Visiting witht the Schneiders

The same week Matt was out of town, Mindy and the girls were in town for a visit. I had so much fun playing with Tinley and Taylin. It was really neat to talk with Mindy...it seems like it has been so long. The fun part of the night was when I was holding Tinley, she wouldn't let me put her down...literally!! Whenever I went to put her down, she would fold her legs up so I would keep holding her.

Taylin in her pajamas.

Bailey saying "cheese!"

Tinley jumping on the bed.

Tinley giving Bailey a kiss. (It was too cute!!)

I was trying to get a good picture of Mindy and Tinley, but Tinley just wouldn't cooperate.

The Joys of Being a Homeowner

These last few weeks have been really busy for the both of us. Between Matt traveling out of town and it being harvest season, it seems like it is really hard for us to catch up with anyone. Matt left on the September 30 to go to Springfield, MO for a farm show, and the same day he left we had people coming over to work on our septic system. They were there all week and thankfully we just received a letter from the county telling us it has passed inspection and we are no longer in violation. (There is a story behind this-someone turned us into the county, so we only had 30 days to get our violation fixed. Needless to say we didn't mess around and got it done.)

This is what I came home to on that Tuesday - a HUGE hole in our yard!! Matt felt bad that he wasn't home for this, but there was nothing he could have done anyway.

This is the hole that had to be dug for our new septic tank. The guy installing our tank said it was one of the deepest holes he had to dig.

The lovely lagoon. We did have two options - a lagoon or a leechfield. We chose the lagoon because of the way our property lies.

Thanks Fer!!

Thanks to Jennifer, I received the "I Love Your Blog" Award...and now I need to pass it on! I had to complete the ONE WORD ANSWER survey below (that's tough) then nominate someone new for the award. So here goes...

Where is your cell phone? Desk

Where is your significant other? Work

Your hair color? Brown

Your mother? Lovable

Your father? Strong

Your favorite thing? Friends (family too)

Your dream last night? ??

Your dream/goal? Happiness

The room you're in? Office

Your hobby? Blogging

Your fear? Death

Where do you want to be in 6 yrs? Moved

Where were you last night? Home

What you're not? Strong

Where you grew up? Missouri
The last thing you did? Drink (water that is!)

What you are wearing? Dress-casual
Your TV? Off

Your pet? Fancy

Your computer? Old

Your mood? Tired

Missing someone? Lots

Your car? Edge

Something you're not wearing? Earrings

Favorite Store? Gap

Your summer? Short

Love someone? Many

Your favorite color? Pink

When is the last time you laughed? Today

Last time you cried? Today

Here are my nominations for the "I LOVE YOUR BLOG AWARD":

Crystal
Robbyn
Mende
Angie H

Carrie A

Copy this to your blog and try to complete the survey with just one word...oh and don't forget to nominate someone new!

Debbie's Surprise 50th Birthday Party

This last Saturday night, my cousins surprised their mom with a brithday party. She is turning 50 on the 25th, so they decided to do a theme party-the 70s. It was really a fun time. All my cousins dressed up, along with my uncle. Even though the party was a surprise party, the real surprise was my uncle and cousin flying in for it. My uncle lives in Seattle and my cousin, Suzanne, is stationed at Camp LeJune. These two really dressed up so they wouldn't be recognized-then they revealed themselves after my aunt got there.

My cousin Nathan and his wife Crystal with their niece Ryleigh.

My aunt's four kids-Steven, Suzanne, Nathan, and Dustin

All the people that dressed up-my cousin Dustin with his wife Brittany and two girls, Ryleigh and Lydia, Suzanne, Crystal and Nathan, Crystal's friend Amy, Steven and my Uncle Robb.

Suzanne and Uncle Robb

After the surprise...they totally pulled it off. She had no idea what was going on.

After my uncle surprised her.

This one was really a tear-jerker. My cousin really got my aunt when she stood up and revealed who she was.

This one is too funny. This is my sister, Ellen, a neighbor of my aunt's, Ally, and my cousin, Krista. They are wearing dresses that my Great Aunt Glenda made for my mom and her two sisters in the 70s. The girls could not believe outfits like these were worn in public. As a matter of fact, my cousin said to me that if she ever walked into school like this, she would get beat up!

After dinner and cake, everyone busted a move on the dance floor. There was all kind of music-from 70s to now.

The Hustle

Matt and Rachel showing their moves

Jeanine's Birthday

My step-mom, Jeanine, turned 54 on September 5th, so we celebrated with my dad's side of the family.

Notice James and Izabella, they are singing "Happy Birthday" to Jeanine. Then they blew out the candles.

Karli waiting to get her piece of cake

Everyone hanging around

"What's in this box?"

"YUMMIES!!!"

My cousin Adam just had too much fun!

The next day I babysat for my Aunt and Uncle. My aunt had to work at a picnic and my uncle wanted to ride his motorcycle because it was such a good day. Since my aunt was working at Avery Park, I took Karli for a visit and we also had to play on the playground equipment.

Karli really loved this turtle. This was the only thing she would play on, besides the slide.

Playing with Karli

Last Sunday, I got to play with my baby cousin. She is the sweetest little girl!!

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of her. Normally you can't get her to sit still like this.

Karli just gave Matt these looks, like she was saying, "Who are you and what are you doing holding me?"
Karli loves to be outside. She really loves to ride the "vroom-vroom".

My 25th Birthday!! (I guess Rachel's too)

This last Tuesday, Rachel and I turned 25. To celebrate, Rachel's friends threw her a birthday party last Saturday at Mustang Sally's in Troy and Matt and I went along for the festivities. It was really a fun time.

Rachel and I at the beginning of the night.

Matt and I

On Thursday night my Mom had cake for us. She says that we are never too old for cake. My grandparents came over too.

Look What I Found!!!

Today I was going through some old pictures and thought I would post some that some of you would find interesting.

Matt and I before my Senior Prom 2002

Jeff and Jennifer and Ben and Brandi's wedding.

Matt and Jeff. Matt looks so young!!

Crystal at my Junior Prom 2001.

Ryan and Crystal

Jeremy and Mindy at Jeff and Jennifer's house in Illinois.

Jeff being goofy.

Julie Mudd, me, Brandi, and Karla Smith dancing at Joe Lawrence's New Year's Eve Party-2001

Brandi ringing in the New Year.

Matt, me and Joe

Mark Twain Lake

This last Sunday, Rich, Jane, Matt and I made a road trip to Mark Twain Lake to see the flood waters and to see the dam. It was amazing!!!

Water coming out of the dam.


Looking down the Salt River

Here is some video I was able to shoot with my camera. It was a really neat sight.

Looking straight down into the water

Rich was at the lake the previous Tuesday and he said the water was at 640. 5 days later, the level was down 5 feet.
A far view of the dam.

While at the lake, we stopped by to see the water that was standing on the gravel road that my dad's family owns property on. It was unreal the water that was over the road. You couldn't even see the other side of the gravel!!

A look at the standing water

A look at where the water was and where it currently sits.

Since we were pulling a trailer behind the pick-up, we took my Aunt's car to see the water. Grace rode along with us and even drove!! All Matt did was the gas pedal and the brake pedal. She did the rest and kept it on the road. There were only a few times we had to tell her to keep it on the gravel.