after 2 years, goodbye to the....

giant yellow water trampoline. You had a good but short life. It seems that overexposure to the sun ended your time with us. But you were put to good use!
Please welcome our new purchase....the big red water trampoline. Not quite as photogenic. And not quite as good of a landmark (turn left and and look for the giant yellow water trampoline - that is where our dock is) but it will serve the same purpose - child entertainment (and some adult entertainment).

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her new favorite shirt....

and it was only $3!!!!!!

all she wanted....

was a chair. Happy Birthday.

gone for a bit...

we are getting ready for vacation in cali and will busy then gone. No posts till later in the month.....

5th grade graduation...

Did you know that you graduate from 5th grade??? And are supposed to make a big deal of it?? Flowers, parties, graduation gifts???
Well, i did not know this. We go to "graduation" at the elementary school. Walk in the gym. There are moms and dads with flowers. Signs. Presents. Dang - we obviously had empty hands.
Two hours later - hannah was recognized for perfect attendence, academically high scores and best all around in sports.
Pictures are not all that good - trying to shoot across the gym. But you will see she is the only one in a mortarboard hat. At the end, she kept tossing it in the air.

In the gym:

Afterwards saying goodbye to her teacher:
And her final exit from school:

it's official....

School is out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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you know it is summer when....

the giant yellow water trampoline is in the lake! And .... there is only 8 days left of school!!

chris and the gps....

On Saturday, we went to Tobaccoville, NC for a graduation BBQ for Chris' niece Brandy. She was celebrating college graduation (finally!), her pregnancy and also wanted her family to meet the hubby's family since they have been married over a year and the families have not met.

En route, we thought we would stop and look at patio furniture in Statesville.

So, I pull out the GPS to get us to both locations. Now, I have travelled with the GPS and gotten where I wanted to go but Chris has not used it. And Chris, remember, is not very good at blindly following directions.

So.....we get started. The gps sends us on a small windy route but it seems pretty quick. Chris had decided on a different routebut decided to be adventurous and follow the GPS. So i had to listen to him commenting the entire way on the pros and cons of the gps. My way may have taken longer but it was straighter, less turns, less windy, etc....

THEN IT HAPPENED. The gps made a mistake.

It told us to make a right on Bandy then left on Gabriel. But there was not a Gabriel. It was Sherrils Ford Rd. There IS no Gabriel. So we missed the turn, it tried to correct us and send us down a dead end road. NOT GOOD.

Now Chris was not commenting but shouting - at me. I tried to tell him to go back and take Sherrils Ford Rd. So he finally did - after I told him to stop yelling at me. As long as we ignored the fact that we were not driving on Gabiel but SF Rd. the GPS did fine and got us to the patio furniture store then on to Tobaccoville with no problems. BUT CHRIS NO LONGER TRUSTED IT. He kept saying "I can't just blindly follow something that might mess up again". Argh. I was a mess by the time we arrived. Chris had no clue that he was complaining, whining and grumbling the entire way. I could not wait to get out of that car.

So, on the way home, I let him navigate. We did check the gps first and decided to go a different route because of NASCAR race traffic in town.

And next time.....maybe i will save the gps for when I am travelling without him. Not worth the aggravation. I forgot to factor in the Chris factor - sometimes he just has to be the one in control. Like when he is driving.

anniverary weekend...

So we went to Blowing Rock (with the child) for a romantic getaway for the big 2-0 anniversary weekend.

We had a grand time, the weather was perfect - well maybe a little windy - and the condo was nice - well, we almost got car sick getting up the mountain - but we had a grand time.

We spent Saturday on Grandfather mountain, hiking and enjoying the scenery, visiting the nature museum and mile high bridge. Then on to Banner Elk to find a dinner spot, cruise the town and go jewelry shopping. Yes, there was a jewelry store so Chris decided I should look at for a new wedding ring. Found one I loved.....not sure if I want to pay the price for it though - kind of pricey!

what's wrong with your mothers face.....

so.....as you know, I have cut back my hours at the realty office - going in a few hours, a few days a week. With this extra time, I have been trying to exercise in the am. Sometimes before hannah goes to school, sometimes after I drop her off. At any rate, i am normally sans makeup, stringy haired and probably stinky in the morning for the commute to school.

So - the other morning - my little 6yr old car pooler gets in the car and I hear her whisper to Hannah "What's wrong with your mother's face??"

I start laughing and tell her it is just Mrs. Fritts without any makeup.