Friend Makin' Monday ~ The 4th!

Here I am, tuning in to another week of Friend Makin' Mondays {It's been awhile}! Typically hosted by Kasey at All That is Good, this week Shawn from Seriously is hosting! Go check 'em out :)

Here we go!

What are you doing on this July 4th?

While we don't have firm plans yet, I'm sure we'll go to the local parade in the morning, and probably do our own fireworks in the evening at home.

What is your favorite dish to pass when attending a 4th of July Party or Summer BBQ?

I typically bring a pasta salad or cheesecake (or both!)

Do you have any 4th of July Traditions?

Parade-watching and setting off fireworks!

Share your favorite July 4th picture.

As for the Trivia . . . I had to guess on numbers 5 and 6

Shame, shame, I know!

Happy Friend Makin' Monday!!!!

♥ ♥ ♥ 5 Months ♥ ♥ ♥

Happy 5 Months, Sweet Girl!!!

You're still a champion sleeper!

And LOVE to be held

This month we celebrated birthdays . . .

Took our first trip to the Beach,

And rode on the tractor with Daddy.

You cannot get enough of your sisters . . .

They make you smile and laugh.

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You are tipping the scales at 17 pounds!

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You want to be carried around all day so that you can

study this curious world around you.

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Instead of snoozing on and off,

you are developing more of a 2 nap routine ~

one shorter nap in the morning,

and a longer version in the afternoon.

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You drool like it's goin' outta style!

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And everything goes in the mouth.

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You're the most adorable little pumpkin ever!

Happy 5 months, Sweet Pea.

I don't know where the time has gone!

And the WINNER is . . .

Thank you soooooo much to all who entered the GIVEAWAY! We'll have to do this again sometime soon because it is so much fun.

And now, without further delay, the winner is . . . .

{Thank you Random.org}

caperky1

YAY!

I can't wait to get these lovelies shipped off to ya :)

Buh-Bye Casper!

It's officially Summer! {Yeah, I know, it took the Pacific Northwest a little longer to get with the program}. I could not be happier to see the sun, but I am a bit hesitant to show off the pale, pasty skin. I don't have the time, money, or desire to go sit in a tanning bed, so . . . .

Let me introduce my new best friend. I've been a big fan of self-tanner for several years. It gives my skin a little glow when I'm feeling blah. But the last time I purchased any was over two years ago. Sad, huh? I loved the brand I used to buy, but it was a bit pricey, and I could only get it at the mall {a 45 minute trip each way}, and I could not handle the smell anymore. Is it a written rule that self-tanner has to smell so . . . self-tannery?

Yesterday the girls and I headed to Wal-mart to pick up a few summer must-haves {more on that later}, and I scoped out the self-tanners. I've always liked Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen. Mostly because it smells good, and doesn't leave me feeling sticky. So imagine my delight to see that they make a self-tanner too! Score!

I tried it for the first time this morning, and I liked it a lot! No stickiness, no drying out my skin, and it didn't smell horrible. In fact, it smelled pretty dang good when I put it on. {If I were to be completely truthful, I do sense a smidgen of that self-tanner smell, but it's not nearly as bad as what I'm used to, and could easily be covered up with a scented lotion}. And the best part, no streaking!

In conclusion, if you're looking for a self-tanner, I suggest you try it. It was, like, $9 at Wal-Mart. Pick some up today!

{Yes, I do sound like a commercial. No, I'm not getting paid to post this ;)}

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition

***Don't forget to check out

my current giveaway!!!***

So, it is Week 13 of Extreme Makeover, but it's not too late to join! Head on over to Amber's to join in and link up, and to read other gals EM:ME journeys. We could all use a little love and support.

Speaking of support {smooth, huh?} This week's question comes from Shortmama, who asks:

"Who is your biggest supporter/motivator in your weight loss? Do you have anyone around you that tries to sabotage you by "talking" you in to eating the not so good stuff?"


Well, my husband likes to tease a little bit . . . okay a lot. And sometimes it's the teasing that gets me motivated to kick the exercise up a notch, or re-think what I'm about to eat. And my oldest daughter {6} is always asking if we can turn on the iPod and exercise. She's a huge support. No one talks me into eating the sweets . . . I do that all on my own.

So, same ol', same ol' around here. I need to exercise more, eat less ;) I just love food so much! I do have my laptop back, and it doesn't seem to be giving me trouble, so I guess I should post pictures of my fridge from last week's EM:ME task. I was kinda hoping to get out of it, but here we go:

When these pictures were taken, I desperately needed to grocery shop, hence the bare fridge. I know, I know, it doesn't look too promising, but I do stay away from the Cool Whip {I did not stay away from that pizza, however. Oops}, my husband is the Coke drinker {I like naked water, remember?}, and I don't happen to love vanilla ice cream. That ice cream has very possibly been in our freezer for some time. I should probably throw it out, now that I think about it. So, that is shrimp, chicken breasts, and some sturgeon fish that hubby caught. Mmmm is it yummy! Oh, and before I get loaded down with emails notifying me that our eggs are way past expired . . . we have chickens, so we get fresh eggs daily. We collect these old egg cartons to put them in ;)

Until next week,

100th POST annnnnd GIVEAWAY!!!

This Giveaway is now Closed.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner.

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Finally, I made it to the BIG 100! Yay!

Let's celebrate with that giveaway, shall we?

Here is what's up for grabs . . .

Bracelet

Earrings

Plus a few other surprise goodies :)

{which, fyi, will no longer include the beauteous OPI nail color in Pink-ing of You because Makenna found it and opened the plastic}

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Let's talk about the bracelet/earrings set:

I found these gorgeous black banded agate beads and fell in love,

paired them with crystal and black swarovski crystals and bali spacers,

and sterling silver findings, and voila!

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To enter, leave me a comment.

(1 per person, please)

This giveaway will end Friday, June 26th,

and the winner will be announced on the 27th

{***PLEASE leave your email address in your comment so that I may contact you for your shipping info should you win! If I am unable to contact the winner by Monday, June 29th a new winner will be chosen. Whew! That's a lot of rules ;) ***}

Which Way to the Beach???

What a wonderful beach trip! I am glad to be home and finally have everything put away, and the laundry caught up. {Can someone just tell me how laundry multiplies so fast??? I did three loads in the less than 48 hours we were at the beach, and still managed to be inundated with laundry when we got home. It's a mystery to me.}

So, I promised beach pictures, and I am going to deliver. Unfortunately there are no pics of little toes in the sand. I know, I know, what kind of mother am I??? Really though, the weather was not as delightful as we would have liked, and it's a wonder we even made it down to the beach the first day with all the wind and rain. You'll see . . .

Brrrrrr, right??

But then, the sun broke through a little, and the wind died down . . .

We grabbed a quick photo . . . or fifty

We celebrated a birthday . . .

Rode the Carousel . . .

Filled our tummies . . .

Boogied down on the sand . . .

And headed for home . . .

Yeah, I would say it was a pretty great trip.

**** P.S. This is Post #99 . . . stay tuned . . .****

Honesty is the BEST Policy

Chrissy at A Lil' Dash of Diva has presented me with this lovely award . . .

Thanks so much, Chrissy!

I am required to tell y'all ten things that you may not know about me, and tag ten others.

Here we go!

1. I graduated from high school a year early at the ripe ol' age of 16.

2. I started dance lessons at the age of three, and continued some form of dance, studio/dance team/coaching/ until I got married and started a family. I do miss it.

3. I left for a two weeks trip to Europe (England, France, and Spain) the day of my 16th birthday.

4. I am not a party girl in any sense of the word. I just don't enjoy that scene.

5. I have always wanted a big family {say 5 or 6 children, not necessarily 20 children, just to clarify).

6. I expect a lot from a friendship. This has resulted in some disappointment in the past.

7. I was asked to journal for Storknet throughout my pregnancy with Kameryn. I am so happy I did, as I now have those journals to help me remember all the little things about pregnancy that you sometimes forget.

8. I married my childhood sweetheart.

9. I competed, as Miss Oregon, in the 2000 Miss USA pageant.

10. I am secretly terrified of having to go back to work someday. I know it's inevitable, but I would be happy to keep home and raise children forever ;)

Alright, I'm tagging . . . anyone who wants to play! I'm pretty sure this has been passed along to most bloggers I know, so consider yourself tagged if you have not yet participated! :)

World's Greatest Dad? You Bet!

Happy Father's Day to my gorgeous husband!

This guy truly is an outstanding dad. Sierra and Makenna LOVE spending time with him. Fishing, playing by the creek, even working in the shop, it doesn't matter, they just love being around him.

Thanks, hunny, for a fantabulous birthday at the beach!

We love you so much.

Hittin' the Road

We're headed to the BEACH for my birthday! {Well, it's a bit of a quick fishing trip for hubs too, but I'm telling myself it's just for my birthday}. This'll be Kam's first trip to the seashore, and I plan on taking plenty of photos! Don't worry, we'll only be gone a couple of days, and when I get back we'll talk more about that GIVEAWAY I mentioned earlier. You didn't think I had forgotten, did ya?? C'mon give me a little credit :)

Hope y'all have a fabulous FATHER'S DAY Weekend! Yay for all those awesome dads out there! {Have I mentioned before that I have an awesome dad AND I'm married to a pretty awesome dad? It's true, I'm a blessed gal!}

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, Week 12

Can it be? Is it really Week 12 of Extreme Makeover? Yep, it looks like last week was 11, it must be so. First off, head on over to Amber's. She's the super cool, gorgeous gal who started this. Check out her blog to see what the fuss is all about, join in, link up, you get the idea :)

Alrighty, if you've been here recently you know I'm having computer troubles. {Do I have time for a quick computer update? No? Well, too bad this is my blog, sister!} So, we got our desktop back. We need to hook it back up and I'll be back in business . . . sort of. Our laptop is another story. The good news is that I'm not CRAZY after all, there really is something seriously wrong with the laptop. The bad news . . . there's something seriously wrong with my laptop. Anyway, I still have my mom's laptop, which brings me to . . . I am unable at the moment to post pictures. Until we get the desktop set up, this little blog of mine will be pictureless . . . SOOOOO {get to the point, lady. Okay, okay} I cannot complete this week's EM:ME task. Dang, I soooooo wanted to post pics of my fridge ;) However, I did snap some photos that I will post a little later.

Not much new around here, fitness-wise. I am staying about the same weight. Within 1-2 pounds of pre-pregnancy weight. I fluctuate a little, and I'm okay with that. Overall I am far busier these days, which equates to more movement, so that's good!

That's it! Until next week ladies :)

Mom to the Rescue! Annnd more awards.

Sooooo, I realize that you are all probably sick of my ramblings about my computer, BUT I'm continuing them anyway :) My parents also have a desktop and laptop, and they were so kind as to let us borrow their laptop while they are camping. YAY! Hopefully by the time they return we will have some answers regarding ours. Mom to the rescue again, thanks Mom!

And now, for another award! Staci from Playing House sent this one my way. Thanks Staci!!!

I must list 7 personality traits about myself and I must pass this award onto others.

Here we go:

1. I can get emotional over the littlest thing. I cry over almost everything. While reading a children's book to the girls, while watching commercials, EVERYTHING. It's not pretty.

2. I am a worrier. I come by this naturally {my mom is the biggest worrier around}. I am working on handing my worries over to the Lord.

3. I have a terrible memory. Terrible. I would love to blame this on having three children, but alas, I've always been this way.

4. I enjoy being at home. While I love taking a vacation, or going on a shopping trip {I'm re-thinking this one after the last several shopping trips I've been on!}, I really don't mind being at home most of the time.

5. I'm going to have to agree with Staci. I love the fresh air, I love the sunshine. I love being able to be outdoors. BUT this does not make me outdoorsy. I'm not in love with camping and such. I'm pretty much a girly girl who doesn't like to get dirty.

6. I used to be organized. Now I'm not :) I used to make lists of everything I need to do. Now I just wander aimlessly.

7. I was made to be a mom. No doubt about it, it is the only job I was made to do. I love everything about it. {Yes, even the diaper changes}.

I pass this award on to:

Kristn at Dolan Dog Days (she's hoping to have some down time this week due to surgery. Please keep her in prayer)

Michele at The Soapy Elephant

and

Colleen at Martin Family Moments

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I am not having MAJOR computer problems right now. Our desktop computer and laptop are not both being worked on, leaving us without any computer whatsoever. AND I am not on the verge of tears because I miss them so ~ especially since I had plans for my upcoming 100th post and birthday{nor did I steal, um borrow, my parent's laptop so that I could do a quick catch-up on blog reading and post my own Not Me! Monday}. That would just be ridiculous.

While at the Sports shop to find a new fishing net for hubby for Father's Day, I was not so focused on getting a crabby Kameryn out of her carseat that I failed to notice as Sierra pulled the fire alarm lever on the fire escape exit, thinking it was a regular exit. The LOUDEST alarm ever did not sound, nor did my cheeks turn bright red as I ushered everyone out the regular exit. Not me.

I am not addicted to TLC and Discovery Health. I do not love the show 18 Kids and Counting and I would never EVER think about what it might be like to have that many children. I do not want a big family. No sirree. Not me.

I certainly do not find myself getting sad, already, that my baby girl is growing and changing before my very eyes. I definitely do not want her to stay a tiny baby forever, nor do I want my older girls to stay just as they are. That would be silly.

That's it for this week!

Love/Hate

I woke up this morning ready to start my regular routine. My girls are often late-sleepers, so it is during the earlier morning hours that I take advantage of my time on the computer. Many mornings Kam is awake and keeping me company, but sometimes, sometimes I can even get her back to sleep, and that is typically when I indulge in my blog reading, commenting, and occasionally, writing.

Well, not today friends. Though it does look like {with a LOT of patience} I may be able to get this post out. It seems as though my laptop has died. Poor girl, she's just not working this morning. I tried all the usual tricks, and she just can't muster up the energy to start up. I've called technical support and after much trouble-shooting they think the hard drive is shot. Grrreeaatttt. We do have a desktop {obviously, that is what I'm typing on right now}, but we've been having major issues with it over the last few weeks as well. Let's just say he's pretty fickle. It won't surprise me in the least if he shuts off right in the middle of my typing. Aaarrrggghhhhhhh. How is it that I can have such an intense love/hate relationship with my computers? {Oh, and did I mention that my video camera isn't working either??? Electronics are not my friends at the moment}

Okay, whine-fest over. Basically I wanted to type this up to let any of you who are interested know that I have not fallen off the planet. I do so love to keep up with your blogs, as do I love to keep up my own. I had great things planned for this week. I am coming up on my 100th post. This is 92, I believe. Also, I may or may not be having a birthday this coming week. I thought I would combine the two, and post a GIVEAWAY! Alas, that may not happen if my computer doesn't get its act together, ahem.

So, that is that. Have a fabulous weekend!