June 28, 2011

Hannah got back from her Florida swim meet tonight--just a little bit sunburnt, but she had fun!

June 27, 2011

Em and Bec got into the pool to cool off and play catch after work this evening.  Jessie was a lifeguard for as long as she could stand it, then she had to get in to go after the ball.  She was the "monkey" in the middle until Emma missed the ball and Jessie nabbed it!  Em won't take it from her, so Jessie got all the way into the yard before dropping the ball to shake off.  I had to bribe her with ham to go back into the house when her barking got too frantic.  That crazy dog.  Ted just watched it all from the deck.

June 26, 2011

I finally bought a few flowers for the pots in the front of the house yesterday.  I went out and got them planted this morning before it got too hot.  This year I only have two pots with flowers!  I just never got anything planted this spring and now it's summer.  At least I should be able to keep two pots watered and I only spent $10 on my annuals this year!

June 25, 2011

It might be a sad commentary on my life that today's picture is our new dvr remote control, but I was pretty excited when Joe brought it home.  The buttons on the old one were really hard to use.  Since I mostly watch programs that are recorded, not being able to use the fast forward button (I call it Voot power) was pretty frustrating.  Sometimes it's the little things that matter.

June 24, 2011

Emma mentioned this morning that she'd like to see a game at the CWS but she could only go to the game tonight because she's working during the rest of the games.  Joe went over to the ballpark at lunch and luckily was able to buy tickets for tonight's game.  South Carolina beat Virginia in extra innings.  Joe and Emma left after 11 innings with the score tied 2-2.  They were both tired and Em has to work double shifts on Saturday and Sunday.  Even though they missed the end of the game (it went 13 innings) they had a great time together. 

June 23, 2011

Finally!  The check for last year's taxes came in the mail today.  Joe says that he fought the IRS and won!  I think it had something to do with the amended return that we filed that didn't get handled correctly...tomato/tomAto.  All that matters is that we did get the return that we were owed--finally!

June 22, 2011

It's 4:50 a.m. and Hannah is ready to leave for the airport.  She is going to Ft. Lauderdale with MOST for a swim meet.  The meet goes from Thursday through Sunday.  The kids get a fun day on Monday to snorkel and then head back to Omaha next Tuesday.  She is looking forward to the trip but can't help but fret a little bit about her loss of income from work while she's gone!

June 21, 2011

Dexter loves cozying up with Emma.  She thinks he's a little lonesome for Ginger.  That may be, but Dexter has always had a soft spot for Emma, and vice versa!

June 20, 2011

We had some "family togetherness time" in the basement tonight when the tornado sirens went off around 8:00.  The sirens were actually going off because of high winds.  We didn't have any damage at our house, but some areas of Omaha had trees down and damage to houses.  We were lucky this time. 

June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!  All three girls had to work today, so this was a quick picture with Joe before they left.  Joe and I went to the Union Pacific Family Day downtown and he took me to see the new baseball park.  Then we came home and took a nap.  So I guess it was a good day for Joe anyway.

June 18, 2011

Joe was able to get tickets to the opening game of the College World Series.  He saw North Carolina play Vanderbilt in the afternoon game.  He went with some of the Ohio State boys.  He said that the new ballpark is really nice.  Hopefully it will gets used for more than just these games.

June 17, 2011

This is classic Crazy Ted.  He looks so silly when he's rolling around like this.  He makes some crazy noises then too! This is usually followed up with galloping around the house and wrestling with Jessie.

June 16, 2011

The birds have gone a little crazy with their nest on the deck.  I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if part of the nest blew off.  We can't tell if there are any baby birds in there or if they are all gone.

June 15, 2011

And here we go--the old area rug is in the garage (hopefully not for too long) and the new carpet is down in the TV area of the basement.  We have another carpet piece to put down, but first we need to take out the computer desk, a dresser and some small shelves.  That will require some sorting and straightening.  Hannah wants to have friends over and they need more room for dancing! 

June 14, 2011

When the flow regulator on the water pipe coming into the house blew, it caused the water pressure to go crazy!  The shower started running continuously to release some of the pressure.  The plumber came today to put in a new regulator.  The pressure is back to normal again tonight, but the rug in the basement is soaked!  It's a good thing that we wanted to take that rug out and put down some carpet--guess we'll be doing that tomorrow.

June 13, 2011

I embarrassed my kids today.  Actually, they were pretty good about getting our picture taken tonight at Red Lobster.  We were there kind of late and it wasn't very crowded.  We've been wanting to go out to dinner, but haven't been able to work out a time that we could all go until tonight.  Monday wouldn't be my first choice for eating out, but we had a great time and took home lots of leftovers.

June 12, 2011

Joe had to trim some branches off of this tree in the backyard today.  The branches were rubbing against the house and kitchen window.  He trimmed some of the branches while on the ladder (the 30 foot ladder!) and some while in the tree.  It looks to me like he's wondering how he's going to get down from that tree.  Becca went out to help him.  She also took the pictures.  It took all three of us to manage the big ladder.

June 11, 2011

Hannah is my WalMart helper on Saturday mornings.  She says that she keeps me on task, but I think she is going for the General Tso's chicken!  I must admit, last week I shopped by myself and I really missed her-- especially unloading the cart and putting the groceries away!  (I don't get the chicken without her either.) 

June 10, 2011

Em and Bec let me get a picture of the day while they were dancing.  Just Dance 2 is actually a lot of fun and pretty good exercise.  I'm not very good at it, but they don't laugh at me (too much!)

June 9, 2011

Joe has been working on the retaining wall under the deck every night.  It looks great!  Today it rained a lot and no dirt got washed out onto the brick patio.  It needs some finishing touches and clean up, but he really has done a great job with it.

June 8, 2011

Our crazy schedule!  Figuring out rides for me, Em, Bec & Hani has become part of the daily routine. We have summer school, Bag n'Save, life guarding, group swim lessons, private swim lessons, two a day swim practices, lap swimming, dog walking...it's too much for me to figure out in my head--I have to write it down!

June 7, 2011

I took this picture of Becca while she was laughing about something today.  It reminds me so much of how she looked when she was about three years old.  She said, "No, Mom, I have glasses now."  That's true but she has the same happy smile and bright eyes as she did then!

June 6, 2011

The new curtains really help block sunlight and heat in the family room.  Hannah has started calling it "the cave!"  In this picture she's getting some light from the patio door, but the windows by the tv are pretty much covered.  I had to turn on the lamp to see the buttons on the remote! 

June 5, 2011

Emma looks so cute in the hat that Hannah knit for her!  Emma picked the pattern and Hannah had it made in just a few days!  I told her that it's a little big, so maybe I should have it instead...

June 4, 2011

Joe started working on the retaining wall under the deck today.  It's going to be a lot of work!  Today he started digging the trench for the first row of bricks but he spent most of his time trying to chip away the cement footing from the last deck.  He says he only needs to take off an inch or so to have room for the brick, but it's taking a lot of effort.  He still needs to use his left arm for most of the heavy work so that slows him down somewhat.  Hopefully this footing will be the only one in the way.

June 3, 2011

I was so hot after school that I wanted to change into my swim suit and jump into the pool.  Since I needed to go to B&S, I settled for shorts and sitting on the edge of the pool instead.  The water is pretty cold, so I did get cooled off.  Of course Jessie had to get in and swim a couple of laps.  All three girls got in and played later in the evening, but nobody took a picture for me!

June 2, 2011

Becca didn't really want me to take this picture while she was playing with Jessie this morning, but it is so typical of our house. Jessie is always bugging someone to play with her--even if you've just stumbled out of bed!

June 1, 2011

After work today I did laundry, vacuumed the downstairs and made dinner.  Becca said that she would do the dishes and Emma got "guilted" into drying them.  Joe got home right as the last dish was put away--talk about good timing!

May 31, 2011

Here I am heading into the portable for the first day of summer school.  I'm kind of wondering why I decided to work summer school this year...oh well, our motto is "Feel the fear, do it anyway!"