I have just now finished my 2013 photo book.  I know that is ridiculous.  But in my defense, I got VERY busy in January as we made a property purchase and it took me several months to tend to and baby it.  It's now up and running and I'm getting caught up on everything I put off.  I tried to post the slideshow but it had problems, so here's the link if you want to see what will be on my coffee table next week.  We had an amazing year last year.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1EbNWbhu3Yveg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

Click "View Photo Book" on the link.  Then there is a link in the upper left to "Make full screen" so you can actually read it.  Be patient while it loads.  It's over 100 pages.  :-)

Love to everyone!

Goodday mateys!  I must inform you I am strongly considering de-publishing the blog.  I think I am one of the last bloggers left and I just don't have time to make it what it ought to be.  I am pretty sure all of my blog readers are on Facebook, so you can keep up with me there.  My opinion is if I can't do something right, I ought not do it at all.  My last post was in May.  This is July.  That frequency is the norm lately. 

My only hesitation is that I use these stories in our annual yearbook.  When someone out-of-the-ordinary happens, if I don't write it down then, I may forget the details.  So, I'll continue to think about this.  In the meantime, don't look for regular postings.  :-P

Hello blog readers.  I just have to tell you all about my wonderful Mother's Day!  On Friday Daniley had a program at school and it was MAGNIFICENT.  It was all I could do not to sob.  It was so sweet and special.  She had made me several things and then she sang me a few songs.  Sweetest thing ever.

I had previously decided for Mother's Day I wanted a bike rack so I could take us all down to the beach to ride.  Dan got my rack and got it installed, on time, before Mother's Day.  We had an opening in the condo and so off we went!!!  It was the best trip ever.  I just loved riding bikes with my sweet family.  This was Daniley's first real bike trip (and quite possibly, my own).  We rode 7 miles.

We generally cook in and eat in.  However on this trip, we were quite adventurous.  I can't remember cooking a meal except one breakfast.  We tried some new places and things.  We also went on a pirate cruise where the kids were inducted as pirates.  It was one of the best vacations, and as such, it leaves me wanting more.  Stay tuned!!  Love to you all!!

Danslen started pre-school today.  She will go only on Fridays, but not all Fridays.  This is just a little time for her to get used to a classroom setting.  A couple of weeks ago I was just so busy at home and I wasn't giving her the attention she needed.  I thought she deserved a little more than what I was giving her, so I enrolled her at BEKare.  She was a tad shy this morning but as soon as the teacher engaged her she opened right up.  Several minutes later, she said, "Mom you can go now."  She is going to love BEKare and all the things they do.  Some of the things that have caught her interest already are Play-doh, painting and drawing, reading books, and playing outside.  They also take a 3 hour nap.  She's going to fit in perfectly!!

For the first time, EVER, both of my kids are in school, and I am at home ALONE.  Yes that's right, total quietness.  No wiping butts, no kissing boo-boos, no looking around for kids that have suddenly disappeared, no hearing my name called 10 times per minute.  Three very cool people are hanging out at the house today:  me, myself, and I.  

I absolutely do not know what to do with myself.  I'm sort of walking around like a zombie, but I'm very excited!!

 

As for Daniley...she got an X in her folder this week.  When she gets an X in her folder, we remove all the money from her bookbag.  That prevents her from buying ice cream (ice cream can't come out of your lunch account.)  However, I noticed that she must have told GPaw today was Kona Ice Day (whether that's true I can't confirm).  She hit him up for some cash because I found it sealed in an envelope, with GPaw's handwriting, "Kona Ice" on the outside.  It was all I could do not to pull the money back out.  This morning we just decided that we'd take away her Friday ice cream next week.  Missing Kona Ice is quite traumatizing, because she STILL talks about one time that we forgot to put Kona Ice money in her bookbag.  She swears we did it on purpose.  :-/

Happy Birthday to the Sweetest Lil' Darlin'!!

We had such a wonderful birthday with our cousins and family.  

Best.  Party.  Ever.

Just good family, good cake, and good times.

The simple things matter the most.

 

  

Eli, you made me laugh out loud.

New Dr!!

I got tired of all the crap at the kids old Dr's office...Loved the Dr....not in love with the rest of the office.  So, we jumped ship.  Hopefully we will be able to get in on sick days, and with less red tape in general. 

LITTLE DARLIN WAS PUMPED about meeting Dr. Paisley.  She has talked about her for months.  She finally got to meet her and she was talking a LOT!  Danslen is quite a bit more shy than Daniley but if she is super happy you will need a plug. 

Easter is only halfway over but my pictures are so cute I couldn't wait to post!!  This year our church had a service on Saturday night and we went for it.  So, I have our Easter pictures a few hours early.  I don't know what came over my girls to love on each other like this.  The Holy Spirit must have really been among them tonight.  :-)

Earlier today we dyed our eggs!

We went to church, had an ice cream, and then did an egg hunt. 

May everyone not forget what we celebrate on Easter!! 

After church we had an egg hunt and Daniley met up with her friends Mylee and Cooper.  Look at these precious children!!

Since Daniley started school we don't have a lot of time together.  To remedy this, I took her to the beach, just us two, for a long weekend.  It was one of the best beach trips of recent memory.  We just chilled and relaxed.  The weather was perfect.  The last time I spent Spring Break at the beach I must have been in high school.  I did not realize how wonderful it was this time of year.
This kid is hilarious.  I just sit on the sidelines and watch her work the adults.  She strikes up a conversation and before you know it she's roped them in.  I even heard one tell her, "You should be on TV."  haha.  True entertainment for me!!

 This last one is a selfie of her.  She kills me.

Dan repurposed an old motorcycle tire, cut back an old tree, and BOOM!  Tire swing.  The girls LOVE it.  To not have wanted any girls, he sure does go out of his way...  Ha!!!!!!!

Dan and I have been married for 10 years.  Yeh, that's right.  TEN.  In some ways it seems like forever, and in some ways it seems like yesterday.  I decided for our tenth anniversary we would go to Hawaii.  For TWO WEEKS!  I didn't tell Dan anything.  He actually did not find out where we were going until we arrived at the airport and I handed him his ticket.  :-)

I sort of thought this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so we left the kids at home and headed out.  (Bless those precious GRANDparents for their loving care in my absence!!)  All I can say is Hawaii was everything I thought it would be.  I recommend that everyone try to make it there.  It's beach, mountains, rainforest, volcanoes, swimming, hiking, cruising, motorcycling, snorkeling.  It's adventure, relaxing, and exploring.  It's the heart of the Pacific right here in US territory.  Start saving and get your bags packed!!!

We visited two islands:  Kauai and Maui.  We have hundreds of pictures capturing the beauty of this place, but to keep it manageable I just picked out a few of our favorites.  If you need descriptions, I posted them on the photobucket website.  Click on the link to view the album.
Best vacation of my entire life!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and coming home to get our abandoned children...PRICELESS.  Here is pickup and souvenir time.

A very rare, few times in our lives to we accomplish something big in a very short time.  Think about it.  Most every accomplishment we earn by working long and hard--turning 16, graduating, buying a house, retiring.

Well, Daniley won a bike at a circus a while back.  Probably 3 months ago.  It has sat in the garage waiting on warm, sunny weather.  Today was the day I have long dreaded....teaching her to ride a bicycle.  We gathered up our helmets and pads and headed to the park.  (Dan was out, so it was just us girls.)  I remember trying to learn bike riding and I remember being about 6, falling, crying, getting mad, and it taking a long time.  I even remember the baton with streamers that I must have gotten the same Christmas, and I remember Dad saying "Abra Cadabra, Abra Cazam, Let Danica ride her bicycle and not fall down!"  The memories must have been really bad for me to remember that much detail.  ;-)  So, I absolutely dreaded this event, because Daniley doesn't have a lot of patience.  Well ready or not, here we go........

We get to the park.  Lil' Darlin' is on her tricycle in a mostly-empty parking lot.  I'm keeping one eye on her, and one eye (and two hands) on Daniley.  I hold Daniley's side as she pedals, running beside her.  Sometimes as a parent, you just have to let go.  And today was my turn.  I let go....

....and off she rode.  Just like that.  She was so excited.  (So was I!!!!)  After she realized she was riding, she SCREAMED with laughter and excitement, "I'M SO HAPPY!!!  I'M A BIG GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!"  And her word choices just choked me all up.  She never looked back, just blonde hair blowing through the wind.  Just like that, she was gone.  She didn't need me at all.  She was a big girl.  Even though I was ecstatic for her, clapping and cheering on the sidelines, for a short moment there I just felt empty.  I had flashes of her accomplishing big, great things, all by herself.  Spreading her wings and flying....  She's been dreading that bike as much as I have, scared.  And all she wanted was to be a "big girl."  And just like that, she got it.  She rode, and rode, and rode. 

She did almost run into some parked cars a few times.  She hasn't mastered the breaks yet.  So when she starts to fall she just kinda hops off and ditches the bike.  It is a little tall for her so it doesn't leave her many options.  We detoured and played on the slide for a little while.  Suddenly Daniley asked me what "ace" means.  Not knowing where new term came from, I said, "Well, it can be a person's name.  Or it can be a card.  Or you can have an ace in the hole.  Well, that's still sort of like a card."  She said, "Well what does it mean if you ace something?"  I said, "Oh, that means you do it really well."  She replied, "Oh, well I aced this bike riding.  I am awesome at every sport."  Yes, that's the real true Daniley right there.  Not always acing, but ALWAYS confident. 

The Blizzard of 2014

In Alabama, we get snow every year.  Half an inch here, half an inch there.....  But THIS, this is nothing I've ever seen before.  We got an inch of snow where I am, in Calera.  And y'all, the place has shut down.  I find myself laughing.   Hysterically.  And then I remember there are people out there that are for real stuck.  It is really difficult to understand how an inch of snow can shut us down.  So I'll try to explain.

We don't have any salt and sand.  We don't have snow plows.  And most importantly, all of us THINK we know how to drive in the snow, and NONE of us actually do.  So this morning at approximately 8am, it started snowing.  By 10am, employers started realizing that the roads were icy and would become moreso, so they started dismissing people.  The schools had the same forecast and planned to dismiss at 12 noon.  PERFECTO!!  Everyone is on the way home.  Everyone.

11:00am.  Dan texts me and says he has been about a mile in the last hour.  It is becoming apparent that people have wrecked clogging up all the roads.  This is Alabama, not New York City, but when EVERYONE gets on the road at the same time, and every road has 5 wrecks, everything stops.  EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN.  Everyone is gridlocked.  At a standstill.  You don't think much about the importance of good roadways until now.  Main roads, back roads, interstates, dirt roads.  All of it.  No one is moving.
11:15am  I get a message from the school that they have moved dismissal from noon to 11:30am.  I have made arrangements for Daniley to ride the bus to Honey's house.  Everything is great.  By this time the roadways are concerning.  My office decides to let people go home.  I elected to stay at work.
11:45.  Dan has gone another 1/4 mile.
12:30pm  I get a message that due to hazardous road conditions, busses have returned to school and children must be picked up.  I go to get Daniley, but blocked roads prevent me from getting there.  I return to work.  Mom dropped of Danslen at Honey's and is trapped on another road.  ALL CIRCUITS ARE BUSY and no one can call anyone.  No one knows where anyone is (which is not overly concerning).  Dan and I are texting.  I am not sweating...I figured I would go get Daniley around 3pm.  No problem.
2pm.  Mom calls Mawmaw (she can't get me) and says she's behind a salt truck that's headed for Daniley's school.  She has no idea if Daniley is there or not but she's making a run for it while the roads are clear.  (Hallelujah)  Dan, on the other hand, has moved another quarter mile.  He is still 17 miles from home.  Under no circumstances do I want him driving after dark, so he has decided to ditch the car and walk to my boss's house, 3 miles away.  So yes, he can say he walked 3 miles in the snow...not barefootm, but in dress shoes, so close enough.  I am laughing at the situation.  I am sure he was NOT.
3:30  Dan arrives at boss's house.  He needs lunch, and a drink I'm sure.  And dinner.  Clothes.  And a place to sleep.  AND HE'S AT MY BOSS'S HOUSE.  THEY'RE GONNA TALK SO MUCH BS.  Lord help me.  I have decided to sleep at work.  Not because I have to, but I have always wanted to work storm duty.  I am actually on a storm duty team but since there weren't huge power outages I did not get called in.  So I'm just staying here to help along my coworkers, cook for them, and be on call in case we are needed.  I'll be resting on a cot.  I'm super excited. 
4pm  I get a message from the school that children with lost parents will be kept overnight.  This is Alabama.  I've never heard of a kid sleeping at school ever, but definetely not because of snow.  Remember, 1" of snow.  It's ok, because teacher's can't get home either.  So they are staffed.  Some of my coworkers have been on the road for 4 hours and have only made it 8 miles. 
Most of my friends are trying desperately to reach their children.  Everyone is upset.  Many of my friends have wrecked.  My situation is ok but there are others having serious problems right now.  People are running out of gas on the roads.

The county has been put under a "civil emergency" which is part of what is making me laugh.  Only in Alabama..........

It's 5pm.  I'm going to the back to let the good times roll.  We came up with a wild hog someone had killed and stored in the back.  Sausage coming right up....