Avery's 5th Birthday Party

What great party we had for Avery! She chose my vintage Witch cake pan and I let her pick the colors for it as well! Hence the blue dress and red hair!

She invited everyone to wear their favorite dress-up or costume; so we had lots of princesses and fairies and 1 transformer! Everyone dressed up, including me, SUPER MOM!

We had a Frankenstein Bounce House & a face painter ta boot! Jason even played Disney Songs on his sax and juggled apples for some entertainment!

She received great gifts and had a blast!
Thanks for all who came and partied with her!
I still can't believe she's 5!
Just 5 years ago I was begging my OB to induce me ( I don't recommend that ) because she had given me a hairline fracture on my pelvis; plus she was way over due.
My induction went fast and she arrived October 7, 2003 2:48 a.m. 7lbs 7oz & 22 inches long!
I don't remember too much because I was high on 2 Ambien! But that morning I was pushing those nurses to bring me my baby!

I love you Avery!
You are so smart, sweet and such a joy, that you're high pitched squealing doesn't seem so bad... most days!

Pay it Forward

What's this you ask?

This is my Excursions front driver side tire.

Where is that you say?

On the 215 just past the Eastern exit.

Today I needed to run to the Scout office for some Space Derby Rockets for my pack. Since it's on the other side of the world for me I took the freeway.
Suddenly I felt my tire pull and NANO seconds later I hear AND feel it shred!
Keep in mind I am driving about 70mph in the center lane during lunchtime traffic.
All I know is I was guided at that moment because it took everything I had to keep my Excursion in the center lane and pump my brakes. It took me a few moments to move to the right emergency lane; all the time trying to keep from slamming into other vehicles.
I go to call Jason when a man and his son pull off in front of me! They helped my change that tire! Can you believe it! Why are there not more good people out there? I couldn't thank them enough! I truly would not have been able to change that tire because the lugs on my Excursion are after market and the wrench I had didn't fit them. I believe it was truly meant for that man to stop.
So people, let's get busy serving others! What do we have to loose?
Let's first start by moving over a lane when we see someone pulled off! What is wrong with people? All those cars flying past is crazy! Here you are trying to fix your tire and then you have to worry if some maniac driver is going to run you over!
I say thank you nice man ( he didn't even share his name!) and his son! I promise that I will pay it forward.

Busy, Busy Week!!

This has been such an insane week!

We have had so much going on and so much to share; so here goes!

Tuesday:

Avery finally turned 5! She has been waiting forever! She has been counting down the days since July! We aren't having her party until this coming Saturday but I still wanted to celebrate it and acknowledge it! So I took her to the mall ( her fave place to shop!) to get her ears pierced and to do a little shopping. I was so worried that she would freak out but she did so well! The only thing she said was, "Ouch!". She whimpered a little and then she was ready to go shopping! I guess she is truly a girlie girl; shopping fixes anything! We had fun shopping and I as so proud when she decided to use the money she got as a gift from her Grandma Great Gale on books! A girl after my own heart! She loves to read! She isn't even in kindergarten yet and is reading @ a 1st grade level! Hey, I'm the Mom, I get to brag! Afterwards, we met my cousins and let the kids run around @ Mickey D's. We had Pack mtg for Cub Scouts; so she got to play @ Grandma Dianne's. That night we were supposed to have my famous lasagna bake but I forgot to get the meat out of the freezer so we had KFC! Oh well! She didn't care! For dessert I made mini cheesecakes for everyone! Yum-o! She is very excited about her party and can't wait to "be in charge"! Gotta love her!

Wednesday-Friday

For 3 days straight my Mom, Grandma Clark & I were bottling maniacs!

We bottled:

26 pints of salsa

18 quarts of pears

6 pints of strawberry raspberry pear jam

9 pints of strawberry blueberry pear jam

3 quarts of applesauce

12 pints of applesauce

6 pints of apple butter

I was impressed w/ the work we got done working together!

I am SO very excited to add these to the quarts of peaches and peach freezer jam we made in August! This winter we are going to be eating good! LOL!

Thanks Mom and Grandma for sharing your knowledge w/ me!

We hope to do a lot of baking later this month and into November!

I love Harvest Time!

Crazy Eights!

I have been tagged by my good friend Andrea.
So it's time to play a good old game of tag.

8 Favorite TV shows...
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Heros
3. House
4. CSI: Las Vegas
5. Lost
6. Dirty Jobs
7. Mythbusters
8. Football

8 Favorite Restaurants...

1. Olive Garden

2. Buffalo Wild Wings

3. Pei Wei
4. Pizza Factory

5. Baja Fresh
6. Red Robin
7. Applebee's
8. Chevy's

8 things that happened yesterday...

1. Finished off the 1st jar of my homemade peach jam.
2. Watched conference.
3. Took my kids to the park to ride their scooters.

4. Laundry.
5. Cleaned up the family room.
6. Made my Digi Crop Flyer.
7. Watched football.
8. Finished my latest Nora Roberts book.



8 things to look forward to...

1. Avery's Birthday.
2. This months Digi Crop.
3. Training for upcoming 5k's.
4. Autumn (not my daughter but that's why it's her name; I love you Autumn!)
5. Halloween.
6. Becoming Director.
7. Autumn's Baptism.
8. Thanksgiving Dinner!

8 things I love about Fall...

1. Cooler weather!
2. Rosy noses and cheeks.
3. Waking my hot chocolate maker out of hibernation!
4. The way the sun shines differently.
5. Crisp air.

6. Caramel Apples!
7. Bottling harvested fruits & veggies!
8. Halloween.

8 things on my wishlist...

1. Loose more baby weight!
2. Help Jason start up his own biz.
3. Visit Tuscany w/ my girls!
4. For McCain to win the election!
5. Pay off bills
6. Finish the backyard for the kids!
7. Keeping my house organized
8. Have Jason take me on a cruise!

8 people I tag...

1. Kirsten
2. Tracey
3. Sabrina
4. Amy
5. Melissa
6. Missy
7. Brittney
8. Sariah