Just a quickie :D

I noticed today that Brayton's football games are all at 1:00, just the locations change.  This is nice because one day there was going to be Taite's game at 10 and Bray's at 11:15 and I didn't know how I was going to swing it!

Tonight was an answer to my prayers. . . Taite has a friend named Ethan (his dad coaches football for them, just a side note) and Ethan has been wanting to have Taite over to play.  Well, Ethan finally called tonight and he and his mom were talking and discovered that Ethan's brother, Nick, is in Brayton's class so the invited BOTH boys over tonight and Chris and I went to dinner with Tom & Jane at the clubhouse.  Chris and I dropped the boys off on our way to supper and met Diane (the boys' mom) and she was super nice!  She said she would bring the boys home at 8 or so, but would use Taite's cell to call us before dropping them off so we'd be home.  Well, after supper, Tom had reserved golf carts so we could tour the course at the Dunes which turned out to be a LOT of fun!  So neat to look into other peoples houses :~P  Anyway, our tour didn't get over until about 9 and I'd tried calling Taite's phone at about 8:30 with no answer, so I assumed it was dead (not good since the boys don't have either of our numbers memorized!).  We swung by the house where the boys were and Diane had just gotten home from dropping Taite and Bray off.  It seems they were so worried about needing to get home by 9 that they didn't think they needed to call us and assured her that "their parents leave them home alone all the time!" (great ~ now they think we are bad parents LOL)  When Diane got home her husband couldn't believe she'd left the boys at our house alone so she was frantically trying to call Taite's phone to get my phone number . . . :~)  It all worked out fine and the boys said the time went way too quickly!!!  It's truly an answer to my prayers that they are having play dates at good homes and it goes well and so quickly.  Thank you, Lord! 

Side note:  our course tour was fun and only one casualty ~ Chris spilled red wine on his khaki colored shirt while trying to drive LOL  :D

No practice tonight, well, at least not at the football field. . .

Last night the boys were already excited for tonight.  Why?  So they could play with the neighbor kids (girls) :~)  You see, here is how our nights go when it's "football night".

3:40 the buses drop the kids off at the corner
if the boys have homework, they need to complete it now ~ Taite is somewhat distracted by the neighbor girls vying for his attention.
4:30 we plan to eat supper so the boys don't throw up at practice or anything
5:00ish we leave for practice so the boys can get there early to play around
5:30 - 7:30 they have practice (the head coach is in his first year in this program and prior to this, he coached the semi-pro team in Sioux Falls so he's used to intense practices and people who listen, but he's very enthusiastic with the boys)
7:45 we arrive home and Bray gets in the shower first while Taite has a snack
7:55 Bray grabs a snack while Taite showers and they are in bed by 8:30 and 9:00. 

Taite is still adamant that he doesn't need to go to bed before 9 even though he's worked hard at practice ~ it's a mind thing :~)

Tonight I finally wrote a letter to my Grandma and I'm ashamed to say it's been overdue because she's already sent us 2 letters.  Ironically, she called as I was finishing up.  I so wish she had our calling plan because she could use the free long distance way more than we do!  She called because she'd dreamed about me last night.  I had come over to cut her hair in her dream and I too had thought of this today as I was getting my hair cut.  It brought tears to my eyes to know that we're thought about and wished well by her. 

I'm happy to say that yesterday 2 new kids asked Brayton to play at recess and another new boy asked him if he wanted to play soccer today.  I wasn't sure how much we should try to explain about him associating with the "mean" boy, but it all seems to be working itself out and for that I am grateful.  Thank the Lord.

Tonight we didn't have "official" football practice, but a little backyard practice with the boys and I throwing around some balls and then Chris joined and it eventually went to practicing plays.  Taite has been praised as a center (he'll be the back-up) and Brayton wants to be a running back.  They worked on snapping the ball and Brayton's hand positioning for receiving hand-offs and how to fake the hand-off and then go for the pass.  It all seems confusing to me, so Baby and I sat on the steps of the deck and watched.  Oh, and I brought out ice water for the boys.  Brayton was proud that he had PE today and really got good exercise both at school and at home (when I got home from work, his whole face was beet red and sweaty)!  I was going to take pictures of them in the backyard, but I'm not sure where my camera ended up after last weekend.  I never took it out, but am pretty sure I took it along and now I can't find it. . .

3rd day of school, 2nd night of FB practice

This weekend we went back to Wessington to celebrate Ken's 60th birthday.  We ate wayyy too much and the boys sure enjoyed seeing them all again.  Taite & Bray love playing Guitar Hero at Carmen & Cody's and can't wait "until next summer when they can play again".  I reminded them we live much closer now (3 1/2 hours vs. 6 1/2) and we'll see them more often I'm sure!

On our way home, we stopped to have the car washed.  As we watched the vehicle in front of us, it appeared that the center of the vehicle wasn't covered by the arm that sprayed out the soap and water.  To this Bray replied, "we are actually sitting lower than they are (it was an SUV) so we can't see if the top of the vehicle is being washed and the spray is smaller at the top and goes out as it gets to the vehicle, so it might be getting clean".  I tell you what ~ he is always thinking and I wish I knew what to make sure he is exposed to to utilize this thinking that comes naturally for him!  Right after we left the car wash, he commented about the one boy who he knew his first and last name after the first day.  He said that B.G. (I'll hide his identity) was "mean".  We asked what he meant and he said he hits teachers and uses the "f" word!  I explained that's why he was the one to be Brayton's "friend" because Bray was the only one who didn't "know" B.G. and how he was.  Today I asked if Bray met some other friends.  He said he knew all kinds of friends since day 2.  Then he said quietly "None of my friends ask me to play with them, though" ~ broke my heart.  I need to say some more prayers for him tonight.

Supper tonight was kind of a disaster.  I'm not quite comfortable with my new kitchen and where things are.  You know how you set things up so they are "handy"?  I haven't quite figured out all the locations for everything yet so I feel like it's not quite right.  I'm also getting used to cooking with my stainless pots and pans.  We still don't have a grill, so I was going to fry some chicken breast in a pan.  Simple enough.  I put a little oil in there, fried the breasts to the bottom of the pan, tried to "cleanly" add a little more oil to the spattering pan and ended up adding probably 1/2 - 1 cup of oil.  Great!  I had to drain the chicken when I was done and cut off the charred bottom so the boys could have a somewhat edible supper.  The house stinks, but my pans came clean!

Chris took them to practice (they practice on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays) because I wasn't feeling up to having to talk to the coaches who worked with Bray because they don't let the 3rd and 4th graders get nearly as much water as the older kids get.  It's a good think Chris stayed.  Bray's group got their first drink after practicing for an hour in the heat ~ the other kids already had at least one break and Bray's group was the last to get a drink!  Taite's coaches were commenting on what a great center he would make, so he is thrilled to have a position figured out!  He's asked constantly (from both Chris and I) as to what his position would be ~ as if we would be the ones telling the coaches what position he would be ~ LOL!  They got caught in the rain and finished practice in the rain so the boys thought that was GREAT! 

If you happen to be in the area, or maybe you want to come just for the game, here is their game schedule.  They always play on Saturdays, but they don't always play at the same place.  Where they do play is close by, so there won't be an issue making it to both games.
September 11
10:00 Taite's game is home (his are always at 10)
1:00 Brayton's game is home
September 18
10:00 Taite's game is away
1:00 Brayton's game is away
September 25
10:00 Taite's game is away (S. Sioux City)
11:15 Brayton's game is home
October 2
10:00 Taite's game is home
1:00 Brayton's game is home
October 9
10:00 Taite's game is home
1:00 Brayton's game is away
October 16 & 17
Taite has a tournament that weekend at home.

In this program they like to keep the little kids involved with the home games and varsity athletes so there are a couple home games that the little ones have to participate on the field.  I imagine this will give the boys a feel for what it's going to be like to play in "Friday Night Lights" :~)

I am feeling the need for a change and I'm not crazy about my hair being long, so I'm thinking of cutting it to something similar to this:

I don't really want straight bangs like that and I want the length longer, but I love the look!  Let me know what you think!  I'd put a cute counter thing in here if I had half as much a clue as Monica on these things, but I don't so I'll have to settle for an email from you! LOL

Pictures ~ yay!

Our day started earlier than I had my alarm set ~ Chris woke the boys up at 6:40.  He made them pancakes for breakfast, had them all ready and then was surprised to learn that Taite's bus isn't scheduled to stop at the end of our street until 7:50.  Almost an hour later than we are used to cause the bus used to come at 7:05.  Taite laid out his outfit last night ~ I think he was nervous.  He wasn't real excited about heading to the bus stop early, either :~)

We were prepared to take a picture before they left and there was a large mosquito on the door that was a small distraction first. . .  (yes, it is the slightly darker spot on the door about the height of Taite's nose)

Brayton thought nothing of walking to the bus stop early, Taite wasn't so eager.  You can tell by the distance between them in this picture.  :D

I think it's funny how sunny it was out and you can still see their reflective stripes on their backpacks!

I was going to try and get a picture of the dog ~ she laid on Taite's room floor "pouting".  She gave up looking for the boys about an hour or so after they had left for the bus.  That's okay because she had a long day at the dog groomers getting a hair cut (it was supposed to be a 2 hour appointment, but took more like 4 hours!).  As I was doing laundry, I decided to peek into the boys rooms to see if they had made their beds.  They had!  Taite's was not as nice as Bray's, but that doesn't surprise me.  Note the pillows in the top window in Taite's room ~ he said that lets too much light in, but to find a solution is not just a run to Menards!  That's like a custom fix. . .

Here's is Brayton's room as it looked today:

Yes, the boys have the same bedding, but I couldn't pass it up as it all matched (sheets included) for only $30 each!

After I was finally able to pick the dog up, I came home to an empty house (the boys should've been home from school by then)!  I was slightly panicked, so I took the dog out the front door ~ it was unlocked, so it was a clue ~ and found Brayton outside at the neighbors (with the twin girls Taite's age) and Taite was coming around the side of their house at the same time.  It seems when they got home everyone wanted to play outside and were going to go for a bike ride until I brought the dog out and then they decided to walk the dogs (the neighbors with the other girl, not the twins has a lab) so they took the dogs around and introduced Baby to Taffy another girl's dog somewhere in the neighborhood.  :D  When they came back, there was some sort of Nerf / weapon war type game going on.

The boy in gray is the neighbor Jesse and another boy said they call him "Sasquatch" because he is only one year older than Taite, but much taller!  The boys were all sweaty and I felt bad calling them home, but hey, we have a tradition of going out to eat on the first day of school! 

We ended up eating at a place called the Texas Road House.  They are known for their steaks and homemade bread with cinnamon butter ~ YUMMY!!!  On our way to supper, Brayton mentioned that he was the only one in his class who was chosen for a special reading group!  That's my boy!  Taite's backpack weighed a TON tonight so I was worried about his amount of homework, but he told me he only had his books home to put book covers on them ~ great ~ we don't have any paper bags at home!  I did find some wrapping paper that is made out of paper bag material, but has green plaid on one side.  Chris made me ask Taite what side he wanted out (I was displaying the green, Chris thought it should be plain) ~ Taite chose green so I hope no one picks on him because Chris will tell me all about being wrong!  LOL  The boys discussed at length how happy they are that we moved at supper.  I'm glad that didn't take long :~)

P.S.  We would definitely recommend the Texas Road House!  Taite had ribs and had stuff all over his face and fingers ~ he had to go to the bathroom to clean it all up :D

P.S.S.  ~ OMG ~ I almost forgot that the best part when we came home tonight was there were 2 loaves of fresh bread from the yummy bakery in Sioux Falls!!  Thank you, Tom :D

School starts tomorrow!

Last night we went to the open house at the school.  It was from 7-8, but as we arrived, we noticed many people were coming early because we were there for the new family meeting that started at 6:30.  We got to see Al Leber and some other heads of positions at the schools.  The PTO meets right here at the Dunes, so I might have to be an active participant at those meetings ;)  We bought some Panther wear at the Open house too ~ I got a really cool "worn" looking t-shirt like is in style!  I was impressed and the lady told me that her and her girlfriend went out on a limb to order some, but they were selling like hotcakes and I had to have a cool shirt too!

The boys both have a locker which is new for them.  Taite's has a combination and I practiced with him a couple of times so hopefully he remembers what he was doing.  He has a tendency to get distracted and pay attention to what everyone else is doing.  I was very nervous about getting all of their things (notebooks, folders, etc.) situated in their desks (in past years, we've had to put together a binder and organize things) but this year, both teachers just told us to put the stuff in their desks and they'll work as a class to get things organized on the first day of school! 

Taite knows a couple kids in his class and the girl who sits next to Brayton was commenting on how she eats too much sugar ~ yippee!  NOT!  Hopefully they rearrange seats often :D

Today the boys went to Kid's Day again at the pool.  It's something that they get to do (if we decide to get memberships at the club) on Wednesdays from 11 - 3.  For $8 they play in the pool and will have an organized game after all the kids arrive, they get to choose their main entree, snack, drink and chips all from a list of choices.  The boys get a little freedom and we get a "break" from providing them lunch.  We just don't know if it will be worth the monthly fee to have this opportunity and the use of all the facilities (except the golf course).

It's been nice and comfortable these last few days and tonight Chris took advantage of it to mow the yard.  He loves having a smaller yard ~ have I mentioned that before??  After mowing, he was chatting with the neighbors so I finished up cleaning and went out too.  The neighbors are very nice (they live right next door and have a 10 year old girl and a 12 year old boy, who is taller than Chris) and they seem a lot like us in that their kids are well behaved, have rules and one night I interrupted their supper and they were all sitting at the dining room table like we do!  The people on the other side, not so much.  Their son and his friend were playing basketball at 11 on Sunday night and finally quit at 11:30, but I digress. . .

Of course when we were out chatting, it was about 7:30 and then all the kids came out too ~ right before they need to be told to go to bed :D  Oh well, they'll see every one in the morning because the bus stops at the end of our road since the street doesn't go through yet.  Apparently, they pick up each kid at their own house on the streets that do go through!  That surprises me, but I guess for a district that doesn't qualify for state aid, they can do that sort of thing in town.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday night we got to go on a bike ride down by the river.  The boys had played most of the afternoon at the pool with Annika, so Brayton was very tired after our ride, but it was a nice ride.  Chris had to get new tires and tubes for his bike because his back tire was completely flat.  I reminded him that he had commented at the beginning of the summer that one or both of my tires were bad too, but he didn't remember that and I had called him when he was already home from Walmart.  Thankfully, my tire held up for our ride and for the 5 bike rides Taite took yesterday with it.  Why is he riding my bike?  His is too small, the seat hurts his butt and it's almost the end of the season so we have no idea how much he'll grow over the winter, so it seems pointless to get a new bike now, especially with school starting tomorrow. 

If all goes well, we'll have new "First Day of School" pictures to post tomorrow!

The New

I first have to say that you should check out the Crafting Chicks blog because their topic for today was "Peaches and Cream pie"!  I haven't looked at it yet, but already my mouth is watering!!!

I have to tell you that we had a very productive weekend.  We finally found and bought a replacement car for the truck: a Nissan Maxima.  It was used, but had low miles and bells and whistles we are accustomed to and was in our price range.  I know we are spoiled ~ it's just that after having the van (it's a "touring" with everything the Japanese might want when Chris drives them around in it) we wanted some features in our car that just couldn't be found in a Focus :D  We also found and bought the TV for above the fireplace.  The builder makes the hole for a 52" Sony, but Chris did not like the picture on it and it got horrible reviews for it's sound, or lack of sound.  The problem ~ Sony is like the only manufacturer who makes a 52" TV.  We really like Vizio TV's and they make a 50" (seems like such a waste of space) or a 55" (too big for the cutout in the wall).  What did we go with??  Well, if you know us, we'll start looking at the 10" and will end up with a 62" ~ hehe ~ we have the 55" that doesn't fit in the hole, but the looks good anyway.  If only I knew what I wanted to put on the mantle. . . I love crocheted stuff and most of what I have is maybe 3' wide, but this mantle measures 80" across the top!  I need to do some major shopping, but am banned for awhile.  My husband has a fear that we are going to "accumulate" junk like we had before the move.  I would like to add that we donated most of our "stuff" and therefore, it was NOT junk!

We also finally made the plunge and got the boys their cell phones.  Chris was going to just pick out the free ones, but there were too many to choose from and so we all went to the Verizon store ~ only to find out they didn't have in stock the free ones that we wanted!  She sent us to the mall's Verizon store, but didn't tell us that they probably would have different prices on the phones!  The $0.88 at the one store with no stock was $49.99 at the store in the mall (who did have them in stock!).  I mentioned this to the lady so she did some checking around in back for older model of the phone (no flashy colors) because she thought they had some and they could give us those for free, but she didn't find those either.  Next thing she's talking to another guy working and she quietly tells us she can give us the phones they do have in stock for free and won't charge us the $49.99!  I didn't even know they could do that!!  We signed up for unlimited text and it is already paying for itself!  If the boys have your number, I apologize already!  They were calling and texting everyone they could think of!  That was fine cuz we have free weekends, but the free nights with Verizon don't start until 9 pm!  They would both be walking around the house talking on their phones and we'd have no idea who they were talking to.  The best was when Chris and I were looking at the computer and Taite called Chris' phone and he was in the living room. . . If you would like to be in their address books on their phones, please let me know and I'll give you their numbers because they LOVE being able to contact whomever they want!  They are doing well, though because when they went to the pool they weren't going to take their phones, but that would defeat the purpose of having them, so we put one phone in a plastic Ziploc bag and it was padded by pool towels.  They were thrilled that they could ride their bikes all by themselves to Grandma & Grandpa's house, pick up Annika and head to the pool.  They even got money for lunch because I was feeling generous, I gave them $35, but I won't make that mistake again. . . they came home with $3.

Tonight was their first night of football practice.  They have all the 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th graders on the field, but they are divided into about 8 groups (age appropriate) and they run stations with each group.  This year the organization bought all new helmets and pants (we don't have to provide pants this year) which are black and I'm happy I don't have to try and keep them clean!  They also have many, many coaches at each station.  These aren't just dad's either.  The head coach was the coach for the semi-pro team out of Sioux Falls previously!  Some of the others are the defensive or offensive coaches from local colleges. 

Here is a picture of the boys after running all the drills at the end of practice.  I apologize for not having pictures of the boys running the drills but I had a hard time keeping track of them during practice while swatting away mosquitoes and bugs!

 This is a picture of all the coaches (well, not all of them, some were off to the side).

What's Up

I'll try to make this quick just to get an update out to you :D

I haven't been taking any pictures, so if you like those, sorry!

The boys had football camp Monday & Tuesday mornings.  There was a heat advisory out for Monday, so we were happy with the overcast skies we had because it was much cooler than it could've been.  Tuesday was sunny, but the wind was blowing, so it was tolerable too.  The boys each got their first Dakota Valley (the name of their new school) t-shirt and Taite will be able to wear Brayton's shirt and Taite's shirt will be too big for Chris.  Guess we'll have to buy some that fit!  We had the wrong dates/times for the happenings of the football program, so we missed the parent meeting on Tuesday night (the incorrect schedule we received said the 5th grade equipment pick-up was Tuesday night).  The boys both have their equipment now (well, Bray doesn't have a girdle or helmet because they didn't have his size, but we are assured on Monday we can get them).  This year, since it's our first year, I opted to do the "buyout" instead of volunteering for the food cart and stuff.  It seemed like the easiest thing to do!  The dentist the boys went to donates custom fit mouth guards for the players if they want it.  By custom fit, I mean, he takes a mold of their mouth and makes a mouth guard for them!  Very nice!!  Another nice thing this year is that the pants are black for FB!  We should save a lot of money on laundry detergent and OxyClean!

Speaking of laundry, I LOVE our new front load machine!  I swear it gets our clothes WAYYYY cleaner than our old machine!  Taite had fallen off his bike and scraped his knee and I forgot to spray the shorts he was wearing, but you'd never know there was dried blood on them!

And speaking of appliances, my dishwasher is already being replaced next week.  It has an automatic soap dispenser so when it does the pre-wash, it will dispense the correct amount of soap, unless the reservoir isn't sealed correctly and then it all just runs out into the dishwasher and your boys will call you at work to say there are soap suds all over the floor!!!

We are still hunting for a vehicle.  Dont' know if we want a car, SUV, small truck, etc. . .
Of course the only thing we found and fell in love with is much more money than we had planned on spending and is way more car than we need!  It's a Lincoln MKZ, has cooled seats and only 8000 miles.  An older couple bought it but didn't like it as well as their Camry, so they traded it in shortly after buying it. 

The storms that blew through here on Sunday night didn't seem so bad, so we watched the rain and wind blow by our window in the dining area while the boys and I played Boggle.  The electricity was out for awhile, so that's why we sat by the big window.  Little did we know, trees were going down all around us ~ south of here, north of here and east of here, it looks like little mini tornadoes went through.  In fact, just across the interstate from here, they didn't get their power back on until Tuesday night!

We are slowing unpacking more and more boxes to find homes for everything.  I am really enjoying my kitchen.  The island/bar is great and the boys eat lunch at the "barland" (it was that or isbar) and Brayton has started calling me "Hey Waiter" when he needs something while eating.  He giggles every time :~)  We still only have the two bar stools from our old house (we were using them as side tables in MN), but we need to find more that match because for supper, Chris and I tend to walk around and eat while the boys are sitting at the barland.  Tonight, we all did sit down at the table for supper and that was nice. 

Just in case, here is our new contact information:
Cell #'s are the same (until tomorrow) because we had to wait for our billing cycle to start over otherwise, we had to pay to get new phone numbers in the middle of the cycle. . . don't quite get that!

Address:
646 Fawn Hollow
Dakota Dunes, SD 57049

Home phone:
605-540-0662

email addresses:
Lisa ~ lisah@nimidstar.com
Chris ~ cheinz@nimidstar.com

The boys are patiently waiting for us to get them their phones.  We'll make sure to share their numbers (along with ours) when we all have them. 

I suppose, I'd better get to bed.  Taite will probably be up bright and early tomorrow because one dad at the equipment handout tonight said his son is Taite's age and there are many boys in our area who he will bring over to our house tomorrow so they can meet Taite!  That will be great if he followed through!

Just an update

So, I was going to send a bunch of pictures.  Various things that you would like to see:  the "Lego land" the boys have created ~ the room we don't have any furniture in has become their playground and it's all good because it's not in the middle of the floor!; the minuscule gap between the laundry room door and the washing machine. . . ; and other exciting things that I can't think of.  LOL

So, I'll just go over some random things and give you a re-cap of today.

Way back on Friday, when we closed on our houses (both the sale of one and the purchase of the other) our realtor here said he'd left a gift at the house for us.  It was this beautiful crystal dish!  I happened to have those green mints they give us when we eat at the clubhouse in my purse, so that's where they went!

Last night we finally had a real meal cooked at home ~ Salmon something ~ it was cooked and on a bed of greens with strawberries and a vinaigrette dressing and honey drizzled over the salmon (I cheated and mixed the honey with the dressing only to realize that they didn't mix at all and we mostly had vinaigrette dressing on our salads) the salad was a hit and Taite even asked for more.  Too bad, it was all only made for 4 servings.

Today my washing machine showed up (we had a huge stack of laundry waiting) and the Orkin man came for our initial inspection and application.  The washing machine has to hug the dryer and the back wall and we have to hold the handle down on the door to the laundry room so we don't mark up the washer. . . In fact, I was moving laundry tonight and Taite tried to open the door to the room, so the washer already has marks on the door.  The Orkin man said he saw a wolf spider OUTSIDE our house that he thought was a mouse at first (SOOOO did NOT need to hear that!).  He assured us that he killed it good and hopefully that was the only one we'll ever have around here!  He was even polite enough not to mention that the dog had crapped downstairs (he had already gone around the perimeter inside the house to spray). . .  so embarrassing!

The cable guy came this afternoon to tell us our cable isn't working due to a poor connection (the cable that was in the walls of the house for the "ease" of use. . .) and he'd have to "tear into it" to see what is back there.  Well, there wasn't time because we had to get to the school for our tour of the middle school.  I had the boys' paperwork all filled out and they need it at least a week before starting here and the first day of school is August 19th!  The middle school is the only tour we got in because it took longer than anticipated and the offices close early due to it still being summer.  That's okay, we'll go back for the tour of the Elementary school soon.  We did learn that the boys will be riding different buses and Taite isn't comfortable with that, but I believe it's only because he usually keeps Bray "in-check" and out of trouble.  I guess Brayton can't always rely on his brother and will have to learn to take care of himself.  Everyone we met today was very nice and the middle school has an awesome new science wing that an anonymous donor had built and will be open for the first time this fall.  We should know by this weekend who their teachers will be.  For Taite's class, the ratio is approx. 25 to 1 and he came from 30 to 1, so that will be nice.

To make the boys happy, I was going to swing into the storage unit to get more boxes and mostly to get the Legos they've had to live without and you'd have thought were their only Legos.  Unfortunately, we pulled into the drive and this is what the entrance looked like:

We didn't get anything from the storage unit today. . .

After that, I was driving and saw a sign for $10 haircuts.  The boys were long overdue, so we turned around and got them haircuts.  The only catch was we had to entertain the dog for a bit until the beautician was done with the haircut she was working on.  This is the dog: 

He kept jumping on Bray and finally got him down, then proceeded to "hump" him!  I was on the phone with the cable guy trying to schedule the time for tomorrow while pulling the dog off of Bray. . .  It was interesting!

After haircuts, we grabbed a change of shirts, a snack, Grandma and headed to the mall to find water shoes or sandals.  The boys are participating in an outing for kids from the Dunes tomorrow.  They are going to King's Pointe Water Park and are kind of nervous, but I think they'll have a blast and will forget all about not knowing anyone else on the trip!  Our hope is that they will make some friends on this day long trip.  And that is pretty much what is going on here.  We are slowly getting more and more things "put away" in the house.  We couldn't find our pots and pans and that's because we forgot to bring them.  Chris was frantic about some folders he couldn't find, but he did find them finally today.  Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to tell you about his Dr. appt. today.  We think he has ulcers or a tension/muscle thing going on (it's gets way worse the more upset he is) and he finally went to the Dr and she was hot, so he was uncomfortable!  LOL  Of course, he said I was the most beautiful woman in the world to him, but she was very good looking and that made him uncomfortable ~ I laughed!!  hehe