MOCHA MORNINGS

It's been a while since I've actually read a newspaper. So, what better thing to do when traveling from Wyoming to Texas, pulling a camper in a truck with 3 kids, your husband and a dog? Read the USA Today, of course! So, how do you grill? I use the gas grill. The hubs uses the charcoal. A house divided I suppose! 

Wanted to share a little clip I just uploaded to YouTube from our most recent trip to Yellowstone National Park when we got to visit Old Faithful and watch her erupt.  It was an amazing experience to see in person.  It's pretty amazing living on 50 miles from this place.  There is no reason for us to be bored on the weekends from now on! ...and every time I think of Old Faithful, my thoughts go back to that movie Dennis the Menace and the scene where he squirts Mr. Wilson's nasal spray out and as it is shooting straight up into the air he says, "Old Faithful!"  Funny how things like that from our childhood stick with us, huh? (old faithful scene starting at 6:28) Such a great movie!

Here's to the last day in 2011 that you can officially get away with wearing white! Time to switch the wardrobes over to Fall and to dust the cobwebs off the crock pot. Hope your day has been filled with some relaxation and the making of some final Summer memories.

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter.  That's not what I meant!  I'm talking about ClusterFLUFF, a new Ben & Jerry's   flavor made with Peanut Butter ice cream loaded with Caramel Cluster pieces, Marshmallow swirls and Peanut Buttery swirls.  I think I love their labels almost as much as I love their ice cream.  So go on, run out and get you some...you know you want to!

When Yellowstone NP opened for the 2011 season there had not been a fatal Grizzly attack inside the park since 1986. So far in 2011, there have been two. This will be the first time in the park's history that there has been more than one fatal bear attack in the same year. The first victim was from California and was fatally mauled on July 6, 2011 while hiking with his wife. The second victim, a man from Michigan, was found on August 26, 2011 by two other bikers on a 21 mile trail. It has now been concluded that he was attacked by a grizzly sometime on the 24th or 25th. He was traveling alone, camping and hiking in an area of known grizzly activity and was NOT carrying bear spray! They don't know if the same bear is responsible for both attacks (the bear in the first attack was a mama beat with her cubs so no action was taken), but they are performing tests on fur samples taken from the scenes to determine if this was the same bear. My opinion, for what it's wort...

photo courtesy of  msnbc . Praying for my friends and all those who live on the East Coast that are in the path of Irene.  I have been glued to the t.v. this afternoon watching all of the coverage of the destruction she has already caused and all the preparations currently taking place in NYC and other cities along the coast.  This photo of siding being blown off houses in Nags Head, NC, is evidence of Irene's power to destruct.  Hunker down East Coast, you have a long night ahead of you and you are all in my thoughts and prayers!

No Joke. It is seriously hot enough here in Texas to melt an ice cream truck. It is a BLAZING 102 degrees today with a high of 107.  40+ days of these temps is frying my brain and my ability to think straight. Someone please, STOP THE INSANITY!! What a World...What a World.....

Being on vacation for two weeks, moving in three days and needing to clean out the refrigerator means that I haven't been grocery shopping since, hmmmm...the first of July.  Therefore, obviously we are being "creative" (if that's what you want to call it) with our meals.  So, what's on the menu when you have a bundle of fresh asparagus, a package of bacon, three eggs, some shredded cheese, left over Rotel and some tortillas that I have had FOREVER....a very YUMMY breakfast taco that has now been jotted down in my book under the category  Brunch.  

After his stay at the vet's office while we house hunted in Wyoming how fitting that the wonder dog had a bandana tied around his neck when I picked him up this morning. Usually he is sporting some curly ribbons around his collar after his bath, but this is just too stinking cute. Now, all he needs is a cowboy hat and he will be ready to tackle WY in style!

 Exhibit A  Exhibit B  Obviously, the Topsy Turvy (Exhibit A) failed me.  I followed the directions, doing everything it said to do.  Even bought a fancy pants Topsy Turvy stand to hang them from and my tomato plant still did not survive.  Peppers, however, are still looking good.  Exhibit B, pictured above, shows the left over tomato plants that would not fit in the TT that we just threw into a planter we had in the back yard and added some fresh soil with no high expectations of it surviving. We were wrong. These tomato plants are thriving and look beautiful and I am actually hopeful that it might produce a tomato or two.  Topsy Turvy, I am so sad that you failed me.

Summer is here and the reading program at our local library is up and running at full speed. The first program was yesterday and this balloon man, who goes by the name of Mister Jazz, was there to perform some balloon tricks and creations for the kiddos.  As he was preparing for his big finale, I wish I too had prepared myself and gotten my phone set to record video. By the time I realized what this crazy cat was doing, I was only able to get about 46 seconds of his performance filmed with my phone.  The kids LOVED it, but personally, it was a little creepy to me. Summer brotherly love is also up and running....and crashing and burning here at home.  Four brothers under the same roof, all day long, for an entire week has been quite the adventure to say the least.  I have heard the names Barbie Girl and Sissy Baby at least 100 times in the past five days.  However, the funniest "name calling" that is taking place is coming from the five ye...

 Back when I blogged, Green Thumb, Not I , I wasn't kidding....here's an update. I would find success with just the production of one tomato. Still keeping my fingers crossed. The tomato plant. Not looking so good. Getting worried..... I'm still hopeful. Maybe there's a pepper in my future after all....  The dog.  Still terrorizing the neighborhood.... 

i f I plant something, it is going to die. That's a fact.  No matter what I do my flowers never seem to survive.  I wish I knew how much money I have spent on hanging plants in my lifetime, only to have them dry up, burn up, or die from too much moisture.  So, don't ask me why we decided to plant tomato and pepper plants this year, but we did.... Jalapeno and Banana Peppers When we were making our purchases at Home Depot I told the cashier that this was my first "As seen On TV Purchase".  And actually, I was really excited about it, but also felt like we should be ordering it off of the infomercial so that we could get two for the price of one, plus a free chopper, slicer, a set of knives, storage containers and one can only imagine what else, all for $19.99 with separate S&H, of course. So yes, without even having to think about it twice, we purchased a  Topsy Turvy ! Actually we purchased two, one for pep...

this is my finger.  and yes, that is a nasty, worm gut coated, lake water infested, 5+ year old hook sticking out of it.  after getting home from the lake, a lake my family and i went to where i didn't even actually fish mind you, i opened the back hatch to the tahoe, reached in to pull out a cooler (one of those material ones, not the hard plastic ones) and i got hooked.  i have no words to describe the pain that i felt as my husband is trying to detach my finger from the cooler that this triple hook fishing lure is attached too, as well as a pair of Nike swim trunks.  as he is screaming at the 10 year old to bring him his leathermen tool, i am screaming bloody murder because every time me, the cooler or the swim trunks moved the pain became worse than any that i had ever experienced during child birth.  after my husband REFUSED to call 911 (he didn't think the incident was ambulance worthy, but he wasn't the one with the fish hook in his fi...

this morning i was scrolling through our photos from summer, thinking back to our vacation in Hawaii and how beautiful The Big Island is.  remembering what a fun time the boys had at vacation bible school and all the little day trips we took with the windows rolled down and kids screaming in the backseats. the innocence and laughter of the boys just running through the yard sprinklers and playing in the back yard on the slip-'n-slide. a lot of memories have been made this summer and i love how pictures can, for a split moment, take you back in time and bring a smile to your face. then of course, i found this picture.  the dump station picture. why my husband feels the need to capture the memory of the dump station at a t exas campground is beyond me.  but here it is, and here it will stay. m en! can someone please explain?

f or ice cream! if you're gonna be a member of this family, you gotta love ice cream. on this particular hot, summer  day, little man is enjoying an old fashion sundae from a diner downtown. vanilla ice cream with pineapple topping. his favorite. aw...to be a kid again. no worries. no sense of time. just enjoying the summer and his dish of ice cream. life doesn't get much better than this.

it's been a busy summer so far, but it's been a great one.  our  trip to Hawaii was absolutely amazing.  our visit with family from kentucky has been relaxing and enjoyable.  our day trips have been fun and adventerous.  and our walks at night, trips to the ice cream store and swimming with friends have been filled with laughs and unforgetable memories.  funny how the act of balancing kids, housework, meals and just life in general always seems easier in the summer!