Barefeet in High Heels

I was blessed to be a chaperone for the 7 - 12th grade girls lock in this past weekend.

Our theme?  Cupcake Wars.

You know that awesome show where you're given a secret ingredient and have to make it fabulous?  Well, we switched it up on the girls and actually had them bring a secret ingredient.  We provided a cake mix and some frosting for an evening of fabulousness...

Here's what they came up with...

Unicorn Cakes

Cookies and Cream

Pretty in Pink

The 4 Mousketeers

Gummy S'Mores

and the winner...

some French name that I couldn't pronounce, but was basically "Peanut butter & chocolate"

There were some interesting taste combinations, but it was so much fun to see the girls working together to create their concoction.

Next best?  Listening to them describe their love of Christ and how beauty is on the inside.  <3

Today is my last day at work.

Today is the last day I'll receive an actual paycheck from an actual company...

...for (I hope)...

...the next SIX years.

God I love it!

OK, so I know this is going to be mushy and romantic and...blah, blah, blah...

BUT...I really don't care. :) I have to brag.

Last Friday and Saturday was the ultimate event of my job. Basically, it means I spend 26 hours in Koch Arena from 8 a.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Awesome, huh?

Besides that, it just so happens that Mini #1's birthday also fell on this past weekend.

So, when I got home from Koch on Saturday evening I was exhausted, both mentally and physically and did not want to even think about doing anything at the house.

...and I didn't have to.

As I walked in the house, I discovered that Engineering Man had done the laundry, cleaned the sheets, picked up the house, dusted, swept, vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, done the dishes, mopped the floors and given the boys baths.

Seriously, he's fabulous.

And...just as a side note, today is our 5th anniversary.

:)

The weekend included all day Friday and Saturday here...

...congratulations graduates!...

...and Sunday we celebrated Mini #1's third birthday...

...at the firehouse...

...and this happened...

...please note the time on my phone.

I'll be in touch about the firehouse later this week, but Denise...be prepared...

Cute fireman will be featured.

Now that I've started work, and actually have to be awake before 8 a.m., I've discovered how much I LOVE coffee.

And I mean it's turning into a necessity.

Usually, I make some coffee at the house and just take it to work, but the first morning I took the boys...

...well, let's just say I was running late.

I ended up getting one of McDonald's frappes.

AMAZING.

Just the right amount of caffeine, sugar, and milk blended together for something cool and refreshing.

Mmmm. Good morning.

*Hey FCC, McD's didn't pay me to say this. Just like them. A lot.

This week I returned to work and was welcomed with this...

...a trip to the circus...

..."being excited" at finally getting a ticket to...

...ride on a horse...

...redrawing the clown stamp gotten at the circus...

...and giving daddy one too because otherwise "he be so sad"...

...a road trip to the nuclear power plant...

...that included stops at Topeka...

...and a bar for a birthday...

...we were given a concert on the coffee table...

...and my boys hung out on the couch...



















...being completely relaxed...

...and finally crashing after a great time...

This was my last week at home.

And I enjoyed every minute of it.

There was storytime...

...the McDonald's Filet 'o Fish...

...hail as ice...

...softball...

...amazing clouds...













...vegeing on a bopi...

...lining up a shot...

...and golfing in the living room...

...more OCD tendencies...

...finding the giraffes on the bouncy chair...

...planting flowers...



















...and setting them out on the porch...



















(...and yes mom...my hair really is that short now...)

...a DIY project (see Tuesday's blog for more)...

...a kick butt rental for the drill weekend (see Wednesday's blog for more)...

...and a picture of the boys for Mommy to take to work...

Wish me luck!

...or so I thought.

The other day I received a baby card in the mail...

...it was a very cute card...

...had a great saying on it...

...and had a, um, what the heck is that? An immunization record??...

...WAIT...who is this from??...

THE GOVERNOR?

Awesome. 

For those of you that don't know, I work for the state.  Haven't gotten a raise in the two years I've worked there.

Guess I know where my raise went.  Seriously State of Kansas?  You need to rethink your priorities.  And not just my raise...what about the schools?  

Yep.  I've said it once...I'll say it again.

Awesome. 

The main purpose of my job is to coordinate an event that includes approximately 650 "awardees", their families and friends, 20 members of a platform party and 80 volunteers. 

I have this nasty habit that if I'm woken up in the middle of the night, I start thinking about this event.  And everything I'm forgetting.

Mini #1 has a horrible cold, and needless to say decided at 1:15 this morning that he wanted to come sleep with us.  Two hours later I was standing in the kitchen making notes.  Two hours and 10 minutes later I was writing in the dark on the pad of paper next to my bed. (You should see that writing!)

Five hours later I was at the gym.

Five and a half hours later I was at work.

Sleep.  Sleep would be good here.