the one about a beautiful sight

Is there anything more amazing and precious than seeing your child doing this?

And how about that beautiful vacuum??? That was my Christmas present and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! Today was my day off, Quayd didn't have school and Brett was out of town, so we had a house cleaning party. I invited everyone I knew, but nobody came. Bummer. So Quayd and I worked our butts off! It is so nice though to be sitting in a clean house. I also put up my Spring decor.

A little early, I know, but I HAD to see something bright and cheery around here since Winter seems to be dragging on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on......... Maybe my cute decor will help melt the snow!

the one about the furry handcuffs

Yes, I have furry handcuffs. Don't judge me, I have a good explanation!!

Brett has this buddy that lives in Evanston. He is hilarious!!! His name is Jerimy and He and Brett think they are both the greatest things alive. They are very funny together and quite crude (if you can imagine that coming from Brett!) I tease them about being lovers, boyfriends and soul mates. Jerimy was in town on Tuesday and I told Brett I would fix dinner for them so they could hang out. I had plans for the evening so I wouldn't be home. Anyway, after work, I ran to the grocery store to grab a few things. As I walked to the checkout, I noticed a bin of Valentine's clearance stuff. I will admit, I was hoping to find Reece's peanut butter hearts. But I found one better!!!! You guessed it! Furry handcuffs!! And they were CHEAP!
I knew it would be so funny to give them to Brett and Jerimy with their dinner. I made them a lovely dinner and gave them the handcuffs. It was funny and everything worked out just as I had planned. The next day, Quayd and his cousin found the handcuffs and thought they were super cool. They started playing with them and had a great time. They were totally clueless as to why they were red and furry, they just thought it was cool to play Houdini and cops and robbers with the new handcuffs. We just went with it. It was harmless...... UNTIL.... Quayd started telling us how they have been playing FBI at recess and how cool it would be to take the handcuffs and lock up the bad guy. OH MY HECK!!! Can you imagine??? What would the faculty think of the little Lane boy locking up naughty kids with red furry handcuffs!?!?!?! We told him he couldn't take them and he just didn't understand why. He tried to sneak them in his backpack, but I stopped him. Geez.... That was a close one! I would have been the talk of the school all because of a $.50 gag gift!

So see, it was totally innocent. A blog post about furry handcuffs turned out to be totally different than you expected, right?
Trust me... If I wanted to do the handcuff thing, Brett still has a pair of REAL handcuffs from way back when he was in police academy. I wouldn't mess around with these cheap plastic ones! ;)

the one about football

This fall, Quayd decided to play tackle football. We started practice a couple weeks before school started and it has been a little more than any of us bargained for! We practice for two hours Monday-Thursday and games one night a week and every Saturday. Quayd is on the Broncos (woo hoo!) and they are doing AWESOME. They are the number 2 team in the league and we are so proud! It has been a little hard to watch my baby boy play such a tough sport, but I have enjoyed it and I have actually learned the game!!! (Something Brett has been trying to teach me for YEARS now!) Not only have I learned the game, but I am starting to LOVE the game! Who knew?

Yesterday morning, Quayd had a dentist appointment. When he was finished he earned a token to use in the little prize machine. I was paying at the desk while he chose his prize. We got to the car and he was so excited to show me what he got... A FAKE MUSTACHE! It is so funny, and SO Quayd. He put it on right then and wore it all day. He even insisted he wear it to his game. He said that nobody on the other team would want to tackle a tough kid with a big old mustache!

the one about the fair

We LOVE the County Fair! We look forward to it all year. We love the concerts, the exhibits, the food, and of course the CARNIVAL!
It seemed like our family was at the fair the whole week this year! I am a 4H leader so I was asked to take a few shifts working "security" for the indoor home, arts & crafts exhibits. Brett helped with the fireman's challenge and there were just so many fun things happening so Quayd wanted to be there every minute. He visited the little red barn, participated in the candy drop and played at the carnival nearly every day. He also worked very hard this year and made some projects for the 4H exhibit. He is not an official 4H member until he goes into the third grade (in 4 more days) or turns 8 (in 9 days) so he wasn't able to compete or place for state judging this year, but he earned rainbow "Cloverbud" ribbons for all of his projects.




On Saturday, before the demolition derby, my mom and I took Brayden, Brennen and Quayd to the carnival. We all had so much fun! I started not feeling well after a couple of hours, so I had to leave a little early, but not before getting some great pictures!!!

the one about a butterfly

So I have been feling a little ill lately. I have had to stay down in bed as much as possible and Quayd has been taking very good care of me. Yesterday, my mom had picked up a few things at the store for me so I sent Quayd to pick them up. When he was walking in my back door, he noticed a little butterfly. It had flown near a spiderweb and part of its wing was stuck. It was struggling to get free. Quayd quickly brought the grocery items inside, grabbed a pair of scissors, went back outside and clipped the butterfly free. I was in bed through all of this. He came in my bedroom and told me the story. He was beaming with pride as he told me all about it and he had a tiny little tear in his eye as he said, "Mom, it made me feel so good to help that little butterfly."

How sweet is that???

the one about a boy and his dog

When we got our dog Finn last November, I honestly wondered what we were thinking. We are not dog people and we are WAY to "on the go" to be dealing with a dog. I always feel so much guilt for Quayd being an only child and I know he gets super lonely and bored. So when I have the cutest little boy holding the cutest little puppy, what am I supposed to say??? It was right before Christmas and the dog cost more money than we really needed to be spending at that time, but seriously... what do ya do? I called om my good old trusty back up. The mean dad! But he couldn't say no either. I truly believed that it wouldn't last. The breeders told me they would take him back if it didn't work out so I kind of had an out. Well little did I know that this damn dog would work his way right into our home and our hearts! We are crazy about him! All of us! He is our whole life. I never would have expected that we would all be so smitten. We take him everywhere with us and he is spoiled rotten! He is very well mannered, doesn't bark, bite or pee everywhere. He is just a good dog. He has given Quayd the companionship he needs and has even filled a little void for Brett and I. We have a routine at night and when everyone is getting in bed, Finn decides who he wants to sleep with. It usually involves lots of coaxing from both sides because we all want him. This particular night, he chose Quayd. I went in to check on them in the middle of the night, and this is what I found. I swear this dog has brought so much to our family and we love him so much. He was meant to be our dog. Like I have said before.... Quayd didn't pick the best dog, the dog picked the best boy!

the one with some updates

Lazy summer days??? NOT! It has been CRAZY summer days around here. The older I get, the more busy we get. This is what we are up to these days...

Right now, Brett is playing in a men's softball league and I am playing in a woman's league. Even though we both LOVE it, it takes up two nights of our week! Brett has played for years and he is the pitcher. I have played off and on for my whole life. I am not any kind of pro, but I do love to play. I like playing infield. Because I am a lefty, I usually play first base. The team I play with has a first base player so I have been playing third base. I have really enjoyed it! Its challenging as a lefty (I know that seems weird, but ask any lefty and they will tell you!)

We have been coaching Quayd's AYSO soccer team. It has been so much fun for us!
Our team did awesome too! They were undefeated up until the last few games, then they lost a few. At this age, they play 6 on 6. A few of our team members quit coming to games so we didn't have any subs for the 6 that came all of the time. As the summer got hotter, our boys got more and more tired. It was hard for them at the end, but they still did awesome and had a great season!

So Mr. Quayd has become quite aware of the way he looks lately. I have always been able to dress him in pretty much anything and he never complains, until now. He is very opinionated! The first day of his summer break, I was starting to do his hair. I have done it in spikes since he had enough hair to spike it. He was looking in the mirror as I was gooping it up and he asked me to try something different. I kinda flattened it on top and just spiked the very front.
He looked so cute and very grown up. He looked him self over in the mirror and finally said, "You know who is really gonna like this?" I asked who. He said, "Drew." Drew is a cute little girl that has been in his class for the last two years. All the boys love her! He was so cute about it. All day he asked everyone we saw if they could see anything different about him. He is also very concerned about his clothes and if he matches or not. So he about had a stroke when he saw his dad lounging around the house in this. Quayd kept telling his dad that he was going to call all of his friends to come see how hideous he looked. So funny!!

So that is a little glimpse into what we have been up to lately. I am trying to be better about blogging, so check back and don't give up on me!

the one about Quayd's second grade program

Quayd's program was the cutest thing I have ever seen! It was western themed and his cute little teacher seriously goes all out for these things. They learned several songs and even learned how to SQUARE DANCE!
Quayd is such a performer and even though he gets a little nervous at first, he loves being in the spotlight. Here is a classic Quayd moment...My friend Aubrey and I helped decorate and set up for the program. Mrs. Murray bought these cute cardboard fences and stuff. We put it all together during school so Mrs. Murray wouldn't have to worry about it. (She was in the process of moving her classroom! She had to be packed the next day) anyway, during the program, a couple of the kids knocked down part of the set. Mrs. Murray rushed over to fix it and Quayd turns to the crowd and says, "Excuse the interuption. We are experiencing technical difficulties." What a nut! Of course, Aubrey and I ran up on stage and saved the day! ;) The program was adorable! It makes me kind of sad to think that my baby boy is going into 3rd grade. But at the same time, I love seeing him grow and learn. He ended the year as one of the top readers in his class, he got a math award, top speller award and an award for being the class comedian!! We are so proud of him! :) This is Quayd and his best buddy Shade. During the program, they sang about the Sasparilla saloon. For refreshments, they had "sasparilla" (soda) and cookies. This was totally unplanned, but I caught Quayd and Shade enjoying some "sasparilla" and shootin' the breeze. SO CUTE! Quayd and Mrs. Murray Another Quayd performance..... saying "Rock on!" as the curtain closed We were so lucky that Quayd had such an excellent teacher for second grade. Mrs. Murray was fabulous and Quayd LOVED her! We were super excited to hear that she got moved to third grade for next year and Quayd is in her class again!! I love school, but I am SO ready for the summer break!!! So is QUAYD! He is amazing and I love being the mom of the class comedian.

the one about the BEACH PARTY

Quayd's teacher let the class chose a theme for their end of school party. The voted and decided on a Beach Party. I am the official party planner mom, so Mrs. Murray asked me to come up with a plan. I bought leis and squirt guns for everyone. We played some water games, had a water baloon fight, snacks and tons of fun! Quayd and his teacher Mrs. Murray)




To finish it all off, Brett brought the fire truck and sprayed the kids. They LOVED it! Everyone thought it was pretty cool that Quayd's dad was a fireman and could bring the firetruck just for them! Quayd was pretty proud to have his dad there. (Dad was a just a little proud too!!!)