Independence

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OK, here's a few pics that I just got off my camera. They're from Thursday. Was that really just day before yesterday? Are you sure??? How do I possible manage to squeeze so much life out of my days??? No wonder I'm exhausted when I go to sleep at night - LOL!

Here's one of Tom at the pool. He was SO disappointed when his swim goggles didn't work. Poor kid. But what do you expect. We bought it at the Dollar Tree. I always tell my kids, "There's a reason it only costs a dollar". It's not meant to last forever. I just wish it would last longer than 20 minutes. Anyway, his goggles broke. So, I tied them on him. Look how squeezey his face is - hehehe. Poor kid.

These next 2 pictures are hilarious. Remember I said that Captain America and I walked the tramway the other night? Well, here's what we found when we got home. The little boys were watching a movie ("Snow Buddies") when we left, and they'd both fallen asleep by the time we got home. It looks like Jimmy passed out after a long, hard night of parting - ROFL!!!

(And NICE, with the hands down the pants - he's ALL boy)

And Joe, all curled up with the laundry - ha!

And here's me, after the tramway, all "glistening". Because girls don't sweat.

So, that brings us to yesterday. We were up and moving around 9am (well, the kids were up before that, but they had the presence of mind to leave Captain America and I to sleep - THANKS!), getting ready for the Eye Doctor. All 6 of us had appointments today. And Captain America had the day off, so he was gonna come and help crowd control. Unfortunately, he decided to go exercise and cut it too close. He didn't show up until 20 minutes after we were already there. I wasn't too happy. Jim and Joe were running around the office like madmen, kicking off their shoes and throwing it at each other. They were playing musical chairs, and smacking each other. AHHHHH! I wasn't a very happy mama. I was trying desparately to fill out 6 people's worth of paperwork. I really needed Captain America.

Jake went back first. Eme and Tom went next, with another eye doctor. The doctor said that Tom definitely needs glasses, and wrote us a prescription. Eme, he said, would eventually needs glasses, but for right now, she was fine.

Joe and Jim were next. I was worried, because they went back by themselves with the doctor. Worried for the doctor, that is. But, he said he was fine with the 2 of them. Huh. About 3 minutes after they left, Captain America showed up. Sigh. I wasn't too happy with him, but I let it go.

Jim and Joe came back out, with a "no problems" report! Jake came out, with a trial pair of contacts, and a glasses prescription. He was SO excited. I got contacts in 7th grade, and I always told him he could do the same. Guess what? 7th grade is here. Crud! Be careful when you make promises. Kids listen and remember. They may not listen and remember when you assign chores, or give directions, but if it involves something they want, you better believe they will.

I went in next. The eye doctor said that my last doctor OVER prescribed my contacts. So, my eyes were used to having a super strong prescription. He gave me a trial pair of contacts, and said that it'd take a few days to get used to the prescription. And I think he's right. It's gonna take a few days. Not the most fun, to see blurry. Sigh. It's getting better, though.

This was the eye doctor in the PX (Army equivalant to the mall), so we mosied out into the food court to get the kids a snack. We bought 1 Cinnabon for all 5 kids to share (they cut it into 5 pieces), and Captain America bought 2 Strawberry Smoothies from Taco Bell (who knew?). Nice little snack.

There was this old couple sitting next to us (well, at least late 50's - not terrible old, but just keep reading) in the PX. When the lady got up to go and get something else from Taco Bell, I noticed that she had on the SHORTEST shorts I'd ever seen. Sure, she was slender, but OMGosh! When she walked away to Taco Bell, her BUTT CHEEKS were hanging out. NASTY!!! There were these tiny red/white checkered shorts. WHO wears those??? Age appropriate, anyone? Actually, I don't wanna see anyone's butt cheeks. Gross.

We headed home, then, and made lunch. Standard cheese and cucumber for me, and Bologna sandwiches with apples for the kids. The kids changed clothes (Jim had on cowboy boots with shorts, and Joe wasn't dressed any better), and we headed out to the mall. I had bought a shirt at Old Navy last week, and didn't like the way it fit, so I wanted to return it. AND, Joe and Jim both lost their new swim shirts in the PIT that is there room (or somewhere), and I wanted to see if there was any more of them left.

After my shirt return, and my 10% discount (for doing an online survey on my receipt from last time), I got both swim shirts for $4.85. Not too shabby, eh? I was pleased. The boys will look SO cute next time we go to the pool :) We've been using Dave Ramsey's "Envelope System" this month, so I took cash from my "Kids Clothing" fund. I'm SUCH a dork, but the envelopes, and tracking the monies makes me SO happy - hehehe. Captain America got a shirt out of the "Grown Up" fund, too.

Tom has been obsessed with the Old Navy maniquines since he first saw the commercial, so he just HAD to pose with them when we left. He even put his sunglasses on the little kid - LOL!




Next, we headed for Vitamin World. Captain America got what he needed, and the kids played in the "play place" for a few minutes. I'm not much of a mall person, so we didn't really stay long. When we left the mall, it started to rain. AHHHH!!! I'd straightned my hair, and just KNEW that it was gonna curl up when tbe rain hit it. I took the Old Navy bag, put it ontop of my head, and ran for the car. I left Captain America with the kids trailing behind me. I didn't even care - LOL!!!

Unfortunately, the windows in the truck were down, and my butt go wet. By the time we got to GoodWill, my butt was soaked. Oh well. People shouldn't be looking at my butt anyway, right??? I just LOVE Goodwill. Some are better than others. Well, thrift stores in general, I like. I found Sunday shoes for Jimmy for $3.50, Sunday shoes for Tom for $2.50, a pair of Abercromie jeans for Jake for $6.00, and a pair of capri jeans for me for $3.50. Not too shabby, eh?

We hustled home, and got there in time to fix some Chorizo and Eggs with Tortillas and Sour Cream for the kids, change our clothes, and head out the door. Jacob was babysitting for the evening (I even budgeted $$$ for babysitting).




Captain America and I went out to dinner at Applebee's. I got a nice salad, and while it wasn't technically on my menu plan, I ate it anyway. I'm trying not to dwell on that fact too much, for fear that it will sabotage my WHOLE diet. It's done that in the past. So, moving on.

We met 2 of Captain Americas army buddies at the Diablos Baseball stadium at 7:00pm. A HUGE thunderstorm had just rolled through El Paso, but seemed to have moved on. One of the guys brought his wife, and the other, he girlfriend. They seemed like nice people.

We were seated like this : Captain America's friend, his wife, the girlfriend, the other friend, Captain America, then me. I had no one to chat with, except Captain America. Who was trying to chat with his friends too. The girls were SO young, but seemed nice. Not much in common with me, 33 year old and mother of 5 - hehehe. I had my phone, so I checked my email a few dozen times, and even updated my facebook status. LOL! I was SO terrified that a ball was gonna come and hit me. You know, that's the reason I don't play sports. I don't want to be hit by a ball. So, if you can think of a sport that doesn't include launched balls, I may be able to take up a sport. hehehe.



By the 5th inning, I was SO SO SO bored. Captain Americas friends were gonna leave, and get something to eat, then go back to one of their houses. Yeah, didn't sound like fun to me. I told Captain America that since they were leaving, that we should go too, and that he should take me to the movies on Post. They're only $2.00 a ticket. We could afford that :)

So, we headed back to the car, and headed to the movies. "Drag Me To Hell". OMGosh! Captain America just shook his head the whole time, but I was jumping, gasping, grabbing his arm, freaking out the whole time. I absolutely loved it. Sure, the plot was weak. Sure, the effects were mediocre. I didn't care. It was a PG-13 suspense/horror film, and I loved it. Instead of screaming at the scary parts, the whole audience was laughing hysterically. I'll share one example. When the scary lady was attaching the blond, she got her nasty false teeth knocked out. So, she tried to bite her, and ended up gumming her face instead. It was so nasty we were ALL laughing. And she kept getting bodily fluids on her. Puke, blood, slobbers, puss. It was SO gross it was comical.

OK, so now that I've turned you off from EVER seening the movie..... Here it is, 1am on Friday night (It's still Friday until I got to bed, don't ya know!). I really need to go to bed. We may go see Monsters VS Aliens at the Post theater, or maybe go swimming. Haven't decided yet. But kids can get into the movies for $1.25, and kids under 5 are free. Not too shabby an activity. But then, pool-ing is fun too. Not sure what we'll end up doing. Then, in the evening, we're picnicing with the church. Should be a good time :)

So, since it IS 4th of July, I thought I'd make you guys up a LOVELY 4th themed WordArt :) I thought this one turned out nicely. I just LOVE these 2 fonts together. Fabulous :) Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG and PSD files, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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FONTS:
Independence - Teen
All rest - AL Verdigris