A week in a nutshell

July 3/4

We went to the parade in West Des Moines on Thursday night with Brenton's friend Owen, his brother Parker, and their parents, Nick and Lori. It was fun.. Parker was the go-getter for all things sweet and Owen was very excited to see the Jeeps, Tractors, and Guitars!

After the parade, we went to Altoona to see the fireworks at Prairie Meadows.. but first we had to make a stop at Monterey for some dinner! And a pitcher of Margaritas. :)

The fireworks were good, and afterwards we stopped at Andy and Nikki Phillips' house to chat for a few minutes, which turned into an hour or so! Evidently we all need to see each other more often so we don't have SO MUCH catching up to do!! It was good to see them.. They are always such gracious hosts!

Then, on the 4th, we got up and met Brenton's friend Owen and his family, and Owen and Parker's friends Kelton, Kya, Kiera, and Kaden and their parents, Ross & Christi Ladwig, in Urbandale for the 4th of July parade! It was a long parade and the kids made quite a haul with the candy.

After the parade, we came home.. Just the 2 of us.. and put some burgers on the grill. After lunch, it was time for some pool therapy. It was quite nice. It was a good day to be lounging poolside!

That night, we headed to Waukee to meet up with the parade watching gang and watch some Fireworks. They lasted for a LONG time, and I have some pictures that turned out quite nice!








For the rest of the weekend, we didn't do anything. Went to the pool and that's about it.

On Sunday, I got the much needed new phone. You all know how bad my old one was.. How many times have I said.. "hang on, my phone's dying!"

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Jereme and I decided that it was time to put Champ to sleep. He hasn't been doing well for some time and was to the point that he could no longer stand up or walk anymore. On Monday, our son (he WAS a real boy, you know!) went to the Rainbow Bridge to play with Shadow, Harley, Lucky, and Cody.

You all know how well I must have taken this. I cried for 3 days straight and missed 2 days of work. I didn't even want to get out of bed. Brenton stayed home with me on Monday... he didn't think I should be alone. I did go to work on Tuesday, but could barely function. Then on Wednesday, I woke up with a major headache! I'm sure it was from the severe lack of sleep! So I called in and went back to bed. It wasn't until Thursday that I started to find my peace with this. He touched and enriched the life of EVERYONE who met him.. I mean really, how many of you remember the wag???

I am doing better, I still have my moments, but at least I can look at his pictures now without losing it. I just keep telling myself that it was the right thing to do for him. He could no longer run and play, or go "bye-bye" in the car anymore. I will always love him.. I will never forget him, either.



Then on Thursday on the way home from work.. I got into a fiery crash with my Jeep.

Ok, not really, and nothing major.. Just the front bumper.. it's scratched and took my license plate off. I'm not too concerned about it, but will get it fixed. It just has to be buffed and repainted is all... or it seems to me. I will keep you posted on an estimate.

And somewhere in the week, our garage sale TV decided to stop showing the picture, but we can still listen to the TV. So now it's time for a new TV.

Aunt Mary is having surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week in Rochester to have her kidney taken out. They seem to think it is a contained tumor, so hopefully all turns out well with her. I will say prayers, and ask you to say one too.

Needless to say, you won't be seeing me on that show on VH1... you know...
The Best Week Ever.
LOL

Last night, I had a MAJOR stomach ache.. (Thank You, Boston's) so I got up and was witness to the sweetest light show on earth. I tried to get pictures, but only managed one good one before the camera died. I think Champy knows how much his Mamma loves lightning, so he gave me some to watch. We didn't get hardly any rain, but there was LOTS of Lightning and Thunder!


Anyway, there's my week in a nutshell. Let's all hope next week is better.