Here I am again...

Hello everyone!!

I know my life has got to be a little crazy (but awesome) when, I remember that I started a post 5 days ago and never actually posted it!

As I always say, I'm not complaining...just pointing out the obvious....I'm BLOG lazy! :-)

But I will say that I have had so much fun this summer...and continue to.   I've been trying to get better about hanging out with friends, hanging out with my family, doing fun things with Jayla and just trying to have fun without spending too much (or any) money.

In those times of "hanging out", I've also been trying to do better about taking pictures. What's the fun in doing all these things if there are no pictures to share the memory?  So having said that, sit back and relax as I share some memories I've made over the past few weeks.

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I very seldom remember to share pix of our sweet doggie, Trae.  So here he is. I love how he seems to always look so disgusted when I make him take pictures :-). But look at that face! How can I resist?

Speaking of looking disgusted...how bout a humiliated look? :-)  He's so tolerable of Jayla. He just sits there like a good boy and lets her do whatever to him. He's so sweet!

Soon after school let out, Jayla had one of her friends and soccer team mates, Ashlee come over for a sleepover. In these photos, you'll see that I gave the girls a Cucumber facial peel :-).  They had so much fun peeling the mask off.

Jayla also got to attend her first VBS this summer. Our good friends that live down the street, attend a church that is just outside of our neighborhood. And they invited Jayla to attend VBS with them. She had a BLAST and is already talking about going back next Summer.

The next 2 pictures are J'bear dressed up for "Rock Star" day at VBS.

This photo is of J'Bear with her hair done up for "Crazy Hair Day" at VBS.

Here's Mr. Trae again. Poor thing, just looks exasperated with all the picture taking. I think he was trying to climb up on the bed to get away from Jayla :-).

For those of you who either know or know OF Jayla, you'll know that she is VERY girly!  Still, at the age of 8, she LOVES pretend play and playing dress up.

These first 2 pix are of J'Bear in a dress I got for her (and altered) from the thrift store, that I paid $2.50 for! Which at first I felt bad about, considering it's a "Misses" dress and was priced at $10.  But after getting to the check out and being asked if I was 55 or older by a cashier in training, I didn't bother to correct the trainer when he told the trainee that all kids clothes were $2.50! :-).

Dontcha just love the GIANT hem on the dress? lol

NOTE: I have since covered the deep drop in the back of this dress :-).

A good friend and I were chatting about our daughters one day.  We were discussing their differences, with respect to how girly J'Bear is. She mentioned that her daughter is girly, but doesn't like to play dress up like Jayla does. Long story short, she told me that she had several formal dresses from different events she's been to or weddings she's been in. She hated to have to throw them away or allow them to continue collecting dust in her closed, so she offered to give them to Jayla.

So where does that leave me? That's leaves ME having to alter 7 womens dresses, sizes 8 - 12 down to a childs size 8! Fun stuff!!! (not so much!)  But if it makes my daughters prissy life happier, I'll endure it.

Here are a couple more that I've altered (or attempted to alter).  The first one is a mint green, former bridesmaid dress. I even made the shawl/wrap into a "veil".

This next one is the skirt of a 2 piece bridesmaid outfit. The skirt was the perfect length to make a dress out of :-).

For the 4th of July, we met up with some friends to see fireworks.  Between the 5 families that were there, these are all the kids!

The moms/wives....

The dads/husbands....

The fireworks....

Ok, now these next few pictures were taken under duress :-). And before I go any further, let the records show that I'm not one who is easily talked into things. Nor am I much of a risk taker.  For YEARS my friends, (one in particular...Stacey, who is next to me with the hat on) has been trying to get me to go hiking with her and our other friends.

Well, being that it was the weekend of the 4th, I OBVIOUSLY lost my mind and said yes! I mean, I don't even know HOW to hike. I had to call Stacey to find out, not only what I was supposed to take on this little excursion, but HOW I was supposed to take it! When she informed me that all I needed to do was take a back pack, I immediately had visions of The Disney Princesses and Dora the Explorer! THOSE are the only backpacks I know about!

Anyway, I managed to find one that was suitable for hiking. I mean, doesn't EVERYONE wear a pink & purple backpack hiking? :-)

Ok, when these first 3 pictures were taken, I was still pretty much in a good mood and kinda having fun! It was about 90 degrees outside. But being that we were by the water and mostly under trees, it wasn't too terrible.

Ok, NOW...the story  has changed up a bit. As you can see, my facial expression has changed a little. And I am sweating like a wrestler! And poor little Jayla! Her only complaint was that she was HOT!...and seeing her life flash before her eyes, LOL :-). Fortunately, she was with her friends (most of which are pictured in the 4th of July photo).

Did I mention that not too long after this photo was taken, I almost fell off the side of a small cliff?!? ARGH!!! I was  PISSED! Not at my friends...but at myself for thinking that I really wanted to go on this little outing.

But I did it and enjoyed the time with my friends. However, I have informed them to NEVER ask me to do this again. Simply because they said THIS was the easy trail!  My body was TICKED off at me (and my friends) the next day!

Last weekend, we were invited to my sisters house for a get together for Markell. Ya'll remember him, right? Well, this was the first time we've seen him in almost a year. He's still so very handsome...however, not so much in the following picture, LOL.

Here's he's pictured with his cousins/my girls.

And of course I had to get a shot with him too. This young man is 15 years old now and is almost 6 feet tall! I miss him so much!!

Lastly, we got together this past weekend with some friends we haven't seen in AGES!! We met for dinner and just got caught up with eachother.

It's always so great to get together with old friends. And even greater to feel as if you're picking up from where you left off from the last time you saw one another. I love these guys!

That's it for now...I'm sure I'll have more to share in the coming weeks. Our summer break will be over in about 2 weeks. I can't believe how quickly it has gone by. But Jayla is ready to get back to her normal routine of soccer and school. You guys, she'll be in the 3rd grade this year!! My baby is growing up so fast.

Until we speak again, enjoy your week and I'll talk to you soon!