Random Tuesday Thoughts

So, after getting through Monday, the rest of this week should be a breeze.  After all, it's a short week. Tomorrow could be the longest day in a really long time.
On to the random:

• Migraines suck.  
• Our Fourth of July will not have Fireworks, but I think glow sticks for the kids are in order. 
• I really want today and tomorrow to fly by at work.  So far, not so good.
• Turbo has been in demand this summer.  Birthday parties, sleep overs, just hanging out.  It's nice to see him have friends.  Keeps him busy and reduces the amount of screen time he has. As long as the playing happens out doors.  Bruiser is a bit jealous, he doesn't know that many kids his age.  That will change when he goes to preschool. Which is in two months. Nope, not thinking about that.
• Moving on, we have had some thunder storms that have wet things down here and cooled things off.  One came with significant hail, but Nick's Tomato plants should survive.
• Nick bought a used kayak last night.  He and Turbo cleaned it up and are planning to take it with us this weekend. Turbo is very excited Bruiser is less so, because he doesn't have a kayak of his own.
• I drove Nick's truck yesterday.  It wasn't bad, but my depth perception is off when I'm in it.  It's just so big and I'm not used to it. If I drove it more it might be better for me to drive.  However, the likely hood is small that I'll have to drive it too much. Nick is so much better at it than I am.
• Looking forward to getting some reading in this weekend.  Also some TABs and good times with family.

So that's my random for the week. Go see Stacy for more.

And join up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday. No rules, just fun, link up.

Prepping for Fun

This last weekend was all about getting ready to head out for a long Fourth of July Weekend. It was a good weekend, but sort of over shadowed by the fact that we all can't wait to get to the mountains on Wednesday.
Saturday started out with a trek out to the local garage and yard sales.  I went with a friend and while it wasn't a particluarly good day, I found a few things that were worth the trip.
While I was out, Nick's cousin stopped by for a visit, bringing donuts and two week old kittens that the boys got to help her feed.

Saturday afternoon Turbo had a birthday party to attend and we got the camper opened up so we could clean it up a bit and then pack it up for it's trip up to mountains.
Saturday night we had a thunderstorm come through, Nick stayed up way too late watching the lightening.  Storms fascinate him.
Sunday, I got the grocery shopping done and then we packed up and headed up to put the camper in the spot we want to camp in.  We are going back up on Wednesday, but if we wait until then to go up, all the good spots will be taken.

Our lovely spot.

A very dirty boy.

We are right next to the river and will be taking advantage of that to cool off, play and clean up, as the camp spot has fine black dirt very available to little kids. It also holds irresistible allure to kids.
Coming back from the mountain we hit rain and some light hail, but once we got home we found we had missed a major thunderstorm that came complete with a half inch of rain and a bunch of hail.

Snow? Nope, hail.

I conquered the laundry and over all had a busy, but good weekend.  Too bad Monday had to roll around.

Time to Confess

OK, so this week Friday is so appreciated.  It has been a very long week. Parts went smoothly, but others were rough. I'm just ready to be done.  And in that vein, let's get to the confessions:

• I missed last week.
• we were field tripping for work.
• It was fun, better than sitting in front of the computer.
• Bugs suck.
• Bugs in my house suck more.
• Especially bugs that bite me.

My arm Wednesday morning.

•  I got the above on Tuesday night when some sort of bug bit me.
• I reacted to it in a not so good way.

My normal arm.

•  Better now.  
• Still not sure what got me though.
• I'm thinking spider, but not too hard as that give me the full body shivers.
• I also got my hair done this week.
• It was time for my annual perm.

From this...

...to this.

•  The poodleness will fade as it relaxes.
• I also might think about color, but not til this fall.
• It's much closer to my natural color of dark blond now.
• CAn't wait to head out camping next week.
• We really need the break.

Join in the confessing fun with Aubrey at High-Heeled Love.

Spin Cycle--The Great Outdoors

The Spin Cycle this week is all bout the great outdoors.  Anyone who's been here recently should know that we here at the Jones house are no stranger to the great outdoors.  We try to get there as often as possible.  In fact, we will be spending four days over the Fourth in the great outdoors.
For those who might not have some of our recent forays into the Great Outdoors, here are some shots of the fantastic playground we have within a half hour to an hour of our house.

We play, summer or winter.

The view is fabulous. The mountains are nice too.

Our Great outdoors.

Marshmallow cooking.

Rocks to scale.

One of our preferred modes of transportation through the Great outdoors.

THe fam enjoying (mostly) the outdoors.

Kicking back at camp.

Streams hold a definite allure for boys.

Throwing rocks in water will always be a favored activity of small boys.

Pretty cute kids.

You can see forever.

The river right in town.

So that is a peek at our outdoors.  We get out to visit it whenever possible.  If you enjoy the great outdoors, spin it up and let Gretchen know.  She'll link you up.

WWTK--Randomish Stuff

Wednesday and half way through the week.  Can I get a Woo Hoo!?
Now on to the questions:

1. What are a few things on your bucket list that you hope to accomplish this year? Well my bucket list is here. Doable this year are the crocheting, and learning about wine. Travel--at least long distance, expensive travel--is not really on the schedule.
2. What would you rather have, a short order cook or a maid? A maid.  I don't mind the cooking, but hate, hate, hate the never ending dishes, laundry and cleaning that comes with a house. I do it because pig stys are not comfortable places to live, but it's not the highlight of my day.
3. Are there any projects you hope to do this summer? We are planning to re-carpet our stairs.  I want to keep my strawberries alive. Enjoy summer to it's fullest.  Yeah, that's our main project this summer.
4. What do you want your next big purchase to be? Probably new chairs for the living room.  Ours are showing their wear, but it will most likely be a new four wheeler and trailer to haul both four wheelers next summer.
5. Why did you start blogging? For the outlet.  I have a hard time connecting with people in my town.  A changing population in a college town has something to do with that. I needed a way to vent frustrations and to feel not so alone in those frustrations.  It's nice to know that there are others like me who can commiserate with the day in and day out of life.  I have made some great friends and I hope to meet more in person as time goes on.

Now you grab the questions and play along.

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

Tuesday Randoms

And we made it through another Monday. This one was better than the last one anyway. And now it's Tuesday and time for the random party!

• This little post right here is my 1000 post.  Not really sure what to feel about that.  Excited some, mostly surprised I have had that much to say. Looking forward to the next 1000. 
• Squirt gun battles have been big at our house.  Bruiser loves to sneak up on his dad.  Turbo loves getting a good ambush in.  Wet fun for all involved.
• The Fourth of July is sneaking up on us. We are taking a long weekend and going camping.  Along a river--splashing and floating on a raft are in our future.  So looking forward to getting out of town. An even bigger bonus is that Fourth of July weekend is not laundry weekend for me. Score!
• Hair cuts for my shaggy boys:

Before

After

•  They totally needed a haircut.  Of course Turbo went for the classic buzz cut. He misses his hair, but is getting used to it being gone.
• Still not much improvement on the potty front with Bruiser. He starts preschool this fall, so maybe that will motivate him to get with it.  Nothing else has.
• Sadly, we still feel like we are on the merry-go-round and it just keeps speeding up.  I really want off the ride. Does it ever slow down?

So that's my random for the week. Go see Stacy for more.

And join up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday. No rules, just fun, link up.

Of Birthdays and Weekends

So this last weekend was very much a weekend, with the added fun of having Nick's Birthday Friday and celebrating it with his family on Saturday.
Friday Nick and I had a field trip for work and then team building which consisted of drinks then dinner that work paid for.  Not a bad way to spend the day.
Saturday, Nick was up early and cooking breakfast on the griddle we got him to go with his two burner stove.  It will be fantastic for camping.  Isn't too bad for making breakfast in the back yard either.

Nick's folks came over Saturday afternoon and we had fried chicken, corn on the cob, and there was chocolate pie for the birthday boy.

They got Nick a wench for the four wheeler.  We spent the rest of Saturday installing it.  The directions that came with it were awful. Thank goodness for Google. I was able to find a decent set of directions that saved us untold headaches. 
It is on and working.  Nick really want to go play in the mountains now.
Sunday brought smoking meat and several squirt gun battles. Summer is definitely here.

It was very hard to face Monday morning.  After a weekend like this one, Mondays should be outlawed.
How was your weekend?  Great, or are you happy to see Monday?

Spin Cycle: Happy Happy

We are supposed to be happy and joyous this week on the Spin Cycle.  This one made me think.  I am generally happy, but identifying things that make me genuinely happy?  Those are harder to identify.

• Bruiser makes me happy.  This morning he decided to wear his Bob the Builder overall shorts.  He sang the chorus to Bob the Builder's song to me.  He was so cute and the hug I got after he sang made me happy.
• Watching my guys hang out and enjoy each other, without tears, screams or hits makes me happy. Turbo came up with the term belly slug for when either of the boys is lying on Nick as he lounges on the couch.  Bruiser makes a better belly slug than Turbo--it's a size thing. This makes me happy.
• Getting time to read makes me happy.  Time is not as plentiful as it used to be, but I enjoy every moment I get.
• Going for drives down bumpy dirt roads just to see where they go makes me happy. 
• It also makes me happy that Turbo is really into the story I am reading out loud in the car.  He is excited about road trips because he gets to hear more of the story.
• Fridays at going home time, I'm happy.  The whole weekend stretches out before me and it always looks so promising. 
• Going camping makes me happy, but coming home from camping and showering--that is heaven. 
• Sleeping in, even if it's only until 8, makes me happy.  I rarely stay asleep that long, and even rarer still do the boys let me sleep that late.
• Getting appreciation from the guys in my house for a dinner they liked and actually ate without much prodding makes me happy.
• Going shopping makes me happy--even thrift store shopping, maybe especially thrift store shopping.  It's new to me and if I can get it for next to nothing all the better.

Those are some things that make me happy.  Things that make me laugh are different. We love stand up comedians--Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy, etc. We love to listen to them at the end of long road trips.  By the time we are both leaning toward cranky and laughing helps to ease the tension of a long day on the road.
Nick and Turbo have discovered Duck Dynasty.  Some of it I find a bit guy oriented, but there are times I will laugh at it too.  Big Bang Theory has the ability to make me laugh out loud frequently.  Especially when the humor goes over the kids' heads. 
Bruiser and Turbo make me laugh as well.  Bruiser comes up with things that strike me as funny all the time.  Turbo is developing a sense of humor and is getting better at delivering a line that is intended to make us laugh.  I find such joy in them.
My hubby makes me happy.  After 20 years together, he still finds me attractive, interesting and beautiful.  I find him attractive, interesting and fun to be around.  Good thing, since we are stuck with each other.
What makes you happy?  Spin it up and let Gretchen know and she will link you up with the Spin Cycle.

WWTK--Thrills

 We Want To Know time again.  It is Wednesday--half way through the week! Let's get to the questions:

1. Are you an amusement/theme park kind of person? (Yes or no) Yes. 

2. If yes, where have you gone? If no, what makes you dislike those kinds of places? Nick and I have been to Six Flags Texas in San Antonio, and Disney World (twice). We paln to get down to Six Flags Elitches in Denver when Bruiser is old enough to do some rides.

3. Do you like to go on roller coasters? I like roller coasters if they strap me in well enough. I don't do so well with just the lap bar.  I want the full on harness drop down bars.  I will be the one who rides the roller coasters with Turbo--Nick doesn't like them.

4. Does your answer to #3 directly correlate to how you are about life experiences? I think so.  I can take on challenges, but definitely want the safety net in place.

5. What was the last scary and/or risky thing you did? For me scary was presenting for work.  Don't like it one bit.  As for family--having kids.  Scary, exhilarating, exasperating, ride that I wouldn't miss for anything.

Now you grab the questions and play along.

Link up with Kensie and Scriptor.  They would love to have you join in.

TGIT--Random

Thank Goodness It's Tuesday and not Monday anymore.  Monday sucked. Yesterday was a Monday that really did Monday proud. So glad it's over. And there was nothing in particular that was bad, just general junky Monday stuff.
So on to a brighter Tuesday and the random:

• For all the protests in the world about not being tired, Brusier fell asleep a chair last night.  It was a comfy chair, but he was out, despite loud protestations of NOT TIRED!

Nope, not tired at all.

•  Nick's class has been going well.  The students are learning and enjoying his material.  However, Nick took them on a field trip on Thursday, had a tussel with a rock and the rock won.

Just a sprain, but looks worse.

•  Turbo has started saving his summer earnings.  He's working for Papa and for Grandma doing yard work so he can learn how to work, make some money and do something productive this summer.  You know, except another level on Halo or build another useless thing on Minecraft.
• Hopefully today, Grandma gets Turbo to the library too.  It's time he got a library card and found the graphic novel section.  Kid needs to read. And I'm not wildly picky as long as he's reading.
• We are taking Turbo to the orthodontist next month.  Not looking forward to that one.
• Both boys need haircuts.  Turbo wants a buzz cut, but would like to grow it out.  I said not until he's older--and more likely to take care of it himself. So a buzz cut it will be for the summer.

And that covers my random this week. Go see Stacy for more.

And join up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday. No rules, just fun, link up.