Bad Day

So today has not been the best day. Actually, the past few days at work have been pretty bad. I have just been really stressed out, and have had NO patience for anyone or anything. Today was really bad, and by the time I left work all I wanted to do was get in the car and drive. At first I didn't care where I went or what I did, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go here:


My happy place.

But, the weekend is too busy to run away from. Soccer practice tonight and game tomorrow. Post-camp party, birthday party, and hubby to get ready to leave on Sunday. He is leaving on Sunday and will be gone until Thursday. He is headed to Denver and New York on a business trip, and we will miss him. Really I wish I was going with him, but that can't happen.

So, instead of running away, I moaned and groaned a bit, locked myself in my room for a bit longer, then got up and headed out to start the "running" for the night. We did manage to have some quiet family time tonight... we watch "The Blind Side". I love that movie. :)

Tonight I am feeling pretty calm and foolish for being so stressed out today. I've got a lot of work that needs to get done by Tuesday morning, and not sure that I am going to make it, but oh well. The world will not end if I don't get it done. I've got what is most important around me, and that is all I need right now.

So, I guess in the end, my "bad day" really wasn't all that bad. At least it ended well, and I guess that is really the most important thing.

Mini vacations

The past few weeks have been busy. My sister came to visit, and while she was here her daughter and her new baby came. Here are a few pictures of sweet baby Tuck:


He was 7 weeks old in these pictures, and just so adorable!! And huggable... and he smelled heavenly! We enjoyed our visit, and hated to see everyone go.

This past weekend we enjoyed Mayfield Family Reunion 2010 at Smith Lake. We enjoyed a weekend of shopping, swimming, boat rides and great food. We stayed at the beautiful Magnolia Manor - named for the beautiful large magnolia trees surrounding the property.


On our way home on Monday we decided to take a large detour and head over to the extreme northeastern side of the state. We drove over to Fort Payne and up to Desoto State Park and Desoto Falls. The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time together. The falls were not as impressive as we had hoped, but we did spot the first signs of fall colors.


We have been in school for one month... one more to go until Fall Break! Not that I am counting, or anything!

Sunday morning at the Farm

This was the view that greeted me when I walked out on the front porch at the farm on Sunday morning. I had to go grab my camera.

I love this place!!

Soccer 2010 has begun

Saturday was our first day of games for soccer season 2010. Kyle is the only one playing right now, and I was very thankful that I didn't have to sit outside in 100+ degree heat most of the day. The two hours we were there were more than enough. We came away sunburned, and feeling very dehydrated.

Kyle's team kept things exciting. They went down 1-0 early in the game, and had their first goal called back for off-sides. They finally scored, then we had to take a delayed time-out on the field for an injury. One of Kyle's teammates had to be taken to the hospital for stitches - 10 to be exact, right above his eye. He and another teammate both tried to head the ball at the same time, and only ended up hitting each other.

Barry and Kyle took the ref course last week, and are now both certified refs. Barry was called on to be the AR (assistant ref), and did a great job. He was actually the one who made the off-sides call, but I was proud of him for being honest. And it turned out ok, because Kyle's team won the game, 2-1, so I guess the honesty paid off in the end!

Kyle is not thrilled with the color of their uniforms, but they certainly stand out!


Kyle had a few run-ins during the game... several opposing players tried to take him out. He even got slide-tackled from behind, but he jumped right back up and kept on going.

He is looking forward to a fun season, and we are looking forward to cooler weather!

Trying hard not to sound like a cry-baby here...

Today is my first official day back to work (although I have been helping out with schedule pick-up since this past Wednesday). I'm excited to see old friends, meet the new teachers, and see the students (well, most of them).  My heart always goes out to the new 7th graders and the new students to the area. They always seem so lost and scared the first few days, but before you know it they will know the place like the back of their hand, and will have made lots of new friends.

I'm sad, though, to see summer "gone"... although the thermometer outside is screaming, "Summer is in FULL FORCE!!"  This has been a short summer, and not like one we have ever had before. I spent my summer in a car, driving my daughter to college classes almost every day. I only went swimming once... I used to LIVE in the pool. No family came from out of town to visit, and we didn't get to go anywhere, either. I didn't even spend any time at the farm (my parent's), which meant no late night front-porch swing talks, trying to catch lightening bugs, and going out to eat with my sisters. We didn't even grill -out... our grill died and we just never did replace it.

I'm thankful for the opportunities that this summer did bring: Time in the car to talk to my oldest (even if I was yelling some of those times because I was trying to teach her to drive... and I was either scared for my life, or just plain frustrated); YW Camp and the Spirit felt there; My attempts at my first garden; New furniture for my bedroom, which was built by my Dad, and finished by my son. We had movie dates, lots of ice cream, and a few just plain ole lazy days. I got a bit more of the bonus room put together, and even crafted a tiny bit. Oh... and I could grocery shop in the middle of the day on a weekday!! Do you realize what a luxary that is???

While I hate to see it all come to an end, I am looking forward to Fall and all it brings - cooler weather, family reunion, football games and soccer games. Oh, and Fall Break, too!!

Cupcakes and cousins!

Today we got to have some of the cousins come over to our house. We decided to jazz things up a bit and made cupcakes while they were here. We got the idea for these crazy cupcakes from Alisha (she blogged about it here), and we had tons of fun making them. The girls had a ball decorating them, but I think eating them was the best part!!


We had lots of sprinkles to clean up afterwards, but it was worth it! And the best part of the day? Miss Giga told me I was the best Aunt Kim ever!!

Happy 4th weekend!

What a fun, relaxing holiday weekend we had!

We started our 4th celebrating at the Callahan's on Saturday evening. I forgot to take my camera with me, but you can see some of the cuteness and read all the details on my SIL Dawn's blog here.

On Sunday evening, we packed up the kids and headed over to watch the fireworks at Bridge Street. We had never been before, so we weren't sure where to park/sit. As it turned out, we got one of the best views, I think!


The kiddos, relaxing on the blankets.
*Please excuse the obnoxious look on Josh's face. I don't know what it is about that kid, but he feels the need to pull this face almost everytime I pull out the camera. I've decided to start posting the pics anyway, and maybe I'll get the last laugh one day when he starts to get embarrassed because I'm showing them to others.


Megan brought a bunch of glow sticks that she received as gifts at camp. The kids (and their daddy) had fun playing with those while waiting as well.

I wish I had a bunch of beautiful pictures of fireworks to show you. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died within minutes of the show starting. :( Here are a couple, though, that I got.


Forgive the blurriness, please.

On Monday we took advantage of the fact that Barry didn't have to be at work, and Kayti didn't have school. We slept in (well, I let everyone sleep in... I was enjoying some peace and quiet! :) ), then headed out to the movies. Barry and the kids have been dying to see The Last Airbender (they are all HUGE fans of the cartoon). We had been hearing some pretty bad reviews, and so we were a litte unsure of it. We headed to a matinee in Athens (priced much cheaper than a show in Huntsville... Barry said he would feel better about spending less for us to see it if it did turn out that all hated it!). Barry loved the movie, but the kids had some mixed reviews. After discussing it at length on the way back to Huntsville, they all decided that they liked it, and they are excited for the next 2 movies. We ended our outing with dinner at 5 Guys, then hit some sales racks for school clothes. I'm sooo not ready for school to start back, but this is the best time of year to shop for clothes.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th as well!