Vacation!! Trip!!

We are Colorado-bound sometime this weekend for our first family trip ever. Please notice use of the word trip. I've learned from some very wise people that trips include your kids and vacations do not. We are super excited and Jereme has vowed his Blackberry is being shut-off tomorrow afternoon and will remain off. I might be more excited about that than the news that follows this sentence. Seriously, can you imagine? I can't...one full week without that thing buzzing constantly with emails, phone calls and voice messages???

But, in other big news, Jereme just found out that he and I will be taking a VACATION! He earned Master Sales and that means 7 days in HAWAII in October. Bless you, Poppa and Mimi for agreeing to take our little stinkers for that time. There isn't a person that knows better than me what it means to have those kids for 7 straight days! They are a delight but they are also BOYS and TODDLERS!

I really don't know how I am going to kiss those sweet faces good-bye for that long. I am quite certain the food, drink, relaxation, beach, ocean, sleeping will somehow alleviate it. But, that's a long time to be away from your babies!! I've got a lot to do between now and then...tear myself away from baby Luke a little more will be a challenge but I am guessing the biggest challenge will be as my mom so eloquently put it, "getting swimsuit ready!!" Holy smokes, Batman, I better get going!!





Those sweet little faces and the progression of pictures with 3 boys in it!

And, we're back in the picture-taking business...

I'd post a pic...

but, that sweet baby boy of mine helped destroy a brand-spanking new camera with a glass of water. Although, there might be hope. It's been in a bag of rice for a week and today it actually started to click on and said I needed a new battery. So, dear sister of mine is sending one my way. One can only hope!!! On the downhill slide of the three weeks from hell travel schedule Jereme has!

Just a couple cute things the boys have said.

Isaac: Momma, when you get old like my daddy, then maybe you want to drink coffee but right now, you are young and daddy is old. (LOVE THAT BOY)

Jorden: Momma, thank you so much for taking us to the sprint car (midget) races tonight. Thank you for letting us have so much fun and such a great day. (MELT MY HEART)

The little boys are such talkers. Non-stop. And, if you aren't listening to Isaac, he will put both hands on your face, turn your head towards him and MAKE you listen to him. And, if you want to hear the sweetest sound ever from them, ask them to sing "Jesus loves me". Gotta get that on video. I pray that their little voices singing is forever etched in my memory.

Do you see why this child gets carried and held all the time? Look at that face!!!

And the rule-breaking continues...

Are there really any rules by the time you get to child number 3? Luke-baby is in the process of polishing off almost an entire peanut butter and honey sandwich, both of which are big no-nos before a year. But, he's ecstatic about his lunch. And, isn't that what's important, right? Peanut allergy...nah, surely not. Botulism? Really, what are the odds???

Green Monster trying to rear his ugly head...

Man, oh man. Jereme is headed to the Gulf this week and rented a Suburban to take a group of guys down there. We headed over to Salina to pick it up. Whew, it was a sweet ride and I got to drive it all alone. I could get really used to driving that thing with plenty of room, leather, all the bells and whistles. I totally get that my rocking-cool-minivan doesn't have many (does it have any??) features on it, but this thing had acceleration-controlled radio!!! It turned up when I accelerated and would gradually turn down as I came to stops. I was super-duper impressed. And, it was super easy to start imagining myself in that thing with the three stinkers in the back.

And, then, I remembered my little friend called Dave. Dave Ramsey, that is. He was whispering all the way home to me that if I can't pay cash then I don't want it. I don't? I was pretty sure I did. I pulled in and caught Jereme's eye as I got out. He could read my mind without me saying a word. This is what he said, "Babe, it'll be all the more sweet when we can buy it the right way!"

That is one of 3,032 reasons why I love that guy. He's willing to stand with me against what the world is screaming. God knows it's screaming to finance this, swipe your credit card here, same as cash for this new thingymabob. And, he's also willing to remind me when I start letting that envy monster rear his head.

So, c'mon fellow Ramsey-lovers (or no consumer debt people/cash people!), give a shout out and remind this girl why this (dings in the doors, back-hatch handle missing, stains, rips and 6 month old french fries all included):














is my dream car!

Okay, okay, okay.

Jereme wants me to make sure and point out that the picture I posted was from like 1990/1991 when he was in 8th grade or so. There you go.

And, I shall point out (and hopefully prove soon when I find a picture) that he was a Senior in 1994/1995 and was still rocking out the mullet. And, also for the record he did not get perms...it's all natural curl, baby!