If she had the proper words to say,

A few weekends ago, I secretly plotted a special treat for my boys and some friends of ours. These friends were picked specially for 1) being such nice people, and 2) actually knowing things about Harry Potter. Why was that a requirement?

Because you can't truly enjoy BUTTERBEER without knowing it comes from Harry's wondrous world!


Butterbeer!

This special beverage was so rich, so creamy, and so very sweet. The deeply caramel syrup makes a frothy foam, perfect for making "mustaches" on your first sip. The homemade brown sugar whipped cream adds a distinct flair to the pretty pint, and we all enjoyed it immensely. To complete the snacktime, I served up fresh Banana Crumb Muffins and Peanut Butter Banana Bites, too.

( More pictures, plus the recipe. )

It was a well-received snack/dessert, and my boys keep requesting for me to make it again (though Jack wants to try it with cream soda next time). In addition, a couple neighborhood boys who *didn't* get to try it have been begging for me to make it again, too! :-)

I had spent the most lovely, happy of days hanging out with my besties and their beautiful, fun children. The only thing missing in my life on that day was my special AnnieMcFranniePants and her little family.

The memories are so vivid, so wonderful, and today, so bittersweet!


Lily, John, Jack, A.J., and Catherine.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch was an annual tradition during our years in Nebraska. We went to the patch each of our eight fall seasons, and it only was better and better each year. Most years, we also went on a separate trip to the smaller Bellevue Berry Farm & Pumpkin Patch as well. Still, Vala's was the big ticket.

This last year, we set out to enjoy everything "one last time," and we made every second count. Heather and her family were moving to New Mexico the next week (which is why we visited Vala's the first weekend it opened in the season), and we were headed to North Dakota two months after. Marissa brought Lily for her first real "Patch experience," and she was just the perfect age to dig in and enjoy. It was an amazing day!

There is no way I can condense this post to just a few pictures, so I'm going to put most everything behind a cut. katielovesmatt, this is the place your dreams are made of!

( So many pictures! )


Taking a picture under the 'Pumpkin Moon' one last time, on one last year.

*sniffles*

We've actually been back for about a week now, having arrived around 9pm on Tuesday night, the 10th. However, my parents stayed for an extra few days, and they didn't leave until Saturday after lunch. Then, I set to work reclaiming and organizing my home, as well as putting away all new trip goodies and such.

I got my first speeding ticket a few hours from home. We'd been in my parents' new SUV the entire trip, and it was the first time I was driving it. Not only that, but it was in middle-of-nowhere North Dakota, and there hadn't been a posted speed limit in a long, long time (my mom and I had been looking for one). It was a two-lane road (which I hate, as it scares me to pass), and I had been stuck behind a semi-truck for miles. I would peek to the left, then scoot back to my lane when I could see a car on the horizon. Finally - finally! - I dared to pass, and I floored it as I did. (It terrifies me to pass big trucks, but even moreso when I'm on a two-lane road. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was my very first time doing so EVER.) And, BAM! A cop sitting just at the end of the horizon clocked me going 83mph. Of course, though the speed limit most places in North Dakota is 70 or 75, in this zone it was only 65mph. As the officer approached the car, I couldn't even figure out how to roll down the window! (Remember, it wasn't my vehicle.) He was a nice guy though, and he dropped the speed to 80/65, so my fine was only $45 instead of something outrageous.

He also cautioned me that, when passing, I should never have to exceed the speed limit to safely do so. Riiiiiiight.

I received a request for impromptu family portraits for a friend here on the last day of our vacation (as we were driving home, in fact), so I squeezed that in while my parents were here. I met them at a park in town and took some lovely portraits. It was a fun evening, and I hope to get back there soon with my boys. I know they would love the place!


(To see the rest of the photos from the Mott/Vance Family set, click HERE.)

The boys start school next week on Thursday, the 26th, and two days ago we headed into town to pick up all the school supplies, new shoes, etc. Their backpacks are set and ready-to-go, and now we just wait for the teacher lists to go up and orientation night (to drop off all the supplies). A.J.'s middle school supply list had some unexpected things on it: Silly Putty, camo pants, and a black T-Shirt, to name a few. I'm curious to see how these things are used during the year.

The morning after we arrived home, I took my parents to the commissary for a quick shop of just the three nights' worth of meals while they were here. As always, they found several goodies and deals in our commissary that they stocked up on. After they left, I was set to meal-plan and create a list for the next 18 days... and I just didn't have the *oooomph*, ya know? I was dragging and procrastinating, and I jokingly wrote on Facebook that I was too exhausted to think about dinner. The next thing I knew, my neighbor across the street showed up with a hot, fresh meatloaf for our entire family! I threw together corn, side salads, and fresh strawberries, and we were set! It was very awesome and very sweet of her to do that for our family. :-)

The boys have played nonstop with their friends since arriving back home. A.J.'s closest friend is a boy entering high school this year, and the two of them cruise the neighborhood on foot, walking and talking for hours. Jack and his best bud are scooter fanatics, and they are inseparable. Currently, in fact, I can hear Jack and his friend Riley singing the Indiana Jones theme song while they build with LEGOs in my basement. Thank you, John Williams, for an endearing classic. *wink*

We're becoming so lazy here in summer vacation. Honestly, "lazy" doesn't even cover it. We're averaging bedtimes around midnight-1am, and then getting up in the neighborhood of 10-11am. Lunch is usually around 3-4pm, and then dinner is pushed as well. We've eaten around 10pm the past four nights!

I woke up this morning at 9am, and I absolutely couldn't go back to sleep despite the super-quiet household. I got up, got dressed, started some laundry, and began a list of online to-do's. I got several things squared away, my desk cleaned up, and then finally the boys woke around 11am.

I spent at least TWO HOURS trying to relocate a recipe for blondies I've been wanting to try, and with no success. I remember being astonished that the recipe called for one whole pound of brown sugar, and I picked it up when I was shopping last week. In my uber-frustration, I finally succumbed to the next baking craving on my list: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. They were very gooey and very yummy, even if not my first choice.

Jack had a friend in and out most of the afternoon. We really enjoy having Riley over - he's exactly Jack's age, and they are just two peas, you know? He's so very polite, too. He only lives four houses away, so they are constantly either in one of our houses or out on the block on scooters.

A.J. puttered around on his laptop for a while. He's been discovering the world of Weird Al Yankovic through videos on Youtube, and he's constantly giggling over the lyrics of one of the tunes. In turn, I've played several of the original songs that Weird Al parodied, and of course - A.J. likes the parodies better. *wink*

Unrelated to any of the above, I've been meaning to mention that, in a fit of boredom one night Philip was at work, I watched the first episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It ended on a cliffhanger (oh noes! Buffy's trapped under a vampire in a coffin! How will she get to the other seven seasons?!), so I watched the second episode the next afternoon. Philip watched it with me, and once it was over, he flipped to select the third episode (Netflix, instant queue), but I stopped him. The acting is just so, so poor I couldn't imagine watching another second. I'm sure wendywoowho is gasping, and I know devi_pavarti may never speak to me again...

I'm probably going to be Posty McPosterson for a bit, catching up on old, old photos and things. Bear with me, or just scroll on past. *wink*

At the end of the second week, our little school celebrated "Back-to-School" with a big shindig at our local, public Lied Activity Center. We'd been to them in the past, but we were forced to join this one an hour after it had already started (soccer practice? soccer pictures? I'm not entirely sure now, but I remember racing to get there.) We had some quick ice cream sundaes before the tables closed up, and the boys both chose to swim in the remaining hour of the night. (Last year, we didn't realize swimming would be an option, so we did every other activity available in the complex. This year, we came late... but prepared!)



The boys didn't yet know about the orders to Minot AFB, but of course, we did. As such, I remember this night to be a little bittersweet: watching them interact with friends they'd known for years. Happy for the close relationships, but aching over the goodbyes in their futures. :-/

The boys played all afternoon (in their hats!) with the next-door neighbors. As evening approached, we had Andrew and Natalie come over for a movie, dinner, and dessert. Tonight was Jack's Choice in the meal plan, so he was super-excited to share.


Mouse-in-the-House Cupcakes.

(butterflymama3, I'll put the recipe for the Cupcakes in the comments for you.)

( Read more. )

Our boys had a great time, and Andrew and Natalie were so sweet and well-behaved. I'm sure we'll get together with them again soon! :-)

My friend Ann totally wins the "Most Creative Party Invitation" award. We just arrived home to find a small, neon-green capsule attached to our garage door by a black cord (a lanyard, really). The capsule had a tag on it that said, "To Jack, from Ty." Inside the capsule, a 5" beach ball was crumpled. Jack pulled out the ball, blew it up, then read the party details on the side.

Cool!

And yes, it's a beach party at their house. We love their beach so much that we used their house for our family pictures in July. :-)

It's not even completely dark outside yet (still a hint of blue, actually), but I'm so ridiculously tired. I'm only staying up long enough for the dark load of swimsuits and towels to finish washing, and then I'll pop them in the dryer, start the light load to washing, and I'm off to dreamland.

After this morning's early episode, StalkerChick came to my work today for the first time ever. I didn't realize it was her until I turned around from popping a lid on her shake (the only thing she ordered) to hand it out the window. Of course, then the snottiness from her ordering beforehand made perfect sense. Purposely hassling someone at work? How low. Such a fake attitude, it just makes me sick. I can't be fake back, so I just spoke as little as possible and then slammed the window shut as soon as I was done. I immediately advised Brett that if someone called back to complain that I hadn't said "Thank you!" I'd know exactly who it was. Then I continued to be my cheery, chatty self with all the rest of my polite, nice customers. :-)

We had a good playdate out at the sprayground. It was very, very warm, and Wendy and I were amazed that the kids could play so easily in the hot sand rather than running through the water. Jack was in the sand almost the entire 2.5 hours we were there, with only a few quick runs through the sprays - craziness! I tatted and chatted with Wendy and her sis-in-law (who was so fun to meet!), and Wendy's kids proceeded to tell her they were STARVING every two minutes. She'd packed an entire cooler full of snacks though, so she was well-prepared. On the other hand, I came to the rescue with my handy "travel toilet tissue" pack from the first aid kit in my car, as the porta-potty on site was out of paper.

Best quip of the afternoon? Jackie (Wendy's eldest daughter), saying, "Mom! I canNOT be expected to go to the bathroom in a place that has SANDALS in the toilet!" And it was true - when I went, I noticed a lone sandal atop the pile of waste - ewwww.

We arrived back home around six o'clock, and we fed the kitties and had a bite to eat before heading off to swim lessons. We'll be there on Friday morning to sign up for the next session (though I'd much rather be sleeping in on my day off!). I can't believe it's almost July already.

On the way home from the Activity Center, I was thinking to myself about how tired I was. We'd discussed how we were all bathing/showering as soon as we got home, and then it was bedtime (the normal routine, but we still "discuss" most things before we do them). I was just barely turned onto Pease Dr. when I heard sirens and looked up to see Security Forces behind me. Since I was the only one on the road, I figured they meant me, and I pulled over. So did the cops.

*sigh*

I've never, ever been pulled over in my life. It took ages (literally, almost ten minutes) for them to walk to my car and ask me for my license, registration, insurance and military ID. In all the time we were waiting, the boys started to panic. I would have probably panicked myself, except I truly, honestly didn't have a clue what I could have done wrong. I was even driving extra slow at the time I was pulled over - going 15mph in a 20mph housing area. I was stumped, and the fact that I didn't know what to tell the boys I had done made them more anxious. A.J. started crying (he has a sensitive spot with cops, given his prior "history," but that's an entry from long, long ago), which in turn worried Jack. Finally, the police approached my vehicle, asked for my documentation, and then asked me if I knew why I'd been pulled over. I replied that I had no clue, actually. The officer in charge then told me they'd caught me ever-so-slightly rolling through the stop sign at the corner of Pease and Kennedy.

Well, I'm certain I've never done it before, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't be sure that I hadn't tonight. I figured, "they're officers - why would they make this up?" As they returned to the police vehicle to check over my paperwork, I resigned myself to the fact that I probably had done just as they said. There wasn't a car in sight as I'd made the turn, and even in my ten minutes' time of waiting, we had *still* not seen another car. It was just a very quiet evening, and maybe my foggy brain had just turned off for a moment.

Which isn't excusable, of course. I was sad that I was pulled over, sad that I'd done something wrong, and even more sad at the thought that I really couldn't even remember it. The officer returned my things to me after just a few minutes, saying, "Well, we're gonna cut you a break this time. But ma'am? Make sure you obey all traffic signs from now on." And though I tried not to let it fall, even as I thanked him and rolled my window back up, a lone tear slid down my cheek. I was so disappointed in myself. :-(

But we arrived home a minute later, unpacked the car, got baths/showers going, and I checked the mail. We received a free full-size sample of Knorr® Sides Plus Veggies today - 'Roasted Chicken Rice with Harvest Veggies' variety. I put the boys to bed after they were clothed again, and now I'm ready to drop.

Summer wears me out.

An early goodnight. I'm sure I'll be up early too, since I'm going to bed at this hour, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

I did go grocery shopping, and I got out of there for under $90.

Josie is here now for a few hours, and we're going outside to play. I hope to tat. :-)

Edited to add: It's almost 7pm now, and the cloud cover outside has made it too cold for me to stay outside any longer now. Plus, it's dinnertime. :-)

It was a perfect day for kids to be out of school - we had lots of nice snow to play with from yesterday! Philip had cleared the driveway and sidewalks this morning when he came home from work, so it was easy for me to get out and go to work at the usual time. I had an early-out shift today, so I brought home soup and chili for lunch for all of us. Then Philip had to go to work, and the boys and I ran a quick errand before coming home again.

Early this morning, Ann had called. We chatted for a bit, and then she said she needed to get going since her kids were ready to get out and romp in the snow. I told her that she was welcome to come play and sled over here if they could wait until I got home, and she agreed that sounded more fun. So I called her as soon as we were back home, and they came over a few minutes later, bringing freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with them.

And the kids played and played. Philip had helped Jack to build a small snow fort before he left for work, and he and Ty tried to "attack" me while I was taking pictures (good thing I stood *just* out of range - hehehe). And then there was lots of sledding. We also went to the empty house across the street to the slightly bigger hill, and they continued to sled there. Eventually, Ann couldn't feel her toes anymore, and I was having difficulty keeping my hands warm to ANY degree, so we rounded up the kids and came back inside. We stripped off all our wet items, and I tossed everything in the dryer. I swear, Rudi must've had on four layers underneath her snowsuit, and they were practically ALL wet!

I sat the kids at the table with milk for dunking cookies, and they giggled while they smeared chocolate everywhere. I made cocoa for Ann and myself, and even some buttered toast for her. (I guess it was a childhood thing of hers - she likes to dunk buttered toast into her hot chocolate. It sounded weird to me, but hey - she can have her strange cravings right now 'cuz she's pregnant.) After the kids left the table and went to "camp" in Jack's room (and we actually had four sleeping bags - one for each kid), we were able to talk in relative peace at the table for some time. That was nice.

Eventually, it rolled around to almost 7pm. At some point in time, two of the neighbor girls had knocked on my living room doors, and I'd let them come in and play with everyone as well (what's two more kids running wild when you already have four, right?). We pulled all the assorted clothing out of the dryer and redistributed it to the right kids, and then everyone headed home. It was too late to start dinner then, so the boys and I went to Burger King instead... and it's just not as good as Runza.

After dinner, warm showers, hugs and applications of much chapstick, my two were tucked into bed before 9pm. The kitties have wanted extra snuggles tonight - partly because it's cold, and partly because they didn't get a lot of attention while we had guests (but that's because they hide out in fear under our bed whenever someone comes over). Philip's in the shower now, and I think he wants to watch a movie afterwards, but I'm starting to feel pretty tired myself already. Playing in the snow makes me TIRED!

( Snow pictures. )