The Olympics

Okay, I have to admit....I'm an Olympics JUNKIE! I'm telling you, I can't get enough of this stuff! It's terrible. I haven't had a good night's sleep since they started. The week before they started I thought I might watch some of the swimming, diving and gymnastics, but probably not too much. Thought I might also be interested in a little bit of the Track and Field. Yeah, right...I've watched hours upon hours of those three things, not to mention the hours of Track and Field....along with things I don't even understand, like fencing and handball. I don't get it, but I watched it! There are things that I knew were "fun", but I didn't know they were considered a sport...trampoline, for instance! Don't get me wrong, after watching what they did I can see that it's not just some "fun" thing to do. Water polo and beach volleyball...who knew that could be so exciting? And the regular volleyball. Man, those girls are TOUGH AS NAILS! I will admit, though, my favorite part tends to be the "life stories" of the athletes. Not just the Americans, but any of them. Maybe I'm nosey. But really, I love that stuff. It makes me feel like I really know these people. Makes me want to just jump through the TV and give them a hug!

I keep hearing lots of talk on the radio and from other people about what a crappy job NBC is doing with all of it. Apparenty I'm not very hard to please, because I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Well, okay, I can't stand Bob Costas...he's just a pompous jerk (the only reporter I dislike more than him is Bryant Gumble), but even ole Bob is not annoying me like he usually does.

I also can't believe the number of World records that have been broken, not to mention the Olympic records. There are even countries who are winning medals who have never won a medal so far. That's just plain cool!

Oh, and last night had to be my two favorite moments so far. When they showed Shawn Johnson's parents after her balance beam routine (a gold medal routine!) and Jonathan Horton's parents after his horizontal bar routine (a silver medal routine!). Both sets of parents just glowed sheer joy and pride..and tears. As proud as I am of my kids for the things they do, I can't even imagine what that would feel like!! I'm sure it will take days for them to come down off that high!!

I hear that Chicago is putting in a bid for the 2016 Olympics. Let me tell you, I've got everything crossed that they win that bid. I've decided that I want to see some of this in person...and I'd prefer to do it right here in this country. And if it just happens to be a mere 4 hours from my home, well, that's even better! I've got lots of friends who live in and around Chicago, so hopefully I can pay someone to let me stay with them!

Hugs&Smiles!

Kim

BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!

The girls started back to school last Thursday (August 14th). Syd is now in 8th grade and Sammie is in 1st grade. They were both excited to go back, but really couldn't believe that summer was already over.

Here's Syd with her new outfit and hair cut/highlights! The color isn't really too good in this picture, but you get the idea!


Sammie got her hair all cut off this year! It's a little shorter than I had actually wanted, but it looks pretty darn cute on her! She was so excited to get to wear her new outfit....she thinks gauchos are the coolest!

Surprisingly, they were willing to pose together for a picture, too! Syd, of course, tried to get out of it by saying "we don't match...we clash", but that wasn't gonna work!

We're hoping for a great year. So far the girls have perfect attendance! LOL (Every morning when I wake them up I remind them that they have perfect attendance so far!)

Hope all of your "back to schools" are wonderful!

Hugs&Smiles!

Kim

Happy Birthday, Sis!!!!

We had a little party at Mom's on Sunday for my sister, Debbie. She turned 49...although we only had 29 candles to put on her cake! :) Mom made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and cake. I took a salad and pineapple casserole. This is the first time I ever remember having just the right amount of food. We ALWAYS have way, way, way too much. Everything was delicious and it was a gorgeous day, too!

The cakes - Mom made a carrot cake with cream cheese icing and a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Both were VERY good!

And, you've always gotta have that ever-flattering picture blowing out the candles! The girls got a giggle out of watching Debbie blow out the candles!

Debbie wanted a picture of her family, and I made it my job to make it happen! If you ask them, they'll all tell you I'm bossy and made them get up and come outside to have their picture taken! I even made Lacey get Thomas up from his nap, but c'mon, it's all she asked for, so how could anyone argue with that???

It was a great day and I'm so glad I got to spend my sister's birthday with her. We hardly ever get to see each other anymore and that really sucks. Life is too busy. She's a cool chick! Love ya, Sis!

Hugs&Smiles!
Kim

Almost 2 weeks....again...

I've been terrible about updating...again!

I will do my best to post at least a few times this week. We'll see how I do!

Hugs&Smiles!
Kim

Four fun pictures from vacation!

First picture was taken for KatieJ. Right in downtown Branson, there was a cupcake store!! We had just finished breakfast so we weren't ready for one...and we never made it back there...they sure looked yummy, though! Syd wasn't happy that I had a lot of pictures of Sammie and none of her, so I took this one. She didn't want me to take her picture, though, so she has a goofy look on her face! We were at Branson Landing waiting for dinner.
Roger let Sammie get her face painted (and let Syd get a third piercing in her right ear at the top!). I thought Sammie's face painting turned out really cute!
And Syd got the biggest kick out of this guy's shirt! We were sitting by the fountain at Branson Landing and there was a band playing and this guy was standing in front of us!!! LOL

I'll post more about vacation in the next couple of days! Work has been really busy since I got back. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!

Hugs&Smiles!

Kim

70....

That's how old my Dad would have been today. Hard for me to believe or even imagine. Dad passed away at the young age of 52. He had esophagean cancer and it took him pretty quickly. Today I'll dedicate my weekly 4 to my Dad with 4 memories of him! Hopefully I can find pictures of these things and update this post with them real soon!

1) I remember dancing with my Dad on my wedding day. Mom was not happy with him because he wouldn't take off his "Irish" baseball cap and sunglasses. I thought they looked nice with his tux and was so pleased that he chose to wait to put them on at the reception, rather than at the wedding ceremony. As we finished dancing and he was walking away I saw him take off his glasses and wipe away tears...he really was a softie!

2) I remember how much my Dad loved being outdoors. He loved to ginseng hunt (and usually paid for Christmas that way!), he loved to hunt deer, rabbits, squirrels and the occasional turtle (and fed us that way!), he loved to cut down the biggest tree he could find at the bottom of the steepest hill he could find (and let me carry it up the hill so Lance and Chris could split it! LOL), he loved to do just about anything outside.

3) I remember him being silly. Most of the time he was a very serious and stern person, but he did like to cut up once in a while! He had funny songs he would sing in the car (George Jones and Roger Miller songs, especially), he liked to play practical jokes, he loved to do anything to make little kids laugh! He enjoyed torturing us by owning ugly cars and trucks!!!!!!!

4) I remember him always doing the best he could! We didn't always agree with everything he said or did, but we ALWAYS respected him (even if it sometimes took a few years! LOL). He was always willing to offer his advice or opinion, whether you wanted it or not! He taught us to work hard, play hard, and always do our best. He taught us about respect, faith, honesty and love.

I can't believe he's already been gone 16 years. It really doesn't seem possible. I still miss him every day and wish I could just talk to him.

Hugs&Smiles!
Kim

Look at this cutie!!!!!

I have a new great nephew and his name is Kailyr. I know he was a tiny little peanut that weighed 6 pounds something (course, his Mommy is a tiny little thing, too!). Daddy is quite tall, so I'm anxious to find out how long he is. He was born on Tuesday at 12:35am. I haven't had a chance to see him and hold him yet, but I hope to do that real soon. I stole this picture, fair and square from the Grand Nana's blog! ( Mr. Green Jeans ) LOL Isn't he the most precious little guy??? Congratulations M&B! You did good!

Hugs&Smiles!
Great Aunt Kim