Thanks Tank #21

This is going to be ANOTHER short thankful list but since it's my last official thankful post of the summer I'm assuming that my lists will get back to normal starting next week.

I'm so thankful for the chance I had to go to Oregon with my girls and spend time with my two closest friends. The second half of our trip was spent with the Owen's who are more like family than friends. Unfortunately the first part of the week was a bit rainy and dreary outside so for lunch one day we took the kids to McDonald's and they played for a long time. It was really nice having the chance to just chat with Jane Anne about life and get caught up a bit since the kids were so busy running around screaming and having fun.
I'm thankful for getting off the beaten path and beautiful surprises while "lost". (We weren't actually lost we realized right away we had drove past the driveway we were supposed to turn at.) The drive out to Brownsville was just gorgeous and then we were able to take some pictures overlooking this magnificent view! So fun!
I'm ALWAYS thankful for the opportunity to scrapbook but it was extra special scrapbooking with JA. We had a very fun day celebrating Jane Anne's birthday (belated). We had Chinese food for lunch. Shopped at this adorable little store and got awesome candles. Then stopped at Safeway for chocolate and coffee! Nothing much beats that!
I'm thankful for child-like fun!
I'm thankful that the weather got nicer and we were able to take the kids to the "pool-park". All the kids had a blast and the adults too! Even Seth - I think???



I'm thankful for pedicures . . . .
and manicures!!! (Can you guess who went white and who went black?)
I'm thankful for dear, dear friends who my kids call Auntie and Uncle. Everytime we get together we have such a blast whether we are being wild and crazy (please see posts on Anah's birthday party) or just hanging out doing nothing!
I'm thankful for Elsie Jane who helps me get a bit of my baby fix. I love that I've been able to be "around" (I use that term pretty loosely since we don't live that close anymore) for so many of her "moments" from being at there house after Seth and JA found out she was a girl to spending 5 anxious days waiting for her to make her big arrival and then her not coming til the day after her due date. She is such a doll and I love her to pieces!
The McCoy girlies and Owen boys - getting along, hanging out, just spending time together.


I'm also thankful for being home. For all the work my husband got done while we were away. I'm thankful for the chance to meet our girls' teachers this evening at the Open House. I'm thankful that the girls are looking forward to school starting and that they do so well in school. I'm thankful for the chance to get together tomorrow night with Keith's family to celebrate his parents anniversary. And sleepovers with little girls (who aren't so "little" anymore!). I'm thankful that I'm going to be getting my hair cut tomorrow because it has been driving me buggy for weeks!

Olympic moment

While at my friends house in Oregon I was flipping through a book she had that was a "conversation starter". I found a couple of questions that I thought I would use to generate some comments and conversation on my blog. I thought it was very appropriate considering we just finished up the Summer Olympics. I've been alive for 9 Summer Olympics but am not really sure how many different years I remember. I do believe that for as long as I've been old enough to realize what the Olympics are that they've excited and fascinated me. I remember watching them diligently even while I was in school. The year that the Olympics were held in Los Angeles, my Grandparents brought us a ton of Olympic paraphernalia. Shirts, hats, binoculars and such. I'm a true fan of the Olympics. I would literally sit and watch for two whole weeks if I could. So this brings me around to my question.

What is the most awe-inspiring Olympic moment that you've seen during your lifetime?

For me it would have to be when Kerri Strug clinched the gold medal for the United States Women's gymnastics team in 1996 - sticking her landing on her second vault after seriously messing up her foot/ankle on her first vault. I remember watching and bawling my eyes out. It was a very memorable moment for me.

This year I was able to watch (non-stop) for the first weekend of the Olympics and then also a couple of days after that. Watching Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals was awesome and it makes me excited for athletes and events that we've yet to see. The girls watched with us some on that first weekend and I'm hoping that they will grow to love the Olympics as much as I do.

So . . . . What is the most awe-inspiring Olympic moment that you've seen during your lifetime?

Thanks Tank #20

This is going to be another short thanks tank just because I'm still really busy filling it!!!!

I'm so thankful for the time I was able to spend with my friend Kristi, who I met while at Ecola, last week. We had a blast together! It was also really fun having our kids play together. This was the longest we've had the kids together and they had a lot of fun too!

Parker, Savanah, Mason, Cole, Samantha and Annabelle
Me with all the kids! What fun they were!!!
All the kiddo's in front of the scary, yet totally cool, 13ft crab!!!


I'm thankful that the girls and I made it safely to the Owen's on Sunday. I'm thankful that even though we've had a lot of unexpected rain we've kept the kids fairly happy with indoor activities. I'm thankful for our trip to the community pool (where we didn't get any pictures ;(). I'm thankful for McDonald's Playland where we took the kids today and let them play for a couple of hours! I'm thankful for chocolate ice cream, RED box DVD's, Starbucks and friends that are absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! (Hopefully next week I'll have lots of pictures to post of my time with the Owen family!)

I'm thankful for an incredibly fantastic summer filled with SO MUCH FUN and lots of great memories! It's hard for me to believe that we only have 11 days until school starts again! I really think that this has been one of my funnest summers for many, many years!

Thanks Tank #19

This will be a fairly short thankful list, not because I don't have much to be thankful for but because it's so very late and I'm fading fast. So without further ado . . . .

1. travel safety - the girls and I made it down to Toledo, OR safely and quickly yesterday evening
2. lasting friendships - it's hard for me to believe that Kristi and I have been friends for 16 yrs but I'm so thankful for her friendship and the chance we have to reminisce over old times and yet are also able to daily create new memories that we will one day laugh over
3. a hard-working, supportive husband - my hubbie encourages me to take time to come to Oregon to see two of my dearest friends and then stays home to work so hard on our house and property
4. learning new things - today at the Aquarium we learned about crabs that live in the ocean between Japan and the Pacific Coast that can grow to roughly 13 ft in size. We saw babies that were over half the size of Lacy, our lab and they were 9 months old. It was a bit eerie and yet totally cool
5. my parents - my parents are celebrating their 35th anniversary on Sunday. I'm so thankful for the home I was raised in and the amazing example that was set for me and my sisters. my mom came and picked up the girls for a sleepover this week before we left on our "mini-vacation". she has always been so thoughtful and helpful not only with her own family but with all the people she has come into contact with throughout the years. i'm just very thankful for her (and them!) and all the ways she shows her love for her family!

Thanks Tank #18

Wow, it feels good to be back to the land of blog! Tonight at dinner my oldest daughter asked me if I had posted my Thanks Tank yet. I just want to know when she got so grown up AND how she even knows about my Thursday posts of thankfulness. It makes me wonder just what else they are picking up on that I'm completely unaware of. Hopefully this will be a great reminder for me that I have two little sponges who soak up EVERYTHING - the good, the bad and the ugly. So in my words, attitude, speech and actions, I need to always be leading with a Christ-like example. So on to my thoughts of thankfulness!

• I'm thankful for my husband who notices when I clean the house but so lovingly doesn't notice when I don't. Who bathes the dogs (not once but twice - all within a matter of days) after they've rolled in poop, after a long day at work. And then helps me make dinner to boot! He's a keeper!
• I'm thankful for a wonderful day spent with my Momma. We went shopping and spent 6 hours in ONE store. I'd bet at least 2 of those hours were spent in the dressing room trying on clothes after clothes after clothes and talking, talking, talking! It was so much fun!
• I'm thankful for my dear friend Heather who offered to watch my daughters w/o me even asking and then who kept them ALL DAY, while I shopped with my Momma!
• I'm thankful for friends who are as close as family!
• I'm thankful for the cheap theater in Federal Way and the chance to take the kids to see some really great movies for a really cheap price!
• I'm thankful for quiet evenings spent on the couch next to my hubby watching TV and just chilling but feeling loved beyond measure!
• I'm still thankful for the kittens we were able to get for the girls. We all have been having a lot of fun with them.
• I'm thankful for family that loves us unconditionally.

Well, this is just a small list of things that I'm thankful for. I do truly feel as though this whole summer my heart has been filled to the brim and then spilling over with thankfulness and happiness. I have been wonderfully blessed!

For the love of a child or FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!

Today was a bit of a "rough" day in our household. It actually probably started a bit yesterday but that was SO LONG AGO who can remember! We McCoy girls had been invited to a friends house who have a swimming pool. Since the weather was going to be so warm we thought we'd let the kids hang out in the pool and possibly even dip our toes (whole bodies) in as well. (Breathe JA - I actually do like swimming!) But it was glaringly apparent first thing this morning that there was going to need to be a major attitude adjustment before this would happen. And let's be honest - the attitude adjustment needed to happen in all three of us. I was very short on patience and the girls, well, they were short on obedience. Which then turned into outright - naughtiness. This brings me around to the point of my post. In the beginning the girls absolutely could not get along with each other. After getting in trouble numerous times and having practically all of their privileges taken away, they finally decided to start getting along. But then they turned on me. And I was now up against TWO little evil monsters, instead of battling one on each side. (Now don't get me wrong - I love these little monsters to death but a dungeon was looking pretty good today!) So, how is it that they can go from constant bickering and arguing and not getting along to being the best of friends and ganging up on Mom, the one they were just turning to, to get the other in trouble? I don't get it and frankly I'm too worn out to speculate any longer.

More Thankful Photo's