spolied boys

Our boys have been up north with my dad then my mom since Monday! They have been busy!!

• Monday night - out to dinner - wading in Lake Michigan
• Tuesday- homemade breakfast ala Grandpa, Lake Michigan swimming fun, all u can eat pizza buffet for lunch, more swimming fun, grilled chicken ala Grandpa
• Wednesday- traded off with Grandma. Met at 10am. Went to Michigan's Adventure for the day! Got rained out at 8pm.
• Thursday - boys built a windmill for Grandma when she was at work. Played basketball at the park where I grew up!! Got ice cream at the ice cream porch - my first job!!
• Friday- horseback riding for the very first time for each of them!!
• Saturday- back to Grandpa's - riding with Uncle Bill in his 68 GTO!!?? weather permitting and Grandpa has surprise plans for Saturday night!! Another first!! They will LOVE it too!!
• Sunday- home to their everyday boring life with us!!

Priceless !

Awesome concert. Great music. Hot performers. Front row parking spot - a FREE one at that!!

Ferris wheel ride. French fries for dinner. SKEE BALL. Elephant ears.

All with my best friend. What a fun night!!

Updated with pics !! I love Fishermen

ahhh, just a bit of ramblings ....
Why I love fishermen? I am a lucky lady right now....all my men are off fishing! WOO HOO !! Can you see the Kandi dance happening?? uh huh! oh yeah!! Just me and my puppy!!

• I am in heaven....no men this afternoon/ evening!! ( fishing and one in Cedar Point with friend)


• Washing clothes all day trying to gather enough to ship the boys off for a week


• Helped Dina clean the dr office Friday night BEFORE walking at the Relay from 10p - 12 MIDNIGHT! WOW am I out of shape!! OUCH! %$^&^(*


• Weeded for 2 hours on Sat in the garden! What a job - and a dirty job!


• Weeded and picked green beans today - I think I am sore in places I forgot could be sore?


• Many text messages from Jake yesterday and today - he is having a blast - first time in Cedar Point!! ( he was so excited to tell me about the rides he rode he called at midnight last night!! lol He had no clue what time it was and was trying to stay awake for his turn in the shower!! lol)


• Planning a trip to Michigan's Adventure for the kids with Grandma on Wednesday.


• Wednesday is Josh Turner and Jake Owen at the Jackson County Fair! Box seats front row center.... Beth and I are heading there after work for fair food before the concert!! :-)


• One dinner date planned for this week with no kids....just Steve and I !!


• and lots of cleaning and throwing out the old clutter OR some R & R and S & K time.

Have a great week

Busy Barton Schedules

WOW - where did summer go? Weekends are almost all filled up on the calendar!!
Jake leaves for Cedar Point Saturday afternoon - returns home on Monday.
All three boys leave Monday afternoon to go with Grandpa up north then to Grandma's- they will be away for a week.
Beth and I are going to see Josh Tuner and Jake Owen at the fair on Wed.
Steve is going walleye fishing with guys from work Sat the 9th .
Then we are on to August happenings....my sweet first born will turn 16 on the 22nd.
Dad has surgery the 26th!!
School starts Sept 2!!

Christmas in July 2008

Just a peek into our awesome weekend.

2008 Christmas in July / Spence family reunion.

This year my mom was the hostess and she ROCKED! It was a great time.

Everyone had fun - even those that usually stay quiet all day. :-)

My mom created a theme for this year - Family Olympics. Complete with a torch to begin the fun, and team games, and gold, silver and bronze awards !!

We played bingo and a new dice game that evening !!

Thanks Mom for another weekend full of awesome memories.

Camp Barton

Thanks Beth and Kyle for allowing us to have the boys for a couple days. The boys had a blast.
Just a couple quick shots I got from the fun.

Busy* Crazy *and Still Sick!!

Oh I am so out of the loop and way past due to update.

Just a quick 'hello' to let everyone know all is well. The Barton's are busy getting ready to head north for the yearly Christmas in July celebration!!

I have been going to bed early, napping when I can .....and I am still fighting like mad to be healthy again...this darn pneumonia is lingering and just will not let me free!! I was a good girl - skipped the Martina McBride concert that I had tickets too- thanks Beth for being ok with missing it and helping me pass the tickets on to someone who could use them, missed a card making party, and 2 days of work!! Enough! I took the nasty meds and suffered with all the side effects and it is still hanging on!! I am going back to the dr next week and they are doing blood work....to check and make sure I do not have mono again....I had it when I was 21. Stronger antibiotics coming my way, I do believe.....which itself can be a challenge for me, as I am a lucky one with many many allergic reactions to antibiotics.

The boys have been busy with friends. The hubby has been awesome since I have been 'down'. Riley is wild!!

OH and ............The garden has started to show up on the dinner table....YUM! Fresh green beans and zucchini so far!!

A fun update to come soon....as soon as I feel spunky again!!

Snapfish

Did you all get this?

50 prints for 50 cents?


Use coupon code JUL4PENNY08 at checkout. Hurry, this offer ends July 12

yucky day x 2

WOW - Tuesday night the boys were horsing around in the pool- and I came up from doing laundry to a screaming crying child. Thought I was at the wrong house for a minute....then I saw a bloody child I recognized being escorted in by his 2 brothers.....YEP, Steve II !!
They were dumping each other off their rafts and he tried to leap at Jake, Jake was too quick- moved to the side and Steve hit his face on Koda's hip bone. Cleaned him up , applied ice and decided to wait and see what things looked like in the morning-
Called him in the morning - he is sore, bruising and had a headache....doubted my momma skills about now. Emailed Beth asking if I was totally a bad mom and what her opinions were...then called the Dr. Dr could not get us in so I took him to Express Care!
10a- 2p = 4 xrays, a Dr that says there is a suspicious area near the flare of his nose - not much we can do....they will call us with results and a definite answer in 2-3 days! ?? Hmm, thinking he will now look even more like his daddy- oh Me. Crooked Nose himself....only daddy's are because he was a brawler in his younger days!! :-)
Much better now...in fact off to stay the night at his aunt's last night with Koda. Jake is off staying with another friend for a couple days!!

THEN..........I started the sneezy allergy ick yesterday morning - came home last night - started with Tylenol Allery Sinus.....not much relief....then I remembered and started Dimetapp- just like the drs used to give me when I was a kid....feel better now but am 'trotting' along from either a bug I picked up at Express Care or from medicine belly?
I am home today!! Just Mom and Riley - watching movies and napping!!

Is it Friday yet?

4th of July Fun

We went to Mike and Jennifer's for an afternoon cookout on the 4th! We all had a great time. Only one mishap and thankfully it was not as bad as many are.....one of the lg fireworks fell over and the bottom blew out....the inside packing - NOTHING ON FIRE- came out the end with great power and hit Jake....he tried to block it with his hand so- he has bruised finger tips and a HUGE bruise on his thigh!! WOW was that ever enough to put an end to a fun night! This mom was running - yep girls it's true- I can still run!! :-) He is fine= just bruised and sore !! Otherwise, the night was a blast!!





We had so many party invites this weekend - it was awesome but almost too stressful to figure out which one to go to. On the 4th we went with family - as Steve is back in touch with his siblings and it has been years since he has celebrated anything or had fun with them.....and it was just that- great fun, pics and memories. :-)





The 5th we spent crossing many things off the 'honey do list'. Steve with Koda created the ring toss game for Christmas in July! Very cool, will post pics soon!! ( Need to place an order- call. :-) The pool is up and ready!! The basement is MUCH cleaner. yadda yadda








The chefs - complete with their refreshments. Mike Jr and Steve Sr - boy they look a lot alike as they get older.























the kids all played volleyball


















Koda being the typical Koda Clown!! :-)

A glow stick as a nose ring? The connector broke - he was oh so creative!!


















Jake the Thinker?


































Steve and Mike made a trip to Ohio on Thursday - and here is one of the blasts we were shown. They did a great show for us all

New toys

As you all know I needed to get rid of my lemon - my van. We came across a great opportunity when we went to the Ford dealer to trade in Steve's lease truck. I love it.

My new toy - 2007 Freestyle


Moon roof, dvd player with wireless headphones, heated leather seats, 6 cd changer, oh my so many amenities...love it. We all do.



His new toy - 2008 F 150


Although we seriously debated getting rid of the truck - Steve does not put many miles on his vehicle...just turned in a 2006 F-150 with less than 10,000 miles - and he wants to keep a truck for hauling the boat, deer hunting, etc.

and with all the changes we lowered our payments AND our insurance? Love that too.

Hide your keys and I have - LOTS- more grey hairs

Koda has his pink slip and is on the roads. Oh brother he scares me. I never had more respect for one profession......drivers ed teacher. That man that teaches these wild know it all teens- he must have acid reflux, heart troubles and I have to definitely think he takes anxiety drugs!!

I truly remember the 10 and 2 positioning - but I do not remember learning to let go of the wheel and allow it to come back after a turn? HELLO? I was gasping the first time I let him drive...thought for sure I would have a hole in the floor board by the time we reached our destination.

However, he has been driving all week long with me and seems to really be improving!! I am sure he will be a great driver ....SOMEDAY! LOL Ok, Koda - you are a great young driver.

Why don't parents get a flashing bubble, a neon sign or something to put on the vehicle their young teen is operating ? I think someone should suggest this and get a law passed!!

Just wait my friends your day is coming and all too soon....the days pass quickly and turn to years.....and soon your hair will be greying like mine!!

Good night everyone and TGIF!

storm watcher

Had a great weekend up north - got 20#s of fresh asparagus from a roadside cart. My favorite part -My niece was amazed that people just put asparagus out in their yard on a cart, with a scale, bags and a cash can. They post a price on cardboard and people buy it all!! Dad, Alyssa and I drove up to New Era to get the good stuff....asparagus must be grown in Lake MI sand to taste the best!!

OH how I would love to move back up to the 'honest land' where no one sleeps with their doors locked - we never had a deadbolt or extra chain on our doors, infact they were only on the movies - no one I knew had them on their doors??

Can you see the DOUBLE rainbow in the first pic? I love chasing the storms that come in over Lake MI.

another rainbow and eerie yellow skies.

The baby shower was awesome too. Although Ava (my new great niece ) slept through the shower - lucky for me I went early and was able to snuggle with a new baby for about a half hour. Oh the sweet smell of a new baby!! Nothing better.

I hitched a ride with my mom to the shower....which gave us about an hour each way to talk and catch up. Love ya Mom!!

I miss HOME!

what are all these cars lining up for ?

Check out this line up......


for..............










Gas =$3.99 gallon. How sad that THAT is a GOOD deal? ugh.




ON a happy note. I was there, waited in line (which truly went faster than I thought it would) Thank heavens for debit card users....we pull up, jump out, swipe, pump, grab the receipt and away we go!! :-) I waited in line because I needed to fill up....now comes the happy part....I am going home this weekend to see my mom and dad - and more family as I will attend a baby shower because I am now a Great Aunt !!
My men are all planning to fish the big lake, Lake Michigan, with my brother on Sat and maybe Sunday too..we will see?
Except for Koda....he is staying home with Steve's dad because he has to do his range test for drivers training both nights from 7-9pm. He will have fun home with the XBOX to himself and the computer too.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend too.

Life is busy

I have been blogger lagging lately and to my daily readers I apologize.
It definitely is NOT because life is so boring I have nothing to talk about!! Infact it is just the opposite.

• Koda is doing drivers training!! Today he gets his pink driving slip.Look out world.
• The boys are all keeping a pretty busy social life - which keeps me running
• Keeping up with an awesome garden
• Work has been crazy - moving offices - announcing BIG changes
• and now I through in a monkey wrench - I am going back to school.

But all in all - LIFE is GOOD!

great weekend

We had a great weekend. Friday night was a relaxing night- I did NOTHING and it felt good.

Saturday we had a good day....my hubby got to go bass fishing with his brother - now that in itself made for a good day.

Then we had a father's day BBQ with Steve brother and his family, as well as one sister and her family!! We stayed late enough for s'mores and bonfire.

Slept in today - made a BIG breakfast and then hung out on the porch all afternoon. Grilled steaks and now and evening of R & R in store.

(OH how I LOVED this weekend....but I know tomorrow I will regret having such a low key weekend- it will haunt me all week !!)

Happy Father's Day to all the men in my life !

more pics from 6th grade graduation

I'm a sleepy WING watcher

Woo hoo....I can finally get some sleep this week ! Last night I was so pumped after the win....I tossed and turned for quite some time and Monday I was up until after 1am!!

My boys are bringing down the house and bringing home the cup!!
WOO HOO - it was another rough game - RED WINGS ROCK !!

3-2 VICTORY and the cup is back in HOCKEYTOWN!

OH how I wish I could play hookey tomorrow and go to the parade!! The boys have one more day of school tomorrow is it. Koda actually has exams on the last day? I never remember doing anything on the last day? Infact, I remember many kids not coming the last half day? Anyone want to play hookey with me? OH how fun and OH the pictures I could have!!

woo hoo

School's almost out!! Koda has 2 more 1/2 days - exams , Jake and Steve 1 full day and a half day.
Tomorrow night is my baby's 6th grade graduation.....our last year of elementary is coming to a close. WOW!
More to come - pictures from tomorrow night a promise.