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!

1, 2, 3.. LUNCH!

Mel over at The Larson Lingo is doing a Salad Recipe Swap.

Which got me thinking about my favorite salads...

This is my go-to Summer Salad.

Taco Salad A La Heidi

Salads are so easy. 

Most Salads are Dump, Dump, Serve....and I LOVE that.

Here are the ingredients for My Version...

(this version changes all the time...the basics stay the same, but sometimes it turns into whatever I have in the cupboard.)

1 lb Ground Beef (or chicken, turkey or vegan meat)

1 package of Taco Seasoning

1 can of corn (or two ears of corn de-kerneled and cooked- steamed or grilled)

1 can of black beans (or Kidney Beans)

3 heads of Romaine shredded (or iceberg, or butter/radicchio blend)

1 can of olives (sliced or whole)

1 bunch of green onions (sliced)

2 tomatoes (diced)

1- 2 cups of shredded Mexican Cheese

1 bag of Nacho Doritos

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (prepared with FULL FAT Mayo and WHOLE milk)

1 jar of Taco Bell Taco Sauce

1 avocado (sliced for garnish)

Sour Cream and Extra cheese for topping

Brown the Meat until fully cooked

add taco seasoning and cook to package directions.

Prepare Ranch Dressing.  Do not skimp on the deliciousness of Whole Milk and Best Foods Mayo.  They are the key ingredients to making this salad perfection.

Take the prepared dressing and remove 1 cup, and add the entire jar of Taco Bell sauce to the ranch until it's mixed. (save the second cup for dipping veggies, or chicken nuggets or pizza)  ;)

it should be a nice rose color and look like this.

Dump all ingredients together, except the chips.

Toss in the dressing.

Just before serving add chips to the bottom of the bowl 

and add the salad to the top. Mix and enjoy.

Top with Guac,  or Sour Cream , or sliced avocado and more cheese! 

Two things make this salad fantastic.  

My super secret dressing and the Doritos. 

Try it tonight!

Happy Eating!

And...

You're Welcome. 

My *guilty* Summer indulgence....

So...

I told you I read a book....

during vay-cay....

And I did!

Now...

for those of you who plowed through 50 shades of Grey... you might enjoy this *light* Summer reading....

For those of you who thought 50 Shades a was a tad bit racy this is not the book for you.

I thought this book was funny.  At times it was a bit much...

But still...a good read. 

A very bad, good read.

Enjoy!

Weekend in Pictures *Birthday Edition*

Birthday Weekend started with our first Manicure

She LOVED it!

So we got a pedicure too!

Our day of beauty continued with ...

A first haircut!

Complete with braid and glitter!

With all our glamourfying we worked up an appetite....

Chuck E Cheeses was the Birthday Girl's choice.

And lots of games were played with Daddy....

Until my camera broke...

:(

So I have no cupcake pictures from Sinful Bliss, and no present pictures....

(the camera issue has since been fixed...but more on that later)

Saturday was our Big Birthday BBQ Extravaganza

We're classy with Red Solo Cups.

We make up for it with our delicious spread....

The berries this season are A M A Z I N G.

 Maddie modeling her latest wardrobe addition from Great Grandma Kirby.....and Clayton being a very patient Father with kids swarming around present central.

Adorable gifts from all... So, so nice.

Madeline was happy to show the crowd her loot.

And provide musical entertainment.

(Thank you Auntie Tegan....)

Charlie made his first visit over....

I don't think I have ever had so many children under one roof.

Madeline was thrilled with her new Pram.

Sunday Morning the Birthday Boy headed out for a Birthday Round of Golf....

And Lynne treated me to the ultimate treat!

Les Miserables!!!!

Can I just tell you it was PHENOMENAL! 

I love going to the Theater.  But this was an extra special trip to the Theater, it was my FIRST time to see Les Mis.  So so so so so Good.  I can't thank Lynne enough. That woman is TOO good to me.

Love. You. Lynne.

AND.....

I even got to wear my new shoes. 

How cute are these???

(Madeline has a similar pair making their way to our house this Fall, thanks to a certain MiMi)

It was a fabulous, wonderful, exhausting weekend.

Thank you to all who made the drive and celebrated with us...we appreciate and love you all!

Happy Birthday Clay and Maddie!