Look at that perfectly level flute! I was more focused on trying to hit the clarinets in front of me with my flute than actually playing.
Having a little fun! "Hey Band how do you shake that thing?!"
Bones got a new puppy for her birthday in June and has already taught him 
a few tricks.
to the bottom of her feet!
We said goodbye to Jaci and the kids as their summer vacation has come to an end and they are heading back to Washington. Jeff was promoted to Chief in the Navy and they don't know yet where that will take them, but I can guarantee you that Miss Mouse is born and bred Nebraska!
I was able to get a few shots this morning. Miss Brainy didn't have time for me this morning, she headed to a friends house at 7:00 am to get ready and go to her first day of High School with her. The Boss' first day is tomorrow and Little Buddy won't start preschool for a couple more weeks.
Happy Birthday Little Buddy!!
“Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone" - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Miss Brainy's room is almost complete. There a few small details left to be done, installing the closet rod and shelf, mini-blinds and curtains, hanging bullentin boards and posters, but for the most part it looks like a well lived in teenagers room. You can see right behind the desk that the headboard is already painted in these pictures. I went with a very bright turquoise and I love how they turned out. I will have more pictures to share when everything is done.
The dresser and desk were purchased at the Pink Elephant, for only $50 and they delivered. While the headboard and sidetable were purchased at Hustons, which is not my favorite place to shop, but I did get a good deal on the two pieces.
Bryan has finished tiling the fireplace and I did the grout. The mantle and trim still need to be painted which hopefully I can finish this week.
I then gave the girls karate lessons! "Paint the fence, Up Right Hand, Down Left Hand, Up Right Hand, Down Left Hand" Next up waxing the van and trimming the hedges to look like bonsai trees.
When I photographed her big sister AlleyCat 2 years ago she showed her opinion of Aunt Courtney's camera and I think Miss A.G. is doing the same.
She has the sweetest dainty little eyelashes! 
And the cutest little wrinkled feet!
Here's the littlest kids watching the little bit older kids blow up firecrackers and write on the sidewalk with smokebombs. Which they found out was not a great idea (my father-in-law didn't think so either) when The Chatterbox picked up a still hot smokebomb and burnt her finger.
All in all it was mostly a quiet accident free 4th for us. Badger Boy fell of his bike and scraped up his arm and knee and The Chatterbox's had her unfortunate run in with the hot smokebomb, but those didn't compare to last years trip to the emergency room when Miss Brainy re-broke her ankle at her dad's house.
Really remind me again why I love this guy so much!! Everytime I try to get a decent shot of him this is what he does!!
These two are too cute!!
This year the firework display was courtesy of the teenagers. It was nice to have about 5-6 kids old enough to light of the big ones. Bertus and Bryan would get them all set up with the artillery shells and they would light (or attempt) to light them at the same time.
The clean-up crew!
I'm not sure why I enjoy the above image so much, it is not the color scheme we will be doing nor does it have any ideas that I will be implementing. It is a room that The Chatterbox would love though!
I may attempt to build my own shelf (with the polka dot containers), love the bulletin board on the side and the trim detail. I also want to find the desk lamp pictured above.
I am debating hanging a bunch of frames on the wall much like the grouping above, hopefully it will deter Miss Brainy from hanging all of her k-state posters on every available inch of wall space!
This is much like the color scheme we will be using only I will be painting one accent wall chocolate brown. I love how calming it looks
I would love to find a side table and headboard like these, love love love them!!
This picture is of them all chowing down on their pizza, while listening to the amazing music, which included chart topping songs about sunscreen and bike safety. WooHoo!!
He's a funny one of Mouse and Little Buddy. They did not enjoy the rides that moved, rides that did not give tickets, or the squirt gun game (which they thought would squirt them in the face)! 
Here we have Badger Boy playing the never-ending game of Skeetball. One of the games was broken so that it allowed you to play without putting in a token. The only problem was that it did not keep score. Badger Boy did not catch on to this and stood there playing the same game for 20 minutes, very cheap entertainment!!
Here's a great shot of all of them with their fantastic prizes!
image courtesy of google
I will be spending my July 4th at a wedding in the morning, then watching my husband and Badger Boy blow things up, BBQ at the in-laws, and hopefully if the rain stays away we will have a nice firework show to finish up the day.
They started off holding hands.
Mouse really wants to bounce highbut Little Buddy is holding her back!
Little Buddy would rather sit in the middle while Mouse runs around him bouncing.
This is were I learned patience, because it could be a long evening waiting on their front porch to see how big a catch they had that day.
During the winter Toby and I would take turns scooping their sidewalks and in the summer mowing the grass. We helped weed the garden and once Kate attempted to show me how to can vegetables. This is where we learned to help our Neighbors.As the years passed we stopped visiting with them everyday on the front porch, we waved as we rode our bikes and eventually our cars, as we past their house. What I would give to have another evening spent on that front porch. To see them sitting in their folding lawn chairs with a cold lemonade in one hand and flyswatter in the other!
Badger Boy tells us that he doesn't want to play ball again next year because he doesn't like getting hit by the ball. Being a lefty he does get hit more than his fair share!
This is how we do it! Bryan loves to grill, even if it is just hotdogs and it takes him an hour to ready the grill and cook them! The kids love s'mores so they too love it when Bryan grills.
Each one of my children has a different technique when it comes to making these. None of which are allowed to make mine, but Bryan has mastered that skill.
The Chatterbox likes hers flambéed, a little too much black for me!
Little Buddy eats his raw, or 'on a stick' as he requests.
Miss Brainy takes way too much thought and time to really enjoy the simplicities of s'mores.
Miss Brainy had a couple of friends over, they are my favorites. 'A' here and his cousin 'K' helped dig holes and put in the fence posts for the new picket fence. They are allowed to eat their s'mores however they like so long as they come over and help me around the house!!
This kid here should really warn everyone around him and don a fireproof suit before he attempts to make his s'mores. He immediately places his marshmallow as close to the coals as possible allowing it to catch on fire, then he waves it wildly through the air, finally bringing the flaming object way too close to his face than his mother would like to blow it out!! My son the pyromaniac!!
We were pleasantly surprised when Jaci and the kids arrived earlier than planned. Many hours will be spent hanging out at G-ma's and Boompa's and many hours will be spent taking pictures of the many small monsters!
I do love photographing fireworks, although it sure is hard to hold still for such long exposures, some day I'll remember to bring my tripod! Bryan asked why I always take pictures instead of enjoying the show, but he doesn't realize the enjoyment I get from the relaxing aspects of photography. When there isn't a two year old to chase or the harried rush of photographing a wedding, I get the chance to sit in my chair and enjoy the no stress aspect of my favorite activities. It is a thrill to me when I capture more than one burst or a really cool shot.
Miss AlleyCat was too cute, calling the fireworks stars and clapping!
John and Teresa always have an awesome spread of delicious food!
Okay, the story behind the images on Little Buddy chugging Mt. Dew. The older kids are only allowed 1 soda a day if they ask politely, which has been dubbed "The soda of the day". Sawyer was very crabby from an afternoon of swimming and no nap afterwards so he was getting a little demanding and whiny, asking for cup after cup of chocolate milk. I told him he couldn't have any more milk until supper, so he thought a little while and asked if he could have "a soda of his life"!! So here he is enjoying the soda of his life!
The soda did seem to put a little more pep in him though!
I captured a few shots of AlleyCat and her Poppa and thought this one was awfully cute!
After supper we were able to head to Chautauqua Park for the Homestead Days fireworks, which had been cancelled the night before due to rain. The kids had fun running around catching lightning bugs and making clover/dandelion necklaces.
Just a few images of Sawyer being extra sweet!
Happy Father's Day Bry! You are one of the best dad's ever!!
Badger Boy and his cousin "Duke" are on the same team, along with 2 other cousins. I am really happy that he had the chance to play on a team with his family, as well as having his aunt for a coach.
I tried to get him to pose for a few shots after a game but he was more interested in getting to the concession stand for his snack!
Sorry about the way the images are shown! I'm not sure what is going on with blogger, it keeps changing the order they are posted in!
I love the idea of the Crown Fountain, just wish the faces rotated through a little faster, as I wanted to sit and watch them but Bryan got bored. We really wanted to see someone get "spit" on but no such luck!
Our last trip on the El,as we headed to the airport. Hauling 2 suitcases, a carry-on, my camera bag, and a purse up the stairs to the El is not something I want to do again anytime soon!
Good-bye Chicago!
Hello Nebraska!
Even though I am terrified of heights I loved having the window seat.
My hanging baskets and new baskets on the railing are looking really good, except when I forgot to water them last week. We have been getting so much rain lately that I was slacking off and forgot that they would dry out faster. They did bounce back quickly, so no harm no foul.
I picked up this cute little tray at an antique store for $4 and thought it looked good with a few impatiens in it. I moved my furniture around and now I can sit outside when it is raining, which I love. Usually I can be outside by myself, since I am really the only one who loves storms, it is the perfect get-away.
I got the large wire-basket on clearance last year at Hobby Lobby for $12, with intentions to hang it on the garage, but I think I like it here better. I picked up the enamel bowls and teapot from my favorite antique store, Antiques Paradise, for less than $5 a piece. I used them last year on the patio but found that they dry out very quickly in the sun so I moved them to the front porch this year. I am thinking about giving the bench a coat of cream or green paint but haven't decided yet.
Little Buddy helped me plant some more hanging baskets. I noticed that in all of the recent images he is wearing this shirt, he does own more clothes, it just happens to be a favorite.
I bought him a pair of Diego gardening gloves last year and he knew exactly where they were, so he asked to help. He does a pretty darn good job!
I love the existing tile, which I have found to be very tough to match. I did finally choose a gray/green/brown ceramic tile for the base with brown grout. I would have loved to have found some of these antique tiles, but it would have just broken my heart to not be able to afford them, so I didn't look too hard.
After the museum, we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap! Bryan was sucked into a Cubs game on t.v. and ended up not sleeping but I sure enjoyed my 2 1/2 hour siesta. That doesn't happen very often around our house!
We decided to head off to the Navy Pier for the evening, but didn't take into account the cold lake breeze, and poor Bryan only packed shorts for the trip! We wondered around taking pictures and picking up a few gifts for the kids. Luckily one of the shops had blankets on sale so I picked one up to keep us warm later on the boat.
I chose Bubba Gump's for my Birthday meal, which in my opinion was the perfect choice. Bryan and I shared the shrimp (what else do you expect) and my birthday sundae. I kicked Bryan's butt when the waiter gave us a Forrest Gump quiz!!!
I thought a sunset/firework lake cruise would be a great end to the evening, but I might have been mistaken. We did enjoy it, but dang was it cold and windy! The fog rolled in and blocked most of the fireworks and skyline, but it made for some interesting images.
When I pulled up to drop Little Buddy off at Grandma's the first thing I noticed was AlleyCat's hair. She looked so grown up, sitting on the big tricycle, wearing her sister's jacket, sporting these big ol' piggytails
It is funny to campare BeanPoles to Alleycat. When BeanPoles was her age she was so quiet, would sit perfectly still when you took her to the store, and laughed and giggled at everything.
There is just something about this girl that keeps you laughing. In the short 30 or so minutes I was at my in-laws yesterday Miss AlleyCat managed to dump a bowl of beads, throw 2 cars across the table at me, pop no less than 5 beads in her mouth, dump and pick up a box of stickers, stand up in a chair and nearly fall off the table, and open the front door and try to go outside by herself all the while flashing that ornery AlleyCat smile. She sure keeps Grandma on her toes!!
Marshall pitched and I was able to get an action series in before my camera had to be put away, because it started to rain a little harder.
I have to say the view of first base wasn't so bad!
There are no more images after this, the rain really started to come down and then when it started to lightning they called the game. No 7th inning stretch was sang, no peanuts or cracker jacks were eaten, but it was a great time and I am happy to have spent it with my favorite cubs fan! He has already started talking about our next trip and taking the boys to see a game!
On this day we headed to the Shedd Aquarium. I'm sure that most people would really enjoy visiting here, but since we live so close to the Henry Doorly Zoo we are a little spoiled by the awesome aquarium there. We both agreed that the time and money spent here could have easily been better spent somewhere else (the same goes for the Field Museum which we visited the next day).
The skyline taken from the patio of the aquarium.
Yes, we found Nemo!!
Today's my dad's birthday, sorry I'm a very bad daughter and I really don't know how old he is, or else I would post it here! I also notice that I need to convince him to let me take more images of him, since this is the only one I could find on my hard drives and it is almost 4 years old.
I loved walking around with all the traffic and people. Bryan was a little nervous being out and about after dark, but I could totally see myself as a big city girl!
Bryan ordered a couple Chicago dogs, which smelled as bad as they look! He would have stopped at every vendor, restaurant, cafe, or deli that served these if I would have let him. He has since bought all the fixin's and is waiting on Miss Fun to come home so that he can make them, since
The red one reads "You didn't get me some popcorn chicken and it made me sad, 
"Dear Mom,
I had a steroid epidural/nerve root block done about 4 weeks ago and although I have had a huge amount of relief I am still experiences some pain and numbness. I went through 2 weeks of Physical Therapy/traction, with very little real improvement. I have not been back to the pool, but am buying a new swimsuit today so hopefully that will help.
Here's one of the only available images of blue sky from our whole trip, so enjoy it while you can!
We were able to go inside the locker room, which leaves alot to be desired. It is a tiny little space, but the area our group was allowed to be in was even smaller. Talking about herding cattle, this is when we got friendly with everyone in our group! My favorite player was Matt Murton, but unfortunately the Cubs traded him last year, although I did get the chance to see him play for the Iowa Cubs. With Murton gone my next favorite is Fukudome, I think it his name, I love to hear Little Buddy saying it in his little 3 year old voice!
Here's my bench warmer thinking about all the butts who have graced that seat. Ok maybe that was me thinking of all those famous butts! Sorry I just can't help it.
I handed off my camera to the tour guide for a shot of the two of us because...
I made the "mistake" of calling our hotel a few days before our trip to confirm the reservations, ask about the breakfast and request a room with a view. Well somewhere along the way, probably after the 3 or 4 person including the manager became very rude, I became very annoyed with the customer service of this hotel (Hotel Felix) and cancelled our reservation. I quickly called a friend who has been to Chicago quite a few times asking about recommendations for hotels, thanks Mike and Kari!! Our new hotel The Chicago Hyatt Regency was wonderful. I loved the view even if I spent most of the trip worrying Bryan would trip and break the window, falling the 23 stories to his death!! If you know Bryan you know this could possibly happen!
Here we have Bryan pointing out some of the things we would be doing-
Here is the Chicago Theater in the theater district, where The Chatterbox will be seen performing in a few years!!
The gorgeous sunset that greeted us that first evening!
I don't know how many ways I can tell you about our great hotel, the beds were oh so comfy, the view was gorgeous, the breakfast was filling and when we got back from our first outing they had brought in a bucket of ice cold root beer and Garret popcorn. This Nebraska girl thought this was worthy of 5 stars for sure!!
Everyone was so nice, the homeless offer to give you directions and even the light poles were beckoning us to stay!!
Here's Bryan reading up on the next days plans.
We were even presented with fireworks out the hotel windows!!
and with shaky hands and tears in my eyes I was able to capture his first hit...
a double!!
The Cubs game was rained out in the 6th inning, so we didn't get to hear the famous 7th inning stretch. They also called the game, Cubs won 6-1, but we didn't get to hear the Go Cubs Go song. Unless you count the drunk fans that were singing it!!
One of the only things I wanted to do was take the Double Decker bus tour. Wouldn't you know it, it rained pretty much the whole tour (which was suppose to be 2 hours, but turned out to be almost 4). I didn't get to many chances to take the camera out, so here's one of Bryan taken while we were under a bridge.
Don't let this image or the first one fool you! The ground looks pretty dry at the moment, but soon after it rained !!
My post may sound a little depressing but I can assure you that we didn't let anything ruin our time alone. Whenever Bryan and I go on vacation we have a great time, this one was a smidge better without the kids in tow. I felt extremely guilty during some parts of the trip because I knew the kids would have loved quite a few of the activities we did, maybe next year! I have plenty more images to share of all the non-wet activities when I could get my camera out!
The flowers were also looking very tempting so I got a few shots of them as well!
I have seriously been a horrible slacking MWAC (mom with a camera), I missed The Chatterbox's zoo field trip & class party, Miss Brainy's 14 birthday came and went without 1 single image being shot, The Boss actually wanted me to take her out for a session and I couldn't find the creativity and energy to get out the camera. I am hoping that once I start to feel back to normal I can really dust off the camera and actually get some shots of my own kids.
The weather has been beautiful, so I opened up the house today, my mood has been lifted just by the warm fresh air and the sound of the birds chirping. I have also been very productive today, painted the laundry room shelves and cabinetry, hope to get the walls primed tonight!
I plan on getting him this one so that if he ever has a playdate or goes to Sunday school I can dress him in this so that there will be less of a chance for the adult to accidentally allow him to have peanuts.
I am also looking for this cool Metal Laundry Soap Box, I have seen these online but only on Australian Stores websites. Someone posted online that they found one at T.J. Maxx, but I didn't have any luck in Lincoln, I went to a couple different houseware stores. If you have any of these items and wouldn't mind parting with them or know where I can buy them please please let me know!! 
FIFTY pounds lighter! I was a size 10! I know that I will never be anything smaller than that, these hips have seen too many babies! I was actually in shape, working at the fire dept., I was happy and healthy! This image will soon take center stage on my refrigerator and I will hopefully gain incentive to stay away from snacking while working and get my butt to the YMCA. Anyone know of a personal trainer in the area?!!
This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.
I did not almost forget to post a "not me Monday" post. Well maybe I did "almost" forget but 8:48 p.m. is still Monday so it counts!!
See that purple stuff on his nose and neck? I did not allow him to color on himself because it is washable marker, only to find out he was using his sisters markers that weren't washable. Only took 2 baths before it faded away.
I would never call my daughter Owen, when she comes home from a youth group lock-in at church, complaining that she may have broken her nose. She only slightly resembled Owen Wilson and you would never hear me tell her that his slightly deformed nose only adds character!
I definitely did not almost get up and walk out of Village Ick (oops I mean Inn) when the waiter brought me not 1 but 2 glasses of water that looked like he grabbed them from bussboys dirty dishes tray. The only thing that kept me there was my dear husband who refused to let us leave, good thing he has manners!
I did not buy a pumpkin cheesecake roll yesterday and then eat almost all of it in one day. I did not leave a small sliver for Bryan just so he couldn't claim I had eaten it all!
I did not go to Walmart to buy a tube of adhesive for Bryan because he was still in his pajamas at 3 in the afternoon and then buy the wrong thing. It couldn't have been because the item was in the wrong bin, in the area that my husband manages. My dear darling husband did not get mad at me for buying the wrong thing. I did not post on my Facebook "Courtney thinks her husband should go shopping himself if he is going to complain when I buy the "wrong" thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I did not find it extremely funny that one of Bryan's manager's read it and asked him if I was mad at him.
Head on over to Mckmamma's blog to see what she didn't do this past week.
Just a couple fun pictures of Toby (and Katie). Yes, that is a Christmas ornament dangling from his nose, he definitely knows how to get in the Christmas spirit.
This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.
I did not spend all of the morning in my pajamas at the computer today, while Bryan took the kids to school, ran medicine to The Boss at school, made me lunch and took the dog outside 4 times! 
Today that little blue bundle weighs 62 pounds
After:
Before: 
I also faux painted the ugly backsplash, adding the "roadrunner" and fake brick.
Here are a few of the distressed cabinets that I found while searching online. I haven't decided on the extent of the "damage" I will inflict on the cabinets. I plan on beating them up a little, then applying stain to the exposed areas, but I'm not sure if it will be on the edges only or all over.
We will also be leaving the new cabinetry unpainted and they will only be slightly distressed.
The ends of the island, pantry, and workspace will be cover with tongue and groove wainscotting, like the above image. I love the look of the posts on the end of the cabinets, but I didn't ask for them soon enough and will have to do without. I still need to take our existing doors to the cabinet maker so that he can make new pantry doors. The pantry will have two large doors that hinge in the middle opening up to 3 large sliding shelves. We haven't decided on moulding, although I am leaning towards a very simple moulding with either crown moulding around the top of the cabinets or some decorating trim.
New light fixtures and potrack will go above the island. I love the look of these lights, but not the price. We will also be adding beams on the opposite side of the room to balance out the already existing beams.
We are still discussing what to do with the hood exhaust. Bryan would like to install a microwave/exhaust system, I would like a simple exhaust that actually vents outside. We also need to buy a new dishwasher, sink, faucet, and fridge, but those will have to wait a few months at least. I would love to install new windows and possibly patio doors, that would lead out to a deck. The deck is not in the near future so I doubt I get my new doors anytime soon. This has been a looooooong project but the end is in sight.
Please ignore the ugly wall in the background. I am in the process of redoing the fireplace, mantle, and wall above, where the original owners had glued nasty brick panelling.
The girls jamming out! Miss Brainy still in her pajamas, takes jamming to a figurative level.
My niece has the rockstar look down, with hair in her face no wondered she had a hard time singing the right lyrics!
Little Buddy and Badger Boy in their present forts. I really tried not to go overboard on presents this year, but again I failed miserably. If it helps about 4-5 packages contain clothes!
We had really wanted to go to Disney this year instead of buying a bunch of presents that the kids forget about in a month, but money was needed elsewhere so the trip is postponed for another year. I am really hoping that we can make it work for next year, anyone want to join us?
My mom told me yesterday that I needed to update the blog, so is this what you had in mind?
on Christmas Eve waiting for "his kids" to come home so we could unwrap some presents.
