My birthday present!

Tuesday is my 40th birthday. My wonderful husband gave me my birthday gift a little early because I have been dying to have it for so long. He gave me a Samsung Impression. I LOVE IT!! It is the coolest phone I have ever owned.

ewwwwwwwww

I am going to sound like a commercial but I'm going to say it anyway. You know those commercials that talk about spots on your dishes that are washed in the dishwasher. I have seen those for years but have never seen spots on our dishes in the 15 years we have had a dishwasher.....until today. I always thought the people with spots must just have hard water or something. We have great water here in Gaston so it was never a concern. I have always used Cascade. Well I ran out of Cascade and used some Electrosol packs that Brittanie bought from Dollar Tree when she lived in her apartment. I unloaded my dishwasher this morning and my dishes were covered with icky spots. It was disgusting because I am now wondering what the heck left the spots. Is it food residue or soap scum? I'm chunking the rest of the Electrosol and making sure I keep my Cascade in the house from now on.

Good weekend!

We all spread out in different directions this weekend.

Friday, Brittanie and Randy left for their weekend in Greenville. They attended the Greenville Crawfish Boil. There were alot of bands there that they loved. Brittanie thought the crawfish were really good for South Carolina....meaning they weren't Cajun crawfish but they will do. She said they were actually seasoned, unlike the ones you get at the Rosewood Crawfish Festival in Columbia. But they were expensive. The 1lb box was $12! You will never find prices that high in Louisiana! But Brittanie liked the crawfish so much, she wants to get the company that catered the affair, Catering Cajun out of Atlanta, to cater her wedding. I told her we would definitely look into that. They got back Sunday afternoon tired but with lots of stories to tell. They had a great weekend. Brittanie really enjoyed being away from Gaston.

Saturday, Tom, Katie, and our friend, Frank, went to the Beaufort Air Show in Beaufort, SC. Katie LOVES jets. So she was in heaven. She had a blast and couldn't stop talking about the Blue Angels. She told me she wants to fly with the Blue Angels one day! Tom didn't think the sun was that bad but they both came back sunburnt. Fortunately for them, they have an olive complexion so by the next day, the red was replaced by a very nice tan. They are so lucky. Brittanie and I are just about albino and burn very easily! Anyway, Katie asked me today when she will get to go to another air show. I told her Shaw has theirs in September and Daddy will take her, I'm sure. So she is really looking forward to that.

While Tom and Katie were at the Air Show with Frank, Frank's wife (who is also my best friend) and their daughter stayed here at our house and we watched movies. We had a really good time. I haven't seen her since before our kitchen project started, so I really missed her! We are having Pictionary night again on the 30th. Can't wait!!

Field Day!

Today is Field Day at Grace but because the kindergarteners are really too little to compete in the games, they take each class somewhere special. Katie's class is going to the zoo and then to the park to have lunch. Well I bought her a Grace Field Day shirt. It is gold. When she brought it home two days ago, she and Brittanie had an argument over what color the shirt actually was. Brittanie said it was yellow. Katie said it was orange and she didn't want to wear orange. My little Clemson hater never ever wants to be seen in orange.

Well because of the stupid dress code, I had to buy her Bermuda shorts because it was the only shorts that were long enough to be in dress code. Well she isn't used to wearing shorts that long. So this morning when she got dressed for school, she was not at all happy to have to put on an orange shirt with long white shorts. She said the shorts were too long (they were to the top of the knee) and didn't match her shirt. Tom and I both told her that white matches everything! But she was still not happy and refused to let me take her picture. Tom tickled her and tried to lighten her up so she relented and agreed to let me take a picture but she refused to smile. So I didn't take her picture at all.

How can a 6-year-old have so much attitude???

The things kids say!

After Katie got home from school today, she asked me if Tom and I were the same age. I told her that I'm 11 months older than Tom. She said, "That's great!" I asked why that was great. She said, "Cuz I LOVE old people!" Have mercy! Now I'm an "old person!"

It is FINALLY finished!!

Katie made this plate for me for Mother's Day, as well as a book of drawings. Tom and our girls are so wonderful, they make everyday Mother's Day!Saturday, Tom's dad helped Tom rip out the old counter tops and install the new counter tops. Try as I might, I was unable to convince Tom not to cut the hole for the stove. I was perfectly willing to make the sacrifice of never cooking again. But he wouldn't let me make that sacrifice. hehehe For now, it is done! Later on we will be changing the sink, faucet, and light fixtures. But I think Tom needs to relax and not think about that kitchen for awhile. He worked ALL day today cutting the hole for the stove, installing the stove, painting the line all around the kichen because the new backsplash on the countertops is lower than the old one, plus touch up painting the white speckles left by the guy who painted our cabinets. He had to go to Wal-Mart and then Lowe's and get a little more cranberry paint. Once he finished all of that, he cleaned up the big mess, went to the store, and he looks totally exhausted. But he did a GREAT job on our kitchen. I'm so proud of him! So here are the pictures!

Coming into the kitchen from the living room.I think the pictures are too high on the wall but I was outruled by Tom and Brittanie.

With the exception of the pulls on the cabinet doors, which Jessica did, Tom did EVERYTHING in this kitchen.

I need to put more stuff on this wall.Oven and microwave with my pot holder and oven mitt handy!Our Gamecock Utility Room.

Yes I know my trash can is huge but there are 5 people in this house. We make ALOT of trash. We don't want to have to deal with the trash 40 times a day with the smaller kitchen cans.

Gamecock clock and Gamecock welcome mat!

Dean's List again!!

Brittanie took her last final Tuesday and all of her grades were posted today. She made the Dean's List again!

English II: B (She is protesting that one. She is going to bring all of her papers and tests, which were all 100's. She thinks she earned an A.)
Political Science: A
Econ: A
Psychology: A
Computer Science: B (Go figure!)

Her GPA this semester (before she protests the English grade) is a 3.6. (Just like last semester!)

In the fall, she will start taking classes that are prerequisites to her nursing degree, like Anatomy and Biology. I sure hope she keeps her grades this high next year. If she does, it will be a snap to get into USC for her Jr. Year. We are so proud of her!!

Katie's K5 graduation pictures are in!

She lost a tooth an hour after this picture was taken.

Tom's 39th birthday celebration

Today we officially celebrated Tom's birthday. Tom grilled steaks and we had his parents, his brother and his brother's wife, beautiful daughter, and his brother's nieces on his wife's side of the family over to celebrate with us. We had a wonderful day. I love talking to my sister-in-law, Melissa. I love seeing my beautiful niece, Leah. It was a perfect day!

Melissa's sister-in-law makes delicious cakes that look great. She made Leah's cakes for her 1st birthday and Tom said it was the best cake he had ever tasted. So I asked Melissa to ask her sis-in-law to make Tom's cake for me. Tom was so anxious to eat it, he cut it before we could get a picture! It was delicious and smelled good and looked great. Check it out:We had a great time playing with Leah. She is growing like a little weed! She is such a happy baby. At one point, Katie gave her a toy dog to play with. Tom was playing with her and tried to take it from her. She grabbed onto it with both hands and was pulling to make sure he didn't take it from her. It was so adorable!!I asked Melissa to bring her niece with them because Katie enjoyed playing with her at Leah's birthday party. She brought both nieces and they had a great time. They jumped on the trampoline, played with the hose, got dirty, fought and made up, etc. I asked Katie if she enjoyed her day with Gracie and Emma, she said "Definitely!"

Tom's parents were the last to leave and Katie jumped on Tom's dad's shoulders. He was picking at her acting like he was going to shake her off. She holds on tight. Tom had to peel her off of him when they got ready to leave and she was trying to take his head with her. She is so tough!

It was great to be able to use my kitchen again. It is almost done. We still have to install the counter tops. Lowe's called Thursday and said they were in but we haven't picked them up yet. We have to borrow a truck and trailer from Tom's cousin to pick it up. Tom is determined to install it himself. He is going to paint the plywood that he put under the washer and dryer also. Then we will be done!! He used appliance paint and spray painted the oven door, which had an ugly 70's burnt orange color, and the dishwasher door, which had a beige door. His dad thought we bought a new oven. Tom did a great job painting it!
I'm posting a picture of the oven and dishwasher so you can see how great it looks but not posting any other pictures until the kitchen is completely finished.

You heard it here first!

A car has been hit by a train in Gaston. The driver, who had her children in the car, claims that her car stalled on the tracks. Thankfully she and the children all escaped without serious injury. One of the children was hit by the guard rail in the hip and has a big bruise. But that's something minor compared to what could have happened.

Jessica was in the area and took pictures with her cell phone.