Weekend in Pictures

We had a very busy weekend!

Saturday Vince and Gabe came by for dinner.....

Rigatoni, three bean salad and caesar salad with hot bread from the oven...

MMMmmmm
(it was a joint effort)

Lots of kid time....

Sunday Morning we were up and at 'em early for the Alameda Antique Fair!

Sooooo many vendors...

Tired...But Ready to Shop!

There is something for everyone here....

Be on the lookout for this little item on Pinterest..... It's sure to be the next hot thing to "makeover".  They were EVERYWHERE.  Cute vintage telephone table with cubby...I just need to find the perfect corner in my house and I'll be bringing one home soon..

I love, love, love these shabby chic painted mantles....  I want one over my bed...and in my entryway....and...... anywhere really...I want all of them!

We had to take a break and enjoy some goodness from all the food trucks that line the edges of the fair.

These ladies opted for crepes..

While I opted for the Indian Wrap.  Chicken Tikka Masala in a Fresh Naan wrap.  So. Good.
(This photograph does not do it justice)

There were so many treasures...

I loved this jewelry 

it's scrabble tile turned into pendants.
Love. That.
(I immediately thought of Tegan)

I can not explain how hard it was to walk away from this piece of art.

I NEED this for my kitchen!

I think I may have a new little piggy obsession....

A quick pic to show Mr. Kirbyface something he might like to add to the ManCave..

I love to people watch at the fair.

There's just too much to look at!

As we were leaving the line went on F O R E V E R....

I'm so glad we got up early.
It's nice to have a veteran of the fair to show us the tricks!
Thanks Shan!

We were so inspired when we got home...we poured over our Iphones, and Ipads and computers on Pinterest...looking for things to create with future purchases...
But then we got hungry..
and started looking at pictures of pinned food...and not so much distressed furniture....

And the frying began...

Ladies and Gentleman...

Deep. Fried. Avocados.

Hello Fantastic.

And...

Deep Fried PICKLES.
What?!?!
Oh yes I did.
And they were AMAZING!

While the ladies were shopping, Mr. Kirbyface took the kids to the park to let out some energy.

In addition to being child wrangler...he also, cleaned and vacuumed the whole house, including loading and unloading the dishwasher AND made THE BED.

Super Dad!

Monday was our laaaaazy day......

Dad got up early  and let me sleep in...

Awww....

Ponytail a la Daddy

Quality sibling time....

Getting fancy...

Bruschetta Apps

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken by our very own grill Master.

And a little cuddle time before bed.
(even if it's forced...)

Happy Labor Day!!!

Hello First Grade!

First Grade! 

How can it be?  

This year we had to start the First day of School early because BOTH Mom and Dad had to go out of town for work....

BUT! At least I still got my obligatory First day of School Pic!

(it's just too bad that the Sun isn't quite all the way out at 6:30 in the Morning....

Madeline had to have one too...

Next year will start her first official day at Jack's School

I'm lucky my children are so agreeable to my photography obsession....

Madeline wanted a tree picture too... (and it begins....)

I was bummed we got to school too early to get a photo of Jack and his teacher...

Oh well...I'll get one...don't you worry.

Jack was excited for his first day.

I CAN NOT believe how big he is getting!

Somebody STOP THE CLOCK.

Welcome to First Grade Jack-man.

You're gonna be AWESOME!

You've Got Mail!

Jack starts 1st Grade this Wednesday!

Leaving Kindergarten was bittersweet for me.

I loved Jack's Kindergarten Teacher.

In fact...I was pretty sure I could never have love like that again....

Until today..

Today, Jack received this in the mail.

A special post card just for him from his NEW teacher.  Mrs. Tornheim.

How sweet is this note???

And just like that...

Move over Mrs. Hanebury....

We are so excited for Wednesday!

Hooray for First Grade!

and Double Hooray for Mrs. Tornheim!

Fantasy Football 2012

Our Fantasy Football League has officially been born.

Yesterday we had our very first draft. 

And We weren't messin around.

We had the players ready for placement. 

Uniforms were worn

(Meet our Commissioner)

Lots and Lots of food was prepared.

(Mostly inspired from Pinterest)

Hot Dogs in the Crock Pot. 

They really do taste like BallPark Steamed Dogs..  No mess, and easy clean up.  Pinterest Win!

We of course had the staples.

MMmmmm... 

Brit made Jalapeno Dip, another Pinterest Win!

Lindsey Made Chicken Pinwheels.  Pinterest Win! 

(p.s. There were delicious after 4 beers dipped directly into the vat of nacho cheese)

Sums brought Turkey Meatballs in our family's secret sauce

(grape jelly and chili sauce- try it, it's delicious!)

Lynne brought her A-M-A-Z-I-N-G German Chocolate Caramel Brownies..

(I have no recipe to share...I'm just lucky enough to live next door to the woman with the recipe.)

We got Fancy....

Football and Tutu's go hand in hand...

And finally....

The selection began...

Some people brought their A Game....

And Some people... Didn't.

Jack was just excited to peel off the sticker...

(Benny came for the Nachos....)

There were careful selections...

And more assistance from the audience.

Final Pick!

Here is the list you should NOT have made your choices from....

(Better luck next year, I guess...Darn Internet....)

And we're done!!

A League of Our Own is Born.

Here are the team names:

Cam you dig it?

Pimpin Ain't Brees-y

Le Real McCoy's

Brady and the Tramp

Silver and Black

White Rice

Knox Winning

and

Show me your  TD's.

(can you guess who belongs to each team??)

I wish I had a photo of the group...Next time I'll think of taking one before the festivities begin.

A.  I can't wait to kick some Ass with my underdog team.

and 

B.  I can't wait till next year! We had so much fun!!!

Miss me?

I know.

Where have I been?

You waited up all night, worrying about me....

Haven't you?

Well don't fret my pets.

I'm still here.

They haven't got me yet...

( "they" being many things.... )

This Summer has had a few "hiccups" if you will....

Let's review.

I dropped my camera. 

And broke it.

My $900 camera.

Ouch.

When we returned from vacation, Clay noticed a *small* Leak on the side of our home.

Which turned out to be a leak in our slab.

Which meant the water had to be re-routed through the walls to stop the leak.

Which means the drywall in our kitchen had to be removed.

And our one year old floors would have to be replaced from the water we didn't know was leaking under them.

Awesome.

I was driving two weeks ago and kept checking if I had turned the heater on instead of the AC.

It was 106 that day.

Heater wasn't on. 

AC was broken. 

Perfect.

Saturday night I noticed a large pool of water under the work bench in the ManCave.

Hmmm...

Where could the water be coming from...we just re-routed our water lines.

Oh.

The AC in the HOUSE was leaking.

And Broken.

Life. Is. Good.

I applied in JULY for a new position at work...

I will admit, I may not be the best person to answer logical questions regarding personal experiences....

If you want me to make you laugh, I'm your girl..if you need me to sound intelligent... I'm probably not the best candidate.

Sitting.

Pins and Needles.

Waiting for their answer.

It's hard for me to blog when I'm blue.  I like to blog when everything is Sunshine and Sausages....

Lately...

It's been tough to see the silver lining.

But...

God. Is. Good.

And I'll tell you why.

My $900 camera?  Well... I bought it at Costco.  Wanna know what Costco told me?  They have a 10 YEAR warranty on all electronics. And they will fix it. FOR FREE.

What is better than that??

Well, I'll tell ya!  

When you talk to the girl at the counter who enlightened you with the news that all is not lost, tells you to talk to the manager to see what they can do...

So that's just what I did.  

And Guess what they did.

The camera I had bought 2 years ago that was broken, they took it back.  And replaced it. As a courtesy.  Because I'm such a  spend too much *good* customer.  And because I had the T1i, and they no longer carry it....they upgraded me to the T3i. For Free.

Silver lining, complete with Diamonds. 

Thank you very much.

Oh...

And that Leak.

In our Slab.

Well My Oldest and Dearest Friend for the last 24 years happen to marry a Plumber.

And that Plumber came over and spent the ENTIRE day at my house re-routing my water.

No more leak.

The kindness and generosity that flows out of Shane and Mary is overwhelming.

I cannot thank them enough for all they do. 

Never. Ever.

Love you guys SO  MUCH. 

And those floors..that were ruined because of the water...Well guess who just happened to purchase the same floor and had some in her garage.

My Favorite Neighbor Lynne.

And guess who was visiting while all this went down.

My Parents.

My Dad and Clay did all the drywall, and all the floors.

Good as new.

Can I get a Woot! Woot!

My car.

Is a company car.

And the AC is covered by work.

AND

It's been in the shop for 3 days now...

and they put me in the most amazing rental.

If you haven't driven the Buick Enclave.

Dude.

Tiger knows what he's talking about.

This car is amazing.

AND

I get my company car back tomorrow.

Cleaned and Vacuumed.

HOLLA!

The Water...

In the Garage...

From our AC Unit...

Well...

One of my Dad's Nearest and dearest from High School owns an Climate Control Business.

I took my chances and called him.

From dialing the phone to a repair man in my driveway was 24minutes.

No Joke.

Leak was stopped and AC was repaired in two hours.

AND

He only charged us parts and labor of his worker.

Dude.

Can I get a Hell Ya!

And Finally...

That job...

the one that had me on pins and needles...

Well....

Today...

I GOT IT.

*cue Hallelujah organ church music here*

Somebody is looking out for us.

And we are grateful.

So, so grateful for all we have.

I'm definitely feelin better!

So I'll try to keep up the blogging.

And my Chin.

Things are lookin up!