Pausing for a fun quiz...

You Are Most at Home in the Kitchen

You Are Most at Home in the Kitchen You're the type of person who finds a lot of comfort in your home. You love to take care of yourself and others. Your home is welcoming and open to all. You love entertaining guests and making them feel a part of the family. There's nothing like spending an afternoon in the kitchen, whipping up treats for you and your loved ones. You believe that the simple things in life can be the most enjoyable. You like give your time and love to people.

Wordless Wednesday: "Youz had milk, but I dranked-ed it all gone."

"Well, there goes $600 out the window!"

Or door in our case.
Our beloved bird, a Jenday Conure named Steve, escaped from our house tonight.
We are devastated.
My little Julia came to me in streaming tears and hiccuped breaths screaming that Steve had flown out the door when the girls opened it to let a friend in.
Daphne, Abby and Garrett had grabbed flashlights, since it had just gotten dark outside, and were diligently searching trees and bushes.
I have real doubts that we will ever find him again. He does have a tracking bracelet and I will be calling the the proper facility to report him missing in the morning...but for now:
To any of you in the Durant, OK area, this is what Steve looks like. (I know 4 children who would be willing to give up a year's worth of dessert to have him back). 

Happy Birthday, America!

For the 4th we celebrated with some good friends of ours, The Ellsworths, on their beautiful property and had the best time EVER!! We played Fort with army men and shot Black cats at the other person's men. (It ended up just being a Mame-a-Thon for the poor army men. lol!

"Retreat! We're no match for their heavy artillery!"

What's a summer time soiree without a trampoline?

At the pond on the paddle boat.

A friendly little game of tug-o-war.

And now, for some barrel racing!

"Pal, you be the barrel and I'll race you!"

"Ok, just steer clear of potholes."

And they're off!

Junior and Dylan round the corner and head back for home.

"Pal, I think it would work better if you held my legs up a little higher."

"Oh. Well, I think it would work better if I were taller or you were shorter. Just sayin'."

Black cat explodes under water. That was cool to watch, even though my picture doesn't do it justice. A large portion of the pond would light up in all shades of yellow, blue and green. It was cool.

Roman Candles across the pond. Looks mystical.

My son lighting fireworks with an older buddy.

And the fireworks for the night were amazing!! Here are a few of my shots from the evenings festivities. Enjoy!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Alice Adventure SNEAK PEEK!

My oldest daughter turns 12 next week and for us that's a big deal. Lots of new changes occur for her when she turns 12. She goes into Middle School for one (ugh, really? ALREADY?)
She also advances into the Young Women's organization in our church.
And come on, she started shaving this past month, I had to buy her her first bra!! It's all happening so fast I hardly get to see anything. I feel like I'm trying to read the graffiti on a runaway locomotive.
So, letting the new adventures that await her in the next year inspire me I have decide to throw her a mega adventure for her to share with her friends...

in WoNDeRlaNd!

Here's a sneak peek at the future festivities:

The invitations...

Mad Hatter Treat Box (I may even give you a tutorial on these...if you're good).

Ok, that's all you get for now! The rest will follow next week directly after the party and clean-up (if I survive). And you'll be able to check it out at my Party and Event Blog: Hip Hip Soiree

Bedtime BFFs

Naps are always better shared with a friend.

Adventures in Accidental Agriculture

LOOK!! I have my first pumpkin!!

And another one is well on its way to making its place in this little plot of Harvest Land, USA.

Look at how gigantic this plant is! My daughter planted it a little over a month ago and it has multiplied in size so much so that it's taking over!

There's only one problem....

...this plant is not growing freely in some fenced off designated area for pumpkins in the garden we share with my mom in her backyard. No, it's growing in my front yard. More specifically, in my intricately manicured bed by my front door. If I don't keep it pushed out of the way, you literally have to step over it to get to the front door.

This was not a successfully planned and executed endeavour at gardening.

It was, as honestly as I can put it, a total accident.

My daughter got seeds from her teacher the last day of school and in overhearing mommy and daddy talking to nana about growing our own fruits and veggies, I think my little JB decided to take this whole gardening thing into her own little "green" hands.

When it began growing, we had no idea what it was at first.

I thought my landscapers had planted a new ground cover.

My husband thought it was a weed.

We were left in the dark concerning our mystery plant until we had visitors come and those visitors were so impressed with our squash and how well ours was doing and wanted to know our secret to getting it to thrive so.

All they got from me and Mr. Simpleton were puzzled looks. 

"You do know that's squash, right?" they would ask us.

"Oh, uh, yeah! Well, no, no not really. We knew it was something but....are you sure it's squash?" 

All we got in return was a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look.

My neighbors on the other hand, (we live in a supremely manicured and polished neighborhood *said with a strong British accent and a pinky finger held high clutching a Mint Julep*), have been less impressed with our green thumb. 

"Ahem, your pumpkin squash looks, uh, like it's doing well. Do you, uh, intend to keep it there?"

Gag me.

Yes, for now we do intend to let them run amuk in our front yard. And I'll be bringing you all pumpkin pies in a month. So take your nose and your mint julep back to your own front yard.

Looks like the Mason abode is well on our way to a healthy harvest in autumn!

Come on over for some pumpkin pies!

And pumpkin bread....

and pumpkin cookies...

and pumpkin soup...

and pumpkin pancakes...

Post-it Note Tuesday!

Satirical Saturday: "Creepiness Never was Sexiness"

To the middle-aged man at the pool with the tan that screams "Orange Juice parade!": Although you have no doubt been to the gym to work on your biceps (which by the way, is the only thing working to your advantage), the fact that you stare at me from across the pool while rubbing yourself down with oil (as if your hair didn't have enough) does not make me want to pull a Pamela Anderson and fulfill your *gag* fantasies of me running over to you to perform pretend rescue mouth-to-mouth.

The word "creepy" is an adjective that follows you around like dog poo on a sneaker. No matter where you go, there's that annoying stench that no amount of grass-rubbing can scrape off. So, forgive me if I don't fall off my lawn chair in a hazy daydream of frolicking together in a grassy meadow. However, this word is italicized, bold, and in the largest font possible when referring to you considering you seem to be oblivious to the fact that I am sitting in the kiddie section with my 4 children while you try to use your imaginary X-ray vision to burn a hole through my mono-kini.

Word of advice, a good sheering before jumping in the public pool would benefit not only you, but the pool drains...(not to mention our gag reflexes).

And drop the cheesy swan dive into the pool with the dramatic tricep flex out. It's only 4 feet where you dive off and......on second thought, why not try diving a little deeper next time?

Rainy Day Craft-a-thon

Hooray for rainy days that give my crew a break from the city pool every now and again!The pool was closed due to the looming threat of foul weather so we stayed home and made things using our imaginations!

First, we pretended to be mad scientists...

...by creating strange humanoids using old magazine pictures...

Garrett's finished zombie: Giant Bob

Julia's finished droid: Charli

And I had to make one, too! Meet Flexi-Girl. Stylish Sweetheart by day and Solid Rockstar by night! (My life in a nutshell).

And, since I was using my imagination today I figured I'd combine my recent adventures in frugality and today's burst of creative energy to rid myself (and my bedroom floor) of those orphaned socks. You know the pile? The one that keeps mutating to a big giant striped cotton monster (I actually had no idea how much we apparently love striped socks until today).

I have an art studio full of craft supplies that were feeling neglected lately so I hauled those out.

And this is what came of it all! "Sombrero the Dog" by Garrett

"Snake" by Garrett

Julia's Bird Dog. It's a bird and a dog mixed together. Pretty cute. (And no, it's not a dirty sock, I promise.)

.

A baby seal by Julia.

I think they liked them. What do you think?

I wasn't finished with mine but the kids wanted to take a picture anyway: This is Zaffe Girebra.

Needless to say, we had a blast!! Maybe it'll rain tomorrow? *fingers crossed*