There will be radio silence commencing in 8, 7, 6...

So - I have a pretty amazing husband.  He works hard and provides well.

When his particular Navular program reached the fifth year of the "5 and out", he went reserves.  So, for the last 18 months he's held down TWO jobs.
This year, big talks were happening regarding "sequestration" and "furloughs".  To be proactive, in case furloughs came to fruition, Hubband lined up several weeks of reserve work.  Mostly in the month of July.
It was then decided that the boys and I would head to Oregon, because - why not?

After several weeks of trying to plan, and budget - I decided to take on a family road trip.


Yes. Your brain is working right.

I'm taking the three boys on a cross-country road trip.  By myself.

No, I'm not expecting Kumbaya the whole trip across.  Nor am I expecting Hell the whole way across.

My kids really like to travel, and they've done a fair amount of it in their short little lives.  So while quite the undertaking, they've done long days in the car and done it well.
We (the boys and I) decided on a Northerly route for the trip there, and a Southerly route back.
I let them pick one major attraction that we would spend a day or two at.
Their choices were Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon.  I have never been to Mount Rushmore - so it will be immensely exciting for me, too.
And the Grand Canyon.  Holy crap, it's so beautiful and... Grand - I can't wait to show it to the boys.  Seriously.  It's going to be AWESOME.

We've bought special organizers, plenty of kindle books, a children's audio book series on Mythology by one of their favorite authors, a cooler (I'm determined not to eat crap at every turn), travel journals and dry-erase activity pages.

We leave in less than 10 days.  SQUEEEE!!!!  and OMG!!!!!!!!

Wish us luck.

I love summer!

I'm not the mom that dreads dealing with her kids during summer.  I love it (mostly).

Here's our summer thus far:


Movies.

Walk-in Saturday night movies, in the center across the street.
Viewing that night was Top Gun. 

 A race.

Random funny seen at a race expo.

Traditional Last day of school ice cream dinner.

Yummo! 

Kenny had his end of year performance with his Drama crew.

If anything, this evening proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this boy is FILLED
to the brim with drama. 

 Holden waited patiently during a dental checkup for his brothers.

We went to a baseball game.

It's a big deal when you let a lady wear your hat... 

 Hubband and I celebrated 8 years of marriage.

S'mores creme brûlée.  With homemade marshmallows.
Holy crap. 

Sneak attack picture.
And sangria. 

 The boys try to convince me they really ARE twins.

Highlights Top Secret Adventures has proven to be a brilliant move on "Santa's" part. 

We saw a movie and had the theater (mostly) to ourselves.

Bonus of privately schooling your kids?
They get out two-three weeks before the county.  YES! 

Spent several days at the pool.

The big boys spent a weekend camping with daddy for Father's Day.

So, Holdeezy and I spent the weekend doing what HE wanted.

"I want to jump!"

Then he wanted to "Buy a shirt, eat a mammich, and ride my bike". 

So we ate a mammich.

Rode his bike.
(The shirt he is wearing is the one he bought.)

Then, we spent more time at the pool.

Enjoying food fresh off the grill.

Tragedy struck:

Strep.  Pink eye. Ear infections.
Boom.  One week of summer disappears. 

 I've been working on DIY projects.

Pottery Barn version of this cost $280
Yeah... I've spent $40

Pink! Girly! Yay!  Testosterone, stay away! 

Pet the pig.

Taking a few minutes outside to eat some frozen Kefir before a T-storm rolls through.

General shenanigans.

More master bath DIY.

I'm SO close to being finished - I'll post pics when completed.  

It's only been 26 days, but it's been AWESOME so far.

8 Years Ago....

... This happened:

I still think he's handsome, smart, and funny.   Also, this makes year TWO that we're actually together on our anniversary.  It's AMAZING!