Let Freedom Ring!

We had a fun 4th of July.

Our little town has a celebration that they call,

"The Largest Small-Town Fireworks Display in America"!

We spread our blanket out.....

......then walked around and visited with friends & family.

{The newlyweds' first Fourth of July as a married couple....awwww!!}

ALL of these fireworks pics were taken by Elayna.

Shelbie asked me if we were going to buy any SPRINKLERS this year??

She meant to say SPARKLERS.

So now sparklers have a new name at our house!

{Elayna playing with her "sprinkler"}

I have no words for the picture below.
Okay, a few: Teenage boys are insane.

{that's Tim's friend Anthony wearing the basketball on his head.}

I could NOT get a photo of my son with his eyes open.

So, I settled for a pic with closed eyes.

I also got to visit with my (former) niece and nephew...they are my ex-husband's brother's children, who I've known since their birth. They still call me their Aunt. My (former) nephew is a Marine and will be going to Afghanistan in October. It was great to see them & talk about old times! I love those kids.

~* I Hope You Had a Wonderful Independence Day! *~

Check out these chicas for more Wordful/Wordless Wednesday posts!

Flowers, Fireworks, & Fragments

It's Friday Fragment Day ~ YAY!

Tomorrow, I am going to get my hair done. This is momentous because I very rarely get anything done to my hair other than the occasional cut (and even those are few & far between). But tomorrow? Cut & highlights. Let's hope this goes well!




I'm looking forward to this holiday weekend. Last week was rough; this week has been much better and I'm hoping for a nice relaxing weekend. The kids will be coming home tomorrow. We're planning a trip to the Springs, maybe some berry picking, then fun & fireworks on Monday.


We didn't have cable for years. I just figured it was a bill we didn't need. We got the local channels, what else did we need?
Um, yeah. We got Dish Network last Fall, and now I am so addicted to so many cable shows, it's really ridiculous. And embarrassing. But true.

How did I live without Toddlers & Tiaras? Operation Repo? And most of all, Cupcake Wars?? Oh, how I love the cupcakes.

I updated my blog button scrolly thing this week. If I don't have your button, let me know so I can add it. Especially if it's cute. I LOVE cute buttons!

Also, if you're not already a follower, just one little click would change all that....you might notice I'm really close to 500, and I confess, I just love large round numbers..... -> -> ->

All of the lovely flowers pictured in this post are growing in my yard. =)




This song is special to me. Every time I hear it, I think of my kids. Even the one who's technically an adult now. It's important for them to know that I'm always here for them, and that no matter what, I have their back. This song says that so well.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

God Bless America!

Independence Day

War terrifies me.

When I think of those whom I love who are in the military right now,

I feel queasy just thinking of what they are facing.
But I also feel very, very proud.

I found this picture on a website and there are

several more very cool patriotic photoshopped pics. Check them out!

Wishing you a wonderful Independence Day.

Have fun, and remember what it's all about.

Fragments de Friday....

.....from the Casa de Dysfunction!

There you have it, my lame attempts at remembering High School Spanish.



So...what do I have to tell you about today?

As you may have guessed if you read Monday's post, this week has been stressful. Aside from the usual annoyances I have from other doofballs in my life, now I have Pretend Mom coming out of the woodwork and it's just worrisome. I have been biting my nails all week. I don't bite my nails!
I really don't think Christina will push the issue of getting involved in Andrew's life.....she has a short attention span and will probably move on to something else very soon. And we have plenty of legal recourse in keeping her away, including testimony from Andrew's therapist.
But my mind, it worries.......



Anyway. Fortunately, we have a happy distraction coming up -Elayna's softball tournaments! Next week will be a short work week and then our Softball Vacation will commence. We just learned that we will have at least one day with no games at all, so we will definitely find some fun things to do on that day. I think we'll have a great time. I just wish my oldest son could come along, but he has to work. I probably won't be online much at the end of the next week. Don't worry about me too much; I'll just be lounging on the beach.

I think a little R & R is just what I need!

Also, this weekend our town has a huge Independence Day celebration. We'll be helping out in a booth to raise money for the softball team part of the day, and enjoying ourselves the rest of the day! One of my friends is planning on meeting us there, and of course since it's such a small town we'll see tons of friends there. I recently read in the newspaper that our little town of approximately 7000 people attracts crowds topping 30,000 people for our fireworks display.
It rocks!

If I haven't been by your blog lately, it's just because I'm behind, as always usual. Both of my computers decided to take a poop at the same time, so it's hard to find time to get online. Don't take it personally! It seems like everyone is online less during the summer though. They're out having fun in the sun!
OK, I have done enough babbling for one Fragalicious Friday. Enought about me, tell me about you! What are your plans for this Independence Day weekend?

I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day, a wonderful weekend altogether, and don't forget to visit Mrs 4444's for more Friday Fragments!