Work In Progress

We are slowly getting our mini makeover completed. Can I just say, "I don't know what I was thinking!" I just don't think I understood the undertaking. Having the WHOLE contents of my kitchen in the floor of both of my living rooms just is not fun! I have to go to the front living room to hunt for the sugar. I am ready to be done. And poor Neil...He is exhausted. He has worked so hard to get it done for me. Thank you so much Sweetie! It means the world to me that you are doing this for me! It is looking so good! The living room is 99% done! The only thing I'm waiting for is shelves and to decorate a little bit. The hallway finally has the trim and baseboards done, I've just have to paint the cabinets. Last night, around 1:30 am (yes, 1:30 am), Neil started on the kitchen. He sprayed the cabinets white! We are gonna have to get use to that. It's totally different. I might have to go over them with a glaze or something to tone it down. It's too white. But, it looks so clean! Which I love. I'm just waiting for the paint to completely dry, so I can reload the cabinets. I am very ready for all our glassware, baking goods, and everything else to be back in its home! Next is painting the paneling yellow. Which is basically, the dining room and the new area above my cabinets. After that, I'll paint the molding and trim and Voila! We will be done! (For now!) I was gonna try to get the other living room painted, but, yea, it's not gonna happen. I think Neil would kick me out to the couch if I asked him to paint that. So, here's a sneak peek of what we've been up too!

Before:

(Since we have paneling in this room, we were told to sand it down some. Well, we wish we just left it alone. It would have gone much better. But, it still looks good.)

And.............the after:
That white board leaning against the wall, next to the couch is going above our sliding glass doors. I'm getting rid of our blinds and putting curtains up. And since the dining room will be yellow and the living room is green, I needed something to separate the colors. So, I (yes, me) glued those decorative pieces to that board and painted it. I'm so proud of it. I really think it will look nice. Now, just have to figure out what kind of curtains before Neil digs out those nasty blinds.

Isn't it pretty?? I've enjoyed it so much. I just sit and stare at it. It's so much better!

And here's the kitchen, without the before...
It's hard to tell, but the cabinets are very white! And the space above the cabinets is new! Neil pushed back the paneling and all we have to do is put the crown molding back and paint it. It looks so different. I love it. But, I've got to figure out how to tone down that white. It clashes with the counter top. I'll figure it out though. Anyway, hopefully it will be completely done by the time we have Emma's birthday party. I can't wait to show it off.

Seriously?!

Emma has strep throat! Already! I so wasn't ready to start this. Thankfully, we caught it right away, and she hasn't missed school at all. She started to feel bad when Neil and I picked her up yesterday, we got her home, and checked her temp and throat. Sure enough, fever and her throat was yucky. Luckily, we were able to get her into the doctor's office for a quick check and it's strep. She is already feeling better and back to school today. No fever! Yea! I love that we caught it early, because she always ends up throwing up and sick for at least a whole day. No throwing up, and she felt bad for maybe 12 hours. Poor thing. But, I feel bad because I noticed a rash she had on Monday, and I told Neil, that looks like the rash she gets when she has strep. Hmmmm. Sure enough, the doctor said it was related. Anyway, she's fine. Felt great this morning and back into a routine again. I was gonna make her stay home, but she was adamant about going. She woke up last night (sorta) and came into the living room saying, "Mommy, I'm so, so sorry about....umm.....1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4." We took her back to bed and I checked her temperature and she was saying, "8,10,12." So, I'm wondering if she's stressed about school. If she is, I hate for her to have to miss, so I let her go. Poor baby! Anyway, we are not finished painting yet, so no updates about that. But it's looking really good. I can't wait for it to be done! After the day off yesterday, to ride to Amarillo with Neil, and spend a great 2 1/2 hours with my sister-in-law, I'm ready to get started again. Yall have a great day!

Enough for tonight!

Ok, I'm done for tonight. I think I'm catching up pretty quickly! We are in the middle of a mini makeover right now. My living room and kitchen are getting somewhat of a face lift. So, since my house is in shambles right now, I might not be back on for a few days. Hopefully, we can get a lot done tomorrow, since Neil is off. But, I'm going to Amarillo with him on Tuesday, so nothing much will probably get done. Anywho, I'll finish up soon. Maybe next weekend. Neil is working different shifts to get off in October for a bike trip and birthdays, so I'll have time then. And I'll post make over pictures too! Can't wait!

Mini Cheer Camp

I am so excited! This is the first year that Lily and Emma both get to cheer! I took pictures of their camp, but I didn't get any good pictures of just them. I got a lot of other kids in the pictures, so I'm not gonna post them. BUT, the girls cheer at our homecoming on October 2nd, so if anyone would like to come watch them cheer, you are MORE than welcome to. They are way too cute!

I picked the girls up from their 2nd day of school. And Lily greeted me with this!

She lost her 2nd tooth!

She said she was holding it so it wouldn't fall out, and then it did. Ms. Furlow gave her a treasure chest to put it in, and gave her a paper tooth that said "I lost my tooth today!" and the date. Lily said they talked about losing teeth that day because she lost hers. She was so excited. You can't really tell where she lost it because the two new teeth coming in. They were pretty far up before she lost either tooth. The second one was on her left. I think. She looks cute!

Long awaited...

...first day of school pictures!

She didn't wear the pink hat. She just wanted a picture with it. (See her sweet smile? Guess what happened the 2nd day of school!)

Took forever to find her a skirt that was appropriate. She was so cute!

I love Emma's shirt! She looked beautiful!

She has gotten so big. Sniff, sniff! Gorgeous!

And my babies in front of their school! They were almost late for their first day!
Silly Mommy and her camera!

The girls started school a couple of weeks ago, and they sure hit the floor running. This is the second year both girls are at school now. This is the first year I pick them up at the same time though. That sure has taken some getting use to. Usually I'm rushing home to get Lily at 2:40, but this year has been so relaxing. At least for me. Poor Emma! The other day, she and Lily were eating supper, and Lily was talking about what grade she'll be in next year and stuff (1st GRADE! :0!) And Emma laid her head down and said very dramatically, "Lily, you don't want to be in the 2nd grade. It's so hard!" 2nd grade sure is a change for us. Emma and I sit at the kitchen table, almost an hour daily, Monday thru Thursday. She has so much to do. It's crazy. But she is doing wonderfully! She has several 100's and everything else is above 95. Her grades are awesome! Lily is enjoying kindergarten. She loves having her best friend around. Even though they have gotten their clips moved several times for fighting. Apparently, it's a love/hate relationship. It's funny how they are together. Several people have commented about their friendship. They are so sweet. Their teacher finally wised up and let them sit at the same table and they actually focus better being near each other. Lily is doing very good this year, too. I'm a little worried about the teacher this year. We haven't had her yet. Emma had her kindy teacher for 1st grade too, and she's staying there. So, Ms. Furlow is a new experience. Not too sure how it's gonna go yet, but we'll see. I'm just hoping Lily is reading as well as Emma was at the end of kindy. Ms. Pierce was very good with that. Ms. Furlow is a little spacy. She's so funny. At the parent/teacher meeting, she was talking, walked out of the room talking, and continued to talk in the other room. No one was in there. So funny! But she's nice and Lily likes her. So, that's good. We don't have any problems getting the girls to school. They love it, but Lily is clingy in the mornings. We take Emma first and then go back to her class. Then we hug for about 30 seconds, kisses, "I love you"s and she makes her way in. It's heart breaking, but I know she's happy in just a few seconds.

So, here's the first day of school. My babies are sure getting big. I miss them being little, but I sure love what wonderful little girls they have become.

Fun at the park!

We took the girls to Play Legacy (Ok, still being a dork, it's obviously Legacy Play Village), the Saturday before school started. We haven't been there in years. The girls loved it, and it was so nice to sit back and watch them play. Lily doesn't remember going, she was just a baby last time we were there, so she was supper excited to go. It was hard taking pictures. They were zooming around and the light changed so much I finally gave up and just watched them. Here are the few I managed to get.

I made them stop and pose. I finally left them alone after a few minutes.

Neil followed Lily around while I chased Emma. After a while, we were confident they would be fine on their own. I told them to see us at all times and to watch out for each other. Every few minutes we would do a hot pink and orange check. We just lounged at the entrance.








Lily was in this swing for long enough to take the picture. She's sure not a baby anymore. So sad. She and her sister sure are beautiful big girls!

Ok, I'm a dork. I clicked on something last time I was adding to my blog. Hee hee, all fixed now.


My blog is being goofy! Every time I load pictures, instead of pictures, it's the text form. Makes it really hard to edit my blog. So if it looks weird, that's why. Also, most of the pictures are from my phone, and when I loaded them to the blog, it spazzed out, and it's having a hard time now. Anyway, that's why.

Vacation Week

We had lots of fun on our vacation! One of the things we got to do was take the girls bowling.

They had so much fun!

Here's the girls' and my pretty bowling shoes.

Here's Lily bowling. Sometimes, she would use the metal guide they have. But she did really good throwing it down the lane herself! The girls got those little bumper things on their turn. That sure would have helped my score!

Emma did really good too! She mostly threw it down the lane herself. Last year, when we went bowling, I believe she actually won a game. At least, she came in close if she didn't.

This is what happens with you bowl with long nails. I had finally gotten my nails long and strong. They were so pretty. Where the black circles are, that's where the nails are broken. OUCH!

Neil won all the games. He did really well! I think I only got one strike. I'm sure my parents would be disappointed. My mom used to be on a league. Actually, the day I was due, she was at the bowling alley. After I was born, I would sleep as she played.

Ok, three new posts in one day, one being WAY long, and 6 new posts in a week. I think I've met my quota for the day. I have 6 or 7 more ideas for posts, including first day of school, but I want to do them in order. I will try to get them all posted this week. So, yall check back soon! Hope you all have a great day! Love, Camie

Another pray request!

Last week, Isaac and Sabrina took Kade in to get a MRI. They got the results yesterday, and basically, all we know is that there are 2 spots on the frontal lobe that they need a neurologist to check out. I know they are terrified, as are the rest of the family. Our family has been though so many losses, that we really need some good news right now. So, PLEASE, pray hard that there is nothing wrong with sweet Kade's little head, that the headaches go away and that he is very healthy.

Thank you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

ISAAC!



I hope, besides the shot and blood draw, that you have a fabulous day, Old Man!

Love you!

End of Summer Fun!

We cram packed as much stuff into the last two weeks of summer vacation as we could. First, the girls headed to my parents house for a week. And had an absolute ball with my parents and their cousins. Mom has lots of pictures, so I'll get copies and post sometime. Anyway, while they were there, Neil and I took off to Austin again. We stayed at the Hilton this time, and the view from our window the first night was this....

....it was a film crew! I never knew Neil to be so awe struck about celebrities. Not that we saw any, but he sure did try. We had walked to IHOP for breakfast, but we didn't see anyone and nothing was really happening. Later that night, we walked around 6th street and I think they were actually filming. It was really neat. Probably nothing big, no one famous, but it was still cool. Anyway, while we were heading home from Austin, my parents took my two brothers and their family, and our girlies to Wonderland Park. But as soon as they walked in, it started to rain. So, they got rain checks. We decided to head to Dumas instead of going all the way home, so we got to Dumas around 12 that night. Saturday we had a huge family cookout. It was so good! And it was so much fun to catch up with everyone! Sunday, after church, we all headed back to Wonderland and cashed in that rain check. Neil and I were so glad we got to go this time. Well, I was until I realized what dare devils my girls are. I never thought they'd ride anything other than kiddy rides, but with their big cousins around, they were ready for anything. At first, I made Neil ride with them, then I just let them go. I held my breath with fear as they rode several rides you couldn't drag me on. And they loved it! I think the first ride was the bumper cars.

Emma was begging to go on this. So, when we got there, Lily wanted to go, and Emma let her go first. Lily and Neil rode and Emma decided, "No, that's not what I want to do." So, after Lily and Neil got off, we headed back to the train.

(Can you see Neil in the back?)

As I was waiting for them to return, Ike and his family showed up. When the girls got back, they rode the kiddy rides with Kade.

(OH! They boat ride! This use to be one of my favorite rides!

I sure don't remember the bell being so loud though!)

Kade and Emma

Miss Lily

Emma riding the horses!

Lily and Daddy on the helicopters!

Emma and Kade in a cool car

Neil trying not to get sick from going in circles.

Emma and Lily riding in the cars

Lily on the Frog Hopper. This was Emma's favorite ride when we went 5 years ago.

Then, we went walking around and Lily saw the Himalaya. She really thought it was cool, and begged Neil to go on it. There was no way we could have dragged Neil on it, so Uncle Ikey came to the rescue. I was saying "No way!" That thing goes WAY too fast. I really didn't think she would be able to hang on. He said he would just take her over to it, and check the height requirement. Thankfully, Lily doesn't like loud music, and they are always BLARING music. She quickly said "No, thank you!, Then, she saw a HUGE water slide.

She was begging to go on it, I was saying "NO", (see a trend here) and Neil was saying "sure, let's go!" So, they went. It was such a long flight of stairs, that Neil ended up carrying Lily halfway up. You can't see the stairs from this pic, but there was a ton of steps. They zoomed down, and got soaked.

Lily LOVED it! Emma decided she could try it, and she loved it too! They both rode it several times. Neil was wore out after those stairs! Then the girls meet up with Laura and Katelyn, and they took off with them. (I was following closely!) They took the girls on another water ride. But this one wasn't in tubes but on a huge boat.

I thought for sure that one was too much, and they'd come crying to their Momma, and never leave my side again, and my heart wouldn't have to have an attack, and we could walk around Wonderland Park with cotton candy and two little girls holding their momma's hand for the rest of the time. (Run on sentence much?) Think that happened? NO!!! THEY LOVED IT!! MY HEART DID NOT!! I, actually, was the one so scared, just watching them, that I cried. I wanted my momma. They came off laughing and giggling and soaked. LOVED IT! They rode that one another time or two, I had to quit watching, my stomach couldn't handle it. After that, it got easier to let them go on stuff. They had the best time. I was so thankful my dad got his money out of those two. After they got off the Scare Your Momma To Tears Boat Ride, Neil and Isaac thought they'd prove their manhood by riding the Drop of Fear!

(The arrow is pointing to the top, where you sit and then drop)

This thing, would take you 180 feet, act like it was stalled out at the top, and then drop the platform, so the rider free falls for about 2 seconds and then brakes and you stop at the bottom.

I would have puked! You could hear Isaac screaming (on purpose). Neil just took it as if it was a Sunday ride. I wanted to see some sort of reaction, but they just grinned. Really, it was fun to watch. I was proud of them. After a few more rides, it was just about time to leave, but Lily wanted to try out the Sky Ride.

Which looks like a ski lift and you ride around the park in the air. I use to love this as a kid. So, Neil and Lily rode it. She really liked it.

Look at those cute feet!

Neil held her shoes so she couldn't drop them.

When they headed back down, she was curled up against Neil, looking like she could fall fast asleep.

Emma hopped on with them next and they rode it two more times, I think.

Right before I took this picture, Mom and I both whispered, "Hold on to them Daddy."

He waved, and then put his hands on them. I don't know if he could read our lips, but it was funny.

They had so much fun. And, as much as they scared me, I was thrilled they were brave enough to get on those rides. Thank you, Dad and Mom, for taking us to Wonderland! I still have fond memories of going as a child, and I'm thrilled and thankful my girls will get to share those memories now!

We left, wiped out, and headed home. It was a wonderful way to start our vacation!

PS- ALL these pictures were taken with my phone. They are not great pictures, but I'm glad I have them! Oh, and I'm a wimp, so I just got a hand stamp to get in, and my dad gave me money to go on the Rattle Snake River Ride. That's my favorite now. Thanks Dad!