you're busted!!

mr. zackers got caught while we were outside checking out the baby turtle daddio rescued from the pool skimmer.  cleaning up the kiddos' lunch leftovers.

the turtle has yet to have a name from gracie, but i'm sure that's coming.  & so are our pictures & memories from st. simons!!

oh baby

yes, i have baby fever.  have since october when we thought we might have a suprise, but the ultrasound tech's prediction 2 weeks later was wrong.  & that was fine.  not god's plan & we weren't prepared at all (we're not now either, but it's nice to think about). 
my little ones are getting so big & beano wants more little brothers & sisters to love.  i remember a lady at a mops meeting saying the best gift you can give your child is a sibling.  being an only child, i do like my quiet alone time, but also love the big, loud family gatherings i have gotten to become a part of on daddio's side. 

well, anyways, yesterday we had to go to the doctor since gracie is sicko againo.  there was a baby in there crying & ben once again asked if we could have more, since he didn't get one for christmas.  i asked him what he wanted to name them.  quickly, he replied "macy & chester."  namaw & poppy's neighbors' dogs.  he said it would be funny for the dogs to come visit when we would say the babie's names.  i suggested 2 names i like & they didn't fly.  if that day ever comes, hopefully he will be in more agreement with a della & a rigby (& daddy too..) 

christmas pictures round one...

hopefully, we only have a round 2 to get a good shot!  & speaking of shots, way to go poppy on your deer!! 10 pointer!

surf's up

we like to play on the playground after preschool with buddies often.  well, yesterday one little gal was pretending the big slide was a water slide.  she yelled "let's all go to the water slide!!"  once they got to the top, my mr. ben pulled down his shorts to show his undies & said "surf's up!" 

the girls were quick to tell me what happened.  this momma was a bit embarrassed. i talked to him there how that was inappropriate & was thinking in my head "thank goodness it didn't happen during school.." 

 last night when we were talking about it, he said "i just lost my mind.  i thought it would be funny because my underwear had surfboards on it."  i did laugh, but know i need to buy him whitey-tighties now.

strike a pose

there's nothing to it.

vogue.

vogue.

that's all i gotta say.

love em!

third & fourth of july fun!

ok, this post has some very sweet things & then so not sweet things (thanks for showing them to us, brandon!:) & is very loong!
saturday, we got to celebrate the fourth a day early!  &oh we did! 

aunt jane & uncle rocky's was the first festivity. that gorgeous flower garden is one of many around their home.

it was great to see family that we don't get to see nearly often enough. 

& to explore all over the land!

(we went for quite a hike!)

ben made quick buddies with luke, they were inseperable most of the day.

gracie made quick buddies with great-great uncle (i think) carrol. 

she had the best time with a little help from her partner almost beating daddio at checkers (the boys came & messed up the board a bit before the game was over).

the kiddos also had funs with all of their other cousins & friends there.  there were so many, i hate that i didn't get a group shot!

& oh yeah, i was once again on the winning scavenger hunt team (honestly no thanks to me- those boys are super duper smart!  thanks for letting me be a part of your team, men! the 2nd year in a row champions (not that i'm braggin or anything :) )  auntie jen, next year if you & mike can make it up we'll let you join our team!

here's malaki finding the final clue.

after the hunt, daddio & i headed over to the marcums to hang out with friends.  ben & gracie could have cared less.  "see ya"  i think was what we got.  ben looved the fireworks this year, cheering & yelling i guess.  grace, still not to sure about the loudness of it all. 

that night was almost like a date night for daddio & i just hanging out, listening to music & driving together to beth & brandon's.  so nice.   we always have fun hanging out with daddio's elementary school buddies.  i feel so blessed that he has such great guy friends his whole life & all their wives are just as equally awesome.  

the halls with their little sweetie pie.

our lovely host family.

miss embry, you just crack me up.  i could play "this little piggy" with you all night. 

after the little gals went to bed, brandon had to show us some of the silliest you tube videos.

here they are (they are not x-rated, but NOT KID FRIENDLY at all, if you catch my drift)

this first one is for butt drugstore (a real store in corydon, indiana)

the next is the count from sesame street censored (every time he says count, it's bleeped out)

sunday, on the fourth we were worn out!  i didn't want to get out of bed honestly. but we went to sheryl & jd's church for the god & country service.  she should have warned me to bring some kleenex.  i was a wreck!  what a beautiful service it was & i am so glad we went.  thanks sheryl for thinking to invite us!  it made me realize how lucky i am to live in a country with the freedom i have & the price so many have & are paying for that.  it was very moving, to say the least.  here's the video that was shown during the service.  these are all local folks & an in house video.

next stop, aunt donna & uncle toms for some yummy food & fun.  the kiddos of course had to play in the pool.  

& splash their mom

& play with chalk

snap some photos with harmonica's (as ben used to call her, now it is monica) camara

give her harmonica some lovin (gracie loves to rub arms to show affection, so sweet i think).

the brother & sisters enjoying each others' company. good times for sure.

we had such fun, but didn't make it to any fireworks that night.  toooo tired. we watched some on tv though

on a more serious note, thank you to all that have served our country to protect our freedom.  we are so lucky to live in the country we do.  god bless america!  as you all know, i'm not too good with words, but i did love this video below

in our swagger wagon

miss grace riding around in our swagger wagon. (not quite a sienna, but just fine for us now).  someday we will have one because daddio has helped to make them the best vans in the world!

check out that attitude!

oh yeah!  got her shades on & rocking out!

i know i posted this video before, but i just love it! gracie has been singing "in my swagger wagon, in my swagger wagon" over & over & over again. we've been working with daddio on his dance moves so maybe we can be the next swagger wagon family!

get your face on party!

blogsurfing around last night i found miss beth who bravely showed her before & after pictures of getting her face on along with some  tips.  (& yes she is beautiful au natural).  she challenged other bloggers to do the same.  even though my normal routine is brushing my teeth, straight ironing my hair & puting on some homemade deoderant (mine doesn't have the vitamin e but has coconut oil), i thought today would be fun to get all "made up". 

so, here ya go.

this morning, miss gracie & i headed to the bathroom (ben was playing his morning dose of mariokart wii).  hello bedheads!

first thing, brushed our teeth.  i've been adding a few drops of the wild oregano oil p73 to my toothpaste. this stuff is supposed to be a natural wonderdrug (i had no clue how expensive it was!  i purchased it a year ago when a health food store went out of business).    i've also been trying to place a couple of drops under my tounge to try & fight off the cold that has infected our home.  still got it though.  ben's toothpaste is on the wall behind gracie in his very own touch-n-brush.  one of his favorite christmas presents!  kooky kid.

we washed our faces & went to work.  miss grace put some revolution skin care lotion on her sweet face (normally, she doesn't do this, but wanted to put on "makeup" too) & i put on my momma stuff.  i loove philosophy products.  i use on a clear day with retinol lotion & hope in a tube around my eyes. 

on to the makeup..

my makeup bag is full of stuff, but i only use a handful of the things. no tricks of the trade here. 

 i do love my philosophy supernatural mineral makeup & the fact that it has a sponge applicator. 

i've also been loving my eye bright pencil from benefit.  helps hide my lack of sleep a bit i think. 

some straightening iron help &

a bit of texturizing cream for my mop & the hair is done.   i hate my haircut.  normally, i love the job my hairdresser does.  but, last time no way.  it's pretty messed up.  (i think he was punishing me for bringing my well behaved kiddos with me to the regis salon).  over the weekend i colored it to a darker shade. i used clariol perfect 10 (only 10 minutes, can't beat that!) in lightest cool brown.  damaw (my very blond & beautiful momma) suggested sunday i add some highlights or sumthin. i think maybe i'll return to a blondie in the spring.

now for my little one's rats nest, i love oyin handmade's juices & berries. unlike other detanglers we've tried, this one will keep her cute little curls. 

& here are the finished results:

a bit blurry, but oh so lovely.

  gorgeous, right? um, yeah. but we had fun!