is this what 11 is really supposed to look like?

Because dang it, I don't think she looks like she's 11 at all. My little girl is getting so big. I wish for a little more time and being able to go back to her little days for awhile. That is part of why I love to scrapbook or blog. It all goes by entirely too fast.

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One thing has remained a constant..... the girl loves to have her picture taken. So I'm not playing favorites here and not having photos of the boys....this was a way to kill some time today. The boys were busy doing their own thing today. - and yes, that is a wardrobe change....something that she loves to do depending on her mood throughout the day. lol.

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Below: don't you wish you could still swing like that and not feel dizzy and like you were going to puke afterwards?

Another perfect Kentucky summer night. We had rain today so the woods were wet and cool. Fireflies were out like crazy.

A lot going on here these days....

Well, maybe not A LOT by old school standards, but for the pace of life things have gone around here for the past couple of months of constant working, working, working and forgetting what day of the week it is....a lot is going on here these days. - I had yesterday off, which was nice....and I took the kids to the pool. We all came home very tan and tired.

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Yesterday was Mike's birthday! 40! Celebrating to be done this weekend.

And speaking of Mike, this morning he went for a run and found this:

I was sleeping in, and he came in and said, "Look!" I opened one eye and thought for sure we had left one of our torties downstairs all night without taking it up to the aquarium when everybody went to bed. I sleepily asked if we did. He said, "No! Look at him!"

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OMGOSH, that isn't one of ours! Mike said that he was out in the road by our house and he picked him up. We will be releasing him in a safer place later tonight. I'm sure he came from the creek behind our house but I think we might relocate him to the park a little further down the road. Less traffic.

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This is the second wild turtle sighting this week. Megan and I had to stop the car the other day to let a snapping turtle cross the road. I don't remember where I heard it or if I'm making it up at this point, but I consider having a turtle cross your path as lucky. So having two in one week in our lives has to mean something right? Lots of good luck?

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After some internet searching, he is a Eastern Box Turtle. He's beautiful. His shell is such a pretty pattern, and I am in love with this little guy. He has such a personality....I'm surprised he's not more afraid of people. He doesn't bring his head in his shell when you pick him up. In fact, he stretches it out pretty far and tolerates being petted on his head and legs. I wish we could keep him. We sure have enjoyed our time with him today though.

And now.... time to get ready for a night of work. Power Hours....Kohl's....where you can expect great things.....and a busy night in the fitting rooms.

Summer so far.....

Summer vacation has been good to us so far. We've only had a couple of days of unbearable heat....but as usual there have been some gorgeous days to outnumber the yucky ones. To have our windows open in June still amazes me.

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Night time is awesome. Sunset especially. My favorite thing to do this year is to go out after dinner and drive down some of the back roads to see the fireflies that are out like crazy. I wish there was a way to capture them with a camera....with the windows down, the pockets of cold air when you go under the huge trees that cover the roads, and the fireflies. Summer can be so pretty. I think I actually get excited about the beginnings of every season here. They all have their own special thing about them.

Near my home: The Abner Gaines home. Federal Style mansion built in 1790. Built by Abner Gaines who was the owner of the first stage line between Lexington and Cincinnati. The house was used as an inn and a stagecoach stop. It has three stairways and six fireplaces with carved mantels. (A bit of trivia.) I pass this house on the Dixie Highway in between my old house and where I live now.


A lot of rain has brought a lot of pretty wildflowers.

Waiting for a train to pass...

My pot of baby basil on my deck. I also have cilantro and lettuce for the torties.

Last day of school...2010.

This year has been....odd. We started out in a different school district, and ended in another one. Somehow the two seem like entirely different years. Stuff from the other school is such a distant memory. I remember being sad when I signed all the papers to transfer but as we moved and got used to new things this part of our year has flown by.

Matthew will be in third grade next year. He had a GREAT year in his new school. He had a great teacher who made all the difference. It's strange to think that next year when he goes back, he'll be my only one at the elementary school.

Trevor's year....wow. He had a great year too. ANOTHER amazing teacher who made such a difference in the way his year went. She was so amazed at how smart he was when he transferred that she got him into gifted programs right away. This time more than just advanced math. She loved him, and he loved her. We always got good reports about T.

below: last day of school for the classroom awards....

Trevor receiving an award for the A honor roll.

Next year he'll be at the middle school with Megan. I didn't tear up until the principal was talking about how much fun they'll have in the new school and how it's hard to believe that these kids will be entering 5th grade and how quickly it seemed since they were just kindergartners. *Gulp* that hit my mommy heart. Middle school. It sounds so....grown up. Technically I still go by the 'middle school' years the way it was defined in Phoenix, being 7th and 8th grade. So somewhere in my heart I think that they'd still be elementary kids for another couple of years. It is my coping mechanism. haha.

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Trevor went on a trip to the middle school last week to get a tour. He's extremely excited! He said the only thing he is nervous about is the locker situation. He's already worried he won't be able to find it the first week of school and that he'll forget his combination. That's normal. I told him they are all feeling the same way and that it's to be expected the first week to not be able to remember which locker is yours. Before he knows it, it will all be easy. (I didn't tell him that as an adult...from this day forward he'll probably have that weird reoccurring nightmare that you forget your locker combination, even decades after having to deal with lockers!) I didn't want to scare him!

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Megan had a great start to her summer vacation right after school. She was invited to go up to King's Island with some friends right after school got out. I didn't get to see her until late. My baby girl will be in 7th grade next year! It will be nice to have her show Trevor the ropes to help him ease into it next year, and nice to have them both at the same school.

So now I have done my favorite part of the last day of school...purged all the papers from backpacks, thrown away the lunch menu from the front of my refrigerator and and thrown away the yucky lunchboxes that could barely stand one more trip into the washing machine for the year!

Summer vacation has officially begun!

Finally! The Great American Ballpark or bust!

Finally... a blog update and a much anticipated event. It has been a long time since I have sat down to blog anything! Guess where the kids went this past weekend? background: cool new skyscraper being built.)

below: Believe it or not...that is a smile. A huge smile. It's hard to tell with the missing front teeth.

Mike surprised the kids with a Reds game. The weather was perfect, blue sky, enough cloud cover at times to cool things down a bit and a ticket package that included free hats and skateboard decks. They got there hours early to make sure they got one before they ran out. There were a lot of activities to keep them busy until the game started.

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There is an area where kids can run the bases and they are timed to see how fast they can do it. Looking at these photos, I really don't know how those skinny boy legs on both of them keep them up.

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checking out the scenery before the game starts...

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Getting to the seats early, so it doesn't look like many people are actually there. - If you aren't entirely into baseball... or the game gets long.... the best seats are actually at the top where you can watch the river traffic going by. Here is a big coal barge being pushed up the river. The bridge on the right hand side is the John Roebling bridge. (Built before, and by the same man as the Brooklyn Bridge...if it looks somewhat familiar.) It is getting some work done on it so there are huge tarps on it right now. It's such a beautiful bridge and fun to drive across since you can see through the roadway.

In the far background is Northern Kentucky.