asses off. Sheesh....the stupid things that happen to me, I really should write a book! ROFL

You know how you're on vacation and everything goes by in a blur? I wish I could share all of the fun stuff we did but first it was our honeymoon so I'm sure you don't want to know EVERYTHING! LOL and secondly there would be just too much to write. Let me just say that we had lots of fun and we have decided that we are going on a "honeymoon" every year! :-)

I talked to the girls when we got home. They are having fun in California, they have already been to Disneyland and California Adventure. I think they are going to Magic Mountain next weekend. I miss them so much but I am so glad they are having fun.

Let's see...what else? Nathan and his family are stopping by to pick up their kitten tonight, John is back to work today, I have laundry to do and a van to clean, and my mom potty trained Anthony while we were gone! Can you believe that? I am so happy, I was really dreading having to do that!
Anthony "wrote" a letter to his Uncle Gilly telling him all about it. *Click Here* to read, it is so funny!

I guess that is it. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and as soon as I have time I'll catch up on my daily reads. ~::~Hugs~::~

Added later: OMG, I can't believe I forgot to tell you this. I am a grandma! ROFL John's oldest son and his wife had a baby girl last week named Shelby Lynn. Sadly, John and his son are estranged right now but we have a card and gift we plan to send and maybe someday we will get to see John's granddaughter. Until then she is in our hearts and we are happy to know that she is healthy and very much loved.

John has to work for half a day today and then we are on our way. He had to go in to get his check and hopefully will be able to get out of there easily. I still have a few things to do........like pack! ROFL Procrastination is my middle name. Yesterday I was looking for ideas on helping to clear clutter mostly in Anthony's room and I came across a message board which led me here. All I can say is that the photos there are more than disturbing. They made me physically ill. I didn't know people could live like that. Very, very scary! I don't know if I will have time to post later so if I don't I'll say goodbye now, see you when we get back. :-) Before I head out I'll leave you with my Friday Five:

1. How long have you had a weblog?
I have had a blog since November 1, 2000

2. What was your first post about?
Nothing too exciting, Anthony had scattered Q-tips all over the bathroom. Wow.....I probably put my very first readers to sleep! ROFL

3. How many changes (name, location, etc.) of your weblog have there been, if more than one?
I have only had a slight name change, I went from "Lisa's Family Roadtrip" to just "roadtrip". As for location I started my blog on Geocities and then transferred it over to my infernodezigns server due to problems with Geocities. I have only changed graphics 3 times. Isn't that sad? I read so many blogs that change graphics like they change underwear. I enjoy their changes but I just don't have the time or energy to do that. Besides to be honest, I hate change.

4. What CMS (content management system) do you use? Do you like it or do you want to try something else?
I have always used Blogger, once again lazy and afraid of change.

5. Do you read people who have both a journal and a weblog? Or do you prefer to read people who have all of their writing in one central place?
You know I never really thought about it. I thought they were one and the same. Silly me, I guess I am totally missing out on an entire loop of reading. lol Hopefully most of my daily reads keep their stuff in one central place. If I had to categorize what I read I would say I mostly read journals.

I spent way too much time here this morning. I have never been there before but found some really fun ideas I can't wait to try when the girls get home. I really love her concept of having to destroy the package to get to the gift. I hate saving wrapping paper/gift bags etc. It drives me nuts when people do that although I have learned to look the other way when John's sisters recycle my gift bags. Now wouldn't it drive them nuts to have to destroy the package to open it? ROFL

As much as I enjoyed the above site I really should get off my ass and get some work done. I have to finish up the laundry so that I can start packing for our honeymoon. Now that I think of it I have no luggage! The girls took all of my bags to California with them! Anyway, it's a honeymoom.......do we really need clothes? hehe

John still thinks that I am going to make a list of where we will be going and things to do etc. I told him I wasn't going to because I don't want a list, I just want to go. But he just snickers because he thinks he knows me so well. Ok, so I confess, I am a list person. I even make a list of every item of clothing the girls take to California so that they don't forget anything. I had detailed lists made for every person in my wedding party so they knew exactly what to do. In fact I cringed at the last wedding I drove limo for because the bride had a handwritten note that everyone was passing around so they knew what to do. Okay, I'm going way off subject. The point is I do NOT necessarily need to make a list and this time I am not going to make one just to prove Mr. I-Know-Everything wrong. And if I just can't take it and break down and make a list anyway, well, I'll just be sure he doesn't see it! ROFL

Only two more days and John and I will be headed to Wisconsin. Every one keeps asking me where we are going. Honestly, we have no plan. We are just going to get in the car and go. For four days we are just going to do whatever we want to do, no cell phones, no limousines, no children, absoultely nothing! Whoohoo :-)

Last night Nathan (limo driver I drove with last Saturday) brought his wife and children over to see the kitties. They picked a calico one. They picked the one that I wanted to keep but didn't because the girls wanted the striped kitty. Oh well, at least I can still go visit. :-( They didn't take her home yet but the kitties should be ready to move out next week. I am already sad about it but I guess I should try to find more homes. I swear if they could stay this little and cuddly I would keep them all! ROFL

Ok, I feel better now. (reference to prior post made earlier today) uummmm.....sometimes there is no point in going to someone and bitching them out, even when you really, really want to. I vent here and can forget about the whole damn thing. There are some people that you can just go around and around with and nothing ever changes. Better to just let it go. I can get my digs in here and then smile serenely when said person pisses me off because I really don't want to start another world war in my family. (speaking of which still haven't heard from my sister, my last email, which I thought was very nice and understanding, has been ignored)

Last night my run to the casino was good. They offered me tickets to the concert they were going to but I didn't really want to go to a concert wearing a tuxedo with people I didn't know. Besides, the concert was George Thorogood ummm sorry I don't think I would pay to see him, lol....hey my ticket was free and I still didn't go. Instead I found a quiet corner and read a book. I got a $50.00 tip.... wooohooo...... plus my wages. Not bad for one night.

Good news about John L. (my new FIL). He had been told a few months ago that he was really sick and they have been measuring one of his arteries fearing an aneurysm which could have been fatal. They told him that he would need surgery but his health wasn't up to having a surgery so they were just going to wait. We were all very worried and anxious because they had to measure it again yesterday. Turns out the original results were from SOMEONE ELSE'S TEST!!! Can you believe that shit? All this worrying for nothing and the poor guy with the bad test was told that he was ok! Sheesh. Anyway, we are of course glad that he is ok.

OMG.....my whole damn post just disappeared. I had this entire post about my stepsister who has really been pissing me off lately. Maybe the thing disappeared for a reason because I was headed towards dangerous ground on issues that don't need to be mentioned here or anywhere else for that matter. Let me just say that I don't like her, she doesn't like me and the further we stay away from each other the better off we are. Although I do have to add that if by chance she happens to read this (because yes I know you have in the past): Leave me the hell alone. Do not come to me crying because your husband wasn't invited to John's bachelor party, I don't want to know that your little feelings are hurt because I looked at you wrong, and I don't give a shit that you "are bitter" over the fact that my daughters have a bedroom in the attic when you want it for yourself. For the record I do NOT go out of my way to hurt you because if I did your whole world would crumble around you. I am sick and tired of hearing that things aren't "fair". Grow up, Leave me alone and we will both be better off.

There is so much on my mind little things like what is going on here today, how much I enjoyed almost half a pint of my favorite ice cream last night, how much I hate going to Dairy Queen because they totally suck and I don't think I am going there again, and larger things like how annoyed I am with certain people in my life, how if they even look at me wrong I just might slap them, I am missing my sister and I am wondering how my brother is doing. There is also stuff going on here in the online world that is bothering me, I wonder how many people REALLY want to know the real people behind the blogs that they read, I know that recently I have posted real stuff, real stuff that hurts and is honestly how I feel and somehow only one person was able to comment on it and that was in an email no less. Don't get me wrong, I don't blog because I want comments, I mean I have been blogging way before blogging got all cute and country. To me blogging isn't about being cute and nice, it's about what is real in my life. Thanks to things said by one of the few people online who REALLY knows me and loves me anyway, I have realized that my blog is turning not exactly to fluff but close. I have started posts and then deleted them because I didn't want to offend anyone. I hate myself for that because if you know me in real life you know that I say what I think and I don't give a shit what anyone thinks about me. I have hidden myself behind cute little cuddly graphics and I am ready to make myself puke. But, my point is that I don't have time to get into it right now because I have a three year old who wants my attention, a house full of kitties that I need to find homes for and a tuxedo to put on so that I can transport a group of people to a concert.

Yes, I love cute country graphics and my house is filled with teddy bears and all things country but I am so much more than cute, country things, I am a mom, I am a wife, I am a wonderful lover and I enjoy sex more than I was raised to enjoy it, I hate to cook, I am a bitch when you piss me off and I cry during sad movies, I listen to loud rap music that rattles the windows in my minivan, I try not to swear in front of my children but sorry sometimes "darn" just doesn't cut it when someone cuts you off in traffic and then flips you off because you are in "their" way, I hate shopping and I love spending an entire day doing nothing but reading a good book, I drive limousines, I hate making my bed, I am the best mom, daughter and wife that I can be but I can be selfish, bratty, mean, nasty and ugly for no reason other than that I feel like it. I have never written in this blog to please others, if you look through my archives you will see that I have shown my true self again and again. I hate the fact that I feel as if I have been sugar coating my life, watching my language, hoping I don't step on any toes. The more I think about it the more pissed off I get at myself. This is me, this is my life, you may not always agree with what I say but at least you will always know that it is real. Don't worry, I don't expect anyone to comment about this post. It's kinda like a train wreck, you can't help but look and be thankful that it isn't you but if anyone should happen to see you watching you quickly look away. After all it has nothing to do with you, hopefully your life will never feel like a train wreck but if it does I hope you have the strength to live through it and don't feel too bad when people pretend like they don't see it. It's just human nature after all.

My :: brother's ship :: departed yesterday. I am so happy that my dad was able to drive up there and wave him off. I guess they (my dad, Michelle and the kids) were able to go on to his ship and get a tour and even eat there with him. After which my brother left with my dad to his hotel and they stood up the entire night talking. I can't imagine how hard it was for my dad to say goodbye. I am just so happy that my brother knew there was someone there waving goodbye to him. My dad took lots of pictures, I can't wait to see them.

Yesterday was spent melting in a tuxedo because I drove limo for an all day wedding. They needed two limo's so Nathan and I picked them up at 10:30am and didn't drop them off until 6:00pm. Most of which was spent waiting in between hair appointments and photos. Nathan is a newer driver although he has driven much more than I have. He was a lot of fun to talk to but I swear if he would have made one more joke about me being the "bosses daughter" I would have strangled him!

Not much going on today, just gonna relax with my little family and start getting things ready to leave on our honeymoon. I can't believe we leave in less than a week. I am so excited, 5 whole days alone! We have NEVER had 5 entire days to ourselves! Last night John and I stood up late talking, about past relationships and how different everything feels this time. When you get married at 18 you think you know what you are doing, you think you are in love and maybe some people are lucky enough to be right and even to make it work. In my case I went through the motions of what I thought I was supposed to do but I never felt as if my life fit. It was as if I wasn't really me but I had to play the part so that no one would know I was a fake. The best thing I ever did was to pack up my stuff and start a new life with my daughters. Divorce isn't always a pretty thing and I don't recommend breaking up marriages without trying but how can you possible be happily married when you don't even know who you are? I would much rather struggle through life alone than to have to pretend to be happy in a life and marriage that I hate. I am so thankful for the time that I was alone, my years as a single mom proved to me that I am strong, that I can do anything. The years I spent alone really taught me who I was and what kind of person I want to be. I was lucky to fall in love with someone who loves me for the person I am, not in spite of my faults but because of them and I am happily married, not because I couldn't live without John but because I know I could, thankfully I just don't have to.

I can not believe that we stood on the phone until 1am! LOL Thank you so much for calling, I really missed talking to you and I had way too much fun! And I don't care what you say! I do NOT sound like those people from the movie FARGO! ROFLMAO

Anthony woke me up way too early but he didn't want scrambled eggs, today he wanted waffles. Of course we don't have any waffles because I still haven't went to the grocery store! I so hate grocery shopping! It is like the most torturous thing I have to do. There are days when people pretty much annoy me in general but grocery stores seem to be the worst source of annoyment. I have actually talked myself out of grocery shopping many times, there have been times when John and I have been in the parking lot of the grocery store trying to talk ourselves into actually going in and at the same time we look at each other and say "let's go out to eat". I am not even exaggerating here. It is so sad!

Well, before I head off to do the zillion and one things I have to do today here is my Friday Five:

1. Where were you born?
Denver, Colorado

2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not?
Although I was born in Denver I was raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I did move back to Denver (Aurora actually) as an adult and although I miss the mountains and the awesome weather (remember I'm comparing it to weather in Fargo, North Dakota) I don't really miss all of the people, traffic, crime, etc. As for Wyoming, you couldn't pay me enough to ever go back there again! I can't imagine living in a town where I would constantly run into people from high school, how annoying would that be?

3. Where in the world do you feel the safest?
Right here at home in boring Fargo, North Dakota.

4. Do you feel you are well-traveled?
I don't know, more than some I guess, I've lived in California and have visited many states such as Arizona, Montanta, Utah, Nevada, Alaska; I've been to Canada and Mexico, but I've never been to Europe and I would love to go to Ireland some day so I guess I would have to say no, I don't feel as if I am well-traveled.

5. Where is the most interesting place you've been?
I guess interesting I would have to say Arizona, I spent a week there with a friend and we spent the entire time visiting old Native American cave and cliff dwellings. We had a guided tour through this awesome canyon which was just amazing because there were so many cliff dwellings that were still intact. I think that was definitely the most interesting place I've ever been to although I must say Alaska is the most gorgeous state I've ever been to. If I could live anywhere in the US I would have to pick Alaska.

Now I remember why I don't eat peanut butter. Blech! You know I really need to go grocery shopping when I resort to eating peanut butter for lunch!

On Tuesday Anthony and I spent the morning at the zoo. It's not very big, but hey we're in Fargo, North Dakota, what do you expect? lol We had fun feeding the goats and ducks and riding the carousel. Anthony is so afraid of the horses because he thinks they go up too high, so we sat together on the little bench and went round and round. We were the only people riding because it was so early and the nice lady running the ride gave us an extra long ride. Anthony wanted to go again but Mommy needed a break. hehe It was almost noon and after hours of walking and walking we were both getting tired and it was sooo hot that day, we took a little break and I bought him a cup of dippin dots. He has had them at the circus and he loves them, but it's so funny to see him eat them because he kept trying to pick up the little balls with his fingers and is confused when they melt instantly. After the zoo we met John in the park on his lunch break and had a quick lunch before it got too unbearably hot.

Yesterday was spent getting stuff done around the house. It was too hot to go anywhere so I was looking for a movie to watch when I came across this one. Jorge had bought it for the girls before we had a DVD player so I forgot we even had it. Anthony and I watched it together and couldn't stop laughing, it was so funny! He liked it so much he had to watch it again later in the evening. The girls got this boxed set for Christmas so I think I know what Anthony and I will be doing this evening. John has been working in the limo shop late every night. This weather is so hard on the cars and of course people expect a car crammed full of people to cool to 70 degrees. Like that's ever gonna happen! I have been trying to be very patient about it....okay, I've been rather bitchy about it, but damn it, we haven't spent any time together and I am starting to feel extremely neglected! This weekend I am driving limo's, I have an all day wedding on Saturday, which I am dreading. Hopefully Sunday we will get some time together.

Poor Anthony keeps asking for the girls. For the first two days he kept thinking they were in their room and wanted to go upstairs to wake them up. I keep telling him they are with Jorge, far away in California where Grandpa Gilbert lives. I think it's harder for him to understand because he didn't see them get on an airplane like with my dad or Gilly. He saw them get in a car and drive away. I think he is finally starting to understand though because he found one of Danielle's little toys in his room and he told me he was going to save it for her. Well, I'm off to scrub my bathroom. Sounds like lot's of fun......wanna help? hehe

I talked to the girls. They had a nice flight and already went to Jack in the Box, their favorite place to eat in California other than In-N-Out, we don't have either of them here in North Dakota. Danielle was so excited when they went to Jack in the Box, she got me not one but two presents! ROFL I can't wait to put it on my car hehe I told her Grandma would have to put one on the limo and she thought it was a good idea. I'm sure my mom will agree....ROFL

Anthony and I spent the morning fingerpainting, playing games and baking cupcakes. I forgot how enjoyable it is for him and I to some time alone. He is getting so big and he has such a funny sense of humor, he is always making me laugh. We baked cupcakes in my new toaster oven (wedding gift from Gilly) and were only able to bake a few. Hopefully John won't notice that we baked anything because we didn't save him one. lol

I ordered candles from Missy, I can't wait to get them! Well, now that my shopping binge is out of the way I'm off to visit my favorite blogs. :-) Happy Monday!

My girls are gone, I will be counting down the days until August 12 when they will finally be back home. I hate when they leave. The house is always so empty and quiet. Their dad picked them up at 1pm and we all went together to eat before they left.
They drove to Minneapolis to catch a 7:15pm flight. At this moment they are on an airplane headed to the Los Angeles International Airport. Anthony went to my mom's house for the afternoon so after they left John and I came home and took a nap. I really didn't want to do much else, although I did already write them a little letter.

I talked to my dad this afternoon. He and Michelle were driving back from Carmel. He said it was completely gorgeous and they had a wonderful weekend there. They are hoping to be able to drive up to Seattle to see Gilly depart. From what we have heard the deployment is set for July 20th. I hope they can make it, I would hate for him to go and not have someone there waving goodbye to him.

What the heck....although I am probably going to be the only person in North Dakota! ROFL Here is my blogchalk:
Google! DayPop! This is my blogchalk: English, United States, North Dakota, Fargo, Lisa, Female, 26-30!

Last night we took the kids here to eat. It was so much fun. Anthony loved it. Except for I bought him a blue slushy drink and he drank it way too fast and he sat there shaking like a leaf with blue lips. The inside of the restaurant is so cool. They have space alien stuff everywhere and the food is also very good. Of course the kids love the video games best. Brittany won a 400 ticket jackpot so she was of course very excited, Danielle on the other hand said that she was "jipped" with only 100 tickets. Anthony won three tickets and was very happy! ROFL

Earlier in the day I had taken them out to visit the new friends we made while Brittany was in her acting workshop. I think I blogged about the woman with the foster children. She gave us her address and invited us out to her farm to visit. We had so much fun. The kids loved seeing all of the animals they got to pet the horses, goats, cows, kitties and puppy, they also had a llama, pig, turkeys, geese (mean nasty creatures!), and ducks. Also on her farm she has this cute little play house for the kids. It is decorated with old country/victorian furniture. It is so adorable. There are racks of old dress up clothes for the girls with tons of jewelry, make up and hats. There is a sitting area with victorian style couches and a kitchen area with an old fashioned stove and tables draped in gorgeous floor length table cloths. There is an antique hutch filled with dishes for tea parties and a working fridge stocked with popsicles and juice. She keeps it air conditioned and has a fan blowing so that the girls can play in it no matter how hot it is. I just wanted to move right in! If her doll house was like that I am sure you can imagine how beautiful her real house is! It was also gorgeous and we enjoyed a long visit in her cozy kitchen while the kids all played together.

Next week she is hosting a petting zoo/party for a head start program for the children of migrant workers in this area. She has done this for a few years, they give the kids pony rides on her miniature horses, do a petting zoo, hay ride, face painting, it sounds like a huge event. She donates all of her time and also provides drinks and snacks. The whole thing sounded so cool, I of course offered to help. She was excited to have an extra hand to help out so I will be out there Tuesday and Thursday. It will be nice to have something to keep me busy right after the girls leave because that is always a hard week for me.

The girls' dad will be here tomorrow :-( I am always happy for them because I know how much they miss him and I know they will have so much fun, but once they are gone I cry like crazy and feel sorry for myself. At least now I have Anthony, it was really hard before I had him and I was childless for most of the summer. Right now the girls are cleaning their room and John is working on limo's. Once they are done we are going into town. We are going to take them here to play miniature golf and ride GoKarts. Later tonight the girls are going to have a sleepover with their best friends while I try to pack all of their stuff. We still haven't taken our honeymoon, we are hoping to get away in a few weeks. We are planning on leaving July 26th. I still can't get used to signing my name as Sullivan and John keeps asking me if I feel married. What in the world does married feel like? We have been together so long I can't pinpoint any thing that has changed other than my name. Maybe after the honeymoon I will feel married! LOL

We took my brother to the airport today. He will be heading out to the Middle East later this month. Today has been such a shitty day. I hate when my brother leaves, it is so hard to see him go. On top of that I tried to call my sister because I have been feeling so shitty over what happened and she changed her freakin' phone number! Everything is so simple for her. She can just change her phone number and forget that the rest of us exist. I hate when she does this. What makes her think that being part of a family has nothing to do with her? As long as everyone is kissing her ass she is perfectly happy but as soon as the whole freaking world doesn't revolve around her she just throws a little temper tantrum and forgets about the people that really care about her. I can't count the number of times that she has just decided to quit talking to everyone in our family. Does she think that she is the only person in this world that has had a screwed up childhood? Get over it! It wasn't that damn bad and if it was get same therapy and move on. Maybe I am just jealous because it could never be that easy for me. No matter how much my mom pisses me off or my dad makes me want to scream, I couldn't just cut them out of my life. I can pretty much guarantee that it will be well over a year before she will speak to any of us again. In one month my brother will be stuck on a Navy ship halfway across the world and would give anything to be here with his family and my sister who lives in the same town with us won't even bother to pick up the phone to tell us all to go to hell.

I have so much to blog about, both very, very good and some very bad. I wish I would have had time to blog about all of the good before all of the other shit happened. Because even as I think about my wedding and how beautiful it was I have a hard time pushing what happened afterwards out of my mind. I will tell you now about the wedding, because that is what I really want to share with you. The rest can wait until later. Let me just say first that I am fine, the kids are fine and John and I are very happy.

The morning of the wedding I woke up early but still had so much to do. I had to finish printing off wedding programs and I still had to pack my bag for that night. I don't know if I mentioned it but John and I are taking a honeymoon in a few weeks after the girls are in California with their dad. The night of our wedding though John reserved us a really nice room at the Ramada. Anyway, I was rushing around, nervous trying not to forget anything. My dad called twice to find out where I was at, I finally had everything together and ran out the door. The sky was gray and cloudy, there was a cool breeze, which felt good because it had been unbearably hot days before. When I got to my mom's I went into the dining room where everyone was. My brother and Sandy were cutting up fruit for the fruit bowl my brother carved out of the watermelon. It was really beautiful. My brother asked me what I thought of it and I told him it was beautiful. He started acting all pissed off that after all that work I couldn’t say anything better than that. I thought he was mad that I wasn't there to help earlier and that made me mad, before I could say anything else my sister came up behind me and asked me for a hug. I turned around and standing next to my sister was Missy. I haven't seen her in 10 years. I can't even tell you how I felt, I have never been so shocked or so happy. We both hugged and cried for about 10 minutes. I couldn't stop crying. Missy has never been on an airplane, she flew all the way from Colorado for my wedding. My dad and sister paid to fly Missy here and that was my wedding gift. Isn't that incredible?? I think I mentioned before that having Sandy here was a wonderful surprise, but the one other person I really wanted next to me was Missy. Missy is my dad's little sister, she is one year older than me. I can't remember my childhood without remembering hers because we were inseparable. I never have and never will love anyone the way I love Missy.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. We decorated tables, our band called in sick but thankfully Bill called his friend Oscar who is a DJ and he was able to set up that afternoon. All morning was spent running around trying to get everything set up outside. Speaking of outside, remember the lovely clouds I mentioned in the morning? Well, it was now afternoon and they weren’t going away! Everyone kept telling me not to worry, it wouldn't dare rain. Larry showed up and did everyone's hair and then it was about an hour before the wedding and it started raining. Thankfully Oscar's stuff was under a canopy and the beautifully decorated tables were under another canopy. Someone remembered the wedding arch that took hours to decorate the night before and put it under the canopy with the tables. From what I have heard everyone was panicking but I was completely calm. Missy and I got ready together in my mom's room and I just blocked the rest of it out. Everything other than Anthony’s screaming as Bill tried to coax him into his tuxedo! LOL

Finally my sister told me that I had to decide what to do, it wasn't going to stop raining. We decided to move the chairs from under the willow tree to under the large canopy where all of the tables were. My brothers friends, my friend Heather and Jessica's mom Kathy all scrambled in the rain running across my mom's huge yard getting soaked and wet moving the chairs from one end to the other. I was still completely calm, I didn't care about the rain as long as I was still able to get married outside. The music started and my wedding began.

My dad and I were standing in the hallway watching the wedding march begin. The rain was pouring down and two of my brother's friends, April and Leesha, stood in the rain along with Kathy, holding umbrella's up so that the wedding party could go from the house to the canopy. I really don't remember much after that point, I mean I do but it was all such a blur, only parts of it stand out in my mind. I remember walking towards the canopy with my dad as he held the umbrella over my head. I remember seeing everyone crowded under the canopy watching me walk across the lawn. As I entered the canopy I could see John standing at the other end next to the wedding arch. My family was all there waiting for me. Halfway down the aisle I saw John's dad waving at me from his wheelchair, I stopped and gave him a hug. My dad walked me the rest of the way and we hugged before I went to stand beside John. The pastor began the ceremony with a prayer and then Brittany started her solo. Oscar had a cordless microphone, which she was able to use. She sounded incredible. Halfway through her song the rain started pouring down in buckets and she just started singing louder. Everyone had tears in their eyes when she was done. The ceremony was very simple, we exchanged vows and then rings, we kissed and it was over. Not only was the ceremony over but the rain had stopped!

Since everyone was still crowded under the canopy, John and I went to greet our guests instead of having a receiving line. When I hugged his sisters they all said the same thing, the rain was there because John's mom was there. John's mom had always loved the rain, when it was raining she would open all of the windows in the house. When she passed away a few years ago, we couldn't bury her at her funeral because there was too much rain, we had to wait until later to finally bury her. It rained days up until the day of her funeral. At the time, everyone said it was her way of letting us know she was there. For it to rain on my wedding day and then suddenly stop right after the ceremony, was a very meaningful moment. John and I both know she was there with us and the rain was her way of wishing us the best.

I hate shoes, especially high heels, so shortly after the ceremony, I took off my shoes and my nylons and I spent the rest of the day in my long wedding dress with the wet grass between my toes. The reception was a lot of fun, we were able to roll out the dance floor and after we ate, we cut the cake and as everyone was enjoying the cake we took pictures and then we danced. I danced with John of course first and then with my dad and then with my brother. As it started getting dark it was time to start the fireworks. Before my brother would begin, he had to say a few words. I wish I could have wrote down all that he said. He thanked everyone for being there for my wedding, he talked about my mom's bday the day before, he talked about John's dad who was in WWII and then he talked about how proud he is to serve his country. Again everyone was in tears. I went to hug my brother and thank him for his wonderful words when Oscar began the last dance. My brother and I started dancing and the floor quickly filled up as "I'm proud to be an American" began to play. Halfway through the song, I danced with John and he held me close as everyone danced and sang together.

The fireworks began and didn't stop until long after John and I left in the limo to go to the hotel. Everyone had a wonderful day and the next few days were spent with my brother and sister, my dad, Missy and the kids. Unfortunately, Sandy got a call from her sisters during the reception and was told that her mom was in the hospital. They think she had another stroke. The day after the wedding I drove her to the airport feeling sad that we didn't have more time together. I haven't heard from her yet, but hopefully her mom is doing well.

Everything for the wedding and the days after were wonderful except for one thing. My sister. Whenever people were visiting and she wasn't the center of attention she would get mad and say something rude making everyone feel uncomfortable. She did the same thing the last time my dad was here for my brother's graduation. The last day my dad was here we all went here together, except for my sister, she refused to go. We went anyway and had fun but not as much fun as we would have had because we knew she was pissed off. Sure enough, she called my dad several times throughout the day making my dad feel bad. When we finally got home my mom was waiting and said that Maria wanted us to meet her at the bar where she had spent the afternoon drinking. I didn't go, Missy and I stood at my mom's house with my brother and the kids. But my mom, dad and John went. My sister was extremely rude to John and to my dad. They only stood about an hour because Bill was fixing dinner. My sister refused to come over to eat so we figured that was the end of that.

Unfortunately not. Shortly before we ate, my sister pulled up in her car and went into the house. She didn't talk to anyone, she refused to even look at me. She was extremely drunk and you could just tell she was looking for a fight. Unfortunately, she got one. My mom had been drinking too and they were both pushing each other's buttons. The next thing I knew, my sister hit my mom and as I scrambled to get all of my kids out of the house before they knew what was going on everyone was screaming and yelling. John stood outside calming down the kids as I went back in the house to see what I could do. At this point my dad was outside fighting with my sister and then my sister left and things calmed down somewhat. I still feel sick as I remember that day. My dad was ready to get the next flight back to California and he did fly out about 5am. Missy and I had one more day together before she had to leave but I don't think I was much fun because I was still so upset by everything that had happened. I haven't talked to my sister and at this time I don't plan on it. She had no reason to do what she did, not in front of my kids. I am very angry and hurt because no matter how much I try to keep her happy she is always jealous, always full of anger, and she is never happy unless she is causing turmoil.

I love my sister but at this point in my life I just want to concentrate on my marriage and on my children, I don't have time for her petty games. I know that before long things will be fine between her and my mom and I will probably be the bad guy because I can't so easily put it behind me.

On a happier note, I have one more week with the girls before they go to California to visit their dad for a month. We have to get all of their stuff planned and will of course be spending time with my brother who will be here for a few more days. Yesterday we took Missy to the airport. It rained all day, which had a very calming effect, and today will be spent writing "Thank You's" for all of the lovely wedding gifts we received. I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July and thank you again for all of the warm wedding wishes. :-) Hugs from the new Mrs. John Sullivan.

OMG…… you won’t believe what happened to me last night! On Monday we picked up my dad and then we had plans on Tuesday to pick up my mom’s friend Jenny who was coming in for the wedding. Jenny has been planning on visiting my mom for quite some time so the wedding (plus my mom’s bday is today) seemed like the right time to visit. Anyway, her plane didn’t arrive until 11:15pm so I ran errands all day and then I suggested to my mom that I have John watch the kids so that we could take Jenny out to have a drink. Around 9pm I was just exhausted, on top of that I had nerves and allergies hit me, so pretty much I felt like shit. I fell asleep on my mom’s couch. I woke up in time to pull my hair back and wash my face and get in the limo to pick up my mom’s friend. I looked as bad as I felt but who cared? It was just Jenny a person I have known my entire childhood.

My mom, sister and my dad all went to the airport to meet her. As we walk in my mom says she forgot her camera and ran outside to the car. I remember thinking…who cares? Jenny is just about to get off the plane and why would my mom have to take a picture right there? Why wouldn’t she wait until the limo was there?? Because you can’t get close to the gate my sister and I were watching people walk through the gate through a huge window. My sister asked what Jenny looked like, all the time I am watching for her and describing her to my sister, I can’t see her. My dad who was on the phone with his wife was standing behind me and I heard him say, “I just saw her but I don’t think she recognized her.” I look at my dad and look around knowing that I hadn’t seen Jenny get off the plane. I turn again and completely freeze. Standing there is Sandy, my very best friend since I was 14. I knew it was her but my mind wouldn’t process the fact that she was standing there so I just froze. Then from what I can remember, I let out a huge scream and started hugging her so hard, we were both standing there crying. My sister said she even started crying as we both stood there hugging and crying for over five minutes.

Sandy had only been on an airplane once in her life, and this was her very first flight by herself. She lives in Wyoming and had to drive to Denver to catch her flight, then she had to switch planes in Minneapolis and ride in a little puny plane to Fargo. She had to arrange for someone to care for her three boys and she had to take time off of work. I still can’t believe that she would do all of that just for me! When I was in the 7th grade at Johnson Jr. High in Cheyenne Wyoming, Sandy and I had a Spanish class together. She was a cheerleader and everyone was in love with her, she was so cute and tiny in her little uniform and she never went anywhere without a crowd of friends with her. I was the smart and quiet kid that people forgot was there, I wore glasses and a ponytail most of the time. Sandy and I didn’t know each other until we were put together in Spanish class because we were the only two students who did so poorly in Spanish that we were not going to some special field trip because we were flunking the class. I was devastated; I had never done so poorly in a class in my life! The funny thing was that Sandy and I were the only Hispanic kids in that class! ROFL

Anyway, towards the end of 8th grade I somehow grew into myself with the help of my best friend Karen, I started figuring out clothes, makeup and hair and I discovered boys. Sandy and I still weren’t friends but she was friends with Karen also. That summer before 9th grade Karen had us both over to her house and Sandy and I just clicked. In 9th grade, Sandy and I found that we had 3 classes plus lunch together and ever since that first day of school we were inseparable. We had lots of fun, got into lots of trouble, and stood by each other no matter what. After I moved to California in my Junior year of high school we always kept in touch and even when we were both married and having children we kept in touch. We don’t talk every day but when we do talk we spend hours on the phone to make up for it. We have been there for each other through many pregnancies, through the loss of one baby, through 2 divorces and countless tears and even more laughs. If I could pick any one person to be here at my wedding other than Missy (my aunt and childhood sister) Sandy would be the person I would pick. I still can’t believe that my very best friend in the whole wide world is here!

On another note, the wedding is tomorrow!!!! I feel so not ready! I have so much to do today! I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July and I will be back soon. Thanks again to all of you for your lovely wedding wishes! When I return I will be an old married woman……can you believe that? ROFL

Graphic by MLL

My brother will be here today!!!!!!! I am so excited! Right now he is stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in Washington. He will be here for a little over a week. I know the time is going to go by way too fast but for now I am just going to enjoy having my little brother home! I don't know if I have blogged much about Gilly, he is the most awesome brother anyone could ask for. Well, to be honest when he was younger he was a major pain in the ass, and as a teenager he was even worse but even when he was pissing me off he had his moments where he was just so sweet. I don't know of many teenage boys who would hug and kiss their old married sister in front of all their friends. When Gilly went into the Navy we were so very proud but at the same time it was so hard to watch him get on the plane. I wrote him almost every day while he was in boot camp, he has always been strong willed, always questioning authority, so I just knew boot camp was hell for him. His letters home were hard to read at first, he hated it so much.

When he came home the change in him was amazing, somehow towards the end something just clicked for him and he actually appreciated what he went through in boot camp. Within a year he was a petty officer. We are all so very proud of him and the only hard part is that we miss him so much! Shortly after his visit here he will be going overseas. Of course I am proud that he is serving our country but if I am honest I am scared out of my mind. I worry about him so much, in my mind he is always the cool little kid with an earring and spiked hair who would go with me to parties at my friends house and make everyone laugh, the annoying teenager who would get pissed off at me because I wouldn't buy him and his friends beer, the scared 18 year old who cried as he boarded the plane on his way to bootcamp surrounded by his family and tons of his friends.

This November Gil will be turning 21, hard to believe! He will be spending his birthday away from his family and friends in another country far from home. I get sad just thinking of it. But for the next week or so he is ours and I plan to enjoy every single minute!

I had all kinds of fun stuff to post about the bachelor party last night but I think I've embarrassed John enough! ROFL I will just say that his night on the town even outdid my bachelorette party and I had an impromptu ~down to the boxers~ strip tease at the I-Beam (our local "alternative" bar) by three very gorgeous but very gay guys. So if his night was even crazier than mine I'm sure you can use your imagination! ROFL

We took the kids out to eat as our last night as a family before wedding guests arrive and things get really busy. We had a wonderful evening and then we came home and guess what I found sitting right inside my door? A beautiful, gorgeous basket of flowers from Liz!!! OMG, what a wonderful surprise!! Aren't they beautiful?! Thank you so so much Liz! Our wedding day will be filled with friends and family and I hope you know that even though you aren't here in person, you will be in my heart just like you are right there next to me! And the same goes for you too! :-)

I didn't plan to take the above picture it just came out that way as I was taking pictures of our flowers. I just had to share, it seemed fitting to show a picture of John's mom and dad. Aren't they good looking? :-) They were married over 55 years before John's mom passed away.

Thank you again for thinking of us Liz it really means a lot to both of us! ((((((HUGS))))))

All I can say is at least I had the decency to drag my butt to bed after my bachelorette party!

I got home around 2am after my limo run last night, Jessica went home and I undressed (I already hate that tuxedo, it is way too hot!), did the usual nightly ritual of teeth brushing and face washing and then went to bed to read a book listening for you-know-who to come stumbling down the stairs. I have no idea what time I fell asleep but I do know that I left the lamp on so that somebody didn't fall onto the floor as they missed the bed. I woke up at 7am with the light giving me a headache (I HATE sleeping with lights on) and an empty bed.

I wish I could say that I turned off the light and went back to sleep, unfortunately, I have to admit that I jumped out of bed freaked out that our party boy wasn't home. I ran to the bathroom to see if he had passed out there, I even checked in Anthony's room before I called my mom's house to see if she was home. Why would I do that? Because my mom threw his bachelor party. ROFL I didn't have time to explain it all yesterday. See, John's best man is his brother-in-law who has been very busy and didn't have time to throw a party. To be honest, John doesn't have many friends, he isn't what you would call a "people person", he pretty much dislikes everybody equally. LOL So my mom and a few select people (I have no idea who) rented a limo and took the groom-to-be out on the town. Is it weird to have your future MIL at your bachelor party? Not if it's MY mom. She parties better than anyone I know and I'm sure he had a very wild night complete with stripper bar.

Okay, back to this morning, I call my mom's house to see if she is home. Bill answers and says, "No, she isn't home". So I do what a normal person would do, I panic! I start to go outside to see if the limo is there in one piece but before I get to the door, the phone rings and it is Bill, he found my mom sleeping in the spare room. I of course demand that he wakes her up because I want to know what in the hell she did to my future husband! As he is waking her up I am walking outside to see if maybe he has passed out on the front step, or in the limo, or something! My head is starting to throb, am I pissed off or worried? I'm really not sure. Finally, my mom comes to the phone to tell me that the love of my life is passed out in her basement after spending the last part of the night (or should I say early part of the morning) with his head in the toilet. ROFLMAO My poor mom, wait a minute I'm sure she had something to do with it! My mom didn't want to send him home that way so she took care of him for me, wasn't that sweet? What a way to bond with your future mother in law! hehe I don't think I even want to know what went on last night, I'm just glad he's in one piece and now I can give him major shit because he insisted as he walked out the door last night that he wasn't going to drink until he was sick. Yeah right! ROFL

I have a busy day today, first I am off to take Britt to her last acting workshop. Today they are giving a performance which should be fun, then I get to pick up my tuxedo, hopefully it will finally be here because I have my first limo run tonight! I also have been trying to get my carpets shampooed and Jessica is stopping by to watch the kids tonight because while I am at the casino John is having his bachelor party. I'm sure I'll have lots to post tomorrow! ROFL....wanna bet he drags his sorry butt home to spend the rest of the night in the bathroom next to the toilet?! Sorry sweetie, but we both know when it comes to drinking you just can't handle it, the last time you drank was on your birthday and we both know how that went. Or did you forget? How 'bout a reminder....hmmm? ROFL Does being on the side of the road, hanging on to the rear end of the car with your head in the ditch ring any bells? How about the flashing police lights of the state trooper who pulled up behind us to see if everything was ok? Still not recalling huh? ROFLMAO I'm sure Jenny remembers since she is the one who picked us up and gave us a ride and had to explain the situation to the police officer in her pajamas! hehe Sorry honey, you know I'm only kidding, I hope you have lots and lots of fun tonight! :-)

Oh and here is my Friday Five
When was the last time you...

1. ...sent a handwritten letter? I recently sent out all of my thank you notes for all of the lovely gifts I received for my bachelorette party, does that count? Oh, and a few months ago I sent a letter to Sandy, my best friend since 8th grade who doesn't have email and lives in Wyoming.

2. ...baked something from scratch or made something by hand?I think Christmas was the last time I baked something from scratch when the kids and I baked tons of cookies, the rest of the time I am lazy and bake stuff out of a box.

3. ...camped in a tent? Wow, it's been awhile. I would guess not since '93, Brittany was only a couple of years old and Jorge (exhusband) and I went camping with my dad for Father's Day. We were in Colorado and it was one of the best Father's Days I can remember, we really should do the camping thing more often but when we go to the lakes here we stay in John's family's lake cabin so there is no need for a tent because there we have a nice comfy bed to sleep in.

4. ...volunteered your time to church, school, or community? I co-lead Danielle's Brownie troop, so I spend every other Tuesday at her school with fourteen energetic 2nd and 3rd graders. I am also always there for school parties and although I don't make it as often as I would like, I do attend occasional PTO meetings. Once in a while I am a "Monday Morning" mom, which is a group of mom's who hang out together in the gym and do whatever projects the teachers leave for us like bulletin boards, making booklets, little projects they don't have time for. I seem to spend a lot of time coloring there. It's actually quite fun. :-)

5. ...helped a stranger? Last week an older woman pulled into my driveway driving a mini van and asked if I could help her figure out her air conditioner. I showed her how to work it and she went happily on her way.

I woke up early this morning (5am) and sobbed through the last few chapters of Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I love this book! It has really made me think about things that have been at the surface of my mind that I have pushed back for years. What is it about mom's and daughters that can rip out your heart at the same time that it soothes your soul? How can you love someone and hate them at the same time? What unforgivable sins am I committing now that my daughters will hold against me for the rest of their lives, or should I say my life?

Reading this book takes me back to last summer when my mom's sisters made a visit. That was the first and only time I had spent with all of them together with me as an adult and for some strange reason I had never felt more like a child. Many nights were spent until the wee hours of the morning drinking beer as I listened to them spin the tales of the past. Listening as their spanish tumbled over their english as they took me back to the past. Watching them cry over the mental and physical abuse (dare I use that word?) that they lived through growing up in a dysfunctional family with a cold mother and an abusive father. They laughed over the memories even as the tears still ran down their face. Comparing my childhood to theirs I was blessed but how many years from now will I sit at a table with my own children sharing a beer as I cry over the sorrows of my childhood? Do we cry because the past is so terrible, or is it because no matter how terrible the past is we still yearn for our childhood. The one that we lived through and the one that never was.

I wish to share childhood memories with my own sister but she has no memory of our childhood. Was it really so bad that she blocked it out? Was it so unimportant to her that she no longer wishes to remember? I wish we could compare notes, do you remember hiding in the closet while our parents fought? Do you remember me promising to take you away from all of the fighting and drinking? Do you remember me trying to cover your face with a pillow because your snoring was so loud I couldn't hear every cruel and bitter word that was hurled between our parents and I just knew that if I missed a sentence, if I didn't hear everything going on something bad would happen. Something worse than laying on the cold floor, curled up next to my door as I heard the sound of my mom's head knocking against the thin plywood wall of the cramped trailer we lived in as dad hit her. Did you sleep so sound because you knew that the nights were for our mother's torture just as the days were for ours?

As an adult I can reason out the lashes of the belt against my body as a way for a tired, confused and hurt woman to have some control in her life. I can hear the bitter words and know they weren't really directed at me but more towards her own broken soul. As a child there was no understanding as to what I had done so horribly wrong to deserve the feel of the lash as the leather belt stung across my legs, the feel of the buckle meeting the middle of my back. My mom and I have talked about the past in guarded conversations, we have come to an understanding. We love each other more than life itself, we have shared things that I could never put down on paper, they are held secret in my heart sometimes bringing me to tears sometimes making me wish for just a moment I could be the adult, I could be the one to comfort my mom as I was never comforted. I have gone through my life holding secrets close, never wanting to deal with the pain they would cause.

As I read this book it brought them all crashing down on me as my life intertwined with Vivi's and Sidda's. My family might have been eating enchilada's instead of crawfish but the story is the same. The hurt is the same just as the joy is the same. I have realized that there are things I may never understand, questions that may never be answered. I want to go to this movie with my sister and my mom, I went to sit in the dark with tears streaming down my face as I watch my life on the screen. I want to sit next to my sister as she cries for the memories she no longer carries with her and most of all I want to sit next to my mother as she cries for the past, not for my lost childhood but rather for her own because no matter what I had to go through I know that I have a mom and a dad who love me more than anything in the world and that is more than my mom will ever be able to say. As a mom I have made mistakes, just as all mom's have made mistakes, but I hope that when the time comes, that when my own daughters are mommy's they will look back to the past with a grain of salt and know that I did the best I could as a mom and as a person. I hope the Ya-Ya blood in my veins passes down to them binding them close to me even as they wish to break away.

On my wedding day I will be surrounded by my family, the people I love the most who have the power to hurt me the most, I will be starting a new chapter in my life but I will never forget the old one. Someday I will take it out and share it with my grandchildren, I will show them the person I was and hopefully be able to live with the person I grow to be. Isn't that all any of us can ask for?

Okay, believe it or not, I really do have other things to do, but I am doing what I do best. Procrastinate. The more time I spend here the less time I have to freak out that there is only ONE WEEK left until the wedding! Okay, I am not stressing out (much), I am just going to pretend that I don't see that stupid little countdown on the side of my page and I am going to just sit here and waste what little time I have left before I am skipping down that freakin aisle! ROFLMAO <~~ I am not laughing because it is funny, but rather because I am getting a bit hysterical! Can you tell? hehe Anyways.... here are some things I just know you just can't wait to know about me!

10 Bands You've Seen Live
1. The Eagles
2. Metallica
3. Bush
4. No Doubt
5. Poison
6. REO Speedwagon
7. Van Halen
8. Styx
9. Beach Boys (do they count?)
10. The Judds (I was 14 and forced to go with my mom)

9 Things You're Looking Forward To
1. My wedding
2. My brother and dad getting here for the wedding
3. Our honeymoon
4-9 Umm...ok, I know there are supposed to be like 6 more of these things, but to be honest, I can't seem to think past the wedding! lol So, let's just skip this one for now.

8 Things You Wear Daily
1. My engagement ring
2. My diamond heart necklace from John
3. My gold bracelet from my brother
4. Mango Mandarin lotion from Bath & Body Works
5. Secret deodorant
6. Moisturizer
7. A pushup bra (hey, I've breastfed 3 children!)
8. Contact lenses

7 Things That Annoy You
1. Road construction
2. Mosquito bites
3. My stupid chair that squeaks
4. Bad hair days
5. Junk mail
6. The fact that I am always late
7. The sound of someone chewing on ice

6 Things You Touch Every Day
1. My keyboard
2. The steering wheel to my van
3. John *wicked grin*
4. The coffee pot
5. My CD changer
6. The mailbox

5 Things You Do Every Day
1. Eat dinner as a family
2. Talk to my mom
3. Take a shower
4. Play with the kids
5. Check email

4 People You'd Want to Spend More Time With or Hang out With
1. Gilly
2. Addie
3. John
4. My dad

3 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
1. American Pie
2. Pulp Fiction
3. There's Something About Mary

2 Of Your Favorite Songs At This Moment
1. Eminem ~ Without Me
2. Avril Lavigne ~ Complicated

1 Person You Could Spend the Rest of Your Life With
1. John.......this had better be the right answer considering we have only 7 days to change our minds! lol

Above questions swiped from Laura who found them elsewhere

I am covered in mosquito bites! I look like I have the freakin chicken pox! Thank goodness there aren't any on my face, but my legs have been eaten alive! I am NOT doing any more yard work. I am done, no more! I haven't been online much, just working on wedding stuff. Everything is actually done. I just have to pick up my dress from the cleaners next week.......OMG, I take that back. I keep forgetting to drop off the marriage license with the pastor so that his secretary can get it ready. I was supposed to have it there last week, but I got lost trying to find the church and just gave up. I was hoping to not have to go into town today but I guess not. At least John fixed the air conditioning in the van because it is way too hot outside.

The girls are getting excited to go visit their dad, I am already dreading it. I hate when they leave, it is so quiet and the house seems so empty. He hasn't given me the exact date but I think they are leaving a week after the wedding. John and I are going on our honeymoon about a week after they leave. My mom is keeping Anthony and we are going on a roadtrip to Wisconsin. I went on a trip there once when John and I first met and I remember thinking how much he would enjoy it. I love roadtrips, we have never been on one just the two of us so I am very excited. :-)

Okay, I just had to do this, stolen from Laura. I went to Google and typed in "Lisa is" and this is what I came up with, other than of course the porno sites.....there sure are a lot of porno stars named Lisa! lol If you try your own name be sure and keep the quotes around it when you do your search.

Lisa is a loser

Lisa is part of NASA's Structure and Evolution of the Universe

Lisa is currently working on her third Forgotten Realms project

Lisa is Editor-in-Chief of eLearn

Lisa is an international non-profit organization

Lisa is likely to revolutionise the world of wealth

Lisa is not a match-making service

Lisa is perhaps currently alive

Lisa is forever smiling, Mona Lisa that is :-)

Lisa is a festival

Lisa is a valuable reference tool

I seriously could keep going with this but I think you get the point. :-) Thanks for the sweet posts regarding my earlier rant today. I feel much better. It's amazing what a perfectly cooked steak can do for you. I hope you are all having a wonderful night. I'm going to sit on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and read my new book, and yes Liz so far I really like it. (Yes, I notice the countdown and no I am not getting stressed out, well not too much anyway lol) *NiTeNiTe*

I hate this weather, it has been so damn hot and muggy, I could just scream! Everyone has been crabby today, the girls and I are driving each other nuts, only Anthony seems to be happy as he plays with his little train set. We spent the morning in the park and this little bratty kid threw sand in Anthony's eyes, NOT on accident, he just picked it up and before I could grab Anthony, he threw it right in his face. He wasn't a little kid, he was at least 4! I don't know why people can't watch their kids instead of sitting there gossiping with other mom's. The mom just acted like she didn't see anything while Anthony is crying because he can't see. Maybe I overreacted, I don't know, I didn't say anything but I'm sure she knew what I was thinking by the look I gave her. We left shortly after that and then took the girls to get their hair cut. We ran some errands for the wedding and wouldn't you know it, the damn airconditioning in the van decided to stop working. You know, I am about to marry a mechanic! Why does everyone's car seem to get fixed but mine?! Sheesh! So there I was with three kids, trying to get things done as quickly as possible which is of course impossible because every road in this freaking town is under construction! Let's just say my day was less than pleasant! I hate to say this because our summers are short enough here as it is, but I realllly wish it were snowing! Maybe I should just go visit Aimee where it is always Christmas. :-)

John came home and the first thing I said to him was, "Are you sure you want to come in here?" Not a very pleasant greeting lol but he was brave enough to come in. Poor thing. I had to rant and rave about my van not working right among other things, I swear, there are some days I think he must be insane to marry me! lol Anyway, he is now grilling us something to eat and I was told to just sit here and try to relax. It has finally cooled down a bit so we are going to eat out on the deck, hopefully my children are speaking to me now. I really have been unreasonable today, I hate this heat (did I already say that?), there are only nine days left until the wedding, my family will be here later this week, my house is a mess, I have a ton of laundry and on top of that I think I am PMSing. What a lovely day this has been.

Eden, I am speechless over your lovely wedding gift! Thank you so very, very much! Words just aren't enough to thank you for your wonderful friendship, I am so thankful to have you in my life! Thanks again and I Iove you lots and lots!

I guess we are skipping the reunion. I think if would have been fun but John is working on limo's and there is a ton of stuff I have to do here. John doesn't think he would really know anyone anyway, I guess most of the people there are distant cousins or something, and the cousins that he grew up with won't be there for different various reasons. His dad went so I hope he enjoys it. John's sister Verlee bought us all really cool shirts. They say "Proud to be an American" on the front with a really cool picture and on the sleeve they say "John L Sullivan Clan" (<~~ John's dad). We are all going to wear them when John's oldest sister and her family come for a visit this summer, about a week after the wedding. She even got one for Anthony and the girls.

Yesterday Verlee and Brittany practiced the song they are going to do at the wedding. Ver is playing the guitar and Brittany is singing. They did a wonderful job, it sounds really good. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I have way too much to do to be sitting here on my butt! Anyone want to come help me finish up the wedding favors? Pleeeaazzzzzze? :-)

Well, I hate to follow the crowd, but this really looks like fun so here is my very first Friday Five. Besides, I didn't get home until after midnight and I am too exhausted to come up with my own witty and original comments. We planted more flowers at my mom's house in all of her planters etc, (for the wedding of course) they look gorgeous. I am so stressed out right now, I have no idea how many people are coming to the wedding because there are some who I know are coming and those that I have no idea about and out of the two groups not very many people have sent back those stupid response cards. You know, those cute little cards that are included with the invitation and are pre-addressed and stamped. Sheesh, how freakin' hard is it to write your name, check the box and put it in a mail box?? Okay, so anyway, here is my FF...

1. Do you live in a house, an apartment or a condo? We live in a house that has been turned into a duplex.

2. Do you rent or own? We rent, the house is owned by mom and stepdad and we rent from them. (my step-sister lives in the other half, which makes for some interesting family arguments lol)

3. Does anyone else live with you? Let's see, my fiance, 3 children, 1 cat and 5 kittens, on the other part of the duplex lives my stepsister, her husband and their 3 children. Thank goodness this is a large house!

4. How many times have you moved in your life? Hmmm...I've lived in Wyoming, Colorado, California and now North Dakota... I'd say in my adult life (I couldn't count how many times I moved as a kid, my dad is an IronWorker and we moved a lot) I've moved about 7 times.

5. What are your plans for this weekend? Nothing but wedding stuff. Only 12 days left and I have way too much shit to do! Hopefully I can squeeze in a little alone time with John and go to a movie or something. Okay, so I completely forgot, this weekend is John's family reunion so I guess we will doing that on Saturday and Sunday will be spent on finishing up wedding details. Have I told you how sweet John's dad is? When this reunion was being planned he was contacted for family information to add to the family tree and he not only included me but he included all three of the kids! Isn't that sweet? I was so surprised and of course very touched. I guess that means we HAVE to get married huh? lol

I woke up this morning and the kittens were gone! I looked everywhere and couldn't find them. Finally after 15 minutes of looking I heard little tiny meows. They were coming from Anthony's room. While we were sleeping last night she moved them all into the back of Anthony's closet! Sheesh, I knew she was pissed off about me taking pictures, but I didn't know she was that pissed! ROFL

My dad sent money for the wedding which I received yesterday. Thank you very much Dad! So today I have to go pay off some of the larger amounts (like the rental place). I also have to stop by the place that is doing my flowers and change my order a bit because there has been a slight change. Michelle (stepmom) and the kids won't be able to make it. I guess Jeremy is in summer school (he is a junior I think?) and if he misses even one day he will have to repeat his last year of school. From what my dad says he has really been blowing school off and of course Michelle is determined that he is going to graduate on time. So with Jeremy not being able to make it, Michelle doesn't feel comfortable leaving him alone for two weeks. So her and the kids are staying home and my dad will fly here alone for the wedding.

I'm starting to hate that countdown on my page! I think it must be broken.......it seems to be going way too fast! Yikes.....only 2 weeks left!!

Sorry for not posting the kitty photos yesterday, I started working on new graphics and lost track of time. Mittens was so pissed at me when I took the pictures, she kept laying on top of the kittens to keep me from seeing them! I had to have Brittany hold a couple of them so I could get a few good pictures. Well, I am oh so late (yeah, what else is new?!) so I've got to run. Enjoy the pics. :-)

My cat is trying to drive me nuts! Her kitties were way in the back of the laundry room so yesterday since I was cleaning the laundry room I moved them into a warm cozy basket with plenty of room for her to feed them without squishing them. Last night as we were getting ready for bed I noticed her in my closet. She had moved them all into a very small wicker basket that I use to keep magazines in. It was empty because when we moved stuff around in our room I threw them all away. So the kitties are once again squished and now I have to keep the light in my closet off because if I turn it on Mittens gives me the evil eye! Since she's already pissed off at me, I think I might as well just piss her off more and take pictures of them! I'll post them as soon as I am done.

Hope you all had a great weekend. We had a wonderful day at the park and then went to spend some time with John's dad. He is so funny. He says he has the perfect song picked out for the wedding! Can you imagine?! lol I don't think so! hehe He says that if we can't find someone to sing it he can yodel it for us! I keep telling him that I have a song already picked out, but he of course thinks his song is better! John's sister Verlee is going to play the guitar (I'm sure she is home right now practicing, right Ver? hehe) and Brittany is going to sing the solo of this song. I don't know, out of the two which do you prefer? lol

Just stopping in to say hello before we head out. The fair was a lot of fun. I rode all of the scary rides with Brittany and Danielle and Anthony rode all of the little kiddie rides. John doesn't do rides, they make him sick. Of course the best thing about the fair is always the food. Can you believe Anthony ate an entire foot long corn dog by himself? I couldn't believe it! Of course you also have to have sno-cones, caramel apples, and funnel cakes. We played all of the games and the kids all won teddy bears. All of the kids were asleep before we even hit the interstate to head home.

I'd better get going, we're off to the park to spend a relaxing Father's Day with John and the kids. Hope you all have a great day!