Happy 4^th to everyone!  Hope your holiday weekend is safe and fun.  We’re going to take a little swim today and probably barbecue some hotdogs.  Daughter didn’t call and didn’t bring her dogs…we called her cell and she sounded sick (at least on her voice mail) so not sure what happened there.  She has been working a million hours so I’m sure she is just run down and feeling ragged.  Hope to hear from her today.

Wanted to show you a pic or two (or three) of my pups.  I’m hoping to get some better ones but they are so quick and do not like sitting still longer than two seconds.  Hopefully I will be able to get a pic of them sitting together.  They are so cute when they cuddle on the big pillow in our family room to sleep. 

I also want to tell you a funny story that happened the other day.  But I don’t have time right now so I’ll do that tomorrow, ok? 

Maddie Mae has really grown, hasn't she?

This is little Baylee Blu.

I had to go to the bathroom really bad so I rushed to the front of the store.  (I was waaaay in the back…why is it most Wal Mart bathrooms are at the very front of the store?)  I barely made it…thank God the Women’s side wasn’t being cleaned and roped off.  I raced in and thought ‘hey, they’ve taken out all the stalls.  I don’t remember it looking like this’.  I heard a person wrestle with a toilet seat cover and noticed urinals and then it hit me.  I raced out going 100 mph.  A girl of about ten who was getting a drink at the water fountain said

 “I saw you go in the Men’s room and was gonna say something but…”

“But…why didn’t you?” I asked all red and flustered and smiling.

“I was laughing too hard.”

What a precious little girl…  Oh well, I guess I probably would have done the same thing at that age.  Oy me.

So began my morning of fun.  As if Wally World isn’t ‘the funnest (not a word, but remember I was flustered) (and happiest)’ place on earth.

Our pool is drained and we’re ready to refill it.  Well, the Mr. just said we are refilling it as I type. We didn’t have to do the acid bath.  We pressure cleaned it and it came out really nice.  We did initially have some backwash problems (green algae came out) but got it taken care of.  And we will need a new pump.  Oh well, that’s what happens when you have a hole in the ground in your backyard you throw $$$ into.  It will be great to be able to swim on the 4^th.  We’re staying home and babysitting dogs.  My oldest daughter has been invited to go to the lake with her boyfriend’s family and their place just cannot accommodate 2 big hounds so we said we’d watch them.  My little Maddie loves them but my little Baylee HATES (is afraid of) them so they can stay outside most of the time.  There is plenty of shade and a friend gave me a huge water dispenser for animals so they will be all set.  And it's only for one day.

Target had tons of shoes on sale.  My youngest and I had fun trying them all on.  We came out with six pair…three for her and three for me.  The cashier charged us for seven pairs but as we were sitting in Starbucks (in Target) getting an iced coffee (I got a coupon for a free one in the Sunday paper) I noticed the mistake.  No problem…they took care of it right in the Starbucks shop.  So, my day did get better…even if it started out in the toilet.

Holy Shamoly!  Where has the time gone?

Here is a short recap of what’s been goin’ on…

MAY

• We went to Mobile AL, Pensacola FL, Biloxi MS, New Orleans LA and Houston TX.  We had a blast with our friends in Mobile.  As you can see, they took us everywhere!  It was an awesome vacation.

JUNE

• We got another new puppy.  She is a Zhih Poo (Zhihtsu and Poodle mix) and is named Baylee Blu.  She is tri-colored and is sooo cute.  Lots of hair but she won’t shed.  She and Mz Maddie Mae get along famously and are best friends!  They were born 11 days apart…Maddie being the 'big sis’.  I wuvs them!  I am still in the process of potty training.  If I don’t kill them or me in the process, all will be wundebar!

• We had a big birthday bash for my youngest daughter who turned 22 on the 10^th of June.  It was fun, there was too much food, and we stayed up waaaaay too late (we left for CO the next day) but it was so worth it.  She got a ton of nice gifts.

• Off to CO to take my mother to her summer home.  I love it there.  I’m seriously trying to figure out a way to move there permanently but first I want to spend a winter there to see if I can hack it.

• We came home to a green pool (the pump went out as there was an electrical problem), the air conditioning not working on one end of the upstairs and our Direct TV off.  (I’m not saying he didn’t forget to pay the bill and I’m not saying he did forget to pay the bill.) (ahem…)  Anyway, we’ve just about got everything back to normal although we are going to have to drain the pool, give it an acid bath and then refill it.  I hope we’ll get to swim this summer.  Hubby is so busy with his work I just don’t know when he’s gonna have time to fit that project in.  Maybe he’ll break down and pay to have it done professionally.  He wants to learn how to do it.  My only question is why?  I mean, I hope it never gets like this again.  Ugh.  Men, ya know?

• My daughter received an all expense paid visit for two to a spa from her boyfriend that included an hour and a half massage, an hour and a half facial and a pedicure.  She was going to take her sister but her sister had to work so she took MOI!!  I died and went to heaven and died and went to heaven and died and went to heaven.  5 hours later I barely made it out of that place.  I felt like Gumby.  And it only cost $515!!!!!  Cough, cough, sputter, sputter…  It takes a LOT to render me speechless, but kids, I was SPEECHLESS!!!!  What a guy!  I asked my daughter if I could marry him.  She said sure.  hm… lol

• I started cleaning out my closet today.  Did you know shoes that looked adorable 15 years ago don’t look adorable now?

Hi all.  Some of you asked for a pic of the new little girl in our house.  Introducing Maddie Mae.  Ain't she cute?

Every girl needs a pair of sunglasses, don't they?

I don't know how to turn this pic around and it's kinda blurry but I think you can see her coloring.

The grosser the shoes, the better they taste!

Check out her little curly tail.  It's a keeper.  She was squished in the womb so this is how it will stay.

We went to Mom's this past weekend.  Had a nice time.  My cousin came to visit while we were there.  Took little MM with us.  She did so good!  She only had a couple accidents.  My Mom has a perfect backyard for little pups.  And she sleeps so well in her crate.  So it was enjoyable.

OK, I'm gonna post this before I lose it.  It will be my second time posting it tonight.  There won't be a third!

I know…it’s a miracle.  Has it really been this long?  In a nutshell, here’s what's been goin' on…

• I’ve missed you all a ton.
• I’ve had the flu…twice.
• I’ve shopped at Costco 50 times.
• I’ve shopped at Sam’s 50 times.
• We have lots of ‘stuff’ now.
• I went on a girl’s weekend in East Texas.  The best time ever.
• I celebrated Easter with a white Chihuahua who was dyed a variety of colors (spots) by a gander of young adults w/too much time (and imaginations) on their hands.  A polka dot bikini comes to mind.
• I drove in the absolute worst rain storm I’ve ever driven in my whole life coming home from Houston.
• I’ve gotten my ears re-pierced.  It only kinda hurt a little when the ear piercing gun broke on my second ear.
• I got a new little female mini weenie dog puppy.  I love her to death!
• I witnessed a car accident.  It was ugly!
• I bought a new purse…y’all, that’s a big deal around here.
• I’ve started a wreath bizness with my cousin.
• I’ve gotten my ‘scared of flying’ friend to and from the airport for 5 flights—with lots and lots and lots of chill pills.
• OK, I’ll tell you my puppy’s name but first I must say with no disrespect to my awesome Xanga friend who just gave birth to a precious little girl, I named her Maddie Mae.  But…my Maddie’s name is spelled differently than hers…whew!
• I was given a weekly pill holder.  It has AM and PM compartments.  Shhhh…let’s just keep that our secret, k?
• I’ve been diligently working on house breaking puppy but I truly think she is house breaking me.
• I shoulda had a V8.