Back to the Midwest..rain..again....

Yes, that is an ear of corn in the background...IT is IOWA for heaven's sake....This is Lori..more on her at the end of this post...this picture WAS at the end where is should be... but Bella just stepped on the key board, erased it...don't know how to get it at the END of the post again and HAD to include it....!!!

Last week we traveled back to Iowa for my nephew's graduation from high school. It was an interesting trip full of rain, wind, cold weather AND tornadoes..one night as I was laying in bed listening to the rain sound like it was going to shatter the window, holding onto Brandt, I hear this ear piercing noise... the safety warning sirens going off...head for shelter, there has been tornadoes spotted in the area...I grabbed a sweatshirt and put my shoes on, turned on the tv and listened to the special weather forecast tracking the tornado...as I was staring at the completely red tv screen, with my stomach in knots, I looked down and my knees were shaking so bad, I almost fell to the ground..I then realized why I was so scared..my kids, I've never been through this with my kids..what do I do to protect them..what about our unborn baby...what if???...We were very lucky..A town near us, Parkersburg (you got to click on this and see!)..completely hit and wiped out....so sad..but my the grace of God, we made it..I'm not wanting to visit anytime soon, that's for sure.... On a much lighter note, we were very happy to see Dominic, my nephew graduate from high school. He's really turned into a wonderful young man. I still remember the day my sister told me she was pregnant (in the McDonald's bathroom) not married, scared, alone..and now, fast forward, she has this smart, handsome young man that has brought her much joy and happiness...We're very proud of you Dom!!! Amy has done a wonderful job raising him most of his life as a single Mom..Dom comes first and I've always admired that about her...

Yes, those are little fingerprints in the cake (on Dominic's name)...I'll give you one guess..Barrett...Mommy was going potty at the time...

My little boys..I wanted to run away that weekend. They were naughty while we were there, of course only when around other people..why do they do that? Brandt was talking "baby" talk the entire weekend and when you'd ask him something he's answer "poo-poo"..never has before..not sure if he realizes the baby is near? or if it was all the extra attention from all the Grandpa/mas and aunts/uncles? or in a different place, being cooped up inside because of the rain? We couldn't visit the farm like we normally do because of the mud and rain... all the extra kids running around...And Barrett colored Grandma's carpet and was hitting everyone...(never has before!!) I was so upset with their behavior my stomach hurt and it started one of my migraines, that lasted for 3 days, My Mom says I expect to much for a 2 and 4 year old and they are just boys being boys, and that's what they do when they are excited... yeah, whatever...so no, this wasn't my favorite trip...once we were home, they were complete angels again..well I wouldn't say COMPLETE but back to normal for sure, and my headache was gone, thank goodness...

Grandma Marcia (my Mom) pushing Brandt on the swing...he's really getting the hang of "pumping" his legs!!...so big....
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Barrett blowing a dandelion...I miss those, we don't have them in Texas, at least in the hill country...They are a weed, I know, but it reminds me of growin' up, and ya'll know how much I love flowers, weed or not!!!

Cousin Brady...so fun and cute..they boys LOVE him...His Mommy is expecting #2 this Fall...

Would you not KILL for these eyelashes!!! This is what mine USE to look like until I started to get old and they all started falling out!!! Good thing we are having all boys, cause you know if we had a girl, she wouldn't get these...

I LOVE the bubble pictures!!! I love the pink top, now Barrett wouldn't use this because it's pink and Brandt doesn't think anything of it...He'd say..."I'll use it Mommy, cause it's your favorite color"..know that's my boy...

We had to think of "inside" stuff to do because of the weather...SUCKED!!!...no way, I couldn't go back to it...I kept thinking about out pool back home..So we toured the fire station, played at the mall's inside playground, and did the science center...it was actually so fun...these pics are from the "space" exhibit...They had this really fun "experience an earthquake" section..you'd sit at this little old fashioned diner scene. You'd push rector scale 5, 6, or 7..and the whole booth would shake and move...We all loved it and were laughing so hard...

My little astronauts...gave me an idea for Halloween!!!

Meet Lori...or LouLou (if you read my comments...this is she!!) and Dave...

I've known her for 20 years!!! I met her in college while pledging my sorority...If you could take a "test" on what you know about you're friend, she'd ace it..she knows EVERYTHING about me, even the skeletons in the closet type of stuff..which most of those happened during college..so she was a first hand witness!!! I love her like a sister and she's one of my best friends..One thing that I DO like about myself is that I have all types of friends, I have a friends that have modeled, I have friends that use to be band geeks in high school, I have the high school homecoming queen friends and the high school nerds, I have the rich and not so rich ...etc..you kind of get it..and then there is Lori, she USE to drive a forklift at her factory job AND live in a trailer (a very nice one of course!!)...!! I just love that...I always fall in love with my friends for WHAT they are, what is in their HEART and WHAT they stand for... I love diversity as I think it makes you a better friend and makes YOU a better person...I never judge a friendship on what you look like/or what you have..and that is my favorite and BEST quality I have....

Anyway, I could tell you some funny ass stories but I won't because you probably wouldn't think they were as funny as Lori and I do..but it's so fun to get with a friend, whom you love and reminisce..you fall back into that person you were (a little bit) when you met that person, or at least I do...so fun...I feel so lucky to be able to have the memories and still be able to relive them in a way....Lori just lost her Mom less than a month ago to lung cancer, so it was extra special to see her and talk about not only our fun times, but the not so fun times she just went through this past year...We love you Joyce (Lori's Mama)....
We treated Lori and Dave to a wonderful dinner at this way to sheek place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa..see I can find them anywhere!! It was yummy, yummy and GREAT wine..called Mother's Milk if you like red wine... All in all, it was a very nice trip..we're just glad to be home and safe...

Flower Power

I've always loved flowers, there is something that is so magical about them to me.. I'd love to be a gardener and play with them all day long.

When we were building our house Scott found a picture in a magazine of courtyard with stone/brick arches and rod iron gates, so we adapted something similar to our floor plan, it's actually one of my favorite parts of the house.

We walk past it on the way to our master and my craft room so I'm lucky enough to view all these beautiful flowers several times a day...!!! I've tried to stagger it so each month something new is blooming, last month it was my rose bushes and this month it's my Hibiscus trees...Aren't' they beautiful!!! Each year, my goal is to add several pots with different kinds of flowers, so down the road, it's will transform into a very magical spot!! I have a fountain all picked out to go up against the house, nothing is better to HEAR the sound of running water and SEE (at the same time) such beautiful objects to look at such as flowers and then the SMELL... I love going out every morning and seeing if things got bigger or if the buds have turned into a flowers overnight...I love to sit at my little frilly girly table I have out there and just dream....

Oh Lordy..SHE'S 40!!

Friday we helped Linda celebrate the big ssshhh...4-0!! Linda is from Iceland with her way to cool hip accent had a ball, it was fun to spoil her for a day/night..The afternoon started with a limo ride around town ending up at our hotel for the evening, Valencia, downtown on the riverwalk. It's an ultra sheek-sheek modern hotel that was a perfect spot for a celebration....Linda is such a generous person and so warm hearted..we're so lucky to have her as a friend... We had a yummy yummy dinner at another sheek-sheek restaurant, Acenar Hotmex/Coolbar.

Yes, this is the theme..we like the sheek-sheek... This is Linda..having the time of her life..it was THE first time she left her kids for the night!!! So, it was a HUGE deal!! So we had to make it extra special...

Hot Mama Mia Mia and Mendy...(who has the same post since Easter, hint..hint..) Mia hates getting her picture taken and I have no idea why as she's just adorable!!

Angie and Tami and a queso dish...Aren't they beauties? My favorite homies!!!

Me in the middle to break up the black and white thing...

All of us minus Holly who was at the beach.....

We had a yummy yummy girly cake...pink/brown with polka-dots, how much more girly can you get?

Ok, this is freaky...This is a bar downtown (time was around 10ish, so it's was a ghost town) I have no idea how the youngin' do it...not even go out until 11:00? are you crazy?...anyway, Angie and I are standing in the women's bathroom and Tami is in the men's bathroom which they are side by side(Look closely or your not goin to get it)...It's a see-through "mirror"(the big frame part of the mirror) and the "real" mirror (which you can see my reflection in, is shaped like a buda man which is attached to the trick mirror) So, the catch is you have the unexpected- had-to-much-to-drink-person, come and pottie and then go and wash their hands and absolutely FREAK out as they look up and are staring at MEN instead of themselves as they look up to fluff their hair!! It's hilarious!!!

Yep, I hang out with these people!! Sad but true...( that's Megan, she's Mia's good friend..that tagged along..or you can call her Selma Blair as she is her look alike!!)

I LOVED the saying on the drummer's drum..."Not bad for a white boy">>> !!!!

Cheers....!!!! Not sure what # we were on???...kidding....

Ok, no matter where we go and what we are doing..if there is a tambourine, Tami is ALL over it, embarrassing but true..you just can't take the girl anywhere without causing a scene!! If she ever loses her job she could go around dressed provocatively and stand on the street corners with her tambourine and just start shakin' it!!

The lead singer of the band..they were Wonderful....from LA..isn't he so cute!! 23 yrs old..so young!! He was such a polite, well mannered little guy... I kept thinking about if Brandt and Barrett would be in band when they grown up? Will my sons be rockers? baseball players? If you're Brandt, maybe an interior designer like his Mama?...not sure..I'll love and support them no matter what!! All in all it was a very fun day/night..Happy Birthday our beautiful 40 year old friend...Linda...from Iceland where it's 65 degrees all year round and lush and green and never gets dark at night and then there is Greenland where it's cold and icy..(inside joke!!)....

Hide n Seek

OK, there are probably some of you out there that just cringe and think "Why is this retarded ladyl always doing posts on her damn cat??" Well, I don't care, don't read my blog then...I LOVE my Belly and she is always doing the sweetest cutest things..Realistically I might as well give her the spot light before the baby gets here as you know HES goin to steal the show very soon...Anyway, this is Bella's new spot...she thinks she's hiding and has no idea that we can see her, she looks so tiny ALL the way up there...she has to climb the spiral staircases that leads to the second level of the office and then JUMP across the room and land on the upper bookcases, talent..she must of been a aerobatic cat in her past life....she must still have all 9 lives left as she hasn't fallen once..she did get in trouble this week for knocking ALL my jeans and purses off the shelves in the closet (again) AND knocking over our bedroom lamp and breaking it..ggeezz.she's worse than a new large chewy dog!! well, maybe no that bad..BUT she' just to stinkin cute...

Rain, Rain..come again, please!!!

We finally got some much needed rain in the Hill country this week. We're praying for more as we are nearing drought conditions...The boys got this rain gear from Santa but haven't had a chance to use it since we've haven't received any rain so far this year...They have matching umbrellas but I decided to leave those in the cabinet for now since we were on the way to school and something cool like umbrellas would of defiantly postponed the schedule a little bit and you know how Mama hates being late.....I was helping Brandt with his boots and he informed me, "Mom, those AREN'T boots, those are goulashes...!!" Why does he have to be so politically correct all the time??? Thanks my little 4 yr old.... Barrett Reed squishing around......

and Mr. Know it all, himself.... posing pretty...

Mother's day....

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMMIES FROM MAMA AND HER TOEHEAD BOYZ !!! WE WISH YOU ALL THE MOTHER'S LOVE IN THE WORLD... WHICH IS A VERY SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE....

Bella's new bed

I had to show you Bella's new bed as I got sucha kick out of buying something PINK for our house, well that wasn't mine of course...Isn't it cute...Pink/brown/lepoard...How could you go wrong? She loves it, cuz she knows it's hers and pretty, I think..ya gotta love the big pink bow too!!!

Our purring paper weight

You've already met my kitty Bella, but did you know that she doubles as a very cute paper weight..When Scott isn't traveling or in LA, you guessed it..Bella just hangs with her Daddy..No wonder she is Daddy's little girl...It's just so dang cute, she doesn't leave his side ALL day, well except for a snack and to pottie but most of the day this is where she is...very loyal, hugh? I'm not really sure what happens when Daddy needs something she sitting on, but who cares as long as she is doubling up her duty as a furry purring paper weight and being so stinkin' CUTE!!!

Our pool is officially open ....

We've been "swimming" several times so far this year but I'd consider it more like "splashin" and "cathin rays" but with the 3 days of 90+ temps our pool is....PERFECT for REALLY swimming..there is nothin like being able to walk in your backyard and plop! into a pool!!! Another blessing for our family... I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic of Barrett!! He's always up to something and here he is squirting my camera while I'm tryin to get a pic of him...

Brandt is doing very well in the pool...All his "swimmy lessons" are paying off...He LOVES the pool and I have a hard time getting him out!!!

He loves swimming over to the negative edge..He calls it "swimmin out to sea"..he's so dramatic for those of you who don't know him...THIS is why God is blessing me with all boys instead of a girl...cause I have Brandt and THAT is plenty!! I can't imagine what type of little girl we'd produce!! YIKES!! More pink stuff for Mommy!! And I thought of this the other day No one is going to steal my makeup or clothes in a few years!!! Yeah for me!!!

A total Barrett face...He's always squinting and wrinkling up his nose...I have no idea why but he does...

Oh so brave..getting ready to jump off the diving rock..yeah, right..more like just testin' it out....We're so glad our pool is open..come on over it's our little paradise and we love sharin'!!!

Being Dutch...

Sorry bloggin friends to keep you hangin' so long but remember I DO have a 3 and 4 year old with a traveling husband, I'm a organizing and cleaning freak AND we've had four 90 degree days in a row and outside activities are a lot more enticing than doing a post on the computer inside!! So basically I'm sayin' ...Get a life..and do something else besides waiting for a post on a blog!! kidding..thanks for all the emails and comments wanting to see more..so here ya go...!!!! Hope you're not TOO disappointed...But here we are (all sisters) complete with kiddos and wooden shoes!!!....AND Kimber just found out she's having a baby GIRL so Yep, that will be 7 grandkids age 4 and under..wanna come to our xmas celebration!!??? One more National Geographic tulip shot I had to get in.....
Last weekend my entire family on my biological Dad's side of family traveled to Pella, Iowa to participate in Tulip time and celebrate Keith's parent's 65th wedding anniversary...We grew up going to this Festival and it's really special that our kids get to partake in the traditions and it's nice as a adult to get wrapped up in the memories.., Now would be a good time to mention that my heritage is Dutch..and I'm very proud of it, (if you can't tell), like we said growin' up, "If you're not Dutch, you're not much!!" you know I'm kidding right? The town of Pella, Iowa is modeled after the European Villages in Holland complete with the windmills and during this festival every May, there are more than 80,000 tulips that bloom in this small Dutch town. During the festival, (this was the 72nd) there are 6 parades, dutch attire EVERYWHERE, tulips, flower gardens, food, activities, and lots of vivid colors...It's amazingly beautiful...

There are a ton of windmills everywhere..I loved this one with the "Texas" star....

My Mom lives just 15 minutes away from Pella so she came to watch us in the parade...Brandt is all decked out in his little Dutch boy costume...He didn't mind the costume but the wooden shoes didn't last to long!!! After marching in the parade we were lucky enough to watch the rest of it with our family..The parade is so fun complete with the the Tulip time Queen and amazing floats....

Omie was all decked out in costume as she always helps "scrub the streets", another traditions where the men carry the buckets of water on their shoulders attached to a wood plank and the women follow with wooden brushes with handles and "scrub" the street before the parades start... Happy wouldn't be caught dead in a costume..You big party pooper!! We have a family bet with Happy..and if he loses he has to ride a float next time dressed in Dutch attire while WE just where our Texas cowboy hats...

It was pretty much freezin' and raining AND windy while we were there. It just made us realize WHY we live in Texas...I was struggling with it as I'd check the weather on my I-Phone and see a big yellow sunshine with the temp in the 80s back home...AND Scott caught some kind of bug and was attached to the toilet in our hotel room, our stinky hotel room to rephrase that..thank goodness Kelly had some spray with her!!, AND the boys were ALL hyped up being with their cousins mostly INSIDE all weekend cause of the rain...SO we were gone a long weekend, but it seemed like 2 weeks..BUT it was worth it, I will admit...

Oh, little Dutch boy #2...A couple of food items as you know I'm so into food..We all had to get was...1~ Dutch Letters. They are These "S" shaped puff pastries that have a almond paste filling baked to perfection with a touch of sugar..OMG!! TWO die for!!! AND 2~ Pella Bologna..just shut up..The patties melt in your mouth, I seriously ate 3 of them (size of steaks) when we got home that night...I just couldn't stop!! Thank you Linda for those!! Thank goodness she gave us some for the freezer too!! The Bologna is a hickory smoked special recipe brought over from Holland..I can't even compare it to something you'd be familiar with..cause there isn't anything..ok, enough of the food...

Doesn't he look like he's in an old fashioned movie...!!! SO dang cute, He's got the rapper side hat thing goin'..A little Dutch rapper!! I love it!!

Cousin Tyler, my boys LOVE him!!! and he and Barrett together, YIKES!! They feed off of each other and all manners and listening skills go out the window??!! How can one little boy have that effect on my kids? It's ok though as they completely go back to "normal" when the visiting is over..is it a cousin thing or what?...not sure but it temporarily makes me insane... All in all it was a great family weekend together. I love going back home as well as to Pella to celebrate our wonderful heritage..I can't explain how comforting it is to be walking around in a crowd where being tall (5'10") blond and blue eyed is the norm..it's kind of spooky..us Dutch folks gotta stick together!! AND I just have to add this as I was laughing my bootie off and still chuckling about it...Omie put together a wonderful celebration breakfast for the 65th wedding anniversary so all us kids attended...we were being introduced left and right to many many different people..and this one lady came up to me and was introducing herself and said "Oh honey, it's so nice to meet you, now when do you graduate college??"..I just about fell over!!!! I thought, lady you must have some serious cataracts in your eyes or my 100 bottles of $100 dollar eye cream is seriously working!!!!

Tip Toe Through the Tulips....

These are just a sneak preview of my long weekend I just had with my family...I was just so excited that my Tulip pictures turned out so well!! I was telling my sisters that these were my "National Geographic" flower shots!! And I'm really not kidding..either that or my new screen saver pictures I'm going to try and sell!!

Stay tuned to find out WHY I have so many pictures of tulips on my blog...I'm buried to my eyeballs in laundry (of course it's CLEAN..had to do it first thing when I walked in the door last night) but just needs folding and we have no chocolate milk in the house, which the boys will FLIP when they get up...SO, I'm prolonging my Tulip Time post for later..I know you blogging friends are DYING to see us in our costumes, complete with wooden shoes..but you'll just have to smell the tulips for now!!!