Last days at home.

Mom, Michelle, Anna, and I went out to:

to celebrate everyone being gone. My going away. And the goodness of Red Robin. =)

My A.1. Peppercorn Burger, substituting tomato for sauteed onions. Ooohh! soooo yummy!!! My fav forEVER!!!

Mom's salad

Monday morning. I awake and find a note on the kitchen counter. "Christina is at the hospital having the baby. Mom is with her. etc." Hmmmm. I was surprised! She wasn't due until Sept. 15th. So. I proceeded to continue with my morning. Wasn't quite believing that she was really delivering it. Wondered if it was a false alarm. If it would take ALL day long to have it. If she would just be staying in the hospital for a couple weeks. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking. Definitely NOT expecting the baby to come this soon. =) 

BUT.

At 9:23am, my adorable little niece-ling, Laura Ann, was born. At 7 lbs.7oz., about 18in. long. It took a while for it to sink in! 

Finally got to go see them that afternoon...

Isn't she the cutest??? By now, she's all red in the face. And sleeping all the time. But when I return in Dec., Missy Laura will be the doll of the family. =P

Of course, you have to celebrate the surprise-birth of your niece-ling with a pizza dinner and frozen yougart with wonderful sister and friends. =) Oh, the fellowship we share, having nieces in our lives now. I'm going to miss you all. =( 

One more day. At. Home. 

AAAAaaaaahhhh!!!!

No. I'm not freaking out. Nope. Not me. I wouldn't do such a thing. 

Oh the world ahead. 

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and they right hand shall hold me."

- Psalm 139:7-10 -

=)

Hair trim time!

 Before.

 After.

Such lovely pictures, eh? Huh. Haven't figured out yet why it's so awkward to get your picture taken!

Ice Cream

Coldstone Creamery.

Two BOGO half off's. 

Five sisters.

=P

 Anna. Dark Chocolate with chocolate chips.

Amy. Chocolate Malt with brownie. 

Mary. Chocolate with Snickers.

 Michelle. Who ate everyone's.

Me. Cheesecake with Vanilla wafers.

It was delicious! What more can I say?! Other than cheesy pictures? haha!

Beach

Sunday. 8.12.12.

Anna's 9th Birthday Party at the Beach! 

The one day when the family is home. Not working. And not doing anything else. ;P

Foggy in the morning. But sun burned it off by noon-ish...

 Self-portrait.

 Puzzles and Lemon Heads.

 Mary wanted a new skirt yesterday. And just happened to have some pre-washed fabric around--how handy! I didn't really have an excuse NOT to. And I need to get some of my stuff mended/altered. So. I might as well head out to the sewing machine...

This is the front. Pieces. 

 The front. Sewn.

 The back pockets. Can you find them?!

Hey! It's nice when brothers go on vacation! That means, they come home early the afternoon before. And once they are all packed and don't know what else to do. 'Cause they work so much. They can be persuaded to make their sister, who is hot and tired of sewing, an ice cream sandwich out of their own creative ingenuity! Cast your eyes upon this one:

This one was like PERFECT! The textures of creamy smoothness and the crunchy cracker coming together quite nicely. Ice cream the amazing temperature that's not too hard but melts scrumptiously in your mouth. Salty. Sweet. Saucy. 

Crunchy. Caramely. Creamy. 

Uh-huh. Oh yeah! 

Thanks, Chris!!! I'd hire you any day!

Softball Playoffs

 Monday night was the boys' softball playoff game. I thought, after going all season, I should probably get some pictures before it's over! I'm no photographer, but these get you the basic idea...

Bro John

 Chris

Friend who helped me with the crossword puzzle

Mary

 (There was some more of other family members, but they weren't too flattering, so I figured I should keep them to myself. =D )

The phantom player

My rainbow toes

It was a fun time. But unfortunately the fun did not roll over into the diamond. That is, they lost their game. Uh-huh, I know. I thought about not writing that fact. But I'm sure you would have wondered who won. And I can't hide the truth--it simply will come out sooner or later. =P

Laughter:

While in STEP, we were given the privilege of being introduced to the "Laugh Away" series. This is the first clip shown. I thought all of you should also have the honor of knowing the true way to exercise. Now, here's Kerry Joy:

Go to: kerryjoy.com to learn more.

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: 

but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Prov. 17:22 KJV