Family, Sun & Fun

This past weekend my family came to KC for a visit over the Father's Day weekend. On Friday my mom & dad drove down from South Dakota with my 2 nieces & then on Saturday morning my sister & my nephews flew in from Wisconsin. To say it was a whirlwind of a weekend is an understatement!

Friday - my parents arrived late afternoon with my niece's Kyra & Joslyn. We enjoyed the evening drinking wine, eating Papa Murphy's pizza & sitting out on the patio catching up, blowing bubbles & coloring pictures for "Aunt Hedder's" frig :)

Saturday - we awoke early & enjoyed the morning watching cartoons, drinking coffee, reading the paper & just hanging out. My sister & nephews' Tanner & Cael were flying in late morning so my mom & I headed up to the airport to pick them up. It was so good to see them & see how big the boys have gotten. Tanner was SO excited to visit "Aunt Hedder in "da city" - as he calls it :) We headed home & spent the afternoon playing on the Slip-N-Slide:
splashing in the kiddie pool: and having a water balloon fight:My sister & Cael sat out in the shade during the water balloon fight:

Later that evening my brother Steve & his wife Meghan came over for dinner & we grilled burgers & brats along with all the fixings of a great BBQ. It was great to get to see them & catch up with all that has been going on with them!

Sunday - this morning I was woken up at 6am by a cute 3 1/2 year old tapping on my shoulder while I was still in bed asking me to come watch "toons" with him. How could I resist that? So Tanner & I went downstairs, watched "toons", had a granola bar (or "a bar" as he calls it) with some juice & waited for everyone else to wake up.

After everyone was up, fed & showered we headed to the Kansas City Zoo & since it was Father's Day all Dad's got into the zoo for free as well as got a free brat, chips & a drink. My brother Steve met us there also to join in the family outing.
It ended up being really hot & humid as the afternoon approached & after about 3 hours at the zoo everyone was tired & ready to head home. Once home the kids played outside on the Slip-N-Slide while the adults vegged in the AC. I ended up making lasagna for dinner (or as my niece Joslyn calls it "basanya" - too cute) with garlic bread & a salad & we enjoyed one last meal before my parents & nieces headed back to South Dakota in the morning.

Monday - my parents & nieces left around 5am this morning because my dad had to work later that afternoon so I got up & saw them off. Went back to bed & guess who woke me up at 6am to watch "toons" again? :) Little stinker! We enjoyed a lazy morning around the house & after lunch & afternoon naps we then headed over to the Spring Hill Aquatic Center.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera so the above pics are taken from the Spring Hill Aquatic center website. Made me mad because I missed some great photo ops with the boys :(

When we arrived the place was packed. We managed to find a couple of empty lounge chairs & set our stuff down. As soon as we were about to head in to the kiddie pool the manager comes over the loud speaker & asks everyone to vacate the pool for a 30 minute break. Well, 30 minutes turned into 45 minutes & while we were sitting there we find out that some kid pooped in the pool & they had to "decontaminate" it before anyone could get back in. Imagine trying to explain that to 2 little boys dying to get into the pool & play!? Surprisingly, they ended up being really patient during the wait.

Finally, they allowed everyone back into the pool & we had a ball sliding down the water slides, running through the sprinklers, floating around in the lazy river & playing in the kiddie pool. So much fun! We spent nearly 3 hours there & had to tear Cael away from the sprinklers when we left. He was not a happy boy :(

The evening was spent eating leftovers for dinner, giving the boys baths, putting the boys to bed early & then my sister & I vegged on the couch & watched trash TV. Great ending to a fabulous day!

Tuesday - said goodbye to my sister & the boys - which was sad :( I hate saying goodbye but I promised Tanner I would come to WI to visit for his birthday which is the 1st week of November so I am hoping the time goes by quickly! I had the day off so I headed home & enjoyed the afternoon of peace & quiet! Even took a 3 hour nap - I was definitely exhausted but so thankful to have gotten to enjoy the weekend with my family!

Memories

I was in the car yesterday cruising home from work on I-35 on a hot afternoon with the top down & my iPod on. It was finally the end of what was a very long day & listening to music on the way home is my therapy. I will often put the iPod on shuffle because I liked to be surprised of what song is coming up next. I have over 2500+ songs on there so I never know what kind of song is going to play. It may be rap or jazz or christian or country or even Christmas music - yes I listen to holiday music ALL year round :)

So as I was making my way home, this little number came on:



::cue the memories::

I was instantly taken back to 1988 - my junior year of high school. My BFF was named Heather also & we were both dating guys who were best friends that went to a "B" school while we both sported "mall hair". You could find us on any given Friday night cruising Main Street in her Chevette or my VW Bug jammin' out to this tune.
It is funny how a certain song can take you back & you can recall everything that was going on with your life at that moment. Music was a HUGE part of my life growing up so many songs do this for me & that is probably why I enjoy listening to my iPod on shuffle so much.

I can remember the Christmas I received my very first tape recorder. It was 1984 & I was 13 years old. I could not wait to put that thing up to the radio & record all of my favorite songs so I could play them back over & over. Oh the batteries & blank tapes I would burn through :) Come on - you know you all did the same thing.

Then a couple of years later I got a "boom box" for Christmas & I thought I was the sh!t with that thing. I would tote it with me onto the school bus & we would all jam out to music on our way home. Fun times!

Then while in college I bought my first real stereo system with components, big speakers & even a receiver. I was always getting in trouble in the dorm for having my music too loud. Those were the 90's so with music by Bell Biv Devoe, Snap, Vanilla Ice & Digital Underground so you know those speakers were thumpin!

And almost 20 years later I got my 1st iPod. The first thing I did when I got it was take all 300+ of my CD's, uploaded them to my iPod & sold them in a garage sale. Then I got an iPod hookup in both vehicles so I could listen to it in the car & I have been jammin' ever since.

I am going to try & link up with Casey over at Align my heart, body & mind every week or so for her Music Experiment post & see what kind of memories I can stir up in y'all! I bet I get the memories flowin' & the booties shakin' :)

The Maids

This weekend my family is coming to visit so I have been busy all week preparing for their arrival. I have made a grocery list, bought the groceries, wrote an itinerary of what to do all weekend, washed bedding, & prepared guest bedrooms but the one thing I have been dreading all week is cleaning the house - especially the bathrooms. I HATE cleaning bathrooms.

So I went out on a limb & did something I have never in my life done before. I hired a maid service to come clean my house. Not because I am injured, or have lots of extra money laying around to spend on maids or because I can't physically do it myself but because I am lazy. Plain & simple. I don't want to nor do I have the energy to "deep clean" my own house. I would rather pay someone to clean my baseboards, my floors, the microwave, ceiling fan blades & my bathrooms then do it all myself.

I had been referred to "The Maids" by a co-worker of mine who raved about their cleaning business so I thought I would give them a try. One time deal - just to do the deep cleaning. They came while Shane & I were at work (much to my husbands dismay) & cleaned our entire house in 2 hours.

When I walked in the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was a combination of a "clean" scent & bleach & it smelled good! Next thing I noticed was the carpet. There was a professional-looking pattern made by the vacuum which looked awesome. Then I noticed the ceiling fan blades & the blinds had been dusted - all this & I haven't even headed upstairs yet. As I looked around the house I instantly fell in love. I could get REALLY used to coming home to this every couple of weeks.

The floors were super clean, the baseboards dusted, the microwave spotless, the bathrooms sparkling, the beds turned down & everything just looked clean. It is such a huge relief to know I don't have to rush & get all this done before my family comes on Friday. Definitely a nice treat & worth every penny to not have to do it myself!

Perhaps I can convince my hubby that we "need" them to come every 3 weeks??? Hmmm - gonna have to work on that one :)

Bagel Beds

Last month I ordered a custom-made dog bed for the bullies. They were in need of something to lounge around on other than our furniture. I am also getting rid of Bubba's kennel in the bedroom to make some room & am hoping he will sleep on the dog bed instead.

I ordered it from a website that was being sponsored through a bulldog rescue organization I am "friends" with on Facebook - Carolina Pet Pantry. They are called "bagel beds" & come in sizes small - X large. There is a HUGE variety of fabric & patterns to choose from & they also make leashes, harnesses, collars & blankets. You can check out their website here. I wanted a neutral color since the bed is for both Bubba & Millie so I chose cute polka dots in lime green, pink & chocolate brown for the top & chocolate brown for the bottom. The fabric is a a super soft chenille which is durable & washable.









Well the bed finally arrived today & we LOVE it! It is SOOO big & soft & fluffy. I wouldn't even mind curling up in it :) The cover zips off so you can throw it in the wash & the stuffing inside is enclosed in a waterproof fabric so if there is an accident it won't soak through into the stuffing. They are a bit pricey but worth it! Especially when I walked into the office & saw this:

And later in the evening this:

And look who else likes the new bed:

Looks like I will be ordering a small one for Neo too :)

The bullies seem to like their new bed - YAY! We have since moved it down to the family room & they take turns laying in it & falling asleep with their stuffies while we are watching TV - so cute!

If you are looking to buy your furry friend a new bed I highly recommend these. And no I am not getting paid to recommend them. I just think their product is awesome & I am wanting to share a good thing with all my blogger friends :)

Starlight

Tonight I joined my girlfriend Jilly & a couple of her friends for an evening under the stars at the Starlight Theater. The first broadway show of the summer series started this week which was The King & I starring Lou Diamond Phillips. It was an awesome production with bright, vibrant costumes, lots of singing, dancing, & LD Phillips did a fabulous job as the King.

It was 100 degrees during the day & I had worried it would be miserable sitting outside but lucky for us it cooled off a bit once the sun went down & there was a breeze which helped . It ended up being a fun & relaxing evening with great company. I am looking forward to joining Jilly this summer to a couple more shows - Guys & Dolls & Mamma Mia!

Thanks Jilly for allowing me to be your "date" :)

Lily's

I am in Asiatic Lily heaven:
These beautiful flowers POPPED over the weekend & I absolutely love them! I must say though that the red ones are my favorite!