Almost Wordless Wednesday - My Parent's New House

The view from the road

The view from the man cave...love those porches!

The view from the boat dock. Their house is the only one you see!

The best view of all! The view looking out across the lake from their top porch!

Friday Features - Weekend Plans

Happy Friday!!! I'm so excited for it to be the weekend...I wish it would hurry up and get here! Why am I so excited? Because my parents get here tomorrow and they'll be here for an entire week!!! And I get Monday off work for Labor Day :) Today's features are all about what I'll be doing with my parents while they're here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Labor Day is a big celebration in my town. There is always a big parade with lots of marching bands, fire trucks, old cars, beauty queens and horses. My mom hasn't seen the parade in 10 years, so it's on our to do list. Children on Parade dress, headband and sash by MrsLaura30 There is also a flea market in the park that I want to go see. I haven't been in years and I have a friend setting up a booth so I'll be excited to see how it goes :) Flea Market Shabby Cottage French Paris Cream Wood Sign by mycountrycottagesign I also want to spend time with my dad. One thing we enjoy doing together is fishing. The only time I seem to go fishing is when my dad is back, so that's at the top of the list! Bass Boat Fishing Buddies Wood Fretwork Framed Art by woodworkfiddler Our local Mexican restaurant has specials on Wednesday nights and we also have a big get-together there when my parents are here. I love their quesadillas!!! TACO T-Shirt - I Love Tacos FUNNY Ladies Shirt by theboldbanana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend :)

Friday Features-Family Time

My parents get here TOMORROW!!! I haven't seen them since Labor Day and I can't wait to give them great big hugs and spend two weeks with them!!! In honor of their arrival, today's features all have to do with things I'll be doing with my parents while they're here. We're Eating Out Tonight by Weebird44 Scrabble Tile Pendant - CASINO - Roulette by jessejanes Shopping List Journal by PaperLink

I hope you get to enjoy time with your family as well this holiday season :)

Countdown

In exactly one month I leave for vacation!!! I might be starting my countdown a little early, but I love having something fun to look forward too :)

Collage by scatterbox

Jesse and I are going to Southern Missouri to see my parents property where they will retire someday. Right now it's just a piece of land, but I'm excited to see the area and be on the lake! I can't wait for them to be down there full time! They'll be a few hours closer, no Chicago traffic, and they won't have the Michigan winters anymore!

How about you...any vacations coming up? It's never too early to start your countdown :)

P.S. - Stop back on Thursday for a necklace GIVEAWAY!!!

Blog Carnival-Vacation Traditions

This week's blog carnival theme is brought to us by AthenaWorkman and she gave us these two vacation themes to write about:

1) It's summertime, a time to get away from it all. Do you have a dream vacation? Share details of your perfect getaway.

2) Expanding on the vacation theme, are there any special (or not-so-special) traditions that you and your family do while away on trips?

Growing up, my family went on summer vacation to Branson every year. It was our tradition. We would go to Silver Dollar City and White Water and ride the go-karts every year! We would also go boating for a day so my brother and I could ride the tube and then we'd grill out right on the boat. I have many fond memories of Branson as a kid :)

My parents always kept their time share down there so we would always have a place to go back to. Jesse and I have been down twice with my parents and had just as much fun as when I was growing up! We did a lot of the same activities and got to enjoy them in a new light :) Here is a scrapbook I made my mom for one of our trips.

We will always get to enjoy Branson and southern Missouri as a family tradition as my parents will be moving there when they retire! They have some property ready for them when they finally decide it is time to move. Jesse and I are going down over Labor Day with my parents to see their new location. Being just an hour from Branson, we will be able to enjoy our traditions for years to come :)

They're HERE!!!

My parents arrived safely yesterday afternoon!!! I was surprised to hear a knock on my door and see them on the patio! Usually they call to let us know they are getting close, but they wanted to surprise us :)

Yesterday was also my brother's birthday, so we got to spend time as a family :) We went out to eat at a great Mexican restaurant and Jim got to wear a sombrero and have Happy Birthday sang to him in Spanish :)

I tried to get a picture, but my camera was kinda slow and he was pretty quick to take the sombrero off...LOL! At least he shared his fried ice cream they gave him as a birthday gift :)

After supper we went to my aunt and uncles and hung out on their patio and listened to them tell stories of the "good ol' days". I love hearing those stories of when my parents were young :)

I'm not yet sure what today holds, but here's a list of things I want to do with my parents while they are here:

• Go to a movie
• Go fishing with my dad
• Go to the casino
• Deliver my consignment albums and go wine tasting
• Go for an air boat ride (if the river ever gets low enough!)
• And give lots and lots of hugs!!!

Have a great Sunday :)

The Countdown Begins

In just two weeks...TWO WEEKS...I get to see my parents!!! They will be back for my cousin's wedding on the 19th. I haven't gotten to see or hug my parents since Christmas...and I have a huge bear hug saved up for each of them :) And I'll get to spend Father's Day with my dad for the first time in probably 10 years!

And the news gets even better! They will be back again the following weekend, that whole week and the weekend after!!! An entire week with my parents...YAY!!! I'll get to go fishing with my Dad :) I'll get to go shopping and to the movies with my Mom :) And we'll just get to relax and be together as a family!!! My brother's birthday also falls during that time as well as a huge family reunion! What a wonderful time we'll have :)

Two weeks and counting...

Happy Anniversary

I would like to wish my parents a Happy 36th Anniversary today :) In today's times, this is such a wonderful thing to celebrate! I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite photos of them with you :)

I just love to see them smile :)

And in this one we were making fun of their matching shirts...it's so good to see my dad with such a huge laugh!!!