Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot...

The weather has been ridiculously hot lately. I know it's July, but COME ON!!! Over 100 degrees every day with no relief in sight. So, today I took the kids to Tie Breaker (a pool about 20 minutes away from our house). It has a couple water slides, a lazy river, and a wading pool.

Ususally when we go to a pool, I lay on the side and read a book while the kids play, but today was just TOO hot for that! I found myself in the lazy river most of the time. Eventually we gave up and headed home. Even with the water to cool us down, I felt like I was baking in the sun...

Today's Treat

Today we got cupcakes from The Sweetest Batch Cupcakery near our house. Oh, wow!!! They were so good!

 I got two cupcakes - of course. Wedding Cake - just because it's about that time - and Starry Night (strawberry flavored cake with strawberry buttercream icing).

Sammy chose "Minted Perfection" - a chocolate mint cupcake with mint frosting. I actually got her to share some of hers and I liked it even better than mine! Such a yummy combination of flavors.

Jon chose "Campfire Delight" - a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow filling topped with marshmallow buttercream icing and a mini chocolate bar and piece of a graham cracker. Whew! He was so nice and shared it with his friend, Hannah.

 

The only reason we even went there was because I had a coupon from school, but now I am afraid that I am hooked on them!

A Day Out on the Lake

Today April and Pete treated us to a day out at the lake. We rented a small pontoon boat and spent a couple hours in the sunshine. The weather was perfect and the company was excellent. The only part that wasn't wonderful was the speed (or lack thereof) of the boat...

Granted, we know it wasn't a speed boat, but seriously? Pete had the boat at full speed and it barely made a wave. He actually ended up calling to see what the deal was, and the boat rental people laughed at him because the boat had a tiny motor and that was as fast as it could possible go. It became the joke of the day. At least we had a nice time visiting and laughing without kids for the afternoon.

"Katie Bug"

She is a doll.
An absolute doll!
When we went ot visit April and Pete, Katie was so darn cute! She talks all the time and wants lots and lots of attention.

She was so fun to watch when she was playing - such an imagination! Here she is acting like a puppy dog... 

And driving a car at the grocery store...

And playing with her buddy, Maddie...

And pretending to take a nap with her new "Luncle Lamar".

I can't believe I actually posted that last picture with Lamar wearing that ridiculous shirt - he's "so fresh" huh?

Family Stickers

It's a little thing, but something that we were both so excited to do...
Get those silly family stick figures for the back of the Pacifica.
I found a website that let me pick from a bunch of different styles for each of our family members.

Isn't Lamar a cheeseball? One of the reasons I love him...

Trip to Atlanta

One of the trips that Lamar and I took this summer was to visit family in Atlanta, Georgia. We spent the fourth of July with Lamar's father and step-mother as well as his brother and his fiancee. Aaron might be much smaller than Lamar, but his attitude is just as big!

While we were there, we went out to eat at this great little diner. The breakfasts were HUGE and delicious!!!

It was so wonderful spending time with my new family. They made me feel welcome - and that is exactly what I needed. Can't wait to see everyone again really soon!

Cheap Thrills

After spending an absolute fortune on groceries at Giant over many months, Lamar and I decided to cash in our fuel points for money off our gasoline. The way it works is similar to Kroger...for every $100 spent on groceries, you earn $0.10 off per gallon of gasoline. You can even save up your discounts and use them all at once.

When we pulled in and tried to access our fuel points, something wasn't working properly on the machines so Lamar went ot get the attendant for help. He came out and helped us and his jaw dropped when he saw that we had earned $1.80 off per gallon. That meant we only had to pay $1.69 a gallon!!! I can't remember the last time I paid such a low price for gas!

We seriously laughed and took pictures while we filled up our cars with super cheap gas. In all we spent $50.97 to fill up two cars, but we got a whopping 30 gallons of gas!!!

I have to admit, I feel a little silly getting so thrilled over saving money. Luckily Lamar was just as excited....