Going Strong!

Murphy has recovered nicely and seems to have most of his energy back.  Now that he's not on the arthritis medication, he's a bit stiffer and slower moving but the main thing is that he's still moving! For a few weeks he'd only go for small walks, one or maybe two houses down the road and back. By the time he'd get home his back legs would be shaking from exhaustion and he'd go to sleep right away.

On the weekend we went for a walk in our old stomping grounds and he saw us leaving and immediately  made it known that we were NOT going on any walk without him! Busted! We had to go back & get him & Murray was prepared to turn around with him when he got too tired. He never did! With the numerous stops that the girls make to play and explore (high speed hikers they are not!) he got lots of breaks and chances to catch his breath. He really slowed down for the last bit of the way home but he did last for an hour or so out there with us!

We're so happy that he's still hanging in there and enjoying it while it lasts!

My Party!

We had a party last night to celebrate my big milestone birthday. My sister in law made a trip just to attend! Teena, Dale & Boo came for supper and we had deep fried turkey!!!!!!!!!! Teena has talked about this meal for ages and I've been dying to try it out and she made it happen for my big birthday:))) Dale was the one who had to slave over a hot vat but everyone greatly enjoyed the fruits of his labour. Even all the kids ate supper willingly! and Honey asked for 2nd and 3rd helpings. The seasonings made the meat so tasty & juicy and it was surprisingly not greasy at all. I had to tear myself away from the table to stop eating it. Mmmmm mmmm good! Colonel Sanders has nothing on Chef Dale!

 

Look, he's got a timer and everything! 

After supper it was time to get things ready for stage 2, bonfire birthday party!!! with cake, s'mores, chips, cheesies, glow in the dark bracelets & sparklers! I'd invited my close friends & their families and they all arrived around 6:30. One guest was a wonderful surprise and I shrieked with delight when I realized who had walked in the door! (some people's ears may never recover) Nicolle had brought along Babycakes who used to go to our church and used to come hang out with me here with some of the other teens from youth group. Now that she's at another church, I rarely see her but miss her ALOT!

Murray got the buffet table set up and started bringing out the food and beverages and got the fire started with a little gasoline assistance! The sun had set by the time we had everything ready so we started with some sparklers and glow in the dark bracelets to keep the kids entertained while the rest of the food was being brought out.

The kids were beyond "wild with excitement". If a party could be judged solely by noise level, this thing was a raging success! We had trampoline action, haunted playhouse mischief, the pyrotechnics and lots of racing and tearing around AND caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!! mmmmmmm cake!!! I ordered it earlier in the week and had been looking forward to it ever since. oh cake, how do I love thee???

It was a great night & everybody went home full but tired! I enjoyed my party immensely and was so glad that people came! (I'm 40 but still worry that no one will show up if I invite them, shouldn't I be over this by now??? LOL)

HBDTM!

Happy Birthday To ME!!! I turned 40 the other day and what a great day I had! When I turned 30, I was a bit disappointed in the lack of hoopla and I may have casually commented half a dozen times on this oversight..... sooooo when I woke up on my big birthday this time, there were 40 balloons in the kitchen, hanging from Happy Birthday signs! Then as I was getting the kids ready for breakfast, they announced my birthday on the radio!!! We listen to the same morning show every day and I always phone in their birthdays and this year Murray & Sweetie won the draw on their birthdays & we got to to out to a restaurant with their gift certificate prizes. I was bracing myself, pretty sure that no one would have thought of it and was really excited when my name came on!!! He remembered! and went to the trouble of looking up the number and sneaking in the call from another room without me noticing!!! The girls sang Happy Birthday several times, right til the walked up the steps to get on the bus :)))

As the bus was coming, Lovey got concerned.

L (sad worried voice: )Mummy! it's your birthday! and.... we're going to school... and Daddy's leaving for work!! you're going to be all alone on your BIRTHDAY!!! What are you going to DO????

I assured her I had made plans to keep me from getting too lonely while they were all gone. After they left, I checked my email and got a message from Rocky Mountain Chocolate wishing me a happy birthday and telling me I won a free chocolate bar and to come pick it up.

To keep from getting too despondent, I went to my morning class at the gym, ran a couple of errands, got my chocolate & then met a bunch of people from the gym who were meeting for lunch to try out a new restaurant. (which was yummy and someone picked up my tab!) After lunch I went for a pedicure which was awesome and so relaxing. Must remember to do that again someday! By the time I was done that, I had to race home to meet the bus. 

We had nachos for supper and enjoyed some birthday cake then we all curled up on the couch and watched a couple episodes of Little House on the Prairie. A perfect & cozy evening with my fave peeps :)))

Once the kids went to bed, I cracked open my birthday present that's been sitting in the spare bedroom for a few weeks and hooked it up to the computer and I'm in love!

 

 

 

 

Children of the Corn

They also got bored unless it was their turn to be leader and pick where to go. We tried switching the leader up more often so they didn't have to wait as long but then they got sneaky. On Honey's turn, she led us OUT of the maze so she could leave! We stuck it out for a few more minutes until Lovey finally conceded defeat and we moved on to the other things at the farm.

They had some goats in this pen. If you put some food in the can, you could use the ropes to pull it up to a platform and dump it out for the goats to eat.

Super sliding fun!

Jumping!

Pedal Cart Racing!

Where's the brakes on this thing anyway??? and what kind of a mother watches her daughter's car crash and can barely take a picture because she's laughing too hard??? (well Murray was already on his way! but even he said "did she even try to steer?????")

Honey's making a spool of herself again!

Wisdom from Lovey

Lovey: Hey Mum!
Me: Yes?
Lovey: do you know what SCHOOL stands for????
Me: ummm, no?
Lovey: Seven Crappy Hours Of Our Life!!! bwahahahahahahaha!!!!

Great, we've learned to scorn the place that shapes our future. She picked up this little nugget from the kid that wanted her to illegally give her a cookie at recess the other day. I don't know whether I'm more annoyed that someone's passing on a bad attitude or that this acronym has escaped my notice for 40 years!!!

Living it up to the Max!

We had a guest for a couple days this week! Mum & Dad went away on a shopping trip and so Max stayed with us while they were gone. The girls really liked having him and made him a bed in Lovey & Honey's room, between their two beds. They argued over whose turn it was to take him to the bus stop or for a walk. It's the only time I've seen them all get ready for a walk after supper without a single complaint! No takers on cleaning up his mess on the walk though! LOL 

Max was a little shy but very well behaved and we barely knew he was there as he likes to hide out most of the time! The only trouble was making sure he came out of his hiding spots to eat.

Jokers

The girls have been fascinated by jokes for awhile now and often try to make up their own which usually flop because they don't quite understand how to make a play on words. Every once in awhile they come up with one that actually makes us laugh.

A couple of recent gems are:

Sweetie: Mum, what do dogs use to make themselves smell good?
Me: hmmm, I give up!
Sweetie: Furfume! GET IT??????  FUR-fume????


Honey: what do dogs wear to bed?
Me: hmmmm, well I
Honey: do you GIVE UP????
Me: ok yes, I give up. What do they wear???
Honey: pawjamas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!