Mountain Wedding

Robert and I had the opportunity this past weekend to travel up to Mentone, AL for a friend's wedding.  My parents were troopers and took all the kids for 1 night so we could go.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!! 

The couple married over looking the valley.  BEAUTIFUL!

After the ceremony, everyone enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and watched the sun set.  It was absolutely gorgeous.

The attire was black tie and boots!  Definitely the most comfortable attire for a wedding.

A little windy.  ;)

After the ceremony, we were bussed back over to their farm where the reception was.  Amazing.  No detail was left out. 

There were flowers and boots hanging all over the place. 

The food was so delicious!

So many of our friends were there and we had so much fun celebrating all together!

Once the dancing started, we didn't leave the dance floor. 

The bride, her sister and me. 

Literally we danced the night away! 

Even Matthew Mayfield got up and played a song.  Yeah.  It was like going to a concert!

The night ended with fireworks and then we headed back to our bed and breakfast. 

Which was quite charming.  Yes, charming's the right word for it.  :)  After breakfast I asked the owners if I could check out some of their animals.  I saw some miniature donkeys as we headed out for the wedding the night before and knew I wanted to check them out up close. 

They had a TWO WEEK old donkey and a four month old donkey and a couple of others.  They are all named after royalty.  Charles, Diana, Camilla and Henry.  The owner said they hadn't named the new little girl donkey.  I told him, "You have to name her Kate after the new princess!"  He said, "Kate it is!"  Glad I could help out.  :)

Look how cute!!!  The kids would have loved it.  The couple who ran the B&B also sent home a dozen farm fresh eggs!  They gathered them the night before.  Now THAT is fresh.  And I'm always shocked at how much better they taste!


Now back to reality.  Our first full week of school.  And Lillian is doing much better.  It's not that she didn't want to be away from me on that first day of school or anything, she just pulls "stunts" like that every so often.  The past 2 days, she's been the first one all ready (backpack on and all) at 7:30 a.m.  Then asks me every five minutes when we are leaving.  We don't leave for school until 8:20!!!  So cute!!  She loves it now.  It's still so funny watching her walk in.  She's so tiny compared to everyone else!!

Olivia and Landon are off to a great start as well.  Olivia is staying super organized and eager to get everything done when she gets home.  Landon is reading SO well, and stayed on green all last week.  I've seen some much better attitudes from him and sounds like it's coming out at school too.  :)

Why I Never Have To Buy Makeup....

......and a few products I can't live without.

I have lots of makeup.  Like LOTS.  I kinda got obsessed with QVC several years ago (don't judge!) :-) and signed up for auto-delivery for a couple (ok a lot) of Bare Escentuals products and kits.  BUT IT WAS A GREAT DEAL!  It really was...no lie.

I just thought, great, I'm stocked up for several years.  Til a friend came over and saw my drawers.  Then she told me I had a problem.  ;-)

Drawer 1:

This drawer is my main stuff.  Every couple of months I'll clean it out and rotate colors.  Seasonally usually.  There is no way to keep this stuff organized.  But I always seem to know right where something is. 

Makeshift Drawer 2:

This drawer sits above our bathroom cabinet.  It's for special occasions and times I want a little color.  If I wanna mix things up, I pull this out and play.  It also keeps all the EXTRA face/eye colors I received in all those kits from QVC! :-)

Also, as far as expiration dates, I'm pretty sure minerals don't expire.  From what I've read/heard the company HAS to put an expiration date on them, but in my experience, NO harm has come from using them after.  Other stuff like mascara, etc, I chunk.  :)

please ignore our colorful sponge-painted walls.  we re did every room of the house BUT this one when we moved it...no one sees it anyways...until now :p

I won't even show you the bucket of makeup up in my closet.  Which I'm really saving for the girls to play with one day.  My mom had a stash for us when we were little and I have MANY fond memories of playing in it.  Still do enjoy playing with it!! haha


So that is why I NEVER have to buy makeup.  BUT, recently I've run out of foundation and am having to buy it on a regular basis now.  I use BareMinerals matte foundation that is also infused with their RareMinerals complex.  I'm not sure if it works or not, but I'm pretty much stuck on this foundation and won't try anything else.  ;)

Another product I can't live without is this Urban Decay potion primer.  You put this on before eyeshadow/eyeliner....it ain't going anywhere!  I use this daily!

This product I've been using for SO long.  It has me hooked.  Since bare minerals are loose minerals, this turns whatever color you want to line your eyes with into a waterproof liner sealer.  Use this with the eye primer, and you are SET!  I use this daily too.

Onto face primer.  I don't use this everyday.  Only when I know I have a LONG day ahead of me or a special occasion I'll swipe this on.  It's like the minerals are set in place after you buff them on your face.

So, the thing that sparked the idea of a post like this was that I FINALLY ran out of concealer, and was forced to break down and buy some new.  I ran into Sephora and talked to the ladies.  I told them I wanted something that would last/cover/match and OH, was also in the $20-25 range.  Well, they were SUPER helpful and we came in UNDER budget with this Benefit Boi-ing concealer for $18.  It's considered industrial strength and so far, I like it. It actually made me realize how "off" my previous concealer was!  YIKES!

And last but not least BRUSHES!!!

This is just a handful of them.  I would get anywhere from 2-4 brushes with my kits from QVC.  And BareMinerals has some GREAT quality brushes.  Best eyeshadow brushes I've ever used.  I wash with face soap every so often and let them air dry.  But I kinda like that the minerals stay in so that if I ever need a touch up,  I just buff the brush over my face. 


So are there any other great makeup products I need to know about??

8 Decades...What Do You Do?

Even though we celebrated Sugar's 80th birthday last weekend, this past Saturday was her ACTUAL birthday.  So what do you do after 8 decades???

You ride 4-wheelers, sea doos, and go tubing!  Right!?

Photo courtesy of Lovey's iPhone

We waited for Sugar to come by on the tube....

A little friendly, parent supervised, wrestling.  Robert was keeping score.  Can't remember who one.  But it was funny.

Here she comes!

Do you know of any 80 year old great grandmothers that tube?!??

"Hey Shu Shush!"

Go Sugar!!

Taking a dip.

After a day floating in the water, we decided to meet up with friends and tube/wake board/slalom/ski. 

Don't these two look so much alike here??  So cute.

Then we headed back to our place to cook out and ski some more.  The lake was so smooth on our way home, we decided to book it!

Lil wouldn't even open her eyes.  I know I've never told y'all about her, I promise I've had a post waiting for MONTHS about Lil.  Maybe I'll post it this week since I can't edit pictures - and if I can't process them, what's the point in taking a ton anyway.

SLOW DOWN ROBERT!!

I'm hoping we can get Landon wake boarding one day!  I think learning it young is probably MUCH easier.

I actually slalomed this weekend.  It took my I think 3 or 4 tries to get up!!  AWFUL!  But once I was up, it was good.  I have no proof though so I'll probably do it again before summer's up.  I try and do it at least once a summer!

BUMMED

Y'all, it was time.  My computer just HAD it up to HERE with me.  I have a mac mini (which I LOVE) and it's 5 years old.  I guess on it's 5th birthday (pretty close, I got it summertime) it threw a temper tantrum.  Well, I guess I exacerbated it a little.  I was trying to free up space (down to 1 GB) and must have deleted some important things. 


After trying to repair with my Snow Leopard disk, I was forced to wipe it clean and start over.  All my files that I would have been upset about losing are on my external drive.  Music/movies/PICTURES!


But it's all the little "customized" settings I had.  All my bookmarks - even though most of them are saved in google reader and my brain.  The kids bookmark is gone - they'll have to rebuild that one. 



And also all the websites I've asked my computer to "remember" for me.  GONE. 


So I'm being forced to start over.  Which is hard, but also, I think I needed it.  My computer is basically BRAND NEW.  With 51 GB of space now.  WOW.   Even thought that's relatively small for most computers.  Again, that's why I have a 500 GB external hard drive that is about 3/4's filled up!


I will probably cringe or cry a little when I realize what I "really" lost. 


Oh, and PHOTOSHOP!  :(  I used Photoshop and Bridge to edit my RAW pictures.  So I may just dabble with iPhoto and their RAW settings until I can get Photoshop back on. 


BUT I did manage to edit this weekends pictures before the big crash.  I will post soon!!

Blonder and Browner

So we're having some crazy fun lately!  And most of it isn't conducive with taking pictures!!  When we're at the pool, I usually have my hands on kids.  And I'm not going to risk taking my eye of them to take pictures.  :-)


BUT, I did decided to snap a pic while I was inching back over to the "blonde side" of things.  Yes, $6.99 people!!  Best highlights ever.  Well, not ever.  Paying hundreds of $$ will maybe look better, but I think my $6.99 little box of Revlon frost and glow does BETTER than just good!

Hello Blondie!

It's actually not quite as blonde as it looks in that picture.  In fact, Robert didn't even notice when he came home.  Go figure.  But I'm definitely a little brighter these days!  Love being lighter in the summer!


And with some blonder lockes, we are also browning up nice and golden as well.

Yes, thanks to Robert's heritage, my kids just BROWN as soon as you stick them out in the sun.  No matter what SPF I put on them.  Not that I'm complaining.  I actually like a little healthy glow.

I wonder how dark we will be by the end of summer?  You should see Olivia!!  She is super DARK!!!  Lord help me when she's a teenager!  At least she won't be asking to go to tanning beds...right?

He's "kicking" in that pic.  Quite the little swimmer he's been.  With foam floaties of course.  I will post pictures SOON!  He is hilarious just floating around in the big pool!

I have to say, we are so busy this summer, I can't help but think of the up coming school year.  I'm gonna be SO BORED when they go back to school!!  I'm thoroughly enjoying all the hustle and bustle so far!  And so much more to come!!!

*(We'll revisit the "thoroughly enjoying the hustle and bustle" in August.  I may be in tears by then!)

My Summer Routine

I know I keep saying this, but I can't get over how much easier this summer is than last summer!!  It's been SOOO fun!

So far our days have looked like this.

SLEEP IN UNTIL 7:30 or 8:00.   Yes SIR!

Can I get an AMEN!??  It.Is.Glorious.

Then we eat, clean up, get dressed and pack up for the morning.  Last week it was head to the gym and let mommy get her sweat on for an hour and then go swim.  And WOW, it's hot and we're all sweating up a storm in my classes.  But it feels oh so good.


Then I go change into my bathing suity and get the kids.  We swim from 10:30 to whenever we get hungry or someone has a meltdown.  ;-)


Come home, eat lunch, put the younger 2 down for nap (sometimes the WHOLE house - including me -  has to go down - I just use my mom radar for that one) and I get whatever I need to get done around here.  Sometimes it's computer work, usually keeping the laundry going, cooking dinner, and if I'm lucky, a shower for me! 


I've also incorporated a mandatory READING time for the older ones.  We are trying to keep up with the summer reading, but when you have 3 that need YOU to either read TO them or read WITH them, it gets crazy.  I keep telling them, "Guys, there's 4 of you and one of me - I'm doing the best I can!"


Then after some reading time, they are free to watch some TV.  If it weren't 100 degrees outside, I'd force them out there.  But quite frankly, I wouldn't want to be out there and can't bring myself to lock force them outside.  And sometimes I get sucked into all the old I Love Lucy episodes too. 


Some afternoons we head back out for errands or library time.  Tonight it happens to be softball for Robert.  Can't wait!


This week we started a VBS.  So after our morning routine, I drop the older 2 off at VBS, head to the gym and then take the younger two to the baby pool.   Read: Mommy lounges by the gated baby pool and works on her tan while the little ones play.  As opposed to having to get in with all four in the big pool and have them hang on me the whole time.  Which is FINE but I also like to relax sometimes.  :-)


Then we head to get Olivia and Landon and go home for our afternoon routine. 


I make myself stay home all day about one day a week to do major cleaning and catching up.  But I've found that the more we're gone, the less the house gets messed up!  IMAGINE THAT!


Evenings are spend in the driveway playing, or doing something fun with Robert.  Sometimes a cookout or any other activity we can find. 


With Robert's new job, he will be occasionally traveling, so establishing my little routine early in the summer I'm sure will be helpful. 


So, just in case you were wondering how we are spending our days, that's the skeleton of it all! 

Do you have a general routine you follow???

First Day of Summer!

I'm sitting here and it's not even 1:00 and I feel like we've done A TON of things already today!  All I can think about is how I'm gonna keep these kids entertained all summer AND keep the house up!  I know we'll have a bit of a transition period, and I have always pulled through.  Still, not fun.


Even my sweet husband called me this morning and after a bit of conversation on his part, he said, "Now, how are you?"    ME: "Fine!"    HIM: "Emotionally????"    ME: "Yeah, I'm good!"    HIM: "Physically? Mentally? Everything good?"    ME:  "Yes, Robert, I'm good!"


It's funny that he's learned to ask that because you know how we girls can get on an emotional roller coaster.  There have been days where I tell him, "I don't know why, but I'm feeling *insert emotion* and I just want you to know."  And I think he appreciates the warning sometimes.  ;-)


SO, backing up a little, yesterday the kids got out at 12:30.  We came home, ate, rested, and then spur of the moment loaded up to go to the McWane Center.  Perfect in the afternoon, hardly anyone is there!!

Bed of nails...

Some seriously cool fish!  The green moray eel is always hiding.  I've heard he's HUGE!

Stingrays and sharks galore!  I have to practically keep Rhodes from jumping in!

Can you guess who pressed their face in here??

It's Lillian.


And this boy...

I threw away all his bottles yesterday and he was M-A-D!!!  Seriously! Swattin' his little hand at me when I offered him a cup.  He drinks out of cups all the time.  Just wants a bottle for his milk. 


Can't believe he'll be 2 in a few months!!

The past couple of weeks, I've been shifting the kids bedtimes a little later.  Since is summer I figured we could all stay up a little later.



And then they got up at 6:00 am.  SERIOUSLY!  Every other day, I'm having to drag them out of bed, and the first day of summer they do this to me!?


Just a little indoor hula hooping last night.

Wanting to keep up my walks without having to buy a quadruple jogging stroller, we loaded up the car with the bikes and rode around this morning.  I ran/walked, and the kids rode and rode....and definitely had a blast.  Not to sure how long we're going to be doing this....it got hot fast!

A little snack, and we're good to go!

After lunch, and a few chores (the girls had a lesson in folding clothes!), they begged to go play outside in the water!  Perfect way to kick off summer!

And that's how I've stolen a few minutes on the computer!  I'm sure Rhodes will wake up soon and we'll head out for a couple more errands, and then dinner!

I can't wait until the free summer movies, and all the library stuff kicks off next week!


Oh, and as you can see, I've ditched my fancy DSLR for Instagram.  Hope you're okay with that!