Abby's New Teeth

Many of you know that Abby was born without two adult teeth. (The two bottom front ones.) She was actually born with her two front bottom baby teeth already in. Crazy, I know! It was funny how long those two baby teeth stayed in! She was advised by the dentist not to ever wiggle those teeth, that they needed to stay in there as long as possible! Abby was so great about that! She actually ended up having them pulled. Who knows how long those little things would have stayed in there! We were pretty amazed that they never came loose! Anyway, once those two baby teeth were gone, preparations were made for Abby's new fake teeth! (She really did not enjoy the impressions process!!) She has been so excited to get her new teeth! Well, yesterday was the big day!
Here is the "before" picture.
And here is the "after" picture.
Don't they look great! You would never know that those two teeth aren't real! (Click on the picture to make it bigger and you can get a better look.) She is very pleased with her new look! (Especially in time for school to start! Kids can be so cruel, if you know what I mean...)

I am so happy for her! I think this is a big confidence booster for her!

Thankfully Luke was a good boy at the dentist office! He had plenty to entertain him!

Bargains & Creativity

I am SO tired of looking at the plain white walls in my house!! I have a desire to be creative, but am not! I had a little burst of something at Hobby Lobby this afternoon and went with it!

First of all, I found this adorable bicycle in the 90% off section!! Well, it wasn't 90% off, but it was 70% off! Only $8.50!! That's my kind of deal!! I actually hesitated on this because my sister has bicycle decor in her living room. I didn't want to copy or anything! Then I thought maybe I should get it and send it to her! Well, as you can see it made it on the wall in the bathroom!
Then I got really creative! (HA HA!!) A friend of mine has some really cool pictures in her house that I found out are just framed scrapbook paper! I could do that! The hardest part of this was choosing three different papers that coordinated with the shower curtain! I love how it turned out! I love how just a little splash of color makes such a difference!!

Now let me tell you just how cheap this little project was!
3 frames: $3.99 each, however, 50% off, so only $2 each!
3 scrapbook papers: $0.59 each, 50% off! (Plus there is much left over for another use!)
Brown spray paint: $2.97 (I didn't like the look of the cheap frames I bought. And obviously, there is a lot of that left for another use as well!)

So my whole project cost me under $10!!! I put four decorations on the wall for under $20!! That's my kind of decorating!! Now if I could just do the rest of the house.....

Luke Misses Ben!!

But talking on the phone helps! :)

Ramona & Beezus

I took Abby and her friend, Sam to see Ramona and Beezus this weekend! I couldn't wait to see it because I loved the books so much when I was a kid!
We LOVED it!! A super cute, clean movie for kids! (I wish there were a lot more of those out there!) We had a great time!

Girl Scout Cessna Tour

This past Friday Abby Girl Scout troop went on an overnight trip to Independence. KS. (I know, doesn't that sound like fun?! HA! Don't answer that!) The first thing on the agenda was a tour of Cessna. I know this doesn't sound like great fun, but I was actually looking forward to it and I think the girls really enjoyed it! It was very interesting seeing where the airplanes are made.
Of course we had to start out with a group shot!
And then we were briefed on what we would be seeing and what was expected of us. (Isn't he a cute tour guide?)
Before we set out on our tour we had to put on our safety gear.
Of course we had to have a group shot with the safety glasses on!

The tour is on! However, no photography is allowed. Bummer!

Then we headed outside for a hands on look at an airplane. The girls loved being able to get in and check it out!
Luke liked it too!

Abby and her great friend, Sam
We headed back inside for the girls to try their hands at flying! In a simulator, of course!
Abby's turn.
Luke's tune! I'm not so sure I would want to be in the airplane that he's flying! YIKES!!
One last group photo op!

After the girls left Cessna they headed to McDonald's for dinner and then to the hotel for the night. The next day involved a trip to the Independence Zoo (which Abby wasn't at all impressed with), lunch at Dairy Queen and finally some swimming time at the Independence pool! I didn't stay the night or attend the second day activities, but I know that Abby had a great time! She was completely wiped out when she came home!

Abby Is Back Home!

When Jon, Ben, Luke and I came back from Indiana two weeks ago, Abby stayed behind to spend some more time with family. This past week we met my mom half way to get Abby back. It is so nice to only have to drive five hours instead of the whole ten! (For everyone involved!)
I know I have said this before, but we don't go anywhere without the portable dvd player! Luke is an awful traveler!! So when we are on a trip, anything goes!!
Grammy and Abby stopped at Burger King for lunch on their way and brought Luke this crown. He loved it!!
Grammy is taking Luke to look at the big trucks outside but had to stop by our window and say, "HI!"
I don't know about your kiddos, but ours love to play on these carts!

After we checked out of the hotel we headed over to a really nice park right across the street!
Ben is such a big helper!
Grammy and Luke were checking out the animal pictures.
Climbing the rock wall.
So glad to have my baby girl back home!
All three! :)
I love to see Ben play! Most times he thinks he's too big anymore! :(
All three really liked this little merry-go-round!
They really do like each other sometimes!
Maxin' and relaxin'!
Abby and Grammy
Abby, Grammy, Luke and Ben
Grammy & Ben
Luke spotted a grasshopper up on the jungle gym! He just stared at it until it finally flew away! He loves bugs!!
Abby loves her baby brother!

We finally decided that it was too hot and time to move on. So, we went to lunch and headed back out on the road. This time Ben got to go back home with Grammy!

On the way back home we had to make a little pit stop...Luke was ready to be done with being in the car! (He had done great, considering the fact that he'd had surgery three days prior!) So, we stopped at McDonald's for a little snack!
Abby tried a new strawberry banana smoothie! (Which she said was delicious!)
And Luke had an ice cream!
A little ice cream can make anyone feel better! Right?!

Girls Weekend in Branson

I had waited for this day for months!! Once we (Karen and I) knew that there was a possibility of Karen moving back to Missouri from Oregon, the wheels started spinning for both of us! Then, when we knew for sure that she was moving, it was a no brainer that we would get together! What started out as just getting to finally see each other after more than two years turned into an all out girls weekend!

Day 1
I'm on my way!
This is the beautiful resort that Karen's parents set us up in!
It was a beautiful place out of the way of the hustle and bustle!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. & MRS. ANSTINE!!!
I've never stayed anywhere that gave Bath & Body Works toiletries! Nice!
Yep! We went all the way to Branson and ate at McDonald's! Nothing better than eating Big Macs with your best friend!! :)
We spent our first day at Branson Landing! It's basically an outdoor mall, but it was so pretty! We did our fair share of shopping there! We found some great bargains!!
Dinner at Shorty Smalls was delicious! Especially after driving and shopping all day! Our feet were glad for a break!
The water display at Branson Landing was great to watch!


Day 2
Today we decided to Ride the Ducks! It was hot but fun!!
We had a "quacktastic" time!! :)
It was hard to quack and not laugh!
Ready to head down the hill and splash into the water!
It would have been so refreshing to just jump into that water! It was SO hot!!!
The back side of the dam at Table Rock Lake.
"Captain Who" was the best driver/guide!! He made the ride so much fun!!!
The traffic was insane!!
Seeing as though we didn't have any kids with us and no responsibilities, we headed out to the Titanic museum around 9:30p.m.! (Aren't we such night owls?!) It was heavy, but we were so glad we went. It was so neat! Definitely a place I want the rest of my family to visit!
You probably can't tell, but we are standing in front of an iceberg which is in front of a giant (replica) piece of the Titanic!
(This is a crummy picture. Karen's is much better, but this will work for now...)

Day 3
We didn't even know this was all out behind the condo until we were getting ready to leave! So pretty!
Karen had never had a pedicure before, so that was something we really wanted to do! After all of the walking we did the first two days, we felt like we deserved to do it on our last day together!
Awww...aren't our piggies adorable?!
Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye and head home to our families. :( We had an amazing time and can't wait to see each other again! I don't think our next visit will be this grand, but any time I can see Karen I will be happy!! Thankfully there are only 4 1/2 hours separating us now instead of half a country!

My drive home was very interesting! I had a little bit of car trouble, followed by a traffic jam in which it took an hour and twenty minutes to get to my exit that was only 2.3 miles away! Come to find out the highway had been shut down due to an acid spill. Great!
(Let me just say that if you think you have to go to the bathroom at any time on a trip, you should probably stop and not wait! You might regret waiting until the next exit!)
I finally made it safely home! I was happily greeted by my three boys, a clean house and these beautiful flowers! What more can a girl ask for?!