Cammie, Emily and Edd

Tuesday Cammie and I met Jenn and Brody at the Columbia Mall and hung out there for a bit.  It was fun, we checked out some sales at the Disney store and then went to lunch at Uno's.  Then Cammie and Brody got on the carousel.  Ugh....  I had to get on with them.  I didn't think the ride would ever stop.  When we left them Cammie and I stopped by the firehouse so Cammie could see Daddy.  She acted all shy when we went in but she got to see T-Doggie which she LOVED.  Joe washed the truck for us and Cammie helped a lot which was really cute.  It ended up being a gorgeous day and we had a really good time.  Wednesday Joe had to cut the grass so we didn't really do a whole lot.    Cammie fell asleep early and we got in the hot tub and then watched Survivor.  The storms have really been bad and one woke me up right after I had fallen asleep.  Sigh.....  Thursday we took Cammie to gymnastics which she did really good as usual.  She is so funny and cute when she runs around in her little leotard.  Then Joe got some painting done and I got Cammie's clothes sorted out for the most part for spring and summer.  It's so not fair that she has more clothes than Joe and I put together.  We finished one of the garden beds and went to get strawberries to plant in it.  It looks really nice.  We need to plot out the area for Cammie's swing set so we can get moving on that too.  Joe had to go back to work today so I took Cammie to the sign language class at the library which she liked and she played with the same little girl that she has been playing with.  They both wanted to keep playing but hopefully we will be able to set something up.  Then we stopped at Home Depot to get a couple more strawberry plants to finish out the bed and got them in the ground.  Cammie loves gardening!!!  It's been sunny off and on but it's really windy and a little chilly so I'm not sure what the weather is going to do.

Our Easter Bunny

It's been a weird weather week again.  We didn't do a whole lot last week because of the extra dogs in the house.  Thursday night Donna, Bill, Paul, Joe, Daniel, Kristink and Riley all came over for dinner and then Cammie and Riley (and Donna and I) all colored Easter eggs which was lots of fun.  And it made for yummy deviled eggs on Easter!!  Joe made lasagna that was really good.  Friday night we met all of them at Winfield Inn for dinner.  It was so good!  Their crabcakes were really good and no shells!!  Cammie was really good too.  She sat the whole time and then at 9 she told Joe she was ready to go so we left!  Smokey went home Friday morning too, he was glad to see his Mom and Dad!!!  Saturday Joe had to go to work and Leslie asked us down to the barn in the morning so we went there so Cammie could ride a little.  She loved that and didn't want to leave.  We did a little cleaning and took a nap and then Ms Sue invited us over for dinner. YUM!  Sue, Bill, Ben, Leslie, Bear and MamaRita were all there.  Cammie had lots of fun playing with the cats and Cabella and drawing pictures.  When we left the fridge was covered in her artwork.  I think I owe Ms Sue a pack of paper!!  Sunday morning Joe came home from work and we gave Cammie her Easter basket.  Then my Mom and Dad came over for a while and Cammie got some more gifts.  In the afternoon Matt, Alice, Mike, Emily, Edd, Meaghan, Rick, Nathan, Donna, Bill, Andrew, Daniel and Paul all came over and we had an egg hunt for Cammie.  She had lots of fun and liked it until she realized that the last egg had been found and raided so that it was empty.  She did not agree that she had enough candy in all of the other ones.  Nathan slept almost the whole time and wasn't happy about getting his picture taken but he was really cute!!  Dinner was really good, we had ham, au gratin potatoes, green beans, cole slaw, and rolls. (and devilled eggs of course).  Meaghan made an awesome cake for dessert so basically everyone was stuffed.  Rick helped Cammie plant the seeds that Alice got her so she was loving that.  Then we thought she was going to fall asleep on Paul's lap but she was just getting her second wind.  It started raining really hard in the afternoon so everyone left and we just spent some time playing with toys and hanging out.  (I did take a nap)  We watched the Amazing Race and  I was sad to see my cowboys get eliminated.  Cammie fell asleep around 930 so we got to finish an awesome day with a soak in the tub!!  Of course today is gorgeous since Joe has an executive board meeting.  Cammie and I were outside for a while, we planted some sunflower seeds in cups and then painted in the driveway.  The dogs were loving laying in the grass but then they all got hot so we came inside.  We'll go out again in a little bit.   I hope everyone gets to enjoy some sunshine today!!!

Dancing on the table......

Thursday Joe ended up getting OT on his Kelly day which was a surprise so Cammie and I went to Gymnastics and she had lots of fun.  She talked about Miss Missi for the rest of the day.  After we came home and ate lunch Cammie kept talking about planting flowers so we went to Sun Nursery and I got two of the planters that sit over the porch railing and some flowers and we came home and planted them to surprise Daddy.  She was so excited!  They look really nice, I want to get some more. It was so nice being outside too, the dogs loved it.   Friday morning Steve and Dee dropped off Smokey for us to dogsit and then I took Cammie to the sign language class at the library.  She got to be the bunny in the story and pass out flowers to the other kids.  Then she got chummy with another little girl and didn't pay much attention to the rest of the class.  We did learn a lot of spring signs and a song which was neat.  After that Leslie met us at the house and we went to the tent sale at Stablemates.  Cammie found a pair of rubber boots that she liked and Leslie found a pair of riding pants for her.  So I spent 26 bucks and saved 54!  Leslie bought Cammie her first pair of riding gloves which she didn't take off for a couple of hours.  She didn't want to take the boots off either, she put them on in the store and wore them to ride.  We came back to the house to get Leslie's car so we could go to the barn and while we were gone Mike Butt had dropped off their dog Tanner who is a labradoodle.  I'm not discriminating against other dogs because I love them all but it is funny to see all the labs and then a curly dog.  Smokey and Tanner know each other and play well together so that's been a big help.  It's just a little crazy with all the dogs!!  So Friday afternoon Leslie gave Cammie some more riding tips.  We walked down to the field to get Dreamer and then Cammie helped brush her and Leslie got her all set up and she rode all by herself and then she rode with Leslie which she likes so she can go FAST!!  Then she rode a little bit with Bear/Ben on the mule.  She also helped feed Boots the barn cat.  So the week was a little crazy and busy.  Saturday it seemed as though it was monsoon season and it rained like crazy all day with huge wind gusts.  Some tornados touched down too, UGH.  Daniel and Kristen came over for a little while in the evening which was awesome because Cammie ran around like crazy while they were here and then passed out when they left.  Sunday Joe had to go to work so Cammie and I just hung out with the dogs, it was nice off and on so we played outside when we could.  Daniel and Donna came over after dinner and Cammie was so happy to show off for them and passed out after they left. (I'm noticing a trend here)  Now everytime Cammie hears a vehicle or the boys riding the 4 wheelers she announces that Daniel is home and then wants to know if Paul is with him.  I got to relax and watch the Amazing Race in total peace and quiet!  I was disppointed that Gary and Mallory didn't get elimated though.  Go Cowboys!!  Monday morning Joe came home with a flat tire and changing it himself turned out to be an all day event.  He found the screw that was in it and then the valve stem broke.  He took it somewhere and found out that there is some kind of chip in it and they couldn't fix it.  So he came home and found out that you can only take it to certain places and they need the whole car so he left to go pick up the tire and then go to Century in Mt Airy.  Cammie and I were getting ready so we could meet him there and then drop him off at home and then go meet Alice, Meaghan and Nathan at Arundel Mills.  Well that turned into a whole drama too because both of us were headed down 144 and a truck was blocking the road in front of the bridge.  UGH  So we had to turn around and backtrack and finally got to drop the Journey off.  So trying to kill two birds with one stone Joe asked them to fix the recall that is on it.  Something about the triggers for the air bags.  They had to order the part so he has to take it back another time.  It figures!!!  Oh and trying to get out of the house with all the dogs was a treat too.  I was trying to put Smokey and Tanner downstairs, well Clyde wanted to go with them and I should have just let him but I finally got them all sorted out and when I tried to open the door to the garage Pudge charged out and wouldn't come back in, I started to shut the garage door and he went under it, just enough to trigger it to go back up. (He's too smart) Then he sat in the middle of the garage.  I admit, I gave in and took him with us.  He was the perfect dog then, he sat in the backseat and everything.  So we dropped Joe and Pudge off at the house and Cammie and I headed for Arundel Mills.  Cammie fell asleep as soon as we hit 70 and slept all the way there, so instead of jamming to Phineas and Ferb I got to rock out to Nickelback!!  We met Alice, Meaghan and Nathan in front of Bass Pro and did some walking around.  Didn't find any really good deals, although I did see a Coach purse that I REALLY liked.  When we left and headed for the truck I noticed two people sitting in a vehicle near us watching us.  I hurried up and got Cammie in the truck and they got out and were kind of walking over towards us so I jumped in the truck and took off.  While I was driving away I saw that they got back in their car.  It was really weird.  I hate that time while you are buckling up the car seat because it's like you are distracted to make sure it's right and your back is to everyone.  I know I'm paranoid but that was really creepy.  We made it home and went and picked up the Journey and then had dinner and tried to wear Cammie out.  We had a really nice evening sitting out on the porch enjoying the weather.  Cammie took a while to fall asleep but as soon as she did we got in the hot tub!!  Not really taking advantage of today, just bumming around, it's been raining off and on so I'm going to try to do some stuff inside if I ever get motivated. 

RIP Mayor/Gov Schaefer

Waiting for another nice day........

Well, Monday was just a big fat weather tease.  Tuesday it poured rain, UGH.  I went to the Lab Specialty Show in Frederick to help sell merchandise for Lab Rescue and we were outside in a tent in about three inches of mud.  And it was cold.  We didn't sell very much but it was fun watching the dogs until my back started killing me from being damp and cold.  Today was just overcast and damp.  Jessica and Jayden came over to hang out for a little bit this morning and that was lots of fun.  Jayden was afraid Jessica was going to leave him here so he was a little apprehensive at first but he warmed up and had fun playing with the toys that Cammie would let him play with.  She was a little bossy at times.  This afternoon we all went to Ms Sue's to get haircuts and Joe and Cammie went to Home Depot and when they came back Cammie made herself right at home with Mr Bill.  She didn't want to leave and cried all the way home.  She fell asleep in time for us to watch most of Survivor, that guy Philip is crazy, I thought they did psych evaluations on the contestants.  He's nuts.  After that we got to enjoy a soak and now we are just hanging out!  Cammie has gymnastics in the morning, she is looking forward to that!

Riding Dreamer!

We had a fun busy weekend.  Saturday morning Cammie and I met Alice and Nathan at the Kids Sale at the fairgrounds.  Emily met me there so she could borrow the truck to move into her new apartment.  The place was really crowded and there was definitely a lot of stuff, I found a barbie airplane for 4 bucks and a bunch of puzzles. You couldn't really get close to look through the clothes so I didn't even really try.  Some people had awesome prices and others obviously didn't care if they sold stuff or not.  So Cammie went home to spend the night with Aunt Alice and I tried to leave in Emily's prius.  She did give me a lesson before she left but that was like almost two hours earlier..... Sigh.  Anyway, after popping the hood and cursing a few times I did manage to get moving.  I do really like it, it's a little weird when you stop at a light and it's quiet.  I thought I stalled until I remembered it wasn't a stick.  It's pretty roomy too.  So when I got home Joe was battling a virus on the laptop which he finally got rid of.  Yikes.  We went to look at the Jetta TDI's but the salesperson was so obnoxious we left and walked around carmax.  They are pretty obnoxious there too but at least they can take a hint.  We came home for a little bit and then at 6 we met Granny Franny, Poppop Fish, Damniel, Kristink, Leslie, Bear and two of their friends at La Fiesta for a pre scavenger hunt dinner.  I had a coupon and saved us about 40 bucks on the bill.  YAY!  So anyway after dinner we started the scavenger hunt which was LOTS of fun.  We had to take pics or video of us doing things like folding someones clothes in a laundromat, eating food off someones plate, paying for something in pennies, changing a sign, getting a pic of the whole team in turnout gear or camouflage gear.  It was a bunch of stuff and it was fun, I think we laughed the whole time.  Our team lost but we were a LOT older than the other teams so I'm going to blame it on age.  Everyone had a good time!  Sunday when Alice and Mike brought Cammie back we all went to the Peeps show in Westminster, that was kind of disappointing.  It was really crowded for one which I expected on a weekend and it was free.  I did get a couple of ideas for things I would like to try to make though.  I'm thinking that you can store them because some of the displays looked a little older and like they had travelled.  So anyway, Cammie got to see Emily, Edd and Matt when they brought the truck back so she had a busy day.  She did fall asleep early enough for me to relax and watch most of the race, which was good.  I'm glad the father/daughter team got eliminated, now if the other one would go!!!  The blonde daughter is just a little too peppy for my liking.  Go COWBOYS!!!!  Or Globetrotters, or sisters......  Anyway, we got to get our soak on after that which was heaven!!  Today Joe had to go back to work and Leslie invited us to come to the barn so I took Cammie there.  She was very excited to see Leslie, Bear and Dreamer and meet their puppy Cabella.  Leslie found a pair of stirrups for her and a helmet so she was all set.  She did good and then she rode for a while with Leslie, then she watched Leslie ride and then helped her give Dreamer a bath and we all walked her down to her field.  Cammie loved it and has been talking about it all evening.  Leslie let her use the reins and was showing her how to stop and go and I thought she did really well.   There are a bunch of pics on facebook.  Well, the wild woman finally fell asleep and I'm beat so I am headed for bed myself!!  Oh and today I agree with Cammie completely, it was a beautiful summer day!!!!

Helping Daddy with the yard work!

Wednesday Cammie and I went to the movies with Donna to see Hop.  It was cute, we all liked it and Cammie did really well at the movies.  I got a little nervous during the previews because I get fidgety during them but she sat in the chair with a huge tub of "her" popcorn in her lap and ate and drank for about an hour.  Every once in a while she would allow Donna to share her popcorn.  For the last part of the movie she stood and played with the seat but she wasn't loud or anything.  There was only about 6 other people in the theater so I wasn't worried about her being loud, which she wasn't.  When we got home Joe was home from his meeting so we got to spend some time with him.  Yesterday Joe took the dogs to the Country Kennel to get groomed which they badly needed.  The lady said that Pudge and Clyde did fine but Bailey didn't like it which is pretty much par for the course. Cammie and I went to gymnastics which was fun as usual, the teacher said that she is doing really well.  She does great on the balance beam when she pays attention.  She can walk across the low ones all by herself, I'm sure I can't do that.  She hung upside on the bars and did a bunch of other fun stuff too.  Of course her favorite thing was jumping on the trampoline.  I think she would do that all day.  When we got home Joe went to pick up the dogs and then we went to Lowes to get some things.  Cammie picked out some tools for herself and was a big help.  We planted some bulbs in the front bed in front of the garage and then Joe put some more dirt and mulch in and Cammie helped him spread some more mulch around the trees in the front yard.  When we came in, she wanted to take a bath.  Thank goodness she is back on the bath kick and then at about 700 she announced it was bedtime and got my phone, kissed her Daddy and headed for "Daddy's bed".  She passed out quickly so we got to get in the hot tub and watch Big Bang.  Today is gray and gross out again so we are hanging out at home trying to get some cleaning done.  So far it is not going well.

We miss Sissy!!!

Another busy weekend. Saturday was pretty much a bust. Joe had to work and my back was killing me so not a lot got done then. Sunday, I dropped Cammie off at my Mom and Dad's and then took Sissy the awesome foster dog to the Lab Rescue adoption day in Towson. She got snapped up almost immediately and there was a line of people waiting. She got adopted by a younger couple and will be their first dog so I helped them pick out some necessities. Uncle Gary and Uncle Michael had stopped by to meet Sissy and they did get to! It was so sweet though, she kept putting her paws on my shoulders and like hugging me and then sitting next to me. UGH!!!! We miss her already! Such a sweetheart!! So after that I went to lunch with the Uncles. Fun!! Mom and Dad took Cammie to the Zoo where she had the best time! She was full of stories and showed us the map and everything that she did on it. It was very cute. She didn't have a very good night that night though, she was hard to get to sleep, which was odd since she literally walked every inch of the zoo. Then she woke up at some ungodly hour and wanted to play so we came out in the living room and she played with her zoo set for a bit and then wanted to watch TV so we did and she fell asleep on top of me and I could not get up because I was laying too flat and my back cramped. So I'm whisper yelling JOE! Then PUDGE! because Pudge will go get Joe for me. The only one who came out to see what was going on was Clyde and I love him to death but he is no help, he wandered back to the bedroom and I never saw him again. I finally fell asleep and when I woke up Cammie had shifted enough that I could get out from under her, I just left her on the couch and I laid on the other one. As some point while it was still dark out she asked for something to eat and being the super mom that I am, I tried to think of what she could reach herself without me getting up. Soooo she had a bag of Doritos for breakfast. I'll be accepting my nominations for Mom of the Year later, really. Oh and I was very upset Sunday night that the Amazing Race didn't come on. Just saying.... We did try to get in the hot tub but were only in about 5 minutes when a huge bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. I was not aware that I had the ability to walk on water. That led into a very noisy, windy storm (which Cammie did sleep through, she woke up as it was winding down). So yesterday we took advantage of the gorgeous day (once I managed to mostly wake up) and worked in the front flower bed. I would like to put a curse on the person who put all the white stone everywhere. We got all of that out and Joe got some topsoil and mulch and I'm just going to plant some bulbs in there for this year. We are trying to tackle some easy fix areas this year so we can get started on our garden. Cammie was a big help and she LOVES worms, she re homed several that we found. ICK ICK ICK So after dinner and baths and showers, Joe ran to Lowes to pick up a few things, and Cammie passed out while he was gone. We got to better enjoy the hot tub and then got to hang out for a bit before bed. It's gross out today, windy and rainy. I want yesterday's "Beautiful Summer Day" back!!!

More random acts of cuteness

OK, this whole gmail thing is pissing me off. I had to set up yet another account when I went to get my new phone and now it changed all my info in this blog including my log in. I don't even know how to check gmail email. So very annoying!!!! So please don't change it, my email address is stacygouldin@comcast.net A$$holes. Anyway, back to our week.... Tuesday the Zoomobile came to the Mt Airy Library and we went. I was afraid they were going to have a snake but they brought a tortoise, a giant rabbit and a PENGUIN!! It was so cute, they opened the little crate and she waddled right out. I would have loved to have taken her with us. They also gave out free kids passes to the zoo which was awesome. Wednesday Joe had to work so Cammie and I had a long day at home. I think she is feeling better but we just weren't in sync on Wednesday at all. Thursday I went to get my new phone. GRRR I did get a case for it, they didn't have one with bubble wrap and airbags but I'll keep looking. Thursday night an old friend of Joe's brought a very pretty yellow lab over for Lab Rescue. Her name is Sissy and she is gorgeous and very sweet. Clyde is in love!!! This morning I took her to the vet and she got a clean bill of health so we are just waiting for the adoption day on Sunday unless someone comes and sees her before then. I think Joe already wants to keep her. She is a sweetie. Oh we did have a yummy lunch at Jilly's today and a quick visit to Home Depot. It's very difficult to think yard work when it's freezing out. Now we are hanging out with the Camster, watching Stomp which is really good.