Aloha Friday - 17 July

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. That's Kailani's version of Fridays & I'm so glad to be back & able to participate! So leave a comment, do a post of your own & link on up @ An Island Life.

Having been gone for something like 6 weeks I'm eager to hear all about you! So my question is-

What's the one thing you look forward to all week?
Is it playing w/ the kids?
Spending time w/ your spouse/significant other?
The birth of your newest child?
Sleeping in?

Come on! You can tell me although keep it clean as I try to run a "G", okay, sometimes "PG-13" show here! hee,hee

Can't wait to come & visit all of you! Aloha & have a great weekend!!

It's been so long!

Man, it's been so long that I'm not certain where to start! Should I begin by telling y'all how happy I am to be home now that I'm almost done w/ the laundry (have to still wash my sheets), or that I'm happy to be home now that my house is finally clean, the bug guy came today & tomorrow we get to clean the almost greenish pool? What about how happy I am that I'm not driving over any bridges in the near future or that my Dad (& Mom) decided that I really needed someone to drive back w/ me? (Have I mentioned how utterly, ridiculously afraid of heights I am?!!) What about how happy I was to see my Hubby again?

So. Highlights will be forthcoming but not too many pix as I kept forgetting to take them. You'd think I was on vacation or something, eh?

We did have a great time but hated returning to Az as it is hot & sometimes humid (not Md/east coast humid but humid for Az!)

I know this isn't very long but it's quite late & I really am trying to go to bed earlier (thank you, Ambien!) But I have to leave w/ a small Hanaeism.

Hanae to me in the car while singing along w/ Taylor Swift - Mom? I really sound like Taylor Swift, don't I?

Me - silently laughing my butt off as she sang that vibrato!

Yep, we're having fun

Greetings & salutations from the land of fast food & shopping malls! Just in case you didn't get that, I'm having a great time shopping. Even w/ a almost teen who wants everything black & can't understand why his mom won't let him. Just because Arizona is Not the place to wear black?! Plus my darling daughter is such a great shopper that we had to stop & get manis/pedis today! I'll take pix & show them later.

But enough of that. Nik is down in So Utah visiting w/ the only male cousin who's close to his age (& whom he also adores!) while Hanae is back w/ me after going to Bear Lake w/ Grandma, Grandpa, Skipper, Captain & the other cousins. She had a blast but getting flowers painted on her big toes was equally as cool.

We have to leave here early as scout camp got moved up (seriously considered sending the boy on a plane round trip but... Hubby is missing us & we are missing him!) We still won't be around until the 4th though.

Miss y'all tons & can't wait to post & check out all of the goings on!

We're leaving, in a minivan!

I decided that I'd better let y'all know - We're Finally Leaving on our trip!!!!!! I'm getting so excited that I can hardly stand myself. Wed am bright & early (maybe 5:30 am?) we're going to be on the road. That means that tomorrow is going to be very busy. I'm trying to pretty much finish all of the laundry tonight so that the things that need to dry on hangers can plus I just don't want to have too much of a mess when I come home.

Tomorrow. Let's see. We have to finish cleaning the baths, mop the tile of which about 3/4 of my house is tile, get packed including clothes, meds, toys, food, bikes, water, toothbrushes (one sis could replace that last part in a heart beat since her Hubby is a dentist but I really like my own. lol), scriptures, pillows (again, like my own) craft things, pix (I know, Shar, that I haven't sent you the kids pix & I promise that I will!), celebrate Hubby's b-day early (it's Sat but of course we won't be here) & lastly, I've got two different Dr's appt to get the answers to some tests we ran. Fingers crossed, please.

So after all of that is over, Hubby will carry the little diva to the car but the teenager in training will have to walk on his own. Then, after a little prayer to help us on the way (trust me when I say that prayers are always helpful in this instance) we'll be off. The kids even cleaned out the van today including vacuuming (yeah, gotta do that one again when we get there, darn it), Nik put the hitch on the back & hooked up the bike carrier & Hubby checked all of the bits & bobs underneath the hood plus changed the oil. We're almost ready, I'm thinkin'.

I'm telling you all of this cause, well, I'm going to be a bit busy for the next little bit. Once we get on the road we'll be stopping w/ one sister for a few days & from there up to my parent's where we get to visit them (natch!) plus another sis & bil (they have the adorable Mr Cooper!) & on to Grandma's who is pretty much the main driving force behind this visit. I just don't think she's going to be on this earth for very long & I didn't have the opportunity to be around when the others passed. So, onward & upward. But if you think that's all we're doing you'd be wrong! I have another sis & bil who are a hour away that we're going to go visit too. Plus they have access to a cabin on a lake & you betcha, we're going w/ them. Thanks, Skipper & Captain!

Phew! I'm a little tired just thinking about it all but I'm also so very excited too. Just think of all the fun we get to have w/ siblings/aunts & uncles, cousins & of course, Grandparents. Don't worry though. I will be around, just not on a consistant basis. Email me if you want as I'll probably take Hubby's phone w/ me so that I have a really great gps plus I'll have mobile email. He might talk me into giving up my old razr yet. You never know.

Anyway, hang in there & I'll be along when I can but know that I'm thinking of y'all & wishing you well!

xoxox - Susan

Aloha Friday - 5 June

It's Friday, it's Friday! Time once again for Aloha Friday. According to Kailani, the host of An Island Life, Friday is the day in Hawaii when you relax & take things easy. In honor of that philosophy she came up w/ the idea of Aloha Friday. This is all about questions. Yours, mine & ours! So head on over to An Island Life to link up. And don't forget to answer all the questions!

Hubby & I lived in England for 3 yrs when we were newlyweds courtesy of the USAF. While we were there we grew to love British telly. Because of that we both love several shows on BBCA (British Broadcasting Company America). One that I've recently discovered is called Don't Tell the Bride. The premise is this - Gender roles are reversed when grooms are put in charge of wedding planning with no say from their brides. (taken from the BBCA website) I've been loving this show! So far it's been couples who are living together who just can't afford a big wedding.

Just because I think quite a few of us are reality show junkies my question is about that show.

a) Would you be willing to participate in a reality show of that nature? You are given L12,000 or about $24,000 to plan your dream wedding in 4 wks only the bride can know absolutely nothing! You even sign a contract in front of a lawyer.

b) If you are already married could you see your husband/partner doing this & doing it well? So far 2 of the grooms actually were able to book the wedding/reception in beautiful castles.

c) If you're the man, do you think that you could/would do this? So far all of the grooms have done such a fantastic job that their wives have admitted they couldn't have done it better!

I realize that this is more than one but it's really just a two-parter & all in good fun. My answer is that while I know my Hubby could do it I'm not certain he would even if it would save us thousands of dollars!

Guess what we've been doing?

Guess what we've been doing? Anyone? Think pink & bronze & Hannah Montana.





Her hair isn't really greenish; it just looks like it. Don't know what's going on but it's not good!




She looks a little too grown up for me here. "You're only 7, Hanae. Slow down!"


The End.

I was just checking my email & told Hanae that her aunt (one of my sis) thought her glasses were cute. So then she says "How many comments do you have on my glasses, Mommy?" I thought it was pretty funny.

It's now the 7th of June & Hanae is thrilled w/ all of the responses! As a matter of fact she says "Thanks! I really like your comments!"

Critter time!

I've really got to watch those typos. Posting @ o:darkthirty though doesn't help either! *grin*

First of all I'm forewarning you that there are some critters in this post. Some of them are even ugly. A couple are not as much but... you've been forewarned!











Found this handsome lizard on my outer screen last year. What a beaut! Hope it makes lots of baby lizards to help keep down the bug population. Gotta love a multipurpose critter.


You've seen this guy before. My kids were on their way out the door & Nik found it by the front door. Luckily our friendly bug guy puts down special killer for these critters. This guy is a centipede.


Aw, another friendly lizard to help take your mind off the centipede on my son's hand just above. Focus on the lizard. It's all right. No more scary centipede that was just a baby. Oh & in the interest of humane treatment to critters, I made my kids put this guy (lizard) back out in the wild.


Wow! See the vivid green color on this bug? I haven't seen one of these in years. Of course I can't remember the name of it but... You get the pix.

Now how did this one get in there? It's a fairly common site although it has gotten better this past year. They actually had 6 or 7 men in custody. See what you're all learning today?!

Take my word for it when I tell you that there is a black widow down in this cement block. I haven't figured out how to make the arrows actually stay on my photos yet so just look @ the bottom leaf. See the black thing? That's it!

These little guys are called javelinas. They are similar to a pig but not really. These are bronze statues that greeted us in the front of the Tucson Sonora Desert Museum. Truly a wonderful place to take the family. It's pretty much all outdoors & very informative. Lots of benches & water too.

Just one more nasty critter cause my computer ate the last one I took. This was a baby scorpion. It was only about an inch long but I still took a hammer to it. I found it very satisfying to hammer something that gives me the chills just thinking of it!

Whoops! I lied! Not intentionally though. I had forgotten about the snake. I've shown this guy before. My neighbor killed him. He was resting in the bushes outside of my neighbor's front door. The bushes & snake are now gone, I'm happy to report. Nik has the rattle & it had 13 rings on it. That's a pretty big snake. And even though he wasn't very long he sure was fat!

Just to show you that I'm not all heartless. These big guys from the Budwieser Co came to town recently & we took the kiddos down to the park to see them. They are such huge gentle giants. Absolutely massive. Did I ever tell you that I worked as a nanny once on a draft horse ranch? They weren't Clydesdale's but they were huge! Oh & fyi? Stay away from the stallion when it's that time of the month. That's all I'm sayin'.


Even though we have dogs I'm really not a dog person. I do, however, love this photo of Rex, our dog. (Poncho was the one who died.) Rex is about 2 1/2 now but when you see him in the face he just looks like a teenager who hasn't quite grown into himself yet. And how can you not like someone who is so excited to see you?

Well, that is all. Goodnight & sleep tight!